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VGuitar Central => User Reviews => Topic started by: Rhcole on March 06, 2016, 11:54:05 AM

Title: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Rhcole on March 06, 2016, 11:54:05 AM
Here's a thread you may like. List your gear that seemed to go over everybody's' heads or simply failed in the marketplace but you like it anyway. No fair listing things like the VG-99 etc. - we ALL know about those kinds of products.

Here's mine, and it may surprise you- the EHX Lumberjack pedal: http://www.ehx.com/products/lumberjack (http://www.ehx.com/products/lumberjack)
You don't hear about it very much and, although it's still available, I don't think it's a big hit.
Why I like it: at low settings it's the best product I've found for that "torn speaker" sound used in the fifties and sixties when musicians would actually play through damaged or blown out speakers to get a distorted sound. Think early Kinks.
...At high settings you can also economically spay the animal of your choice, possibly even yourself, so use with care! It sounds like a 60's transistor amp with a Rickenbacker six string bridge pickup going through a treble booster and everything cranked. Ouch!

Back to the positive, for no reason I can think of whatsoever gives a bit of a hollow body vibe to solid body guitars, again at low settings. Plug in a Les Paul, turn the LJ down low, and you can hear a bit of a 335 vibe in the sound.

An overlooked gem for not much money.

Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Chumly on March 06, 2016, 01:19:05 PM
Well let's see, if you're talking about gear I still own that meets either being under-appreciated and/or unsuccessful but I like, then I'll list a few (not all) and if you are talking about gear I no longer own, then that list would be amusingly / perhaps painfully too long:

DigiTech TimeBender (rather unique)
Mesa Boogie Roadster Combo 212 (amazingly versatile amp)
Line 6 Spider Jam (much better than given credit for)
Boss GT-10 (never had any issues with the so-called cocked-wah)
Godin SD-22 n-tune (one of my fave electrics irrelative of price)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: dafrimpster on March 07, 2016, 05:51:16 AM
One of the best bang for buck things I use is the Behringer B212D powered monitor. For $259 they are a great deal. They don't sound like my Bose L1 but I could buy 10 of them for what I paid for that. I have used them for an extra floor monitor when needed, as power for my guitar/amp modeling rig and anywhere I need a little extra. Many musician look down their noses at Behringer but I have found these things to be pretty bullet proof. I have one that is about ten years old. Hundreds of gigs. It's look pretty beat up but it still works.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: aliensporebomb on April 24, 2016, 06:46:54 PM
Lexicon Vortex.  Before I had the VG-99 it was THE texture machine.  I use use mine a ton.  It's kind of a musical instrument in its own right in many ways.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: mchad on April 24, 2016, 07:00:39 PM

Adrenalinn 3.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: MCK on April 24, 2016, 09:44:06 PM
Gibson Dark Fire
Digitech IPB-10
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: chrish on April 24, 2016, 10:46:08 PM
Boss SY-300
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Rhcole on April 25, 2016, 10:12:00 PM
You know what Chrish, you may be right, the SY-300 may already be there.

Pity.

I am working on a whole series of patches that are pretty cool for the SY, but it may end up as a "well-kept secret" after all.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: mmmmgtr on April 26, 2016, 06:41:35 AM
Rocktron Chameleon


Why?

I always found it very easy to create great sounds very quickly.  Although it didn't do modeling, I was able to get very close to original sounds such that the majority of listeners believed we were playing songs exactly like the artist. I knew they weren't exact matches, but it was close enough in the context of playing a song that it worked very well. I often consider going back to that rig (Chameleon/GR-30) when I get frustrated with the GR-55 limitations. [/list]
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Elantric on April 26, 2016, 07:42:20 AM
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.audiofanzine.com%2Fimages%2Fthumbs3%2Fzoom-9030-504112.jpg&hash=af09fda261fbf7e6bac4a505379e0e5ca30d9c1e)
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.audiofanzine.com%2Fimages%2Fnormal%2Fzoom-9030-846463.jpg&hash=5520a59e051ffa71aed30fd6e16eb5379fef654a)
Zoom 9030 - Back in mid 1990's Every Sound designer I knew in LA and NY had one in their FX rack Adrian Belew cut tracks for NIN with only a 9030 and its ring modulator. Trent Reznor used to use the Cab sim on the 9030


