Re: Vortex Questions...

[Mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 02:55 AM 12/9/2004, a k butler wrote:

>To get the really amazing swells, I use one pair of presets and morph 
>between them. The pedal simultaneously controls input vol and echo 
>feedback, so the sound continues more or less as long as I hold the pedal 
>down, but fades quickly when I pull back. It also messes with the FX 
>rate/depth to add a bit of interest.

Yeah, the examples you put up sound very cool.  That's one reason I 
thought 
I might be able to make one pedal redundant.  You've got those presets 
listed in your Vortex archive, right? <*evil grin*>

>I never found the number of patches available to be a limitation, what 
>usually happens is that I set up a pair of patches that can be morphed 
>and 
>play with them. There's always a whole load of possibilities within a 
>morph, like having several sounds in one.

Ah, I see.  My only concern is that I would find so many different 
interesting combinations that I would outstrip the 16 Morph user-presets 
in 
no time.  Mebbe I'm just overestimating how many sounds would require 
their 
own slots.

>>  However, should I just plan on buying yet another volume pedal to put 
>> inline before the Vortex, or can I really get away with consolidating 
>> that function into a single unit?
>
>Well, I don't use a separate swell  at the moment, but if you do add one 
>it certainly increases the possibilities (especially if you can work 2 
>pedals at once).

Heh!  Well, I'm actually setting this up in a small looping rig built 
around a Chapman Stick I just won on Ebay.  So, I'm already planning on 
doing swells back and forth separately between the Bass and Melody sides 
of 
the Stick.  Add the expression pedal, and that makes three pedals at 
once.  Eeek, I don't got that many feets!  ;)

I'll probably just bite the bullet and grab another volume pedal.  I just 
thought I might be able to save some floorspace (not to mention 
simplifying 
another device out of the signal chain).

>So not a "fully featured looper".

Ah well, you get what you get (although I'm definitely intrigued by the 
"break it apart and put it back together all twisted" functionality that 
you mentioned).  It's not a show stopper by any means, just a "nice to 
have" since I plan on running it into a laptop and using Augustus Loop as 
the primary looper.  Having multiple loopers with differing 
characteristics 
is nice, though, especially if you can work out the interplay between them.

>The Vortex is a "good deal" though, as it didn't sell and a lot of stock 
>was sold off at a fraction of the original RRP

Agreed.  I'm interested in this puppy because of its interesting sound 
manipulations.  In fact, since I've started looking at the algorithms in 
the manual, I'm finding a couple that I've attempted to patch together 
using different effect units feeding back into each other.  The Vortex is 
far simpler than that!

The fact that they're available cheap is a boon, although it sucks that 
they never sold well enough to prompt Lex into releasing a Vortex Mark II.

Thanks again, Andy!!!

         --m.

_____
"i want to reach my hand into the dark and *feel* what reaches back"
                                                 -recoil