BEST Pedal Board For Around $300 ?

[Ronny49]

I've been looking at my options and have found three that look interesting,
but have not gotten to the store to test them out yet.

Anyone have experience with any of these? What is your opinion? Do they
cut any of the lows when utilizing the effects, such as distortion?

1. Zoom B91UT Bass Guitar Multi Effects Pedal
2. Boss ME50B Bass Guitar Multi Effects Pedal
3. Line 6 Bass POD XT Live Multi Effects Pedal

[Stradavus]

I can't speak of the others, but I used to have the Boss ME-50B. I can't say a single bad thing about it except that the expression pedal is made of plastic. Thick plastic, but I still would have preferred metal. The nice thing about it is how simplistic is it. There are no menus to deal with - everything is right in front of you.

The only reason I sold it is that I realized that I didn't use most of the effects and decided to just get a few single pedals to cover what I needed.

Also, there is this thread up right now with people specifically discussing the ME-50B. You might find some useful info there.
Thoughts on the boss ME-50B?

[Ronny49]

Originally Posted by Stradavus

I can't speak of the others, but I used to have the Boss ME-50B. I can't say a single bad thing about it except that the expression pedal is made of plastic. Thick plastic, but I still would have preferred metal. The nice thing about it is how simplistic is it. There are no menus to deal with - everything is right in front of you.

The only reason I sold it is that I realized that I didn't use most of the effects and decided to just get a few single pedals to cover what I needed.

Also, there is this thread up right now with people specifically discussing the ME-50B. You might find some useful info there.
Thoughts on the boss ME-50B?

Hey... thanks for the cool info!

[optikhog]

Originally Posted by Ronny49

1. Zoom B91UT Bass Guitar Multi Effects Pedal
2. Boss ME50B Bass Guitar Multi Effects Pedal
3. Line 6 Bass POD XT Live Multi Effects Pedal

I own both the Zoom and Line 6 models above and tend to go back and forth between then. If I had to choose one, I'd go with the Zoom - it sounds more "natural" to me, plus it has XLR out. The Line 6 is much better with tracking octave effects and I like not having to switch modes to turn individual effects on/off, but the Zoom's "M" compressor is unbelievably good and I love the ability to mix a real tube into the preamp when I want to achieve a less "artificial" sound (as most multi-effects will give you).

[Ronny49]

Originally Posted by optikhog

I own both the Zoom and Line 6 models above and tend to go back and forth between then. If I had to choose one, I'd go with the Zoom - it sounds more "natural" to me, plus it has XLR out. The Line 6 is much better with tracking octave effects and I like not having to switch modes to turn individual effects on/off, but the Zoom's "M" compressor is unbelievably good and I love the ability to mix a real tube into the preamp when I want to achieve a less "artificial" sound (as most multi-effects will give you).

Yah... I will say that the real tube in the B9 pedal IS a plus! And it is an 12AU7 Tube and not an 12AX7.

I purchased the Hartke LH500 head and like it -though it has 3 knobs for EQ on it and nothing more. It is a simple amp with a very good basic sound. It has a 12AX7 tube in the preamp and I thought by adding the ZOOM board, I could have the best of both worlds by mixing the two, which may be interesting.

...

[Way Off Bass]

You can find gt-6b's for around $250 shipped from time to time

[ga_edwards]

Originally Posted by optikhog

I own both the Zoom and Line 6 models above and tend to go back and forth between then. If I had to choose one, I'd go with the Zoom - it sounds more "natural" to me, plus it has XLR out. The Line 6 is much better with tracking octave effects and I like not having to switch modes to turn individual effects on/off, but the Zoom's "M" compressor is unbelievably good and I love the ability to mix a real tube into the preamp when I want to achieve a less "artificial" sound (as most multi-effects will give you).

I have to agree with the comments about the zoom. The M compressor is fantastic, even better than most of the dedicated pedal and rack compressors I've owned.

I've never used the Line6, but it's more geared toward accurate modelling, whereas the Zoom goes for ballpark models. I find this to be favourable to the zoom as it means you can switch models, but have the same/similar controls and don't get a massive jump in tone which you then need to spend ages tweaking again to be heard in the mix. Much easier to quickly dial in tones on the fly, so IMO a better option for a live gigging unit. But I think in a studio environment, or if you have time to dedicate and enjoy tweaking, the Line6 may be the better option for you.

I have GT6B that I believe the ME50B is based on. Some of it is brilliant. Unlike many people, I actually like the user interface, having real knobs for most of the needed parameters is fantastic, and go deeper into the menu's and it's super tweakable to the 'nth degree', even more than the zoom. unfortunately it's let down by p**s poor amp modelling, OD/dist, and IMO compression (although Bongo will disagree).

But the biggest problem (for me) with the boss stuff is they sound like boss stuff. I can't put my finger on it, but they seem to have a certain 'colour' to them that just sounds... Boss like. I'm really not a fan of the boss sound anymore, they just sound a bit average, and everyone knows the best boss stomp pedals are modded ones, which the multi-fx units don't model

Zoom, Line6 et al pretty much model what they want to model. They strive to model the best in each field, whereas boss model mainly their own pedals with a few others.