Collecting old rack gear...What to get?

Tremonti

Tremonti

Fractal Fanatic
Some I know, like Mesa 2:90 and Triaxis. But want to start a list of possibles for effects, preamps, power amps and any processors. Thanks!
 
Just got my hands on a CAA 3+ SE tube preamp. To me it's one of the greatest preamps ever made. There's also the non-SE version. Then there's Soldano with the X77 - X88 - X99 and SP not to mention the Bogner Fish. As far as Mesa goes, the ones that interest me are the Studio Preamp and Quad Preamp. Then there's Marshall with the JMP1 and the EL34 100/100 and 50/50 power amps. The PA I currently use is a Fryette LXII but there's also the 2/90/2 and 2/50/2. Just quickly off the top of my head.
 
Dixiethedog said:
One that I would not recommend is one of these;

https://reverb.com/uk/item/73875251-1980-s-mxr-pitch-transposer-brian-may?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhL6pBhDjARIsAGx8D58WH2OXFKowOJEiyUVCtIIIO3yr8-dcuEp-WBgYFYIoYIbtRCR7xfkaAmlZEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=20304708451&utm_content=campaignid=20304708451_adgroupid=_productpartitionid==merchantid=239727981_productid=73875251_keyword=_device=c_adposition=_matchtype=_creative=&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google

I had one of these and it was absolute rubbish. I bought it thinking that I would be able to do the "Thin Lizzy" thing and was very disappointed. When I moved out of my parents' house I think that I just advised, "Just put it in the rubbish" when asked what to do with things. Stick with cool things!!
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Also avoid the Unicorn Poop :D
1697624404529.jpeg
Their X-15 Ultrafoot pedalboard was solid and reliable, though. But it had Unicorn's vomit all over it.
 
I’ve never been a Peavey fan, but their old chrome-faced Valverb reverb unit was a great sounding piece. In guitar gear, the holy grail for me would be a Soldano X99 preamp and matching Soldano 100 rack power amp. I had the set once, and it was awesome. Of course, I sold it to move on to other things, and it was among the few I wish I had back!
 
Unlike vintage pedals old rack gear is mostly a "worst of both worlds" scenario compared to modern gear - it's generally harder to use, less reliable and there's very few cases where it sounds better. Trying to program sounds on an old Eventide or Lexicon is incredibly tedious if you're used to Axe-Edit, and the stuff like the Synergy modules will get you a lot of the old rack pres with way more flexibility.

Having said that, here's some of my favourites!

Preamps
Triaxis (you've got this covered)
Boogie Studio Pre (Syn IICP would cover this)
ADA MP-1
Peavey Rockmaster (Syn 5150 is similar)

I think the Synergy 800 module sounds way more like a classic Marshall than a JMP1 but let's put the JMP1 in "classic" territory for to the number of bands that used them.

Classic Effects that are all expensive AF now
TC2290 - Fractal 2290 sounds identical
Roland SDE 1000/3000 - EVH approved, but you need 2 for stereo and they're huge
Lexicon PCM70 - Again we have the Circular/Pan delays in the Axe. Rich Plate and Concert Hall reverb are pretty great though
Roland Dimension D - world's second most expensive chorus
Dytronics TriChorus - world's most expensive chorus
Eventide H3000 - sounds beautiful but you could buy an Axe-Fx and take your family or to a Michelin starred restaurant for the price they go for used now

Underrated effects that are more reasonable and kinda fun
Yamaha SPX90/900/FX900
Roland DEP-5
Alesis Quadraverb
Korg A3
Sony DPS M7/R7
Lexicon MPX-1
Kurzweil Rumor
Digitech TRS-24
Roland GP100

I've got in depth videos with all these (except the Tri Chorus) on my channel if you want to hear what they do. Or grab my blocks library for recreations of them all and save yourself the trauma 🤣
 
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Hellbat said:
Roland XV-5080 with some kind of taurus-ey controller!
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I ran one of these with Roland PK-5A midi bass pedals live for a while. A lot of extra work to get some single note drones going in a few songs, but a great conversation piece!
 
Rockman - I love the Boston / Tom Scholz sound (a bit to the point of obsession). Though some noble attempts have been made to replicate the real amp + Fx sounds TS got on the 1st album, I'm not sure anything ever did it in the same way, and with the same unique character, as the Rockman rack gear TS invented and has used since the 80s. There's not much vintage rack gear I'd be super interested in having due to the usage and maintenance challenges, but I do find myself peeking at Rockman refurb offerings from time to time.
 
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TC2290
Yes modern gear can match it (sort of) today, but the 1 MHz sampling rate, 100 dB dynamic range and 20 Hz to 23 kHz soft roll off frequency response seems to make everything sound better. Pretty wild for a piece of equipment that’s almost 40 years old. I almost sold mine a few times. Glad I didn’t.
IMG_1786.jpeg
 
You didn't mention a budget but I sure regret selling an Eventide Harmonizer in the H3xxx series that I used in the '90's. It's detune feature left a sonic footprint that I've not heard (or rather dialed-in) thru their H-9 pedals, nor the FM3.
 
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