individual pedals vs. multi-effects boards

[Cassettes]

sorry this might sound like an utter noob question, but by how much is say a regular envelope filter (as an example) better than a multi-effects pedal's edition of an envelope filter? my buddy who's a bass player has a bass pod with loads of effects and he swears by this thing.. but something tells me that individual pedals get that select effect down a lot better than a board with every effect imaginable.. he thinks otherwise but why would guitarists/bassists have entire boards of individual pedals when they can just have a huge stomp pedal board with every effect in the board?

helllp and explaaain

[EricF]

This is an often-discussed topic here. A search may give you some additional opions to consider.

Generally speaking, the effects freaks here at TB (myself included) tend to prefer individual pedals rather than multi-fx devices. With individual pedals, I can pick exactly which OD/fuzz/comprssor/octaver/chorus/etc. I want without being limited only to the sounds within the multi-fx package.

Edit to add...
A multi-fx unit might have a couple of effects that sound pretty good, but very often will have others that sound like crap. I'm much more interested in having all my effects sound good. Take a look through the "pedalboard" threads and you'll quickly get an idea about how other bass players approach their effects needs.

Note - Don't put too much stock into what your guitard says about effects for your bass.

[Zappstorius]

Ok, I'll bite. This is the 3rd thread on this topic in the last 2 days...Single stomp boxes offer more versitility within any given effect (IMO) and they are the way to go...most of the time.

Multi-units are great for figuring out what type of effects you like, but in my experience the different effects are not as good.

[niftydog]

Sounds to me like you already know the answers.

[~ignited~wings~]

I'm horribly disorganized, so I use a Digitech BNX3 multi-unit so that I know I always have everything hooked up and set up in a single unit right out of the case.

[Happynoj]

Singles give you more versatility - not only do you have access to HUNDREDS of effects (rather than the ones the Boss/Digitech/Line 6 select for you), but there is no limit to the number of separate effects you can have set up, no limit on the number you can have running simultaneously, no restrictions on the order and layout of your effects.

OTOH, multis have convenience in their favour - you don't have to set anything up - just take it out the box and plug it in. Also, you can set up patches to change from a vintage Motown sound to a distorted, pitch-shifted, harmonised, flanged mess with just the push of one footswitch. However, they are more limited. There are usually restrictions on signal chain, and you can only use the effects provided for you

[Valerus]

Hasn't this been asked twice already in the past day?

[niftydog]

Originally Posted by Valerus

Hasn't this been asked twice already in the past day?

Yes, but you've been around long enough to know that that doesn't matter!

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by niftydog

Yes, but you've been around long enough to know that that doesn't matter!

Yeah, cause they'll ask again anyway.

[KarateKid25]

+1 to the above posts... Also a multi can get you by with plenty of effects to choose from for a set price. Singles on their own are quite pricey and you seem to always want more and more!!

Im a singles guy and rarely show any interest in a multi. I hate being locked into whatever sounds Zoom, digitech etc choose. Even when I had a multi, I still ended up getting a few singles. Then more and more till the multi was redundant.

[Swift713]

People seem to approach this issue as an either/or question. If you think of a multi effect pedal as just one versatile pedal among your possible arsenal you don't have to be "locked in" to anything. Any rig is going to have limitations. I'm mostly using 3 singles these days but there are times when I want to set up some crazy pitch-shifting ring mod delay sounds and I'm happy to be able to do so with one $100 pedal rather than 3 more $200 pedals. Multi's are great for getting your effects yayas out of your system so you can figure out what kind of sounds you want and settle down to playing music. They can also be great for headphone practice etc.

[Nyarlathotep]

+1 to individuals. Look for the other threads. One of them has some of my reasons

[KarateKid25]

Originally Posted by Swift713

People seem to approach this issue as an either/or question. If you think of a multi effect pedal as just one versatile pedal among your possible arsenal you don't have to be "locked in" to anything. Any rig is going to have limitations.

You may be referring to other posts, but you seem to have have used my words, so i'll comment

As I said, I had some singles with my multi, but ended up looking for sounds I would be happier with in other singles. Eventually the multi became redundant, so I ditched it.

The multi is 'locked in' in that you can't switch it all around to the degree of singles. Fair enough though, singles are locked in to their abilities as well, so its a dead argument, but I don't need to change all my pedals just because the Fuzz isn't what I want.

Having said that, if your going to buy a multi and surround it with singles anyway, then the multi has kind of just become a single as well. To me that kinda defeats its purpose?

Actually.... The more I read over my post, the argument seems to just go round in circles

[Marill]

if you don't know what you want, you can go with a multi-effects board first, and try out everything it has.

if everything there in the multi is already good enough for your ears, then just stick to it, or if you really like the convenience of the multi, then stick with it.

With that experience, if that gives you a better idea of what sound effects you want and the multi is not good enough for you then go find the single pedal(s) that will do it for you

[Swift713]

OK, to be more to the OP's point, I currently use a Qtron instead of my B2's envelope filter. The Qtron is a little more lively, a little more clear. They are both equally tweakable (setting aside the other 8 modules of the B2) but the Qtron feels more live and a little more sensitive to nuance. With the Qtron I have to fiddle with knobs to switch between up and down sweep, with the B2 I set up patches for up and down and can switch with my foot. Also the B2 has individual patch level control. Now if I had 2 Qtrons and a limiter in a bypass loop....But I still like the Qtron better right now.

[dancehallclasher]

Buying a multi-fx = paying for tons of effects I don't need, and (usually) inferior models of the ones I do need.

[Grimoire]

Both have their strengths. Without a multi I couldn't have my patches tempo synched (delays, choruses etc), and that's very important for the music I currently make. Having said that, I have a seperate board for more specialised sounds, and run that through the multi. I couldn't make half the sounds I do with individuals alone, well, not with anything like a 'manageable' number. As with everything, try out what you can, you may only need a couple of effects - a chorus, compressor, and od for instance. In that case get the best quality individuals you can afford. If you want plenty right away, get a multi. Bear in mind that the quality of multi's varies greatly too...

[fuNKmaster83]

if you put the ibanez UE303B then its multi... but otherwise its single pedals that rule!!!