Late 80's & early 90's rack effects for guitar

[Zachman]

True, however; the Intelliverb doesn't even come close to the tone, and depth/lushness of the Lexicon.

Agreed that's my experience as well.

That said, I hate the MPX-1 compared to the PCM 80 and PCM 81. Programming it isn't exactly user friendly, vs the Intelliverb-- That's certain. Definitely considerations with both the MPX-1 and the Intelliverb

I imagine coming from the PCMs programming the MPX-1 would be alien for sure....never really gave me any issues though, I just learned it. There's definitely some neat tricks in there that the MPX-1 has that only much more expensive units have and they can be had for a damn good deal! They're both fantastic units and I'd still have my Intelliverb if the damn dsp sockets weren't so fragile, it's definitely the flagship of the intelli line. The MPX-1 has been getting some new love on the Huge Racks group, it may have something to do with the awesome stuff Italo has programmed it which sound pretty fantastic if you haven't heard it(that guy can program!). I'm considering moving it over to my synth rack and putting my 2nd Eclipse into my guitar rack and having 2 Eclipses in the guitar rack but I like having a variety of character in there. Love the rig pics man, a damn 1210 and a TSC! As always, killer setup, thanks for sharing them! Seeing the Zack attack rack brings some HRI nostalgia for sure

I recently redid my rack too with all of this covid shit going on:

Ooh... Me Likey!!! I am just a gear geek at heart, and that isn't going to change.

Re: the MPX-1, I don't have a problem with programming them, I just meant compared to the Intelliverb it was a pain. Sorry for causing the confusion... My bad... Benadryl makes me stupid, and my allergies have been driving me nuts lately

Funny huh, I've been using the same stuff (pretty much) since the 80's, and most of the stuff in my rig is discontinued, but the current rig is now 13 years old

One of these days I want to redo mine too w/ a Kriz Kraft Rack, and another few toys...

Thanks! Right on, same here man Man your fridge rack/rig is awesome with nods to the classics but some modern as well, all the heavy hitters in there...I'd be happy lol but I feel ya, building these things is fun ! I agree I like rolling my own patches too but man Italo definitely has some skills for sure. I remember you had that Marshall power amp sitting on top of your rack(for stereo wet cabs?), I don't remember which one it was....My next step I'm trying is to move to w/d/w so I'm exploring the option of getting a tube power amp from the amp line out to the effects, or doing the line out box/post power amp thing with an SS power amp....I originally planned to do the line out box/ss power amp method but now I've kinda reconsidered doing the tube power amp thing because it will be a little easier in my current configuration. Still trying to figure out the route I'm going to take.

It's kind of difficult to choose because I don't want a different tube type from the EL34 style I have in the amp/dry center and there's fewer EL34 power amps out there...I wonder if I'm worrying too much about the tube mismatch and I should just get a mesa 50/50(price is right and it's a good PA) or get the vht 2502 with EL34s but it's so much more coin(wish I hadn't sold my old 2:90)....Thinking of that Marshall power amp you got makes me wonder what it has and if it's has different tubes from your dry amps and how it's working out for you. Again, cool to see some fellow HRI travelers. Later man!

http://www.italodeangelis.com/it/eventi ... -MPX-1.asp

Pandora's box potential there. Like Rolling tubes... with mixing and matching power sections with your selected amp. That Marshall was a friends. I was searching for a Mesa Simul 395, but at the time hadn't procured another. I finally got one (a while ago now) and find it to be like a hand and a glove kind of a compliment for the amp's I typically choose for the middle Dry (which runs through the same middle Dry cabinet). I prefer it to the VHT power amps... But they're almost never for sale. Something about the Boogie sounds and feels more organic to me. I was using a Crown power amp too, and that sounded really good for the Marshall sounding stuff, but wasn't as nice for the Fender Clean stuff.

Like I said-- Pandora's box. Fun, but not cheap to do.

 

[jabps]

True, however; the Intelliverb doesn't even come close to the tone, and depth/lushness of the Lexicon.

Agreed that's my experience as well.