(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.audiofanzine.com%2Fimages%2Fnormal%2Fdigitech-gsp2101-limited-edition-817316.jpg&hash=c76d59f92594ba7bb75684c1c7dbd65b07251bf2)
GPS-2101 with DUAL SDISC DSP board  + GPS-2101FC (Control One)  - Deep reassignable FX Algorithms, Tube Preamp, aadd the foot controller with the patch toggle feature  - many still use this as their MIDI controller 
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Beirne on April 26, 2016, 11:01:21 AM
BOSS VF-1, a great forgotten toolbox of effects and setups.
Has the best Bass synthy wah...better than my roland Vbass, gr55.
And Ive got 3 of them...use for guitar, PA, bass...whatever.

http://www.boss.info/products/vf-1/ (http://www.boss.info/products/vf-1/)

intangiblesny.com
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: admin on April 26, 2016, 11:11:43 AM
https://youtu.be/n0CBWw0M4vo
Boss SE-50
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: dafrimpster on April 28, 2016, 06:07:32 AM
+1 ON THE se50 I wish I still had mine.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: thebrushwithin on April 28, 2016, 03:46:52 PM
QuoteZoom 9030 - Back in mid 1990's Every Sound designer I knew in LA and NY had one in their FX rack Adrian Belew cut tracks for NIN with only a 9030 and its ring modulator. Trent Reznor used to use the Cab sim on the 9030

Great piece of gear! I still have one, but the display has gone out.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: chlorinemist on May 07, 2017, 04:26:34 AM
Spicetone 6Appeal hexaphonic distortion. Basically a full fledged multitimbral all-analog synthesizer that uses guitar strings as the oscillator and 3 switchable analog fuzz/distortion/overdrive circuits as the waveshaper. 2 LFOs, a step sequencer and a full polyphonic ADSR envelope section that can modulate up to 6 parameters each on individual strings. Hundreds of parameters, fully digitally controlled with desktop editor, 48 presets, individual string breakout box functionality, and a fully functional 13 pin output for hexaphonic post-processing.
Sound quality is excellent, tons of headroom, tons of clean gain, excellent sounding fuzz circuits, versatile clean blend options. Great sounding switchable pre and post gain bass compensation circuits for recreating the tone of neck pickup with a hex bridge pickup.
I consider it to be the greatest pedal ever made. Sadly I have yet to encounter a single other user.

(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.effectsdatabase.com%2Fgear%2Fpics%2Fspicetone_6appeal_001.jpg%3Fog%3Dimage&hash=7bf72f70ab45d2df2abc23afaf456c24d1859b8c)


Cycfi XR and Nu pickups. Full range flat response, active noiseless pickups with high gain, audiophile quality active preamps. They sell a resonant low pass filter circuit to replace the tone knob and allow you to tame or crank the high end as much you please. Their 19 pin Nexus breakout system provides phantom power, eliminating the need for internal batteries.

Their hexaphonic pickups are the only ones on the market (aside from Ubertar) in a "normal" pickup form factor. Meaning, you pop out your regular single coil or humbucker bridge pickup, and pop the hex Nu pickup in that slot. The raw tone sounds like any other high end boutique quality electric guitar pickup, as good or better than any monophonic pickup you could ever find. No processing required. Certainly can't say the same about a GK.

I also really appreciate that they have extremely reasonable prices (the XR costs $80 and sounds way better than $200 JBE to my ears), excellent customer service (they provided me with detailed personalized schematics specifically for my unique wiring situation), open source engineering policy, and the fact that all of their electronics are designed for solder free wiring.

