looking for some rack multi-effect advice

[university81]

Just to give a backdrop, i'm used to using pedalboards for everything until now, even for my gain needs, straight into a clean amp

I recently scored a killer deal on a diezel einstein 100w head, which absolutely smokes, will soon get the CH.1 Mod done to it as all the modes are great,

I like to use a bit of reverb/delay and sometimes tremolo/chorus, so far the einstein definitely needs no pedals up front, more than enough gain on tap ,

I have some pedals that work well in the loop but i'm a bit weary of having 4x 6m guitar cables running to and from the amp head along with the channel select cables, it's pretty messy basically

I'm curious about maybe trying some kind of midi/rack multi-effect for basically reverb/delay and occasionally chorus/tremolo maybe some phaser/flanger if i'm feeling adventurous, have a midi controller pedal i can use already

not looking for something super expensive just decent quality and no lag/glitches while changing presets/effects

some that have caught my eye:

tc electronic g major/2
rocktron intellifex
alesis midiverb
boss se-50/70

i considered a digitech gsp1101 as i used to own one, but i wouldn't need the modelling really at all


any ideas?

thanks

 

[MrDan666]

G-Major 2!

 

[Dwangtwang]

G-Major 2 sounds awesome but lags like a MoFo if ya want to switch straight into a preset ( as oppossed to punching in/out each sound as you want/need)

The GSP has way less lag but doesn't sound as good as the G-Major.

The Line 6 M13, M9 etc have no lag whatsoever and sound better the GSP but still not as good as the GMajor 2.

It all real depends on how yo want to use it. I assume being a former "tap dance" pedal guy, you'll have no drama switching FX on and off when needed.

Also the GMajor has relay switching to ghange channels on ya amps - not sure if he Einstein is MIDI switchable??

Just my 2 cents.



Daniel-

 

[university81]

thanks for the response so far,

no the einstein has no midi capability, uses relays which also makes the g major quite interesting, but what i'm hearing about lag puts me off

i suppose if i setup a preset with various effects that i just activate it'd be fine? ie no lag

and could also use Midi CCs then to switch channels on the amp which is a bonus

 

[university81]

and g major 1 vs g major 2 , any major differences or reasons why i should stay clear of say the g major 1 ?

thanks

 

[VESmedic]

and g major 1 vs g major 2 , any major differences or reasons why i should stay clear of say the g major 1 ?

thanks

I use a g major 2 with the rig you see in my sig. The biggest reason to get the g major 2 vs the 1, is honestly build quality. The g major 2's buttons are much sturdier, and the the function buttons are much stronger/sturdier. All of the buttons feel much stronger and reliable, while the g major 1 has major issues in this area in my opinion. the g major 2 is also more user friendly, has a couple of really neat effects that sound great that the g major 1 doesnt have (trichorus being at the top of list in my opinion) and also, the g major 2 can also be plugged into your home PC, and be edited through that, which I think is a very neat feature, much like the axe fx can do with the axe edit program. Some will probably say the eventide eclipse has better overall effects, but the average ear, and including the "more than average guitar ear" could probably never spot the differance, myself included in that category...I am of the opinion that, if you can play live, and have a decent amp, guitar etc, you can make anything sound good, and the g major 2 is more than capable of doing that, and will probably actually be way more than you need Some of the biggest pros in the world have a g major 2 in their rig, and there is probably a reason for that

 

[parntz145]

Buy a used G force. They are not that expensive on the used market. I have had mine for years and still love it.

 

[Ventura]

Get a used Axe-Ultra maybe??

 

[university81]

Get a used Axe-Ultra maybe??

I sold my axe fx standard to fund the diezel =0

i'll keep an eye out, i think the g major would be a space saver as well with the channel switching , ah choices

 

[Dwangtwang]

The other point to note is how anal you are about your signal chain order??

The TC Electronic gear can only puts FX in the Einsteins Loop. Also it has no overdrive blocks.
Though I beleive the GForce may have a drive block??

