Multi Effects Board Vs Custom Set Up Pedal Board??

pointblank72 · #1 02-12-2010, 08:02 PM

Hi everyone, now this may seem a bit of an obvious question to some or random to others but basically I'm looking for some opinions and answers. What I'm wondering about is the use of a personally set up effects pedal board (made up of various separate stompboxes ie, chorus, flanger, phaser, digital delays etc) as opposed to a multi effects board (ie, Zoom B2, Line 6 Bass Pods, Boss Me-20B etc).

So first of all, what does everyone recommend in regards to this? I've been using a Zoom B2 for a few years, which has been alright but the quality of the individual effects not top notch. My basic qualms about setting up a pedal board with individual effects pedals lies within the inability to layer effects the way you can with a multi effects board, ie, being able to switch from a clean bass tone to an overdriven, delayed tone with a small amount of flanger on it at a particular point in a song, eg at a bridge or chorus.

Basically I'm curious as to whether this is at all possible with a pedal board with individual effects pedals? I know Justin from Tool and Jeff from Isis to name a couple, both use personally set up effects boards and I'm sure that there are songs from both of these bands where there is a change of more than one effect at the same time. How is this done live? Do they have to stomp on 3 effects simultaneously while playing to manage this feat?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and please excuse my ignorance in this area of technology as I've only ever played and had experience with multi effects boards and am only now interested in the possible set up of a pedalboard.

Zappstorius · #2 02-12-2010, 09:05 PM

There are plus and minuses to both, as you've touched on here.

Personally, I like individual stompboxes in a pedalboard, because each effect is more "tweakable" than it's multi-effect counterpart, IMO.

As far as I know, unless you setup the pedalboard in loops (which kind of defeats the point of having single stompboxes IMO) there is no way to turn on/off multiple effects simultaniously.

I do like the flexability of having a pedalboard as opposed to a multi-unit...I can still layer effects, have different combos, but the individual effects are much better/tweakable...even if I have to be quick with my feets sometimes.

Crystalman85 · #3 02-12-2010, 11:43 PM

Personally, I like multi-effects processors. I like stomp boxes too, just not too many. there are some multi-effects processors like korg, line 6, and boss that has good sound quality. I personally would recommend korg processors because it has phenomenal sound quality, it's got a large variety of effects, amp and cab models, and they're affordable.

**jmattbassplaya** · #4 02-13-2010, 12:52 AM

I have the gt-6b and it's a great multi, but I just couldnt stand the amount of tweakability it had (believe or not, stomp boxes are a lot less complicated than this). As such I've built a board and have been happy ever since... Now if I could just sell the multi...

Swift713 · #5 02-13-2010, 06:26 AM

Effect loop pedals are the key to switching multiple effects simultaneously. You can still switch them individually as well. The setups can get pretty sophisticated with multiple loops etc.

bassbrad · #6 02-13-2010, 04:17 PM

I use a combo of both single & multi-efx unit.
I keep my single efx [EHX BassBalls, BossODB3 & Akai UniBass sometimes and Akai Deep Impact] in a switchable loop so I can use combos of efx in the loop and instantly switch them on/off. I have programmed my multi-efx, Zoom B2.1u or Digitech BP-8, to play well with the single efx and to cover the more complex sounds.

ga_edwards · #7 02-14-2010, 06:04 AM

You need a something like a gigrig or octaswitch which will give you multifx versatility with the stompboxes of your choosing.
Essentially, each stompbox sits in it's own fxloop in the controller unit. You then assign each stomp button on the controller to switch in/out which loop you want with dip switches, allowing you to turn on say 3 effects at once. Any unused loops are true bypass so they don't degrade your signal.

http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/Th...-14_BLack.html
http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/Th...I-8_Black.html
http://www.carlmartin.com/product_octaswitch.htm
http://www.carlmartin.com/product_combinator.htm

Obviously these things are not cheap, but you get what you pay for. There's other options too of varying price ranges, but I can't think of the names of the top of my head.

Bassmike62 · #8 02-14-2010, 06:41 AM

It's always a matter of what you want.

I started out with a multi-effect unit and now carry a never-ending-wake-up-in-the-morning-now-what-can-I-add-on pedalboard.

I'm happy

jetlaggemini · #9 02-14-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappstorius

There are plus and minuses to both, as you've touched on here.

Personally, I like individual stompboxes in a pedalboard, because each effect is more "tweakable" than it's multi-effect counterpart, IMO.

As far as I know, unless you setup the pedalboard in loops (which kind of defeats the point of having single stompboxes IMO) there is no way to turn on/off multiple effects simultaniously.

I do like the flexability of having a pedalboard as opposed to a multi-unit...I can still layer effects, have different combos, but the individual effects are much better/tweakable...even if I have to be quick with my feets sometimes.

You can turn on or of multiple pedals using a ground control unit. you basically put all the pedals on trays in a rack unit, hook each of them up individually to a main unit that gets triggered by a midi pedal board. you can crate presets with any variation of pedals in that rack unit. most big touring bands use this system. its super quick to set up live because everything is wired up in a giant road case and all you need up front is a tuner and the midi controller. also if a pedal goes out, then all the other ones still work since they are all wired separately. It can get pricey, but this is by far the best way to tour with a diverse pedal set up.

marklaforest · #10 02-14-2010, 02:43 PM

I found when I was starting out that a multi effects pedal was a good way to see what's out there and how it can be used in different ways without having to spend a whack load of cash on a bunch of stompboxes. It also makes a great practice tool as they have tuners built in, metronomes, dedicated headphone outs, etc. I still have my old zoom multieffects pedal from years ago that I use for practicing. Once you get used to how different pedals work and what you need/don't need, then you can start the never ending quest to find just the right stompboxes and slowly phase out your multieffects pedal. The sound quality on the digital multieffects pedals has come a long way, but it still can't touch an all analog signal path.

ctothej · #11 02-15-2010, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marklaforest

I found when I was starting out that a multi effects pedal was a good way to see what's out there and how it can be used in different ways without having to spend a whack load of cash on a bunch of stompboxes. It also makes a great practice tool as they have tuners built in, metronomes, dedicated headphone outs, etc. I still have my old zoom multieffects pedal from years ago that I use for practicing. Once you get used to how different pedals work and what you need/don't need, then you can start the never ending quest to find just the right stompboxes and slowly phase out your multieffects pedal. The sound quality on the digital multieffects pedals has come a long way, but it still can't touch an all analog signal path.

+1

Had the korg multi...had some good sounds but overall sucked a little tone...Also check out loopmaster pretty cost effective way to set up stomps in loops and keep your signal chain from going through a crapload of boxes