'The Solution' FX pedalboard system: A new game in town?

08 Nov 2016 by Angus Baigent | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

The Solution: This setup will set you back just under €700 · Source: Nexi Industries

Nexi Industries The Solution Pedalboard Guitar FX System

This is what the board looks like without any modules fitted · Source: Nexi Industries

The pedals use what looks like an RSS-232 port to connect to the pedalboard - how much punishment will that take? · Source: Nexi Industries

70s Overdrive for Nexi's The Solution · Source: Nexi Industries

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Nexi Industries, a new player in the guitar effect game, has just announced The Solution, a pedalboard system with interchangeable stomp box modules. Every now and again someone comes along and tells you they’ve re-invented the wheel, the amp, the overdrive effect, or whatever. Extreme marketing brags that rarely ring true, and even less often stand up to the test of time. Nexi Industries’ claims for their modular, virtual analogue pedalboard system are in this category.

OK, here’s the idea: buy a water-resistant pedalboard with a built-in tuner, mains power for your FX, three-stage gain setting and two-channel switch. This’ll set you back €199. So far, so good. “Right, how do I plug in my own pedals?” I hear you ask? Er, you can’t. You can only use their selection of FX modules. These are: 70s Distortion, 70s Overdrive, Analog Chorus, Delay, Distortion, Dutch Screamer, Fuzz, Looper, Metal Distortion, Overdrive, Phaser and Tremolo. There’s also a Volume pedal and a Wah. Yes, you can use these as stand-alone effects with your existing rig.

Generic Effects?

Glossing over the fact that there’s no reverb, these all sound worryingly generic. Yes, I can go on YouTube and hear some guy playing boring riffs through them on a guitar I don’t own through an amp I don’t like. But how good are these sounds? Exactly what tones do they model? Can I upload sounds to them using my computer? Is there technology like IK’s ToneCloud to let me upload patches or sounds from the internet to these boxes? Despite the pedalboard having two USB ports, there’s no indication on their website that this is an option. USB is used, I gather, for charging your phone or tablet.

These days, the industry is developing away from generic solutions, towards individualized, unique options, tones and sounds. The danger with this kind of system, surely, is that I’ll sound like everyone else who’s got one. And if my drummer spills beer on my boutique effect, so what? It’s coming out of his share of the door, anyway.