ART SGE Mach II

[CharvelRocker]

I bought of these today on a bit of a whim, as the price seemed right due to the fact it had one of the giant MIDI controllers and a couple MIDI cables with it. Has anyone ever used one of these? I haven't figured out to use it, and was looking up some info on these online. People speaker of spotty reliability, which has me a bit concerned, but it sounds pretty good. Needed a good smack to get it fired up though. Dig the gaudy black and pink colors

On an unrelated note, the controller needs a 12V 500mA adapter, and I have one that's 12V but only 300ma. Will it work alright?

[VitaminG]

On an unrelated note, the controller needs a 12V 500mA adapter, and I have one that's 12V but only 300ma. Will it work alright?

no, you want more power than required, not less. But adapters are cheap enough. I picked up a 1100ma one for around $30, and that has enough juice to power my whole board.

[CharvelRocker]

no, you want more power than required, not less. But adapters are cheap enough. I picked up a 1100ma one for around $30, and that has enough juice to power my whole board.

So an 800ma I have would be fine?

[VACharvel]

Optimally, you want the correct voltage measured in mA....but if it exceeds the rating, the unit will only draw what it requires.....so you should be OK...

[Axewielder]

I have one of those Mach II's in the closet, man those are old! I haven't used it in 10 years and pretty much can't answer any questions (sorry). One of these days I'm going to dig it out and shoot it up to the classifieds.

[Robert Burns]

I owned one in the mid 90's... very good unit! IMO it was state of the
ART..(get it?) LOL.. But it's a great unit, and like most, takes some time
to get the great tones out of it.. EQing is he key..."Boost" the presets you like, and contour them, to be HUGE! In 11 years, mine never gave me
any problems. It's just 16 bit technology..so its a bit under the newer
stuff available today. ** A "bit" under.. i crack myself up!

[plon]

I have a .pdf file of the manual if you want it. It's like 30 pages. PM me if you want it and I'll email it to you.

[CharvelRocker]

I have the manual for the Mach II, though I am looking for one of the X-15 Ultrafoot that came with it. Thanks though, I appreciate it. Good to see some feedback for them. I agree its a bit under the newer stuff, but it sounds good. The delays don't knock me over. The reverbs, chorus, and flange are smooth imo. And the sequencer and pitch transponder are cool if useless functions. Glad to see I didn't buy some useless piece of crap I haven't even begone to dive into it; I'm just fooling with the factory presets.

[Racerx2k]

I ran one of those, back in the early 90s, with the x-15, but it's been so long I wouldn't know how to run one if I had to. I remember my tech guy finding alot of cold solder joints in it, though.

[Rupe]

The old ART stuff was kind of fun to play around with and get wacky sounds, but from a true performance standpoint, it's a tone suck. When I replaced mine back in '92 with a Rocktron Intellifex it was like night and day...everything just sounded bigger and better.

[Spivonious]

Optimally, you want the correct voltage measured in mA....but if it exceeds the rating, the unit will only draw what it requires.....so you should be OK...

Not true. mA is a measure of the maximum current the adapter puts out. Anything at or over the required current is fine, so yes the 800mA one you have will work fine.

12V is absolutely necessary though. More volts and you'll blow something up and fewer volts and it won't operate correctly.

Oh, another thing to check is polarity (which piece is positive and which is negative). THere's a graphic that shows this... Your adapter will have that graphic too.

[DocNrock]

Blast from the past! I used to play out with one of those. However, I was never truly happy with the tone it had. It was replaced with a JMP-1 preamp and I went back to pedals.

[MetalMedal II]

Never had one, but I remember those bright colors catching my attention and tempting me in catalogs!

[CharvelRocker]

I've noticed an odd issue with this the past week. When I turn it on after unplugging it, the screen will be all garbled and it won't do anything without a reset. There was a sticker on the top that said "*rubbed off* Installed" and how to reset it. Were there any software mods for these or anything? I'm thinking it could be the internal battery on it, which isn't a major fix.

On a side note, I'm still debating how to route this thing. I'm using it mainly for the effects like the chorus, pitch transponder, Harmonic Exciter, and occasionally the EQ and reverb. I'm thinking of putting it in my Effects loop before my Flanger and delay. Thoughts?

EDIT: I also don't think it's the dreaded corroded ribbon cables that seemed to trouble these, as it works fine otherwise, and the symptoms seem consistent with the manuals definition of a worn down system battery. Considering the life of one is 4 years, and it sat in the shop used for at least 2, I'm not shocked if that is the case.

[Axewielder]

I've noticed an odd issue with this the past week. When I turn it on after unplugging it, the screen will be all garbled and it won't do anything without a reset. There was a sticker on the top that said "*rubbed off* Installed" and how to reset it. Were there any software mods for these or anything? I'm thinking it could be the internal battery on it, which isn't a major fix.

Hey did you ever get this issue resolved? I just fished mine out of the closet and powered it up, and it's doing the same thing as yours. DAMN!