I've grown to become quite the fanboy of this company lol. I think of their founder Joel as a sort of Elon Musk of guitar electronics... Honestly heroic work he is doing imo

(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cycfi.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F01%2Fnu.jpg&hash=d69c1cd152fb2f3fd5e0e73523fc63f41ba224e4)
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cycfi.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F06%2FNuXR.jpg&hash=24ec02cd7bd8c72e71c96ef9146a32e7b8ef05ca)
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FjtmKZFC.jpg&hash=7edd2039edba6360eea314c0ac20567ce5170a83)
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FV89Kfj6.jpg&hash=b897c9bd481eb139028004c3af4a3b466c64d289)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: BMapson on May 07, 2017, 08:15:29 AM
Quote from: Elantric on April 26, 2016, 07:42:20 AM
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedias.audiofanzine.com%2Fimages%2Fnormal%2Fdigitech-gsp2101-limited-edition-817316.jpg&hash=c76d59f92594ba7bb75684c1c7dbd65b07251bf2)
GPS-2101 with DUAL SDISC DSP board  + GPS-2101FC (Control One)  - Deep reassignable FX Algorithms, Tube Preamp, aadd the foot controller with the patch toggle feature  - many still use this as their MIDI controller

I used the GSP-2101 Artist with dual SDISC and the Control One for close to 15 years.  It was the first device that gave me completely seamless patch changes (for the most part--there were circumstances where both SDISCs were used and it was impossible).  I was blown away by the ability to come out of solo with heavy delay to a cleaner sound and have the delay from the solo patch decay naturally rather than cut out. 

Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: chrish on May 07, 2017, 08:36:42 AM
Quote""Sadly I have yet to encounter a single other user."

The spice tone website states that less than 100 of the 6 appeal pedals been sold worldwide. That's kind of amazing considering how good this box sounds.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: shawnb on May 07, 2017, 09:29:35 AM
Quote from: chlorinemist on May 07, 2017, 04:26:34 AM
Spicetone 6Appeal hexaphonic distortion.
.....
I consider it to be the greatest pedal ever made. Sadly I have yet to encounter a single other user.

I agree on the 6appeal.   Excellent unit with cool features.    True hex processing.

We have a board here, feel free to share techniques:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=179.0
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: sixeight on May 07, 2017, 09:57:34 AM
QuoteGPS-2101 with DUAL SDISC DSP board  + GPS-2101FC (Control One)  - Deep reassignable FX Algorithms, Tube Preamp, aadd the foot controller with the patch toggle feature  - many still use this as their MIDI controller

I have had one of those. I had to let I it go, as mine was defective and unreliable. But it was very deep, with its completely open effect chain structure. I don't know any hardware modeller that can do that. Not even the VG99 is that flexible. Great unit. My brother still has one...
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Rhcole on July 06, 2017, 12:16:27 AM
I got another one for you.
The Stellartone Micro Pedal II. I don't think they are made any more, and it's absolutely a shame. You can buy the onboard tone kits to install in your guitar, but the MPII was a one-of-a-kind tiny pedal. Think of it like a Vari-tone on an ES-355. The MPII unlike the I, had 1/2, 3/4, and full, which controlled how much of the effect blended into your guitar.  Stellartone offered a "jazz" version, which I have, voiced darker than the regular model.

These pedals were like tiny passive parametric EQs/tone controls and I still haven't found an EQ that sounds quite as good for (in my case) adding a little smokey jazz sound to a guitar.

If you ever see one, snatch it up.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: davep2000 on July 06, 2017, 07:58:06 AM
Quote from: dafrimpster on April 28, 2016, 06:07:32 AM
+1 ON THE se50 I wish I still had mine.

