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View Full Version : DigiTech EX-7 Expression Factory Inital Impressions



marnold
December 3rd, 2006, 03:22 PM
Color me surprised! I went to my homebrew club's meeting yesterday and when I got home, there was my EX-7! Apparently DHL delivers on Saturdays. Who knew? One thing that immediately struck me is that someone at DigiTech has a problem with gauging sizes of things. The pedal is roughly the size of a standard wah-wah pedal. The box it comes in is a little less than four times bigger. The manual, on the other hand, it teeny--3" x 4" (7.5 cm x 10.5 cm for you metric folk).

The pedal is quite heavy and made almost entirely of metal. It seems very rugged. You could probably beat an intruder to death with it. There are two inputs: one for the guitar and one for the optional foot switch. There are two outputs: one for going out to an amp, another for going directly to a mixer (which adds in cabinet emulation). You can also rig it up to output in stereo to a mixer or two amps. It comes with its own power supply--it cannot be run on battery power.

First off, don't do what I did and plug your guitar into the foot switch input. If you turn it on like that with the first model selected, it goes into calibration mode, which is very confusing. Well, it's confusing if you don't realize that you are in calibration mode. Add to that the several beers I had at the homebrew club meeting and you see my problem.

Anyway, I like the Cry Baby wah a lot. The sound is exactly what I was looking for in a wah pedal. The XP300 aka Space Station model is very cool and very easy to get some interesting sounds out of. My guess is that you could use this to play Van Halen's "1984" on guitar alone.

The Whammy model is pretty cool for doing some harmony solos or doing whammy bar-like effects on my hard tail guitars. There aren't anywhere near as many options as there are on the original Whammy pedal, but most of the big ones are here.

I turned on the Uni-Vibe model and immediately thought of Robin Trower's "Bridge of Sighs." That model sounds quite a bit like the recordings I've heard of artists using it. The Leslie, to my ears, sounds better than the rotary effect on my AD30VT. I have no idea if it actually sounds like a Leslie but the reviews online have been quite positive. The only effect I really haven't figured out is the flanger. I'll have to fiddle with that one some more.

Some reviews say that you can't use the distortion models (the same ones that are on the Distortion Factory pedal) alone. That's only partially true. If you select the Whammy model and set the wet/dry mix all the way to dry, you can play with the distortions to your heart's content. I haven't messed with the distortions much yet. The TS-9 model sounds somewhat like my Behringer, although with less drive. I like the Boss Metal Zone and Big Muff models. The Big Muff is more of a fuzzy distortion which seems like it would be really cool for old Sabbath stuff.

I tried plugging my Vox foot switch into the EX-7. The DigiTech foot switch is three-button but the Vox is only two. I've got to play with it a bit more to find out what things the Vox foot switch actually changes. I would think that if you were to use this pedal in a live situation, you'd want the extra foot switch. At home by myself it's not a big deal.

For those of you who are concerned about running a modeling effect into a modeling amp (viz my AD30VT), there have been no problems so far. I've been running it into the Boutique CL model with the effects on the amp bypassed.

So far, I'm really happy with this pedal. Most places online have it for $199. I managed to get it for $149 on eBay brand new from Waddell's Drums (no affiliation, yadda, yadda). That makes the price much easier to swallow. When you consider how much it would cost to get all of these pedals separately, it doesn't seem so bad at all. I will continue to play with the various settings. Hopefully this week I'll have some sound clips posted. Until then, you can check out DigiTech's EX-7 demo (http://www.digitech.com/flash/EX7demo.html) or the sound clips on MF (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/DigiTech-EX7-Expression-Factory?sku=156603).

Lev
December 4th, 2006, 04:01 AM
Glad your enjoying it Marnold! I've had mine for about six months now, I don't really use the distortions, leslie or univibe but I get quite a bit from the space station and whammy effects. I used it on my take on Super Swede's Roadkill backing track - the space station effect is at the start (sounds cool when used with a whammy bar on your guitar) and the whammy effect is in the main hook.

http://www.box.net/public/v1dy6aa8h9

marnold
December 5th, 2006, 06:47 PM
Lev, I liked that clip a lot. Nice restrained use of the effects. The natural inclination for me is to abuse them :) That will probably change as I get over the "gee whiz" period of owning this pedal.

I did some more messing with the distortion models with no other effect (whammy model set completely on "dry"). I A/B'd the EX-7's Ibanez TS-9 model against my Behringer TO800. It is very close with the same settings. I like the TO800 slightly better. It seems warmer to me than the EX-7's model but it's darn close. Honestly, if I didn't have the TO800 already, I probably wouldn't have a need for a separate OD pedal.

As I mentioned before, the EH Big Muff Pi model is a fuzzier distortion. I can really nail the Black Sabbath tone with it with all of the settings at noon. I don't have a fuzz pedal, so that model will definitely be a welcome addition to my arsenal. I also intend to try it with the Univibe effect for a little Jimi action.

The Boss Metal Zone is quite nice too, although I prefer the sound of an OD pedal driving the Vox's UK70s amp.

The rest of the distortion models are nice enough. The DOD Overdrive model seems like it might be a good solo boost. Beyond that, I prefer the tones I can get from my Vox with our without the TO800 in front of it. I have no idea how faithful any of the models are since I don't own any of the pedals that the EX-7 is trying to emulate. A friend of mine had a Boss DS-1 and that model sounds very familiar to me. If I ever get my hands on any of the original pedals, I'll try to A/B them.

marnold
December 8th, 2006, 01:51 PM
I really wish the whammy model would have more options for dropping down an octave or two. You can use the "Reverse 2nd Down" position for some light quasi-Bigsby whammy action, but there's no real way to do a dive bomb despite the fact that the description notes "accurate dive bombs." There's an Octave Down > Octave Up setting, but that's more for octave doubling. You can't run it dry and then drop an octave. Pity.

Robert
August 28th, 2007, 11:21 PM
Still liking it? Seems like a nice useful pedal.

