Which multi effects pedal do you use?

[SamIAm]

Interested to see the variety ...

[tauzero]

I've put myself down for the MOD Dwarf although I haven't got up to speed with it yet, it will potentially supplant my HX Stomp.

[Al Krow]

Long time multifx and Zoom fanboi: a Zoom MS-60B was my first ever bass pedal almost exactly a decade ago. Its successor, the B1-4 has been a super-handy standalone pedalboard for gigs over the past 18 months; but a new addition dropped through the door last week which I'm looking forward to getting to grips with.

 

[MrDinsdale]

I voted Boss although I don't currently own one I see it more as a hiatus as I do intend to grab a GT1000core at some point in the near future assuming they don't release a similarly sized upgrade. 

[Al Krow]

3 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said:

I voted Boss although I don't currently own one I see it more as a hiatus as I do intend to grab a GT1000core at some point in the near future assuming they don't release a similarly sized upgrade. 

 

Came out in Oct 2020, I'll be super impressed if they release an upgrade this year. I guess they would need to also upgrade the GT 1000 which shares the same CPU?

 

Helix Stomp came out a full 2 years before in Oct 2018 and with Yamaha now in the driving seat and an equivalent stellar pedigree to Boss, I'm guessing that may be the more likely candidate for a refresh? 

[Waddo Soqable]

Zoom seem to be winning at the mo then

A pedal I do like is the old Boss ME50 which I've had for years, it's the standard Git version but has pretty much the same stuff on it as the ME50B as I recall from when I had one of those. 

[MrDinsdale]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

 

Came out in Oct 2020, I'll be super impressed if they release an upgrade this year. I guess they would need to also upgrade the GT 1000 which shares the same CPU?

 

Helix Stomp came out a full 2 years before in Oct 2018 and with Yamaha now in the driving seat and an equivalent stellar pedigree to Boss, I'm guessing that may be the more likely candidate for a refresh? 

Yeah definitely, id probably expect a more budget friendly GX100core before they replaced the GT line. TBH the core line has more than enough power, especially compared to other similarly sized pedals.

 

I can't see myself ever saying goodbye to analog pedals, the small profile multi like the core and stomp seem like the perfect way to inject some digital processing without completely replacing everything. 

[Al Krow]

 

 

11 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said:

Yeah definitely, id probably expect a more budget friendly GX100core before they replaced the GT line. TBH the core line has more than enough power, especially compared to other similarly sized pedals.

 

I can't see myself ever saying goodbye to analog pedals, the small profile multi like the core and stomp seem like the perfect way to inject some digital processing without completely replacing everything. 

Totally agree with that approach. There are just some things that multifx have not quite nailed yet, across the board in particular synth and filter and where dedicated pedals still rule the roost; although there's some serious quality in the dedicated digital space even for these. 

[BigRedX]

I had been toying with the idea of adding my Linn Adrenalinn to one of the loops of my Helix...

 

However I have come to the conclusion that even this small addition will make things too complicated and have decided that if it can't be done by the Helix alone, I'll not bother with it.

 

Having said that since both the bands I play in use backing from a computer, I've been able to do some lateral thinking (and with a little help on another forum) make use MIDI control of the Helix parameters to achieve the kinds of effects that I thought I needed the Adrenalinn for.

[fretmeister]

Some of the options make several models at different price points.

[snorkie635]

I don't use MFX as I, perhaps wrongly, assume they are a compromise compared to single designated pedals linked. Tin hat time.

[Waddo Soqable]

The thing I like about the ole' Boss ME50 is that it's all analogue knob based rather than a little screen with menus to squint at.. 

I had one of the big floor Pod things many years ago and hated it for the above reason. I used it on gigs for a bit but basically just left it set on one sound. 

[Al Krow]

29 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

I don't use MFX as I, perhaps wrongly, assume they are a compromise compared to single designated pedals linked. Tin hat time.

Yup, totally agree. I mean why bother having one convenient pedal with presets, which could do the job sufficiently well on many of your bass fx, so that you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference in a live band mix, when you could have 10 pedals and spend five times as much? 😁 

[MrDinsdale]

25 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

I don't use MFX as I, perhaps wrongly, assume they are a compromise compared to single designated pedals linked. Tin hat time.

