Which way to go, separates or multifx.

[clauster]

Yes I know this is a perennial chestnut for Basschat lol.

 

Bit of background - Over a decade ago I started playing in an originals band.  All I needed was some dirt, and being a complressor junkie, I went through a few of those as well.  I quit that band almost 6 years ago and, apart from a few gigs where their new bass player wasn't available, I haven't really done much bas playing, just noodling at home on guitar.

 

I've recently hooked up with a few other local musicians to play some local open mic nights.  Five songs in and we're learning Uprising by Muse.  Now, I still have an Aftershock, so the fuzz isn't a problem, so I could just get an octave pedal (OC5?).  But then I'd also need a pedal board and a PSU.  And, as our repertoire expands, I foresee modulation(s), filter, compressor (which I now only have in 19" rack format, not really open mic night friendly) etc etc.

 

So would I be better off going multi?

 

On the shortlist -

 

Zoom B6

Line6 Pod Go

Line6 HX Stomp

Line6 HX Stomp XL

Line6 HXFX and a preamp pedal.

Boss GX100 (the biggest of of all the multis I'm contemplating)

Boss GT Core

 

The B6 is plastic and bass focussed, so may not be ideal for my guitar noodling at home.  GT Core is at the price point where I could get a pedal board, decent PSU and a Source Audio Spectrum for octave and filter.  So unless anyone really recommends either of those they are low on my list.

 

I've been down to GAK, they had the B6.  They also had the GT6B and GT10B in as used models, but these flipping massive.

 

Any advice welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SamIAm]

Being a more recent entrant to bass playing (and an IT geek)I’ve had a play with quite a variety of mfx units.

From a flexibility perspective I’d suggest ŷou consider the Mod Dwarf, it has a huge selection of effects available and an insanely flexible internal routing capability.  The drawback with it (and the HX Stomp IME) is the lack of onboard stomp switches, requiring an external extension switch unit.  The Stomp XL resolved this but was just too large and heavy for me.

In the end Ive decided to self build one (BOME), using similar tech to the Dwarf but much cheaper and battery powered and I’m using a Zoom B1XFour in the meantime.

 

The feeling I am left with regarding mfx is that it allows me to try out loads of things, but some (like octave effects) are not as good, especially as I play a 5 string.  I can foresee one day settling down on a really small rig with analogue pedals as the lofty heights of things like the Quad Cortex are way beyond my budget.

 

S’manth x

[T-Bay]

Boss GX100 has been an utter revelation for me this last year. I have now mothballed my pedal board and just use the GX100. So flexible and easy to use. Loads of the guitar pedals sound great on bass as you would expect, and there are bespoke bass effects as well. Chuck in the modelling options and it’s a bargain imho.

[clauster]

Cheers both.

 

Smanth, I used to be an IT geek too.  These days I'm in management and I'm trying to avoid anything too geeky.  It needs to pretty intuitive.  That's one of the reasons I'm considering discreet pedals, but that is going to be the most expensive route long run.

 

T-bay, thanks for the feedback on the GX100.  I'm just concerned it doesn't have any line outs.

[Al Krow]

17 minutes ago, clauster said:

Cheers both.

 

Smanth, I used to be an IT geek too.  These days I'm in management and I'm trying to avoid anything too geeky.  It needs to pretty intuitive.  That's one of the reasons I'm considering discreet pedals, but that is going to be the most expensive route long run.

 

T-bay, thanks for the feedback on the GX100.  I'm just concerned it doesn't have any line outs.

I'm not sure that should constrain you if you're wanting to go for the GX100, though? 

 

Many desks these days have a Hi Z input that can handle passive pick-ups from guitar or bass. But worst case get a little DI box - under £30 for a Behringer DI400P. 

 

And if you're going directly into your amp/cab, then again a DI / balanced signal shouldn't be needed. 

 

I've been enjoying the simplicity of gigging with a Zoom B1-4 directly into our desk with no issues in terms of needing a balanced out. 

[MichaelDean]

I've also got a GX-100 and am loving it. The lack of line outs did concern me a little, but I went ahead anyway - as Al Krow says, just stick a DI on one output if it's a long cable run. It's a really great unit. No regrets at all. 

