Multi effects vs individual pedals?

shaftske · #1 04-18-2011, 11:56 PM

So when I first started learning how to play bass I went out and bought a cheap multi effects pedal just to expiriment and see what kind of effects I even liked. I find myself using a variety of effects quite a bit now. Im looking to improve on the quality of my sound and im left with a decision. Should I buy one extremely nice multi effects unit and be done with it or should I buy individual pedals for each effect I use? Just wondering what you guys thought about this, or if you prefer having individual pedals or just one big multi effects pedal?

Floyd Eye · #2 04-19-2011, 04:39 AM

In my opinion, the reason you bought your unit is the only reason to ever buy one. Once you know what effects you like/want, go out and get good pedals. There is no such thing as one unit that does all things well.

Plays_For_Dog · #3 04-19-2011, 05:08 AM

I use individual pedals but for me it's more of a collection thing. I also like to support private pedal makers who put out really good products.

Plus, if your multieffect every craps out, you loose all your effects, settings, saved programs, etc. With individual effects, one craps out, you have the rest still going strong. Plus, if it dies, you can see what settings you have it set to on the knobs, so when you replace it, you have it to your favorite setting fast. Back up and running full bore with minimal hassle.

mattfong · #4 04-19-2011, 05:43 AM

I personally don't like fiddling with buttons and little screens and stuff. There's the collection thing too... and there's something fun about having to rearrange my board every once in a while, and soon I'll probably have to build myself a bigger one, which will be fun, etc...

I also like analog stuff.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #5 04-19-2011, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

In my opinion, the reason you bought your unit is the only reason to ever buy one. Once you know what effects you like/want, go out and get good pedals. There is no such thing as one unit that does all things well.

How much experience do you have with the high-end Eventide and Fractal Audio machines?

derrico1 · #6 04-19-2011, 08:30 AM

I go back and forth between a couple of pedalboards and a Line6 M9.

The M9 has convenience on its side: small enough to fit in my cable & mic bag, and has a smaller footprint than my smallest pedalboard. Additionally, it's less likely that the M9 will act up than that a power supply or patch cable on the pedalboard will play the fool.

bassbrad · #7 04-19-2011, 02:02 PM

FAQ #1
Multi efx offer a lot of bang for the buck and there are some pretty good ones out there but none are what I would call a perfect end all be all solution.
Individual pedals have a lot of advantages but can get very pricey in no time.
Personally I use a combination of single efx and multi-efx to get what I want.

gastric · #8 04-19-2011, 02:37 PM

GT-10B is the pinnacle of floor based bass specific multiFX and it's overall really good. Lots of excellent bread-n-butter effects, some great special effects, good amp sims, lots of I/O, and a mono FX LOOP for plugging in some outboard gear. They're not too expensive used.

Even if you went with single pedals you'll likely find things they can't do, also. No tap tempo? No blend? No way to easily rearrange the signal path?

There's always pros and cons no matter which way you go.

bassbrad · #9 04-19-2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gastric

GT-10B is the pinnacle of floor based bass specific multiFX

Opinions vary, personally I would go Zoom B9.ut
FWIW still loving the Digi BP8, they got so much right the 1st time.

Vic Winters · #10 04-19-2011, 05:21 PM

I use both. Singles for frequent use and unique sounds, the M9 for more generic stuff that isn't used enough to warrant a single.

CopperheadLXXIX · #11 04-19-2011, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassbrad

Opinions vary, personally I would go Zoom B9.ut
FWIW still loving the Digi BP8, they got so much right the 1st time.

Agreed, thought the GT10B sounded universally awful, the B9.ut doesn't have as many tweaks or parameters, but the effects sound much better IMO. I miss my old BP8, sometimes think about picking an old one up on Ebay.

Bassmike62 · #12 04-19-2011, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaftske

So when I first started learning how to play bass I went out and bought a cheap multi effects pedal just to expiriment and see what kind of effects I even liked. I find myself using a variety of effects quite a bit now. Im looking to improve on the quality of my sound and im left with a decision. Should I buy one extremely nice multi effects unit and be done with it or should I buy individual pedals for each effect I use? Just wondering what you guys thought about this, or if you prefer having individual pedals or just one big multi effects pedal?

I went through an identical phase. After toying around for about a year with a Zoom B1, I started buying individual pedals. I hated the whole patch-making process and preferred single pedal tweakability and having more toys to play and nice lights to look at. Haven't looked back since.

gumtownbassman · #13 04-24-2011, 06:12 PM

The GT-10B has been my fav for the last 3 years, as mentioned you really have to spend time to initially get "your sound" since the thing is soooo widely configurable, you can easily miss your sweet spot and end up with a crap sound (as some have found).
Once you have 'your tone' dialed in and know how to use the GT-10B, and use that tone as a template for new effects, it's easy as.
Because the GT-10B has a preamp and cabinet simulation built in, some don't realise that an amp sim is not what you want feeding the GT-10B into the front input of a bass rig (2 preamps in series = yuck !!).
The GT-10B settings are savable to disk, so if you did lose your GT-10B (they are super reliable so it would have to be physicaly destryed), just get another one and upload your settings and you will have an exact clone of your setup.
The advantage of the GT-10B is the Assigns controls, where any setting/knob can be controlled by the Expression pedal (or other pedals), up to nine things can happen at the same time with the Expression pedal control. You effects chains are fully re-configurable too per each (as is every other setting) of the 200 User patches.

That is the advantages i find with MFX over pedals, but that is my opinion, and it works very well for me.

Floyd Eye · #14 04-24-2011, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

How much experience do you have with the high-end Eventide and Fractal Audio machines?

Um, zero.

Swift713 · #15 04-24-2011, 10:52 PM

I think it all depends on how your brain works, how you want to use effects, how huge your budget is etc.

Mark Olson · #16 04-25-2011, 03:03 AM

Like others have said it's down to personal taste... like anything done right digital technology is great when it's done right, not so much when it's done wrong, the same could be said about analog pedals. Me personally, I'm a single effects unit guy, but I only use a handful of effects at any given time, for any gig or session.

aledeville · #17 04-25-2011, 03:33 AM

I have both.
I use the M9 for various things (Reverb, Tremolo, Flanger, Chorus...) and some very specific pedals like the SuperSynth i.e.

The M9 is great, because it's small, has a lot of features and it's really good!

RNV · #18 04-25-2011, 03:34 AM

I've decided to sell off my pedal board and get a Zoom B9.ut because I really need to get out of the quest for the perfect pedal when I really don't even use pedals/effects all that much anyways. I think I may keep my fuzz because it is the sound I want, when I use it. But as far as the other bells and whistles, I don't know enough about them to warrant going out and trying everything I see you other guys boast about. I may wait a few years or if a project comes up that requires the use of many effects before I go back to pedal board. Its just a pointless money sucker right now.