TC Electronic Nova System

relatively easy for having so many options and effects

very good for a multi-effects. distortion overvdrive was decent and usable, if no perhaps a bit too much compression and distorion happening, but still good. would have liked a mutron-like auto wah.

poor. first one came DOA. Similar issue to that described by at least one other HC user. Another of TC products, the G-System, also had many reliability issues posted for quite a while. Perhaps they ship too quicky, instead they new more time working through the bugsl

very good dealer support from washington music in MD>

very good. I bought a second (first didn't work) buy haven't decided if I'll keep it. Believe it will come in handle as a back up. I think if I didn't own a host of cool pedals, I would keep it. But it's a very coom pedal

I love the product when it worked... I had 4. So I think I'm giving up..too bad it sounds GREAT when they worked.. Hope you guys get it together with the Fine sounding product.. If it is made in China ; it's like they are getting lazy or just don't like us or something.. Is this a trend? I wrote a glowing review before so I just want to let my fellow guitar players know 4 had gone bad....But if you buy with a 45 return you can check it out w/o getting stuck with a bad one...All mine got their Flight Papers back to the seller. They say the next batch will be better????

It is very easy to get a good sound out of this unit. The editing of patches is pretty intuitive, and the manual is very concise with its explanations. The factory presets are actually quite useful. They aren't ridiculous over-the-top "sell me!" kind of presets that will wow kids into buying the unit; they are much more subtle, tasteful and usable sounds that I could actually see myself using in practice.

The only thing that is more difficult than it should be is setting the levels; there is no true bypass on this unit, so it took me quite some time to get the unit's level set "just so."

I am using firmware 1.10.

The first reviewer made a huge deal out of how the unit does not instantly switch presets. His complaints are ridiculous - absolutely ridiculous. He makes it sound as though you hit the button and then a second later it will switch sounds - it does either one of two things:
- If you tap a button, it enables or disables that effect.
- If you hold a button for one second, it will flash "ready" and change to that preset when you release the button.
It works as a kind of hybrid stompbox/pedal arrangement. I can see the appeal of this setup. TC definitely did make the system with guitarists in mind, and probably went this route to make up for the limitation of only having three presets per bank. They explain it very clearly in the manual, and it is very consistent and easy to pull off smooth preset changes in practice. You can hold the button as long as you want; just queue up your preset changes a bar in advance to solve all problems.

TC probably did not count on people being so unrealistic about it. If you are used to instant preset changing, it will take some time to adjust. If you are not a spoiled prima donna and can accept change, you will be able to get into this unit without any problems.

I play a Jackson SLSMG, 7 string COW, and an Ibanez S7320 with bareknuckle pickups into a Mesa Stiletto Deuce stage II, running into a Orange 4x12 cabinet. I run the Nova System in the effects loop of my amp.

It isn't noisy - the fuzz that is there is just the natural fuzz of the amp. It makes popping sounds and beeps as you adjust the effect levels, but this is not a dealbreaker by any stretch because you shouldn't be adjusting these live.

The effects, as usual for TC, sound fantastic. It is basically all the power of the G Major coupled with a very, very sturdy footswitch in an all-in-one kind of unit. The delays are exceptional, as are the reverbs. The modulation effects are quite good as well. It has an intelligent pitch shifter built in too, and it is pretty good. I myself don't have much of a need for it, but it doesn't hunt for notes and you just need to set it up properly in the right key and scale for it to do a pretty good job of harmonizing your playing.

The weakest effects of the bunch are the distortion & overdrive. They are atrocious. I only ran the unit for a little while into the front of my amp (the drive effects are disabled when using the line input) just to see how they sounded and suffice to say, no one should use them ever. At very light levels they were passable, but as soon as you turned the gain up, the sound quality became absolutely terrible. It was very nasally, with overwhelming bass at the same time. It sounded like a recording that had been clipped at -40dB.

I quite like all the sound effects and there is a lot here I can use.

HOWEVER, the unit is not entirely transparent. It is very close to being transparent; but do not believe TC when they say they found a revolutionary way of doing conversions so that you couldn't hear the unit when it is not engaged. It adds a sort of digital buzz to higher notes. It is subtle, and you would almost certainly not notice it in a blind test comparing the amp on its own to the amp w/Nova, but it is still there. Even with the levels set correctly, I have not been able to get it to go away. It is so subtle, I am wondering if it is just my imagination - but, try and listen for this yourself if you go and test one out.

Unfortunately, I have to give it poor marks here. The unit I received was dead right out of the box - bricked before I even received it. It would boot to the screen that said "TC Nova System" and then would go no further. I had to send it away and received a new unit on warranty that works fine.

