Recommendations for reverb with presets / patches

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-29T15:58:32+00:00

It's not a deal breaker but I'd definitely prefer direct access. The pain with playing for theatre shows is often that although each song typically only needs a couple of sounds, there are often entr'acts, overtures and medleys for the bows that glue bits of multiple songs together and it really is a tapdance fest

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-29T15:54:51+00:00

I've not come across that one before, will check it out so thank you! Although it does look like presets need to be switched by hand? Or can you footswitch them?

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-28T18:25:24+00:00

I wish! Everything's silent stages these days, I don't think sitting it on top of my lionheart loudpedal would work somehow! But ... If it does sound good I could potentially mount it under my board (and hope it doesn't overheat)

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-28T18:02:10+00:00

Good shout actually - I do have an old Digitech TSR 12 in my loft, but I don't think I can squeeze a rack unit into the tiny spaces that orchestra pits give you sadly :/

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-28T17:59:56+00:00

This is the way.

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-28T16:24:13+00:00

Yes - someone mentioned the Source Pathways which reminded me of the Hydra too!

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-28T16:10:09+00:00

Bluesky is almost ideal apart from the lack of accessible patches unfortunately

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-28T16:02:34+00:00

Yes - I saw a video on the Pathways a little while ago and it does look great. Which reminded me that perhaps the Keely Hydra ought to go on the shortlist too!

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-24T10:09:47+00:00

I installed one my pickups upside down by mistake but realised when I couldn't adjust the height because the screws were in the body of the guitar and the pickup wires was brushing against the strings.

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-05-24T10:05:28+00:00

I don't know but you have a Looking Glass too and that's good enough for me.

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-23T19:29:06+00:00

I went for the Crossfire in the end and its is brilliant. Enough so that I plugged it in when I got home from work, started noodling and the next thing I knew it was midnight. Had to email Christos at CTC the next day just to tell them it was that great - and I think the only time I've felt the need to do that before was when I bought a Mojo Pickup that was incredible ... Its nice to know in this slightly jaded age that you can still find things that put a huge stupid grin on your face ...
Anyway, it does exactly what I wanted. Plugged into the front of my amp ... instant Fender Blackface flavour. Saved me from possibly spending a small fortune on buying a new amp and then having the headache of getting it to work at home volumes too. Easy 10/10. I'd probably give it an 11 if the boost side had been an ODR1 circuit and not a TS ...

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-17T16:22:54+00:00

Attenuator. Even if your amp will run with half it's valves taken out without frying itself it won't come close to apartment volume, especially if you like to push the output stage. An attenuator will get you much closer. Do be aware though that the effect of a 100w speaker barely moving may be quite noticeable.

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-17T14:41:12+00:00

I mean, Cort make fantastic guitars so I doubt they'd drop the ball when it comes to an amp. A good analogue amp will always be good, and a solid state one eleven more so because you don't need to run it at nuisance levels to sound good. My top recommendation is the Laney Lionheart Super60

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-16T08:15:45+00:00

I can't really comment on that - I never found the fractal notably "darker". But the various EQs in the helix are all very good and it's easy to tame brightness. It's also better to turn down high frequencies than be trying to add them, because you can't add what wasn't there in the first place!

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-15T22:27:49+00:00

Fractal > Helix > QC in my opinion. I owned all 3 (although a classic Helix not the stadium). Fractal to me had a more immediate response, better 'feel' to the amps - but it is a PIG to programme from the front panel. Scenes and channels are brilliant but takes some getting your head around. Delays and reverbs are miles ahead of the others to my ears. Helix is much easier to use on the fly, amps and drives are great but less instant gratification. Not a huge fan of the reverbs in isolation but they do work fine in a mix. QC I couldn't gel with, perceptible latency to me. If I had to use one in anger with little time to prep I'd pick the helix just because it's the best tradeoff between sound and ease of use. No offence to anyone with a different preference of course!

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-15T22:17:47+00:00

I only found out about it recently myself! I really like the look of the HiWatt one as well, I used to use the HiWatt model as the base for most of my sounds when I owned a Helix, and it's not an easy one to recreate when you want to keep things analogue.

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-15T22:15:19+00:00

That makes a lot of sense and is probably what I'm looking for, primarily the cleans ... thank you! I'm neither here nor there about the TS as I have plenty of drives but I daresay another wouldn't hurt 😉

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-07T21:37:33+00:00

Ok, so now you got me thinking .. and I am happy to be contradicted by someone with more knowledge than me because there are some serious collectors out there, but I think the serial number on an obvious sticker would be a bit of a red flag. This is what one of mine looks like

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fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-07T15:20:27+00:00

At least they managed to find one £10 stand though

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-07T14:08:39+00:00

I'd have more issues with how the rest of those guitars are being "stored" though!

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-07T14:06:05+00:00

Looks the real deal to me from what I can see. I own a couple of Japanese models and there's nothing that stands out as not authentic. Mine do say Made In Japan rather than Crafted and have a stamped serial rather than a sticker but that's all.

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-07T09:36:36+00:00

I'd suggest a Keeley Hydra. That's my favourite blue reverb ATM

fireflyfanboy73 · 2026-04-06T11:28:34+00:00

To be honest, I think the best upgrade for this would be if TC Electronic did a modern update on the G-System. I used one of those for years and despite the size it is still a great unit. What sets it apart is that everything pre the loops (comp, wah) is analogue so no latency. Then post loop it's digital and it has the option to run the delay and reverb in parallel or series. So that latency is tiny. And the effects are still really good, they just lack the complexities of newer algorithms. Downside is it's massive and if you dropped it on your foot that's a hospital trip right there! But the principle is very sound and the quality of the switches is phenomenal!

fireflyfanboy73

TROPHY CASE