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Anyone use a Tech 21 Fly Rig?


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I love my pedals. I generally don't like multi-effects; respect the idea, but don't like having to become a programmer. Plus I like being able to make adjustments easily on the fly. BUT... I am contemplating getting a Tech 21 Fly Rig. It seems to have most of what I have on my board; just slightly different flavors. And it's analog, and the Tech 21 Sansamp is a quality preamp. The sound samples I've heard and reviews I've read all seem pretty good. Only potential drawback is there's no effects loop, in case I wanted to add another pedal. A wah I could easily put up front; but a delay or phasor I'd want near the end. Minor points, for effects I'd use in limited settings.

 

Any real-life experience here on the LDLD?

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

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I have not used a Fly Rig but I do want one!!! Well, 2 - one for bass and one for guitar.

 

A friend had the standard bass Fly Rig and sold it again quickly. I don't think he spent much time figuring it out, he isn't much for tweaking things.

He turned the octaver all the way up and didn't like the way that sounded so he flipped it. I attribute that to user error rather than a deficiency in the pedal.

 

No effects loop would not be a deal breaker for me, as you say - wah in front and/or delay/reverb in back if you even need them.

 

I have a trusty old Tech 21 TriAC and it is super easy to use. The tones are great, it is a recording mainstay for me, especially for bass. The Tweed setting carefully tweaked sounds great on bass.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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A friend had the standard bass Fly Rig and sold it again quickly. I don't think he spent much time figuring it out, he isn't much for tweaking things.

He turned the octaver all the way up and didn't like the way that sounded so he flipped it. I attribute that to user error rather than a deficiency in the pedal.

 

Ouch. One of the things I like about it is that you DON''T (or at least shouldn't) have to figure out much; it's pretty simple analog controls.

:shrug:

 

But thanks for the other opinions, KP!

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, the "demo" model of this that I was watching on Prymaxe's site was a good price. Then I saw they had the same one listed on Reverb for a few bucks less. I was going to email them and offer the Reverb price (or a bit less), when I saw that another seller on Reverb had one in very good shape, and was knocking his price down. Followed for about a week, then made him an offer. He countered; and it just arrived. saved about $50 this way!

 

It came well-packaged. The carrying case/tin was a bit dented, which he noted and pictured in his ad; the unit is fine (used in studio for a bit; only 1 live gig). First glance - it's smaller than I expected. Knobs are solid; switches are good. Will fit in a gig bag and free up a hand/shoulder. I'll try to plug it in tonight and give it a quick run-through.

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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Well, the "demo" model of this that I was watching on Prymaxe's site was a good price. Then I saw they had the same one listed on Reverb for a few bucks less. I was going to email them and offer the Reverb price (or a bit less), when I saw that another seller on Reverb had one in very good shape, and was knocking his price down. Followed for about a week, then made him an offer. He countered; and it just arrived. saved about $50 this way!

 

It came well-packaged. The carrying case/tin was a bit dented, which he noted and pictured in his ad; the unit is fine (used in studio for a bit; only 1 live gig). First glance - it's smaller than I expected. Knobs are solid; switches are good. Will fit in a gig bag and free up a hand/shoulder. I'll try to plug it in tonight and give it a quick run-through.

 

You are a buzzard, like me!!!! Well done. The owner, designer at Tech 21 is also a gigger, he won't make cheap crap. Yes, they are tiny. When you figure in the reliability, the size and weight, the tones and the fact that you could just run a mic cable to the PA and play a gig, it's kind of a no brainer to have one, even if you only use it for a spare.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Quick first impressions:

 

1) Don't turn the chorus, fuzz or octave knobs all the way up (which is how they were set when I got it). Doesn't mean they aren't useful, just need some judicious tinkering for the right amount.

2) initially I thought I needed to turn the SansAmp level knob up to 3:00 just to be at unity with my volume with the pedal off. But as I played around, the knobs interact with each other rather well, and just minor adjustments here and there made me back off the level.

 

Lots of options in this small unit. The SansAmp section alone is almost worth the price of admission. The compressor is on par with my Pigtronix, for the most part (and for my uses, anyway). Decent tuner. Boost is nice to have. The octave/filter/fuzz section definitely will take some woodshedding to get to where I really understand the interrelation of the controls; but so far I'll stick with the philosophy of the old Pete Townshend song, "A Little Is Enough". I wouldn't mind having more parameters for the chorus, but it's pretty good as-is.