 

I've found that because there is an extra bass knob on all of the drives/distortions/fuzzes intended for guitar, they have been working out much better than the bass specific ones for my use case. The only downside would be any synth type stuff. There aren't any blocks for that with the GX-100. I guess you could layer other effects to make something synthy though. 

[MrDinsdale]

I loved the GT1000core, the amount of control you have with the 3 dividers is incredible. I have a guitar drive pedal i love but doesn't have a clean blend, popped it in an fx loop of the core and used a parallel divider to let me blend some clean lows back in. I think the signal chain stuff was more exciting than the fx for me. Unfortunately didn't fit with the latest project so I'm back to analog with just compressor, preamp and drive.

 

Never tried the GX100 but heard amazing stuff.

 

As others have said there's always an option of a separate di, i have a radial prodi I picked up cheap 2nd hand which was perfect. 

[Downunderwonder]

Somewhere in cyberspace you can find Boss GT6B recipes for Muse that are pukka representations.

[Boodang]

I've yet to come across an effect on a multi unit that sounds as good as a dedicated pedal. Plus the programming on a multi fx I've never found intuitive. 

And then there's the art work on pedals, multi fx just don't look as good. I buy all my pedals based on their art work, as this seems the most sensible way to do it. And they all sound great.... Seamoon funk machine, Photon Death Ray, Ripply Fall etc, no contest!

Edited January 23, 2023 by Boodang

[LukeFRC]

On 22/01/2023 at 17:44, clauster said:

I haven't really done much bas playing, just noodling at home on guitar.

Hx stomp is an amazing bit of kit

 

i sold mine and have a few individual pedals - for me, for bass it just about made sense as a decision (but costs more) but if I played guitar as well in any shape or form then I would have kept the stomp - it’s that good 

[clauster]

Thanks all.  Strongly leaning towards the GX100 at the mo.  I agree that "proper" pedals would be the way to go if I was bass only, but I keep dipping back into guitar at the moment.

[SumOne]

Sell individual pedal to buy multi fx, then sell multi fx to get individual pedals. Repeat forever. 

[SamIAm]

1 minute ago, SumOne said:

Sell individual pedal to buy multi fx, then sell multi fx to get individual pedals. Repeat forever. 

Or my experience of buying a multi-fx then selling it to buy a different multi-fx and then ...

S'manth x

[clauster]

Lol and the third option has been my path - trading comps and drives for the last far too many years.  If I was still in my originals band, I'd be getting the SA comp and Zio to go with my Aftershock and have all my favourites covered.  But as I'm now doing covers a wider palette of FX is more necessary.  Having read the reviews here, watched reviews on youtube and thought about my needs it's been narrowed down to Stomp or GX. 

 

Anyone got any opinions on which is the better for OC-2 and filter effects?  I know both will be great at classic modulation effects.

[SamIAm]

16 minutes ago, clauster said:

Anyone got any opinions on which is the better for OC-2 and filter effects?  I know both will be great at classic modulation effects.

An approach that has worked well for me in the past is to purchase a unit from a retailer with a good 'I've changed my mind' return policy and give it a thorough going over (whilst wearing kid gloves).  Actually using something in 'anger' for a week or two tends to highlight any 'OMG this is awesome' or 'Oooo ... I don't like' elements.  Worst case is I had to pay return shipping (Tho with Thomann they arranged it).

S'manth x

[Al Krow]

On 23/01/2023 at 17:53, LukeFRC said:

Hx stomp is an amazing bit of kit

 

i sold mine and have a few individual pedals...

 

Have you ever considered going into sales? 😅

Edited January 26, 2023 by Al Krow

[LukeFRC]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

 

Have you ever considered going into sales? 😅

It’s all about context - otherwise it’s just people online answering questions by reinforcing their own decisions. 
 

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

It’s all about context - otherwise it’s just people online answering questions by reinforcing their own decisions. 
 

Oh I totally agree - and candid views are so much more useful. I was just having a little tease! Hope all's going well for you 🙂

[LukeFRC]

15 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Oh I totally agree - and candid views are so much more useful. I was just having a little tease! Hope all's going well for you 🙂

It made sense in my head when I wrote it!  
 

[tauzero]

I think if I was going to use a certain set of effects all the time with the same settings every time, just switching the effects on and off as required, my inclination would be to go for separates. But as I want to experiment with different effects and different settings, a multifx makes more sense for me.

