Multi-effect pedals

Xtopher

Xtopher

Creation's menace
Apr 25, 2003
307
0
16
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Linköping, Sweden
www.audiostreet.net
Hey, i wanted to know what you guys think of Multi effect pedal boards. i personally have always played my jackson dinky with valve amps and maybe a metal zone, and ive been wanting to buy a pedal board because i want some variety on the sound. what would you recommend? or maybe which ones you use?

ive been watching the Boss gt10 and the line6 podxt, are they any good?
 
I've got a GT-6, been wanting to trade it for a GT-8. There's a GT-10 now? Boss makes excellent products- durable, functional, great tone. I never liked Line6 - too digital sounding.
 
How much are you looking to spend? Do you gig a lot or do you just play at home? Are you looking just for effects or do you also want modeling functions? What effects do you need/want? Answering those could narrow your choices down tremendously and help find something you like.

If it's just effects you are looking for I wouldn't reccomend a POD. Can't say I'm a big fan of Line 6 in the first place, but if you aren't interested in all the modeling stuff then I don't think a POD is worth it. The Boss stuff isn't bad for effects, Line 6 has a new multi-effect thing coming out that you might be interested in. I believe a new pod x3 is 399, with the floorboard version going for 499? You can get a TC electronics G-major new for 399, probably 100-150 cheaper used. Odds are, that would have all the effects you need in it. You wouldn't even need to be a rack case for it if you're not gigging out much/at all. And if you do play live with it, you could also invest in a good midi controller and (depending on the amp) be able to control both your amp and effects with that. If you're really looking to spend, the G-system (also TC electronics) is a really awesome unit too.

I know you said you're looking for a multi-effects unit, but I'd really think about it and see if you can accomplish what you are going for with single effects pedals and a pedal board. You get to be more picky with sounds and customize your options a lot more that way. Just something to consider.
 
well, im looking to spend 500-600 dollars on it. i gig a lot, yeah, and thats one of the main reasons i want it. you never know which tone is going to sound better in each gig. dont know if that has happened to you before, the amps i play with are usually from other bands (mine is an ENGL, i never bring it to the gigs, lol) so i never know which one im going to get. i definetly need a nice thick tone for my riffs (i play speed metal mainly) and another one for my soloing stuff, thus a nice clean.

i checked out the TC electronics also, but its way too expensive, and ive tried the Boss single effects pedals also, but i dont seem to like them, not because of the sound, its excellent, but because they need to get fixed like every month because of the use i give them.

btw, thanx for the help!
 
Whatever you do, don't get a digitech GNX3! The effects are horrible and very over compressed (Especially the distortion.) I have heard nothing but good things about the GT-6/8.
 
A lot of them are actually pretty good. I used a GT-6 for years and loved it (except for the amp modeling, which was pretty crappy). The PODs are good, too, but they're really limited compared to the BOSS units. The amp models are a hell of a lot better, though, which is why I upgraded my GT-6 to a POD X3 Live. If you already have an amp you're wanting to use, I'd probably prefer to go with something like a G-Major, though, unless you want to run some effects before the amp. The 4-cable method you can use with the BOSS GT-X units is pretty handy in that it lets you put your preamp wherever you want in the effects chain. Also, if you have an amp that has great distortion and crappy cleans, you can use the BOSS to switch out your preamp for a modeled clean preamp like a Fender or something for your clean tones. The clean amp models are a lot more usable than the high gain ones. I was doing something like that before I got my POD.

So it depends on what you want. If you want an array of effects and amp models, I'd go with a POD. If you want an effects system to put in the loop of an amp you already have, I'd go with a G-Major or similar. If you want to put effects both in front of and after your preamp, a BOSS GT-X might work for you.
 
