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

[Lesfunk]

Here’s my personal situation
I started my own thread then realized it’s redundancy so I’ll participate here.

Ok, I’m going digital
All my excellent analog D.I. Preamps and effect pedals are up for sale
I know there’s a million threads on these units and quite frankly it’s exhausting digging and digging through them for info specific to my situation.

My application is live performance. Direct to mixer with in ears and occasional amp use.
My most used effects are mutron micro-tron4, diamond bass comp , mxr phaser and octave.

I have it pretty narrowed to the Line 6 Pod Go and the Zoom B6.
now for opinions and experience in application.
Sounds?
Quality of presets?
Ease of programming?
Connectivity?
Features

 

[Derek Williams]

Here’s my personal situation
I started my own thread then realized it’s redundancy so I’ll participate here.

Ok, I’m going digital
All my excellent analog D.I. Preamps and effect pedals are up for sale
I know there’s a million threads on these units and quite frankly it’s exhausting digging and digging through them for info specific to my situation.

My application is live performance. Direct to mixer with in ears and occasional amp use.
My most used effects are mutron micro-tron4, diamond bass comp , mxr phaser and octave.

I have it pretty narrowed to the Line 6 Pod Go and the Zoom B6.
now for opinions and experience in application.
Sounds?
Quality of presets?
Ease of programming?
Connectivity?
Features

I’d be careful about selling your pedals, at the very least try to hold onto any of your favourites or rare pedals. Multi effects are very good these days, but can’t always perfectly replicate what you already have. For me, I am much more tolerant of a digital effect that is almost perfect if I know I have the real thing available.

 

[Lesfunk]

I’d be careful about selling your pedals, at the very least try to hold onto any of your favourites or rare pedals. Multi effects are very good these days, but can’t always perfectly replicate what you already have. For me, I am much more tolerant of a digital effect that is almost perfect if I know I have the real thing available.

There’s only one pedal I own that isn’t easily replaced (Diamond BCP-1)
All the others are readily available, but I appreciate the thought

 

[HelpImaRock]

OP, I would get something in the Helix family. Line 6 is constantly upgrading and improving them. I'm sure at some point they'll sunset Helix, but that doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon.

Personally, I went the individual pedal route and limit myself to a Pedaltrain Jr so things don't get out of hand. I don't use enough effects and don't need multiple amp models. What I do want, I'm pretty particular about. So pedals work better for me.

 

[Hypercaffium]

HX Stomp.

 

[JCW308]

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.

It absolutely is truly simple. There is nothing complex about it. This isn't the Fractal FM3. It's the HX Stomp. Night and day difference in ease of use.

 

[jimfist]

It absolutely is truly simple. There is nothing complex about it. This isn't the Fractal FM3. It's the HX Stomp. Night and day difference in ease of use.

There may be some talking past each other here. Just want to clarify what's being debated.
The ease with which something can be edited 'on-the-fly' is a popular topic of discussion, and it's definitely important to me. For me, there is but one consideration: how fast I can expose the parameter I want to adjust.

For years I used the Zoom G5n in Stomp mode. This gave me instant access to all parameters across 4 unit slots (a total of 16 parameters). For other slots beyond those extents, dedicated L/R arrow buttons are used to scroll to those other effects to expose them for editing. This is as fast as it gets in a fully programmable multi-fx modeler IMHO that doesn't have dedicated knobs for dedicated effect functions.

I've owned the AxeFxII and dabbled briefly with the HX Stomp. The AxeFXII was a beast to deal with for quick edits. Not much to debate there. The HX Stomp, though relatively easy to understand, still requires navigation of some sort (button presses, know twists, etc. ) in order to get to, for example, a specific parameter of an effect within a somewhat complex preset, especially if that effect has multiple pages of parameters. This is the difference: there's subjectively 'easy', and then there's fast. Usually the faster something is to edit, the simpler the process is, right?

Though I liked the Stomp well enough, I didn't find editing on the fly to be a necessarily fast process, though it was easy to understand navigation. I also have never gotten along well with 3 button multi-fx of any kind, but that's just my preference.

 

[OldShark]

There may be some talking past each other here. Just want to clarify what's being debated.
The ease with which something can be edited 'on-the-fly' is a popular topic of discussion, and it's definitely important to me. For me, there is but one consideration: how fast I can expose the parameter I want to adjust.

