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Topic: what is a good affordable effects unit? |
Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 14 May 2004 1:17 pm |
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By affordable I mean (for me)is $100-$150.
or can you even get one for that? all I want is somethin that can give me 3 or 4 differnt sounds.
what does the steel driver cost,or somethin similar to it, and what are it's functions? thanks
Terry |
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William Peters
From:
Effort, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 14 May 2004 1:30 pm
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Terry,
I own 3 fx units.
The first one I bought was a Digitech Studio S-100. This has lots of effects, like chorus, flangers, delay, different kinds of reverb, rotary speakers. You can go to their website and see the entire package. The unit works good for effects, but not for a preamp.... the eq is just not voiced right for steel guitar. I was using it with my Peavey TNT bass amp directly into the power amp section.
Next, I bought a Behringer V-Amp Pro. This has lots of effects, plus it models about 36 different amps. 59 Fender bassman sounds real good with my steel, plus about 5 more of which I can't remember their names. My wifes words were WOW that really sounds good. But it does generate some low frequency ghost noises, and it is not mechanically rugged. I busted off one of the plastic pot shafts in the first week I had it. It also works well with the volume pedal in its effects loop, so you don't need a matchbox or a Hilton pedal. Good for home use.
Finally, I bought a tubefex from fellow forumite Danny Cormier. These are only available used, and might exceed your budget, but they are definitely superior to the first two I mentioned.
In summary, if you have a steel amp already, and just want to add chorus, delay, etc, the S-100 is available new for your budget price range, and sounds pretty good. Don't even think about though if you just have a power amp.
The V-amp could be a good solution, but needs to be protected physically with a good rack case.
My recommendation would be a used profex, tubefex, or transtubefex if you can find one for your price. They come up on Ebay often enough, and in the buy and sell section of the forum.
The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys... according to my wife.
Bill http://www.wgpeters.com
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 14 May 2004 4:36 pm
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Thanks for the info Bill. I've heard a lot about the profex and tubefex so I'll probly go with one of those. if'n I can ever rake up the money. 
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TW Sneed
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 14 May 2004 5:26 pm
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Terry, look for a Bassfex, they go for a little less than a Profex 2. It is the exact same piece of equipment. Just load it with the Newman settings and you are ready to go. It even has "Profex 2" stamped on the circuit board!
The difference is the factory presets are for bass. The user presets can be Newman settings or whatever you want them to be.
Just make sure the memory battery has been checked for leakage. They are good for 2 to 7 years before trouble usually occurs.
The Tubefex and Transtubefex are 24 bit analog/to digital conversion and the Profex is 16 bit. There is more memory in the Tubefex and Transtubefex (you can chain more effects together) and other features that can be useful. Both the Tube/Transtube units have balanced outs for PA use. The Transtubefex also has headphone jacks. |
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Bob Watson
From:
Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
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Posted 14 May 2004 9:13 pm
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| Terry, for an effects unit in that price range ( < = $150 ) I would definately check out the Behringer V-Amp. Its a cheaper version of the V-Amp Pro, it doesn't have XLR inputs and there are a few other things that the V-Amp Pro has, but from what I have read on their website, its basically the same thing. I have been using an amp model of a JTM 45 watt Marshall and of a Black Faced Twin and they both sound good for steel, I have been using the 59 Bassman for guitar. The reverbs, chorus and delays are also pretty good. Some of the amp models are noisy but for the money you can't go wrong. You can also use it as just an effects unit. I was borrowing a Pod 2.0 from a friend and although I doubt that the V-Amp is as powerful as far as programing, I like the V-Amp better, it was easier to use. It is interesting to hear that the Bassfex is the same as the Profex ll. I use a Profex also and you can't go wrong with one. You may be able to find a used Profex or a Bassfex for the kind of money you want to spend, good luck! [This message was edited by Bob Watson on 14 May 2004 at 10:22 PM.] [This message was edited by Bob Watson on 14 May 2004 at 10:25 PM.] [This message was edited by Bob Watson on 14 May 2004 at 10:29 PM.] |
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Terry Sneed
From:
Arkansas,
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Posted 15 May 2004 6:25 am
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| Thanks Ken and Bob. Bob, what is the website for the V-amp? |
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William Peters
From:
Effort, Pennsylvania, USA
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