Multi-effects processors (recommend me one)
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:55 am
Last week at a gig, my Johnson J-Station died. I've got it in pieces in front of me right now trying to determine whether it's fixable, but I'm pretty sure it's not worth the repair cost anymore. It was a rugged beast and I treated it like one. It served me ably for eight years. I have no regrets.
So let's talk replacements.
I'm kind of an odd duck about this, because I don't care much or at all about the amp modelling. I only used maybe a third of the J-Station's features, and I'm pretty sure I never once used it as it was intended. I'm a keyboardist, and haven't plugged my guitar into the J-Station since 2004. Let's see if we can find something (in the $100-$300 range, preferably, though I'd go as high as $400 if one product stands out as absolutely perfect) that suits my needs better.
I need a device - preferably one device, but if I need to complicate the chain with two or three, then so be it - that has the following features:
1.) Fine volume control. I'll be running a keyboard to it which only has 9 volume levels, so a knob, slider, or pedal with fine volume control is a requirement.
2.) Flanger. My band's style ranges from mainstream to prog, and I find that a nice flange fattens up the organ tones nicely.
3.) Delay. Preferably with tap control.
4.) Reverb. Preferably a couple of different settings, with fine control for wetness.
SIDE NOTE: One of the features of the J-Station that I haven't seen replicated in other multi-effects pedals is that delay and reverb are controlled by their own independent knobs, meaning they could be layered and adjusted on top of other effects. Put into practice, I frequently play with flanger + reverb + delay, each with its own independent wetness control. This feature combination comprises about 70% of my playing with Groove Think, so it's an absolute must.
Other effects I use, but rarely enough that I wouldn't really miss them if I had to get a device without them: wah, compression, gate, tremolo, pitch/detune.
I know a lot of manufacturers make floor devices with pedal controls - that would be nice, though I'm accustomed to carrying around a table to prop up the J-Station, so I wouldn't mind a hand-controlled device, either.
Anyone have any suggestions? Manufacturers you're fond of where I can start the search? I'm poking around online and having a hard time determining the extent to which effects can be layered (specifically, flanger + delay + reverb, which I use all the time, so it's important to me).
So let's talk replacements.
I'm kind of an odd duck about this, because I don't care much or at all about the amp modelling. I only used maybe a third of the J-Station's features, and I'm pretty sure I never once used it as it was intended. I'm a keyboardist, and haven't plugged my guitar into the J-Station since 2004. Let's see if we can find something (in the $100-$300 range, preferably, though I'd go as high as $400 if one product stands out as absolutely perfect) that suits my needs better.
I need a device - preferably one device, but if I need to complicate the chain with two or three, then so be it - that has the following features:
1.) Fine volume control. I'll be running a keyboard to it which only has 9 volume levels, so a knob, slider, or pedal with fine volume control is a requirement.
2.) Flanger. My band's style ranges from mainstream to prog, and I find that a nice flange fattens up the organ tones nicely.
3.) Delay. Preferably with tap control.
4.) Reverb. Preferably a couple of different settings, with fine control for wetness.
SIDE NOTE: One of the features of the J-Station that I haven't seen replicated in other multi-effects pedals is that delay and reverb are controlled by their own independent knobs, meaning they could be layered and adjusted on top of other effects. Put into practice, I frequently play with flanger + reverb + delay, each with its own independent wetness control. This feature combination comprises about 70% of my playing with Groove Think, so it's an absolute must.
Other effects I use, but rarely enough that I wouldn't really miss them if I had to get a device without them: wah, compression, gate, tremolo, pitch/detune.
I know a lot of manufacturers make floor devices with pedal controls - that would be nice, though I'm accustomed to carrying around a table to prop up the J-Station, so I wouldn't mind a hand-controlled device, either.
Anyone have any suggestions? Manufacturers you're fond of where I can start the search? I'm poking around online and having a hard time determining the extent to which effects can be layered (specifically, flanger + delay + reverb, which I use all the time, so it's important to me).
