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Multi-Effects Pedal, or Multiple Effects Pedals?

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(@andrew-b)
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Joined: 16 years ago
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Topic starter  

Hello! Well, after having just received a gift certificate to my local guitar shop for Christmas, I think it's time for me to invest in some guitar effects pedals, but the problem is that I'm not sure what I should get. I was looking at the Line 6 Floor POD (this one's my favorite so far), the Digitech RP250 and the Zoom G2.1U for multi-effects, but while reading up on it I noticed that some people prefer to purchase separate effects pedals for each effect - so I was wondering, what are the pros and cons of each, and what's the best route to go for someone in my position?

I'm a beginner-going-on-intermediate guitarist. I'd like something I can play live, which is why I'm a bit more drawn to the multi-effects route for the capability to preset sounds, volumes, etc. and just switch channels with the press of a button; but on the other hand, buying separate for better quality and upgrading as I go is pretty tempting (though I'm worried this would cost more than I'm willing to invest in the long-run - I don't foresee playing being much more than just a hobby). So how do the costs of each compare? And if anyone has any recommendations, I'd be happy to hear them!

Well, I'm interested to hear everyone's thoughts, and thanks for any replies in advance! (Though, I could just put the gift certificate away toward buying myself a really decent guitar, though I'm not sure I'm experienced enough to know what I'd want... all I have at the moment is a cheap eBay beginner's guitar! :? )

Andrew


   
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(@rparker)
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Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

Ah, the search for versatility. Been there. I started off with a modelling amp and then went to a Boss multi-effects board. In the end though, I got a tube amp and a few pedals to start. I'll say right now that I am very pleased so far. Some of these modelling amps and multi-effects boxes are nice, but some feel they sound a bit artificial. Look at the hear to there forum further down the forum index for a lot of hendy and insightful threads on this and many more topics.

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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(@progressions)
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Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 320
 

To be honest a multi-effects unit is ideal for home recording, but not as versatile for playing live. I used a multi-FX for years, first a Korg thing and more recently a Zoom G2.1u, which is a great unit. If you want a multi-effects unit for a decent price you can't go wrong with the G2.1u.

That said, once I started playing live I really felt the need for individual pedals, because even if you set up your unit exactly with all the sounds you use in each song, it still doesn't feel as fluid as clicking on the overdrive or the wah when you're ready to use it during a song. In cases where I want to turn the flanger on during the coda or kick in the fuzz during the chorus, it's much easier to tap that pedal than to click up or down to a specific multi-effects preset.

It all depends on your budget and your goals. If you're going to be playing live seriously, you may find it more worthwhile to invest in individual pedals. For home recording or for getting started, a Zoom is highly recommended. Makes a great computer USB interface too.

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 Nuno
(@nuno)
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I also have a Zoom G2.1u. It has several good things as Progressions said. Mainly, you can record in the computer through the USB and also it has a lot of effects. If you never play with effects before, you can learn a lot on how they sound and how they can be used. My unit came with a license of Cubase LE (I don't know if currently they give it). It also has a rhythm box, it is funny although you can also play over a track if you are connected to the computer by selecting the Zoom as output.

But... (to me) several effects (mainly the overdrives and amp modelers) are not so good. Some people also complaints on the fuzzy and distortion tones but I never use it so I can not give my opinion (I don't like that sound). My expression pedal is noisy and I didn't use it a lot (it was a Xmas gift, so I have exactly one year). It started with the noise this summer, the first time I was checking the wah-wah effect. I tried to define a tome for blues with it and... finally I had to purchase a tube amp. When I was reading reviews, people said it sounds "very digital"; really I didn't understand what they mean but currently and comparing to the amp, I do it.

I have read several good reviews on the Line6 products. Here there are several users. Review the old threads as said Roy, I think you even can find sound clips.

Nuno


   
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(@dogbite)
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Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 6348
 

I was so excited when , years ago, I got the Digitech rp300. it was loaded with sounds and drum beats. after a few months 90% of the effects I found were wanting or just plain useless. even after organizing my presets so I could click from one to another seamlessly I found the overall result ...so so. the board was missing soul or something. I ended up going back to individual pedals.
I did learn, by having a multi effects unit what I liked and did not like. that helped in shaping my pedal choices.

now, years later, I use only one or two pedals.
I would say get the effects board and experience it. then you will find just what they are about. it may be perfect for you.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=644552
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(@wes-inman)
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This is one of those questions that really doesn't have an answer. Both mult-efx and individual efx pedals have pros and cons.

