Pandora pwns all my pedals... sort of...

[bassybill]

For a while now my signal chain has been like this:

Bass > Boss NS2 > Digitech BSW (as an octaver, mainly) > EBS Multicomp > Sansamp Prog. BDDI > Boss CEB-3 bass chorus (rarely used) > Markbass rig (210 combo, plus 115 extension cab for most gigs). All the stomp boxes are on a Boss board. For tuning I’ve been using a little Korg CA-30 tuner, velcroed to the front of the combo, which does the job fine.

But in my never ending search to get as lightweight and portable as possible, I’ve been experimenting with a Korg Toneworks Pandora PX4-D, with the optional extra wallwart, to replace my pedalboard. It seems to be working out pretty well. I’ve got it stuck to the top of the combo and on Saturday I’ll be doing my first gig without the pedalboard to see how it goes ("Boooo…" say all the effects forum aficionados).

Here are the advantages and disadvantages as I see them at the moment…

1. It’s a LOT smaller and lighter than the board, and it fits in my gigbag (duh). I’ve got it stuck nicely to the top of the combo. Yes, Velcro again, what would we do without it?
2. It replaces the Boss NS-2 for both muting and as a noise gate. It also replaces the tuner (and it’s backlit, hooray).
3. It does the sub-octave thing well enough for the numbers where I use it, although it doesn’t track quite as well as my BSW.
4. The compressor works but isn’t in the same league as the Multicomp. I don’t need to use it that much in a live situation anyway.
5. The amp modelling gives it a good range of useable tones, but occasionally the BDDI can’t be beat in that respect – and I’ll still have to take that along when I need a good quality DI box.
6. The other effects on the Pandora range from the good to the bizarre. The chorus is just okay rather than great (but see above). The synth, overdrive, delay and wah options are nice though (as are some of the others) and may get a bit of use.
7. No foot switching. Not a big issue for me as I tend to change between numbers rather than during.
8. Like any effects unit, some patches are a bit noisy, but it should be fine for stage use, although I wouldn’t use it for high quality recording (but then I don’t use my pedal chain in that situation, either).
9. Some effects combinations aren’t possible. For example, you can’t use compression and the octaver at the same time (at least, I can’t work out how to do this – please correct me if I’m wrong). Again, not a big issue for me. EDIT I figured out that you can have the compressor on and then use the pitch shifter (separate effect to the octaver) to drop down 12 semitones. Works okay.
10. The basic sounds I’m getting seem excellent to me overall, and I can use the drum patterns when our drummer gets drunk.

Overall, I think I’ve made a good move here. As it goes in the gig bag, it’s effectively one less thing to carry if I leave the pedalboard at home. Maybe it’s not something for the tone/FX purists here and I won’t be selling any of my gear straight away, but as a useful bit of convenient gadgetry that makes the whole gigging experience a bit easier I think it's going to be a hit.

[Nyarlathotep]

Boo-urns

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by DanielTulip

Boo-urns

Yeah, I had a feeling this wouldn't be a popular move with some of the stomp box lovers around here. Oh well, it's suiting me at the moment - I'll just have to wait to see how the gig goes on Saturday.

[SpankyPants]

Dan was a Multi man for years...

[ga_edwards]

I've kinda done the same thing to make my setup as small and as lightweight as possible.

I never had boutique pedals, but was tired of carrying a somewhat heavy pedalboard around. Esp as I only use a few sounds! I don't drive, so have to use public transport and anything I can do to reduce weight is a bonus.

I've had a PX4D for a year or so and it's great for home practice, but it's not tweakable enough or controlable for live use for me.

So I got the Korg AX3B a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty much the same sounds, plus a few more, more editable and a couple of built in footswitches.

Yes, some of the sounds aren't in the same league as dedicated stomp boxes, but they are pretty close. But I actually think the compression and amp/drive models walk all over my old Boss GT6B.

It's incredibly light, fits in the pocket of my LMII case, works on batteries (handy for the odd short gig with quick setup/breakdown) or standard boss 9v mains, so I can still use my loom cable when I go wireless that carries signal and power from the back of the stage. Only thing with it, is it's plastic, so I'm not sure how it will stand up to the rigours of a rowdy gig.

This has got the multifx ball rolling again though. I was never happy with the one's I've used in the past, a couple of old zooms and the GT6B, they always lacked in certain areas. However, I think technology has moved on somewhat in recent years, and they can now get very close to the sound of dedicated stomp boxes. I also miss having indiviual pedals to turn on/off each effect rather than just patch up and down, so to this end I'm looking very hard at the new Zoom B9.1u. On paper, I think it does everything I want it to do. If the sounds quality lives up to my expectations, I may just get one! Yeah, it's bigger, but still less than my pedalboard!

