Glass Nexus on the way!

[rsm]

I finally pulled the trigger on a new Damage Control Glass Nexus pedal. This should complete my current rig and GAS. The only thing missing, which is a "nice to have" at this point, is a GRX4 MIDI switcher.

For what I wanted, the Glass Nexus is the best post preamp / in the loop set of effects in a single unit (multi effect) I could find, even if it leans more toward modulation effects than reverb and delay (I wanted a good combination reverb and delay pedal). I don't use enough delay to need a Timefactor or Timeline, nor do I need a huge assortment of reverb types with a large number of parameters, so ease of use with a wide range of reverbs (like those in the Glass Nexus) was another factor. If I did use effects more, I'd have purchased an Axe-Fx Ultra! But then I'd be spending more time dialing things in again, and even when I had a sound I liked I'd always be thinking (and trying) to make it better, and never stop tweaking. Ultra is still at the top of the GAS list though!

Finally, it has full MIDI control so I can keep it in the rack (or, rather, on top of the rack since it is so large) instead of on the floor, and use my MIDI controller. Too bad the Glass Nexus isn't a rack unit!

My final multi effect list came down to these in order:

2) TC Electronic Nova System
3) TC Electronic G-Major 2
4) DigiTech 1101

I also considered reverb pedals, but on the high end they cost nearly as much or more than the Glass Nexus. On the low end, they didn't have MIDI control (well, neither did some of the high end units).

Once this pedal arrives, I need to dial it in with the rest of my rig. I'm spending way too much time here, and a few other forums instead of practicing, as I've been researching ideas for rig improvement, tone improvement and GAS generation.

Thanks to everyone who provided input, insight and info into my gear questions here! My set-up and tone has never been better thanks to this site!

 

[thiswaythatway]

HAHA, i have one on the way as well. I'm going to use it into the input of the amp, not the loop. I have a Timeline in the loop for delay. I wanted one multi unit that doesn't suck tone and that has a "Stompbox" type feel. For cleans and mid gain i can use it's delay and verb but for high gain it will be the Timeline since it's in the loop.

When you figure that the cost of a decent reverb pedal is $100, a decent chorus is around $100, phaser, flange, tremolo, etc etc, why not just get one unit. But the big test for me will be to see how close it can get the Phase 90 sounds.


And yes, you need a Timeline. It's that good.

 

[rsm]

HAHA, i have one on the way as well. I'm going to use it into the input of the amp, not the loop. I have a Timeline in the loop for delay. I wanted one multi unit that doesn't suck tone and that has a "Stompbox" type feel. For cleans and mid gain i can use it's delay and verb but for high gain it will be the Timeline since it's in the loop.

When you figure that the cost of a decent reverb pedal is $100, a decent chorus is around $100, phaser, flange, tremolo, etc etc, why not just get one unit. But the big test for me will be to see how close it can get the Phase 90 sounds.


And yes, you need a Timeline. It's that good.

I don't have room for a Timeline! These DC pedals are too big, no place to put one! Time for DC to load them all into a 1U rack unit! You just got the Timeline I read in another post, must be good to get another DC so soon!

That's what I was doing too, adding all the costs of each effect I wanted. For example, if I purchased the Tech 21 Boost R.V.B. and the Boost D.L.A (which was nearly my first choice, as I like Tech 21, and the demos / clips sounded very good to me) it would be about $300 without the preset storage and MIDI control. The T-Rex Room-Mate Reverb is $369, the EBS reverb is $249, so the Glass Nexus is a bargain, and it sounds great from what I've heard and read so far.

I may not be able to use the Vibe after the preamp I'm thinking, but everything else should be fine. In fact, I plan to see if I can detect any tone suckage from it, if not then I'm going to run it inline after my preamp: preamp --> glass nexus --> amp, and use MIDI mappings to change the presets and add them in. Up front I'm only running a JangleBox compressor. Minimal effects so far... though if I keep looking I'll be spending more than an Axe-Fx Ultra if I'm not too careful!

 

[sebby123]

I think i might have to get one of these!

 

[se7en]

Please let us know how you guys like the Glass Nexus. I've got a Timeline right now and it's the kitten's tits.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Played around with mine last night. I don't have many other pedals to compare it to though. Most other multi pedals left me flat in the past, especially the Line 6 stuff. I LOVE the MXR Phase 90 and i haven't found many other units that get that sound. The Nexus gets close, but not exact. It doesn't add that little bit of dirt that the 90 does, some people may like that. But i think i could live with it and throw the 90 off my board.

The Nexus is actually very simple. For modulation there's only 1 mix knob, and 1 adjustment knob. So you're not scrolling through menus or constantly tweaking. All the effects on it sound good but i guess you could go out and find individual pedals that could match each mod sound from the Nexus. Like the vibe, for me it's good enough but i know there's a of vibe junkies out there that have their own favorites.

The Chorus, flange, tremolo, rotary, all sound good and pretty lush.

