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Which do you prefer? Multi Effects processor or individual pedals?

#21
Individual pedals sound far better in my opinion, though I set mine up like one giant multi-effects pedal by using a loop selector. Having never used a multi-effects board seriously, my main issue is simply the standardness of the tones. It seems like all of the multi boxes try to get you sounds you've heard on record, whereas individual pedals have more life and interact with each other differently. Also, that's why I'm against having most or all of my pedals from the same company -- even though I like boss pedals, I don't want that company's "personality" coming out of my sound.

I assume a GR-20 doesn't count as a multi-effects pedal or you can consider my opinions completely moot...
 
#22
Over the years I've gone back and forth on this. Right now, it's kind of a mix: a POD with a couple EHX pedals in front.

With pedals, I like the instant-tweakability (no menu-diving!), the distinctive sound of particular well-known pedals, and the kind of intangible mojo factor of all those cool little colorful boxes. But of course the drawbacks are the additional cost, lack of presets for the most part, greater bulk... but I sure do love them purty little boxes.

And sound is purely subjective, but by and large I think I tend to prefer the sounds of individual pedals. My Small Stone phaser sounds richer and more organic to my ears than the phaser on the POD, for example.
 
#23
Multi-FX aint multi-fx...

What I mean is you cant really compare cheaper multi-fx units, that arent meant to be used anywhere else other than a bedroom, to something like the boss gt6b or the line6 xt live.

You're still limited to the fx that it has, etc, but there are so many options available, that given a bit of time to learn to use it, you can pull off almost any sound with it...
The fx quality is up there with the usual range of individual pedals (boss, etc) , though obviously doesnt line up with the boutique elements...

To me, its a good solution. another definite plus is its versatility...

I can hook it up at home with the phones on, and not bother a soul, I can take it anywhere I need to have a jam and not worry about taking an amp, plugging it into the PA... great for when you have a small car trunk like I do. ;)

Too much can go wrong with pedals... faulty cables, noisy power supplies...

Much more expensive to buy separate good quality pedals, and a hassle to change individual pedal settings between songs.

Use what you feel works for you I guess.
 
#24
"it dependes in what you want to play!!" ....

Sums it up pretty well, I don't use much in the way of effects (never used any for a long time) ... don't need to, with what I do. For me it's gotta be pedals, overdrive/fuzz, eg, and phat (BBE sonic stomp).

My guitar player on the otherhand has a huge bank with a mix of one of those POD XL floor things and other stomp boxes ... more than I want to fool with.


:rollno: ... Having all of those choices at your feet makes me dizzy ... I wanna play bass not the board.
 
#25
The lower-end multi effects units can be related to the group of attractive women you see at the mall that ALWAYS has one really fat friend with them.....
If you were desperate and everything else was unavailable, you'd take it.

Single effects for me.
 
#26
Kenny Allyn said:
My guitar player on the otherhand has a huge bank with a mix of one of those POD XL floor things and other stomp boxes ... more than I want to fool with.


:rollno: ... Having all of those choices at your feet makes me dizzy ... I wanna play bass not the board.
Click to expand...

LOL, that's funny! For me personally, I'm not crazy about effects, that's why I like individual effects so I can have everything I want, nothing I don't. Just give me an EQ, some fuzz, a chorus, and a wah and that's it.

Then I'm one happy thumper.....:p
 
#32
Quality Stomp boxes can be redilly found in both pawnshops and music stores at a fraction of the price of new. My issue with multi-effects processers is:

*Can't see the display with a red flood stage light hitting them. This is why I use a rack tuner VS floor tuners. (You can see them from 50 feet away.)
*When/if something goes wrong with multi's, ALL your effects are gone, not just 1.
*Stomp boxes can fall out of a moving truck and still work. (ask me how I know?) Multi's simply tend to be more fragile. Pedals are more durable usually.
*Stomp boxes are usually analog instead of digital, unless specified. When the Multi creates these digital effects, it also converts your bass' signal too. This means you lose the sympethetic sub harmonics below the 20Hz mark that you had. You may not be able to hear that low, but I'll bet you can FEEL them that low.....

I DO use a Pandora's effects to practice with, but I set it up to sound pretty close to my pedal board's sound anyway. And in a pinch, I have hooked it to my strap and played it thru my rig that way, but getting thru the sub menus to turn effects on and off are a hassle, during a gig. The pedal board has everything laid out: IE: What's on, how much bass, speed, drive, etc at a glance.

My issue with the Line-6 stuff isn't how they record or effect the signal. They do all that pretty well. They just don't sound that good when you play them CLEAN. IMO, they sound too sterile in flat settings. And if it can't sound good clean, what's the point? YMMV of course.
 
#36
With how I play a multi would be completely impractical. I understand the simplicity of having presets ready for specific songs and whatnot, but when you improv that all goes out the door. If I couldn't tweek on the fly I wouldn't be able to rock the way I do.
 
#38
Effects are one of the few things where I like it to be really utilitarian - just a few knobs per effect, a different box per effect. I admit half the appeal is just looking at them and the different boxes are appealing, but I like the tweakability and easy hands on configuration of positioning, which you can't really get on multifx.
 
#39
Aussiephoenix said:
Multi-FX aint multi-fx...

What I mean is you cant really compare cheaper multi-fx units, that arent meant to be used anywhere else other than a bedroom, to something like the boss gt6b or the line6 xt live.

You're still limited to the fx that it has, etc, but there are so many options available, that given a bit of time to learn to use it, you can pull off almost any sound with it...
The fx quality is up there with the usual range of individual pedals (boss, etc) , though obviously doesnt line up with the boutique elements...

To me, its a good solution. another definite plus is its versatility...

I can hook it up at home with the phones on, and not bother a soul, I can take it anywhere I need to have a jam and not worry about taking an amp, plugging it into the PA... great for when you have a small car trunk like I do. ;)

Too much can go wrong with pedals... faulty cables, noisy power supplies...

Much more expensive to buy separate good quality pedals, and a hassle to change individual pedal settings between songs.

Use what you feel works for you I guess.
Click to expand...

Valid points, but...

With a multi, you are limited to the sounds contained within its programming. Sure, there may be a variety of different distortion sounds, but there's still going to be a limit. A lot of us (myself included) have been through a multitude of distortion stomp boxes to find the one that gives us EXACTLY the sound we want. The same is true for every type of effect.

It's the subtle differences between one and another that are the magic.

AND...everything that D-Bone said.
 
#40
I go back and forth. Currently, I don't use any effects. The two I have in the closet are individual pedals - chorus and phaser. I have a Boss TU-2 that I always use and don't consider an effect, but an essential pedal. Tuning in silence is a must have and the mute feature for switching basses is nice, too.
 

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