How was your experience with a multi effect pedal?

[micahwc]

Depends on the pedal. Cheap multi-effects sounded cheap.

helix replaced all my amps and my entire pedal board for both bass, electric and acoustic guitar. Stomp should be similar. The biggest downside of the helix/stomp is the learning curve and the tuner. Tuner works okay, my turbotuner is much nicer. I’m not as enamored with the B7K clone as I was with my Alpha/Omega but there are plenty of other good options in the helix/stomp.

for bass, a stomp would probably be fine. If you also want to add electric or acoustic guitar I would save up for a Helix LT, as the added DSP let’s you use more effects.

my bass patches typically have an amp, a compressor, an overdrive, a fuzz, and a sub octave effect in them. I play in venues with good sub woofers so adding a tiny bit of sub octave really helps thicken the sound.

I am very happy with the Helix Lt because it fits my needs very well. I sold my Rumble 500 stack after using the Helix for a while because all the venues I play have PAs, and it’s much easier to plug an XLR into a soundboard then it is to move and set up an amp.

there will likely be differences in tone between the stomp models and the pedals/amps their modeled after; realistically no one in the audience will be able to tell in a live situation. Also, just because they are slightly different, doesn’t mean they are bad. The SVT amp model isn’t perfectly identical to a real SVT, but it still sounds great.

One benefit of the stomp is that if you don’t like it, you can make most of your money back in the used market. There is demand for them.

 

[BassDad1964]

I have a zoom b3n. Its great for chorus effect and the EQ's are pretty decent. The octaves blow chunks Delays are ok. I have considered switching to just a pre and a compressor and an envelope and an octave. It comes pre loaded with about 150 preset patches of which I probably use 3 after I went in and tweaked them HOWEVER, after I made my changes those three are patches are pretty much the bomb. I am seriously considering just adding the compressor and a good filter then I would be good. I guess that's no help to you. To sum up, i sometimes want to ditch it and yet I cant seem to cut the cord.

 

[StereoPlayer]

I use a Roland GP-8 and a FC-100 footswitch selector. I’ve used it for years and years. I does everything I need and more.

 

[Geogio]

That multi effects pedals for me don't have enough on the fly capability for a live show, unless staged and preset.... but that's confining, and the presets drive the gig.

I was on one of those harbor cruise dinner Yachts one time and they had a band and the guitarist had a Quadraverb (I think), and he just clicked through the entire set and it really did work for that programmed of a set.

 

[Meaculpa]

I sold all my analog pedals long ago since ive got my Boss gt1b. Then i trade it for a Line 6 Hx Effects, then a POD Go and nowadays im using a Nux Melvin Lee Davis Digital Preamp.

 

[FatherTrucker]

Stomp is basically my rig. My board goes wireless-tuner-stomp. One send goes to a di box with a split I can run to my amp if I happen to have it onstage (very seldom these days). Took a bit to find my tones at first but now that I'm dialed in I'm super happy with it. It does all the things I would have asked of a bunch of individual pedals and a preamp.

 

[Iristone]

Zoom and Vox have that fizzy, digital aliasing noise on their drive/amp effects. Zoom has some cool modulations, though.
Hotone makes nice-sounding drives and modulations, but my Xtomp has broken on me twice, and I'm not quite ready to shell out for an Ampero.

 

[Road Hat]

I still have a top notch pedalboard, but I'm using the Boss ME-50B now exclusively. It's so easy and convenient. Everything is knobs and switches, zero menus to scroll through. The pedal function is awesome, and gets a ton of fun sounds. Bread and butter is Compressor always on, Reverb always on, Distortion as needed, and Octave Up functionality for any solos, etc. Sounds as good as the pedals on my board. I only wish I'd done it before I spent all the dough on so many pedals!

 

[SteveCS]

Zoom and Vox have that fizzy, digital aliasing noise on their drive/amp effects
...

Certainly true of the Multi-Stomp range, to the point where several models were as good as useless. But no longer true, IME, with the B3n. Of course some of the worst offenders, such as the high-gain amps (bad) and acoustic simulator (terrible), are not included in the B3n.

 

[primussucks9126]

I used to gig regularly with a board worth over $3000.

It got stolen. I used a bunch of replacements and was always able to get a pretty good tone, but decided to try the Zoom B3n on a whim.

I was blown away by how easily it replaced my board. I went back to individual pedals a few times, and some nuances might get lost in translation, but regardless of if I'm using cheap multis, boutique pedals, fancier modelers, I still get compliments on my tone all the time.

I still regularly gig the B3n because it's so simple and convenient and easy to change on the fly. I also use/have used a Zoom G11, Headrush MX5, Boss GT-1000, Digitech BP-8, and they've all been great.

I prefer the Zoom products because their functionality is most similar to an actual pedal board.

I've basically learned that nothing is perfect, and you just gotta learn to use your tools to the best of your/their ability.


Also, re: digital fizziness: I find that what I personally identified as some type of DAC artifact or whatever, is still present in analog pedals and tube amps (I noticed it when dudes would compare real tube amps to high end modelers). I just never focused on it. But when I expected to hear fizz, I couldn't escape it. Maybe there's something else I'm not hearing that other guys claim they are, but I found it to be largely in my head.

Same with "tone suck" I've heard reported with the B3n. I thought I heard it, but it just turned out that the coily cable I used was so high capacitance that it ate my highs. Swapped cables and there was no issue.

