jabps":1cbjmlyz said:
I'll put in my .02 cents as I owned all of the below at one time.
Rocktron Intellifex, as was stated above all are good barring the "online" model. However the original blackface was the best IMO. I had this unit as a backup multi for years. Great delays, verbs and of course a fantastic chorus. Zero latency between patch changes.
Boss - Most of the half rack stuff was excellent. The SE 50, SE 70, VF-1. The full rack SX-700 was nice as well. I especially liked the SE-70.
Lexicon - MPX-1, very nice unit. I preferred this to the the G2. However, for me...there is a programming curve and I feel like I can program most anything or maybe I was just getting tired of that end of it. I don't know if they ever improved the units as production continued and then ceased but the latency between patches was the reason I removed it. Other than that, it's top quality. And in terms of pure sounds, the best I owned. But the latency was a no go.
Roland - GP16 and GP8. Both solid, never were my favorites.
TC - G Major. The first edition. Unfortunately I had phasing issue's I could never dial out however I like the layout and programming. I believe they addressed that issue but by then I had gone back to my go to.
Alesis - Quadraverb Plus, the upgrade of the original, my favorite. Quadraverb 2 - good sounds if you take the time to program.
My fave and one I still own and still use occasionally, Alesis Quadraverb Plus. I used it for Delay and Verb "only" and frankly, it's just so easy to program. Most of the other sounds are average at best, and depending on what you use in the unit can be noise but for just Delay and Verb, for me it was perfect and the unit I would always come back too. I've owned so many Quads, once they would die I would just buy another and data dump my programs into them. Even now when I hook it up my delays sit perfectly in the mix for me, so much so that any delay unit I've owned, I try and copy everything from it. Close as I've gotten is the Source Audio Nemesis which is what I use on my board now.
Depending on what you are after sound wise and programming wise I don't think you can go wrong with any of these older units. Most problems you'll encounter with these older units is the internal batteries going out. Screens dying etc...
My faves >
Alesis Quadraverb Plus
Rocktron Intellifex
Today's multi's...as was stated above. Get the Fractal FX8, learn the manual, learn to program it. It's an amazing piece of gear that can be had used for a decent price. Everytime in the past when I went down the floorboard multi hole there was always something that whatever unit I had didn't do, connect right etc... whatever. Not the Fractal. In fact this time the only issue with that unit was me. After decades of programming I know what I want and I simply didn't have the time to properly learn that unit. But the sounds I did dial in, the routing etc... was incredible. My only complaint was I wished it had a couple loops to throw in a favorite pedal. Fantastic sounding unit.
I still own the Rocktron Intellifex (my first delay processor) and Replifex (wonderful stompbox effects). I wanted to have the Replifex in front of the amp and Intellifex in the loop of the amp, but it would require an audio router box like the Voodoo Lab GCX audio switcher to bypass the Replifex processor when not in use and carry around a 4 to 6 space rack with the Furman power conditioner/Intellifex/Replifex/GCX audio switcher, audio & MIDI cables going to the amp & pedalboard with a MIDI controller/wah pedal/tuner pedal. I stopped using this set up as I found it tedious to carry the rack/MIDI controller pedal board and took my large rack apart.
The Intellifex is a digital delay limited by its software programming & capabilities. There are other better old school rack delays like the Lexicon PCM 41/42, PCM 70/80, Roland SDE 3000, Korg SDD 3000 & DL8000R, Yamaha UD Stomp.
The Replifex processor was my favorite for replicating old school stompbox type of effects in a rack format. I had 2 at one point and traded one of them off for the Zoom G9.2tt floor processor as I was moving away from the rack gear. The Leslie style rotary preset is very cool and it also had a relay to help out switching amp channels which the Rocktron Xpression didn't have when it was produced as their rack multi-effects.
I then went with a Zoom G9.2tt floor processor and Korg DL8000R delay with De Angelis presets. Great rig for multi-effects with the G9.2tt running into the amp input/MIDI controller for effects/amp channel switching via MIDI and the DL8000R delay in the amp's effects loop.
After dealing with the limitations of the Zoom G9.2tt floor processor and not wanting to carry the 4 space wet/dry rack with the Furman PL-Plus/Korg DL8000R/Mosvalve 982 power amp, I saved up my cash and went with a used Fractal Audio FX-8 MKII version & humbuster cables. I'm reading the manual/learning about the processor, programmed presets, and dialing it in with a Reverend Kingsnake combo amp as a clean amp platform. The audio/routing/relay/MIDI capabilities of the Fractal Audio FX-8 is miles ahead of the Boss/Zoom/Line 6 multi-effects floor processors on the market. It's not a cheap floor processor to buy used. I paid $800 plus shipping for mine, but for what it does, it has simplified my guitar rig and has allowed me to have my effects without carrying around the effects rack/MIDI controller pedalboard. I'm contemplating selling off my rack gear as a result of having the FX-8 in my guitar rig now.
That being said about old school rack effects, if I were to go back to using them, my favorites would be the Rocktron Replifex with a Voodoo Lab GCX audio switcher to bypass going to the amp/preamp input and the Korg DL8000R in the amp's effects loop or stereo power amp, being controlled by a Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro MIDI controller/wah pedal/tuner pedal equipped pedal board.
Guitar George
