HELP needed before I buy an Eleven Rack

[dhoward1970]

Hello,

Saw a used Eleven Rack for sale and I am considering purchasing it.

What I would like to know is what are the *required* costs if I keep it and use it?

I found the ownership transfer form, looks like I will spend at least $20, maybe more depending on what software comes with it.

The ad says it comes with Pro Tools 8, and the firmware is at version 2.0.1. Build 0.1.5.7.

#1) Is that the latest firmware?
#2) Do I need to update Pro Tools to update the firmware (if needed)?
#3) I do not plan to do alot of recording, I am buying this more to play guitar and practice with. The guys I play with have recording hardware if I ever need to record. I do not lay down and record my own tracks for post processing.
#4) If I need Pro Tools, should I update to the latest version?
#5) Do I need a subscription to keep using the Eleven Rack? Will it stop working if I do not have a subscription?

I currently have an Axe-FX standard and a Firehawk and a 500X. I am happy with all of those, but for the price, I wanted to try the 11 rack. I plan on plugging it into my PA amps and using it for guitar and effects and modeling.

It also says it comes with "Sweetwater presets and updated to the Expansion Pack", will I need other expansion packs? I play 70's thru 90's rock & metal.

Thanks for the info, I will decide whether or not to buy once I get some 411 from this community.

TY in advance.
Dave

[Darryl Ramm]

First I think the Eleven Rack is a very neat box and would encourage you to get one.

But a reality check: a used Eleven Rack like this with the Expansion Pack (i.e. v2 firmware this one has) sell for as little as $200-$300, Pro Tools 8LE is near worthless. Pro Tools 9 and later help with upgrade to Pro Tools 12.

Originally Posted by dhoward1970

#1) Is that the latest firmware?

Yes

#2) Do I need to update Pro Tools to update the firmware (if needed)?

No and not relevant anyhow.

#3) I do not plan to do alot of recording, I am buying this more to play guitar and practice with. The guys I play with have recording hardware if I ever need to record. I do not lay down and record my own tracks for post processing.

Then the last thing I would do is worry about Pro Tools at all. Forget it for now. You can use any DAW with the Eleven Rack, and if you want to use Pro Tools and are not an existing user come back here then and ask about your computer setup etc. But my advice always is, pick a DAW others you work with/perform with/know use and they can help you, especially if you want to collaborate on stuff.

#4) If I need Pro Tools, should I update to the latest version?

Only if you want to use Pro Tools as a DAW--then quite likely you may need to or want to upgrade to Pro Tools 12. If not then messing with all that will totally take away from actually making music and having fun with the Eleven Rack.
If you do want to use Pro Tools you *have* to work out what computer and OS version you want to run on, that will determine what versions of Pro Tools you can run (old Pro Tools 8 won't be an option on any recent Mac made in the last few years for example).
You have to pay attention to minimum systems requirements as well. Pro Tools is much fussier about what exact hardware it runs on than typical software .
If you do upgrade to Pro Tools 12, Pro Tools 8 LE which you have is worthless, it does not help at all and you need to buy a full new license or annual subscription.
Personally I'd not ever bother with an transfer of Pro Tools 8. I'd get the iLok 2 license dongle removed from the sellers iLok account so I could add that dongle to my iLok account and reuse it for other licenses. (thats can be done as a pure iLok account thing, not a Avid transfer of ownership).

#5) Do I need a subscription to keep using the Eleven Rack? Will it stop working if I do not have a subscription?

No not at all. There is no subscription relevant to the Eleven Rack.

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I personally would not worry about presets, Sweetwater or otherwise, I'd much rather spend time learning the emulator and how to dial stuff in. I have never played with the Sweetwater presets, and if they came on an eleven Rack filling up the user rig memory I'd just delete them (do a front panel memory reset on the Eleven Rack... which is first thing out of the box I'd do with any used unit. That gets you a full factory reset, and loses you the Sweetwater settings. You could save those to a computer using the Editor if you really wanted to). I certainly see little value in the standard presets in the Eleven Rack (which survive a memory reset).

The Eleven Rack is unlikely to stand up to the high-gain/metal capability of the Axe-FX.

What you may want to do is download the free Eleven Rack editor for Mac or PC and use that to help edit and save your own rigs.... but do yourself a favor and also get familiar with setting stuff up using the front panel.

[DonaldR]

I use my Eleven Rack almost exclusively live for now.
I suggest you get Singtall patches, there's a free sample package to start with. Then you can create your own rigs (patches).