How many of you have gone from individual fx to multifx and been happy?

downbytheriver

I’ve tried to go multi fx a few times (starting way back with an ME-5) but I’ve always been defeated by trying to programme sensible patches that I can switch between effectively (I’m not sure I’m rational enough to stick to a fixed plan) so I’ve always ended up using the unit in some kind of stomp box mode which sort of defeats the object (seems to me). 

What has worked for me is the Boss MS-3 - 3 loop switcher, built in multi fx, MIDI programming to change patches in individual pedals - just the right amount of tidiness, practicality and gives me better access to my pedals along with access to effects I wouldn’t usually use but for specific purposes. I still have a stomp box approach but it provides just the right amount of bonus FOR ME (might not be right for you). 

I’m in the middle of rebuilding and reconfiguring my board, principally to enable straightforward MIDI program changes in my multi-modulation and delays - more news when it’s all done! I do sometimes wish there was a MS-5 but I think that would provide too many footswitches and again slightly defeat the object! 

Thank you for your indulgence. 

drwiddly

I got into multi fx and modelling years ago as it seemed like a great idea to be able to step on a single switch and change a load of different parameters. I got my head around basic midi programming when I acquired an fcb1010 in 2005 and I can pretty much make anything work with anything else now.

I went through a lot of gear - Pods, Rocktron rack gear, Digitech stuff and eventually settled on a Kemper and an Axe II. I p!ay in a coup!e of rock covers bands and my approach is always to set up a few basic sounds and embellish them as required. I'll have a clean patch, a break up, crunch, heavy crunch, a couple of lead patches, etc. To my way of thinking these basic sounds will cover everything I'll ever need and I can alter the flavour by making more patches with different amps, fx and IR's.

I like the convenience, consistency and the weight. I rarely need to tweak stuff at gigs, other than to set volume levels. If there are overall sound problems, these can usually be sorted with a tweak of the graphic eq in the output section. Works for me but YMMV.

swiller

Me70 bought years ago here, wah is a bit meh.. and distortions are not great,  but im no metal head. Everything else is fine. Bought a mini wah off here last month which is a proper little banger.

UnclePsychosis

@DrHungry the reason why modellers can be quicker to setup is if you use a 100% modelled solution, i.e. no amp to lug around and plug in.

This is a definite appeal to me although I like amps so... 

DrHungry

UnclePsychosis said:

@DrHungry the reason why modellers can be quicker to setup is if you use a 100% modelled solution, i.e. no amp to lug around and plug in.

This is a definite appeal to me although I like amps so... 

You're right, my argument only really applies to my particular situation of playing small venues with a loud but portable amp. I can carry my amp in one hand, pedalboard in the other and connect them together with a single cable. A modeller still needs plugging into something, so that's the same number of cables!

Once you start factoring in bigger venues with a need for mic'ing, or running in stereo or W/D etc I can see that having a single box doing it all certainly simplifies things. Although having said that, I use a Captor X to send a DI to the PA for outdoor and bigger gigs and it works great with minimal setup fuss and I still get all the same of fun of a real amp.

Bidley

DrHungry said:

I can carry my amp in one hand, pedalboard in the other and connect them together with a single cable. A modeller still needs plugging into something, so that's the same number of cables!

I bring my Helix instead of the pedalboard, and a guitar instead of the amp

viz

I like mine. 

It’s not really mine but I would like one. 

CaseOfAce

viz said:

I like mine. 

It’s not really mine but I would like one. 

Which given the situation I was in last Saturday - would be the only multi-effects type unit I would consider.
Packed sweaty dancefloor. 
Singer calling out song after song from the setlist with literally no breaks between songs... 
Party just gotten started.
Menu driven effects for on the fly changes...  no chance.

Excuse me.. I just have to adjust the delay setting on my Bison Echorec patch ...errr...

roberty

Sporky said:

I had a patch on the Helix that roughly recreated my previous pedal board for just getting on with playing. But I also had patches for "what happens if..." with weird routing,  strange combinations,  that sort of thing.

