Pedals vs. Rack system - Advantages & Disadvantages

ANOVA · #1 09-12-2001, 12:50 PM

Hey

I wanted your opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of say using a bunch of BOSS pedals or getting a rack system like G-Force or something...

I don't know how everyone will interpret the question, but just want to know what you guys think...

-Mike

7 Dying Trees · #2 09-12-2001, 01:10 PM

Bunch of Pedals = try out things quickly + more spontaniously. Quite a bit of noise from each pedal as well. You do loose settings when you change stuff though, so that magical sound you had might just vanish...Also cheap. You also only have two feet, so changing a bunch of them at once is a bit of a nightmare unless you have supreme tapdancing skills.

Rack System = quiter, everything in one place, programmable so you can save a bunch of settings, also expandable. Unfortunately you have to wire them all together, lovely wiring schemes, can't change anything very quickly, as you have to tweak a whole bunch of things at once. Find the magic sound however, and yoiu just save it. Also has flashy lights(not that this should colour your judgment).Also more expensive...Also allows you to change everything at once, so no tapdancing is involved.

just my little thoughts...

(Edited by 7 Dying Trees at 12:12 pm on Sep. 12, 2001)

one less than none · #3 09-12-2001, 02:04 PM

7 dying trees has hit the nail on the head there !

it depends what you want to do and how much you like looking at tiny screens. i recommend (when asked) a combination of the two Rack mounts for delays and reverbs (and hormonizing and other weird fx) and pedals for chorus , distortion etc etc

i have never heard a good rack mount unit distortion and a rat or bigg muff cost's like what £70 ?
also my boss chorus pedal is loads better than the one in my quad /2 (well different might be a better word)

that said rack mounts equall tap tempo delay, panning delay, better reverbs and (if you have the right unit) instant switching without a switcher matrix, can you honestly turn 4 to 5 pedals on and off at the same time ???

Gresh · #4 09-12-2001, 03:04 PM

Both of our British friends are spot on...

I think it comes down to the type of music you play, really. *Do you like different tones and shades within the same song ala Dream Theater, or do you stick to one thing primarily. *If you are the former, then rack is the way to go for all of the reasons outlined before. *If you find yourself using the same things all the time, then maybe rack is overkill for you.

one less than none · #5 09-12-2001, 03:20 PM

i agree with gresh on the whole but ....... all the fx units i have tried be it pedals or rack units have a 'sound'

i think you can get a wider range of sounds from pedals than rack units - however you can only have one sounds at a time (or write long bass intros so you can change the settings on all the pedals)

but yes gresh is right it depends what tye of noise you make, DT, vai etc etc are very rack sounds (to my ears anyway), while nirvana is more pedal based - this is a bad example i know

still use your own ears ! i dont think from what i have heard that you will regret the g-force, maybe you should addd a rolls patchworx and have your fav four pedals also under midi control ....

VforVendetta00 · #6 09-13-2001, 12:10 AM

*what do u mean more sounds from pedals?? if u buy a whole bunch of them well yeah, but i am veryhappy with my pod pro and i must say that the variation of sounds is way greater with a rack system even if it is 10 devices on a chain, if eveyone of those has 5 usable sounds u already have 50 different sounds and the hundreds of combinations between them and i know not all of them may be good but hell i've heard people play with some sounds that are just noise to me but its music for them.

one less than none · #7 09-13-2001, 05:44 PM

oh i agree totally (well almost) with what you say about the pod pro - its seems a very versatile device

the point i was trying to *make (admittedly i made it badly) was that you could have say a EH dirt box, a boss chorus , a dod delay etc etc.

all these manufacturers have a type of 'sound' in there product range

with a single rack unit it will only have one type of sound

of course one good sound is worth ten bad ones, but if i plug my rat distortioninto any amp its sounds like a rat

Darin W · #8 09-13-2001, 07:00 PM

Most the guitar hero's we enjoy, play nearly dry. *THey all have rack, and monter pedal boards. *Effect can be a hindrence. *If you can't play well dry, then effects are wonderful for hiding loads of slop. *I have always enjoyed the benifits of delay and reverb. *But as I learn to play better, and practice dry, I find that effect mostly hide what I am now playing well. *I have been using a Boss chorus pedal at 25% level. *Thats a nice effect. *But when playing with the band, the reverb gets lost anf the delay muddys up the picking runs. *Getting used to playin bone dry is hard, but it rules after some time. *The real test of this is playing with a Legacy head....dry. **ouch* *I am getting a rack unit, for delay and badly needed E.Q. for the Legacy, but I will still have my pedals plugged in. *...DS-1, BOSS Chorus, Marshall Compressor, Vox overdrive, Bad Horsey, Boss volume, Boss TU-2.

Darin *

jeffrey · #9 09-13-2001, 09:09 PM

Something that wasn't touched on I don't think (unless I missed it).

I prefer to 'effect' then amp, not the guitar. So regardless of rack or pedal, I run everything through the loop. I just think it sounds better. I don't like anything in between my guitar>cord>amp input equation.

I prefer racks mainly for flexability. Sure they take a bit longer to get what you want out of them, but once you do they are infinitely more flexable.

It's a very personal choice.