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Ease of live use multis

B

Bob Coldwell

May 8, 2015
1,170
1,039
70
Duluth, Minnesota
#1
I foresee the need for a very small and fairly simple board for certain shows, and it occurs to me that most multi-FX units have inconvenient preset select setups.

Am I missing something? All the touted Zoom stuff, for example. You have to either bend down and manually switch banks or scroll up and down. Same with Line 6 and Digitech, as far as I can tell. On TB, people rave about the Zoom B3 or MS, and then add "not great for live use".

I know there are "get-arounds", some of which I've incorporated in the past. But why don't more multis have a few foot switches to switch banks? Some of Boss' discontinued models (eg, GT-6B) have this. But I think that unit has a bit more stuff on it than I need.

My (slowly growing) main board includes a Boss ME-20B, to which I've added the FS-6 switcher, so I can change banks more quickly. I've also written preset #1 of each bank as "clean" for a quick bypass.

BUT for certain shows, I want a smaller, cheaper pedal. I've considered putting together a mini board of all stomp boxes - Mooer pedals, for example. But that can add up to $500 in no time.

What else is out there that fits the bill?
 
#4
though I really dig the Zoom B3, I found it a pain for live changes due to the 3 button format. I have been gigging the G5n ($249US) lately instead. The upside is that it allows for mor effects slots with more switches for improved live navigation. The downside is a more limited selection of amps and effects, and it really is a guitar multifx, although I'm happy with the results on bass. Definitely a gap in the market IMO.
 
#5
@Bob Coldwell It really all depends on being able to plan ahead and program pedals for your needs. I am making a small board that is a B3 for single effects running into a MS100Bt set up in patch mode with a sequence of patches that will work for performance. The MS100Bt will have any comp/eq/ampsim/reverb settings as well as a few special creations set up in a sequence geared for performance usually for a whole song. The B3 is used for single efx or combinations that get used during a song and I will have a bypass pedal. I can run both pedals with a battery for an easy smack down play and run and a passive DI. Luckily that gig calls for clean sounds or I would be tempted to add some choice dirty stuff, but if something does come up I can live with the dirt on the B3 for a gig or 2.

In the past I did something similar with the B2.1u and B2 where the sequence for performance would be main sound, add chorus, octave up with delay, main sound, gritty resonant envelope, octaver + octave up, main sound, gritty phase and flanger, main sound detune, main sound. This way with one or 2 stomps I could easily navigate sounds
 
#6
You're right. It's about determining needs and planning accordingly. And I understand that to make a compact, inexpensive pedal, designers have to minimize the number of buttons.

On my "big board", I run a Zoom G1on from "guitar" loop on my Unibass. I only implement 10 presets that I scroll to. And I can bypass the whole thing with the "off" button on the Akai.

For the mini board, I want to really have quick access and don't want tons of extra stuff that I don't use.

So ... I'm still deciding which route to take.
 
#8
I don't have an issue with the MS series live. I have a couple of MS-60B's and use one for practice / small area gigs, and I guess it depends on if you have to switch effects during a song, but it's pretty simple as long as you keep it simple. I think I had up to five different settings I would cycle through, and planned it out so that a sound I need was max 2 steps away. Now, I have it down 3 sounds, so no real issue changing effects in a hurry.
 
#10
With the MS series it goes cycles serially through the alphabet with as many of those as you need. I suppose there is a limit, but I never had more than 6 settings saved. If you have 15 different settings, then I would say the MS series is not for you, unless it performed a small number of specific effects . Now, if you wanted you could set it up to where you have the effects programmed in series somehow. Anyway, yes, on of the settings would be clean, no effects to act as bypass.
 
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#11
Bob Coldwell said:
You're right. It's about determining needs and planning accordingly. And I understand that to make a compact, inexpensive pedal, designers have to minimize the number of buttons.

On my "big board", I run a Zoom G1on from "guitar" loop on my Unibass. I only implement 10 presets that I scroll to. And I can bypass the whole thing with the "off" button on the Akai.

For the mini board, I want to really have quick access and don't want tons of extra stuff that I don't use.

So ... I'm still deciding which route to take.
Click to expand...
I use a line6 m5. I added the preset bank switch.

Regardless, it's super easy to scroll through the presets between songs. If you want patch 23 for a verse and then 7 for a chorus and back to 23, it's horrible.
 
#12
waveman said:
With the MS series it goes cycles serially through the alphabet with as many of those as you need. I suppose there is a limit, but I never had more than 6 settings saved. If you have 15 different settings, then I would say the MS series is not for you, unless it performed a small number of specific effects . Now, if you wanted you could set it up to where you have the effects programmed in series somehow. Anyway, yes, on of the settings would be clean, no effects to act as bypass.
Click to expand...

Right. As stated above, I use the G1on, and it operates the same way (although you can switch banks by hand). I use ten guitar presets with that, so it's all up and down on bank A.
 
#14
Bob Coldwell said:
Am I missing something? All the touted Zoom stuff, for example. You have to either bend down and manually switch banks or scroll up and down. Same with Line 6 and Digitech, as far as I can tell. On TB, people rave about the Zoom B3 or MS, and then add "not great for live use".
Click to expand...

It depends on how much switching. If you need to turn different fx on and off during a song as is possible with a full pedal board, then yes, I think a lot of multi's will struggle with that. This comparison is the basis for most of the "not great for live" arguments I've seen. However, if you need different effect tones for different tunes, Zoom's are manageable. I've been gigging an MS-60b since it first came out and find it does very well in live use. I can switch quickly and easily among my presets, and even have some tunes with multiple effects patches...I just have to plan the scroll order for those. It quickly reaches a limit, but a fair trade off for having everything in a single unit, if that is more advantageous for the gig.
 
#18
I'm reconsidering the B1on, even tough I think writing patches on it should be simpler than it is.

How do you bypass on this unit (I'm pretty sure you have to hit two buttons to go into tuner mode. Is that right?)


And when you return to patches mode, does it return to the patch you were on, or go back to A0?
 
#19
Bob Coldwell said:
I'm reconsidering the B1on, even tough I think writing patches on it should be simpler than it is.

How do you bypass on this unit (I'm pretty sure you have to hit two buttons to go into tuner mode. Is that right?)


And when you return to patches mode, does it return to the patch you were on, or go back to A0?
Click to expand...


Tuner can be set to either mute or bypass. It returns to the patch you were on.
The biggest problem I have with the B1on is the lack of tap tempo. (I think the UI is terrible, but I'm working on that!)
 

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