Multi-Effects vs Individual Pedals

[Nibody]

I picked up a Zoom B1 for peanuts, originally just for messing around with. But the longer I've had it the more appealing it's become to use it in place of my EHX collection. I know the EHX pedals have the edge on sound and ease of adjustment, but for the covers band the idea of setting patches for those songs that I use effects on rather than tap dancing on several pedals seems the right way to go. Plus I can throw it in a Gig Bag rather than carting my pedalboard to rehersals.

I'm getting a real urge to part with my EHX pedals and put the cash towards something else, but I'm not sure if I will regret it in the long run.

[brensabre79]

Same here, I swapped most of my boutique pedals for a Zoom b2.1 then b3 because for a covers band where you need to sound like 30 different bass players a night (not that anyone else notices) its just easier to have presets that are a close approximation than to have all the right gear but spend 5 minutes between each song tweaking the settings!
Delays always in time, chorus at just the right blend etc. etc. and one small box to carry around. Winner!

[Truckstop]

Yep, I love my Boss ME-20b.

Ridiculously flexible, compact, easy to use and sounds great. I only have other pedals because sometimes I prefer an analogue sound and because it looks wick.

Truckstop

[Mog]

Three words: Bass Pod Live.
You'll pick up a secondhand model for about £150ish.

[Dood]

I've just picked up a Zoom B3 and also use a TC Electronic Nova System. To be honest, the B3 is showing itself as a really nice piece of gear - the TC could be up for sale soon. I'll keep just the odd pedal depending on gigs, but I don't own or need a single 'boutique' pedal for any of the gigs I do.
Horses for courses, but I'd rather take out a pedal that is easily replaceable that sounds great. I've been looking for an alternative to taking out my Ampeg BSP for ages, I think I've found a couple of cheap boxes that will suffice!

[Truckstop]

I really wish Zoom would sack whoever designs them though. They look like a prop from Total Recall! I'm sure they're great pieces of kit, but look so 'low-end' and amateurish.

On the lookout for a Bass Pod Live. They are amazing value for money!

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[Maude]

I'm in exactly the same place, I could sell my pedals and have around £400 to spend on a very nice all in one.
The only thing that really annoys me with multi pedals is when you want to just quickly adjust a sound, too many menus.
I know individual analogue pedals will sound nicer but can anyone else at the pub gig tell, short answer, NO!
I think I'm definitely going to go down this route sooner rather than later but I'm not sure what to get.
I've just picked up a Variax for the same reason, play three basses at a gig to get the sounds I like, or use one and not be entirely happy, enter the Variax, not exactly like the modelled basses but close enough I get the sound I'm looking for and some of the crowd will notice the bass sounds right for the song with no time consuming bass swaps.

[LiamPodmore]

If i went for a rack system i would probably have something like an Axe FX or an Eleven Rack into a power amp, but for now i like my individual pedals, it's much easier to tweak settings on the fly. I can see the apeal of multi-effects though, especially the higher quality ones.

Liam

[brensabre79]

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1344283567' post='1762309']

The only thing that really annoys me with multi pedals is when you want to just quickly adjust a sound, too many menus.

[/quote]

Thats where the Zoom B3 really excels actually, its like three little stomp boxes, with 3 adjustment knobs on each one. so you load up your patch and you can adjust it instantly, no need to save it either as it will just remember your adjustments next time you visit that patch. Works a treat for getting delays in time, or setting a level quickly etc. Its like the best of both worlds really.
...but I agree the Zoom stuff does look a bit cheapo to those who know!

[xilddx]

[quote name='Nibody' timestamp='1344267261' post='1761960']
I picked up a Zoom B1 for peanuts, originally just for messing around with. But the longer I've had it the more appealing it's become to use it in place of my EHX collection. I know the EHX pedals have the edge on sound and ease of adjustment, but for the covers band the idea of setting patches for those songs that I use effects on rather than tap dancing on several pedals seems the right way to go. Plus I can throw it in a Gig Bag rather than carting my pedalboard to rehersals.