It feels very sturdy and dependable. The footswitch portion is rock solid, but I am leery of the softer plastic part above the footswitch. If you avoid stepping on it, you won't have any problems, but there are flimsy plastic knobs that protrude out past the harder metal face that could easily be broken by a kick or misplaced foot. The display is also right there, and is not recessed very far into the top, so it is vulnerable to a bootstomping as well.

When the unit arrived broken, TC was very quick to reply to a request for technical support. All that could be done though is to send the unit away, which I did so. Turnaround time was about one day. It took nine business days total to get a replacement unit.

I play my own brand of metal that veers at different times into Devin Townsend Band and Tool territory. I need to be able to do atmospheric effects every now and then to suit the mood of the song; the Nova System will do this perfectly. I did not want to assemble a rack and add even more gear to what I already have to lug around, and the Nova fills a perfect niche in the TC lineup.

I'm not going to pretend like I've been playing for 40+ years. I have only been practicing hard for about four years.

You get slightly more power than the G Major has, and have a very sturdy footswitch with MIDI capabilities built in at the same time. The price is just right for what it is. It is easy to plug it in and get it going, the presets are easy to set up, and most importantly, it sounds great.

I have never really owned a good multieffects unit before. I've had a Pod XT Live, a GNX3000, and a G Major before, but the Pod and GNX both sounded quite poor and the G Major broke within three days. For awhile I was making due with a Nova Reverb and Nova Delay pedal, but the Nova Delay in particular is a very user unfriendly pedal and I didn't want to do the very complicated tapdance it requires. When I started shopping around to get the effects I needed to make the music in my head, I was looking at spending over a thousand dollars on putting together a pedal board, or spending $1500+ on an Axe FX or G System.

The Nova System offered everything I needed at just the right price, and that is what I love most about it. I wish that it had worked right out of the box though - I am somewhat leery of its long term reliability now, but my experience with TC's customer service was great so I could deal with replacing it again so long as it does not die in the middle of a gig.

The only thing I wish it had was a fourth preset selector, and that it was slightly wider. As it is, it is fine, but it is deceptively smaller than it looks in pictures online. It will certainly help me make music and once I really get the hang of setting it up and operating it, I have no doubt it will do everything I need it to.

You will be able to here what I record with the Nova system at http://www.soundclick.com/temps/ soon. I will make a special note of it in the notes of any song I upload that makes use of the Nova's effects.

Its a challenge for guitar players who don't like to read manuals. The manual is not clear, the unit is not intuitive, and as mentioned elsewhere, does not have a by pass switch.
I took a deep breath and worked my way through the manual and the settings. I fell like a better person, but frankly operating this system is far more character building than it needs to be.

Here is why the grief of learning to operate this thing is worth it.
The sounds are outstanding. Top quality effects across the range, covering every effect option you are ever likely to need. I have clipped off a point for finicky and rather inadequate noise reduction system.
I use it with a PRS and matchless amp, with a twin reverb for stereo.

Not had it that long, but it is very well built, and i have no problems with other TC gear. It feels robust.

No dealings with them.

Unusually for a multi-effects units I found some of the presets very usable. I know we should not admit that, but the reality is that as opposed to 200 settings desinged to turn heads in guitar store, this has thirty, and at least half of those have some real world application, when tweaked to taste.
You do need to get the separate foot switch to get the full use out of it in a live capacity, and although it only costs fifty bucks it annoying for a unit that already retails around 700 dollars. it should come complete.
But, it has made a manual reader of me, and does sound great.

The system took me 5 minutes to get the hang of it after reading the manual the night before. The system has a good deal of common sense. The manual is good not great because of English/Danish translation...

The Guy who said he wants Instant switching did not know I have 60 different pedal board configurations and once they are loaded all have instant switching. I use one pedal board for a group of songs . I use Pedal Mode instead of patch mode. Effects are top notch as with TC in general. Don't get thrown off by some negative reviews. It's better the L6 Boss and it's light weight

It looks strong

Very good they get back soon for questions

The Nova System is a great idea but could be a little more flexible.
Instant switching should be an option. Instant switching is available with an optional G Switch but then the unit only has one pedal input so its either the G Switch or an Expression pedal. Option for both would be ideal.

Sound quality of effects is up to scratch with other TC products. I find the presets pretty useless, I only use the system in stomp mode in an effects loop.

Here's where the system fails. I'm waiting for a new system as the one I received didn't function properly. Apparently the whole batch the shop had were faulty. Doesn't look good for you TC Electronic!

I'm waiting to see how well TC Electronic handle the exchange of my system. Hopefully they won't let me down.