Lev
August 29th, 2007, 01:46 AM
It's definitely a cool pedal and they've packed a lot into it. I really bought it for the whammy and space station effects but I've recently got into the univibe and wahs. I guess the draw back is the price and the lack of flexibility in a live situation.

On the price issue, you do get 7 FX and distortion models but at the end of the day it's a pedal that you'll probably only use on about 10% of your repertoire - so you need to weigh up whether it's worth splashing out cash on or whether you might be better spending money on something that you'll get more use out of. Having said that if you get a good deal then go for it.

On it's use live, you need to take a note of your settings. There's no digital memory on board here so you adjust the knobs independently for each effect. I find you need to fine tune the settings (Especially on the wah) to get the sweet spot but then if you switch to the whammy and move the knobs for it, you lose your sweet wah settings. So you need to take a note of the settings and tape them to your pedal board. This also means you can't use two of it's effects in the same song unless you get the drummer to do a drum solo while you tweak :D

All in all, for it's sound I would give an 8/10 but for practicality a 5/10.

SuperSwede
August 29th, 2007, 03:27 AM
Marnold, I really liked the original whammy pedal. This one seems to be even better. Congrats :)

marnold
August 29th, 2007, 07:53 AM
I agree with Lev in that in a live situation, the EX7 would be difficult to use if you intend on using multiple effects, especially within the same song. Obviously sitting in your room practicing, that's not an issue. I don't dislike any of the models on it. The only thing that gets me is the tracking on the whammy effect sometimes (similar to what Robert experienced with his octave pedal).

The advantage for me is that even though it was relatively expensive (although I got mine for $149 brand new), it is much cheaper than if I bought a fistful of distortion boxes and all of the effects. It gives me a wide tonal palette that I couldn't get easily another way. Basically, I bought it because I wanted a pedal that combined a wah, volume, and whammy in one. It succeeds in that and adds a lot more. If it had like three or four memory settings it would be perfect.

Justaguyin_nc
August 29th, 2007, 02:10 PM
you guys with this pedal... anyone have some demos with the space station or and leslie.. the digitech demos sound neat..wondering what actual user has come up with.. used prices seem cheap enough... the univibe sound was as good as any on the demo.. thats alot of pedals for the money.. excluding the distortions..

Edit: oops...missed this at first...
the space station effect is at the start (sounds cool when used with a whammy bar on your guitar) and the whammy effect is in the main hook.

http://www.box.net/public/v1dy6aa8h9

really like the sounds lev...excellent!

Lev
August 31st, 2007, 01:50 AM
Hey Justa,

checkout Spuds post on Michael Thompsons pedal board. He gives a good demo of this pedal.

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=3996

marnold
September 9th, 2007, 04:48 PM
you guys with this pedal... anyone have some demos with the space station

Here's a little something I made up using the Space Station model. The pitch shift is set at 5th up. The chorus/pitch balance and swell attack time are both set at noon. The expression pedal is toe down. The riff (belief it or not) is just an arpeggiated version of the main riff to Crazy Train. At the end I hit an open A and dive bombed with my whammy bar and brought it back to pitch. Lev is right--you can get some cool sounds with the Space Station and whammy bar.

I'm using the neck pickup on my Floyd Rose with the pedal's mixer out going straight into the sound card. I used Audacity to remove the 60 cycle hum and amplify it a bit.

Space Station Demo (http://www.box.net/shared/gef1g09q10)

Ideally, I'd like to split the signal from my guitar and run one part through the Space Station model and another with a clean Fender tone. That'd probably be pretty cool, I would think.

Justaguyin_nc
September 9th, 2007, 06:26 PM
That is slick Marnold.. I had no idea what made these sounds.. and obviously there are others..but this space station seems like a kick to play with. thanks for the demo!

Robert
September 9th, 2007, 08:40 PM
Beautiful sound. I should get me one of these pedals!

Justaguyin_nc
December 20th, 2007, 08:23 PM
YES!!!

She gave me an early present.. Didn't even know she remembered this thing..

total surprise!!!

So far.. I just messed with it a few minutes... and to her.. Some guy named Marnold was the GAS that pushed this into existence..:rotflmao:

I have only tried the Space Station sound.. amazing!!!

Strum a chord and sit back and smile..

Awesome pedal...

HoneyMoon Vibes and all!!

thanks for demoing this thing..

Now can I really replace all those pedals for this one...
time will tell.. it got a bunch of 'em!!

:rockon:

I have it running out to two amps.. I guess thats ok?

Tone2TheBone
December 20th, 2007, 09:47 PM
Congrats buddy. I may sell some pedals and get one of those babies myself. Good to see you post again. :) Great samples you guys.

Justaguyin_nc
December 21st, 2007, 03:48 AM
Congrats buddy. I may sell some pedals and get one of those babies myself. Good to see you post again. :) Great samples you guys.

I wanna add a sample..:)

Man, you guys got to understand.. till a few years ago I didn't have a clue what made any sounds!

Ok, So I can't use many of them yet..lol.. but this thing is so cool..

Just listening to chords strummed in the space station - synth swell setting.. sheesh..
(Mind you, this is not related to my Hemp mention in another posting..Umm I don't think anyways)

I just can't believe something can do so much with so little (Im the little)

Here is me sample.. ignore the playing.. but pickup on the idea of how cool this is..

You guys that can play... it would be awesome..

Guitar+ex7+amp or computer.. sheesh.. it's a symphony!!

Umm this is me just strumming chords to the song City of New Orleans..
One take.. no trying to get it right.. justa messing.. saved in 117kps speed..so... anyways... listening to it live.. wow.. it's "Magic"
all that sound.. one guitar.. nothing else.. sheesh.. Im amazed!!

