Multi-Effects Pedals

[Lockbody]

Who's using them?

Back in the day, I used to only run a Bluesbreaker pedal in front my amp as a boost for solos, but these days I'm in a cover band and need more in the way of effects and my pedal board has been steadily growing. The thing is, some of those effects might only be used once per show, like my fuzz box. And then, of course, is the tap dancing that occasionally has to be performed to get one effect off before switching on something different. No new problems there.

I have a great sounding amp, a SamAmp, so I'm not interested in anything that does modeling. My SamAmp also doesn't have an effects loop, which is another reason I'm looking at pedals instead of rackmount. I also like both my kidneys, so something like an Axe is out.

I started looking at multi-effects pedals like the TC Nova System and the Line-6 M13. On paper, I like the M13. It's got four effects slots, midi if I wanted to add something like a Mini Amp Gizmo to switch channels, and an effects loop so I could run my EHX B3 pedal through it. However, the reviews on reliability seem mixed, and the M13 may just be at the end of its run, anyway.

The Nova System gets good reviews, but no loop, and one thing that bothers me is the effects don't activate until after you release the button.

Another option is to get something like the Line-6 M5, which does just one effect at a time, but could replace at least four other pedals on my board that only get used very sparingly. All my effects go through a loop pedal, so it would be easy to set the next effect up before the song, if needed.

And another is to get something like a Ground Control to switch pedals and my amp when needed, but worrying about covering all possible combinations usually puts a stop to thinking about those, plus it's more equipment to setup and find room for on a crowded stage.

Any recommendations?

[Hbom]

I was going to suggest the Vox ToneLab EX Guitar Multi Effects Pedal as it was Musicians Friends Stupid deal of the day. For $150.00 it was a pretty interesting deal. But they sold out already, so....

Never mind.

[it's me HHB]

I've had really good value from the Line 6 HD400. I use it in front of my amp in FX only mode anytime I need anything beyond OD. I've also used the models to great effect in the theater pit and beyond, use it for my bass as well. They can be had really cheap used, make sure to update inline if you get one, new updates are a nice improvement and fix a few glitches that were a pain when I got it new 5 years ago

[tbonesullivan]

What kind of effects would you need? I think Zoom makes an "effects only" pedal that can do a bunch at a time. I don't know if it would have individual buttons to turn effects on and off.

[tmsfo]

I had a Boss GT3 for exactly the same reasons - I needed a one-click solution to jumping between drastically different sounds.  The problem is that out of the box you have access to about a thousand equally shitty tones. I took me a LOT of work to get the effects to sound right by themselves, and then sequence them in such a way that the tone stayed where I wanted it.   I warmed it up a bit by running through a tube head and 1x12 cab. One day, it died.  Now I have about 700 pedals.  There are solutions for doing the same thing (presets) but they're expensive at the low end (voodoo labs) and you'd need a mortgage for the high end (bradshaw).  Also check out tech 21's new stuff.  I've always been impressed by the quality of their tone stacks.

[unfun75]

My second rig is a Digitech RP500 through a powered cab. Cheap way to try tons of FX and amp styles. I sometimes use it as an effects-only pedal in the FX loop of my guitar or bass amp. 

[polara]

I had a Nova System and recommend it highly. You get used to the weir bit about the effect happening when you lift your foot pretty quickly. The distortion was first-rate, and the delays and such excellent.

I'm using a Line 6 Firehawk now, and Line 6 has come a long way in terms of UX and sounds. I use the modeling parts but it's simple to bypass. The HD stomp box models are generally really useful. It has a couple weird quirks in the software though that I can't quite get around, like in one patch of I use the volume pedal then switch to another for the next song the volume remains low. Weird.

Both are really good if you spend a little time adjusting to your taste. I went from a Zvex and Cusack and vintage fancy stuff board to the Line 6 and really prefer the flexibility and ease of use and no one live cares if your sounds are not identical to individual analog pedals.

[Lockbody]

5 hours ago, tbonesullivan said:

What kind of effects would you need? I think Zoom makes an "effects only" pedal that can do a bunch at a time. I don't know if it would have individual buttons to turn effects on and off.