Now,the reverb doesn't sound good. It sounds GREAT. And again, simple, just a mix and adjustment. The delay does what it says and with the combination of verb and delay you can get some really intoxicating sounds here. I dialed in a phaser with some delay and a touch of verb and damm, it sounded sweet.

I'm using it into the input so it's mostly getting used with clean tones and mid gain. For high gain it gets a little messy sounding. But i have a Timeline in the loop for any delay for high gain, and the Timeline can also do modulation.

With the Timeline and Nexus, there's really a lot you can do. The Nexus is simple and the Timeline really let's you tweak your delay tones and it sounds fantastic.

 

[memberzonly]

Danyeo,

Any chance you could try it in the loop and report back with the results? I am looking at it as well but only want it if the choir, delay and reverb get it done in the loop with high gain (think 80's).

Thanks!

 

[rsm]

Forgot about this topic, I started a new one. UPS delivered my DC Glass Nexus today, I set it up, but haven't played it yet. Probably not until tomorrow some time....

It is a BIG pedal. I'll be running this after my preamp, which is a Tech 21 PSA 1.1 so no power amp, going direct to FRFR set-up:

Guitar --> PSA 1.1 --> Glass Nexus ---> Bose L1

I think I may have some issues using some of the modulation effects this way, but I really wanted the Reverb and Delay post-preamp.

This thing is going to be a non-travel unit, it is too big to be portable. I may consider a Nova System or RP1000 as a grab n go unit. Long term, Axe-Fx Ultra!

 

[sebby123]

Forgot about this topic, I started a new one. UPS delivered my DC Glass Nexus today, I set it up, but haven't played it yet. Probably not until tomorrow some time....

It is a BIG pedal. I'll be running this after my preamp, which is a Tech 21 PSA 1.1 so no power amp, going direct to FRFR set-up:

Guitar --> PSA 1.1 --> Glass Nexus ---> Bose L1

I think I may have some issues using some of the modulation effects this way, but I really wanted the Reverb and Delay post-preamp.

This thing is going to be a non-travel unit, it is too big to be portable. I may consider a Nova System or RP1000 as a grab n go unit. Long term, Axe-Fx Ultra!

Bigger than a dl4?

 

[thiswaythatway]

Danyeo,

Any chance you could try it in the loop and report back with the results? I am looking at it as well but only want it if the choir, delay and reverb get it done in the loop with high gain (think 80's).

Thanks!

I'll try it later. But i never use Chorus in the loop. It sounds too sterile to me there.

 

[rsm]

[


Bigger than a dl4?

Dunno. The Glass Nexus is 7.5" x 9.5" x 3.5" (w x l x h)

 

[* velcro-fly *]

Verdict ?

 

[sebby123]

Line 6 is 10" wide, 6" deep, 2.5" tall

 

[sebby123]

So yea its a big pedal ha

 

[rsm]

Wow! All I can say is Wow!

I put new strings on my Ric 330, and spent nearly 3 hours with the Glass Nexus this morning. Very little time was spent tweaking, I was playing my arse off on all the great sounds from this thing. Here's my signal chain:

Guitar --> Tech 21 PSA 1.1 --> Glass Nexus --> Bose L1 (FRFR system)

I was not able to make this thing sound bad. Even the sounds I didn't like (i.e., cool but I would not likely use it), sounded good. The quality of the effects is as good or better than some other high end units I've tried (Lexicon, Axe-Fx, TC Electronics, never tried Eventide so I can't compare). Much better than the Boss, DigiTech, Zoom, EH, etc. that I've tried.

Ease of use. So easy, even I can do it. I was able to dial in different settings in a matter of seconds. Two knobs for everything except Delay which has four. You set your mix and adjust (that's the label on the knobs) to set the effect. Every position sounded good to me. If you like to have several parameters to adjust, or you want to control the active interactions between the parameters, this isn't for you. Also, the effects aren't over-the-top, they are "just right' - tasty! You can push it if you set the Mix at 80% or higher.

Downside: Besides this size of this box, I'm getting some noise, more than I expected. I'm going to screw around with my cable routing, etc. later to see if I can isolate it. With such a simple signal chain, this noise was a surprise. Anyone else getting line noise with the Glass Nexus?

My GAS for effects is near dead. The Glass Nexus is too big to put on a board for my preferences, so it will live in my home studio / practice space. I think I may pick up the Tech 21 Boost R.V.B at some point, then the Boost D.L.A. (with tap tempo) for a smallish board.

The Glass Nexus is sweet (and tasty). If you are into effects, worth checking out. I think they have a pretty good return policy if it doesn't work for you? (double check this though). I'm still in the honeymoon phase here, so time will tell. It does more than I need, but it does it so well I'll probably use effects I never thought I wanted.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Wow! All I can say is Wow!