S7Tpk6nGAkU

oldguy
December 21st, 2007, 07:56 AM
Knocked out!!
(Hey, Justa, will you produce my next video??)
:D :beer: :D

Lev
December 21st, 2007, 08:00 AM
Sweet justa - I nearly broke my neck with this pedal a couple of weeks back - I wanted to record the Space Station volume swells into my RC-2 looper and jam over the top. I was using my right foot on the EX-7 and my left on the RC-2. I was so engrossed in trying to start the loop in sync that I hit both pedals at the same time - forgetting that from a standing position it's not always wise to lift both feet off the floor at the same time!!:thwap:

marnold
December 21st, 2007, 09:05 AM
She gave me an early present.. Didn't even know she remembered this thing..

total surprise!!!

So far.. I just messed with it a few minutes... and to her.. Some guy named Marnold was the GAS that pushed this into existence..:rotflmao:
I'll leave it to you to pick whichever response you deem appropriate:
1) "I'm sorry"
2) "You're welcome"

When I first got my EX-7 the Space Station was used most frequently. With it set to an octave down I think I could do the music for a horror movie all by myself :)

Justaguyin_nc
December 21st, 2007, 02:19 PM
I'll leave it to you to pick whichever response you deem appropriate:
1) "I'm sorry"
2) "You're welcome"

When I first got my EX-7 the Space Station was used most frequently. With it set to an octave down I think I could do the music for a horror movie all by myself :)

I will select number 2.. :AOK:

Ya know, it's pretty cool to be in your fifties and enjoying a present like when ya was five.. I don't ever wanna grow up... do any real musician's ever growup?

:rockon:

Oldguy.. I have sooo much time consumed in the band Tone and I am in... it's hard to be a video producer too... but I will think about it..lol
(I know T2TB is glad I added this to the gig truck..)

Lev, I can see that happening.. you get caught up listening to some sound.. your not there playing it anymore.. please.. try to be sitting next time you pull that stunt..:rotflmao:

Spudman
December 21st, 2007, 04:52 PM
.. I don't ever wanna grow up... do any real musician's ever growup?


Nope. They grow out. :D

Justaguyin_nc
December 22nd, 2007, 01:34 PM
Nope. They grow out. :D

Hmmm..I might be turning into a Musician than... naw...

Something I noticed about the EX-7... it's gonna put my Crybaby CGB95F on ebay..

I tried out the Crybaby and Vox Wah settings on it..

At first..I thought man these suck compared to my crybaby classic...

Than I started turning knobs...

Imho the stock settings they suggest are way off for the crybaby..

On Crybaby settings I turned the 1-11:00 and 2-11:00 and 3-OFF

On Vox Wah settings I turned the 1-9:00 and 2-10:00 and 3-OFF

Like that.. they both sounded pretty darn close to the Fasel Crybaby..
least close enough to me..

Which leave a heck of alot of adjusments for other sounds..

That booster on 3.. it is kinda noisy.. but not needed anyways.. not for just the wahbaby sound..

But.. if you turn 1 and 2 off.. and 3 up.. well..you got a boost switch..

Ofcourse..my ears kinda suck.. like my playing.. but this is just my opinion on those two so far..
:beer:

marnold
December 23rd, 2007, 01:27 PM
I like the Cry Baby model. I haven't A/B'd it with the real thing, but I'm certainly not going to have a need to get one. I had a bass Cry Baby back in the day. It ate batteries and I had a devil of a time keeping the pot from getting scratchy. No problem there when you are dealing with a digital model.

Justaguyin_nc
December 23rd, 2007, 04:23 PM
I like the Cry Baby model. I haven't A/B'd it with the real thing, but I'm certainly not going to have a need to get one. I had a bass Cry Baby back in the day. It ate batteries and I had a devil of a time keeping the pot from getting scratchy. No problem there when you are dealing with a digital model.

do you find the Vox wah a little sharper? (for a better word aludes me)
it's neat in it's own rights.. but I also favor the crybaby so far.. once I changed settings..it gave me a little more play on the pedal..

Is there a certain setting you leave your crybaby set to?

marnold
December 23rd, 2007, 09:46 PM
do you find the Vox wah a little sharper? (for a better word aludes me)
it's neat in it's own rights.. but I also favor the crybaby so far.. once I changed settings..it gave me a little more play on the pedal..

Is there a certain setting you leave your crybaby set to?
I must be honest, I haven't messed with the Crybaby settings in awhile so I don't even remember what I used. Probably pretty close to noon all around. The Vox wah seems a bit more nasal/thinner to me I think.

Tone2TheBone
December 27th, 2007, 02:47 PM
I got one yesterday from an after Christmas sale at Guitar Center for $149. My sister and niece gave me a gift card so I used part of that for it plus I got an additional 10% off for using the gift card before the end of the month. So far I like it and it's going to replace a couple of pedals on my board. I'll have those up for sale soon so keep an eye out. ;) The Uni-vibe and Leslie sounds are great and full sounding. I like the Clyde wah a lot and some of the distortions are kinda neat. I finally figured out how to use the pedal it was difficult at first and yeah Marnold I too plugged my guitar into the footswitch when I first tried it. hahahaha

Robert
December 27th, 2007, 03:21 PM
You lucky dog! It seems like a really cool pedal.

Does it suck tone bad?

Justaguyin_nc
December 27th, 2007, 03:35 PM
I got one yesterday from an after Christmas sale at Guitar Center for $149.

Sweeeeet!!! Look forward to all your thoughts on it... :beer:


Im still in heaven when I play those synth swells.. just an amazing little pedal....:master:

Tone2TheBone
December 27th, 2007, 06:55 PM
Robert - No it doesn't seem to suck any tone even with some of my other pedals. It's got several level settings on the pedal anyway so when you're in effect model mode or distortion model mode it's a good loud signal on them. When off the amp sounds the same really.

