TC Electronic offers limited edition Nova System
(Dave Molter | Posted 2011-06-28)
TC Electronic was among the first manufacturers to realize the value of an integrated guitar effects system. The original Nova System has proved its worth for years by now. provides a compact multieffects board that offers reverbs, delays, modulation effectsa and a purely analog drive block that is being digitally controlled which allows you to integrate various drive settings in your personal presets.
Now TC has released Nova System Limited with a new color and new sounds developed by Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal and Peter Thorn, created 20 presets each that they use every day when touring with Guns N’ Roses and Chris Cornell of Audioslave and Soundgarden.
Ron Thal, aka Bumblefoot, started playing the guitar at age 6 after hearing the Kiss Alive! album some 35 years ago, and he is now one of the guitarists in the legendary rock band Guns N’ Roses. We’ll let Ron explain in his own words why he is so addicted to his beloved Nova System: “When I’m touring with Guns N’ Roses, I use my trusty Nova System for all my guitar effects,” Ron says and goes on. “One day, I set out to build the ultimate FX-board, so I tried out every stomp-box and multi-FX board I could get my hands on over a couple of months, and it turned out that Nova System had exactly what I wanted and needed. The Nova System’s compressor is so amazing: You can get the release to snap back at such a fast rate – faster than any other gear I checked out, and none of the other analog or digital stomp-boxes or multi-FX rack gear had the control like Nova System. Instead of using the 'Boost' button for solos, I like to boost by hitting the compressor. With a little gain and a very fast attack and release, all the notes are pulled forward and more 'in your face'. It's great for keeping consistent levels between picking and tapping, especially with Guns N’ Roses where there's three guitarists, bass, two keyboardists, drums, vocals, loops, etc... When it's my turn to step forward, Nova System makes it happen!”
Peter Thorn is a long-time TC Electronic guitar effects user, owning no less than three G-Systems setups that he uses when touring the world, but with fuel prices skyrocketing, most airlines have imposed severe weight restrictions, which caused Peter to look for light alternatives to huge rigs. This is where Nova System comes in handy. Peter explains: “I still use my G-System in my main rig, but now I've had a really small pedalboard built that's based around my Nova System. It slips right into a roadcase, and it's perfect whenever I need portability and great tones! I used this setup for the first time at the 2008 Earth Day in Tokyo, performing with Daniel Powter. This was pretty much a fly in/set up/play/fly out kinda gig and Nova System performed a blast. The analog drive section sounds really warm and natural, so I can set my amp just on the verge of breakup and use the TC drive sounds to get all different levels of distortion happening. From warm and bluesy over thick crunch to super saturated solo tones! Obviously, the delays, reverbs and modulation effects are what you would expect from TC Electronic: pristine and awesome!"
Russel Gray
Finally, our guitar product specialist and demonstrator, Russell Gray, has created another 20 presets that are inspired by a number of specific, classic rock songs. For instance, he has created a spot-on preset tailored for ‘Another Brick In The Wall’ by Pink Floyd. Another example is a classic The Edge sound that is a perfect match for playing ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ by U2. Just load the preset you want and you can start to use and enjoy it straight away – you could use it for the particular song that inspired the preset, but you could also use it as a source of inspiration for creating your own original riffs and personal presets. The choice is all yours!
The Nova System Limited carries an MSRP of $499 USD or Euro.
