Line6 ToneCore not original? Did KORG beat them?

[Steben]

Look at this  :
http://cgi.ebay.de/Korg-Effektleiste-Netztei-Fuzz-Phaser-Kompressor-Analog_W0QQitemZ7374219231QQcategoryZ23300QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[skiraly017]

...ahhh, the good old days!

[MartyMart]

Yamaha also had the "PSE" series, which were modular, you could also buy them as separates
in a stomp box ( I have a couple ) they dont have a 9v socket though, just a small 8 pin square
socket inside, this would "plug in" to the floor board when the bottom plate was removed ....

MM.

[Steben]

I guess the whole idea is suiteable for gain/od circuits (today fuzz, tommorow some distortion), but I don't see a compressor swap for a flanger ?!

[Mark Hammer]

Several companies, over the years have attempted to produce modular effects in which a master controller could be used to coordinate them.  In the case of the Korg unit, the master console simply provided regulated power, electronic switching and a space-efficient package.  Others, such as the one that Sequential Circuits (Prophet 5, etc.) produced had programming of effects order as well.  Vesta had a modular unit as well.  These latter two were more like "frac-rack" units, where cards slid into a larger rack-mount chassis and common bus.  Take a look at RG Keen's "FX-bus" article over at Geofex for an idea of a more basic version.

Ultimately, the advantages of these were the source of their problems.  It was a case of in for a penny, in for a pound.  Power was provided by the master console.  Nice and regulated but you could only GET power to the module via the console.  They all had their proprietary chassis and switching system, so if you bought one unit, you were essentially committed to buy a lot more, and there was no guarantee that you would *like* that company's take on that particular effect, or that anything made by anyone else would interface easily with the console.  Take a look at any player's pedalboard, and what you will often see is a couple of Boss pedals or DOD pedals or MXR pedals, but rarely all pedals from the same company.  Typically, with all the modular systems I've seen, wanting to use something outside of their unique offerings tended to instantly screw up all the advantages provided by the console.  To my mind, this was why such units came and went.

The comparison between the Korg PME series (I have one module - the Waveshaper - that needs to be situated into another chassis to be used) and the Tone Core series is a little off, though.  The Tone Cores do have a modular element (and look for interesting developments on that front), but are designed to be standalone units.  I'm sure they'd love for everyone to buy all of them, but buying one doesn't leave you out in the cold the way it did with the Korg series and related modular systems.

[amz-fx]

Hey, I remember that Korg pedalboard....  it was not very popular for some reason... 

There was an Electra guitar back in the 1970s with interchangeable effects modules that went inside the body cavity.

There was also an amp with interchangeable modules to give it different sounds but I cannot remember the manufacturer. I jammed one time with a guy who had one and it had some great sounds and was very powerful.  Wasn't it Seymour Duncan?

regards, Jack

[BlueToad]

Along these lines, anyone see the new Randall tube amp thingy with modular preamps?
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/480348/
Carl

[spudulike]

Looks remarkably like the Seymour Duncan Convertible ... ...

[Jered]

Hey, I remember that Korg pedalboard....  it was not very popular for some reason... 

Quite possibly because they sound horrible IMHO. A friend has one of these and the compressor sounds OK, but the OD, chorus, and flanger sound terrible, almost toyish. It was impossible for me to find a sound I even kind of liked. That's why he has it stowed away in a garage cupboard. It was an ebay buy, live and learn.
  Jered