Justa - Can you imagine the screaming solos our band is going to be playing with the Space Station and Whammy effects! Man I love the Whammy effect. I get the perfect simulation of any White Stripes solo it's way too fun. I crack myself up listening to it. My daughter passed by a while ago and goes "hey that's cool!". I also really like the Boss Metal Zone effect. On a clean Fender amp it sounds great and would really be helpful if you wanted some instant Boogie leads. It sounds perfect with the Whammy effect combined. The wahs aren't too bad and I'm almost sold on them. I have the Cry Baby with Fasel and I've got to try Spud's settings on it to compare. If it does that reasonably good I'll sell the CB. I'm already going to let go of the Little Big Muff fuzz pedal and the Chicken Salad pedal.

marnold
December 27th, 2007, 10:30 PM
Does it suck tone bad?
That's the thing I've been most impressed with. My OD definitely colors my tone even when it's not on. I don't even know that the EX is there. I don't know if it is "true bypass" but it is very transparent.

Justaguyin_nc
December 29th, 2007, 12:52 AM
Justa - Can you imagine the screaming solos our band is going to be playing with the Space Station and Whammy effects! Man I love the Whammy effect.

That's about all I can do...Imagine..lol

Help me out here...
I see alot of reviews about the Whammy being soooo cool..
so excellent.. Ummm what the heck do you do with it? lol

I know if I set knobs: 1-full right 2 -12:00 and 3 - full right..
I get the effect my whammy bar gives in the pedal performance...
But umm I got a whammy..

I know there must be more to it..lol..what am I missing here?
it all sounds chinesse to me on any other setting...:cry: HELP!!
Please someone explain what I am suppose to see/hear here..

Oh... I been A/B'ing my MUFF to this one..
Im keeping my MUFF..or should I say Large Beaver..
or would replace it more with the RAT than with the Digi Muff..
justa mho... Although the DigiMuff is useable..
just different...

I been having some fun with the Leslie and Hotel California...

I have a Dunlop UniVibe Stereo Chorus...
I really like the Digi Uni-Vibe..
But Don't think I will Sell the Dunlop.. yet..
It does a few more things.. I think anyways...



Still... the SpaceStation makes this worth every penny..
:AOK:

Lev
December 29th, 2007, 05:51 AM
Help me out here...
I see alot of reviews about the Whammy being soooo cool..
so excellent.. Ummm what the heck do you do with it? lol



you can do this....
ciRAhqMSVvs

and this...
EtkOSsHedzw

and pretty much any Rage Against the Machine Song. I guess the big differernce between it and a whammy bar is the ability to go up an octave or two. BTW - have you tried doing a dive bomb with your whammy bar on the space station sound - way cool!!

marnold
December 29th, 2007, 09:49 AM
The Dragonforce guitarists use the Whammy quite a bit, for example in "Through the Fire and Flames"

ySdLh_B3HjA

If you set the wet/dry mix in the middle you can also do harmonized solos with yourself. As Lev pointed out, I'd bet that your whammy bar can't go from two octaves up to one octave down. It is one of those "a little dab will do ya" kind of effects because it is very easy to abuse.

Justaguyin_nc
December 29th, 2007, 01:47 PM
Well that explains it... I don't listen to that stuff..it's satanic music...lol

Actually, Other than seeing Joe's face in one.. I don't even know the others..

So the Whammy is a 90's thing?

I guess I can still use it for my Squier 51 as a regular whammy..:)

Thanks guys..I knew I was missing something.. like a decade called the Nineties..

Spudman
December 29th, 2007, 02:06 PM
Robert has some Whammy demos over at Dolphin Street.

Justaguyin_nc
December 29th, 2007, 02:18 PM
Robert has some Whammy demos over at Dolphin Street.

I should have known that!!

Hey I just listened to them... he sounds Chinessee...

I can honestly say I sound like robert now.. well..the screeeeching parts at least..lol

People actually call that a style?

Now I understand how Country sounds to some here..
Different strokes.. I swear I don't get that..lol

thanks all.. I am sure it's cool for alot of people..

:AOK:

EDIT: Thanks for the headsup on White Stripes.. I been listening to Jack for the last few hours over on youtube... I think I now understand the Whammy setting.. And have added the White Stripes as a band to listen to.. the guy has some great songs.. and neat style.. I also like his Fender twins and selection of guitars.... thanks!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Stripes

Tone2TheBone
December 30th, 2007, 07:36 PM
I think you'd really like their material Justa (White Stripes) especially the guitar oriented Icky Thump. Lots of different stuff but the roots are blues. If you have an open mind and enjoy the idea of just drums and guitar then you'd dig it. I know I do.

Spudman
January 4th, 2008, 05:59 PM
Oh ya baby! The EX7 is definitely worth getting. The wahs alone are worth what they ask for these, but add the Space Station and distortions and Whammy and this thing is a bargain.:AOK:

If you can get to a store that carries them be sure try one. I may have some pedals for sale soon too.:)

marnold
January 4th, 2008, 06:07 PM
Wow, does this mean that I inspired a trend or something?

I'm glad I nixed my idea of selling my EX-7 for one of the RP units. Another classic "If you're really not sure what to do, wait for it" situations.

tot_Ou_tard
January 4th, 2008, 06:21 PM
Could'a swore that I posted this already, but I can't find the post.

If 3 fretters want an EX-7, they could go together and get the buy 2 get 1 free Sweetwater Digitech sale:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EX7/

Spudman
January 4th, 2008, 07:09 PM
Wow, does this mean that I inspired a trend or something?
Another classic "If you're really not sure what to do, wait for it" situations.

Exactly what I did.
I've been looking at them ever since they came out. I can't remember how many times I watched the video on the Digitech web site. I just wasn't sure about the sound quality after using and hearing other Digitech products though. They got this one pretty close to perfect. Your reviews helped me make a decision and I'm glad I finally did.

