Pedals or Multi effects???

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smooresmoore Frets: 30
Hi all

I'm sure this has been covered before, but some advice would be useful.

I have a Warwick pedalboard, decent power supply, and about 8 pedals on the board - mainly Boss but a couple of others too.

I've always used pedals and like the sounds I get with them though my Orange Thunderverb, but I'm tempted to make a change to a multi FX unit.

I've looked at the Kemper, Fractal etc. stuff but that feels like I'd then be wasting the sounds I get from the amp and cab so I've been thinking about as Boss GT-1000 which is claimed to work well with a tube amp and retain some of it's characteristics.

Or even a cheaper ME-80 which seems fairly interesting.

Any thoughts/advice - or is anybody looking to trade something for my pedal board setup?

Many thanks,

Simon

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Comments

  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    Depends. Are you a professional musician, looking to get a job done with minimal fuss and a multitude of options to fit any situation; or are you a hobbyist, amateur (such a dirty word these days) or gigging an originals band, seeking a sound? Horses for courses; what's your course?
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  • smooresmoore Frets: 30
    Just a hobbyist these days, but one that likes tinkering and gets easily bored!

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  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    smoore said:
    Just a hobbyist these days, but one that likes tinkering and gets easily bored!

    I'm the same. I prefer pedals. There are few, if any, all in one units excel at everything. If you're a gigging pro they make sense but i much prefer to be able to mix flavours and not rely on Boss or Line 6 interpretation of what sounds good. But if you have the itch, try one out, there are plenty of people who rate them very highly. I use music as a refuge from the digital world, the idea of menus and apps for music doesn't appeal at all.
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  • smooresmoore Frets: 30
    Thanks for the reply, food for thought indeed - I however do enjoy the digital world but don't want to waste the money I've spent on the amp and the sound it gives without any effects at all.

    Maybe a multi fx through the effects loop might be an idea that would suit me ...

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  • munckeemunckee Frets: 12255
    I considered getting an ME50 as I am a technophobe and wanted to try a multi fx which is simple and can be used like a pedal board.  The deal breaker for me is there is no looper on it.
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  • Winny_PoohWinny_Pooh Frets: 7732
    Unless you are spending into the hx effects or fx8 region your current pedals will sound as good or better than most multi effects with the benefit of being able to change out things you dont like. So unless you really need programming or patch changes stay with your current setup or try a boss ms-3 for a hybrid rig. 
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    @munckee - no reason you can't run the output of an ME-50 into a looper ...
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  • jeztone2jeztone2 Frets: 2160
    Much as I prefer individual pedals, I recently sold my Helix and because I was undecided on my next move I bought a used TC Nova System. It has its eccentricities. But soundwise I am knocked out. Once I figured out you could tailor the drives with the 3 band parametric eq. It’s amazing. I’ve got an extra overdrive for solo’s and a fuzz and that’s it. 

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  • steersteer Frets: 1159
    You could do both, with a small multi on your pedal board alongside your favourite stomp boxes. Best (or worst??) of both worlds.
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  • longilongi Frets: 95
    I love the Boss GT-100, great sounds and reasonably easy to use. It's got pretty good routing options as well and it will switch channels on a two channel amp.
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  • ESBlondeESBlonde Frets: 3576
    One of the current top sellers is the line 6 HX FX. About £400 street and if you want to twiddle and dabble you can get lost fo days, but the sounds are decent and you can run it straight into a nice amp.

    I enjoy this video of someone getting the proper intro to digital.


    Oh and if you can afford it, keep the pedals too, that way you get the best of both.


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  • jonnyburgojonnyburgo Frets: 12257
    I find that with every multi fx I’ve had I end up twiddling about more than playing. I haven’t had anything high end but I’m sure it would be the same.
    "OUR TOSSPOT"
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  • smooresmoore Frets: 30
    Boss GT-100 purchased, will see how I get on!

    Will try the 4 cable method and see how it interacts with the amp

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  • darrenpdarrenp Frets: 116
    edited June 2019
    steer said:
    You could do both, with a small multi on your pedal board alongside your favourite stomp boxes. Best (or worst??) of both worlds.


    This is exactly what I now do. I previously had a full set of Strymon pedals (Timeline, Big Sky, Mobius, Riverside and Sunset), but felt I wasn't even close to using each one to its full potential. I sold everything except the Riverside and bought a Line 6 HX. I run the Riverside in one of the loops and a King Tone Mini Fuzz in the other, using the Helix for all my non-drive effects. The HX allows me to control the Riverside through MIDI, so it's really flexible. After a bit of tweaking I can honestly say that all my sounds are easily on a par with what I had previously and it's much easier to use live. One big bonus was that after selling all my unused pedals and buying a used HX and a Mission expression pedal I had nearly £1k left in the guitar fund :-)


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  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    smoore said:
    Boss GT-100 purchased, will see how I get on!

    Will try the 4 cable method and see how it interacts with the amp


    Don’t let that be your deciding purchase. 

    I’ve got a board of Chase Bliss, Klon, Keeley. Just bought a HX Effects and it’s great. Sure it’s not as good as each individual pedal, but to get the really good sounds you have to tweak and mess about, with the HX it’s very easy to get similar sounds that I was getting with my Chase Bliss setup. 
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  • koneguitaristkoneguitarist Frets: 4125
    had loads of pedals over the years, but rarely used more than 2 at a time if that.
    Bought a cheap Zoom G£X when they came out, used it ever since. stupidly easy to use, sounds great and very cheap. 
    Even to use as a spare amp in case amp packs up. 
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  • olafgartenolafgarten Frets: 1648
    I might go the other way, I have a Zoom G5 but I find that I only really use the 'Exciter' which boosts treble/adds a bit of bite to my sound, an overdrive, a Big Muff, and occasionally some pitch shifting.

    I'm considering an analogue pedal board but trying to save up some cash to get some good kit. 
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  • BintyTwanger77BintyTwanger77 Frets: 2208
    edited June 2019
    I prefer individual pedals, but if I was gigging regularly with the guitar, I would definitely consider a multi-FX. If a GT100 is good enough for Johnny Marr, it’s good enough for us mere mortals.
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  • BeexterBeexter Frets: 597
    Over the years, I've done several rounds of pedals, then multi-fx, then pedals,  then multi-fx etc, etc etc...Each have their merits. Im lucky to have 3 pedalboards currently:

    an AX8 with an EP boost in front (mainly to boost the level  of single coil guitars) and an EHX synth 9 or c9 in a loop,

    a board with an HX FX , a Superego and a recently added Boss MO-2

    A Metro 20 with Suhr Riot, Tumnus,  Gain Changer, Koji Comp, Zoom MS70CDR, Flashback Delay 

    The AX8 and HX FX equipped boards allow for a massive variety of sounds and the routing and blending options mske them really flexible and capable of getting almost any sound i can imagine. The extra pedals on each of those boards are only there to do things i can't do with the units themselves. 
    The small pedals-only board is great for more straight-ahead stuff.
    I think that's the conclusion ive finally come to - if you have simple sound requirements,  a handful of choice pedals is perfect. If you cant get everything you need on a Pedaltrain Metro 20 or smaller, a multi-fx makes more sense to me.

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  • builttospillbuilttospill Frets: 456
    I get more excitement and enjoyment  from pedals - I find that multi-fx suffocate me and fill me with dread.
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