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Pedal virgin help. Singles or multi processor

#21
I've not found a multi-unit that fit my needs completely. I ended up using two different boards of singles depending on the situation (back when I was gigging every weekend). I'm now down to one board and the other one is being sold here on tb's classified. I'd suggest a tuner, chorus, flanger, preamp, and compressor.

Good luck on your pedal quest!
 
#22
My 2cents is always start with a multi. Figure out what you like and experiment, develop your ear.

When you start to notice what is missing from a multi, then search for a pedal that does it. It's a rewarding experience to learn with your ears and then hear the thing that does what you hear in your head. It's an inspiring thing to click that effect on.

I always recommend Line6 stuff because it sounds pretty good as it is and it's not over the top expensive.
 
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#26
I started with a Zoom B3 and an expression pedal. I really liked it, but found that I could only rack up 3 effects at a time quite limiting. So I got a MS-60B and played them in tandem for a while. As I got more aware of the effects i was using, I found that the octaver, compression and any kind of dirt were quite weak and I started to buy dedicated pedals and placed them in between the B3 and MS-60B. Later, I ditched the B3 and MS-60B and replaced them with a MS-70CDR. Where the Zoom stuff excels in is the chorus, delays and reverbs. So a dedicated multi that only does those was the way to go for me. Currently, my pedal board is running 15 pedals and a further 20 in boxes if I want swap outs.
For me, the B3 was a better pedal than the MS-60B, but limited by only having 3 fx options in a patch. It's also limited by not having a send and return loops to inject other analogue pedals into the chain. If it had that one feature, I would have kept it.
 
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#27
Snag the Zoom B3, play with all the presets at home, and try and bring in one effect at a time on the gig.
Slow & steady.
You'll find what effects types you prefer to use, then you can go find your individual pedals.

Using a multi saved me from buying a phaser, envelope filter, and flanger.
Now if only i could get rid of my comp, octave, OD, EQ, and delay. ;)
 
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#28
i got a Line 6 HD ProX thinking i'd never need pedals ... ! ha ... now there are a half a dozen pedals in front of it ... plus a couple other things in it's FX loop ...

for me ; multi fx do many things just fine , but i am Not a fan of digital OD/distortions ... so i warm my signal up with analog pedals and real tube devices , before they enter the digital modeling world ...

with that said ... for a little while , i had a Zoom B3(?) ... hooked up to the computer for programming ... it was a interesting tool to use how different FX work with a nice big screen in front of me ..! after a bit , i wanted something more versatile for use with different instruments/mics ...

i always advise buying Used .. ! there is always some trial and error when you want to find something you really like ,... and things that work well with your other gear ... that's why we buy/sell our toys here on the classifieds .. !
 
#30
Starting to buy pedals is like getting a dog. You have no idea how expensive it is until you are in it. I recommend the multi to mimimize the up front expense while you experiment and figure out what tone you are chasing. Then you can get the right singles. If only I could go back in time and speak to my own self once I had the 'hmm time for pedals' thought...
 
#31
Jazzcaster89 said:
Hey guys. As a guitar cross over player I've never really cared for effects on my bass. Just always used my amp, nothing else. Best stand alone pedals? Your favorite multi unit. What do you like and dislike about each. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I'm a guitar player too, and I have a different take on the single vs multi-effect scenario. I started with single pedals, but have gradually gotten more into multi-effects almost exclusively.

Though dedicated individual effect pedals do generally sound better, they have a lot of drawbacks. First is the cost--you can spend a fortune on them. Second is the potential for cables going bad, noise from one pedal, etc--that can be hard to pinpoint. And finally the programmability of a good multi can't be beat....the tap dance routine that you do changing several effects during a song is not fun. And you can save a whole set list in order.

I second the suggestion of the Zoom pedals. Either the B3, the Ms60b, or even the B1on would be good to try out. Find out what you're into, then decide what route to go.

When I gig electric guitar, I use a Boss Me70 unit exclusively. It does everything that I need, and is easy to tweak on the fly. I've occasionally thought about "upgrading" to a more expensive multi-effect unit, but I just don't find any sound that I can't get close enough to. After gigging with the Me70, I will never go the single pedal route again.

On bass, I do have a pedalboard that has a Zoom B2 with built in expression pedal, a Zoom Ms60b (which was the last one acquired), and a VT bass pedal. I usually only use the B2 for the volume pedal or xlr out. The VT is great, so it is staying. But if I only had one pedal to use on bass, it would be the ms60b. It can get me close to any sound that I need.

Now, if I didn't play live gigs, I would probably recommend single pedals, once you know exactly what sound you are looking for. Because recording is a different game than playing live.
 
#32
I'm going to assume you have experience as a guitar player using pedal (and thus know the advantages/ disadvantages to using singles vs. multis.)

That said, if I could only have one pedal for bass it would be a BOSS OC-2. It is THE analogue sound for octave and makes playing a lot of fun. Guys in the band will look over at you when you stomp on it and blast them with a sub-octave that shakes the room and makes your guts rattle.