I think that largely depends on what effects you're trying to achieve. I've found that the modern multifx unit in many cases can be indistinguishable from the real world counterpart.

 

I think my personal experience is that it's often a more editorialised version or snapshot of that effect, often missing some nuance when it comes to the individual controls and how they interact.
 

If I replaced my analog pedals with a multifx it'd be about 1/4 of the price and I suspect 95% there tonally. The argument against going all digital for me is stubbornness. 

[snorkie635]

5 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Yup, totally agree. I mean why bother having one convenient pedal with presets, which could do the job sufficiently well on many of your bass fx, so that you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference in a live band mix, when you could have 10 pedals and spend five times as much? 😁 

'Cause then I could see the audience behind the wall I currently hide behind.

[BigRedX]

34 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

I don't use MFX as I, perhaps wrongly, assume they are a compromise compared to single designated pedals linked. Tin hat time.

 

The fact that when I hit the foot pedal for Patch 1A Snapshot 1 (Lucid V) on my Helix Floor and I know without needing to play a note that it will be exactly right sound for the intro and verse of the first song (Lucid) in our set, is worth far more and any supposed improvement in tone achieved by using separate pedals. TBH even with one of my band's minimalist line up (vocals, synth, Bass VI, drum machine) I doubt whether anyone would be able to spot the difference between the Bass VI being processed by the Helix against using individual pedals.

 

I've been in bands with people using individual effects who seem to need to reinvent the wheel every time they set up their gear, and I simply don't have time for this kind of nonsense anymore. 

 

And what is more of a compromise? The fact that you can't quite get right distortion/chorus/filter effect out of your multi-effects unit, or the fact that you are stuck with the same distortion/chorus/filter sound for the whole song even if ideally it needs to change between the verse or chorus or middle section? I suppose you could have multiple instances of each pedal for each different setting that you need, but where do you stop? When you run out of room on stage for the pedal board? My next sound is only ever one button push away whether it is a slight increase in volume or drive, or turning three effects off, two others on and adjusting the 6 parameters of the effect(s) that are common to both sounds.

 

I suppose it is easy for me since it's over 30 years since I last had individual effects, and I went from a big, heavy 12U rack case contain a mixture of rack units, half-rack units and pedals all cobbled together along with a massively complicated switching system, to a 1U rack device controlled by a MIDI floor unit. There were a few sounds the new set-up couldn't do, but I just learnt to live without them, and the advantages of programmability and recall-ability and the new sounds my multi-effects could do more than made up for it.

[Elfrasho]

I've picked Line 6  (HX stomp) as I use that as my main source of tone shaping, but I've also got a zoom Ms60b on my board - I've always liked the zoom stuff, and the Ms60b is a no brainer for anyone that has one spot left on their board- I actually think the filters react better to the bass than the ones on the stomp!

 

I know there's always been people saying that at every generation of MultiFX that they're as good as the real thing, but I genuinely believe the Helix generation of Multi's are actually at that stage now - especially with the IR tech available to us. Some of the guitar tones I've heard from guitarists on dep gigs who're using Helix's have been nothing short of incredible.

[BigRedX]

5 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

I've picked Line 6  (HX stomp) as I use that as my main source of tone shaping, but I've also got a zoom Ms60b on my board - I've always liked the zoom stuff, and the Ms60b is a no brainer for anyone that has one spot left on their board- I actually think the filters react better to the bass than the ones on the stomp!

 

I know there's always been people saying that at every generation of MultiFX that they're as good as the real thing, but I genuinely believe the Helix generation of Multi's are actually at that stage now - especially with the IR tech available to us. Some of the guitar tones I've heard from guitarists on dep gigs who're using Helix's have been nothing short of incredible.

 

Does it even matter that the emulations on a modelling multi-effects are "as good as the real thing"? Is the "real thing" really the pinnacle for that particular sound?

