Multi effects recommendations

[sikpete]

So Id love to tap into the bass chat hive mind on multi effects pedals. Quick origin story: Always been a bit of a purist leaning towards letting the bass and amp sound do the talking ( played a svt cl for years) but now I'm playing in a rock/punk covers band I'm finding a need for effects to help replicate certain tracks in the set. Ive watched many videos on the stomps, headrush prime, boss, QC etc and the more i watch the less I seem to know, but this does seem the route to go over buying a range of pedals. Both guitarists run QCs which are very nice bits of kit but seem over kill for my needs. Current rig is a Genzler 800 into a bareface 6x10 which sounds awesome to my ears but basically Id like a pedal that would allow me to run a SVT cl sound and add fuzz, distortion or boost etc for certain tracks, it also has to be easy to see which presets im running while on stage. Im not the sort that would spend hours trying different amps and rigs, once I find the required sounds Ill probably not fettle much.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this :)

[MartinB]

https://www.thomann.co.uk/tech_21_progr_sansamp_bass_driver_di.htm
 

3 settings, 3 buttons. You're paying a fair bit for simplicitly, mind. It'd be a lot cheaper to buy three of these and tape them together:

Edit:
 

Quote

Id like a pedal that would allow me to run a SVT cl sound and add fuzz, distortion or boost etc

I'm asssuming that "etc" means varying levels of drive, and not other stuff like phaser / delay / bitcrusher - in which case you would need a multieffects pedal

Edited Monday at 12:55 by MartinB

[sikpete]

Thanks Martin, I actually borrowed and use the V-tone as my current drive pedal. Its a great bit of kit for the money but I cant get the desired fuzz for Kasabian "club foot" for example from it. Im wanting effects pedals on hand without having to buy them separately. Sorry if that wasn't clear from my original post. 

[Skybone]

Of course, everything depends on your budget, the BDI21 will get you in the ball park, the SansAmp will defintely give you options.

 

You could also maybe look at the Tech21 Bass Fly Rig, the v2.0 has both the BDDI and the VT Bass circuits, as well as a compressor, chorus, filter and a tuner. There was one for sale in the Effects section not too long ago.

 

If you want to go digital, there's the HX FX, which includes models of the BDDI, Darkglass, Pearce & Noble pre's, as well as a whole load of other effects.

 

You could look at picking up a Zoom B2 Four / B6 or and older B3n/B3. 

 

The Boss ME or GT processors have loyal fans.

[sikpete]

Thanks Skybone. Budget isnt really an issue, although I dont want to dive into the QC eco system as Im hoping I can meet my needs for more much less. Currently thinking digital is the way to go, I was hoping to hear from a few players in cover bands using or moved away from some of the HX / boss / headrush solutions. Rather than adding preamps its being able to have a fuzz, distortion, over driven pre set at my feet.

 

 

[Si600]

If you don't need to tapdance during a song to go from clean to overdriven to something and back to clean then I would go with a Zoom MS60B or B+ and put the effects you want into the cycle list.  If you need to tapdance then a B3n or a B6 would be my suggestion, but I'm a bit of a Zoomer.  Options are available from Boss or Line6 as well.

[Floyd Pepper]

Sikpete, your OP was exactly my approach and situation. I spent ages looking / trying various multi-effects and getting more lost as I did so. As Skybone mentioned, I ended up with the Boss ME-90B and it does exactly what I wanted. Not the smallest but it also doubles up as a great home  / practice tool. 

[sikpete]

Thanks both. Seems plenty of love for the Boss digital pedals and have to admit they are are the pedals ive spent the least time looking at. Ill take a look for some decent boss bass demos on you tube. @Si600 no tap dancing has been added to the set so far but imagine its just a matter of time  Had a zoom pedal late 90s that I wasnt a fan of but I know the gears come a very long way so I wont discount it.  