If you have good money to spend, get the "Octabvre" which clones (and nails) the original OC-2 sound but then gives you more to play with by adding a synthy element to the whole.

If you play any kind of heavish music, this is the class of effect you'll like most if you're anything like me!

Have fun, and welcome, convert!
 
#33
Been using the Fractal AX8 for a few months. It replaced 13 pedals,2 power supplies,and a Mesa Boogie bass rig. The FX8 is the effects only version. Endless possibilities.
20160723_141603.jpg
 
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#34
Jazzcaster89 said:
Hey guys. As a guitar cross over player I've never really cared for effects on my bass. Just always used my amp, nothing else. Best stand alone pedals? Your favorite multi unit. What do you like and dislike about each. Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I'd say get a multi. You do have to live within the limitations of the sounds on offer, so you need to pick wisely, but these days a lot of effects are on offer in things like the Zoom B1on for relatively little money. There might be some weird sounds you might not be able to get on a multi that you can on a separate pedal, but you can get all the bread-and-butter sounds and if you are new to effects they will probably work for you for a while, and give you chance to determine what you do and don't like.

Sound wise multi effects have been usable since the mid 1990s, although some units more than others. Some are better for live use in terms of the interface than others, although those units that accept MIDI for patch changes can be controlled by external units.
 
#35
hrodbert696 said:
I started out fiddling with a multi but then switched to a board of single pedals. Part of it is that a multi generally requires a fair amount of programming to get the settings you want, unless you just go with their presets, and I don't have the patience for the programming. The other is that most of them require scrolling through various presets and if I'm on a gig I don't want to be doing that. I like being able to stomp a button and get an effect in or out, not try to scroll from preset 17 to preset 43. That's just me, some people love their multis and I have nothing against them.
Click to expand...

I like the ability to be able to store a series of effect patches without needing to stoop down and fiddle mid-set. Even more, I've also sometimes needed to change to different sounds, and back, during a single number. But I do take the point about planning, and some units make it easier to plan than others.

One nice thing about the old Boss ME6B, which was the second multi I had, and which I very much regret selling as the synth sounds were fun, is that you could either select patches (banks could be selected, then a patch in that bank) or you could easily swap to singles mode, and the chorus button would become a toggle, and any patch could be decomposed into a set of singles, so you could call up bank 1 patch 1, and the chorus pedal would be a chorus for some set of songs, and then change to bank 1, patch 2, where it would be a flanger or whatever. I now have a Zoom B9, which offers the same functionality, though. I am sure other units probably allow the same usage pattern.
 
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#36
If you expect to use lots of pedals simultaneously then a multi may give you a lower noise floor. For a start some offer much lower noise floors than analogue pedals anyway, although with a single pedal that might not be audible, but a few pedals chained in front of a fairly aggressive flanger and you can play the theme to Dr. Who without touching a string...

Another advantage of multis is the potential for redundancy. If an MS60B does the job for you, then potentially you can set up two identically and take a spare, whereas that might be prohibitive with individual pedals.
 
#38
Best advice I can give you is a quote of Michael League (Snarky Puppy bass player) who said something in the lines:

"I don't use the pedals just because I have them lying there, I use them only when it would be musically inappropriate not to use them."

What this means is, you have a musical idea of a tune or a sound idea in your band and you cannot achieve it with just the clean signal - time to go pedal shopping.

Which pedal? The one that gives you the sound you need. We can all give you our pedalboard setup but this is not really what you should be searching for. You should be searching for something when you know you need that something.

In general, a typicall "starter" bass pedalboard should include something like this (stuff I use will be listed in the bracket)

In no particular order:

Compressor (EBS Multi Comp)
Octaver (EBS Octa Bass)
Envelope filter (EBS BassIQ triple envelope filter)
Reverb (EBS Dynaverb)
Optional PreAmp (in my case, a USA Xotic bass preamp)

This sort of sets you up for a well rounded plethora of bass sounds that you would most likely need as a professional musician.

Other popular mainstream options include chorus pedals, various preamp pedals (if you want to boost your passive or even active bass (xotic is great for that) or just to add a specific colour to your sound - like the aguilar preamp, mxr etc.), then muffs, overdrives, distortions, phasers... Bass synth pedals....

Along the things listed above (that I use personally) I also use a distortion signal many times, but for that I use the tube gain from the Genz Benz streamliner 900. My main amp is a GK 1001RB2 and I really dig the power amp in this thing, not so much the eq which is too treblish for me. So I use other preamps through its return loop, and like to use the streamliners preamp on top for the distorted or in general tube sound.

Somebody will tell you something else - in the end, you will figure it out yourself what works for you, as time will pass.
 
#40
Singles. You're not going to know what you want for sure until you try things, but the basics (IMO) would be dirt and compression. Then maybe a looper (mainly for fun), chorus, delay/reverb, and if you like funky stuff an envelope filter.
 

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