[René_Julien]

The Pandora is one of the coolest multi-effects there is.

If you don't change effects during a song, this is great, you'll just need to slect the right preset before each song.

It depends on what you need. If you want the most common effects available in just one unit, and you just want effects used sparringly to enhance your sound,.. this is the way to go.

Unless you rely on some great "boutique" pedals to get you an over the top sound, this is more than enough for the working bassist.
You still can use some single pedal alongside the Pandora, if you really need or love a certain pedal.


Can you use headphones on the Pandora well?
Would be great for silent practice also.


Congratulations one your fine piece of equipment.

[TaySte_2000]

The Pandora sounds great for headphone practice but once you get it gig loud you realise how much hiss is there and tbh how cheap it sounds.

Also has the same issues as all multi's where you can't change settings on the fly if something is too loud or quiet.

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally Posted by bassybill

Yeah, I had a feeling this wouldn't be a popular move with some of the stomp box lovers around here. Oh well, it's suiting me at the moment - I'll just have to wait to see how the gig goes on Saturday.

Actually it was a sarcastic comment based one you figuring that the peeps here would type such a thing. As Spanks points out:

Originally Posted by SpankyPants

Dan was a Multi man for years...

And its true. Even if (thanks to MysticBoo hiding my body) I managed to eventually wake up and kick the **** out of my POD person "clone". He had it coming, that bastard *shakes fist*

On a more serious note tho, I hope all goes well at the gig. It'll be interesting to see what that little unit can do!

Oh, and another thing: The above post will sound cooler if you read it with an english accent, cus thats the accent running through my head as I type this. Blimy!

[lug]

Originally Posted by C'thulhu

The Pandora is one of the coolest multi-effects there is.

If you don't change effects during a song, this is great, you'll just need to slect the right preset before each song.

It depends on what you need. If you want the most common effects available in just one unit, and you just want effects used sparringly to enhance your sound,.. this is the way to go.

Unless you rely on some great "boutique" pedals to get you an over the top sound, this is more than enough for the working bassist.
You still can use some single pedal alongside the Pandora, if you really need or love a certain pedal.


Can you use headphones on the Pandora well?
Would be great for silent practice also.


Congratulations one your fine piece of equipment.

The main function of the pandora is to be a headphone amp and that's why I recomend them over most other economical multi-effects units. Even if you decide to move on to discretes, you still have a great headphone amp with a gazillion drum patterns built in. Great for noodling and writing stuff.

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by lug

The main function of the pandora is to be a headphone amp and that's why I recomend them over most other economical multi-effects units. Even if you decide to move on to discretes, you still have a great headphone amp with a gazillion drum patterns built in. Great for noodling and writing stuff.

I tried an older version of the Pandora. It belonged to a friend (bassist), why attended a rehearsal of my former band.
I tested it out on my big TE rig with 2 4x10" cabs.
Just some patches with subtle effected signal, and the sound quality was amazing. (My main effect overdrive, therefore I would use a single pedal to my likings.)
I never tried it at a gig though.
Nor did I tried it for private practice.

I knew a guitarist who used the guitar version (at gigs) and his sound was as good as other guitar effects.
Might be just my opinion though.

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by DanielTulip

The above post will sound cooler if you read it with an English accent, cus thats the accent running through my head as I type this. Blimey!

I read everything with an English accent!

[bassybill]

Well, I've done a few gigs with this little gadget stuck to the top of my Markbass setup and it's working really well.

PROS - tuner, mute switch, noise gate, wide range of useable tones and FX all in one little box. I actually only use about three settings in a typical set. Most of the time it's on bypass, but I have a thick sort of tubey emulation in there that's quite nice, a zingy scooped slap tone and a suboctave thing that works well in a couple of numbers. I'm not using more than about a tenth of the features it actually has, but those I am using have turned out to be just what I was after.

CONS - Predictably, it's noisy as hell on some settings, but this isn't noticeable in a loud live band situation. I wouldn't think of using it for any serious recording work though, only for what I call "doodling". Also, the construction is okay but I don't think it would take abuse all that well - again, not a problem for me as I tend to baby all my gear anyway.

So, overall, it does the job I wanted it to do - a portable, versatile solution for general gig use. 8/10.