Recommend a multieffect?

[Chicory Blue]

I dig me some multieffects- I play alone, usually, so I’m more of a weirdness junkie than a tone purist. I love deep reverbs, funky filters and all the rest. I’ve got a few good dedicated pedals but I don’t enjoy keeping up with them, preferring lately to limit my rigs to a multieffect and a looper whenever possible.

My Zoom B3 was pretty legit, but I sold it while putting together a more portable looping board, opting instead for the lighter, more malleable and more battery-efficient B1on— technically a downgrade but it suited my needs better. The B3 also produced an audible ringing when daisy chained, which wasn’t conducive to a looping setup.

Now that the B1on is more or less permanently affixed to my mini-board, I’d like to assemble a more serious “loop junkie” board that pairs some respectable multieffect with my RC300.

My main needs in this case would be quality and ease of use- something where I could assemble and queue up many sounds to access quickly during a live performance, perhaps with some better distortion models than my B3 or B1on could muster.

Ideally it would be robust enough not to freak out and crackle/fart when I use an active bass, and as long as I’m being demanding, inputs for multiple instruments would be lovely— XLR in particular would be incredible, as I’m quite keen on getting a mic involved in the action, but I don’t know if such a magic box exists.

Price isn’t really an object here. I suppose I’m sort of looking for an endgame kind of thing.

So, what’ve you got for me, TB?

--^@

 

[Challanger2]

Is there a dollar amount you're looking to stay under? And more of a focus on effects, amp emulations, or balanced between the two?

 

[Chicory Blue]

Is there a dollar amount you're looking to stay under? And more of a focus on effects, amp emulations, or balanced between the two?

I’m more interested in seeing what the best tools I can get my hands on look like first, and figuring out how or if I can get the money together later. I’m very open to affordable options if they exist, but in the brainstorming phase, the sky’s the limit.

Functionally, I definitely prefer a focus on effects- I almost never use amp emulations, preferring to devise my own nonsensical sounds. Think less “authentic Eden cab” and more “depressed robot.”

--^@

 

[odrive]

Maybe a Line 6 Helix? Loads of effects, fairly easy to use, multiple ins, even an XLR mic input.

 

[Feral Feline]

Dr Scientist
BITQUEST

or

Southampton
UTILITY KNIFE


For Gits and Shiggles, the iSTOMP.



$$$
Headrush

 

[Challanger2]

If you're only interested in effects, maybe something like the Fractal FX8? 8 simultaneous high quality effects with Fractal level DSP is pretty strong. The Eventide H9 has some incredible simulations on it, but you're limited to one effect active at a time.

If you think you'd ever want Amp Sims, I can't recommend the Helix enough. I have one and absolutely love it, although I use mine mainly use mine for Amp Sims and Dirt. The really nice thing about the Helix is the freeform DSP. Unlike other modelers where they limit the number of effects you can have (1 reverb, 1 delay, 2 dirt, etc), the helix places no restrictions on the category of effects. You could choose to eat up all your DSP with 4 amp sims or 5 reverbs or 10 dirt pedals, doesn't matter. If you have the DSP space for it, you can add it. You don't need to use Amp sims on the Helix, but for effects only, it would be a close call between it and the FX8.

Axe AX8 would also be in this category, although I rank it slightly less than the Helix for bass. DSP restrictions and a lack of bass support (no new bass amps or effects). I believe they also dedicate one of the two DSP processors solely to the am[ on the AX8, so if you're not using amp simulations, you're only getting half your moneys worth.

EDIT: Another factor is effect loops, if you're planning on ever using your own pedals. I believe the FX8 has two, and the Helix has 4. Also note: I'm basing all of my Helix assumptions off of the base Helix model (which I have). There is also a Helix LT, which has the exact same processors/firmware, but has less IO and a different screen.

 

[Johno Dunn]

Get the B3n. Done.

 

[odrive]

I play alone, usually, so I’m more of a weirdness junkie than a tone purist. I love deep reverbs, funky filters and all the rest.

Here you go, Chicory. Coming soon.

 

[TodaysTomSawyer]

I dig me some multieffects- I play alone, usually, so I’m more of a weirdness junkie than a tone purist. I love deep reverbs, funky filters and all the rest. I’ve got a few good dedicated pedals but I don’t enjoy keeping up with them, preferring lately to limit my rigs to a multieffect and a looper whenever possible.

