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why the hate on multi-effects pedals?

#61
I don't hate them, I just don't think they work for me. I've heard other people playing and making real good use of the GT10B and the Line6 M stuff. Good for them, but I'd rather just use pedals that do what I need them to do when I need them to do it, without the need for an advanced degree in computer sciences to program them.

To me, it's kind of like using a Line6 modeling amp instead of an old AC15.
 
#62
Floyd Eye said:
To me, it's kind of like using a Line6 modeling amp instead of an old AC15.
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The AC15 can only sound like an AC15. What if you want an AC15 sound for one song, but then a Fender Blackface for another song? And then a Silverface two songs later? And then you want to kick in some CCR and exercise your inner Leslie?

For a cover band, if they want authenticity in the sound, the multi-effect units are the only way to go without spending tens of thousands on gear, and requiring roadies to drive and unload the truck that carries it.
 
#63
I have a Line 6 M9 and its perfectly fine, but its taken away some of the joy of hunting down new pedals... on the other hand it's given me access to sounds based on some super rare pedals that I would never find for any reasonable price. I just use it for all my delay/other time based effects since it has universal tap tempo
 
#64
ctrotier said:
My take: I'm too lazy/unmotivated to read a manual or dink around with menus. I like to see what I have available laid out in front of me and choose what to use on the fly, hence I prefer individual pedals. I can see the effect and settings.

Perhaps I have ADD or I....oooooh! Shiny!!!
Click to expand...

No, you're right. Most Mfx suffer from "feature creep" - I know something about the product development process, and I'm pretty sure that stuff gets jammed into these things by marketing folks "Just because" that ends up creating confusion.
 
#65
caeman said:
The AC15 can only sound like an AC15. What if you want an AC15 sound for one song, but then a Fender Blackface for another song? And then a Silverface two songs later? And then you want to kick in some CCR and exercise your inner Leslie?

For a cover band, if they want authenticity in the sound, the multi-effect units are the only way to go without spending tens of thousands on gear, and requiring roadies to drive and unload the truck that carries it.
Click to expand...

I understand perfectly all the reasons why people use them. Although I think your use of the phrase "authenticity in the sound", when referring to modeling amps is highly subjective.

I have never felt the need to cover a song so "Authentically" that I couldn't mic my little Fender brown deluxe, stick a Tube Screamer in front of it and call it a day.


I have no opinion one way or another on what other people choose to do. :bassist:
 
#67
I have a zoom b2 on my pedal board and love it for the effects I don't use a lot. The ampeg setting is ok, but will never replace my vt bass. But when I ocassionally need a synth or phaser, it's there and sounds pretty decent. Someday I may need a ring modulator or pitch shifter thingy. If so, it's there too. Maybe not the best, but I don't need the best if I'm only using it on one cover song.
 
#68
The primary reason I don't much care for multi-effects is because they have never let me use the effects more than two at a time. I also found the Digitech switches to be of a very cheap, unreliable quality, and the Boss multis were hardly better. Mind you, most of my in-depth analyses of multis were done at the tender age of fourteen, and my opinions of effects have changed in that time. If there were a multi that did what I needed, I would have no objections to using one. Bit late for me, though.
 
#69
Honestly, amp modelling is sort of nothing more than an eq gimmick. Sure, you press the button that says "AC-15", and it sounds different than the button marked "blackface". BUT, neither one sounds like the actual amp being "modelled". I know, at least re: the Vox ToneLab modellers, the AC-15 sounds nothing like an AC-15, and who would know better than Vox? Just sayin', as playing a cover song "authentically", any amp will work if you play the right sequence of chords.
 
#70
I love my multi-effect. It was actually the first pedal that I've had/used. I'm actually getting a duplicate model this month. However, I have separate pedals as well. My multi-effect has become my go to synth/distortion/tuner/EQ pedal and I prefer my crybaby and my swollen pickle over their respective effects on the zoom. So I did the smart/creative thing and added it to my (future)pedal board.
 
#71
mambo4 said:
There's no way the compressor in a $200 multi box will compare to plopping $200 on a dedicated compressor.
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IDK, if budget's not an issue and it's just about the best sound, I'd rather rack up a UA1176 or a Distressor than any stomp compressor I've ever played through.

OTOH, let's say, budget's an issue. There are a lot of pretty unimpressive comp pedals in the world that dollar-for-dollar can't touch the Tube Comp in an M5/9/13. Realistically, of the 100+ sounds in the M series, if I only use ten sounds and the tuner, that's $36 each if I paid full pop for the M9 new.

I'm not a fanatic either way. I bring an M9 to some gigs, M9 + singles to others. Other gigs, I'll run a full pedalboard, and still others nothing but a tuner.

Obviously, much of the discussion is just utility meeting personal preferences. But in my view, the Line6 M series shows that digital multis are a still-evolving technology, in some regards getting closer to the mature technology of analog stomps (and in terms of flexibility, surpassing them).
 
#72
Danni Moe said:
I love my multi-effect. It was actually the first pedal that I've had/used. I'm actually getting a duplicate model this month. However, I have separate pedals as well. My multi-effect has become my go to synth/distortion/tuner/EQ pedal and I prefer my crybaby and my swollen pickle over their respective effects on the zoom. So I did the smart/creative thing and added it to my (future)pedal board.
Click to expand...

You love your MFx pedal - - So what IS it??? There are so many, and so many are so mediocre - - What do you own???
 
#74
funny...
i started out with a Boss ME-50, then went to a Line 6 M9.
THEN i started buy all manner of pedals....
and after 6 months of $$$... i'm back to my simple M9.
i used it for: Pitchshift +12, Bass Octaver, Tube Overdrive, Analog Delay, Octo Reverb, and Particle Verb. not to mention the looper!

so yeah, instead of lugging a huge pedal board around, i just have a little suitcase with my M9 and power supply.
it works for ME, and that's what counts.
 
#75
RickenBoogie said:
Honestly, amp modelling is sort of nothing more than an eq gimmick. Sure, you press the button that says "AC-15", and it sounds different than the button marked "blackface". BUT, neither one sounds like the actual amp being "modelled".
Click to expand...

A great amp modeller can sound exactly like various different amps. The issue is that most of the really good amp modellers cost a ton of money, so very few people have tried them and get their opinions based on lesser units. The same can be said for multieffects.
 
#77
I love multieffects. So much bang for the buck, programmable with presets.

Yes, some of the FX sound like crap, no they cannot do everything for everybody, yes they are often too hard to use for most people. The latter which is the real reason most people thing they sound like crap to begin with. :) But looking at the bigger picture they have an extremely high price-to-value ratio.

Sitting here I have a KORG PitchBlack that sells for $50 used. And a GT-10B that sells for $300 used. For a mere $250 more I still have a tuner plus I now have envelope filters, delays, volume pedal, chorus, phaser, flanger, compression, EQ, and on and on and on, all with clean blend available, all of which is totally useable IMO, plus a ton of other effects, preamps, etc. I didn't yet mention. No need for patch cables, power adapters, pedal boards to mount them to, etc. all of which add up the cost fast.
 
#79
I've owned and spent quite a lot of time using 2 bass multi effects pedals popular here and with many players. In both cases I eventually found them lacking in tone, long on time wasted configuring them and in general a hassle. They were good to start with, and because they were both popular, I didn't loose much money selling them to purchase individual effects.
 

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