For years I used the Zoom G5n in Stomp mode. This gave me instant access to all parameters across 4 unit slots (a total of 16 parameters). For other slots beyond those extents, dedicated L/R arrow buttons are used to scroll to those other effects to expose them for editing. This is as fast as it gets in a fully programmable multi-fx modeler IMHO that doesn't have dedicated knobs for dedicated effect functions.

I've owned the AxeFxII and dabbled briefly with the HX Stomp. The AxeFXII was a beast to deal with for quick edits. Not much to debate there. The HX Stomp, though relatively easy to understand, still requires navigation of some sort (button presses, know twists, etc. ) in order to get to, for example, a specific parameter of an effect within a somewhat complex preset, especially if that effect has multiple pages of parameters. This is the difference: there's subjectively 'easy', and then there's fast. Usually the faster something is to edit, the simpler the process is, right?

Though I liked the Stomp well enough, I didn't find editing on the fly to be a necessarily fast process, though it was easy to understand navigation. I also have never gotten along well with 3 button multi-fx of any kind, but that's just my preference.

I think that's a very helpful aspect when comparing a set of separate pedals to a multi-fx, because you are usually able to control (mostly) all relevant parameters of single pedals directly and fast via their separate knobs and switches. That is usually more difficult or requires probably more steps or attention with multi-fxs in varying degrees.

A further aspect is whether you can easily switch individual effects on or off. Whereas this is absolutely easy with single effects, not all multi-fxs allow for that. For example, my (cheapo but generally sufficient) Zoom B1Xon has no "stomp mode" — if I want to switch one effect of a patch on/off, I either have to select the effect while editing the patch settings (requiring several menu steps) or have to switch between 2 patches, one with and one without that effect. That is quite a disadvantage for live usage... (I'm aware that most or all of the mentioned pricier multi-fxs do allow to toggle individual effects.)

 

[SteveCS]

It absolutely is truly simple. There is nothing complex about it. This isn't the Fractal FM3. It's the HX Stomp. Night and day difference in ease of use.

System complexity and ease of operation are not the same thing. I never said it was difficult to operate. But the minute you introduce multiple operational modes and overloaded buttons/knobs, i.e. hardware that changes function or access different parts of the software depending on selections made elsewhere, where additional functions are accessed by special button combinations, and/or where there are multiple paths through the software, that system is no longer simple. The workflow might be straightforward and linear, but that is not simple or discrete in the way that most pedals are, i.e. one knob/button = one function or parameter. Like all well-designed systems, the apparent simplicity of operating the default use-case - switching between preset patches - belies the complexity necessary to exploit the full capability of the system.

 

[Bassmike62]

The one multi pedal I will always have on a my board is the Zoom MS60B. Intuitive and good sounding enough for my old ears. I use it for effects only at this time (chorus and reverb), but it's seen amp sim (SVT) and compressor (most of'em) used in the past.

 

[groove pump]

Here’s my personal situation
I started my own thread then realized it’s redundancy so I’ll participate here.

Ok, I’m going digital
All my excellent analog D.I. Preamps and effect pedals are up for sale
I know there’s a million threads on these units and quite frankly it’s exhausting digging and digging through them for info specific to my situation.

My application is live performance. Direct to mixer with in ears and occasional amp use.
My most used effects are mutron micro-tron4, diamond bass comp , mxr phaser and octave.

I have it pretty narrowed to the Line 6 Pod Go and the Zoom B6.
now for opinions and experience in application.
Sounds?
Quality of presets?
Ease of programming?
Connectivity?
Features

I went a little bananas and picked up both a Line 6 Pod Go and a Zoom B6. I got the Pod Go (PG) maybe two month ago and the B6 has been here for not even two weeks. A few thoughts and observations, plus a little about where I'm coming from...

I'm a bass guy with a gigging rock/dance band and I also noodle at home with a guitar here and there. Gotta have my harmonic option and some power chords when Uncle Dee is on the radio doing House of Hair!! I haven't done much for bass effects - mostly try to drive the bus - but our funky material could stand to be dressed up with some envelope filter and synth sounds. I'm sure I'll think of some other stuff as we keep on in that direction.

I got into a chat with a GC guy who has been pretty honest and helpful in recent history with advising me on this and that. He had super high confidence with the PG for doing both guitar and bass stuff - he also plays both instruments and gigs - and that seemed like the smart route for me. One unit that could maybe do everything I want for now. I looked at some demos online, traded in some old stuff, and gave a Pod Go a new home.