My Zoom B3 was pretty legit, but I sold it while putting together a more portable looping board, opting instead for the lighter, more malleable and more battery-efficient B1on— technically a downgrade but it suited my needs better. The B3 also produced an audible ringing when daisy chained, which wasn’t conducive to a looping setup.

Now that the B1on is more or less permanently affixed to my mini-board, I’d like to assemble a more serious “loop junkie” board that pairs some respectable multieffect with my RC300.

My main needs in this case would be quality and ease of use- something where I could assemble and queue up many sounds to access quickly during a live performance, perhaps with some better distortion models than my B3 or B1on could muster.

Ideally it would be robust enough not to freak out and crackle/fart when I use an active bass, and as long as I’m being demanding, inputs for multiple instruments would be lovely— XLR in particular would be incredible, as I’m quite keen on getting a mic involved in the action, but I don’t know if such a magic box exists.

Price isn’t really an object here. I suppose I’m sort of looking for an endgame kind of thing.

So, what’ve you got for me, TB?

--^@

The new Line 6 HX looks promising! Its the effects side of the Helix versions with all the routing options too

 

[ChubbyJerk]

The new Line 6 HX looks promising! Its the effects side of the Helix versions with all the routing options too

The only thing there is that it has reduced IO capacity. I think there are only 2 input jacks on the FX? The full Helix has like 500 or something. I could be wrong. But if 2 is enough for you, I'd definitely suggest the Helix FX. And if you need more, and money really isn't an obstacle, then the main Helix might be right for you. Or if you want something in the middle, perhaps the LT?

Honestly, Helix is awesome. I'd highly recommend it in whichever format works for you. Having owned one, I have literally one and only one complaint about it: it's expensive.

 

[Jazz Ad]

2 input jacks is already one more than most players will ever need.

 

[ChubbyJerk]

2 input jacks is already one more than most players will ever need.

Yes, but he specifically said, "inputs for multiple instruments would be lovely". So he'd like a minimum of 2. Perhaps more. And he's looking at it for looping. Somebody specializing in solo looping is likely to be one of the rare fringe cases that makes use of more than one input. Possibly even more than 2. He's probably the answer to the question I asked when I looked at the back of the Helix: "who the hell needs all these inputs!?!"

But seriously, the Helix has a lot of inputs, and you can send them through separate FX chains - so you can add distortion to your bass and reverb to your vocals and have them stay separate. And you can output them together to the same amp, or separate to different amps, or further FX units, or whatever you want. There's a lot of flexibility there that you might get some solid use out of.

 

[nshuman]

If you can wait, Zoia. Otherwise, what effects are you looking for? How many effects must you be able to run at once? Do you need lots of dirt?

 

[ga_edwards]

Yes, but he specifically said, "inputs for multiple instruments would be lovely". So he'd like a minimum of 2. Perhaps more. And he's looking at it for looping. Somebody specializing in solo looping is likely to be one of the rare fringe cases that makes use of more than one input. Possibly even more than 2. He's probably the answer to the question I asked when I looked at the back of the Helix: "who the hell needs all these inputs!?!"

I had a quick look at the HX manual the other day, and as far as I tell, it doesn't let you use one of the fx returns as a parallel input, which makes it a no-go for me. If I've missed something, perhaps someone could enlighten me.

 

[ga_edwards]

I agree with the sentiments above. I'm seriously considering a Helix LT myself. I usually swap between two pedal board depending on the gig - a simple nano board or a bigger one for when I want to go dual channel from my Attitude bass (the Helix now has a model of Sheehan's Pearce preamp!). But whichever I choose, I'm stuck with for the night. If I go for the bigger board it also makes swapping to another bass a pain in the back-side.

I'm also wanting to try other things, like finally get a couple of Muse tones nailed, and maybe a royal blood patch. I can get close by using what I have, but I really need a pog and a couple of other pedals, not to mention, I'd have to rewire my board and routing just for one or two songs. The Helix would do this at the press of a button.

Lastly, we were playing in a truly awful room at the weekend. I have more eq options that you can shake a veritable stick at, but I just couldn't overcome the 'boom in the room' and overly loud G notes without destroying my tone. The Helix has a very powerful global eq, consisting of a 3 band fully parametric eq as well as HPF and LPF. I'm almost certain I could have solved the acoustic issue using this.