Multi-efx

Pros
1- inexpensive, you get many various effects and modeling for much less than individual pedals
2- easy to use once properly set up, step on a footswitch and change to whatever combination of effects you want
3- compact, generally (not always) smaller than a pedalboard with many individual pedals
4- only one power source needed

Cons
1- some multi-efx are a little complicated to tweak, so a longer learning curve is needed
2- effects are generally not as "tweakable" as individual pedals
3- many believe multi-efx do not sound as good as individual pedals
4- if unit goes out, you lose all effects

Individual pedals

Pros
1- Most believe individual pedals sound better, one reason may be that the whole pedal is designed for one effect alone
2- easy to tweak, most individual pedals have simple straight-forward controls designed for that one effect
3- if one pedals goes, you can take it out of the chain and still have your other effects

Cons
1- Expensive, if you want many effects you will have to buy many pedals costing much more than a multi-efx
2- "tap-dancing" If you are using one effect and then want to switch to another sound with several effects being used, you have to quickly turn the original effect(s) off and then quickly turn on the other effects. This can be especially difficult if you are also singing as you play
3- sometimes you need multiple power supply sources

These are just some of the pros and cons of both types of pedals. Over the years I have used both. I personally like the better sound of individual pedals. Also, I am not a person who really uses lots and lots of effects. But that is me, others may use many effects. So there is no right or wrong. I also prefer the ease of tweaking individual pedals. I do not like pedals that are complicated to tweak. But again, some people might actually enjoy and prefer this. To each his or her own. :D

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
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(@dagwood)
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Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 1024
 

Merry Christmas.. Santa was good to you eh?

Sa-weeeet!! :)

I agree with Wes 100%, there's no right or wrong answer. It depends on how you intend to use your gear.

Before I talk about the pedals and what I chose to do and why I think alot needs to be said about the AMP you'll use.

Most, myself included prefer a tube amp over a solid-state and in my opinion, if your going to go the individual pedal route, this is a must! There's nothing like a Tube-Screamer in front of a Valve Amp except maybe a Big Muff... but I digress. The good news is you don't have to necessarily spend a lot of money to get a nice, loud tube amp. (read: Epi Valve Jr)

I've gone down this road before and what I'm very happy with what I ended up with. Having a tube amp I started going down the single pedal path. I started with Cheap pedals, those FAB-Dano's for like $9 on sale. I didn't get a power supply and they eat up 9v batteries faster than I can suck down a cup o chocolate milk.

When I started to look at better 'mid-priced' pedals mainly the Boss line, only because my local store has a full mounted display of them, I quickly realized that I'd eventually spend around $500-$600 for the one's I wanted, as they average between $80=$120. That's only for 4 or five of them: Distortion - Overdrive - Delay - EQ - Flanger. Quite an investment to say the least.

Then I found the Boss GT-8. Started doing some research on it, asking questions and realized that I could purchase all of the pedals, (98% of 'em) that BOSS makes in this one unit for a fraction of the price for 'all of them'. I could use this device as a stomp box with different pedal assignments and use it as such in front of or in my Amp's LOOP and I could, in effect, manipulate the 'CHAIN' or order of the effects in the loop without having to plug/unplug and rearrange manually.

On that fact alone I was convinced that was the way to go. I was thinking "Bang for the Buck".

Additionally, the AMP modeling in the GT-8 is superb, meaning with as clean and neutral as I can make my amp sound on its own, with this baby, I can emulate a Marshall, a Vox, Fender, Mesa's, etc. (Thousands of dollars worth of different amps at my Toe Tips :)). Not only that I could hook up two 'speakers' or amps and run them in stereo. On top of that, there's more functionality than I'd probably use in any practical sense.

My point is that with a good to great M-Efx unit there is a lot of versatility, a lot of exploration of different tones, textures and effects one could produce.

So what my rig consists of today is:

Home - Boss Gt-8 into a pair of Powered Studio Monitors.
I tinker with, experiment and use the amp modeling a lot.
I use a bunch of different patches for different songs to sound like my heroes.

Out and about (Friends or Open Mic) - Boss GT-8 into my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
I have a few banks programed for just the "Stomp Box" effects and use it like a pedal board.
I don't much use the Amp modeling when playing this way though I can if I wanted.

If I can give any advice, (scary), its this, don't let a sales person tell you want you want!! Take your time and weigh the pros and cons of each option. Try different things and sleep on it before you make a decision.

Have fun, that's the most important thing :)

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)


   
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(@the-dali)
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I think what has been written so far is good advice - test them out! BUT, I've been down both roads and I have to say that I can the exact sound I want much easier using individual pedals. The multi-fx units are cool to play with and possibly record with, but I find it easier to tailor my sound using individual pedals.