I know Zoom makes one that's kind of like the Line-6 M5, with just one, or a few effects at a time in a small pedal. Something like one of those would replace two delays and a phaser, and adds a bunch more that I wouldn't mind having every once in a blue moon... chorus, flanger, multi-tap delay, etc. I've come close to buying one of these several times, but I'm trying to see if I can find a pedalboard replacement first. 

5 hours ago, tmsfo said:

I had a Boss GT3 for exactly the same reasons - I needed a one-click solution to jumping between drastically different sounds.  The problem is that out of the box you have access to about a thousand equally shitty tones. I took me a LOT of work to get the effects to sound right by themselves, and then sequence them in such a way that the tone stayed where I wanted it.   I warmed it up a bit by running through a tube head and 1x12 cab. One day, it died.  Now I have about 700 pedals.  There are solutions for doing the same thing (presets) but they're expensive at the low end (voodoo labs) and you'd need a mortgage for the high end (bradshaw).  Also check out tech 21's new stuff.  I've always been impressed by the quality of their tone stacks.

I had a GT-8, but dealing with the internal levels was a buzzkill for me. It didn't help that it didn't play nice in a 4cm setup with the Boogie Mk IV  I had at the time. I really tried to get that setup working, but ended up selling to a friend who loves it.

41 minutes ago, polara said:

I had a Nova System and recommend it highly. You get used to the weir bit about the effect happening when you lift your foot pretty quickly. The distortion was first-rate, and the delays and such excellent.

I'm using a Line 6 Firehawk now, and Line 6 has come a long way in terms of UX and sounds. I use the modeling parts but it's simple to bypass. The HD stomp box models are generally really useful. It has a couple weird quirks in the software though that I can't quite get around, like in one patch of I use the volume pedal then switch to another for the next song the volume remains low. Weird.

Both are really good if you spend a little time adjusting to your taste. I went from a Zvex and Cusack and vintage fancy stuff board to the Line 6 and really prefer the flexibility and ease of use and no one live cares if your sounds are not identical to individual analog pedals.

I get what you're saying about the Nova's switches, but I know me, and I know the last time I had an effect that did that, it bugged me to no end. I hate that too, because the OD and distortions seems to smoke the Line-6 M pedals. It doesn't have a loop, either, so I'd have to add my B3 pedal in front of it. 

I need to check out some of the new and 'last years' boards that allow you to bypass the modeling section. I'm sure they've come a ways since my old GT-8. 

[scottcald]

Never tried any of the GT's before the GT-10.  I still have and use it and like it.  It's like any of that stuff, you just have to get into it and learn it's quirks.   Boss just came out with the ES-5 pedal switcher unit.  5 loops, tuner out, MIDI.  http://www.bossus.com/products/es-5/

[Teh]

I've gone down the other road and just recently dumped the multieffects board in favor of individual pedals.  When I got back into playing in '99, I started with the Boss ME-30 because it was relatively cheap and did  all kinds of things.  Over the years, I ended up cycling through the GT-3, GT-6, and GT-10 boards but found I spent more time screwing with patches and presets and rarely found anything that sounded good.  As a self-professed cutting edge techno-geek, this was incredibly frustrating -- Isn't new technology supposed to be better than old school analog?

It came together for me a year or so back when I finally got a decent amp with a good clean tone that made me rethink the whole approach to the sound of the guitar.  Instead of struggling with the confusion of too many effects and what/when/how to use them all, I decided to focus on just a few specific effects that work to create the sound I want to hear.  It ended up that I spent more $ on individual pedals than I did on the GT-10, but the relative simplicity of this approach has forced me to find my tone and put the focus on playing and technique rather than searching for "the right preset".  In my case, the old "Less-is-More"  approach worked better.

[Lockbody]

10 hours ago, scottcald said:

Never tried any of the GT's before the GT-10.  I still have and use it and like it.  It's like any of that stuff, you just have to get into it and learn it's quirks.   Boss just came out with the ES-5 pedal switcher unit.  5 loops, tuner out, MIDI.  http://www.bossus.com/products/es-5/

The ES-5 and 8 are cool, but like the Ground Control, I always worry about covering all combinations when programming the thing.