That said, I hate the MPX-1 compared to the PCM 80 and PCM 81. Programming it isn't exactly user friendly, vs the Intelliverb-- That's certain. Definitely considerations with both the MPX-1 and the Intelliverb

I imagine coming from the PCMs programming the MPX-1 would be alien for sure....never really gave me any issues though, I just learned it. There's definitely some neat tricks in there that the MPX-1 has that only much more expensive units have and they can be had for a damn good deal! They're both fantastic units and I'd still have my Intelliverb if the damn dsp sockets weren't so fragile, it's definitely the flagship of the intelli line. The MPX-1 has been getting some new love on the Huge Racks group, it may have something to do with the awesome stuff Italo has programmed it which sound pretty fantastic if you haven't heard it(that guy can program!). I'm considering moving it over to my synth rack and putting my 2nd Eclipse into my guitar rack and having 2 Eclipses in the guitar rack but I like having a variety of character in there. Love the rig pics man, a damn 1210 and a TSC! As always, killer setup, thanks for sharing them! Seeing the Zack attack rack brings some HRI nostalgia for sure

I recently redid my rack too with all of this covid shit going on:

I jumped on the MPX 1 as soon as the were released. Even tried it a NAMM before it hit the public and the lag was obvious even at the show. I just ignored it because I liked the layout. However I never jived with it and it was not user friendly IMO. I liked the G2 better. That said Italo is brilliant, the man could get anything to sound good. In fact one of the last pieces of rack gear I bought, the Korg DL8000R was because of him but by that time, I was just done with programming. One of my last live gigs the soundman comes and gives my rack a look, and goes "you still using the Quad" and snickered. After soundcheck the guy changed his tune saying it was one of the best tone's he'd heard in a long time. So if it the MPX 1 sounds good to you, that's all that matters.

Btw/ love that rack. Clean as a whistle. Beautiful. Amazing setup man.

 

[Goat]

My best sounding rack effects rig was...

1 x Soldano 3 Channel Preamp
1 x MESA/Boogie Quad Preamp
1 x Rocktron Pro-Q
1 x Rocktron Intellifex (for 8 voice chorusing)
1 x DMP Tri-Chorus
1 x TC2290 (used for ducking)
1 x Lexicon PCM42 Delay
1 x Lexicon PCM70 Reverb
1 x Lexicon Reflex (PCM70 backup)
1 x Rocktron Velocity 300 (original USA model)

If there is one peice that I miss, it would be the Tri-Chorus.

My Lexicon's were not MPX-1 units. They were MPX G2. My bad! Sorry.

 

[Zachman]

 

[Thunkful]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

 

[Zachman]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

 

[EXPcustom]

Intelliverb:

 

[Exo-metal]

FWIW the rocktron intellipitch is worth a nod too. Great clip Jason?

I just scored a digitech ips33b that is virtually new and still has the plastic on the screen. It was cheap and they have a rep of having their own sound.

 

[Purpleibby]

Intelliverb:

Just treat it with care, those DSP sockets in the Intelliverb can break/crack(that's what happened to mine) and it won't hold the chip in there.

 

[Purpleibby]

True, however; the Intelliverb doesn't even come close to the tone, and depth/lushness of the Lexicon.

Agreed that's my experience as well.

That said, I hate the MPX-1 compared to the PCM 80 and PCM 81. Programming it isn't exactly user friendly, vs the Intelliverb-- That's certain. Definitely considerations with both the MPX-1 and the Intelliverb

I imagine coming from the PCMs programming the MPX-1 would be alien for sure....never really gave me any issues though, I just learned it. There's definitely some neat tricks in there that the MPX-1 has that only much more expensive units have and they can be had for a damn good deal! They're both fantastic units and I'd still have my Intelliverb if the damn dsp sockets weren't so fragile, it's definitely the flagship of the intelli line. The MPX-1 has been getting some new love on the Huge Racks group, it may have something to do with the awesome stuff Italo has programmed it which sound pretty fantastic if you haven't heard it(that guy can program!). I'm considering moving it over to my synth rack and putting my 2nd Eclipse into my guitar rack and having 2 Eclipses in the guitar rack but I like having a variety of character in there. Love the rig pics man, a damn 1210 and a TSC! As always, killer setup, thanks for sharing them! Seeing the Zack attack rack brings some HRI nostalgia for sure

I recently redid my rack too with all of this covid shit going on:

I jumped on the MPX 1 as soon as the were released. Even tried it a NAMM before it hit the public and the lag was obvious even at the show. I just ignored it because I liked the layout. However I never jived with it and it was not user friendly IMO. I liked the G2 better. That said Italo is brilliant, the man could get anything to sound good. In fact one of the last pieces of rack gear I bought, the Korg DL8000R was because of him but by that time, I was just done with programming. One of my last live gigs the soundman comes and gives my rack a look, and goes "you still using the Quad" and snickered. After soundcheck the guy changed his tune saying it was one of the best tone's he'd heard in a long time. So if it the MPX 1 sounds good to you, that's all that matters.

