[darren]

The NOVA effects are based on modules from the TC2290, so they're SUPER high-quality. And i think the NOVA distortion is totally analog, with digital programmability. My bandmate just picked up a NOVA delay, and it's one sweet piece of gear.

So i don't think the NOVA System is exactly a scaled-down G-System.

There are two ways you can run it: In front of your amp (with the drive module active) or in your effects loop (with the drive module deactivated). I'm VERY disappointed that they didn't put a loop in it so it could be used with the four-cable method. It's either one or the other, not both, which i think is a pretty serious omission that will reduce its usability for people that like some of their effects up front and some of them in the loop.

[Leon]

^ yeah, i can see how that is going to lose it some points. though, it'd be cool for me, i think. i'd use it in the loop of my Mesa Nomad, which has three channels of tubey overdrive anyways, and the drive would come in handy infront of my Sovtek, the one channel Beast From The (Far) East.

[sakeido]

Originally Posted by darren

The NOVA effects are based on modules from the TC2290, so they're SUPER high-quality. And i think the NOVA distortion is totally analog, with digital programmability. My bandmate just picked up a NOVA delay, and it's one sweet piece of gear.

So i don't think the NOVA System is exactly a scaled-down G-System.

There are two ways you can run it: In front of your amp (with the drive module active) or in your effects loop (with the drive module deactivated). I'm VERY disappointed that they didn't put a loop in it so it could be used with the four-cable method. It's either one or the other, not both, which i think is a pretty serious omission that will reduce its usability for people that like some of their effects up front and some of them in the loop.

I figure that a true analog pedal like a Bloody Murder or OD808, along with an analog compressor, would sound better than the Nova's built in OD & comp anyway. It would have been nice from a flexibility standpoint to be able to use the 4 cable method, but I'm glad they set it up in such a way that it works fine running just in the loop.

[Leon]

hmm... now that i look at it, it doesn't have external switching relays, so i couldn't change the channels on my Nomad with this. oh well, i guess that's $700 i won't have to spend

[darren]

Yeah, i'm really not sure of the market they're going after with this.

If you want to use it with your amp's distortion, you're paying for distortion and compression modules you can't use. And with no switching relays and/or effects loop, it's limiting AND you still have to tap-dance to switch stuff, unless you have an external MIDI switch box.

It's awfully expensive for what's essentially a programmable bunch of pedals.

[HighGain510]

Originally Posted by sakeido

I figure that a true analog pedal like a Bloody Murder or OD808, along with an analog compressor, would sound better than the Nova's built in OD & comp anyway. It would have been nice from a flexibility standpoint to be able to use the 4 cable method, but I'm glad they set it up in such a way that it works fine running just in the loop.

Excellent post right there... exactly how I feel about it. My guess is they decided from a business standpoint not to put it in there to try to keep some competition between the Nova System and the G-System... if you get 90% of the flexibility of the G-System @ $800 less than a G-System it's not going to help the sales of the G-System at all, which is supposed to be their flagship product. They're still going to get a ton of bites with the $699 pricetag so if I had to throw a guess out there I'd have to say that might be what they were doing when they designed it. If you want all the bells and whistles you should probably be looking at the G-System but then you're also looking at a much heftier pricetag.

If you're running it with the modulation and delay/reverb in the effects loop, I'd prefer to just run my bloody murder and Barber Direct Drive in front of my amp anyways. The box is TINY compared to the G-System too.... a guy posted a comparison shot that will help you see how small it is in comparison:



That leaves me a lot of space on my board for other pedals I already have and that makes me a happy guy!

If it's as durable as the G-System (I know the one I had for a while was INCREDIBLY solid! ) I think they've put out a great product. When I can afford another amp I'm thinking I'm going to grab one of these for the effects loops.

[sakeido]

It looked so huge in the pics I thought it was like double the size it actually is
For the price it is a fantastic deal, even if it is only pedals. It has almost all the features of the Nova pedals, but then adds MIDI capability to them (the biggest problem with the pedals IMO), gives you a bunch of presets, and then actually costs less than it would be to buy all the effects separately. It would work fine for me, although not having relay head switching is a bummer, but there are ways around that easily enough.

[darren]

You bring up good points... adding relay switching and a loop would bring it way too close to G-System territory, and it would probably affect G-system sales negatively. At least it has MIDI, which gives you some options for using other pieces of external gear.

I guess when i look at something like this in comparison to a GT-10, it's hard for me to justify spending $699 on something that isn't perfect, when i can spend $499 and get amazing power, sound and flexibility, but without the "premium" sound that comes with the premium price tag.

[HighGain510]

Definitely agree... plus you get the benefit of it being a modeler too so you can use the amp models into a power amp as a backup (or primary) setup whereas with the Nova System you're just getting effects. I think the big thing you're paying for here is the quality of the effects though. Boss does a great job with their effects but IMO it seems that TC stuff sounds a bit better (i.e. less coloration of tone/tone suck etc.) and that's why I think they price their stuff higher. I was looking at the GT-10 as a possible setup (into my crate powerblock) until I can afford to buy a tube amp again since it's looking like it might be a while, but if I were grabbing a midi-capable tube head I'd probably go with the Nova System just to make sure that I was keeping the tone of the amp with as little degradation as possible.

I've played through amps using the 4-cable method and the GT-8 and I think that the Boss unit did change the tone a little bit and I didn't really like it. At the same time, I really dig the boss amp modelers on their own (still LOVE my Roland cube 30!) so it's a trade-off you have to make I guess.

[technomancer]

Originally Posted by darren

The NOVA effects are based on modules from the TC2290, so they're SUPER high-quality. And i think the NOVA distortion is totally analog, with digital programmability. My bandmate just picked up a NOVA delay, and it's one sweet piece of gear.

Actually the website says the effects block are "taken straight from the G-System"

HTTP://www.tcelectronic.com/Default.asp?Id=13077