:rockon: :dude:

Robert
January 4th, 2008, 07:54 PM
Does this mean I have to get one too? :o

marnold
January 4th, 2008, 08:26 PM
Does this mean I have to get one too? :o
<Peer Pressure>All the cool kids are doing it, Robert. You want to be cool, don't you?</Peer Pressure>

Justaguyin_nc
January 4th, 2008, 09:09 PM
<Peer Pressure>All the cool kids are doing it, Robert. You want to be cool, don't you?</Peer Pressure>

Plus

<Gear Pressure>All the gearheads are doing it, Robert. You want to be a gearhead, don't you?</Gear Pressure>



Marnold..please change your Contributing Member to Trend Setter.. thank you

Spudman
January 4th, 2008, 10:10 PM
I'm definitely getting rid of some pedals. The wahs are really good. The tremolo sounds great too but the Chicken Salad has it's own thing going on as well. It's going to be hard to decide that one. The wahs sound as good or better than my 535Q. Go figure.

Justaguyin_nc
January 5th, 2008, 03:15 PM
I'm definitely getting rid of some pedals.

So you have as many pedals as guitars? :pancake:


Yeah, I got 3 pedals up already.. 4th might be comming..
I sure hope it's not a honeymoon thing with this pedal..:rotflmao:

:beer:

Tone2TheBone
January 5th, 2008, 08:27 PM
I've already sold 2 of the 3 pedals due to the EX-7. The last pedal is pretty much sold by the end of the coming week. The sold pedals were great you bet but this unit saves pedal board space and for me that's a plus.

This is one dang cool unit......go Digitech.

Justaguyin_nc
January 6th, 2008, 03:59 PM
Justa to clarify something I mentioned in second best pedal...

I finally found a place this thing works fine on setting #3 for me thru a NS-2..

Actually, I removed some other pedals.. removed some cables that seemed questionable (I put them together would be the main reason)...

Putting the EX7 before the NS-2 has worked just fine for me.. I have an A/B box to split to both amps so all is well..

I dunno..may have been me all along.. but it just didn't seem right in the loop of the NS-2 on that one setting...

Both the NS-2 and this EX7 are keepers one way or the other! :AOK:

Tone2TheBone
January 9th, 2008, 02:16 PM
Hey Justa I liked those Space Station swells. We can do something with that in stereo on our next tour. :D

About your comments on the EX-7 and your pedal chain, in conjunction with the NS-2. I haven't put my EX-7 on my board yet because my Cry Baby is still there but I plan to put it first in line where the Baby sat. That will go first then I figure to put my TU-2 tuner, then the Micro Amp THEN those guys into the NS-2 which will loop my distortions/overdrives and EVH Phase 90 then loop back into the NS-2...then finally out from the NS-2 over to the delay then to the RC-2 Loop Station then into the BLUES JUNIOR YEAHHHH. :AOK: As you have discovered it probably does best out of the noise suppresion loop so the cool delay swells from the Space Station aren't cut off etc.

Here's some personal comments on the pedal. I realllly like the Vox wah setting. My effect knobs are pretty much straight up at noon on all three of them and as I switch between effects they all seem to give me the sounds I want to hear so I don't move them. The sound of the Univibe itself was worth the price of the pedal. That effect is super! The pedal gets smiles an nods from me on the other effects too...even though I'm not a big flange fan...it's still cool that it's there and it sounds great. I also have a good compromise on the knob settings for all the distortion effects. I basically tweaked the knobs for distortion on the Univibe/Big Muff PI setting to generate a good overdrive that isn't over the top and the distortion knob settings for that work well with all the others. When I first got the unit and turned on the distortions along with the effects the distortions were wayyy over the top. Now they're balanced just right. It does take awhile to learn what the knobs do and to tweak them to get the right sounds you want but when you finally do it's fantastic. I am very pleased with this one pedal and it's already replaced 3 of them on my board! :master:

Robert
January 9th, 2008, 02:52 PM
You guys are killing me. I will HAVE to buy this stupid pedal too now!! See what you've done?!! :mad: :)

Tone2TheBone
January 9th, 2008, 03:24 PM
You guys are killing me. I will HAVE to buy this stupid pedal too now!! See what you've done?!! :mad: :)

So! What about the time I HAD to get that Vox AD30VT! That was all your fault remember! :rotflmao: ;) And it was Nelskie's fault for me just having to get that Peavey Classic 30 and it was Justa's fault for me having to get that NS-2 pedal and it was Voodooman's fault for letting me see his '56 Goldtop!!! I HAD to get one of those!

Robert
January 9th, 2008, 03:42 PM
Maybe we'll finally be even then... ;)

Spudman
January 9th, 2008, 03:48 PM
Robert. Try before you buy. Mine is already for sale.














Not!

sunvalleylaw
January 9th, 2008, 03:51 PM
Robert. Try before you buy. Mine is already for sale.









Not!

Dude, you almost had me. AGAIN!!!! :rotflmao:

Justaguyin_nc
January 9th, 2008, 05:06 PM
Spuds..your just not right...lol

Robert, I have no sympathy for you..:)
Sympathy for the Devil!
You started these darn GAS forums!!:rotflmao:

Reverend Hellhound indeed!!! :dude:

you'll still be a few hundred up on the GAS you cause me!! :thwap:

Psst Robert..I hear every store only has a few left in stock.. hurry hurry!!!

Tone..the band is going Surround sound!!! heck with stereo!!

Spudman
January 9th, 2008, 06:22 PM
I've noticed that since we've been talking about the EX7 that they have become much harder to find so you are lucky if you can find one. Also, someone on another forum said that the prices are going up at the end of January and after that they are going to quit making them.









Oh I'm so evil.:poke: (insert Devil smiley here) None of the above is true. I'm just pestering Robert...cause that's just what we do.;)

Robert
January 9th, 2008, 09:08 PM
I know you Spud. Oh by the way, did you know the price on the Luke is going waaaaay up as we speak? :D

Tone2TheBone
January 9th, 2008, 09:13 PM
Ok thats the second time I've seen the reference to Luke. What is that?

sunvalleylaw
January 9th, 2008, 10:21 PM
Ok thats the second time I've seen the reference to Luke. What is that?