 

This is definitely a good investment. I still love my individual pedals; but this is a few steps above being a compromise. And way less bulky.

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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Yep, the SansAmp is one of the great acheivements of the last century. Analog solid state that sounds amazing. Peavey's TransTube is awesome analog tube emulation as well but they haven't done as much for bassists with it.

 

Most effects are better on bass when kept more subtle and used occasionally to create texture. Keep us posted as you get this dialed in!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 1 month later...

Not the same thing but a SansAmp Bass Driver DI version 2 is on it's way here.

I wanted it for recording, pretty sure it will work great for more than just bass.

 

It's just like the original version except they added a Mid knob to the EQ and frequency choices for Bass (40 and 80 hz) and Mid (500 and 1,000 hz).

Looking forward to having it!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Funny band story.

 

Last week at rehearsal, I dusted off my Schecter T5. It has medium output pickups. It's good for certain things, but not my number one; but needed some play time. Through the Flyrig, it sounded really good - better than usual. So last night, I took it again. Sounded less than stellar; I was fighting to get it right, let alone loud enough. Then came time to switch to my Spector bass, which is 4 string and kept tuned a half step down. As it is active, I hit the pad button on the Flyrig. Well, I am BLARING. I had the pad "in" while using the passive; "out" for the active bass. Darned tiny buttons! Once I got back to the Schecter - without the pad engaged, it sounded great again. Go figure.

 

This is now a "must check" item for soundchecks.

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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Funny band story.

 

Last week at rehearsal, I dusted off my Schecter T5. It has medium output pickups. It's good for certain things, but not my number one; but needed some play time. Through the Flyrig, it sounded really good - better than usual. So last night, I took it again. Sounded less than stellar; I was fighting to get it right, let alone loud enough. Then came time to switch to my Spector bass, which is 4 string and kept tuned a half step down. As it is active, I hit the pad button on the Flyrig. Well, I am BLARING. I had the pad "in" while using the passive; "out" for the active bass. Darned tiny buttons! Once I got back to the Schecter - without the pad engaged, it sounded great again. Go figure.

 

This is now a "must check" item for soundchecks.

 

 

Hah!!! Every button on a Tech 21 product has a purpose. Luckily they don't pile all sorts of "sorta useful" buttons in there so it's pretty easy to learn how they work.

You won't repeat that mistake.

I've got a guitar pedal - Tech 21 Tri AC and I love that it is also great for bass. Not a pedalboard guy mostly but if I were building one I would start with Tech 21 products. They are a bit more money but I think it's worth it.

I've had the Tri-AC for 10 years or more and it is a keeper. Quite a few other pedals have come and gone. I keep my Killer Wail, I need to see if they will still service it and get it fixed.

 

The best wah pedal that did not pick up the radio that I've ever used, it just has that animal snarl we all love but it's quiet too.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 4 weeks later...
I want to like the Fly Rig as it's a nice little pedal. I have never really gotten along with Tech21/SansAmp stuff. Maybe it's worth another try. I have a really nice, really expensive tube compressor I use now (LA-1A) and I'm not sure I can give it up. All my playing is DI/IEM/Silent Stage these days so a good IEM sound is a must.
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While I do like the Flyrig, and have been using it consistently for rehearsals, I did take my "real" pedal board to last Friday's gig. Just a little more versatile, and different contral/accessability.

 

The Flyrig's compressor is nice; but if you've got what you need, especially that LA-1A, no need to "downgrade" unless you find that too cumbersome.

"Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion)

NEW band Old band

 

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I want to like the Fly Rig as it's a nice little pedal. I have never really gotten along with Tech21/SansAmp stuff. Maybe it's worth another try. I have a really nice, really expensive tube compressor I use now (LA-1A) and I'm not sure I can give it up. All my playing is DI/IEM/Silent Stage these days so a good IEM sound is a must.

 

 

LA-1A has a unique tone, if that's your tone then it isn't something you can replace easily.

That said, 40+ years of gigging has taught me that it isn't a matter of "if" tubes will fail, it's a matter of "when".

I've had newer tubes fail, older tubes fail. Some tubes seem to keep on chugging along for a long time. None of them will last forever.

 

A FlyRig makes a small, light, all in one backup for inevitable failure that will fit in the pouch on your gig bag. If you are lucky, you'll never have to use it.

If you do have to use it, there are some nice tones in there. Maybe not the ones you love the most but much better than silence or lugging around a bulkier backup system.

