Xpression or G Major II?

[Monsta-Tone]

I have a friend who has both an Xpression and an original G-Major.
He says that he likes the Xpression much better.


Which one do you guys think is better?
Why is it better?

 

[nicoroy123]

I can share my own experience with the G-Major...
I bougth the unit based on all wonderfull reviews I read to complement my Single Rectifier.

I returned the unit 3 weeks later because it colored the tone too much. On the TC forums, some people answered saying that it may have been caused by an impedence mismatch between one/some components of my setup and the G-Major.

I have an Ibanez Prestige with DiMarzio pickups and a Single Rectifier with a serial converted loop.

I am not saying the G-Major is not good, I am just saying it didn't fit my setup very well even after hours of parameters tweaking.

Based the G-Major 1 and 2 manuals, both units have the exact same electrical caracteristics so I assume version 2 would behave probably the same on my setup.

So I switched to boss pedals (for FXLoop effects), and there is almost no tone coloration at all! At least not enough to be a problem in any way...

Go figure...

 

[jdurso]

I have a friend who has both an Xpression and an original G-Major.
He says that he likes the Xpression much better.


Which one do you guys think is better?
Why is it better?

Gmajor 1 or 2 are going to have better quality fx IMO, at least compared to the Xpression. I find TC products to be very natural sounding once you get your levels right. If its between those 2 i'd go gmajor.

BTW, what are you looking to get out of the unit as far as fx?

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Mostly delays, but I really like chorus, flange, phase, etc.
Chances are, I won't be using any of the Verbs.

The EQ on the G-System was really cool. I could completely change the sound of the amp for every preset!
The DC has a great EQ, but it's a 'set it and forget it' type of deal is not programmable.

Solo Boost (yeah, I know it just releases and doesn't boost), and channel switching are nice too!



I thought about taking your advice and going with the TimeFactor, but then I would need a slew of other pedals and a lot of real estate to place them in.


How do you feel about the quality of FX in a processor, vs. the quality of FX from individual pedals?

 

[Turumbar82]

You seem to be in the same predicament I am.

I'm torn between the G-major II and the line 6 m13 though.

I'm looking for modulations, delay, pitch shifting, and reverb.

The line 6 doesn't have much when it comes to pitch shifting and doesn't have channel switching for my preamp like the g-major does.

The line 6 has a boat load of effects and you can place them in any order but are limited to 4 at a time but that could be 4 delays or 4 chorus or a phasor, chorus, delay, and reverb, whatever you can think of. Also it's an all inclusive board/processor. With the G-major I would have to get a midi pedal.

I haven't had a chance to play on any of these though but I have a feeling that the g-major might have more professional sounds than the line 6 and I make that assumption based on absolutely nothing! lol I've also read that the line 6 has some realibility problems with the switches.

Good luck on your hunt and let us know what you come up with. It might help me finally make a decision.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I basically want it to be a fairly simple setup.
I don't want a Midi pedal and my amp's footswitch on the floor. Just one thing.
I don't want to have to tap dance when changing tones or adding FX.


I liked the G-Major, but always thought there was something better out there somewhere. Freaking GAS!!!!!

I had a G-System for a while, but it was just an over hyped G-Major with a few better FX and a great footswitch.
In the end though, I realized that the whole setup was basically what it was and was not upgradeable (of course I know about the software upgrades). I felt that if the footswitch broke, then the whole mess was trash.

I think I like the idea of a stand alone footswitch and a stand alone processor. This way, if I want to upgrade one or the other, it is simple to do.


I don't care about modelling or distortion tones, I feel that I can get any tone with my DC-10 and a programmable EQ in the Loop.

 

[Turumbar82]

Yeah I agree. I don't care about the modeled distortions.


It sounds like the G-Major II would be best for you then. You could have a board to switch patches on the G-major which would then switch the channels on your amp so you could go from a chorus delay, clean sound to a heavy chugging sound with just a little reverb just by pushing one button or something like that.

 

[jdurso]

I'd say for what your after, look into the nova system. Sounds very good and is simple to use... the only plus side to the gmajor or gmajor 2 is it could switch channels for you as well.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I had a Nova System for a few months.
It did sound really good, but I thought that the G Major was better.
One thing I really don't like is the fact that there is no hard bypass switch.

At least with the G Major, I can set a preset to bypass and not feel like I am losing a precious button.

 

[jdurso]

I had a Nova System for a few months.
It did sound really good, but I thought that the G Major was better.
One thing I really don't like is the fact that there is no hard bypass switch.

At least with the G Major, I can set a preset to bypass and not feel like I am losing a precious button.

Whatever you get make sure you take the time to get your levels balanced... thats the key to all digital units like the gmajor, eventides and axe-fx's. Honestly if $$$ isnt a problem the higher end units generally use better a/d converters which result in a much more pure tone. Those maybe overkill for what your looking for but they are worth the $$$. Also i wouldnt throw out the idea of a switching system like the rjm rg-16 and a few good pedals. You could mix some midi units like the eventide timefactor with some analog units and program everything like a multifx rack. Again just suggestion.... always good to keep your options open.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Hey thanks J,

Unfortunately, money is an issue these days. I'll most likely have to wait another month before choosing.
The band is on haitus for a few weeks anyway, so I'm not hurting for it yet.


It's funny. I program smart homes, but don't want anything complex for my rig.
I get so few precious moments of practice time that I don't want to spend them tweaking my tones.

 

[MJ Slaughter]

I have the Xpression and like it just fine but have been considering the G Major II simply for the channel switching capabilities and software editor. Unless the G Major II has reliability issues I can't see not giving it a try.

 

[reilly]

I had a Rocktron Multivalve (basically an Xpression with channel switching and a tube) I did like it a lot. It sounded really nice and is easy to use, great unit. No complaints. I chose the Multivalve over the Xpression because of the channel switching option.

However, I decided to take a chance and upgrade to the G-major 2, I wanted something a little more current and was hoping that the effects would be better since my multivalve was at least 10 years old.

I have to say I am very pleased with my G-major 2, it sounds great and seams built very well. I do think the effects sound better/have a little more clarity.

Regarding the line 6 stuff and I do like their products (I have owned a Flex tone II, XTL, Pod XT, Pod Pro XT, DL4) I think its good stuff for the price but the effects do not have the clarity of either the Rocktron, Lexicon or TC stuff. I did hear the M13 that my friend bought and I was impressed with what I heard, it did seem like an improvement over the XTL effects.

I am happy with my choice of the G-major 2, it gives me all the options I need and works great for my needs. The channel switching is nice to have even though I am not using it since I bought a Voodoo Labs GCX switcher.