Spud's new guitar on order and being built for him. Pic of what it will look like in his avatar. :)

Spudman
January 9th, 2008, 11:38 PM
I know you Spud. Oh by the way, did you know the price on the Luke is going waaaaay up as we speak? :D

Already ordered and locked in at an unbelievable price of course. :AOK: But ya, there has been a price increase that's why I ordered when I did.

Tone2TheBone
January 10th, 2008, 09:11 AM
Ahhh ok...as in Steve "Luke?" I get it now thanks.

Spudman
January 12th, 2008, 12:50 PM
Does it suck tone bad?

Yes it does.

I finally got around to A/Bing it today and this pedal changes my guitar signal a lot. I found a loss of low end and a general overall compression effect and loss of clarity with the pedal off. I don't know if they all do this or not, but for me the honeymoon is certainly over.

It does a lot of different things and does them well with a lot of control over parameters, but now that I hear exactly what it does to my original signal I don't think I can live with that.

Maybe the other users will chime in here and do a serious comparison with the pedal plugged in and with it out of their signal chain. It could be that I have a lemon. If I do have a lemon I'll get in touch with Digitech who is only 2 hours from me and see if something can be done or if this is the norm for the pedal.

marnold
January 12th, 2008, 01:11 PM
Maybe the other users will chime in here and do a serious comparison with the pedal plugged in and with it out of their signal chain. It could be that I have a lemon. If I do have a lemon I'll get in touch with Digitech who is only 2 hours from me and see if something can be done or if this is the norm for the pedal.
Hmmm. In my initial tests I remember being amazed at how it didn't effect anything at all. Perhaps I need to do a retest.

Spudman
January 12th, 2008, 01:29 PM
Hmmm. In my initial tests I remember being amazed at how it didn't effect anything at all. Perhaps I need to do a retest.

I thought the same thing too until today. I'm using the supplied AC adapter.

Lev
January 12th, 2008, 03:24 PM
I thought the same thing too until today. I'm using the supplied AC adapter.

i tested mine but can't notice any difference, it's the first pedal in my chain.

marnold
January 12th, 2008, 03:37 PM
What kind of "suckage" are you noticing?

Spudman
January 12th, 2008, 05:15 PM
I have this as the only pedal between the guitar and amph. With it out of the line there is a nice fullness to the low strings and general good even response across all strings. When it gets put back into the line the low end has less fullness, the overall signal is weakened and compressed slightly and there is an upper mid range pronunciation. The pedal gives the guitar a more nasal quality.

I'm using a single coil guitar. And yes Eric Johnson and I often discuss battery brands and cable length capacitance.

marnold
January 12th, 2008, 05:30 PM
Hmmm. Well, I just tried it again. If there is a major difference with or without the pedal, I'm not really getting it. I tried it with both the humbucker and various single coils on my Floyd. I also tried it with my '51 since it has the brightest pickups of any of my guitars. Just to ask the stupid questions, you are running it through the amp out and not line out right? You don't have it on model 7 which makes the EX-7 work as a volume pedal when it's off, right?

Spudman
January 12th, 2008, 06:13 PM
Yes I have it connected correctly. Have you noticed a click or pop as you turn the mode knob?

Tone2TheBone
January 12th, 2008, 06:53 PM
Mine works cherry. Spud the effect knob should not make any noises at all it should move from effect to effect seamlessly. You might have a messed up one.

marnold
January 12th, 2008, 07:03 PM
Yes I have it connected correctly. Have you noticed a click or pop as you turn the mode knob?
Sorry for the stupid questions, but I thought I might as well cover all the bases. To answer your question, no, mine is dead silent. When I switch between some of the models (not all of them) there sometimes is a brief pause, but no clicks or pops. Sound like you may have gotten a bum steer.

Spudman
January 12th, 2008, 07:48 PM
Sorry for the stupid questions,

Not a stupid question. Just a stupid operator - me. :o I initially had it plugged in correctly. I unplugged some pedals the other day and this one got plugged back into the wrong output.:o

Still, even plugged in correctly I can notice a loss of roundness on the low end and a loss of sparkle on the highs and a minute loss of overall signal volume. It might be that I'm the only one who can tell the difference but I do sense it.

I've got mine into a clean channel at low volume.

marnold
January 12th, 2008, 10:02 PM
Not a stupid question. Just a stupid operator - me. :o I initially had it plugged in correctly. I unplugged some pedals the other day and this one got plugged back into the wrong output.:o

Still, even plugged in correctly I can notice a loss of roundness on the low end and a loss of sparkle on the highs and a minute loss of overall signal volume. It might be that I'm the only one who can tell the difference but I do sense it.
Ahh yes, the guitarist equivalent of PEBKAC (PEBGAA, maybe?). Since none of the pickups I have really "sparkle"--thus my desire to get something new for my Floyd--I just might not be noticing it. I know that my TO800 has some tone suck. It basically dulls the sound a bit. Still, I don't have that popping noise you were referring to. I'd probably need to do some recording to really test it to because by the time I've switched cables around, it's hard for me to remember. Am I to assume the difference is less noticeable now with the right output?

Spudman
January 13th, 2008, 01:09 AM
The mid range tone boost and bottom end suck and compression are gone when using the correct output. It no longer pops when changing modes either. It's good to discover the popping when using the 'mixer out' before it ever gets plugged into a mixer or recording device.

It seems that when I initially tested it I was using humbucker equipped guitars. Because of this I might not have noticed the difference in my guitar signal. Today it was while using the Tele that I could tell the difference with the tone.

Tone2TheBone
January 15th, 2008, 10:28 AM
I thought about this last night.

Why don't you recalibrate the pedal. It might have gotten funked up when you accidently put the cable in the wrong input (I did the same thing when I got it and I think a few others have too). Recalibrating is easy:

1. Unplug everything from the pedal including the power connector.
2. Insert the power connector back into the pedal and take a guitar cable and plug that into the "footswitch" jack. The LED should flash green continually.
3. Move the effect model knob to #1 and rock the pedal toe down on the pedal to max.
4. Select model #2 and wait for the pedal to flash yellow.
5. Rock the pedal heel down to max.
6. Move the model knob to #3 and the LED should flash green 3 times.

