Poll.. what FX processor are you happy with? and why?

[dgabriel]

hey there.. here is a poll.. what FX processor are you running with youyr amp? are you happy with? AND why? clearer? crisp? is it rich? is it simple or complex? b do keep it in the LOOP? or not? running midi? .. also throw in what amp/amps you are using it with..

Also what effects processor do you really want?

 

[tiktok]

If I'm looking for just delay things (usually the case), a Yamaha UD Stomp. If I want compression, phase, filter effects also, a tc G-Major.

The UD Stomp has been used with a MkIV and a Subway Rocket. I keep it in the loop, sitting on top of the amp and change presets via MIDI. I only use four or five settings. The UD has eight delay lines in it and it's just super clear sounding and very deep if you want to get into programming it. However, the UI, like most Yamaha gear I've used, sucks. It also has an annoyingly large 12V power supply.

The G-Major is in my V-Twin 20/20 rack setup. I don't use it in the loop because as I recall, you have to activate the loop via the rear panel short switch, and I never turn the G-Major off in that setup, so I just patch the outs from the V-Twin into the tc, and then out to the 20/20 into two EV Thieles. I control it via MIDI with a Rocktron MIDI-Mate, which allows me to turn individual effects on and off within a patch and also assign tap tempo and control most parameters via a CC. It's also clear sounding and unlike the UD, easy to program. I wish that it had reverse delay though.

I've got a Lexicon MPX-G2 with the footpedal, but it was always too much of a learning curve to figure out how to program it. It sounds nice though, and gives you the option of putting effects before or after the preamp.

 

[Fragzilla]

i have been using a Roland JP100 processor for about 10 yrs.

This is unit is amazing.

lately though i have been getting away from it. i am no feeling that
processors take away from the overall tone of amps.

I would run it through the effects loop and found that when i turned on the effects loop the sound changes and i just dont like it.

i have now gone to pedels to do the certain effect i want while maitaining mt sound.

jeff

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I replaced all my pedals with the G-Major, I only use delay and phase, and that's not that often (other than wah). I like that the G-Major can change the channels on my amps, but I only use one effect setting, so it might be overkill, yet I don't have to setup pedals every gig and readjust the settings if they get bumped. This way I have the option of using my midi controller to control everything or the footswitches on the amps. The G-Major is very transparent and works great in the loop. I liked having the routing options of different pedals in different orders (I ran delay into phase) but the G-Majors parallel routing option sounds similar to that. I also like that the G-Major is very simple to program compared to some of the other rack units I've used, and easier to understand than some pedals I've had as well.

Edit: The kill dry is also a huge plus, I love parallel fx loops in amps, but not many effects units take the kill dry function into account.

 

[chris_EIT]

My Boss GX-700. Does analog DS pedals and every effect you can think of XD
Goes great with the Mark IV woo!
But if I had the cash, Rocktron XPRESSION! straight away!

 

[t0aj15]

If I'm looking for just delay things (usually the case), a Yamaha UD Stomp. The UD Stomp has been used with a MkIV and a Subway Rocket. I keep it in the loop, sitting on top of the amp and change presets via MIDI. I only use four or five settings. The UD has eight delay lines in it and it's just super clear sounding and very deep if you want to get into programming it.

Ditto, most of the time I only use time based efx all of which the UD Stomp does very well. I use it after the slave out on my Mk IV and feed it into a 50/50 poweramp in a W/D/W rig so my dry signal is unaffected by the UD Stomp.

 

[reo73]

I have been a big fan of the Rocktron Xpression (used to own an Intellifx and Multivalve). The Rocktron units seem to have the most natural sounding and transparent effects and are very user friendly. I had a G-Major for a while but thought it had an artificial sound to it and hated its user interface.

I am now adding a Lexicon MX300 for Delay and Verb only, we'll see how that works out.

 

[tiktok]

Ditto, most of the time I only use time based efx all of which the UD Stomp does very well. I use it after the slave out on my Mk IV and feed it into a 50/50 poweramp in a W/D/W rig so my dry signal is unaffected by the UD Stomp.

I tried the w/d/w setup once, and it sounded brilliant on a patch by patch basis, but you lose a lot of control on the mix if you're looking for some patches to be very wet. And it just didn't work if you were looking to add compression, whammy, rotating speaker sounds--anything where you want zero dry signal. When you tweaked it for a given sound though, nothing sounds better.

Plus, playing at the club level no sound guy is happy to mic three cabinets.

 

[amused]

Rocktron Intellifex, older blackface version. It has a hardwired bypass around the converters for your dry signal, ie does not suck tone. Chorus - excellent, Reverb - excellent, Delay - excellent (no tap tempo), pitch shifting - dont use, I hear not so great. I got the patch editor program from Rocktron site and loaded the presets for the latest model (on-line or ltd), they're more useful, less pitch shifting. As is covered in other posts here, setting the dry signal to pre-hush, then turning off hush in the presets really makes this unit come alive. The hush seems to limit the bandwidth of the effected signal when used. I am using it in a w-d-w setup currently (stiletto ace, 295, EV thieles) it sounds great in the loop of my mark IV also. Newer processors seem to have intelligent pitch shifting, wah, and tap tempo, which the intellifex does not, but what it does, it does very well. Also it cost me $125 on craigslist.

 

[t0aj15]

Ditto, most of the time I only use time based efx all of which the UD Stomp does very well. I use it after the slave out on my Mk IV and feed it into a 50/50 poweramp in a W/D/W rig so my dry signal is unaffected by the UD Stomp.

I tried the w/d/w setup once, and it sounded brilliant on a patch by patch basis, but you lose a lot of control on the mix if you're looking for some patches to be very wet. And it just didn't work if you were looking to add compression, whammy, rotating speaker sounds--anything where you want zero dry signal. When you tweaked it for a given sound though, nothing sounds better.

Plus, playing at the club level no sound guy is happy to mic three cabinets.

But in my playing I seldom if ever play "very wet" nor do I use compression, whammy, rotating speaker sounds, or anything requiring zero dry sound. Quite the opposite I prefer my sound to be more on the dry side rather then dripping with efx. As such I rely primarily on time based efx such as multiple delays, chorus, flanger, tremolo, etc, and for this the UD Stomp is excellent. This is for my home based W/D/W rig, for my takeout rig I use any of a number of combo or head and cab rigs in mono with a pedalboard for efx and even then only time based efx.

 

[Newysurfer]

This gives very informative and reliable info on a shoot out comparision between the 6 most popular mid price MFX's. I have a Boss GT-8

http://forum.thestompbox.net/showthread.php?t=5765

The G-Major is effects only - no preamp included. The only step up from these is the Axe-FX.
MFX's are a big learning curve and can be excellent only if you're prepared to learn them well and do a lot of tweaking to get usable tones.