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If you could only have one pedal...

It's really a not an option to have only one pedal, what's the use of limiting yourself that way? I want at least a compressor, a tuner, an overdrive and a chorus or phaser.

If I could have only one pedal it would have to be the tuner, it's the only pedal I really, absolutely must have. Or I'd cheat and go with the Zoom MS-60B multieffect.

My other pedals are for fun and for added flavouring; which one I need most depends on what songs we're playing. If I really had to name one I'd maybe choose an overdrive (currently either Carl Martin Bassdrive or Solid Gold FX Beta) or a phaser (Empress or EHX Small Stone Nano) to have more than one sound available for different covers.
 
My line 6 m5. Lately i get all my dirt from my sans amp (which is not a pedal) so the m5 is the pedal i use most. It has just about everything. In all honesty, the Pitch shifting isn't as good as my new bass whammy, and the dirt stuff is basically unusable, but it has a tuner and basically every other effect i can think of. Great delays, great reverbs, nice chorus and modulation. It's also perfect for replacing pedals like phasers and Flangers that take up real-estate on your board but probably dont get used a lot.
 
Does my Line6 BassPodXT Live count? The effects are solid however the amp modeling is where it really shines. They're a bit complex for most people, which is why I believe they never really took off. Running straight to the console or FOH is the trick to maximizing the modeling quality. Of course it works in front of an amp but the inherent voicing in the amp/cab generally make the models less accurate.
 
EHX Qballs.

Killer envelope filter, excellent vintage analog synth tones with the built-in distortion working with the filter, can be a cool and versatile dirt pedal when the distortion is on and the sweep is fixed at various frequencies, can be set as a clean boost, can be used as a wah with an expression pedal, and the fixed filter frequencies work great as a tone shaper for clean and affected tones.
 
EHX Qballs.

Killer envelope filter, excellent vintage analog synth tones with the built-in distortion working with the filter, can be a cool and versatile dirt pedal when the distortion is on and the sweep is fixed at various frequencies, can be set as a clean boost, can be used as a wah with an expression pedal, and the fixed filter frequencies work great as a tone shaper for clean and affected tones.
This one could be the killer... If it had PRESETS. Absolutely useless alive - just one wrong touch - and you f be angry.
 
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This one could be the killer... If it had PRESETS. Absolutely useless alive - just one wrong touch - and you f be angry.
I don't doubt that, although I'd imagine some folks make it work live. It's a pretty popular filter, so I assume it's not used only in the studio.

Having said that, I'm a home studio guy, so it absolutely kills for me. If they made a pro or deluxe version with presets, a level control, and the distortion pot on the outside (I got mine modded with a level control and the dist. pot on the outside...those mods are extremely useful!), I don't think I'd ever buy another filter, except maybe for fun. I would certainly never need another filter pedal.