After this procedure the pedal is set back to factory specs. That might cure some of the weirdness from it.

Lev
January 15th, 2008, 10:36 AM
there's also the possibility that it's setup in stereo mode, hence you are only hearing the right or left side. Might explain the drop in some frequencies.

Tone2TheBone
January 15th, 2008, 03:55 PM
One thing the pedal does and I didn't know it till today (by accident even though it says you can in the manual) is that whatever distortion model you switched to when you try them with an effect...it becomes that effect's distortion until you change it again. COOL.

Justaguyin_nc
January 15th, 2008, 04:41 PM
One thing the pedal does and I didn't know it till today (by accident even though it says you can in the manual) is that whatever distortion model you switched to when you try them with an effect...it becomes that effect's distortion until you change it again. COOL.

tone.. don't be the typical guy.. read the manuals first!! heh...
Still a winner for me!!

Spuds..I tried the direct connect thing..

I truely can't tell much difference..

but I have bad ears..

My knobs are all silent when switching...

I tried with humbuckers too..

I get my screaming solos... offkey, but their in there...:)

I think sumptin happened to yours... :thwap:

Tone2TheBone
January 15th, 2008, 05:43 PM
tone.. don't be the typical guy.. read the manuals first!! heh...
Still a winner for me!!

Spuds..I tried the direct connect thing..

I truely can't tell much difference..

but I have bad ears..

My knobs are all silent when switching...

I tried with humbuckers too..

I get my screaming solos... offkey, but their in there...:)

I think sumptin happened to yours... :thwap:

RTFM!

I never read the f'*** manuals ever. No wonder I don't know what I'm doing. :rockon:

Tone2TheBone
January 29th, 2008, 04:48 PM
I want to revisit this thread.

I finally got around to putting my pedal board back together after the holidays. It was dusty as heck so I took everything off and cleaned it up. I've been trying to find the best sounding position for everything now that I have a new Fuzz Face. The circuit of the Fuzz Face is temperamental and it likes being after certain pedals and doesn't like others. I found that it likes being after the EX-7 a lot but the problem with that is that the 2 of them together makes for a hell of a lot of noise. I've been yakking back and forth with our resident pedal guru Duhvoodooman over the best ways to hook things up and he suggested I try the EX-7 through the noise reduction loop of the NS-2. I know Justa said he took his out and that makes sense because the gate would mess with the Space Station setting and decay. I might try putting the EX-7 through the loop anyway to see if that sounds ok. The reason I want to do that is because the Fuzz Face likes the EX-7 in front of it. The tone is much warmer and fuller than it is with other pedals in front of it. I tried putting the Fuzz Face before the EX-7 and it sounded like garbage...but sounds wunnerful after it. Also when I put the Fuzz Face into the loop of the NS-2 it sounds sterile. If I combine EX and FF in the loop maybe things will be AOK. To complicate matters more I've also bought a used Boss GE-7 EQ to try and smooth things out from the NS-2 into the Fuzz Face which would be hooked up the way it currently is on the pic below cept that I would move the Bad Monkey out from that position. I'm using the Monkey in front of the Fuzz Face to help bring back some warmth out of the NS-2 loop and to provide that additional tone shaping and boost. A GE-7 in theory would be better suited for that which is why I got it. Anyway what do you guys think?

Here's a pic of my current configuration.

1458

marnold
January 29th, 2008, 05:20 PM
Anyway what do you guys think?
I think I got dizzy listening to your explanation, but pictures of pedal boards are always Good Things. Pictures are pretty.

Robert
January 29th, 2008, 05:23 PM
Me too got dizzy, for a moment I thought it was from this glass of Scotch, but then I remembered it was Tone talking... :D :D

Dude, you have a pedal board again! Congrats, welcome to the gang! That red thing looks purdy. Now you just need a green SD-9. And a delay pedal. :bravo:

Tone2TheBone
January 29th, 2008, 05:23 PM
I think I got dizzy listening to your explanation, but pictures of pedal boards are always Good Things. Pictures are pretty.

You think you're dizzy I've been noodling with this stuff in my head all day. I just went back and reread my post and I'm so dizzy I'm rollin' :rotflmao:

Tone2TheBone
January 29th, 2008, 05:26 PM
Me too got dizzy, for a moment I thought it was from this glass of Scotch, but then I remembered it was Tone talking... :D :D

Dude, you have a pedal board again! Congrats, welcome to the gang! That red thing looks purdy. Now you just need a green SD-9. And a delay pedal. :bravo:

Oh Roberto the delay pedal is on there. The Marshall Echo Head delay pedal is to the top and left of the purdy red thing. I would love to put an SD-9 on there. Who knows maybe I will the year's just begun. :)

Robert
January 29th, 2008, 05:32 PM
I see, I wasn't sure what that Marshall pedal was... silly me :thwap:

I'd really like to try the Maxon VOP-9 which is Scott Henderson's current favorite gain pedal. I bet it's not that different from the SD-9 though.

Tone2TheBone
January 29th, 2008, 05:38 PM
I used to just blow off the use and praises of the Maxon SD-9 until I tried one for myself. That pedal should be on my board. It's kinda expensive brand new though and I haven't found any on Ebay lately. I know nothing about the VOP. I just know I liked Scott's Dog Party sound!

oldguy
January 29th, 2008, 05:57 PM
Dude, that is a seriously nice looking pedal board! :D :AOK:

Justaguyin_nc
January 29th, 2008, 06:13 PM
Someone call Dizzy? :)

I also have the boss ge-7 but I use mine as the first thing after the loop.. and before the delays... I doubt that helps.. just wanted to add to the Dizzyness...;)

Tone2TheBone
January 29th, 2008, 11:26 PM
Justa if you've got one (GE-7) then I musta done gooda if Justa has one-a. :) I put it after the Fuzz Face in the loop only cause it didn't do much in front of the fuzz face like I thought it would HOWEVER it's great for bringing back some nice treble freqs that get sucked from the big purdy red thing and the dark purdy green thing.