16 minutes ago, Teh said:

I've gone down the other road and just recently dumped the multieffects board in favor of individual pedals.  When I got back into playing in '99, I started with the Boss ME-30 because it was relatively cheap and did  all kinds of things.  Over the years, I ended up cycling through the GT-3, GT-6, and GT-10 boards but found I spent more time screwing with patches and presets and rarely found anything that sounded good.  As a self-professed cutting edge techno-geek, this was incredibly frustrating -- Isn't new technology supposed to be better than old school analog?

It came together for me a year or so back when I finally got a decent amp with a good clean tone that made me rethink the whole approach to the sound of the guitar.  Instead of struggling with the confusion of too many effects and what/when/how to use them all, I decided to focus on just a few specific effects that work to create the sound I want to hear.  It ended up that I spent more $ on individual pedals than I did on the GT-10, but the relative simplicity of this approach has forced me to find my tone and put the focus on playing and technique rather than searching for "the right preset".  In my case, the old "Less-is-More"  approach worked better.

Yeah, the GT-8 is what led me back to the pedals I have now.

[hamerhead]

The best and worst part of the Boss GT-series is the endless tweakability. Take the time and you'll be rewarded with some of the best Boss has to offer. It helps to like Boss effects to begin with, and to have enough patience to go deep.

The GT-3 was my first multi-effects unit and it took a while to get it dailed in. But once it was it made gigs pretty easy. The coolest part was the ability to switch into 'stompbox mode', which gave you a virtual pedalboard with 5 or 6 stompable effects inside each patch, with 100 or so patches available in the user memory.

...but I use a regular pedalboard now......

[scottcald]

9 minutes ago, Lockbody said:

The ES-5 and 8 are cool, but like the Ground Control, I always worry about covering all combinations when programming the thing.

Yeah, the GT-8 is what led me back to the pedals I have now.

When you say all the bases, what does that mean exactly?  How many different combinations etc.  do you need?  The GTs etc.  can typically be set up in pedal mode, so you can just have a regular array in front of you at the touch of a foot.  Then you can turn on what or what else you need.  Maybe that's an option?

[Lockbody]

1 minute ago, scottcald said:

When you say all the bases, what does that mean exactly?  How many different combinations etc.  do you need?  The GTs etc.  can typically be set up in pedal mode, so you can just have a regular array in front of you at the touch of a foot.  Then you can turn on what or what else you need.  Maybe that's an option?

For instance - B9 pedal, B9 plus phaser, B9 boosted, B9 with phaser boosted, B9 boosted with long delay... All that is for one song "Green-Eyed Lady". That one is a bit extreme, as most of the time all I'm using is a touch of reverb and maybe some slap-back delay, but covering the KB part on "Love Song" has similar requirements. With separate pedals it's just leave the B9 on then the phaser when I need it, boost, etc...

When I had my GT-8, I always ran it in pedal mode and changed presets with a separate footswitch. I won't buy a new multi-effects that I can't run in pedal mode and also swap presets. That's what first got me interested in the Line-6 M13.

[Lockbody]

Man, that TC G System sure is sweet. Pedal mode, three loops for can't do without pedals, and switching relays for amp channel switching are just what I need.

[scottcald]

13 minutes ago, Lockbody said:

For instance - B9 pedal, B9 plus phaser, B9 boosted, B9 with phaser boosted, B9 boosted with long delay... All that is for one song "Green-Eyed Lady". That one is a bit extreme, as most of the time all I'm using is a touch of reverb and maybe some slap-back delay, but covering the KB part on "Love Song" has similar requirements. With separate pedals it's just leave the B9 on then the phaser when I need it, boost, etc...

When I had my GT-8, I always ran it in pedal mode and changed presets with a separate footswitch. I won't buy a new multi-effects that I can't run in pedal mode and also swap presets. That's what first got me interested in the Line-6 M13.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at.  Have a patch, then turn on pedal mode, add the extras, etc.  

[Lockbody]

6 minutes ago, scottcald said:

Yeah, that's what I was getting at.  Have a patch, then turn on pedal mode, add the extras, etc.  