I keep a Tech 21 Tri-AC in my gig bag and a spare 9v battery. It's a great sounding box of tricks, I've recorded bass and guitar with it many times.

Battery power is the quietest power source available, pure DC cannot generate any sort of noise.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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All good points. The LA-1A was a great addition. I can't believe I spent that much for a pedal, and another $220 for the CIOKS DC-7 to power it and my 2 other pedals. It is a slick little Nano board. It isn't cumbersome at all. I should have a proper DI I suppose. I just use the 600 ohm out on the LA-1A which works ok.

 

That said, while I don't use effects right now, there are a couple tunes here and there where a little drive would be nice. Or a filter for "Can't Stop the Feeling" would be nice. It's only a couple tunes here and there so I don't want to spend a ton. I could get that on the Fly Rig. It is a step backwards in quality. I/we in the band kind of pride ourselves on high quality gear. It's $300. Not a lot for what you get, but also not LA-1A quality either. As most of my playing is DI/IEM, good tone is pretty essential for that. Live in the FOH, maybe not as much? IDK.

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Live in the FOH, maybe not as much? IDK.

 

FOH can vary wildly in my experience. Some rooms sound wonderful, others create "interesting" and unforeseen problems.

Sometimes soundcheck is hellish and then the place fills up (or, it used to fill up...) and all that human diffusion improves things.

 

A band I was in played directly under the dome above the stage at one of the Fox theaters that are up and down the west coast. The echo was untenable, I directed everybody to move as close together as possible keep the volume way down. Really weird trying to play a song that doesn't sync up with the "delay", which was pretty much everything we played. In ear would have been much better there, and electronic drums. The snare drove us all insane, including the drummer.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Yeah, I REALLY like tht most of my gigs (loud nes anyway) are DI/IEM/Silent Stage type gigs. Almost no sound check, just a little for FOH tweaking. I haven't had to adjust my IEM mix much at all over the last few years.

 

Part of me thinks I have these super nice basses and I should run them through super nice gear. The other part is like I'm at the mercy of the room so maybe I don't need $1,000 in tube compressors and DI's for a corporate gig or street dance. But I also want to listen to as nice a sound as I can in my ears all night long. Th eusuall circular logic I deal with all the time.

 

It is a cute little thing. Many people love the SansAmp stuff. Tiny, inexpensive and "good enough" for most needs? Maybe?

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Yeah, I REALLY like tht most of my gigs (loud nes anyway) are DI/IEM/Silent Stage type gigs. Almost no sound check, just a little for FOH tweaking. I haven't had to adjust my IEM mix much at all over the last few years.

 

Part of me thinks I have these super nice basses and I should run them through super nice gear. The other part is like I'm at the mercy of the room so maybe I don't need $1,000 in tube compressors and DI's for a corporate gig or street dance. But I also want to listen to as nice a sound as I can in my ears all night long. Th eusuall circular logic I deal with all the time.

 

It is a cute little thing. Many people love the SansAmp stuff. Tiny, inexpensive and "good enough" for most needs? Maybe?

 

I am a big fan of Tech 21 products. The founder was one of the first to come up with a very acceptable "tube sound" from solid state circuits. He is also a gigging musician, he understands small, light and simple.

Like many versatile sound processors, Sansamp stuff will make some nasty tones too, careful dialing will deliver some nice stuff.

 

True story, I was in a recording studio doing a lead guitar session, brought a Mesa combo, an Emerysound StageBaby (handmade by one guy and not cheap!!!) and and a "clone" of a Fender 5D3, hand wired with vintage transformers ( a converted Hammond amp). We tried for a while to get a great lead tone recorded. I ended up going into the control room, hooking up my Tech 2 Tri AC and we got what we were looking for almost immediately. That's what we used and it worked great.

 

I really like the SansAmp Bass Driver DI version 2 with the switchable frequencies for Bass and Mids, that's my bass tone recording at home on my 2 basses. The 40hz really brings out the fat full sound. I have one bass tuned to BEAD (fretless) and my trusty Peavey Fury - mid 80's - now has the D'Addario Groundwound Heavy set tuned C# F# B E - sort of like having a short scale bass with extra low notes. EMG P bass pickups in both of them.

 

Spending more does improve tone but at a certain point you are paying 5x for about 5% improvement that maybe only you really notice and care about. Still, it is really important to be a happy musician, people notice if anybody in the band is not all in for the fun.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Yeah, I REALLY like tht most of my gigs (loud nes anyway) are DI/IEM/Silent Stage type gigs. Almost no sound check, just a little for FOH tweaking. I haven't had to adjust my IEM mix much at all over the last few years.