Btw/ love that rack. Clean as a whistle. Beautiful. Amazing setup man.

Thank you kindly. I'm pretty much finished with the rig other than adding a couple of 1x12s(going the Friedman route) and probably a Mesa 50/50 Yes Italo is great at programming, he has little tolerance for processors that don't sound great! I've gotten great sounds out of the MPX-1, and it's in good company in my rack. I definitely LOVE the MPX-1. There's a lot of love out there for the unit and rightfully so. A dedicated chip(Lexichip 2, same as PCM 80) for reverb that never loses it's sound when the other chip is doing effects....the delays have feedback insertion for some unique possibilities usually limited to expensive units....system lfos(in addition to the lfos in the individual effects)...man I'm telling you for what they go for it is the best deal around for getting something very high quality. Couldn't find that awesome Chorus, a cool trick is using the detuners and assigning the system lfos to them....It can get very thick and lush! I urge folks to revisit this processor and dig into it...Coming from synth programming a lot, the MPX-1 was pretty easy for me to dig into...I know everyone is not like that....but best deal around IMO. Run it BALANCED and 100% wet in a dedicate mixer and it will deliver! I used to worry about lag when I was just getting into these systems but I don't run it like that anymore. Pretty much all/most of the high end units do it, I supposed because there's more code changing around. I do everything by CC# with only some patch changes...instead of only program changes. Having multiple units with lots of character takes care of everything for how I do it.

A great read on another programmer comparing the intellifex/MPX-1/PCM 80/Intelliverb:
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... t-30426811

Those mesa rack pres still kick ass. I got the Studio Pre for those amazing cleans that I need in my setup that I lost when I sold my 3+SE/PT100...Now that I have that and the BE100 I'm pretty much done for my tones. The cleans on that Studio pre are some of the best I've ever heard....definitely do the Dan Huff clean thing Thanks again!

Another AWESOME mod box that's in my rack is a sleeper unit(Roland RSP-550)...Those can be picked up for so cheap and man they kick so much ass for modulations/delays/mod reverbs/rotary....I love that unit!.:

 

[Purpleibby]

Pandora's box potential there. Like Rolling tubes... with mixing and matching power sections with your selected amp. That Marshall was a friends. I was searching for a Mesa Simul 395, but at the time hadn't procured another. I finally got one (a while ago now) and find it to be like a hand and a glove kind of a compliment for the amp's I typically choose for the middle Dry (which runs through the same middle Dry cabinet). I prefer it to the VHT power amps... But they're almost never for sale. Something about the Boogie sounds and feels more organic to me. I was using a Crown power amp too, and that sounded really good for the Marshall sounding stuff, but wasn't as nice for the Fender Clean stuff.

Like I said-- Pandora's box. Fun, but not cheap to do.

Dude totally, thanks so much. I'm probably just not going to worry about it and get a 50/50(would be a good match for the Studio Pre I use for cleans too)...I had very good luck with the Mesa Power amps before as well when I was running the 2:90/3+SE rig. Suhr always thought I had the best power amp(if I wasn't using a head) to match with the pre. I had all the mods on the 3+SE, I should have kept it...but the Studio Pre is delivering on those clean sounds and they feel GREAT to play! I appreciate the comments, thank you Zack!

 

[Purpleibby]

I recently redid my rack too with all of this covid shit going on:

Which Eventide is that and are you using that Roland for reverbs and Lexicon for delays?

It's an Eclipse(I have a 2nd one in my synth rack I'm considering moving over to the guitar rack...dual Eclipse attack!). The Eventide pretty much excels at everything. The roland gets a lot of use for mods/mod verbs, pitch and delays rotary, the mpx-1 for delays and verb(and detune chorus) and textures.

It really depends though, the Eventide does those as well. I just create a config per bank of my controller(4 presets per bank)....Whatever vibe I'm going for you can change out the duties for the units. You could easily have a patch on unit that's nothing but a big texture type sound. The pedals fill in the blanks too..