 

For instance, at the moment I'm working on patches for a couple of new songs. I like a good chorus and there are 5 discrete chorus effects on the Helix as well as some Flangers that can be tamed into chorus sounds and a couple of other modules that have Chorus parameters included. The one I pick won't have anything to do with how authentic it is, but the one that produces the right effect to fit with the other sounds in the arrangement.

 

I don't even use any amp or cab models on any of my bass patches and when I do they are normally chosen for the "drive" sound and tend to be guitar amps. Ultimately my choice of effects etc will be down to whether I like the sound coming out of the output and not about how close they are to the device they are supposed to be emulating. 

[Elfrasho]

20 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Does it even matter that the emulations on a modelling multi-effects are "as good as the real thing"? Is the "real thing" really the pinnacle for that particular sound?

 

For instance, at the moment I'm working on patches for a couple of new songs. I like a good chorus and there are 5 discrete chorus effects on the Helix as well as some Flangers that can be tamed into chorus sounds and a couple of other modules that have Chorus parameters included. The one I pick won't have anything to do with how authentic it is, but the one that produces the right effect to fit with the other sounds in the arrangement.

 

I don't even use any amp or cab models on any of my bass patches and when I do they are normally chosen for the "drive" sound and tend to be guitar amps. Ultimately my choice of effects etc will be down to whether I like the sound coming out of the output and not about how close they are to the device they are supposed to be emulating. 

 

Yep - although when I say 'as good as the real thing' it's more to do with no longer having that cheap and lifeless sound you got from older MultiFX over what you got from a real amp and real analogue pedals. Not that they are now perfect replicas to what they're modelling. Think only a true geek would be able to tell that difference. 

 

You could still to this day use a zoom 506 and get a sound that works for your tune.... doesn't make it on the same level as the helix stuff.  Which reminds me. I've got a 506 under my bed, think i might crack it out for a wee play!

[BigRedX]

8 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

 

Yep - although when I say 'as good as the real thing' it's more to do with no longer having that cheap and lifeless sound you got from older MultiFX over what you got from a real amp and real analogue pedals. Not that they are now perfect replicas to what they're modelling. Think only a true geek would be able to tell that difference. 

 

You could still to this day use a zoom 506 and get a sound that works for your tune.... doesn't make it on the same level as the helix stuff.  Which reminds me. I've got a 506 under my bed, think i might crack it out for a wee play!

 

I don't think I've ever had a cheap and lifeless sound out of any of my multi-effects from the very first one in 1989 - a second-hand Roland GP8, right up to my current Helix. It's all about the programming and how you use it. The moment you stop trying to chase sounds made by other devices and just concentrate on getting best out of what you have to sooner you'll learn this.

 

Maybe it's because I spent most of the 80s playing synths that I think this way. Every time I bought a new synth I would have to create new sounds for all the songs, and invariably it would be impossible to exactly replicate all my old synth's sounds so I would have to come up with something new that would still work in the context of the song. It was never a stumbling bock to creativity though.

 

And, there's plenty of crap analogue pedals too - I had a load of them before I swapped over to the GP8, and in most instances AFAIAC the amp is just something to makes my line-level signal loud enough for the audience to hear, the less it affects the signal other than making it louder the better. To this end I have now dispensed completely with all my traditional amplification for both bass and guitar.

[tayste_2000]

Absolutely pains me to say a Zoom MS60b

 

I’m going to change to a 70cdr because I keep running out of dsp.

 

But after years of avoiding Zoom it’s an incredible box.

 

Really really annoys my snobbery

[Elfrasho]

4 minutes ago, tayste_2000 said:

Absolutely pains me to say a Zoom MS60b

 

I’m going to change to a 70cdr because I keep running out of dsp.

 

But after years of avoiding Zoom it’s an incredible box.

 

Really really annoys my snobbery

 

I firmly believe the ms60b will be a future classic! 

[tayste_2000]

Once you hack it to load all the ms70cdr sounds on 😅

 

Love it but as soon as I use a particle reverb I go down to 2 fx instead of 4 😂

[LiamPodmore]

HX Stomp. It's not perfect and i still have a few other pedals i use for things, but for the most part it does almost everything i need it to.

[Skybone]

POD Go.

 

Works for me.