I bought an SE50 a short while ago because I couldn't source an Yamaha FX500
I planned to use it for midi controlled delay/reverb for vocals

Why do you still wish you had it?
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: davep2000 on July 06, 2017, 08:22:25 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4AUuCauS4s

I used the Yamaha FX 500 in stereo with two Peavey 50w amps in the 80's
I never had the midi pedal board
I used  to pre order my patches and use a foot switch to increment through the changes
So one song may be song 1, patch 1, intro, patch 2 rhythm, patch 3 solo, patch 4 rhythm
song 2 patch 5 clean etc..
The patch change was REALLY BAD
I'd press the pedal, the guitar cut out, then came back on but without any effects at all, then the effects kicked in  ;D

The wildest preset was called Monk Akka!
Distortion into stereo delay/reverb into a heavy flanger
Whammy dive bomb and harmonics into that preset for an opener then into Faith no more From Out of Nowhere
Happy Days  8) 

Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: chrish on July 06, 2017, 08:26:24 AM
Quote from: shawnb on May 07, 2017, 09:29:35 AM
I agree on the 6appeal.   Excellent unit with cool features.    True hex processing.

We have a board here, feel free to share techniques:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=179.0
I also agree on the spicetone 6appeal pedal. I was very surprised when I got the ripped speaker sound out of it.

At first I actually did think that I overloaded my speaker, but then checked the gain levels and sure enough it was the spicetone doing its thing on a clean setting with a little bit of drive gain added.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Tony Raven on July 22, 2017, 09:01:37 AM
The Zoom GM-200 amp modeler, marketed 2000 or thereabouts. Failed in part because it's a fairly small plastic tabletop box, released with MSRP $250. Can be spotted for $50 or less; I paid $25 in 2011.

Basically, it's a DSP amp in a box. No pushbuttons, no memory... which means zero learning curve & no boot time. I figure it was intended primarily for home recording, & has stereo RCA outs available.

One little "ZNR" knob sets sensitivity on a very nice noise gate. Cranked up, it's not intrusive; set low, it takes out just the minimum noise floor.

The "Output Character" rotary puts an interesting spin on things, allowing outs to be shaped generally for headphones or board or amp. The board ("MTR") out is in stereo, which is very nice in phones. As a result of this knob, you've got 11 amp sims with 10 distinctive shapings, giving you 110 at-hand variants to tweak.

My go-to practice amp. Runs forever on AA cells, easy to carry around, few enough controls that I actually spend more time playing than tweaking. I originally intended to use it as the front end to the loop return on my Princeton Chorus (stereo 25w/25w).

(https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--KufWjhD3--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1475465380/zxpoipv1jgte1wlvkprw.jpg)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: alexmcginness on July 22, 2017, 11:01:44 AM
Heres one I used and cloned into my VGs The Guyatone TO-2. Bill Ruppert mentioned that he used one of these as well. I still have my beat up original and two that are pristine.

(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.effectsdatabase.com%2Fgear%2Fpics%2Fguyatone_to-2_001.jpg&hash=088481561e2f4b281bdb8ceed2e288b8d9e6bf98)

heres the clone sound. Excuse the mistakes. This was done live at the end of a dead night on one of the boats I work on and the bartender said do one more, so I pulled up a track and just played something over it.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: kneagle on July 23, 2017, 01:22:21 PM
Casio PG30 Synth Guitar - no external box/proprietary cable needed. Fast tracking. Very decent synth/rompler type sounds for the time - plus the ability to load a whole bank of new sounds by plugging in a new card. Built in tuner. Decent just as a guitar (Ibanez). I sure wish someone would have pushed this type of technology further.

Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Brak(E)man on July 23, 2017, 02:04:14 PM
Boss GigaDelay DD-20



(https://static.roland.com/assets/images/products/gallery/dd20_gal.jpg)
I have been using this box as a 2 track 23 second stereo live looper with multiple modes
( not the sound on sound ) since 2005 , I have two and thinking of buying another one.
using it as a delay so the feedback works as a fade out etc.
and on off as a bypass which means you can play to a stereo 23 s delay looped multiple times
In the different modes , and 2 loops at one time in any length independent of eachother.

