Eleven Rack Opinions

[Concerto412]

I’ve seen a few ElevenRacks floating around second hand lately, for roughly 1/4 what it would cost to step up to a helix stomp.
If memory serves, I recall alot of positive opinions on these when released but haven’t heard much about them since the Fractal/Kemper/Helix domination of the digital hardware realm. If anyone is still using one in their recording or live setups, I would be interested to hear thoughts on sound quality, editing/programming UI, and any qwerks (positive or negative) that you’ve found in using it.
With two youngsters in the house and an unpredictable work schedule, it would be nice to have a silent practice rig as my current setups are both rather high wattage stereo racks. The added options for recording are appealing too. Full disclosure, my last modeller was a PodXT bean yeeeeaaaaars ago, so I’m sure I will have a learning curve whichever route I pick.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Man, just get the Stomp. Those things are just so stupid good for the price.

I haven't had my hands on an Eleven in forever, but I don't remember it being especially good or bad really.

 

[AwakenTheSkies]

Isn't the Headrush the "modern" continuation of the 11R?

 

[cindarkness]

Isn't the Headrush the "modern" continuation of the 11R?

Headrush came to be from the original 11R people, so it's probably mostly same or even identical.
Speaking of Headrush, a new pedalboard is coming out "soon". Picture from Tracii Guns instagram.

 

[Crungy]

I was very close to buying an Eleven rack but then purchased a Digitech GSP1101. I was pretty happy with it for a while, they're great for the money especially if you odate the firmware to the beta 63 or whatever it was called.

Curiosity did get the best of me though and I got an AxeFx 2XL + and I have zero regrets on that. I'll probably keep using that for years unless I find a screaming deal on an Axe 3.

For ease of use I'm not familiar with the Eleven... Might be pretty easy to use? The GSP is very easy to use, easier than the AxeFx. Unless you're plugged into a computer, then the editing is very easy.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I was very close to buying an Eleven rack but then purchased a Digitech GSP1101. I was pretty happy with it for a while, they're great for the money especially if you odate the firmware to the beta 63 or whatever it was called.

Curiosity did get the best of me though and I got an AxeFx 2XL + and I have zero regrets on that. I'll probably keep using that for years unless I find a screaming deal on an Axe 3.

For ease of use I'm not familiar with the Eleven... Might be pretty easy to use? The GSP is very easy to use, easier than the AxeFx. Unless you're plugged into a computer, then the editing is very easy.

I went down the rabbit hole trying to decide between a MX5 and HX Stomp. It seems super easy to use. Only issue is that judging by some over videos I've seen... The modeling between the 11R and HR barely improved. That's what convinced me to just get a Stomp even though the routing is severely lacking compared to the MX5

 

[Crungy]

Is there much that can compete with the Stomp in that price range? I have no experience with them but everywhere I look people fucking love the little bastard!

 

[Jon Pearson]

I'd go Stomp. The 11R was cool for the time and if you didn't have the cash for an Axe FX, it has some pretty good AD/DA converters if I remember right, but the modeling isn't especially great. If you are just looking for a home setup, the obvious answer here would be plugins with an interface. Best sounds if you don't need to carry it anywhere.

 

[Concerto412]

Isn't the Headrush the "modern" continuation of the 11R?

Headrush came to be from the original 11R people, so it's probably mostly same or even identical.

Interesting, I had no idea. Did Akai acquire people/IP from Avid, or are the two under the same corporate umbrella?

Ok, given some time to reflect and dig into a few demos, I’m lukewarm on the 11R and more jazzed on the Stomp. The Avid would be a standalone practice rig and potential silent recording asset, but the HX does all of that and is flexible enough to work with my existing rig in almost any configuration, and has the benefit of current development and customer support. Sound clips and videos are always a subpar way to evaluate tonal potential, and both units seem to pull off a reasonably versatile range of high-gain models without trouble. I particularly like a few clips of the 800 patch on the Avid. Clean and pushed low-drive tones I would hand to the Line6 though, which I wasn’t expecting.
I also was somehow unaware that the regular Stomp and XL are less than $100 apart!

I haven’t gone down the rabbit hole of VST amp sims much, but it seems like that would be a much better interim solution. Time to check out Drakkar’s “Free Amp VST Database” thread until I can justify the Helix, likely this summer.