Multi-effect / all-in-one pedals for bass?

[DJWhitJr]

Money is not an issue, I want to optimize for ease of use and flexibility. Great question.

I have the HX Stomp and really like it. The Helix is a little more powerful and has more integrated features like an expression pedal and DI. I would like to have a Helix but probably not worth the extra money for what I do.

There is a little bit of a learning curve but it's really not that bad. A couple youtube videos and you'll be good to go. The PC software program is really easy to use. I wouldn't discount the POD Go either. My guitar player uses one and it sounds good. (I am making the assumption you could use the same bass presets on the Pod Go.)

 

[Ric5]

here's my current pedalboard with the bass pod as part

0 - DOD FX-42B bass EQ
split - split into 4 parallel signals - Rolls passive mixer
1 - Line 6 bass pod
2 - Tech 21 Sansamp YYZ
3 - EBS Billy Sheehan + TC ElectronicsSub N Up
4 - Tech 21 VT Bass DI
combine - 4 parallel signals into 1 signal - Rolls passive mixer
5 - VHT reverb + Echo

then the signal runs into the amp

 

[JohnSmith2]

Another Helix family +1.

my most used board is
Wireless -> HX stomp xl-> line isolator/DI
I also sometimes use the send to my own IEM, and sometimes use the return to receive a monitor mix mixed with my signal
the whole thing is battery powered, which is surprisingly useful.

I also own an HX stomp for an even smaller board, and a helix rack + footboard in my home studio.

I also own 25+ one-off analog and digital pedals I’ve accumulated over the years because I like them, and they certainly have helped me finding sounds that I like, but I hardly ever use them in production contexts at all anymore.

Whether a digital multi can replace a pedalboard for you as a bass player, and which one, depends on your goals/applications.

for me:
-the specific sound I want to hear in my monitors is there, the same, every night
-the specific sound I want to send to the FoH gets sent, the same, every night
-those two sounds can be (and are usually) (very) different
-I never need “that XYZ” - I just need “an XYZ”. I both have the flexibility to design the sounds upfront with that freedom, and the humility to acknowledge the audience will never know or care that the bass player used this particular flanger or chorus or fuzz.
-I never need to design a sound at sound check or mid-show (ie tweak knobs). But I do need two different pre-selected similar sounds in the same family. That’s impractical and flow killing to get from a single pedal with knobs, but trivial with the helix family.
-recording (myself at) practice, rehearsal, and shows is trivially easy
-playing along to stems (and recording it for review, see above) is trivially easy
-MIDI control in/out is trivially easy, especially with the addition of the command center to the stomp line

i have no personal experience with the other big name all-in-one-modelers (kemper, fractal, quad cortex, etc) and have always (perhaps un-informedly) considered the line6 gear more “consumer” than “professional” but honestly it works great and sounds great for me, and the breadth of options for form factor is a real plus.

 

[PollyDahl]

I'm another Zoom b3n user. I've done 50+ gigs with it over the past 3 or so years. For the money it sounds great and setup is very intuitive. I've also owned the Line 6 Stomp and had a chance to A/B it with the Zoom. I disagree that the Stomp sounds head and shoulders better than the b3n. The Zoom more than held its own and is MUCH easier to navigate. The Stomp sounds fantastic, don't get me wrong. It definitely does certain things better than the Zoom, and it should for the cost. I do own a HX Effects for my big board. The b3n is just so convenient to grab for gigs and sounds really good.

Weigh your needs and choose accordingly. Good luck!

 

[singlemalt]

I’ve gone through multiple multis. As of this moment I have both the Zoom B3 and B3n, and a Line 6 HD500x.

All bought used, from great TB members. The B3’s ran about $125, the HD500x $300.

Bang for the buck goes to the Zoom units. Special mention for the easy to use loopers and built in beats. Especially the feature that lets me start a beat and counts in the beginning of the loop. The USB editors are easy and intuitive.

I haven’t had much luck with the Line6 looper, but with any looper, it takes a fair amount of practice to become fluent.

Bonus for the older B3 having a DI and the option to run on double A batteries. It’s built like a tank.

The Line 6 has tons more editing and power. This comes at the cost of actually reading the manual and getting into YouTube how to videos. Is all that stuff cool? You bet. Have I the patience to master all this wizardly stuff? Not so far, and it’s been four years.

I still have my Smoothie compressor. None of the comps in any of these units comes close. The comps are usable.

Right now the HD500X is sitting in the main squeeze position.

