Wanted: opinions on TC Nova Drive

BadlyDrawnBoy

Hello there,

I'm considering one of these, to integrate on a MIDI setup, but I haven't been able to try one out around my location, so I'm looking for some input from people how uses or used one, sound-wise. I'd use it for pop/rock stuff, rhythm and some solo stuff, and I don't need "metal" sounds.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

Rgds.

John_P

I used one for a while - I really liked it!   I should have kept it.

I opted to have 3 drive pedals in loops so I could tweak each one instantly rather than having several different drive patches but only after I'd sold it did I realise I could have still used the Nova as one of those and still had the option to use patches.

For me the way it let you run one side into the other and stack the distortion/overdrive was the best sound but I thought all of the low/mid/higher gain options sounded good. 

Axe_meister

I use one with my G-system.
Ok it's not a boutique sounding pedal but covers most bases. The Parallel drive/distortion sounds are quite interesting. Basically as tube screamer with less of a mid hump and a RAT in a box.

thomasw88

had one, and shifted it on very quickly.  it was ok, but a bit bland sounding to me.  I have a rat and owned a number of ts pedals, and i preferred those to the nova drive.

thecolourbox

What's the clean blend like in practice? I like the idea of mixing either overdriven and clean or a mix of two levels of drive and this was a pedal that somebody mentioned for this?

monquixote

It's very versatile. 

You can stack both ways and run in parallel. 

You can also use a clean blend (which I'm not a fan of, but some people like)

As others have mentioned it's a TS and something approaching a RAT, but the EQ is different so it's somewhat less aggressive. 

It sounded good, but I didn't really need the flexibility so I sold it on. If you need a MIDI controllable analogue drive it's probably the best you are going to find.

crunchman

I've had reliability issues with TC stuff.  Judging by this I am not alone:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1389083

If it goes wrong out of warranty you are stuffed.  No-one will touch them because they are full of alien technology.  I have the former authorised TC repair place 3 miles from me and thet didn't want to know because they can't get the parts.

The official TC authorised repair place is £78 per hour including VAT (it might be more now - that was a year or so ago).  You also have to pay the postage to get it there and back (recorded?) so you are looking at a minimum of £100 even if there are no expensive parts needed.

I'd buy a couple of good old fashioned analogue drives and stack them.  That way you have 3 sounds.  Each drive individually, and both together.

benvall

I use one with my g system. I play covers so I've got plenty of gain settings covered.

18 presets, 18 gain stages. I love it. I'd previously used a gov'nor, OCD, DLS, blues driver. Now all gone just the nova drive and a distortron in my current set up

Axe_meister

benvall;162935" said:

I use one with my g system. I play covers so I've got plenty of gain settings covered.

18 presets, 18 gain stages. I love it. I'd previously used a gov'nor, OCD, DLS, blues driver. Now all gone just the nova drive and a distortron in my current set up

Have you tried controlling it via an expression pedal. Heel down crunch with a nice transition to higher gain with your toe down. That way you can get two sounds per pre-set and a transition between them, without massive jump. Control thinks like delay mix at the same time and it becomes even more versitile.

dunstanmus

Try before you buy - most definately.

BadlyDrawnBoy

This is great info, thank you all! I'm convinced it will be a great pedal to provide basic competent sounds (even if not that special as some say) for covers and in a convenient way. I do already have some of the usual suspects to stack/work with, so this would be more of a convenience purchase I guess. Hope to get one next month!