[Kev]

2 hours ago, sikpete said:

Thanks Skybone. Budget isnt really an issue, although I dont want to dive into the QC eco system as Im hoping I can meet my needs for more much less. Currently thinking digital is the way to go, I was hoping to hear from a few players in cover bands using or moved away from some of the HX / boss / headrush solutions. Rather than adding preamps its being able to have a fuzz, distortion, over driven pre set at my feet.

 

 

If budget isn't an issue, I'd really spend some time with a QC, maybe ask to borrow one from one of your guitarists?  Its overkill, but at the same time it offers an awful lot that you won't get from more basic processors.  You'll find captures of just about any amp on Cortex Cloud, just about any drive pedal, you can route them any way you want, multiple DIs and outputs, different scenes or presets for different tracks/sets, the possibilities are endless.  Not much of a learning curve either really, the UI is very intuitive and the big touch screen makes things very easy.  A world apart from your old Zoom!!

[SumOne]

I've gone through quite a few of them and in some ways it's much of a muchness for the sounds when played through an Amp/Cab and  the rest of a band, so a big part for me is size/practicality.

 

I'm liking the Boss GX-10 as it fits in my gigbag and has pretty good visibility and controls. In this mode I basically have a preset for each footswitch, can use the knobs for EQ, and the expression pedal for tuner/volume and 'toe press' for different things on each preset (e.g. engaging Reverb in the 'dub' setting, or a boost in 'clean' setting). For me doing cover band stuff, that is enough. Someone in a jam band wanting a footswitch for each effect, or a professional band needing more outputs would probably want something bigger.

 

 

 

[Skybone]

5 hours ago, sikpete said:

Thanks Skybone. Budget isnt really an issue, although I dont want to dive into the QC eco system as Im hoping I can meet my needs for more much less. Currently thinking digital is the way to go, I was hoping to hear from a few players in cover bands using or moved away from some of the HX / boss / headrush solutions. Rather than adding preamps its being able to have a fuzz, distortion, over driven pre set at my feet.

 

 

For the record, I use a Line6 POD Go, meets all the things I want it for.

 

But for effects, something like the HX FX or the Zoom B2 Four / B6 would be ideal. 

[Al Krow]

My own experience fwiw:

 

Current: 

Zoom B1-4 - been gigging this for several years and has been a core pedal (and great tuner!) at the heart of my little pedal board. Can be a little noisy and need to regularly use the noise reduction fx on patches which can make the bass tone feel less 'open' / more blanketed, but not particularly noticeable in a band mix

GT1000 Core - new to me and currently putting it through it's paces. Liking it a lot so far and it's getting to places (e.g. a quality dirt/fuzz for bass) that the Zoom never quite reached

 

Previous:

Zoom MS60B - much loved by many since its launch in 2013

Zoom B3N - decent --> I replaced with the much more compact Zoom B1-4

Zoom MS60B+ was looking forward to this one, coming out last year a full decade after the 60B. Disappointed that Zoom have designed the software so that the patch name doesn't stay displayed but it defaults to one of the fx in the chain, which makes it much less user/gig friendly for me. This plus lack of PC editing ability, available on the above Zoom earlier models, were deal breakers for me. Shame.

Helix HX Effects and Stomp. Tried several times to bond with these, but for whatever reason didn't manage to. I've found several of the guitarists I've worked with getting quite a harsh tone when going straight into the PA with their Stomps (unlike the GT1000 Core). A few guitarists on YT seem to have managed to crack by focussing hard on the EQ. Huge bass-playing fanbase on BC and elsewhere and the Helix software fx is unmatched IMO and regularly updated. Hardware getting a little long in the tooth now: 10 y/o chipset.

 

Hope that's useful!

Edited yesterday at 16:43 by Al Krow

[sikpete]

@Kev This is the absolute correct answer to my question and both guitarists totally agree with you. Ill get them download some sounds and see what what i think. My issue is I wont use 90% of it capabilities, it costs a packet and will prob lead to additional purchases(power amp, pedal board cases and mods. I do get it, Im hoping to find a solution the same quality solution for less?