The newer products are looking very cool, but I suspect the architecture remains mostly the same, with the big improvements being in display and controls. And I do love colored lights and touch screens.

The question is how big a bang for the buck do I get if I sell multiple multis to buy a shiny new bauble?

 

[JohnnyBottom]

If you are just looking for flexible eq, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, compressor, hpf, lpf, tuner, notch filter, free future upgrades ... maybe a Bergantino BAmp will do it. You also get a 700 watt power amp included for free.

 

[SteveCS]

Are we talking $, $$ or $$$$?

Money is not an issue, I want to optimize for ease of use and flexibility. Great question.

...
so to try and somewhat future proof myself I just got a Helix LT
...

So the answer to my first question is $$$. I don't know where you are getting the LT, but here in the UK the LT is over half as much again over the price of the XL (£949 vs £599). That said, the LT looks like a top-notch unit that will see you well for quite some time.

 

[Derek Williams]

If you are just looking for flexible eq, overdrive, distortion, fuzz, compressor, hpf, lpf, tuner, notch filter, free future upgrades ... maybe a Bergantino BAmp will do it. You also get a 700 watt power amp included for free.

Or wait for the Studio B. No idea when it will be released though.

 

[PhatBottomBass1]

OK...let's say that you really want easy to use, not a bunch o' stuff you'll never use and you don't want to open an artery. It's you, a P Bass and a couple of cables (may have an amp, but may not) and aren't bent on the best studio quality production available on this or any other planet...

This thing sounds good with the Comp, Amp and has a functional tuner with a DI, through output and an effects loop. The effects are not going to stack up against Strymon, Iron Ether or Source Audio. But, the Octave tracks in the upper register well and the Chorus can add a bit to the sound. The Q, it makes Filter sounds, but that's not my bag anyway. It's well made, too. Sturdy! (Switch Caps added - 9v)

This is an uncompensated endorsement.

 

[JCW308]

This is me 100%.

BUT the HX Stomp is not as intuitive to tweak live as a bunch of pedals are. You have to menu surf the thing. It is great if you dial in your settings at home so all you have to do at the gig is step on switches.

Why would you tweak during a live gig anyway? HX Stomp is dead simple. I mean, it doesn't get any easier really.

 

[darwin-bass]

Why would you tweak during a live gig anyway? HX Stomp is dead simple. I mean, it doesn't get any easier really.

Because during rehearsal or warmup I find that something needs to be adjusted. Perhaps volume between two patches isn't quite right or I want more/less lows. Need turn on the noise gate or tweak the HPF setting.

After some time, the patched do tend to settle out but especially in the early days, you'll be bending over and menu surfing once you get the HX Stomp into live use.

 

[Jeremy Jones]

If you are looking to tinker and have High quality sound I would highly recommend the Headrush MX5. The interface is very simple but there are alot of option to pick from and that can and lead to alot of tone chasing. That being said they are starting to put out some really nice bass related things for it.


If you want the Prebaked tones with out much tinkering then i would suggest the Zoom B3(I have as a backup.).... I assume the B6 is the same. Just a side note I really was leaning toward the B6 versus the Headrush but form factor played a big role in me getting the MX5.

 

[mistermikev]

"money is not an issue" - well I took that approach w my setup anyway lol. I use the axefx3. It only has 8 bass models in it... but it is so "tweakable" that it is pretty easy to wrangle any amp model into a bass amp. also, it has 8-mono or 4-stereo sets of ins/outs so I've got an ADA MB1, Ampeg SVTIIP, and a few other tube preamps wired into it. Before the axefx I had been using my "prev generation" line6 device for bass (I'm a bass + guitar player) and was pretty happy w that. Having played the helix native... L6 def caters to the bass players better than fractal (lots more models). On the downside for L6... I always had issues running tube pres w them due to headroom. the axefx has some really good i/o conversion, and seemingly higher headroom that has made working with external gear much more enjoyable.
Honesty... if you want a more "plug and play" device the helix is probably less fuss, and is a great device. you could spend $100 and get helix native vst just to see if you'd like it. all patches are transferable to the helix hardware. just my two cents.

 

[amper]

Sorry for the annoying question, but for folks who've experimented with the Line 6 / Kempler / Neural DSP, etc all-in-one boxes.


Is there one that stands out for bass? I play mostly r&b/soul/funk and rock in a band, I don't have many single pedals yet, and I'd like to just buy one thing, configure it with a couple of tones and leave it alone. Not interesting in tweaking out, or doing my own IRs, etc.

