Re: Getting Started With The SPX-90/Rack Effects
Posted: Fri May 12, 2017 7:54 am
I just got done reading an epic rant on the TGP about the new Empress Echosystem after reading a post about it here. I swear it wasn't me, but it could've been...
I always say that with these old rack systems that "This is your tone now." Those electronics and buffers that you can't bypass that affect your tone and suck and wah-wah-wah, no that isn't your tone sucking, that is your tone.
You can fight it or accept it.
Fighting it gets expensive and requires lots of cables and etc, etc. guys with big racks paid a lot of money back in the day for custom made true bypass midi systems and some even had dedicated help to run them.
The rest of us made do.
Even guys like The Edge, who had all the above and more, had to make do and embrace the limitations. A lot is made on U2 worship forums about how even when he's not using his Korg SDD-3000 as a delay, he still uses the preamp to boost his signal, well, he didn't really have a choice. What he did though was embrace the sound. He initially described it as "Off putting" after it replaced his DMM, but now, even though he could bypass it, he doesn't, and there are guys buying pedal clones of that preamp to get that tone. Same goes for Jimmy Page and his Echoplex.
I made do for years with my first Roland rack unit. It had a bypass switch but no midi. You could step through 8 presets but could only go in one direction. I used the preamp to boost my signal when I wasn't using the delay. I discovered that by accident and liked the sound, didn't know The Edge did it until years later. Then I got a Yamaha rack and it was different, but you could control it with midi. You couldn't bypass it though, so one preset patch was everything on zero except for a little EQ tweak to make it sound right. I used that for years. It wasn't the same as not having signal pass through it, but that was my tone. Most of the time I had it on for Echo or Reverb or something anyway, and if not, then the Roland was. If I wanted my tone un-affected, just guitar and amp, then I couldn't use them. If I wanted to use them, then I had to live with the tone.
Eventually I had enough money to get a true bypass midi switcher to separate them out of my signal. Mostly it was a waste of time and effort. As mentioned, I almost always had one or the other on, plus other pedals, so very rarely was "my tone" just guitar and amp. I was so used to the sound of the buffers and electronics in my chain that it didn't sound "better" not having them in there, just different.
So, now I use Eventide Factor pedals for what I used the rack units for. A little more convenient and a little less cable length, but there are still limitations. Limitations that the TGP crowd got all up in arms about in the great Eventide versus Strymon wars of 2010. Still battling now over this new Empress pedal.
My suggestion is don't worry about all of that, just plug in and play. Close your eyes and listen to the tone. Accept it. That is your tone now.
I always say that with these old rack systems that "This is your tone now." Those electronics and buffers that you can't bypass that affect your tone and suck and wah-wah-wah, no that isn't your tone sucking, that is your tone.
You can fight it or accept it.
Fighting it gets expensive and requires lots of cables and etc, etc. guys with big racks paid a lot of money back in the day for custom made true bypass midi systems and some even had dedicated help to run them.
The rest of us made do.
Even guys like The Edge, who had all the above and more, had to make do and embrace the limitations. A lot is made on U2 worship forums about how even when he's not using his Korg SDD-3000 as a delay, he still uses the preamp to boost his signal, well, he didn't really have a choice. What he did though was embrace the sound. He initially described it as "Off putting" after it replaced his DMM, but now, even though he could bypass it, he doesn't, and there are guys buying pedal clones of that preamp to get that tone. Same goes for Jimmy Page and his Echoplex.
I made do for years with my first Roland rack unit. It had a bypass switch but no midi. You could step through 8 presets but could only go in one direction. I used the preamp to boost my signal when I wasn't using the delay. I discovered that by accident and liked the sound, didn't know The Edge did it until years later. Then I got a Yamaha rack and it was different, but you could control it with midi. You couldn't bypass it though, so one preset patch was everything on zero except for a little EQ tweak to make it sound right. I used that for years. It wasn't the same as not having signal pass through it, but that was my tone. Most of the time I had it on for Echo or Reverb or something anyway, and if not, then the Roland was. If I wanted my tone un-affected, just guitar and amp, then I couldn't use them. If I wanted to use them, then I had to live with the tone.
Eventually I had enough money to get a true bypass midi switcher to separate them out of my signal. Mostly it was a waste of time and effort. As mentioned, I almost always had one or the other on, plus other pedals, so very rarely was "my tone" just guitar and amp. I was so used to the sound of the buffers and electronics in my chain that it didn't sound "better" not having them in there, just different.
So, now I use Eventide Factor pedals for what I used the rack units for. A little more convenient and a little less cable length, but there are still limitations. Limitations that the TGP crowd got all up in arms about in the great Eventide versus Strymon wars of 2010. Still battling now over this new Empress pedal.
My suggestion is don't worry about all of that, just plug in and play. Close your eyes and listen to the tone. Accept it. That is your tone now.