I'm getting a real urge to part with my EHX pedals and put the cash towards something else, but I'm not sure if I will regret it in the long run.
[/quote]
I use a POD X3 LIVE exclusively (I don't own backline), for bass and guitar, live and in the studio. It's got everything the Bass POD has plus all the guitar stuff, and vocal pres. It's amazingly versatile and you can connect it to almost anything. Once you know your way around, the sounds you can program are fabulous. Don't let ANYONE tell you that digital modeling sounds poor compared to the 'real' thing.

I wrote a review of it here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/145098-pod-x3-live/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/145098-pod-x3-live/[/url]

They seem to be going for about £200ish S/H on the bay. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=POD+x3+live&_sacat=0"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=POD+x3+live&_sacat=0[/url]

[PlungerModerno]

Zoom b2.1u here... sweet. I can plug it in - instant volume pedal, tuner, eq. etc. Compressor and effects work too. Not in the same league as a good pedalboard and the knowledge to use it... but not in the same price league either.

It's a good first dip into effects.
What I've learned is there are two I kinda need - and more I want.
I need a compressor & good OD/DI pedal (like a sansamp) but I need to get my amp and get used to it first. I may be able to get most of my needs with the amp as - is.

What I'd like is about 1,130 synth, octave, fuzz, wah, od. booster, splitter, etc.

[Pinball]

Hmm I know exacly where your coming from, I sold all my lead guitar pedals and replaced them with 1 boss pedal.
For bass I'm don't use as wide a variation and am really happy with 3 or 4 individual pedals. They satisfy my needs so I guess it depends on what type of music you play..

Edited August 8, 2012 by Pinball

[BigRedX]

I haven't used individual effects live since 1991 when I bought a Roland GP8 (which I still have as part of my guitar rig).

These days my bass rig is built around a Line6 Bass Pod. I have the Pro version in my rack, and the normal version that I use when I'm going to be borrowing someone else's amp or going direct into the PA at gigs, both loaded with the same patches. I use it mostly as a programmable tone control with added effects when required.

The overall sound might not quite up to that of a floor full of boutique pedals, but the predicability more than makes up for it. I know that when I hit the button for a particular patch exactly what I'm going to get and that it's going to be identical every time. Also for being able to synchronise time based effects such as delay, tremelo, phase and flange to either MIDI cock or tap tempo is completely invaluable - something that the makers of "quality" boutique effects don't seem to think is at all important. Plus the Line6 Shortboard takes up less room on stage than most pedal boards and only requires one button press to completely change the sound.

The only way I would consider going back to individual pedals would be using a massive GigRig system with a separate pedal for every setting I needed - and I'd still need some of them modifying for synchronisation.

[Dood]

Obviously a big thumbs up for multi-effects here. I think one of the main points that have been highlighted is that it's important to have an idea of the kind of configuration you'd like before purchasing. This can be very difficult if you are new to effects - but thankfully there is a massive knowledge base right here on BC ready to help.

Another massive 'thankfully' goes to the likes of TC Electronic, Zoom, Line 6 and Boss amongst others that manufacture multi-effects machines that have so many different options for a user interface. The Line 6 M series and the Zoom B3 both favour an 'ultimate individual stomp box' approach, whereas the Boss GT10b and Line 6 X3 are full on multi signal path patch menu'd beasts! (Both are pretty easy to program when you get used to the GUI)

I've also owned effects racks such as the TC electronic G-Force, G-Major 2 and the old Zoom 9050S.

They all have their uses and strengths. I'm very much enjoying the simplicity of the Zoom B3 and TC Nova System at the moment.

It truely is horses for courses and modern effects units sounds so much better than older processors. Lots of quality for not much money. Just take a look at the B3! Thats daft money!

