Korg A2

Mine is a rack setup - in a very nice 6U SKB case! ADA MP-1 preamp (buy one!) and a Rocktron Velocity 150 poweramp, which sounds as great as any tube amp in my opinion. I was a little apprehensive about going to a rack system, because I wanted the old Fender/SRV type sounds - no prob! My MP1 (which is tube) along with my A2 can get me ANY sound I want - and I mean ANY! Forget digital sampling crap - the A2 will do it for you. My main axe is a custom build (homemade!) solid mahogany with Custom Seymour Duncan and Jazz Syemour Duncan humbuckers and a maple neck. Weighing in at 12lbs it sustains for weeks!!

Depend on it? Absolutely! But you will need a backup card for complete confidence. Dont buy an FX unit without backup. This is not a fault of the A2 - any FX unit can be shorted. A friend of mine had a Digitech 2110 crap-out minutes before a gig. He didn't have a RAM card for it so he had to re-program right there - and fast!!! If that's your idea of fun, then I guess you don't need a backup either!

I play almost anything - blues, rock, classical, tame, nutty, techno. The A2 matches my eclectic style ! I wouldn't use it without the FC6 foot controller - it allows stompbox style switching on/off for each effect in each patch - too cool! Also a MUST HAVE is a volume-style controller for changing parameters on-the-fly.

 

If it were stolen I would buy another - keeping my RAM card to upload all my old presets! I bought my A2 in Canada and recently moved to the UK. I was planning on selling it and buying another, but found out that I could convert it to 240v by simply changing over two wires on the transformer. This is VITAL for me, as it is possible that I will move again. Knowing that I can change it back to 110v so easily is a comfort, since I don't have to worry about losing all my presets!

 

I often use the sounds themselves for starting points in my writing, so it definitely is useful in making music. I don't think I could live without it now!

 

There are only a couple of things I miss - a pitch tranposer (but I would only use that once in a while, so not really a major point) and real EQ knobs. I will probably get a parametric EQ so I can change overall setting instantly.

 

Programming is the key with FX - set it up right and the A2 is your friend! Using the FP6 I have some banks set up so that each patch just picks a different setting on my preamp(using MIDI) and othertimes I use the on/off ability - program one patch and then get INFINITE variations by switching stuff on or off, just like using stompboxes (But 100000% better!)