I put new strings on my Ric 330, and spent nearly 3 hours with the Glass Nexus this morning. Very little time was spent tweaking, I was playing my arse off on all the great sounds from this thing. Here's my signal chain:

Guitar --> Tech 21 PSA 1.1 --> Glass Nexus --> Bose L1 (FRFR system)

I was not able to make this thing sound bad. Even the sounds I didn't like (i.e., cool but I would not likely use it), sounded good. The quality of the effects is as good or better than some other high end units I've tried (Lexicon, Axe-Fx, TC Electronics, never tried Eventide so I can't compare). Much better than the Boss, DigiTech, Zoom, EH, etc. that I've tried.

Ease of use. So easy, even I can do it. I was able to dial in different settings in a matter of seconds. Two knobs for everything except Delay which has four. You set your mix and adjust (that's the label on the knobs) to set the effect. Every position sounded good to me. If you like to have several parameters to adjust, or you want to control the active interactions between the parameters, this isn't for you. Also, the effects aren't over-the-top, they are "just right' - tasty! You can push it if you set the Mix at 80% or higher.

Downside: Besides this size of this box, I'm getting some noise, more than I expected. I'm going to screw around with my cable routing, etc. later to see if I can isolate it. With such a simple signal chain, this noise was a surprise. Anyone else getting line noise with the Glass Nexus?

My GAS for effects is near dead. The Glass Nexus is too big to put on a board for my preferences, so it will live in my home studio / practice space. I think I may pick up the Tech 21 Boost R.V.B at some point, then the Boost D.L.A. (with tap tempo) for a smallish board.

The Glass Nexus is sweet (and tasty). If you are into effects, worth checking out. I think they have a pretty good return policy if it doesn't work for you? (double check this though). I'm still in the honeymoon phase here, so time will tell. It does more than I need, but it does it so well I'll probably use effects I never thought I wanted.

I have the Nexus out front with the Timeline in the loop and it's agreat setup. Timeline offers more control over the delay tone, you can modulate the delays and even distort them. But, i'm really liking the 2 track looper, even in the effects loop it sounds good.

I haven't tried the Nexus in the loop yet though.

 

[se7en]

I have the Nexus out front with the Timeline in the loop and it's agreat setup. Timeline offers more control over the delay tone, you can modulate the delays and even distort them. But, i'm really liking the 2 track looper, even in the effects loop it sounds good.

I haven't tried the Nexus in the loop yet though.

I just sent payment for a Glass Nexus to add to my Timeline. Hopefully between the two, I'll be able to cover just about any effects I need. Got a wah, Fuzz Factory and a whammy pedal too in the chain.

 

[thiswaythatway]

OK, i played around with the Nexus enough to get a feel for it and i like it a lot. I use it into the input. I tried it in the loop and didn't like it, but i don't like ANY modulation in the loop, chorus and phase sound too sterile. Out front the effects sound really lush. The phaser does a good enough job and in some instances i like it better than my Phase 90. I like how it doesn't add gain. The reverb sounds great, probably the best I've heard in a pedal and i owned a Verbzilla and a EH Holy Grail in the past year.

As far as rotary, Vibe, tremolo, etc, they're good enough for me and it's a GAS killer for sure.

 

[se7en]

OK, i played around with the Nexus enough to get a feel for it and i like it a lot. I use it into the input. I tried it in the loop and didn't like it, but i don't like ANY modulation in the loop, chorus and phase sound too sterile. Out front the effects sound really lush. The phaser does a good enough job and in some instances i like it better than my Phase 90. I like how it doesn't add gain. The reverb sounds great, probably the best I've heard in a pedal and i owned a Verbzilla and a EH Holy Grail in the past year.

As far as rotary, Vibe, tremolo, etc, they're good enough for me and it's a GAS killer for sure.

Good deal. I'll try it out in front of the amp when I get it. Mine should be shipping today. Can't wait! Anybody know where to buy a midi-thru box, so I can run both the Glass Nexus and the Timeline thru a midi board? I've looked for some online, but they want like $50 for one

 

[thiswaythatway]

OK, i played around with the Nexus enough to get a feel for it and i like it a lot. I use it into the input. I tried it in the loop and didn't like it, but i don't like ANY modulation in the loop, chorus and phase sound too sterile. Out front the effects sound really lush. The phaser does a good enough job and in some instances i like it better than my Phase 90. I like how it doesn't add gain. The reverb sounds great, probably the best I've heard in a pedal and i owned a Verbzilla and a EH Holy Grail in the past year.

As far as rotary, Vibe, tremolo, etc, they're good enough for me and it's a GAS killer for sure.

Good deal. I'll try it out in front of the amp when I get it. Mine should be shipping today. Can't wait! Anybody know where to buy a midi-thru box, so I can run both the Glass Nexus and the Timeline thru a midi board? I've looked for some online, but they want like $50 for one

Using the input the Nexus still works well on delay and reverb for everything but high gain, that's where the signal gets distorted. Using the phaser along with delay is addicting to say the least. The only thing that gets confusing is knowing where the delays are coming from sometimes, the Nexus or Timeline.