Brilliant box at a good price
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: admin on July 23, 2017, 03:01:32 PM
Quote from: kneagle on July 23, 2017, 01:22:21 PM
Casio PG30 Synth Guitar - no external box/proprietary cable needed. Fast tracking. Very decent synth/rompler type sounds for the time - plus the ability to load a whole bank of new sounds by plugging in a new card. Built in tuner. Decent just as a guitar (Ibanez). I sure wish someone would have pushed this type of technology further.
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sonicftp.com%2Fsynth%2Flcasesynth%2F1160.jpg&hash=3849b697693252ec5b2e2fd38593a8654ef40092)
it was called the Casio PG-380
http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/casio_pg380/

Mike Martell (mike_martell@hotmail.com) writes:
Apart from the synth built in, the guitar itself, a strat style "Ibanez", is of very high quality. [Equivalent to a late 1980's Ibanez Roadstar II] Adding the synth makes it THE MOST ADVANCED GUITAR EVER BUILT allowing the full transition from a normal screaming strat to a scary synthezised dentists drill by by slowly turning a knob on the guitar. Seen from the front it looks like a normal strat (S/S/H) with a Hex-pickup close to the floyd rose tremolo and a small panel below. On the panel there are 12 small buttons for controlling patches and octave, a 2-digit LED display, and two LED's for the built-in tuner. Strat-wise there is a five pole pickup selector and controls for tone, guitar volume and synth volume. Apart from a normal DIN MIDI-OUT connector there one mono output for guitar only and a stereo for guitar + synth. The synth can be set to send on six different MIDI channels, one for each string, or everything over one channel. Tracking is very good, and you can even bend the tones to play your favourite blues. The backside is full of electronics and a slot for the ROM cards. Acoustically it has quite a woody sound due to all the chambers routed for electronics.
Comments About the Sounds:
The built in patches is not so good but with a VZ synth module or keyboard you can design your own sounds

https://youtu.be/bmui0k_Elfw
https://youtu.be/vYjXQ9B96-8
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: BackDAWman on July 23, 2017, 04:09:38 PM
Quote from: alexmcginness on July 22, 2017, 11:01:44 AM
Heres one I used and cloned into my VGs The Guyatone TO-2. Bill Ruppert mentioned that he used one of these as well. I still have my beat up original and two that are pristine.

(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.effectsdatabase.com%2Fgear%2Fpics%2Fguyatone_to-2_001.jpg&hash=088481561e2f4b281bdb8ceed2e288b8d9e6bf98)

heres the clone sound. Excuse the mistakes. This was done live at the end of a dead night on one of the boats I work on and the bartender said do one more, so I pulled up a track and just played something over it.

Sounds Santana-esque
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: alexmcginness on July 23, 2017, 05:35:31 PM
Quote from: BackDAWman on July 23, 2017, 04:09:38 PM
Sounds Santana-esque

Yup it was a Santana tune. It sounds like Jeff Healey on his stuff if you dig in. The Guyatone was my go to box for years until I cloned it into my Vgs.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Smash on July 24, 2017, 01:52:41 AM
Always loved the Aspri mechanical reverb - lo tech, no battery reverb solution for acoustics. Still have mine from 1989.

Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: kneagle on July 24, 2017, 02:27:21 PM
Yeah Baby - YEAH!!!

Quote from: admsustainiac on July 23, 2017, 03:01:32 PM
(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sonicftp.com%2Fsynth%2Flcasesynth%2F1160.jpg&hash=3849b697693252ec5b2e2fd38593a8654ef40092)
it was called the Casio PG-380
http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/casio_pg380/