[lozkerr]

19 hours ago, tauzero said:

I think if I was going to use a certain set of effects all the time with the same settings every time, just switching the effects on and off as required, my inclination would be to go for separates. But as I want to experiment with different effects and different settings, a multifx makes more sense for me.

After carting a Boss ME-50B multi-fx unit around on my pedalboard for a few years, that's the situation I've found myself in - I'm only using a handful of the effects, and to set them up, I need to fiddle about more than I like. Today, I replaced the multi-fx with individual pedals - Electro-harmonix tuner, Boss SY-1 synth pedal, Boss CS-3 compression sustainer and an Eden chorus pedal. That covers all I need for now, and it's much more intuitive to just go stomp-stomp-stomp rather than fiddle about with knobs on a dark stage.

 

I'm keeping the multi-fx unit, though - it'll be a handy addition to my practice rig, and if it turns out I need another sound for live use, I can set it up at leisure and then decide if I need an individual pedal for live use.

[uk_lefty]

My experience with multi fx is that I never had the patience or time to fully work out the capabilities. Even then I spent more time trying to create the right effect than actually practicing. And you can create awesome effects at home that then don't sound good with the band, and the band don't want you reprogramming your effect for the middle eight of one song all night. 

 

Multi fx units really do need you to spend time tweaking them, the presets are generally terrible. Whereas separates are usually plug n play, quick twiddle and you find the setting you like. 

 

I had a Boss GT10B which was incredible, but huge, and needed a homemade third party software to edit it. I found the HX Stomp fantastic and easy to edit IF you spent the time on it. It just had way more capability than I needed and wasn't as easy to use as separates. There's obvious drawbacks like I have not got access to any effect imaginable anymore so I can't just try stuff out like I could with the Stomp, but I'm ok with that. To me a good solid bass sound is what I need. I'm not recording except recordings of gigs, and on a gig I just need to know I've got a tight and solid sound, I don't need to go from a 1969 fender bassman through an 8x10 to a Gallien Krueger with compressor through a 1x12... Etc. You can drive yourself mad with all those options, and when did you last see a bassist in a well-known band faff about with amp Sims between songs?

[funkydoug]

After going through this cycle too many times I have settled on a small number of key pedals that cover 90% of my needs and an 'everything else pedal'  (EEP) that is a multi FX plus tuner. That way my core tone is intuitive, stable and if GAS strikes individual pedals can come and go. The EEP means I don't need to buy an endless list of pedals I may use once in a blue moon. It all fits on a handsome compact board. I am happy!

[Dankology]

I'm sort of glad someone else has brought this up as I've been wondering about this for a while and didn't want to be the one that got blamed for revisting an old chestnut...

 

I've got a Boss GT10B (in fact perhaps it is the one previously owned by uk_lefty - I certainly bought it through Basschat) and it is amazing - every effect I could want, configurable in every conceivable way, including what order the effects are run in and what parameters are controlled by the expression pedal. I suspect I haven't, and will never, scratch the surface of what it can actually do.

 

I sometimes listen to our guitarist and his mixture of boutique and mass-produced pedals and wonder if I could get more from individual FX but then I watch him doing the tap dance or hurriedly squatting down during gigs to change settings, sometimes mid-song, and think "no thanks". I get a similar feeling when I look at the huge number of potential points of failure on a pedal board.

 

I tend to use two basses at a gig: either an active Jazz or a 4003s alongside a Squire VI. Using a multiFX unit I can have all my favourite sounds set and ready for whichever guitar I'm using - and after soundcheck dont need to think again about whether a particular pedal's output will need adjusting again.

 

But then I hear a lovely soupy chorus or solid sounding octave effect and start flicking through the for sale listings here.

 

I suspect I'll ultimately end up running a octave pedal alongside the GT10B: a clumsy and decidedly uncool hybrid but possibly the best of both worlds for me.

[Al Krow]

On 29/01/2023 at 12:13, funkydoug said:

After going through this cycle too many times I have settled on a small number of key pedals that cover 90% of my needs and an 'everything else pedal'  (EEP) that is a multi FX plus tuner. That way my core tone is intuitive, stable and if GAS strikes individual pedals can come and go. The EEP means I don't need to buy an endless list of pedals I may use once in a blue moon. It all fits on a handsome compact board. I am happy!

 

Very sensible approach! What EEP have you gone for?