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timbo
Silver Member
Australia
252 Posts |
 Posted - 09/17/2007 : 02:53:13
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hey everyone!
for a long time i always looked at guitarists with rack mounted gear as, well to put in bluntly, wankers. and before i get flamed(!) i just want to say that my thoughts are starting to shift. recently i have been looking into reverb units, namely the rv-2, top box RX-100 and the RRV-10. now i assume that the rv2 and rrv10 are very similar just different housing, please correct me if im wrong. and does anyone use a rv10 or rx100?
i ask all this because i would most likely be using reverb the whole time and it seems a little pointless to have it in a stomp box when i would never really stomp on it! and from what i understand, the "rack" stuff have footswitch outs on them. if anyone could add to this i would greatly appreciate it! |
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StratoSphere
Double Platinum Member
Canada
2232 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 04:12:36
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thats a good view, timbo. like you, i keep the reverb pedal ALWAYS on. same with the Enhancer. it would kinda make more sense to have those in rack pieces. the only rack stuff i have are 2 Boss Micro rack pieces. RDD-10 delay and RCL-10 compressor (both are going to be sold soon)
i think it is generally seen as "better quality" overall than pedals although theres obviously exceptions. a friend of mine used to have a HUGE rack setup and it looked very impressive. but to me, it always seemed a little TOO overprocessed. i know its no different than going through a bunch of pedals but all the blinking lights and scrolling neon screens seemed too Star Trek for my liking
i think the main reason i never got into rack stuff is because i never even heard of it until i already had a few pedals and im really picky about having my effects and everything in perfect order. the last thing i need is my floor pedals running up to a 1/2 rack then split to the tuner and delay pedals sitting on top of my amp. |
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mattoqua
Silver Member
Canada
438 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 06:11:49
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| I used to think that rack effects were far better than stompboxes, and eventually everyone upgrades to them (built in effects, then stompboxes, then rack). I have too many compacts to start switching to rack effects and dont really know too much about them, but one day i hope to switch to just a couple stompboxes (wah, oc-2, distortion) then have the rest in a rack so i dont have to touch anything and can keep it all clean |
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 07:26:39
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I have RRV-10 and it sounds about the same as RV-2, but it has more usable settings/reverb types. I love RRV-10, as well as RV-2, but I always use the halfrack.
I normally prefer stomp boxes over racks, but the Boss micro racks sure looks and sounds good. And they don�t have strange parameters to adjust, you adjust them on the fly.
I have had a few �normal� racks but just for short time, they are too complicated to adjust when playing, and most of the few I�ve had was a bit tone sucking.
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timbo
Silver Member
Australia
252 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 11:09:40
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well thats what i thought about the racks, no bending over to adjust! thanks for the input lads.
another question though, do they run at 9v? im heading of to london in december i would like to do some pedal seeking... |
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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 11:29:47
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quote:
Originally posted by timbo
well thats what i thought about the racks, no bending over to adjust! thanks for the input lads.
another question though, do they run at 9v? im heading of to london in december i would like to do some pedal seeking...
Yes they run on 9V, but consume around 100mA. |
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Dirk
Platinum Member
Netherlands
1309 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 17:01:19
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Racking my stuff made setup a lot easier for me.
Overdrive from my Ampeg preamp, compression (always on) from an RCL-10 in the loop, chorus from a RDD-10 also in the loop.
Just one footswitch, for distortion on or off, I plug straight into the amp these days with better sound, nothing to break, nothing to worry about.
The only pedals I do use sometimes are my trusty old CS-3 and a custom overdrive in case I have to play through some one else's amp. |
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pedals 4 pv
Platinum Member
Canada
1351 Posts |
Posted - 09/17/2007 : 21:25:03
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Rack mount gear can be hard to sell used, but a Boss pedal is always in demand. My favorite store(the pawnshop)has rack gear that just sits and collects dust, but if they get a Boss pedal it's usually gone within a couple of days. I have missed a few good deals by not acting fast enough. I'll see one and go back the next day and it's gone. Also some of these boutique pedals seem to hang around a while before they are sold, but the Boss pedals just fly out of there. I think there might be people who collect Boss pedalsbut I am not really sure about this. |
Edited by - pedals 4 pv on 09/17/2007 21:30:16 |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2007 : 17:08:37
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quote:
Originally posted by pedals 4 pv
Rack mount gear can be hard to sell used, but a Boss pedal is always in demand. My favorite store(the pawnshop)has rack gear that just sits and collects dust, but if they get a Boss pedal it's usually gone within a couple of days. I have missed a few good deals by not acting fast enough. I'll see one and go back the next day and it's gone. Also some of these boutique pedals seem to hang around a while before they are sold, but the Boss pedals just fly out of there. I think there might be people who collect Boss pedalsbut I am not really sure about this.
Hi pedals 4 pv
Great topic , maybe you should start a new thread, & ask the other guys.
I'll start it off, as I myself have a few pedals lying around in boxes.