System is a great idea, with a little more thought into the design and operation of it it could have been the best hands down. Effects are great, but ideally I'd love to see it have an option for instant switching, ability to use the G Switch and Expression pedal at the same time, an On/Off function and a bypass option.

I found this to be easy to use but may not be for all. Getting a sound was easy - as was editing for me - Comparable to Boss GT line . There are a couple of oddities like setting the boost pedal level in the drive parameters. Contrary to previous review you CAN get an instant switch in preset mode. In pedal mode w/ a G switch you get 3 instant preset switches plus the ability to operate like individual stomp boxes. Hold down a switch and get to another bank...
There is an annoying audible beeping sound when changing parameters which is supposed to be fixed in the new firmware.

I play Strats w/Fenders. Effects are top notch. Drive is surprisingly good: 2 seetings Overdrive similar to as TS9 and Distort similar to a Boss DS1. Analog delay is very good. The pitch shifter is better than the Boss versions. I use chorus frequently and this one sounds great. Not much use for the factory presets for me. I have it mounted on a board with 3 dirt pedals a wah and a deja mini vibe.

Built like a tank. Rubber mat underneath. Very solid contsruction

No need (yet)

Typical Multi everything console...Useless manual with far too many variations .. Difficult to set up as no instant bypass available to check the reference levels, Edting Ok but again could be easier .The manual doesnt explain the basics

Sound quality of all good but much too complicated to get a good simple sound..

Not Known

The sounds are not good for me using a Gibbo 336 ,Plying over 40 years I know what I like, this didnt do it for me. Swiching system is pathetic.Like other postings dont these guys listen to stage players ....I WANT INSTANT SWITCHING...

The "System" is quite easy to use and the manual is very simple helpful. It is a little bit not ordinary control system like have others "POD, Boss, Zoom???ect." As I said it is not common control it is like having 60 (user presets) different stomp boxes configurations. You just switching on/off separate effects. You can switch overdrive on/off, reverb on/off, delay, pitch, modulations??? Any way if you want use complete patches, you must hold a suitable button for few seconds, o use G-Switch for immediate patch switching.

My setup is: Fender RI62, Fender Deluxe, Gibson Standard -> Nova System-> different amps, from 100W tube Marshall, Carvin Nomand, till 15w custom made tube amp. Some times I use Nova System in front of amp, some times in loop application.
The effects are wonderful!!! The reverbs, delays, modulations, compressor, analog overdrive/distortion, are studio quality. If you use in loop this equipment, it sounds very crystal, do not suck sound at all!!! if you use in front of tube amp it adds his preamp color about 5-10% from a original guitar sound. But once again the changes are from overdrive and distortion section, witch in most case are much better than from stompboxes. It blows every guitar processor I have tried including processors with sham tubes, and funny simulations??? The reverbs are so grate!

No problems, but I allways have backup.

Very good support from TC. I had some questions about Power Core in past.

I play blues, rock, funk for 12 years not metal or punk... If it were stolen, I definitively would buy another one, or G-System.
There are some very good things in this processor that helps to get very good sound!
1. Adjustable input sensitivity.
2. Serial, semi parallel, parallel effects connection configuration.
3. Real time tuner.

And 2 disadvantages:
1. No phone output.
2. No power On/Off button.

I'm still learning all the ins & outs of this system, but I the layout makes things much easier to learn. The 4 variations that can be saved for each preset means that I probably with never need to change banks (4 presets x 3 banks = 12 presets per effect!).

I sold my Boss RV-5, CE-20 & DD-6 pedals to get this unit, and I am not disappointed. I am still working with the unit, so I don't have any favorites just yet. Analog drive circuit is useful, though I do have my bases covered with a Keeley-modded TS9DX, Little Big Muff & BYOC Mouse pedals. Real-time expression control is fun.

The only reason I gave it a 9 out of 10 is because the pedal frequently makes a "blip" noise whenever you change a volume or gain value. This may be just my unit, put it makes using an expression pedal to vary the gain totally useless (all the blips run together & make a squeal).

I can't really say yet, but it looks & feels solid.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase. I am able to put more effects in the same area of my pedal board as before, except now those effects are of even higher quality.

As far as the footswitch issue the other guy mentioned, I don't think it's as big of a deal as he is making it. If you really need it to click in/out during a song so precise that you can't have the millisecond delay from tapping a footswitch, you can always HOLD YOUR FOOT DOWN AND RELEASE IT AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. I think I actually prefer it this way. It allows you to find the switch when it's convenient to look down, and release it without having to look first. That said, they should have made it possible to change how the footswitches work in the menu options.