I found several REALLY nice guitar sounds among the presets in the PG, but it doesn't come with a big bundle of bass sounds right out of the box. So then it was time to start digging into putting my own patches together. Although this unit isn't insanely complex, my personal learning curve has been a little steep. The itch was still there to grab a B6, so I pulled a what-the-heck and got one.

As soon as I switched this thing on and started hopscotching through the presets, I was feeling much more at home. It's obviously aimed directly at the bass world. The touch screen is remarkably easy to use, but there are also corresponding knobs under the screen that make it easy to tweak amp and effect settings, overall gain and volume levels, etc. The touch screen pretty much tells me what I can do, where I can go from here, but isn't so busy that I've gotten lost. Generally easy enough to either keep it simple or do a good bit of tweaking.

Tuner - big (easy to read) and plenty accurate for me. I need to either detune or keep a second bass handy for a couple of our songs that don't have standard tuning (I play 4-strings), so having the dual instrument inputs will be a very big help there. Calling up a drum track for some play-along using the touch screen... EZ! And both units have a USB connection, although I won't be needing that at all for the time being.

I haven't started building my own patches in either unit yet, but the B6 has a lot that are ready to either use or tweak into shape as is. I have a gig this weekend and I don't want to embarrass myself by trying to do too much with this board before I really learn my way around it, but I know that it can help me with a couple of things right now. I'll just need to be careful to have the volume settings on a couple of patches leveled so that I don't get stupid loud or too quiet when I call up one or another.

I can jump in and swim with the B6 right now and I also still have a good chunk of ground to cover as far as learning how to setup my own sounds and arrange my patches to work with our set lists. The good news there is that its "Memory Mode" gives us exactly that - four patches in a row in one bank so that different sounds can be lined up at the ready as needed. This bank for a certain funk medley and perhaps another bank with a slap patch, a synth, and an auto wah all right next to each other on hot standby.

The Pod Go is packed with a LOT of stuff and I think that if you can sit with one at a shop - I've seen one set up on a demo stand at a local GC - to see what it's about, that could be illuminating. The GC staff might be hot to sell those units over the B6, since the PG's are in stock there, but at least somebody might be able to show you a few things on a PG and get you going with a decent introduction. My PG is waaaaay beyond the kidney shaped desktop POD (for guitar) I had a few years ago and while I'm sure that it's going to impress me going forward, it's also going to take me a while to get to know it.

 

[Lesfunk]

I went a little bananas and picked up both a Line 6 Pod Go and a Zoom B6. I got the Pod Go (PG) maybe two month ago and the B6 has been here for not even two weeks. A few thoughts and observations, plus a little about where I'm coming from...

I'm a bass guy with a gigging rock/dance band and I also noodle at home with a guitar here and there. Gotta have my harmonic option and some power chords when Uncle Dee is on the radio doing House of Hair!! I haven't done much for bass effects - mostly try to drive the bus - but our funky material could stand to be dressed up with some envelope filter and synth sounds. I'm sure I'll think of some other stuff as we keep on in that direction.

I got into a chat with a GC guy who has been pretty honest and helpful in recent history with advising me on this and that. He had super high confidence with the PG for doing both guitar and bass stuff - he also plays both instruments and gigs - and that seemed like the smart route for me. One unit that could maybe do everything I want for now. I looked at some demos online, traded in some old stuff, and gave a Pod Go a new home.

I found several REALLY nice guitar sounds among the presets in the PG, but it doesn't come with a big bundle of bass sounds right out of the box. So then it was time to start digging into putting my own patches together. Although this unit isn't insanely complex, my personal learning curve has been a little steep. The itch was still there to grab a B6, so I pulled a what-the-heck and got one.

As soon as I switched this thing on and started hopscotching through the presets, I was feeling much more at home. It's obviously aimed directly at the bass world. The touch screen is remarkably easy to use, but there are also corresponding knobs under the screen that make it easy to tweak amp and effect settings, overall gain and volume levels, etc. The touch screen pretty much tells me what I can do, where I can go from here, but isn't so busy that I've gotten lost. Generally easy enough to either keep it simple or do a good bit of tweaking.

Tuner - big (easy to read) and plenty accurate for me. I need to either detune or keep a second bass handy for a couple of our songs that don't have standard tuning (I play 4-strings), so having the dual instrument inputs will be a very big help there. Calling up a drum track for some play-along using the touch screen... EZ! And both units have a USB connection, although I won't be needing that at all for the time being.