Regrads Dr. Bob |
Edited by - Dr. Bob on 09/18/2007 17:09:38 |
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guirat
Silver Member
United Kingdom
186 Posts |
Posted - 09/19/2007 : 23:42:31
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The only rack effect I have is the Dynacord Leslie sim (CLS-222). It's a bit unwieldy compared to my pedals - a big metal case. I sometimes worry about it shorting out or something when it's just sitting on the floor, I'll have to get one of those 2-bay rack cases to put it in (the other bay will house the footswitch & cables when I pack it away.
If I could ever afford it I would like a Dimension-D in the case too, but the prices are getting very high. The other cool rack effect I like would be the Ibanez multi-effect, the one with the AD-80 etc in it (AD-202, 405? I forget..)
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Edited by - guirat on 09/19/2007 23:51:39 |
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MarkS
Copper Member
Netherlands
10 Posts |
Posted - 09/20/2007 : 00:36:02
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I still have a Boss SE-50 left from the time I had this little homestudio.
It doesn't like to be stepped on, so I'm gonna sell it or swap it for one or two Boss pedals. |
Edited by - MarkS on 09/20/2007 00:36:29 |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2007 : 11:19:21
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i have used both and like stratosphere i have found with too many rack units the sound can lose its 'edge' if you know what i mean..also pedals are as goran pointed are easier to ajust/fault find in a live situation..if your just looking for a dedicated reverb unit that you probably won't be needing to ajust much what about a alesis midiverb or quadaverb...? you can get them pretty cheap these days......it really depends what sort of sound your going for..but i personally wouldn't go back to using rack systems again for live use......... |
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Erik dP
Silver Member
Sweden
150 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 10:04:00
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My experience as I have bought and sold plenty of effects the last few years:
Rack effects:
It took a while to sell them for a fraction of the original new price. Good effects though: ADA MP-1 (Tube preamp), KORG A3 (good echoes and excellent auto wha, Edge used one on Mysterious ways). Two Boss Micro racks (Pitch delay, Sampler delay) sold within a few weeks for a fair price in the range what a second hand DD-3 goes for.
Pedals:
Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeller: Sold within a week. Good effekt, but I never used it. I got quite a lot for it. Half the original price which at the time was the same as the original price in the US.
Line 6 AM4 Amp Modeller. Really good dist/OD-box, But I have now an amp giving me tube simulations as well so I put it out in an ad asking for less than half the original new price (i.e. the new price of two new BOSS OD:s.) I newer got it sold for that price.
DOD Micro chorus. 25 years old chorus that got excellent ratings in Harmony Central. I got twice the money of what a second hand Boss chorus sells for here. Maybe because I wrote "Vintage" in the ad. However it didn't sell at once as I tried to squeze out quite a lot for it.
Boss: TR-2, AW-2, AW-3, DS-1, BD-2. Sold within a day or two for the asking price which was just a little bit below the original new price. People kept on asking particularly for the BD-2.
At an auktion of an older Boss 6-pack case with 5 effects (DD-3, Chorus, RV-2, OD) and a power supply pedal it went for almost what the pedals cost new. A few weeks later at the same auktion a similar Digitech six-pack case was sold with little interest.
Conclusion: Boss pedals can actually be an investment. Rack effects and non-Boss pedals are almost always a waste of money if you ever plan to sell them. |
Edited by - Erik dP on 10/05/2007 10:16:07 |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2007 : 12:38:09
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yep... rack effects for some reason have lost their value big time......i posted in the ebay discussion pages about my chase of a dynacord cls 222 a rotary sim unit...but i don't really class this as a rack processor as it really only does one job...it's like a single effect in a rack unit...dave gilmour had his uni vibe put into a rack unit as well as his electric mistress flanger by his guitar tech as far as i know.....i have nothing against rack units per se and i think some of them are great... the one that erik mentioned the korg a3 is supposed to be very good...i'm nearly sure thats the model albert lee the famous country guitarist uses and swears by....for what it's worth i still looking for a dynacord unit and if i get one i plan in incorparating it into my rig.....this unit has no LCD screens or menus just a couple of switches and control pots....my main gripe with rack units is that changing parameters in a live setting where you hardly have time to think what way the next song is...is a pain in the ass.i know you can pre programme them but i find sometimes in different venues you need to tweak the amount of echo /reverb etc....and some of the newer units aren't as user friendly as the older ones...i had a digitech gsp21 when they came out first and the best thing that happened to me was when it got stolen....!!!....... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 10/05/2007 12:39:07 |
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jack
Platinum Member
USA
1418 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2007 : 15:44:54
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| If the reverb is the last pedal in the chain of effects, you could just set the pedal on top of your amp, and then have a cord from that to the rest of your pedalboard. |
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pedals 4 pv
Platinum Member
Canada
1351 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2007 : 21:05:48
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quote:
Originally posted by jack
If the reverb is the last pedal in the chain of effects, you could just set the pedal on top of your amp, and then have a cord from that to the rest of your pedalboard.
Or put it in the much dreaded effects loop |
Edited by - pedals 4 pv on 10/10/2007 21:06:25 |
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Topic |
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rack gear vs stompboxes
