NPD: Tech 21 FlyRig v2

TheBigDipper

I've been looking for a "zero watt amp" solution for a while now, to help me move along a background project that means I'll be playing an electric guitar straight into a PA with no backline or monitoring - apart from what I hear from the PA. It's small stuff, for small-ish rooms. Another requirement is to do this without needing a car to get to the performance space if at all possible. 

I've tried lots of possible solutions - most of them digital, you'll know which ones -  and none of them have really been that great to play through - some sounded pretty bad, IMHO. I also tried a Simplifier, to look at an analogue solution, but that didn't do it for me, either. The best things I've found so far are:

1) The Strymon Iridium, which is nice to play through and easy to set up, but would also require me to take some pedals. I bought this as part of the search.
2) The Origin Effects RevivalDRIVE, which is a glorious thing, but would require me to use an IR pedal and also needs extra pedals. I already owned this and use it on my pedalboard into a clean amp, but it's pretty flexible and can do other things, too, it seems. 

So, I've just picked up a used FlyRig v2. I'm familiar with the idea and actually own and use a FlyRig Acoustic for open mics. I've never tried one aimed at electric guitars, though. 

My first impressions are really good. The "Blonde" Sansamp is nice to play through. The cab sim tames the fizziness you can sometimes get with higher gain sounds. The boost works in a musical way either pre or post the amp section. The Plexi/Cali gain section is hitting the spot for me and I seem to be able to keep the levels balanced with my clean tones. The tuner works and is stable. I also find the digital reverb and delay (they sit in parallel to the analogue dry sound) to be decent and usable. 

Scarily, I'm thinking I might be at the end of my search for a solution for this project. I've only played with it for a couple of hours and only at home into a powered monitor, but it's impressing me enough already to relegate the Strymon to 2nd place.

Sales Pitch: If you're looking for a Strymon Iridium in excellent condition then PM me. I like the Iridium, but I can't afford to keep both and the FlyRig is fitting into my needs a little better. I'll pop it up here and on eBay in the next few days, but if you're looking right now...  :-) 

TheBigDipper

Just a little update after spending a bit more time with it. 

Still positive, I'm pleased to say. As well as dialing in some sounds for my "ampless into the PA" project, I've also been using it as a simple FX pedal into the guitar input of an amp.

That's going well. I'm running straight into a clean amp and getting a basic tone. Then I'm using the Blonde amp section to give a different clean-ish tone at unity gain, with the cab sim turned off. It stays clean when I play softly and breaks up when I dig in harder. I've got the mids turned up to cut through better, and the treble and bass are down a bit. The Plexi/Cali section is a pretty usable overdrive, and I've got the boost section running post amp for a clean boost in volume. The reverb and delay sound just as good into my clean amp and aren't difficult to set up with something usable. 

I'm off to meet some new people tomorrow night who are doing original music. My real board is in bits, so I'm going to take this,  use a studio amp and we'll see how I get on. :-) 

Oh, and the Iridium is on its way to its new owner.

AntonHunter

They do look like a really neat solution, thanks for sharing your experiences.

andy_k

I have 2 versions of the V1 Flyrig, the original plexi model, and the RK5 Kotzen.
I would love them if they could run from phantom power, as RK demonstrated on his demo  vids, early on, and have my original in place on my powered board as a back up for my gig,.
I'm not 100 per cent on the tone as a replacement for my amp really, but if I had to, I could definitely get there with a couple of pedals in front.
I think they would be perfect if they accommodated some form of re chargeable battery, the skinny adaptor lead is a turn off for live use. 

TheBigDipper

andy_k said:

I have 2 versions of the V1 Flyrig, the original plexi model, and the RK5 Kotzen.
I would love them if they could run from phantom power, as RK demonstrated on his demo  vids, early on, and have my original in place on my powered board as a back up for my gig,.
I'm not 100 per cent on the tone as a replacement for my amp really, but if I had to, I could definitely get there with a couple of pedals in front.
I think they would be perfect if they accommodated some form of re chargeable battery, the skinny adaptor lead is a turn off for live use. 

I've had a FlyRig Acoustic for a few years now, and use it at open mics. The wall wart cable to the unit is cheap and nasty, I agree. I actually power it with a rechargeable Harley Benton battery at open mics. Works great.

The FlyRig v2 I've just bought has a much better wall wart cable than the Acoustic and doesn't feel flimsy at all, so maybe they've been getting feedback or failures. 

Blueingreen

I have a Flyrig V1 and think it's terrific.  I've been very tempted by the V2, I'm just not sure I can justify £300+ for the various improvements given that I already have the V1.

TheBigDipper

So, I seem to have joined an originals band in 2022 when I wasn't even going to look until next year. The audition/meeting went well.

As did the FlyRig v2, which I plugged into the front of the Tiny Terror that was supplied as backline. The FlyRig was great. I don't like Tiny Terror amps, but I knew that already. Even so, despite the lack of headroom and the compressed feel, I got some nice sounds out and the FlyRig was easy to work with in a less-than-ideal situation.

I'm tempted next to try this as a pedalboard solution with my compressor running into the FlyRig, the Plethora X5 running in the FlyRig effects loop and then into a clean amp. That might be fun! 

TheBigDipper

Final update before I leave this thread alone. 

I did an acoustic/vocals open mic last night. In addition to my normal stuff with John the neighbour, I took my Les Paul along with the FlyRig v2 to play some solo instrumental tunes. It's my wife's birthday tomorrow and she made a birthday request of me to play some instrumental stuff. The Les Paul is associated with her dad, who passed away on her birthday 10 years ago and his legacy paid for it. 

I connected the FlyRig straight to the PA (obv.) and powered it with the HB battery pack. The guys running the desk gave me a flat EQ setting, no effects and off I went. It sounded bloody marvellous. 

This v2 FlyRig totally rocks. 

CarbonCopy

It is a very useful and simple pedal. I have a Simplifier Deluxe, RevivalDrive and a FlyRig 5 v2. I like them all for different reasons.

The Revivaldrive through a speaker IR in my HX Stomp is my favourite sound of those three. However, it's an expensive pair of pedals and I would always need two pedals and a power supply capable of supporting them when going direct (I use the Revivaldrive with an amp too).

I like the sound of the Simplifier, but it's not as responsive to playing as the Revivaldrive. It has two channels and built in reverb so I can use this on its own into a PA. However, there are so many switches on it that accidentally switching the wrong one re-routes the audio signal to somewhere you don't want it! Also, I will usually have a couple of other pedals for boost and delay to go with it. As it's analogue though, you can use most power supplies.

My least favourite in sound is the FlyRig. The sansamp section sounds a little brittle and sterile (it's hard to describe!) compared to the other two. It's not a bad sound by any means, but just not my favourite. The plexi overdrive is a better sound. What I much prefer about the FlyRig though is that it's an all in one simple analogue pedal board which has everything I need (especially v2). Clean amp and cab sim with a bit of crunch, OD, boost, reverb and delay. I had a v1, but it lacked features which I wished it had, which were then incorporated into the v2. Tuner, effects loop (so I can use 4 cable method), pre or post boost, switchable reverb independent from the sansamp, xlr output.

It's my lazy pedal board when I can't be bothered to bring a full board or I'm walking or getting public transport to a gig. I've used it into the front of a non effects loop amp, with the effect loop of an amp that has one, and straight into the PA. It's incredibly versatile, compact and sounds good.

Fez

I have one as a back up but I have used it live and it worked great. I am not keen on it straight into a powered speaker though, it sounds better into a desk or a clean amp.