I recently bought an old 2 channel Dual Rec. and I need effects for it. The only amps I have ever owned are line 6 so thats all the effects I am used to..My question is..If I get a rack effect unit like a Behringer vamp pro or a Pod..How do I hook it up with my mesa..I am midi retarded haha. any advice on what I should get and how to set it up would be great..thanks a lot
MESA AND MIDI QUESTIONS
- Thread starter mesaman12
- Start date
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I would probley not suggest using a pod or vamp as an effect processor in the loop of an amp. There are many reasons, but the main ones I can think of quickly are they are amp simulators, not effect processors. They will never sound as good as a decent effect processor. The inputs are designed for instrument levels, not line levels. Also, the signal flow in a podxt is pedal effects, amp sim, cabinet, then post effects. If you wanted to use a tube screamer sim from the pod, you'd have to put the pod in front of the amp. But then your delays are no longer in the loop of the amp, which is where they usually should go. If you wish to put it in the loop of the amp, then the pedal sims will sound a little odd. Futhermore, if a pod is put in front of the amp, the gain of the amp will cause any digital noise in the pod to be amplified. And the pod has lots of digital noise.
What I'd probley suggest as a better solution would be a 4 or 6 space rack, a g-major or similar effect processor, a Digital Music GCX switch, a behringer fcb1010, and what ever effect pedals you want to use.
The rack would be to house the G-major, the switch, a drawer to house the pedals, and maybe a power conditioner of some sort.
The G-Major is nice because it can provide you with most post preamp effects you could want. It has delay's, reverb, eq, pitchshift and harmonizer plus a few other things. It also has two remote switches built into it. On a two channel rectifier that works perfectly becuase you could then control the channel switch and the effect loop using the external jacks on the amp through midi. I use a similar setup on my 5150.
The Digital Music GCX switch will allow you to switch between 8 combinations of effect pedals in front of the amp, and still have them switchable through midi.
Finally the fcb1010 will allow you to switch between the presets and control the g-major as you play. It is a pain in the *** to setup, but will work pretty well once it is.
All in all your looking at about 1000 dollars. Thats about three podxt's, but the quality of your sound will be preserved much better than abusing a pod for something it's not designed for. It's not that I have something against line6, I own a vetta, a flextone III and a podxt. But the pod's and vamps are not designed to be used as effect processors. You have a pro quality amp, you should attempt to have a pro-quality rig to go with it.
What I'd probley suggest as a better solution would be a 4 or 6 space rack, a g-major or similar effect processor, a Digital Music GCX switch, a behringer fcb1010, and what ever effect pedals you want to use.
The rack would be to house the G-major, the switch, a drawer to house the pedals, and maybe a power conditioner of some sort.
The G-Major is nice because it can provide you with most post preamp effects you could want. It has delay's, reverb, eq, pitchshift and harmonizer plus a few other things. It also has two remote switches built into it. On a two channel rectifier that works perfectly becuase you could then control the channel switch and the effect loop using the external jacks on the amp through midi. I use a similar setup on my 5150.
The Digital Music GCX switch will allow you to switch between 8 combinations of effect pedals in front of the amp, and still have them switchable through midi.
Finally the fcb1010 will allow you to switch between the presets and control the g-major as you play. It is a pain in the *** to setup, but will work pretty well once it is.
All in all your looking at about 1000 dollars. Thats about three podxt's, but the quality of your sound will be preserved much better than abusing a pod for something it's not designed for. It's not that I have something against line6, I own a vetta, a flextone III and a podxt. But the pod's and vamps are not designed to be used as effect processors. You have a pro quality amp, you should attempt to have a pro-quality rig to go with it.
i completely agree with msi, i'd go for either a g-major or a rocktron xpression. you dont have to do a full rack setup, just the processor and a controller would do the trick probably, and that would keep it under $500 most likely.
jdurso
Well-known member
G-MAJOR WILL DO IT ALL FOR YOU... FX IN THE LOOP AND CONTROL YOUR CHANNEL SWITCHING AS YOU ONLY HAVE 2 CHANNELS (NOT SO EASY FOR ME WITH 4 SO I HAD TO GET MY AMP GIZMO WHICH IS A MIDI SWITCHER.... HAVENT PLAYED THE GMAJOR BUT IVE HEARD GOOD THINGS ON THIS FORUM ESPECIALLY WHEN USED WITH A RECTO... GOOD LUCK
A
Anonymous
Guest
sorry but whats written above is bullshit.
i use the podxtlive as a slave and it works marvellous.
you CAN switch off any amp simulation and you are able to define which effect comes in line.
very comfortable cause i can also directly save it into place and have delay time control over the feet (during sessions with live drumming absolutely cool)
and i want to see this guy who hears a quality difference with a lexicon or tcl effect slaved in with a cranked powersection. this works quite fine when the original signal is tracked down and added with effects. needed to be said. ;-)
i use the podxtlive as a slave and it works marvellous.
you CAN switch off any amp simulation and you are able to define which effect comes in line.
very comfortable cause i can also directly save it into place and have delay time control over the feet (during sessions with live drumming absolutely cool)
and i want to see this guy who hears a quality difference with a lexicon or tcl effect slaved in with a cranked powersection. this works quite fine when the original signal is tracked down and added with effects. needed to be said. ;-)
I would also like to add to dean69's comments by adding that the info about the V-Amp Pro in a previous post is also incorrect. In the V-Amp Pro you can bypass the preamp and use the EFX section only and it does have line level in's & out's.
