I really wanted to like the Tech 21 Fly Rig 5...

romanianreaper

romanianreaper

Well-known member
I used to gig in the early 2000s with a Tech-21 PSA 1.1 into a Mosvalve solid state power amp and into a 4x12 and my tone was massive. People would look for my hidden Mesa after the gig and of course there wasn't one. Great tones.

So I ordered a Fly Rig 5, thinking maybe for gigs in the future I could run it into my Quilter Tone Block 202 or just direct, etc. I did not gel with it.

Don't get my wrong, there are usable tones in there, especially for cleaner or rock stuff, but I was struggling trying to do any type of metal. It would quickly get boomy or harsh or whatever.

I tried it into my Tascam and headphones and with my Quilter. Neither blew me away so I'm returning it. I really thought it would be more like my old PSA 1.1 but maybe my ears have changed.
 
I am a huge Tech 21 fan, I owned the BassDI... TM10, currently own the TM60...love it. I haven't played much of the Flyrig though. Have you tried the GT2 pedal? If you liked the PSA...I found it easy to get similar tones with the GT2 and you can have the pedal format still.
 
japetus said:
I am a huge Tech 21 fan, I owned the BassDI... TM10, currently own the TM60...love it. I haven't played much of the Flyrig though. Have you tried the GT2 pedal? If you liked the PSA...I found it easy to get similar tones with the GT2 and you can have the pedal format still.
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I had one of those back in the 90s. They were great!
 
I had a PSA 1.1 back in the day; last year I got the PSA 2.0; going from memory it sounds like the PSA 1.1 I remember.

It works great as the amp in the loop of my HX-Effects. There are better technologies today, but the PSA 2.0 still sounds as good as ever IMO.
 
I think the regular FR5 is basically a plexi platform with an added Fender clean. I like it although prefer playing through my amp. I will using it tomorrow for a 1 hour benefit show. I just use the one tone and add pedals to color it. I think it sounds pretty good runnng direct, but I do not play what equates to modern metal though.
 
I have a lot of hardware floor processors (Helix, SY-1000, ISP Theta Pro Michael Sweet, PSA 2.0, Prime S1,...probably more).

These days though, I use my guitar plugins more than just about anything else. I built my second compact computer plugin rig, around a refurbished Dell Rugged Tablet that cost me $200, with a $99 Arturia Minifuse:1 audio interface, and a KMI SoftStep2 MIDI floor controller that was around $200 several years ago. Let's say around $600 for hardware, and some cables.

Software is going to be the variable cost; but if you like and use multiple guitar plugins, and need a standalone host where you can mix and match patches that use different plugins, I recommend Blue Cat Audio's PatchWork. It also has utilities such as gain, noise gates, EQs, etc. so you can balance the levels, tweak the EQ, and noise without going into each of the individual plugins. It also makes it easier to program the MIDI floor controller. I have several MIDI maps with up to 10 presets per bank for the SoftStep2, I can do more with MIDI but using it in preset mode works fine.

It's killed my GAS for a Quad Cortex and FM9; best of all I can upgrade any component as needed over time, or buy additional plugins, saving me a lot of money vs upgrading to new hardware in the future, though Helix and Fractal have been pretty stable hardware wise for years with few hardware upgrades recently, none for the Helix since launch.

TL;DR; look into a computer plugin rig, you may be surprised at how it sounds, feels and costs.


Here's my thread on it: https://www.rig-talk.com/forum/threads/computer-rig-2.316425/
 
I think if I was just playing at home and recording, I'd have a small combo and a modeller. With being in a band and home use I'm alway trying to find a compromise and hope I can use both.
 
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romanianreaper said:
I think if I was just playing at home and recording, I'd have a small combo and a modeller. With being in a band and home use I'm alway trying to find a compromise and hope I can use both.
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I use my HX-Effects in 4CM with a few combo amps: DSL40CR, Origin 50C, Catalyst 100, and my Mesa JP-2C, with patches for each. If the amp has MIDI, I can use the HX-FX to change channels or other amp settings. I have a "hendrix" effects chain patch that I use in front of my plexi stack with a strat, but usually just go straight into the plexi with humbucker guitars.

If you're able to use an amp on stage with an effects loop, the HX-Effects is worth a look IMO.
 
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