Oh yeah, except in a few cases that's what I'd do. It's only when talking about units like the Ground Control, or those Boss loop pedals, that I spend so much time worrying about covering all the bases with just patches alone.

[scottcald]

Ah now I'm fully on the same page with you.

[jettster]

I used the Line 6 M13 for a few years with my Budda Superdrive. It's pretty decent overall and provides a good amount of flexibility. I like the fact that it has routing options to place effects in front of the amp or in the effects loop. That feature would be a must. If I were using that type of setup these days I would probably go for the Fractal equivalent FX8 I think or the G system.  Another option that would have been nice was channel switching programming. If price is a concern I think the M13 gets the job done.

 

Good luck with the search.

[diablo175]

I've been very pleased with my Boss ME50 I bought used from someone on here. There are a few minor limitations like real time modifications of settings and the wonkiness of the expression pedal but overall, I'm happy with the capabilities. 

 

 

[carfish7]

I Use the Nova System in "pedal mode" myself and change patches with their G-switch(optional 3 button job). Nice to have both options at one (switch patch or single effect in/out). Having a loop or a remote switcher would be cool, but that is what the Radial Loopbone does for me while allowing me to combine the dirt in various ways before hitting the front end. I am very fond of the sounds in the Nova too, and am luckily not bugged by the switching aspect.

Now I just need an excuse to use all these fun toys....

[sirDaniel]

1 hour ago, carfish7 said:

I Use the Nova System in "pedal mode" myself and change patches with their G-switch(optional 3 button job). Nice to have both options at one (switch patch or single effect in/out). Having a loop or a remote switcher would be cool, but that is what the Radial Loopbone does for me while allowing me to combine the dirt in various ways before hitting the front end. I am very fond of the sounds in the Nova too, and am luckily not bugged by the switching aspect.

Now I just need an excuse to use all these fun toys....

besides my old standby GNX4, which I wont list because its a modeler.

I have a Nova System and LOVE it.  You can actually use it as a A/B switch too as the patch stores which amp it sends to.  Not much not to like if you JUST want a multiFX.  I use it just like Z in the pedal mode.   The drive section is analog and FX are digital.  All this for the price of  "1 foo foo booteek hand painted stomp box".  Its actually not real huge either.

[Lockbody]

3 hours ago, carfish7 said:

I Use the Nova System in "pedal mode" myself and change patches with their G-switch(optional 3 button job). Nice to have both options at one (switch patch or single effect in/out). Having a loop or a remote switcher would be cool, but that is what the Radial Loopbone does for me while allowing me to combine the dirt in various ways before hitting the front end. I am very fond of the sounds in the Nova too, and am luckily not bugged by the switching aspect.

Now I just need an excuse to use all these fun toys....

 

1 hour ago, sirDaniel said:

besides my old standby GNX4, which I wont list because its a modeler.

I have a Nova System and LOVE it.  You can actually use it as a A/B switch too as the patch stores which amp it sends to.  Not much not to like if you JUST want a multiFX.  I use it just like Z in the pedal mode.   The drive section is analog and FX are digital.  All this for the price of  "1 foo foo booteek hand painted stomp box".  Its actually not real huge either.

How do you guys feel about how the buttons work only when releasing them? Any lag when changing presets, such as going from a clean patch with reverb or delay, to one with only overdrive or distortion?

sirDaniel, thats' the first I've heard about the Nova system used like an A/B switch. That's really got me interested as my SamAmp has separate inputs for the two channels (no channel switching). I wonder if the G System can do the same thing re: using it as an A/B switch?

 

[capridriver]

+1 for the Boss GT3/GT5. The last analog overdrive Boss Multis. Very tweakable, but great sounding if you'd found your personal sweet spot. I use it with a Marshall 2266 Vintage Modern Head or 2203 - in both cases with good sound (for me).

[carfish7]

2 hours ago, sirDaniel said:

besides my old standby GNX4, which I wont list because its a modeler.

IYou can actually use it as a A/B switch too as the patch stores which amp it sends to.

Wait, what?!?😧 

Teach me this trick Sensei! My manual says nothing about such an option.