 

[SLPimp]

Have owned HX Stomp and finally settled on the HC Effects. I primarily use it for utility pedals (hi/lo pass, noise gate, EQ, compressor) and it earns its keep in those pedals alone.

 

[mrcbass]

I got a Digitech BP3000 when I first started playing. It's probably fairly primitive compared to current options (I haven't explored current options). I had fun with it; something like 75 preset effects + another ~75 slots for custom, manual settings. But long term, I didn't care for it for several reasons.

First, there were limitations on which effects I could combine.
Second, and the biggie for me, the unit has three pedals. They are too close together and whenever I used the unit as a stomp, I often hit multiple pedals at once which usually activated the looper, which was always a PITA to disengage.

The unit never made it to the stage.

I now use a handful of pedals, mostly a a preamp.

 

[ThunderV]

I really want them to work.....most of the time they are a bit noisy.......my soundman is a bit of a "noise nazi". I keep things pretty simple actually. Maybe a little bit of dirt to define my tone......I do respect his threshold though.

 

[CryingBass]

I was lucky enough to score a Roland VB-99 years ago which I run basses like a Warwick 6 with a VG?? midi pickup system, a LiteWave fretless, or a Godin Ultra 5 hex thru.

I am a hobbyist only and I would never take the VB-99 to a gig ( although I believe Julie Slick did in the past ). Too big, too dear to me, but it does sound great. The Chicken Violin Toaster patch is my favorite

For everything else, Moog's and several other discrete ( and typically analog ) pedals thank you...

 

[InkCow]

I have a multifx on my board, but my general policy is to limit it to sounds that I don’t use explicitly for certain songs and get a dedicated pedal for that effect (although I would deviate from this if the multifx does the trick well enough). I had a TC Electronic M300 in my rack, but I hardly ever used anything on it but compression. I had a few modulation and reverb patches, but rarely used them in anger. So when I decided to ditch the rack rig, I figured I’d just use my cheapo Valeton GP100 to fill in any one off effects I might need and it’s been fine for that.

I’ve never really had any luck just using effects on it alone (stomp box mode), but the amp modelers are surprisingly good on it, so for those sorts of sounds I just defer to the GP100 for the whole of the stack.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a bypass and, depending on the patch, can be a little artifacty (and the output levels are all over the shop). It also sucks all life out of my preferred preamp, so I have it on its own effects loop so I can bypass it altogether. Although the modulations and reverbs don’t sound as good as the M300’s, in a live setting nobody is really going to hear much difference. Similarly, the envelope filter isn’t great but it handles my needs in a pinch.

Honestly, I wouldn’t hesitate using it as a fly rig if the occasion called, but I wouldn’t really want it to be my only option: the menu futzing is tedious, to say the least.

 

[bigthemat]

I used a Zoom b3 for years. Spent a lot of time getting a lot of great tones dialed in, but, it was still lacking in some of the dirt sounds. I went out and bought a couple pedals to use with it, and then it eventually died and I am now using all individual pedals.

Overall, I really liked the unit. Got great compliments on my tone, easy to DI, pretty rugged and reliable (until it started dying). Overall I'm pretty happy with my tone, and think I prefer it from my clean tones on the Zoom but miss some of the fun sounds I could get on my Zoom. I don't like my current Chorus, but LOVED the chorus on the Zoom. And stuff like reverb and delay that I don't need really but I do like to have just in case

 

[micguy]

If I was someone who toured, where I did the same set over and over, where I could program everything ahead of time, and just increment my way through the set, I might be interested in a multi-effect something. But I do church gigs - never the same set twice, I don't ever have more than one or two "effects" on the board - the bulk of it is gain and eq staging, along with a DI and a mixer for my in ears. The one or two things I might step on during a set, I will often change my mind about when and where it fits (or even if it fits) as we go through a rehearsal and run through, which means I need a simple, very obvious user interface....which is not the strength of multi effect units.

For now, they're a curiosity, but not something that lends itself to my use case.

 

[Altitude]

I used a Boss GT-10B for years. Mostly excellent except for terrible synth patches. Big and heavy.

Zoom B3n for about 6 years now. I find it quite acceptable for my modest needs, which are a clean patch, a dirt patch, an octave effect, an autowah effect, and a little synth here and there. I’d love an HX Stomp but honestly can’t rationalize the extra cost.

 

[ThudThudThud]

I think the biggest problem with nearly all multis is the 'presets.'
When you buy a single pedal there is never a preset. You dial it in to your own taste, or to your rig/bass, and you add other pedals the same way. Eventually your board is dialed in, and your gain staging is on point.

With multis there's nearly always four different things going on in each preset that you'd need to tweak all of the settings for all of the effects to make your sound. It takes a LOT of tweaking to make a from-scratch setting, and many give up before this happens.
The 'celebrity endorser' presets are the worst for this. You'll never sound like x player, so even if you use the preset it won't be right for you.

I like multis in theory, and have put a lot of hours into programming them, but sometimes they're confusing.
Every manufacturer has its own, proprietary way of shuffling through. It can get tedious (up, up, left, down, hold, tap, up, up, up.... congratulations, you've entered the settings menu...).
If you take the single pedal mentality it can go a long way. If you're adjusting presets? That way madness lies.

 

[4stringfarley]

Jack of all trades, master of none. They're ok for figuring out sort of sound you're going for, once you under stand that get separate pedals that do it better.