I didn't say you couldn't shut off the amp simulations. When I record with my triaxis in the middle of the night I will often run the triaxis into my podxt. The amp sim is then bypassed or set to the tube preamp, and then I'll adjust the cabs and mics till I get the sound I'm looking for. Works well. It has the added effect that with my short board I can change patches on the triaxis, and the podxt shows up as an asio audio interface on my computer.
Thats not why I suggest not using the podxt. He asked if it would work well as an effect processor. I suggested not using it for that. Usually a chain of effects go Wah, footpedals (distortion, noisegate, ect), volume pedal, preamp, delay, reverb in the fx loop, power amp. When using a pod or podxt in the fx loop, any pedal effects you use in the pod comes after the amp's pre. Thats a poor place to put them. Rather than using the tube screamer sim to push the preamp, your just adding an additional level of distortion, a different sound. The wah comes after the preamp which will cause it to be shrill and lifeless. The noise gate will be subject to any preamp noise which could affect when it kicks in, or you'll have to set the threshold higher which will affect your sustain. The delays, reverbs, post preamp compressors, pitch shifting can sound decent with a bit of tweaking. But over all, your using a third or so of a 300 dollar amp simulator, or a 600 dollar amp simulator if you get the podxt pro. And he'd still have to get a short board, long board or a fcb1010 if he wants to swtich patches. And the podxt doesn't have the ability to control the rectifier.
The delays and reverbs can work in front of the amp decently. And it would be a perfect spot for the pedal sims. But any noise created by the pod will be amplified by the amps preamp. If I put my podxt in front of my triaxis, I can clearly hear the digital aliasing present in the pod's signal. It's annoying, and loud. It doesn't show up as a hiss, it sounds like crackling. And it's caused by the digital to analog converters, which come at the end of the pods signal chain so the built in noise gate has no effect on it.
In summery, the pod is poorly designed for either of those uses. I like the podxt. I used the **** out of mine. I still use it even though I've cracked the lcd and the paints chipped to hell. It's my back-up in case something stops working with any of my amps. I use it to practice in the middle of the night. It's just a shitty idea to use it as a multi-effect processor. That comes with a huge IMHO disclaimer.
I stand by what I posted earlier. If mesaman12 is purely worried about getting reverb, harmony, delay, eq and such the G-major is a good choice. It's designed for the fx loop, has an excellent selection of effects, and is midi capable. If he is worried about getting some pedal effects in front of the amp the GCX switch will do that. And will switch the channels of the rectifier.
Thats not why I suggest not using the podxt. He asked if it would work well as an effect processor. I suggested not using it for that. Usually a chain of effects go Wah, footpedals (distortion, noisegate, ect), volume pedal, preamp, delay, reverb in the fx loop, power amp. When using a pod or podxt in the fx loop, any pedal effects you use in the pod comes after the amp's pre. Thats a poor place to put them. Rather than using the tube screamer sim to push the preamp, your just adding an additional level of distortion, a different sound. The wah comes after the preamp which will cause it to be shrill and lifeless. The noise gate will be subject to any preamp noise which could affect when it kicks in, or you'll have to set the threshold higher which will affect your sustain. The delays, reverbs, post preamp compressors, pitch shifting can sound decent with a bit of tweaking. But over all, your using a third or so of a 300 dollar amp simulator, or a 600 dollar amp simulator if you get the podxt pro. And he'd still have to get a short board, long board or a fcb1010 if he wants to swtich patches. And the podxt doesn't have the ability to control the rectifier.
The delays and reverbs can work in front of the amp decently. And it would be a perfect spot for the pedal sims. But any noise created by the pod will be amplified by the amps preamp. If I put my podxt in front of my triaxis, I can clearly hear the digital aliasing present in the pod's signal. It's annoying, and loud. It doesn't show up as a hiss, it sounds like crackling. And it's caused by the digital to analog converters, which come at the end of the pods signal chain so the built in noise gate has no effect on it.
In summery, the pod is poorly designed for either of those uses. I like the podxt. I used the **** out of mine. I still use it even though I've cracked the lcd and the paints chipped to hell. It's my back-up in case something stops working with any of my amps. I use it to practice in the middle of the night. It's just a shitty idea to use it as a multi-effect processor. That comes with a huge IMHO disclaimer.
I stand by what I posted earlier. If mesaman12 is purely worried about getting reverb, harmony, delay, eq and such the G-major is a good choice. It's designed for the fx loop, has an excellent selection of effects, and is midi capable. If he is worried about getting some pedal effects in front of the amp the GCX switch will do that. And will switch the channels of the rectifier.
metalblitz84
Well-known member
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Yes, get a G Major!!!