The GSP and Line 6 gear all have loops on the units and include overdrive / boost models so you can have fx before the Einstein and in the loop at the same time as well.

 

[university81]

The other point to note is how anal you are about your signal chain order??

The TC Electronic gear can only puts FX in the Einsteins Loop. Also it has no overdrive blocks.
Though I beleive the GForce may have a drive block??

The GSP and Line 6 gear all have loops on the units and include overdrive / boost models so you can have fx before the Einstein and in the loop at the same time as well.

well at this stage it'd just be for stuff in the loop ie. delays/verbs/modulation

i have some boost/od/comp pedals i might use up front but that's about it

seeing as i don't have a footswitch yet either, the g major is looking like a pretty good option

 

[verderacer]

I like the 1101 also, but then I am an old Rocktron guy. It works very well with all midi foot controllers also and the Rocktron AA would be an excellent choice, but there has been some discussion with some new controllers coming out and you may want to check them out also.

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[MrDan666]

Steer clear of the original G-Major.. I had one and the thing was built like crap IMO.

The G-Major 2 is a huge improvement. Get one of those and a RJM Mastermind or GCP and call it a day

 

[university81]

I like the 1101 also, but then I am an old Rocktron guy. It works very well with all midi foot controllers also and the Rocktron AA would be an excellent choice, but there has been some discussion with some new controllers coming out and you may want to check them out also.

Do you have a budget in mind?

well around and up to the 200 USD mark, i guess if it's really worth it i could go up to 250, i'll be trying out an intellifex normally in the next couple of days, see how that pans out

i have a yamaha mfc10 as a midi controller which works quite well

 

[university81]

Steer clear of the original G-Major.. I had one and the thing was built like crap IMO.

The G-Major 2 is a huge improvement. Get one of those and a RJM Mastermind or GCP and call it a day

ah Dan those thoughts were echoed by my old guitar teacher who i asked about it

his words:

"the g major 1 sounds terrible...well I had one, the chorus is boring, the reverb is cold, so is the delay...

kinda summed it up nicely =) clinical disease doesn't really motivate me tone wise lol

 

[university81]

Steer clear of the original G-Major.. I had one and the thing was built like crap IMO.

The G-Major 2 is a huge improvement. Get one of those and a RJM Mastermind or GCP and call it a day

all things considered think i'm going to take this advice, see if i can track down a G major 2 for fairly cheap, i don't mind having an extra footswitch out to switch modes on the einstein when i eventually get it modded, but the feature set + relay channel switching is pretty much what i need


see if i can score a good deal on one , the search commences =)

 

[mentoneman]

Steer clear of the original G-Major.. I had one and the thing was built like crap IMO.

The G-Major 2 is a huge improvement. Get one of those and a RJM Mastermind or GCP and call it a day

ah Dan those thoughts were echoed by my old guitar teacher who i asked about it

his words:

"the g major 1 sounds terrible...well I had one, the chorus is boring, the reverb is cold, so is the delay...

kinda summed it up nicely =) clinical disease doesn't really motivate me tone wise lol

my friend and i sat the g1 and my gforce side by side because he wanted to copy some of my presets/sounds
after about an hour i just said forget it. the g1 was just a joke compared to the gforce.

that said i still think my axe ultra took the gforce to the mat for reverb, delay, and overall fx power but for what you can get a gforce for these days, a great choice.

 

[chunktone]

Get an Intellifex. They are awesome and only cost $100-$125.

You may also want to consider a Rocktron Replifex. It has the onboard relay switching for 2 functions. Very well built, sound good, and their cheap!

 

[Code001]

Intellifex or G-Major 2 should be fine for what you're looking for. The G-Major 2 only exhibits lag when it's witching from two different routings, or you're using one of their effects that take up a lot of processing power (aka the Zero-Through Flanger and Phaser, iirc). The Intellifex won't do tremolo, but you can kinda fake it if you set it up right.

 

[university81]

Get an Intellifex. They are awesome and only cost $100-$125.

i get to try one out tomorrow, see how it sounds, g major 2s are a bit more expensive than i would have hoped used