Collider alternatives?

ColWilkie

brucegill said:

ColWilkie said:

@brucegill - how is the Immerse going?  I've run into a couple of other issues with the Collider, and while I'm waiting to see if they can be sorted out, also considering taking another path.  Such a shame, as the sounds are fantastic!

@ColWilkie Oh man, what's going on this time? 

Well I was going to reply on here yesterday but thought I'd give it some more time.... So far, the Immerse is very very nice, but the Collider still sounds amazing, so I'm in two minds at the moment. I'm just having another go now. But if you asked me yesterday evening I'd have said I was going to sell the Immerse and keep the Collider - even with its problems. I think a new compressor helped out with any muddyness I was getting. And I think it really depends on what reverbs you're using. I like spring and plate, and they seemed better, to my ears, on the Collider. The Immerse W3t is pretty special though. And I've not tried it in stereo yet either.....

Well, two things really...

1) Analog Dry Through going to 0.  It's easy to workaround, and just have to set back and save, then it persists.  But it's a clear bug that should be addressed (this one is not a dealbreaker for me)

2) Adding a delay to either the Room or E-Dome reverb engines, adds some volume and an unpleasant tone - forcing me to use the parallel mode.  It doesn't happen with other combinations, but it is very noticeable and makes them unusable in combination with cascade mode.  I tested with a long delay, kicking it in and out - really not nice.

If the 2nd one is addressed, I'll keep it.  I agree with you, it sounds really amazing and natural.  My preference is to hold it, but have a week left to decide if it's going back!

Perhaps yours has the same behaviour?  If you have a spare minute, would you mind testing it?!  Room with a digital delay for example, but a long tail. Just hit a chord and kick the delay in and out, see if the tone/volume changes.

Interesting to hear about the Immerse, sounds like I need to wait a couple of days and see if it is addressed.  I love the plate and spring on the Collider, and probably use those the most (and they are not affected with the above issue!).

The S.A support is generally great off the forum, so fingers crossed!  I'll post here once I know more!

ColWilkie

@brucegill - thanks for your messages and helping out with this, really appreciate it!

For those concerned about the pedal - there clearly are a few bugs that need to be addressed.  The quality of the effects are really excellent however, so I'm really hoping the issues are resolved.  Normally I would have returned it within a couple of days, but it is so good I have persisted with the support team!

I'll post an update here either way!

brucegill

Same here. The most annoying thing is that every time I decide "that's it, its going back", I plug it back in and end up with the most amazing sounding reverb and delay. It's driving me nuts. 

Schmo

Wondering if you guys have any updates to your issues with the Collider. It’s a pedal that really interests me and would be ideal for a smaller additional board project.

brucegill

Loved it. Sounded great. Too many issues so sent it back. SA are very good at sorting problems and looking into stuff but I’m not paying £350(?) to beta test. 

Now have a Meris Mercury 7 after @ColWilkie recommended one and I’m a very happy man. Play is fantastic from normal to full on, could maybe do with a longer predelay option, and what ever the second reverb is called is just stunning and one of the best I’ve heard. Very keen on hearing the new Meris + Chase Bliss automated one when it comes out, unless it £800 lol.  

brucegill

Plate. Not play. 

MagicPigDetective

I’ve had a Mercury 7 for about a month. Oh my word it’s incredible. Put a delay before it (Walrus D1 in my case), it’s the sound I’ve been chasing for a few years. It’s deep and I’m still working it out eg the octave slide down sounded unusable initially but if you dial the mix back it gives such a deep reverb. 

Schmo

brucegill said:

Loved it. Sounded great. Too many issues so sent it back. SA are very good at sorting problems and looking into stuff but I’m not paying £350(?) to beta test. 

Now have a Meris Mercury 7 after @ColWilkie recommended one and I’m a very happy man. Play is fantastic from normal to full on, could maybe do with a longer predelay option, and what ever the second reverb is called is just stunning and one of the best I’ve heard. Very keen on hearing the new Meris + Chase Bliss automated one when it comes out, unless it £800 lol.  

Cheers Bruce - that’s disheartening. The dual delay, presets and app are appealing but the issues re the audible noise and latency are unacceptable for such an otherwise  awesome pedal.

brucegill

Yeah, such a shame. The stacking delays or reverbs was great. The app I couldn’t get on with personally but was good at getting deep into configuring what you wanted. Maybe it’s all sorted now, but I wasn’t prepared to wait and find out. And shouldn’t have had to. 

Meris is stunning though, so silver lining and all that

joetele

timbuk02 said:

If you’re after mainly reverb but also one delay/reverb option @solar has a Red Panda Context in the classifieds, demos sound superb 

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/161713/fs-price-drops-red-panda-context-v1-pigtronix-keymaster-ehx-superego#latest

Stunning pedal. I just sold mine but it really is all you need. Great price too. 

ColWilkie

Agreed on the Collider, it sounded great but just too many bugs. Support was great, but as @brucegill said we felt like beta testers!  I couldn’t be happier with my mercury 7 and Polymoon now. No issues with midi switching or any random bugs, and the sounds are literally out of this world! 

soma1975

NUX Atlantic is a cheap take on the dual pedal

brucegill

ColWilkie said:

Agreed on the Collider, it sounded great but just too many bugs. Support was great, but as @brucegill said we felt like beta testers!  I couldn’t be happier with my mercury 7 and Polymoon now. No issues with midi switching or any random bugs, and the sounds are literally out of this world! 

Think I’m going to have to try the polymoon! 

Corvus

Well bumhats. I was thinking the Collider might replace my Polymoon & current reverb, reduce the box count, and even save a bit of money maybe. But seems to be too many bugs. That giant TGP thread seems full of catches here & there.

The Immerse sounds somewhat samey across a few of the options to me, going purely by demos admittedly, and not as capable as the Merc 7, so that's where I'm headed I guess.
As the new price has dropped to £289 in a couple or three places which helps tempt the trigger finger.

ColWilkie

There’s no question the collider sounds fantastic, and drops the pedal count down (which was one of the reasons I tried it!).  Perhaps give it a go and see if it works for you. Can always return if there are still some bugs. Personally I prefer my Meris pedals now!

Corvus

I pulled that trigger on a Merc 7 : )  Too many off-putting things for me with the Collider really. Like my Polymoon and looking forward to the pairing with the Mercury.

ColWilkie

Awesome, congratulations!  Do let us know how you get on with it. The alt controls are not quite as complex as the Polymoon, so its quick to dial in!

Schmo

PSA £329 Collider in stock at Hot Rox, seems a good price for it new compared to other retailers !
I'm still tempted despite the issues...

WiresDreamDisasters

If you use the Collider like a standalone pedal and don't cock around with midi or patch changes and things like that, it's still pretty stellar. I really dig mine because it allows me to have the best sounds from the Ventris and Nemesis in one box. For studio work it's been really useful. I do confess that I prefer other pedals for my boards because of the aforementioned issues.

But the sounds are great!! I don't regret buying it.

brucegill

I’m not sure using a pedals advertised features is “cocking around” to be honest. Yeah, sounded great. Didn’t always work. Cost £350. Got fed up “cocking around” trying to get it working though