Now I just have one patch called "YouHadMe@Cello".

Makes sense to start from a known position and evolve it from there 

DrHungry

Bidley said:

DrHungry said:

I can carry my amp in one hand, pedalboard in the other and connect them together with a single cable. A modeller still needs plugging into something, so that's the same number of cables!

I bring my Helix instead of the pedalboard, and a guitar instead of the amp

Guitar's on my back so I'm not lopsided!

Voxman

I haven't gigged with an amp and conventional pedal board since 2014. Since then I've used my Vox Tonelab SE and LE straight through the FOH PA. 

I bought a Line 6 Pod Go in June 2020, mainly to use with headphones during Covid, but also potentially to use for gigging.  I really like it, it's light, compact, has tons of options, IR capability, and global volume/wah switching which I really like. Modelling quality, choice of amps and fx and snap shot capability are great. 

But for gigging, I'm sticking with my Tonelabs. Why? Well, gigging is very different to home and studio use. In a live band mix all the subtleties that we fuss about largely go out the window. What I need is a great tone that's easy to find, and easy to tweak. For that I want and need real knobs and dials, not awkward menus. I don't want to worry about DSP limits if I change an amp or fx model and I want 'instant' patch switching.  

The Tonelabs were way ahead of their time (TLSE 2004, TLLE 2007). The TLSE has 2 expression pedals, AB switching whereby you can switch amp/cabs in the same patch, MIDI, and a nice valve like feel and tone thanks to the clever design that effectively uses a 12AX7 tube in the power amp, not preamp, section. You can change amp, cab or fx in a second via chicken head knobs, and you have real knobs to change amp and fx settings.

Patch naming, accurate tuner, a control switch, single footswitch up/down, patch to stomp mode, all make it a breeze to use live. These are built like a tank, have a long heavy duty PSU with the transformer mid cable with a power switch, so no ugly, awkward 'wall wart'.  

I've had quite a few mfx over the years including Boss BE5, GT3/5/6, Yamaha GW33, Zoom G5/G5n, and now the Line 6 Pod Go. And the Tonelabs are still hands down the best overall gigging MFX I've ever used. Even the edit software is simple and can even be used off line. Of course the TLs have their limitations, but you just have to be a bit more creative, and the simpler options help keep you focussed more on your playing and less on tweaking. And for me the pros far outweigh the cons. 

fastonebaz

Sounds like we all fall into 2 categories. 

1.  Those who can push through the pfaff stage dialing in good tones and stick with it

2. This who can't and go back to an amp

Dominic

robinbowes said:

Dominic said:

Swapped a full pedalboard for a Helix FX ....plus a Klon.
Use the Klon all the time and frankly only use the hxfx for a bit of delay adjustment and very rarely a bit of flange/phase.
Makes me realise how neat ,tidy,convenient and UNIMPORTANT the fx are.

Suggestion:

1. Use the Klon in the Helix FX
2. sell the Klon
3. Profit!

  

You jest but I've struggled with that idea so many times..........
In real life I've played the Klon and the Helix Klon back to back at the stomp of a switch so many times and the difference is so negligable.....in fact,with Humbuckers it's not even noticeable to my ears .
I just feel sentimentally attached to the Klon and it's kudos.

Bidley

fastonebaz said:

Sounds like we all fall into 2 categories. 

1.  Those who can push through the pfaff stage dialing in good tones and stick with it

2. This who can't and go back to an amp

There is also a third group  who don't like the medium of pfaff, preferring to pfaff with knobs mid-gig rather than buttons and knobs. The only thing I really adjust during a gig is volume, and that's only during soundcheck. I suppose there aren't any inherent shortcomings with any solution, it's down to the user.

stratman3142

downbytheriver said:

I’ve tried to go multi fx a few times (starting way back with an ME-5) but I’ve always been defeated by trying to programme sensible patches that I can switch between effectively (I’m not sure I’m rational enough to stick to a fixed plan) so I’ve always ended up using the unit in some kind of stomp box mode which sort of defeats the object (seems to me)...