[charic]

Do any of them have a decent distortion though? From what I'm reading that's usually what's lacking

[Dood]

I found that for example on the X3 i mixed a guitar amp sim with a clean signal instead of using a distortion pedal effect. Greater control over the tone. You'd be right though. I think it *can* be more difficult to make multi-effect units sound good. Though if you know what you're doing, it is.. Well.. Doable. For example, chaining a parametric EQ to a fizzy distortion to pull down the top end and drive the low mids can be really helpful! The X3 and GT10 made signal chaining easy. It's less easy on say the B3 as you could potentially lose 2 or more slots on distortion shaping alone. I have to admit on my mini rig, i really only use one kind of distortion and that will be left to a seperate pedal i will be modding in due course. That said, i have used the bddi and muff sims on the B3 and they worked well in a band setting.

[Truckstop]

Hmm, having experienced only Boss multi-fx I would be inclined to agree. Thats not to say the OD and the Distortions don't have their uses, but they're not really 'leave on all the time' type sounds.

I've always felt that Distortions, OD's and Fuzzes are quite a personal thing for a guitarist of any type so I've always had a separate pedal for that anyway.

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[charic]

Fair point... I want a B3k or B7k from the vids but I need to find one to try out (and then be able to warrant it when I should be saving for a house..)

[BigRedX]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1344521655' post='1765893']
Do any of them have a decent distortion though? From what I'm reading that's usually what's lacking
[/quote]

Totally subjective. You'll have to try them all and make up your own mind. Everyone has a different idea of what is a "decent distortion" and it probably changes depending on what other instruments it's mixed in with. Remember not ever boutique pedal will have the right sound for you. Multi-effects are just the same.

[thodrik]

I have had a Pod for years and although I really appreciate the flexibility, it has never made it to a gigging rig over a ten year period. Even for the 'straight to PA' gigs I have just decided to either use a Sansamp. Even though I know how to use the Pod, I just find the Sansamp experience a lot quicker with the same general result (a bass guitar sound) than the Pod.

Generally I just use individual effects, I have a bunch of different overdrives, preamps, chorus, noisegates, tuners and delays and mix and match depending on my project/mood/how much I can be bothered to carry. Its pretty agricultural but I like it that way.

I would maybe get a multi-effects box as a rack unit, but its not really high on my agenda and frankly I'd be more likely to buy a single rack unit preamp like a Trace V-type or Sansamp RBI

[tauzero]

I like the Zoom B3 approach - I would like to see the equivalent of the Zoom G3 2.0 firmware for it for added oomph. The other multifx I've used have all constrained you to a particular signal chain with a limited number of options available at each step.

[HazBeen]

I've tried the full multi approach several times and reverted back to single stomp boxes every time, mainly because distortion, od, fuzz is pretty much always 'not good enough' on multis. My M5 takes care of the 'need for one song only' fx. So a mix probably is best if you want a small pedal board.

[Dood]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1345149263' post='1774384']
I like the Zoom B3 approach - I would like to see the equivalent of the Zoom G3 2.0 firmware for it for added oomph. The other multifx I've used have all constrained you to a particular signal chain with a limited number of options available at each step.
[/quote]

+1 I was always a massive fan of my TC G-Force until I sold it, like a fool! Ha! The B3 is a really cool idea and I hope it gets the G3 2.0 update. Zoom UK seem to think it's likely but could not say anymore at the moment.

[mike257]

I'm a tapdancer with my guitar board, and the more it grows, the more I'm tempted to pick up a Line 6 M-series to make my life simpler. Like many others, I'm not totally sold on the drive sounds yet, but keep coming back to the idea of an M9 to replace all my mod/reverb/delay effects. I think I'm too attached to my Deluxe Memory Boy to take the plunge yet!

I think I'd have to live with one for a while and see how I felt before replacing all my drive pedals with it too - but I couldn't afford one without selling them first, so I guess I'm stuck with the giant board of doom for now!

[simon1964]

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1344283567' post='1762309']
The only thing that really annoys me with multi pedals is when you want to just quickly adjust a sound, too many menus.
[/quote]

Have a look at the Boss ME50b. All adjustments can be made quickly using good old fashioned knobs rather than menus! It actually makes it perfect for live use, as it is simplicity itself to tweak settings manually.

I'm using it exclusively live. It's much easier to carry round than my old pedal board, and takes up a lot less room on stage.