Mike Martell (mike_martell@hotmail.com) writes:
Apart from the synth built in, the guitar itself, a strat style "Ibanez", is of very high quality. [Equivalent to a late 1980's Ibanez Roadstar II] Adding the synth makes it THE MOST ADVANCED GUITAR EVER BUILT allowing the full transition from a normal screaming strat to a scary synthezised dentists drill by by slowly turning a knob on the guitar. Seen from the front it looks like a normal strat (S/S/H) with a Hex-pickup close to the floyd rose tremolo and a small panel below. On the panel there are 12 small buttons for controlling patches and octave, a 2-digit LED display, and two LED's for the built-in tuner. Strat-wise there is a five pole pickup selector and controls for tone, guitar volume and synth volume. Apart from a normal DIN MIDI-OUT connector there one mono output for guitar only and a stereo for guitar + synth. The synth can be set to send on six different MIDI channels, one for each string, or everything over one channel. Tracking is very good, and you can even bend the tones to play your favourite blues. The backside is full of electronics and a slot for the ROM cards. Acoustically it has quite a woody sound due to all the chambers routed for electronics.
Comments About the Sounds:
The built in patches is not so good but with a VZ synth module or keyboard you can design your own sounds

https://youtu.be/bmui0k_Elfw
https://youtu.be/vYjXQ9B96-8
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: scrufy on March 29, 2020, 09:33:38 PM
Reviving an old thread but I tell people about my 50th anniversary American roland ready strat and I just get by blank looks like "what is that", and I've even had some tell me it's worth less because the 4th gk pu.
I love it and have for 24 years now. Might not be for everyone and I've had the neck off twice to do the frets and realign it (I never said I was easy on th things) haha
I just think they are underappreciated.
I run mine now with a gp-10 I got when they first came out 2014 or 15. Had a few boxes before that but the gp woke it up.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: gumtown on March 29, 2020, 10:30:43 PM
Way back in 1989 I saved for weeks to buy one of these ART SGE mkii
and the X11 midi foot pedal.
It was amazing at the time with all sorts of menu driven effects, overdrives, pitch shifting, and also a 2 second sampler capable of midi pitch playback.
I still have 2 of these today, I just can't bear to sell it now, after what I paid for it in 1989 (was worth about 4~6 weeks wages then).

People were amazed by all that high tech crammed into a 1U rack unit.

here are some pics/vid of what I have found on the interweb.
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/222872174334_/Art-SGE-Mach-II-rackmount-guitar-preamp-with.jpg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xMeYOOTAUQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xMeYOOTAUQ)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: aliensporebomb on March 30, 2020, 10:07:18 AM
I still have my SGE (Mach I) but back when I was living in an apartment where electricity was uneven the digital portion got fried.  It was repaired by ART but then it happened again. 

I still have it and the analog portion works but the digital portion doesn't work anymore.   My favorite was the glistening chorus patch I think when it did work.   I also found a decent distortion out of it but I mainly used it to process drum machines and other devices.  I wonder if it's something that can be fixed?  I never did open it up to see if there's
a fried chip.

Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: aliensporebomb on March 30, 2020, 10:10:28 AM
Quote from: alexmcginness on July 22, 2017, 11:01:44 AM
Heres one I used and cloned into my VGs The Guyatone TO-2. Bill Ruppert mentioned that he used one of these as well. I still have my beat up original and two that are pristine.

(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffiles.effectsdatabase.com%2Fgear%2Fpics%2Fguyatone_to-2_001.jpg&hash=088481561e2f4b281bdb8ceed2e288b8d9e6bf98)

heres the clone sound. Excuse the mistakes. This was done live at the end of a dead night on one of the boats I work on and the bartender said do one more, so I pulled up a track and just played something over it.

Sounds great - nice and throaty.  You made a VG-99 sound out of this?  Or VG-88 or 8?
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: aliensporebomb on March 30, 2020, 02:40:43 PM
Quote from: scrufy on March 29, 2020, 09:33:38 PM
Reviving an old thread but I tell people about my 50th anniversary American roland ready strat and I just get by blank looks like "what is that", and I've even had some tell me it's worth less because the 4th gk pu.
I love it and have for 24 years now. Might not be for everyone and I've had the neck off twice to do the frets and realign it (I never said I was easy on th things) haha
I just think they are underappreciated.
I run mine now with a gp-10 I got when they first came out 2014 or 15. Had a few boxes before that but the gp woke it up.

All the stores around here charge more for the guitars with the Roland GK pickup in them - most conservative guitar guys would rip that out because all they ever want to play through is some tube amp or something.  That's so conservative.