[sikpete]

38 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

My own experience fwiw:

 

Current: 

Zoom B1-4 - been gigging this for several years and has been a core pedal (and great tuner!) at the heart of my little pedal board. Can be a little noisy and need to regularly use the noise reduction fx on patches. The patches can sometimes make the bass tone feel like the sound is less 'open' / more blanketed, but not noticeable in a band mix

GT1000 Core - new to me and currently putting it through it's paces. Liking a lot so far and it's getting to places (e.g. a quality dirt/fuzz for bass) that the Zoom never quite reached

 

Previous:

Zoom MS60B - much loved by many since its launch in 2013

Zoom B3N - decent --> I replaced with the much more compact Zoom B1-4

Zoom MS60B+ was looking forward to this one, coming out last year a full decade after the 60B. Disappointed that Zoom have designed the software so that the patch name doesn't stay displayed but it defaults to one of the fx in the chain, which makes it much less user/gig friendly for me. This plus lack of PC editing ability, available on the above Zoom earlier models, were deal breakers for me. Shame.

Helix HX Effects and Stomp. Tried several times to bond with these, but for whatever reason didn't manage to. I've found several of the guitarists I've worked with getting quite a harsh tone when going straight into the PA with their Stomps (unlike the GT1000 Core for some reason). A few on YT seem to have managed to crack by focussing hard on the EQ. Huge fanbase on BC and elsewhere and software fx is unmatched. Hardware getting a little long in the tooth now - 10 years old chipset.

 

Hope that's useful!

Very useful thank you. I think im trying to get to the end of your shopping list by gathering opinions without having to own the bits in the middle  So im going to tap the guitarist up to allow me to experiment with the QC, set this as "the BAR" and most likely try something from the Boss family first to see how close it gets me to the QC experience.

Again cheers to everyone for the help. Finally do you guys run these pedals straight into the PA or as part of your chain into a head and cab setup

[Al Krow]

You're welcome! Tbf the journey, including some of the dead ends, has been part of the fun - all helped by sourcing kit used from BC or elsewhere, which makes "mistakes" not expensive in the financial sense. Unfortunately you don't see too many of the Boss multifx's coming up for sale used, maybe because fewer people are buying them and those that do are holding on to them.

 

I run my pedal board straight into the PA and we use IEMs for monitoring.

 

Look forward to hearing how you get on!

[Kev]

28 minutes ago, sikpete said:

@Kev This is the absolute correct answer to my question and both guitarists totally agree with you. Ill get them download some sounds and see what what i think. My issue is I wont use 90% of it capabilities, it costs a packet and will prob lead to additional purchases(power amp, pedal board cases and mods. I do get it, Im hoping to find a solution the same quality solution for less?

I guess expense can depend mostly on the starting point.  The starting point for me was a pedalboard with Darkglass preamps and range of different effects pedals and switchers.  For me, after selling all of the stuff from the board I had more money raised than the QC cost and, considering what extra I get from the QC, the QC was a bargain and a far better use of money.  But If you're starting from scratch, the perspective will be totally different.

 

What I would say is that whilst I too thought the QC was far too much for what I needed, now I have it and rely on things I didn't know I would, I don't know how i'd go back now.  Which I guess is a good and bad thing!

[Skybone]

1 hour ago, sikpete said:

Very useful thank you. I think im trying to get to the end of your shopping list by gathering opinions without having to own the bits in the middle  So im going to tap the guitarist up to allow me to experiment with the QC, set this as "the BAR" and most likely try something from the Boss family first to see how close it gets me to the QC experience.

Again cheers to everyone for the help. Finally do you guys run these pedals straight into the PA or as part of your chain into a head and cab setup

I run the POD Go into the Return on the FX loop of my amp, bypassing the preamp. Works for me.