I haven't started building my own patches in either unit yet, but the B6 has a lot that are ready to either use or tweak into shape as is. I have a gig this weekend and I don't want to embarrass myself by trying to do too much with this board before I really learn my way around it, but I know that it can help me with a couple of things right now. I'll just need to be careful to have the volume settings on a couple of patches leveled so that I don't get stupid loud or too quiet when I call up one or another.

I can jump in and swim with the B6 right now and I also still have a good chunk of ground to cover as far as learning how to setup my own sounds and arrange my patches to work with our set lists. The good news there is that its "Memory Mode" gives us exactly that - four patches in a row in one bank so that different sounds can be lined up at the ready as needed. This bank for a certain funk medley and perhaps another bank with a slap patch, a synth, and an auto wah all right next to each other on hot standby.

The Pod Go is packed with a LOT of stuff and I think that if you can sit with one at a shop - I've seen one set up on a demo stand at a local GC - to see what it's about, that could be illuminating. The GC staff might be hot to sell those units over the B6, since the PG's are in stock there, but at least somebody might be able to show you a few things on a PG and get you going with a decent introduction. My PG is waaaaay beyond the kidney shaped desktop POD (for guitar) I had a few years ago and while I'm sure that it's going to impress me going forward, it's also going to take me a while to get to know it.

Thanks, I appreciate your response.
I did stop at a GC and played around with a POD go for about 25 min.
I was able to figure out enough to get some very good sounds and effects going. The pitch/detune was impressive. Oddly enough,That’s what really got my attention.
I don’t use it often (only three or four times) but man I liked it.
I would have liked to have seen an XLR out (which the B6 has) but TRS pig tails will solve that.
I didn’t purchase it on the spot but went home and thought about it and discussed with some others who have experience with the PG as well as the Zoom B3N , which I guess is the precursor to the B6.
The general consensus is that the PG is a much more capable unit.
The biggest drawbacks of the B6 being that the CPU isn’t really powerful enough and it’s easy to reach the limit with fewer combinations of amp/cab models and effects.
not being able to check one out in person was an issue. I did watch some YouTube videos and it does seem easy and intuitive but I think I can figure out the Pod go without too much trouble.
Zoom also seems to have a history of not supporting their products as well as Line 6 does.

I decided to order the POD GO. we will go from here.

 

[lokikallas]

My first mutli was the zoom b9.1 It was way overkill, (Z axis expression pedal?!) I then got the B3 when it came out.
Pretty much filled all my sound needs, but the navigation required me to bend over and hit buttons between songs, not enough foot switches. The B3n solved all my issues, with a total of 6 foot switches. I recently retired it and replaced it with the stomp XL. I didn't want the Stomp, for the same reason as the B3, not enough foot switches built in (I don't want to connect aux switches) The Stomp XL is way more pedal than I need, but at the same time, just enough. The zoom b6 was up for consideration, but the lack of foot switch control issue I had with the b3 has returned.

 

[groove pump]

Thanks, I appreciate your response.
I did stop at a GC and played around with a POD go for about 25 min.
I was able to figure out enough to get some very good sounds and effects going. The pitch/detune was impressive. Oddly enough,That’s what really got my attention.
I don’t use it often (only three or four times) but man I liked it.
I would have liked to have seen an XLR out (which the B6 has) but TRS pig tails will solve that.
I didn’t purchase it on the spot but went home and thought about it and discussed with some others who have experience with the PG as well as the Zoom B3N , which I guess is the precursor to the B6.
The general consensus is that the PG is a much more capable unit.
The biggest drawbacks of the B6 being that the CPU isn’t really powerful enough and it’s easy to reach the limit with fewer combinations of amp/cab models and effects.
not being able to check one out in person was an issue. I did watch some YouTube videos and it does seem easy and intuitive but I think I can figure out the Pod go without too much trouble.
Zoom also seems to have a history of not supporting their products as well as Line 6 does.

I decided to order the POD GO. we will go from here.

Nice!! I wouldn't be surprised to eventually find that both of these gizmos are their own version of a "right answer" and in some ways the Pod Go is probably going to shine. The more that I try to put them to use and sort out navigating, sculpting, yaddah-yaddah, the more that I'll probably come to understand what I want to be able to do and what will help me with getting there.

Hopefully you'll have some good stuff to share once you get up and running