Having multiple processors never leaves me having to make sacrifices. There are times when I have a sparkling clean with Dim C and the SP Comp going at the same time as some modulated detune and modulated verbs and I still have lots of processing leftover for anything I need like diatonic pitch shifting from the Tide and killer delays and having a spacious verb. Just have to plan everything per song for a crunch clean, lead with whatever effects you're going to need. The switchblade allows me to connect anything in any order I want per patch and crossfade with the expression pedal. Fun stuff

 

[Thunkful]

I recently redid my rack too with all of this covid shit going on:

Which Eventide is that and are you using that Roland for reverbs and Lexicon for delays?

It's an Eclipse(I have a 2nd one in my synth rack I'm considering moving over to the guitar rack...dual Eclipse attack!). The Eventide pretty much excels at everything. The roland gets a lot of use for mods/mod verbs, pitch and delays rotary, the mpx-1 for delays and verb(and detune chorus) and textures.

It really depends though, the Eventide does those as well. I just create a config per bank of my controller(4 presets per bank)....Whatever vibe I'm going for you can change out the duties for the units. You could easily have a patch on unit that's nothing but a big texture type sound. The pedals fill in the blanks too..

Having multiple processors never leaves me having to make sacrifices. There are times when I have a sparkling clean with Dim C and the SP Comp going at the same time as some modulated detune and modulated verbs and I still have lots of processing leftover for anything I need like diatonic pitch shifting from the Tide and killer delays and having a spacious verb. Just have to plan everything per song for a crunch clean, lead with whatever effects you're going to need. The switchblade allows me to connect anything in any order I want per patch and crossfade with the expression pedal. Fun stuff

Sounds good! Eventides are crazy good units, especially the revebs. I think that i would be a too dolt of a person to figure one out as they tend to look like cockpits at front and they have so much going on in them.

 

[Thunkful]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

Bought the Replifex! Now i just have to wait till it arrives to me.

 

[thisguy]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

Interesting. I still have my Replifex and just picked up the EVH version of the 117. I just moved but I'm almost finished setting up the music so I'll have to compare them.

 

[Zachman]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

Interesting. I still have my Replifex and just picked up the EVH version of the 117. I just moved but I'm almost finished setting up the music so I'll have to compare them.

It got closer to that than any other rack unit I've tried. It does tons of other stuff too, I just remember thinking that was notable

 

[Purpleibby]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

Interesting. I still have my Replifex and just picked up the EVH version of the 117. I just moved but I'm almost finished setting up the music so I'll have to compare them.

It got closer to that than any other rack unit I've tried. It does tons of other stuff too, I just remember thinking that was notable

The thing that drove me away from it was the reverb, so weak....but I could definitely see the replifex being a good companion with other units.

 

[Zachman]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

Interesting. I still have my Replifex and just picked up the EVH version of the 117. I just moved but I'm almost finished setting up the music so I'll have to compare them.

It got closer to that than any other rack unit I've tried. It does tons of other stuff too, I just remember thinking that was notable

The thing that drove me away from it was the reverb, so weak....but I could definitely see the replifex being a good companion with other units.

The 'All in one' approach like a single multi-fx unit, wasn't ideal for me. I got stuff for the specific things they did well. I was NEVER satisfied with Reverb solutions (and I experimented a LOT 1st... I've been doing the rack thing since the mid 80's), until I got my 1st Lexicon PCM 80. Then, There it was-- It looks like you've come to the same conclusion.

 

[Shask]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

Bought the Replifex! Now i just have to wait till it arrives to me.

That should be a nice unit to work with! I just got one a month or 2 ago. Good variety unit.

 

[Shask]

Found a replifex for 110€ from a local group, might get that one if everything's OK with it.

That is the ONLY rack unit I've found yet, that nails an MXR 117 Flanger tone.

Best Wishes

Interesting. I still have my Replifex and just picked up the EVH version of the 117. I just moved but I'm almost finished setting up the music so I'll have to compare them.

It got closer to that than any other rack unit I've tried. It does tons of other stuff too, I just remember thinking that was notable

The thing that drove me away from it was the reverb, so weak....but I could definitely see the replifex being a good companion with other units.

Yeah, I recently got the Replifex, but also have an Intellifex. I think I like the Intellifex better because it has better reverb. However, it is also way more limited. The Replifex is pretty good as a general purpose processor, but I think it's strong areas are definitely the phaser, flanger, and rotary.