Edited yesterday at 17:30 by Skybone

[sikpete]

2 hours ago, Skybone said:

I run the POD Go into the Return on the FX loop of my amp, bypassing the preamp. Works for me.

This is how I imagined i would do it also.

[sikpete]

2 hours ago, Kev said:

I guess expense can depend mostly on the starting point.  The starting point for me was a pedalboard with Darkglass preamps and range of different effects pedals and switchers.  For me, after selling all of the stuff from the board I had more money raised than the QC cost and, considering what extra I get from the QC, the QC was a bargain and a far better use of money.  But If you're starting from scratch, the perspective will be totally different.

 

What I would say is that whilst I too thought the QC was far too much for what I needed, now I have it and rely on things I didn't know I would, I don't know how i'd go back now.  Which I guess is a good and bad thing!

Yeah im from a fairly blank start, Id have a rothwell love squeeze and boss tuner to shift, guess I could replace the genzler with a power amp. Hoping to try the QC Saturday with the boys so ill report back how I find it

[Gank Bass]

I play in a wedding band with a wide variety of genres covered so I can empathize with your situation! I have to say since adding an hx stomp to my board it has totally changed the game for me. Super intuitive user interface and plays nicely with other pedals if you have any must haves or always ons.

[PaulThePlug]

@sikpete whereabouts are you bassed?

I've a Zoom B1 On ya welcome for a borrow

I'm BR6 M25J4

[BigRedX]

To the OP: there are IMO two ways you can go.

 

1. Buy a cheap Zoom (ideally second hand). It will get you started and you can work out what you like and what you don't like that will inform any future upgrade purchases. If you have little experience with effects pedals and none with programmable multi-effects you really won't know what is going to be essential and what features you can easily live without.

 

2. Alternatively buy the top of the range Helix, Kemper or Neural on the assumption that once you've got your head around the interface it will do everything that you are ever likely to need.

 

I'm a Helix user and although I've been using programmable multi-effects for over 35 years now (and was a synth player before that) I bought the top of the range Helix on the assumption that if I bought a less-featured model I would discover things that I needed that my chosen device couldn't do. I was right although the features that I have come to see as indispensable weren't ones that I would have thought were important at the time of purchase. 

[sikpete]

14 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

@sikpete whereabouts are you bassed?

I've a Zoom B1 On ya welcome for a borrow

I'm BR6 M25J4

Mate, what a great offer. Im over Grimsby way so miles away unfortunately, ill have to decline

[sikpete]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

To the OP: there are IMO two ways you can go.

 

1. Buy a cheap Zoom (ideally second hand). It will get you started and you can work out what you like and what you don't like that will inform any future upgrade purchases. If you have little experience with effects pedals and none with programmable multi-effects you really won't know what is going to be essential and what features you can easily live without.

 

2. Alternatively buy the top of the range Helix, Kemper or Neural on the assumption that once you've got your head around the interface it will do everything that you are ever likely to need.

 

I'm a Helix user and although I've been using programmable multi-effects for over 35 years now (and was a synth player before that) I bought the top of the range Helix on the assumption that if I bought a less-featured model I would discover things that I needed that my chosen device couldn't do. I was right although the features that I have come to see as indispensable weren't ones that I would have thought were important at the time of purchase. 

Think im very much leaning towards route 2. With users like @Gank Bass and yourself solving my problem picking the helix path, seems I have to pick a flavor and go with it. Ill have a play with the cortex this Saturday and go from there. Ill also keep an eye on the second hand market and see what comes up.

Vibe seems to be I wont actually know what I need until I have it and not limiting myself will be key. Also cant go wrong with brand, its just finding a Ui Im comfortable with.

[warwickhunt]

I went in, out and around the whole digital pedal route and I eventually settled on an analogue pedal for my core sound (Fishman Plat Pro) and a Zoom B60 for any drive, phase or chorus.  I found the digital modelling devices to be far too complex for my needs and unnecessarily involved.