 

Part of me thinks I have these super nice basses and I should run them through super nice gear. The other part is like I'm at the mercy of the room so maybe I don't need $1,000 in tube compressors and DI's for a corporate gig or street dance. But I also want to listen to as nice a sound as I can in my ears all night long. Th eusuall circular logic I deal with all the time.

 

It is a cute little thing. Many people love the SansAmp stuff. Tiny, inexpensive and "good enough" for most needs? Maybe?

 

 

Like many versatile sound processors, Sansamp stuff will make some nasty tones too, careful dialing will deliver some nice stuff.

 

Spending more does improve tone but at a certain point you are paying 5x for about 5% improvement that maybe only you really notice and care about. Still, it is really important to be a happy musician, people notice if anybody in the band is not all in for the fun.

 

All good points. More $$ isn't necessarily better. Diminishing returns. Most of the gear we use is for us I think. Others don't notice much. Our singer did notice my LA-1A but was it because it's a $460 tube compressor or because I was using a compressor?

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Yeah, I REALLY like tht most of my gigs (loud nes anyway) are DI/IEM/Silent Stage type gigs. Almost no sound check, just a little for FOH tweaking. I haven't had to adjust my IEM mix much at all over the last few years.

 

Part of me thinks I have these super nice basses and I should run them through super nice gear. The other part is like I'm at the mercy of the room so maybe I don't need $1,000 in tube compressors and DI's for a corporate gig or street dance. But I also want to listen to as nice a sound as I can in my ears all night long. Th eusuall circular logic I deal with all the time.

 

It is a cute little thing. Many people love the SansAmp stuff. Tiny, inexpensive and "good enough" for most needs? Maybe?

 

 

Like many versatile sound processors, Sansamp stuff will make some nasty tones too, careful dialing will deliver some nice stuff.

 

Spending more does improve tone but at a certain point you are paying 5x for about 5% improvement that maybe only you really notice and care about. Still, it is really important to be a happy musician, people notice if anybody in the band is not all in for the fun.

 

All good points. More $$ isn't necessarily better. Diminishing returns. Most of the gear we use is for us I think. Others don't notice much. Our singer did notice my LA-1A but was it because it's a $460 tube compressor or because I was using a compressor?

 

 

Exactly. A friend of mine who has tube amps and a large, elaborate pedal board came up to me at a gig one time. A guitar gig, I was using a Peavey Studio Pro 112 - Red Stripe Transtube amp, a channel switch and a TC Electronics Flashback X4 with chorus and delay settings. I paid way more for the delay than I did the amp but Transtube is probably Hartley Peavey's greatest contribution to music.

 

He said "How do you get all those sounds out of that Peavey amp?" I handed him one of my picks, super heavy. I said "Turn your amp up until it scares you and learn to play with this pick at a low volume."

He stared at me in disbelief. Most of our tone comes from the way we play and who we are. A pick touches the strings, touching the strings has more to do with tone than anything in the audio signal chain.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I've always been a less is more guy. That's why the Nano with the LA-1A, my tuner and my Rolls box for my IEM's.

 

 

Me too, I love it simple. So much easier to figure out if you have a problem and the tone is more "pure" for want of a better word.

 

More importantly, I never look at the floor and wonder what I should do. I don't have enough options for a learning curve.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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I've always been a less is more guy. That's why the Nano with the LA-1A, my tuner and my Rolls box for my IEM's.

 

 

Me too, I love it simple. So much easier to figure out if you have a problem and the tone is more "pure" for want of a better word.

 

More importantly, I never look at the floor and wonder what I should do. I don't have enough options for a learning curve.

 

 

I often look at the floor and wonder what I should do when I play. I use no pedals at all.

You can stop now -jeremyc

STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring

lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum

I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie

 

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I've always been a less is more guy. That's why the Nano with the LA-1A, my tuner and my Rolls box for my IEM's.

 

 

Me too, I love it simple. So much easier to figure out if you have a problem and the tone is more "pure" for want of a better word.

 

More importantly, I never look at the floor and wonder what I should do. I don't have enough options for a learning curve.

 

 

I often look at the floor and wonder what I should do when I play. I use no pedals at all.

 

Maybe get rid of the floor? Simplicity!!!! :laugh:

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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