Tone2TheBone
January 30th, 2008, 10:35 AM
Update. Sorry no new pictures though. Use your imagination. ;)

I tried the EX-7 in the noise loop and it works but it does cut off the Space Station delay and makes the other models sound weird. I took it out and put it back in front. My guitar gets plugged in there first and it will stay. Next comes the NS-2 then from the loop output I go

Bad Monkey>Fuzz Face>Boss GE-7>Zonkin' Yellow Screamer>Marshall Guv'nor Plus then back to the NS-2 to finish the loop. I moved the Phase 90 out of the loop and now that goes after the output of the NS-2 then I go out from the 90 to the Marshall Echo Head then to the Digitech Digiverb then finally the Boss TU-2 Tuner.

I like having the GE-7 after the Fuzz Face cause I can always tailor that Fuzz Face sound using it. Right now though I'm inclined to use the GE-7 as a brightner and signal boost when I have all the distorto pedals off. Playing clean I get my sparkle back. All those runs and circuits cause some tone suck so having the GE-7 bring them back is nice...and it's also stinkin' quiet. I love that GE-7 you got good taste Justa. :beer:

sunvalleylaw
January 30th, 2008, 12:21 PM
Nice report Tone! Gives me some good ideas on how to experiment with and set up my pedal chain, esp. after adding the NS-2 I received for Christmas and your former LBM Fuzz Pi Pedal.

Tone2TheBone
January 30th, 2008, 12:34 PM
Nice report Tone! Gives me some good ideas on how to experiment with and set up my pedal chain, esp. after adding the NS-2 I received for Christmas and your former LBM Fuzz Pi Pedal.

I'll email you another updated photo of the board tomorrow. I need 2 angled 1/4" plugs though to put on the longest run patch cable that comes out of the Guv'nor Plus into the NS-2 to complete the loop. I have staight ends on the one I have so I need to change those out so my pedals won't be angled all weird. If you need any help with the noise reduction loop let me know.

Justaguyin_nc
January 30th, 2008, 01:39 PM
I love that GE-7 you got good taste Justa. :beer:

Ofcourse I do.. I come here don't I? :)

See, that's what I tried to.. in the loop after the distortions.. and took it out and put it in front of the chorus, flanger, etc..

then as you mentioned about volume loss on some pedals..

I guess I am not using my GE-7 right.. but I use it to boost the flanger too.. more of a power boost than an eq with no sound change.. I guess?.. plus if not using those.. its fine after them and the ns-2 anyways to my ears..

Hate that Spacestation problem within the loop.. but I usually have everything off when I use it outside the loop..

Justa good taste... hah.. I know thats a oxy something....:AOK:

Tone2TheBone
January 30th, 2008, 02:06 PM
When I mess with the Space Station I end up turning off the pedals and heel step on the EX-7 distortion preset at the ST position or edit that to another distortion model to my liking. The EX-7's distortion models are pretty quiet so that works great with just the EX-7. Right now I think I have the Metal Zone distortion as the preset with the Space Station.

Justaguyin_nc
January 30th, 2008, 02:36 PM
I wonder if Spudman ever got his figured out .. or if it was a bum pedal..?

Spudman
January 30th, 2008, 09:24 PM
I wonder if Spudman ever got his figured out .. or if it was a bum pedal..?

Simple fix. Now I just play on 10 and don't notice any signal loss.:D

It's minor but I can tell some frequencies diminish when the pedal is in line. I might have to put it in a loop so that I can totally bypass it. The loss irritates me and I'm so anal I'll end up throwing shots of Jagermeister at the crowd...still in the glass.

sunvalleylaw
September 28th, 2010, 12:58 PM
I am waking this thread up again. That new kind of wah thread got me wanting a wah again. As some know, it will be my birthday again in a few weeks, and I will have some spending money. I don't have a wah anymore, and am thinking of finding a used one of these to add to the board. Pretty much for the wahs available and the vibe.

The other options are a CV tele, or a MIM strat I can mod into a superstrat or that is already there. Depends on what funds will be available. But a used EX-7 seems almost a no brainer.

Robert
September 28th, 2010, 02:09 PM
The Crybaby Wah sounds quite a bit better than the EX-7 in my opinion, but the EX-7 has so many cool and useful sounds in it, that it is in fact much better overall value (used or not).

Did that help? :D

sunvalleylaw
September 28th, 2010, 02:31 PM
Sure! Based on some of the opinions stated in this thread, I think I can find some wah sounds I like, plus a lot more.

Spudman
September 28th, 2010, 03:06 PM
NSP - No Scratchy Pots

marnold
September 28th, 2010, 06:09 PM
Robert and Spud both bring up excellent points. I still use mine. Some people don't like the sweep of the pedal, but that's a personal taste kind of thing. I don't use a wah that much, so I'm usually using it for one of its many other functions. As I posted elsewhere, I started using mine for some octave effects on the Whammy model.

Justaguyin_nc
October 20th, 2010, 12:58 AM
Well what did you get for the Bday SVL?

I did a clean up around here about 6 month ago. I just had way to many pedals sitting on the floor which I liked looking at, but sure took up alot of room.

I thought about which I really use most the time. Everything is in boxes now except the EX-7(still liking it), Boss Looper(still using it) and a delay(never be without it).. that basicly does everything I use in the last years. The amps already got reverb..what else could a person need. I still think the EX-7 is one of the best and strongest box I ever bought. all in a wah pedal. Space stations are out of this world..;)

sunvalleylaw
October 20th, 2010, 08:17 AM
Hey Justa, thanks for the input. I didn't buy anything yet. I have to put some money into cycling, so B-day money may go there, but this is still on my list. I did receive from my family a Kodak PlaySport digital vid cam that will be really fun for videoing adventures, but that is for a different thread. :dance