4 cable method FX recommendations

nickp

Not that I'm going to dump the pedals (again) but I'm tired of a board that seems to malfunction just for gigs .

I'm not a deep editor type so much prefer knobs to twiddle and things that are easy to set up and gig with

What i'd like- in front of the amp - compression, wah and boost pre amp (boost mostly to get strat volume similar to LP)
in the loop - delays and modulations, and maybe a volume boost (or I'll stick a eq pedal in the line to get same result)

half decent drives just in case we end up at a festival using their backline .  

Sporky

#predicatable

Have a look at a Helix (possibly the LT) - yes it does a lot more than that but it's incredibly straightforward to set up - the interface is very flat, no menus and submenus - does all the stuff you want and sounds grand.

Plus you get the USB interface stuff, excellent real-time control, editing and tweaking by foot...

bloodandtears

Firehawk is a good cheaper option too.. my mate uses one with a JVM in a 4cm setup; similarly a POD HD500 would suffice, also giving the option of Amp sims should your amp bail.

You could even consider a Line 6 M13 but it has no expression pedal, again in 4cm;
..and lesser still a M9 but again no expression pedal or 4CM setup option (although used to great effect by Dann Huff recently)

StuartMac290

Having tried a few, the Fractal FX8 is the best-sounding of the lot IMHO. There are a couple on here at stupidly low prices too. 

Grumpyrocker

You can use 2 expression pedals with an M13 though, even though it doesn't come with them.

english_bob

bloodandtears said:

You could even consider a Line 6 M13 but it has no expression pedal, again in 4cm;
..and lesser still a M9 but again no expression pedal or 4CM setup option (although used to great effect by Dann Huff recently)

All the M series pedals have expression pedal input- M9 and M13 have two.

No, they don't come with them, but with a very simple modification you can use the M-Audio EX-P pedal, which will cost you a princely £14. 

nickp

part of the reason for the question is that I bought a nova system after selling the nova delay and mod pedals as they sounded nice but i was making my board simpler and the nova system is such a rugged one box solution but the mods sound shite once the amp gain gets hold of them and it can't do 4 cm

nickp

I'll have a look at the other suggestions  ta guys

gearaddict

Not the PodHD...you can do 4CM but getting rid of the tone suck is a mission and life's too short.

guitarfishbay

FX8 or Helix would be my suggestions, there are arguments in favour of either approach and plenty of comparison posts on here and other forums

bloodandtears

gearaddict said:

Not the PodHD...you can do 4CM but getting rid of the tone suck is a mission and life's too short.

 @nickp ; watch this...

certainly highlights the above issue.. but resolves it admirably...

Cabicular

M13
Used it like that for years. You can split it anywhere along the 4 FX and add a couple of expression pedals for good measure
They are buttons second hand too

nickp

bloodandtears said:

gearaddict said:

Not the PodHD...you can do 4CM but getting rid of the tone suck is a mission and life's too short.

 @nickp ; watch this...

certainly highlights the above issue.. but resolves it admirably...

have a wisdom  thank you

bloodandtears

btw.. what amp are you using??

nickp

bloodandtears said:

btw.. what amp are you using??

just bought a blackstar series one 6l6 head 

bloodandtears

nickp said:

bloodandtears said:

btw.. what amp are you using??

just bought a blackstar series one 6l6 head 

nice.. you should be able to take advantage of midi channel switching too with the right unit...

gearaddict

bloodandtears said:

gearaddict said:

Not the PodHD...you can do 4CM but getting rid of the tone suck is a mission and life's too short.

 @nickp ;; watch this...

certainly highlights the above issue.. but resolves it admirably...

I did try the above recommendations in my last whirl with the Pod HD500x in 4CM and it didn't really resolve things...but I've been playing with it again and I think I may have found a fairly big user error I was making. Firstly, turning up the master volume on the Pod all the way does liven things up a lot. But what I noticed today is that the 'volume' control also has a huge effect, even with the modelled amp off or even disabled. I had always thought that this row of knobs applied only to the modelled amp and so was irrelevant in 4CM. But not so...with both these volume knobs turned up all the way and the 3db boost from the mixer into the loop I really don't notice any discernible tone suck.

If you do then want to swap in modelled amps, I guess you have to balance the volume using the master volume in the parameters of the amp - which is a bit fiddly I guess. But doable.

gearaddict

Just checked the manual and sure enough "With an Amp Block off you’ll see only a VOL knob. This is a separate parameter strictly for the Amp Model’s Bypass Volume. Use the VOLUME knob on your device to adjust this, and its value is stored separately with the Preset for whenever the Amp Block is Bypassed."

I wonder how many people have had the same thing result in perceived tone suck with the HD500 in 4CM. It's not obvious to me that you would have a separate volume setting stored for when the amp is bypassed. Useful, I guess. Plus I suppose it means that you can still use the volume control to control the modelled amp volume separately. Cool.

I'm enjoying playing with this unit again. Using it into a power amp and real cab means I don't have to worry about the quality of the internal modelled cabs and it sounds pretty good. I'm liking the PV Panama model today