I have used preset patches of grouped effects in the past. It's nice to just step on one pedal button to switch between rhythm and a lead solo. But I found that the presets would start growing and growing because I'd decide I wanted compression or delay on a sound sometimes (but not other times), then maybe some slap instead (or not) or even a bit of chorus (or not), or various combinations of things, and each would require its own preset. Then I'd have to remember where everything was and think up inventive names for my presets to remind me what they contained

That's why I went back to the 'stomp box' approach for maximum flexibility and simplicity, even though there's some pedal dancing involved. But (as I posted earlier) I'm currently using a multi fx (Helix LT) in stomp box into an amp now for my live set up.

Some advantages for me over individual pedals are

1) Less floor space. Plus it's tidy and avoids loads of interconnecting leads.

2) The effect knobs don't get knocked out of position. But with a Helix LT they're easy to tweak on the fly, because simply touching a pedal button takes you to that effect's settings, which can then be tweaked using the knobs just under the display screen.

3) I only need one expression type pedal. I want the volume pedal before delay and reverb but after the other effects. But I want the wah before the distortion pedals. My Helix is set up to do that when I press its expression pedal forwards to switch between volume and wah.

4) I can order the pedal buttons where I want them to be (and not based on the physical location of a pedal). So boost buttons are close to drive buttons in the bottom row, whereas buttons for 'icing on the cake' effects (e.g. delay, chorus etc) are in the top row.

5) In addition to my default set up, I can switch to a different preset then back to 'stomp box' mode to call up a different virtual pedal board within the Helix. I've got other pedal board set ups within the Helix with a harmoniser, phaser, flanger, auto wah and whammy pedal.

ricky50

I think multiFX are great but still prefer pedals every time.  After a lot of chopping and changing over the years I now have only 3, albeit big, pedals on my board but I've cheated a bit.  So it's a Revival Drive -> Volante -> H9 (you could say the H9 is a multiFX but it's only one effect at time so not really). All into the front of a good clean tube amp.  I can get any sound I want out of that and have no doubts that it sounds better than any multiFX.  The cheat is that I use a Morningstar MC6 to midi control it all.  I can tap dance and tweak if I want and can still do the clean, crunch, boost, solo, weird noise stuff instantly with the MC6.  So I've basically turned my pedals into a multiFX.  Could anyone tell the difference between that and a multiFX in a band mix or at a gig?  Probably not - but that's not what it's about.

Like the OP I recently got a Quad Cortex to play around with.  It's amazingly good and because of the captures I think I'll get extremely close to replicating my pedalboard but if it goes down it's gone.  If one of my pedals goes down I can still easily get by with the rest of it.

Fez

I had an ME5 years ago which ok at the time but these days it's pedals. I do have a Tech 21flyrig as a back up lest an amp fails. I like the concept of the TC Plethora but haven't been able to try one yet

chrisj1602

I’m enjoying the set up I have now, an amp with 2 channels, a drive/boost pedal, then a HX Stomp for reverb, delay and modulation.

I feel like this gives me the control of my volume and gain stages while enjoying some of the obvious benefits of today’s multi effects units.

I also have the added bonus of the HX Stomp being an amp modeller, recording interface etc

boogieman

I’ve been through various MultiFX, then onto a massive pedal board and back to multi again. I’m using a Helix LT now, it does almost everything I want, although I should add that I don’t gig. 

I miss a couple of things from individual pedals: I’ve never been able to get a really good sounding Univibe tone out of a multifx. The best reverb I’ve owned bar none is the Strymon Big Sky and I do miss some of the patches from that. 

But the Helix can do 99% of what I want in a much smaller area, without a bunch of power supplies, patch leads and all the tap dancing, so it’s a good compromise. Also I sold the board, pedals, power supplies and leads and still had £1200 left over after I’d bought the Helix. 

wingo84

Bought a Quadcortex and I am selling off all my old pedals … not only does it sound immense - it’s made load ins for gigs easy as anything