Just want solid vanilla effects with some good amps specifically for bass? Any sites or videos or recommendations you all could make?

Boss GT-1000Core. (or the full GT-1000 for more switches)

 

[JCW308]

Because during rehearsal or warmup I find that something needs to be adjusted. Perhaps volume between two patches isn't quite right or I want more/less lows. Need turn on the noise gate or tweak the HPF setting.

After some time, the patched do tend to settle out but especially in the early days, you'll be bending over and menu surfing once you get the HX Stomp into live use.

With the HX Stomp there is no menu surfing. A 3 year old could do it. It really couldn't be easier.

 

[JCW308]

Boss GT-1000Core. (or the full GT-1000 for more switches)

GT-1000CORE for the win for bass. Absolutely (and I've tried a LOT of them!)

 

[PollyDahl]

With the HX Stomp there is no menu surfing. A 3 year old could do it. It really couldn't be easier.

All of that is objectively untrue.

 

[JCW308]

All of that is objectively untrue.

Dead simple. A monkey could do it while playing guitar at the same time. GT-1000CORE is dead simple, too. Maybe a smarter monkey for that. Any human could easily handle either.

 

[groove pump]

Sorry for the annoying question, but for folks who've experimented with the Line 6 / Kempler / Neural DSP, etc all-in-one boxes.


Is there one that stands out for bass? I play mostly r&b/soul/funk and rock in a band, I don't have many single pedals yet, and I'd like to just buy one thing, configure it with a couple of tones and leave it alone. Not interesting in tweaking out, or doing my own IRs, etc.

Just want solid vanilla effects with some good amps specifically for bass? Any sites or videos or recommendations you all could make?

What I'm learning from my adventures with a few of these different units is that I don't have an especially clear picture of what I need or want from an all-in-one. I'm figuring it out as I go.

With my band adding more funky stuff to our catalog, I thought that I'd like to have some good synth sounds on hand. But when I picked up a Source Audio C4, that one really kicked my butt. It needs to plug into my computer for me to rearrange settings or make significant adjustments to patches. While its potential is enormous, that sort of thing is apparently very much not for me right now.

I'm leaning toward an all-in-one that's got different useful sounds and settings ready to go, but I want to also be able to make adjustments without much fuss. I know that there are several decent rigs around, but I don't need to get something that will let me conquer the world and also brew me a decent espresso. I can do that one on my own

I picked up a Line 6 Pod Go thinking (or not?) that I could have fun with that single gizmo both for noodling on guitar and also to cook up some useful bass sounds. This might eventually turn out to be the case - I'm liking a lot of the guitar sounds among the presets and these folks seem to have packed a LOT of goodies in there, but my learning curve with this unit has been rather steep. I'll need to take more time to get to know its in's and out's when things slow down for me in the late fall.

Grabbing the Pod Go also made me realize that I should have gotten what I knew that I actually wanted. I just picked up a Zoom B6.

This multi board is here for the bass I've already found a few sounds that I'm looking forward to using with the band and I'm also cooking up a few of my own patches with no fuss to speak of. I'll definitely have this with me at our gig next weekend, even if I only use it for only two or three sounds at this point. Not intimidating, not so complex for me that I have no idea what to do with all of it, and remarkably easy to hopscotch around through different functions using both the knobs and the touch screen.

So the B6 seems to be just about my speed and I'd recommend it if it looks like an appealing rig for you. Some folks apparently want a unit that's even more powerful that this in terms of being able to cram all sorts of effects, amps, and cab sim's into one patch. But for me, it's plenty and then some. Easy to use right away with almost no guidance? Yes. If the B6 looks like a lot more than you can use, maybe grab their B3 or a MS-60 Multistomp.

 

[SteveCS]

With the HX Stomp there is no menu surfing. A 3 year old could do it. It really couldn't be easier.

It might not be menu-surfing in the strictest sense of the word, but there is, of necessity, a degree of hardware surfing. There has to be, given the depth of functionality and the paucity of the hardware interface.

2 View modes
4 Play modes
Multiple patches and banks
Multiple effect parameters across multiple pages
Multiple global, MIDI and USB settings
All accessed via 5 knobs, 4 buttons and a complex set of footswitch actions ('touch', 'press', 'step', 'hold') and combinations (e.g. FS1+FS2 or FS2+FS3) that change according to the current mode.

There is nothing wrong with the implementation, and all multi-effects have had (and largely solved) similar problems since the dawn of time (I still use my 40-year-old QuadraVerb GT), but these things are never truly simple.