Well, if their multi effects are as good as their single effects units, as I've been finding out lately, I wouldn't be buying anything other than a BOSS GT-x
 
Xtopher said:
well, im looking to spend 500-600 dollars on it. i gig a lot, yeah, and thats one of the main reasons i want it. you never know which tone is going to sound better in each gig. dont know if that has happened to you before, the amps i play with are usually from other bands (mine is an ENGL, i never bring it to the gigs, lol) so i never know which one im going to get. i definetly need a nice thick tone for my riffs (i play speed metal mainly) and another one for my soloing stuff, thus a nice clean.

i checked out the TC electronics also, but its way too expensive, and ive tried the Boss single effects pedals also, but i dont seem to like them, not because of the sound, its excellent, but because they need to get fixed like every month because of the use i give them.

btw, thanx for the help!
Click to expand...

Well, the big thing to decide is going to be whether you want to build your rig around your amp (the engl) or build up an effects rig that you feel comfortable throwing in front of any amp. If you choose to do it around your own amp, I really reccomend getting something like a G-major or a Rocktron Xpression that you can program and have all your settings ready to go with your rig and having a footcontroller so you can control everything with that. I dunno what the market is like in Peru or what your options are for shopping used, but getting a either of those units with a footcontroller is probably feasible in your price range. If you want something to throw in front of any amp, a pedal board full of single-pedals or a multi-effects unit is definitely the way to go.

http://line6.com/stompboxmodelers/index.html

That's the Line 6 multi effects thing (it's the M13 or whatever if that link doesn't take you directly to it). It's not shipping yet and I admittedly haven't read up on it a whole lot, but it looks like it could be worth checking out.

Also, I'd still reccomend at least exploring the option of building a pedalboard with single-effect units, especially if you're going for an effects rig that you can use with any amp. That's the route I'm taking personally...there's a lot more versatility, tweakability, and the option to customize your set-up. Unfortunately it can get really pricey if you're going for upper-end pedals, but if you can swing it and don't mind taking the time to do the research and work toward building exactly what you want, it can be pretty rewarding. However, if you can find exactly what you want in a multi-effects, that's probably the smarter route for you.
 
Man that M13 looks like THE SHIT! but i cant find a price though, maybe cause its not shipping yet.
im really confused now, lots of options and good ones too. the thing i dont like is that i wont be able to try it first before buying it, coz it'd be delivered from US maybe. i hate watching the promotional videos of those pedals coz they always say its TEH BEST ONE lol, and god know what kind of pickups and amps they are playing it with.

ill have to read some more and decide on one of those u've mentioned. and btw, i want both of the things u asked, to build up a rig around my Engl AND also to be used with any amp, so im screwed in that department. i just need EVERYTHING.

"Universal tap tempo to sync all your time-based effects"

NOW THATS COOL!
 
It definitely looks interesting. I think their other modeling pedals (well, the DL4 and the MM4 at least) are pretty good, so I think I'll at least give it a chance.
 
Same here, but I also like having all those controls immediately available to me. I like being able to just kneel down and see/tweak effect settings on the spot instead of having to navigate through menus. The M13 doesn't really appeal to me, but I'd imagine other people who like to mess with their effects in the same way that I do might see that as an advantage.
 
I do a lot of DI recording through my line6 podxt when im doing demos, most of the presets are shitty but if you spend some time and listen to whats missing from the sound, it's quite easy to take one and modify it to the point where it sounds good.

As for boss pedals, my uni has 2 boss gt-8s and I can't stand them, ive never been so dissapointed in the sound of a pedal, i searched through the whole thing and couldn't find one sound I could even use as a starting ground to build up a decent tone. It's strange because boss is probably one of my prefered brands of single pedals (although line 6 echo park is pretty epic!)

one thing id say in any case, is to set up your rig at the volume you will be playing at gigs, otherwise, if you set it up at headphone or room level, when you turn it up for a gig the trebles and bass will be all over the place.
 
i got one question. i just saw some BOSS GT-10 video in youtube and it says its got a usb out and you can stream any kind of audio from your pc to the pedal. im not very familiarized with the term "streaming", dont really know what that means (english isnt my native language), so does it mean that i can save some audio file in the pedal and just push th CTRL button and it will just pop up? coz that would be so cool. or maybe it means you can only listen to it but not save it for whenever you like.

anyone?
 
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