I appreciate mine!   There was even one locally that was someones "Bootsy Collins" guitar with gold sparkle pickguard and black finish
body, it looked pretty wild but I already had two GK guitars a third might be considered too much of a good thing!

(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpod.podzone.org%2Fwhitestrat.jpg&hash=293e139a0088cf2d7fa17e323696c5470c752c31)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: kenact on March 30, 2020, 07:25:51 PM
A rather old piece of "high tech" gear. A 1967 Gretsch Viking with a "Floating Sound Unit.

The tuning fork goes into the body, the strings get threaded through to 3 bars, and it's held up by a space saver bridge. The larger of the three bars, serves as the actual bridge.

The guitar is handing on the wall behind me, in my profile picture.
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: cplm on March 31, 2020, 12:36:31 AM
A few years ago I bought a used Gibson Nighthawk from 1993. The owner didn't love it at all and sold it at a ridiculous price.
At first I thought I had simply thrown some money away, but then I added a GK3 to it and now it is the only guitar I carry
when I play live, fast neck, very light on the shoulders and with many different sounds that bind very well to synth sounds.

The funniest thing is when I open the case: that incredible violet-fuchsia leaves everyone speechless!

(https://i.postimg.cc/pr06qjff/nighthawk.jpg)

(image taken from internet)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: kenact on March 31, 2020, 07:57:44 AM
Quote from: aliensporebomb on March 30, 2020, 02:40:43 PM
I already had two GK guitars a third might be considered too much of a good thing!

(https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpod.podzone.org%2Fwhitestrat.jpg&hash=293e139a0088cf2d7fa17e323696c5470c752c31)

Godin LGXT
Godin LGX SA
Godin ACS Slim
Godin A4
Godin A10
Danoblaster with GK3
SG Clone with GK3

I don't want to go down to just 2. :)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Piing on March 31, 2020, 09:10:15 PM
My old setup. It survived through many gigs during several years. I feel nostalgia when I see it.
From that picture I only keep the Ibanez

(https://i.ibb.co/R9WZCSG/02.jpg)


I knew every single parameter, tricks and programming corners of these gear by heart
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: kenact on April 01, 2020, 06:01:28 AM
Quote from: Piing on March 31, 2020, 09:10:15 PM

  • Ibanez RG550LTD This is still my favourite axe. I've owned more expensive guitars: J-Custom, JS2450, JEM... but they had no added value over the RG550LTD, so I didn't keep them. It is a lucky piece of wood.
  • Marshall JMP-1. Incredible and versatile pre-amp
  • BOSS GX-700. For FX and CAB-sim
  • VG-8: No need to explain
  • Korg 05R/W: it used to be my workhorse
  • E-Mu orbit: that was fun
  • JBL EON-15: my FRFR Stage Monitors
  • Peluso: my mate lived more than 20 years

Isn't that a GR-30, partially obscured by a cat tail? :)
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Piing on April 01, 2020, 06:12:46 PM
Yes, I forgot to mention the GR-30. I didn't used it much, because I preferred the Axon AX100 MK II + modules
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: Rhcole on April 01, 2020, 10:21:26 PM
Did you at least keep the cat? 
Title: Re: The underappreciated/unsuccessful but you like it thread
Post by: alexmcginness on April 03, 2020, 03:00:05 PM
Quote from: cplm on March 31, 2020, 12:36:31 AM
A few years ago I bought a used Gibson Nighthawk from 1993. The owner didn't love it at all and sold it at a ridiculous price.
At first I thought I had simply thrown some money away, but then I added a GK3 to it and now it is the only guitar I carry
when I play live, fast neck, very light on the shoulders and with many different sounds that bind very well for synth sounds.

The funniest thing is when I open the case: that incredible violet-fuchsia leaves everyone speechless!

(https://i.postimg.cc/pr06qjff/nighthawk.jpg)

(image taken from internet)

Heres a guy using one of those and a VG-88 doing The Wall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUG9JyPgnMs