As for the multiple power supplies - it is an issue unless you get something like the Godlyke Power-all - it can power up to 8 or 9 pedals.

Also, the individual pedals don't have to cost you a fortune.... you can get some really solid effects for $30 - $50 a pop. Some of the really inexpensive ones (Danelectro and Behringer, $15 - 30) sound pretty good for the money. If youare strictly looking at quality, you can't go wrong with Electro-Harmonix, Boss, and MXR. They range widely in price, but are worth the money.

Also, don't forget that you'll need a pedal tuner if you don't buy a multi-fx system.

-=- Steve

"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"


   
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(@jerboa)
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Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 79
 

Also, don't forget that you'll need a pedal tuner if you don't buy a multi-fx system.

Why is this? Is it necessary? Or just more convenient than regular pocket chromatic tuner?

There are two kinds of people in this world:
Those who think there are two kinds of people in this world, and those who don't


   
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(@bgdaddy316)
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Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 186
 

I was in your spot three or four months ago. I initially went with a Digitech multi-effect pedal off of Ebay. It was nice, but it was difficult to use when playing live (as has been pointed out). It was good to experiment and learn some of the different effects. But, I put it right back on Ebay after about a week because I didn't like having to cycle through different effects.

I now have a Danelectro EQ and a Behringer Chorus and Overdrive. I bought a nice pedal board with it's own power strip for $40 and I now use that setup to play live.

Like many things on the board, in the end, it depends on what you are looking for and your preferences, but I thought that I would share my experience. Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.


   
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 geoo
(@geoo)
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In regards to the tuner, I agree. It is much easier (for me anyways) to use my tuner pedal than have to unplug, tune, replug, etc.

I was in a similar situation as you last year. I checked out a bunch of multi effects and found one that I really liked. But then read the advice of other and started looking at the multi effects. I felt like I was someone that would use quite a bit of effect when playing. In the end, I purchased a sweet pedal board and quite a few pedals so that I could make all those fancy sound effects. When reality kicked in, I found that I do use some effect but I am perfectly happy with the sound of my tube amp, an EQ pedal, and my chorus pedal if I am playing more of an acoustic sound. I am still not disappointed that I bought two distortion type pedals, an auto wah, or the delay pedal but I dont use them too much. OHH and one of my favorite pedals is my volume control. Its nice to be able to increase or decrease it from the floor.

I dont think there is a wrong answer and I dont think you will be completely happy or completely upset with either decision.

Jim

“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)


   
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(@the-dali)
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Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1409
 

Also, don't forget that you'll need a pedal tuner if you don't buy a multi-fx system.

Why is this? Is it necessary? Or just more convenient than regular pocket chromatic tuner?
Hi - not necessary, but convenient as hell. The multi-fx systems all have tuners built in to them, if you do individual pedals you'll want to have a tuner on the floor in the chain. Believe me, once you do you'll never go back to the little Korg tuners unless you have to (lesson, travelling, etc). The floor tuners are not too expensive. My Fender PT-100 was $30.

-=- Steve

"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"


   
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(@kingpatzer)
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Posts: 2171
 

I have a GT-8 and so far I'm quite happy with it.

It's not perfect -- the biggest draw-back being the lack of an native editor. However, the pluses out weight that by a mile in my opinion.

It has an amazing level of versatility -- no longer do I have to take apart a wah pedal and get out a soldering gun because I like the pedal reversed from the way the factor wants it. I can set whole thing to automatically go to 'tuner mode' if I close off the volume pedal. I can route the order of effects in any way I want.

The modeling is fantastic, and through a good clean amp it really does do a passable job.

The stock patches suck. I really have no idea who they have designing these things, but they really need to be fired and someone with an ear for music needs to be hired in their place.

The number of patches is, frankly, goofy. No one needs 89 different patches. And no one needs 89 sucky patches. 10-15 really good patches would go much further.

Too many things require that you bend over and adjust things if you want to make a change. Editing patches on the board is just shy of impossible. You need to down load some of the user-created patch editors out there.

But it is fully usable as a road / gig effects board. It's built like a tank, and it sounds fantastic through a PA amp (provided you got rid of the sucky stock patches and built a few that actually sound good).

The learning curve is really high.

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST


   
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(@andrew-b)
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Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 5
Topic starter  

Wow, thanks for everyone's input! This'll definitely give me a lot to think about. I guess all that's left to do is go to a guitar shop and check a few of these out! Oh boy, now comes the fun part...!


   
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