Off Topic Single Pedals Vs. Multi-Pedal Mania!

[RJKANEAO]

Swapped between multi-FX and individual pedals a few times and seem to always come back to the individual pedals. Individual pedals seem easier to tweak than multi-FX boards which, while very powerful, haven't worked well in my live situations. Have a Pod X3 Live which has some great tones, but I'm bummed i can't get it to work out for me. It would be much cheaper then spending a few hundred $ per pedal!!

I know exactly what you're talking about. I was the other way around I went from multi effects to single pedals and loving it there. It is true that it can get pretty costly to use single pedals because you're always going to want something else whereas with the multi effects pedal you can pretty much dial in what you want or something close to what you want. May I suggest checking out the boss ME70 if you want to stay with the multi effects unit. I have one of these I also got a GT10 ,GT 6 and not to mention a floor podXT. But the only one I really do use because of its ease of use and it's simple set up is the ME70. Don't get me wrong I still use my single pedals most of the time but for gigs that you need to stay late but still have a lot of versatility the boss ME70 is the one that delivers a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[dfung]

Thanks for the suggestions. My MultiFX heritage has been a few Digitech devices 10-15 years ago (terrible), GT-5, and an X3 Live. The BOSS and Line 6 stuff always sounded the same except in the area of the amp sims, particularly the overdriven Marshall-esque amps or the heavy stuff, which the Line 6 did better to me. The ME-50 and the Line6 M13 look interesting, though I haven't tried them. If I A/B'd the ME-50/M13 fx with individual pedals, I doubt I'd hear the difference. But there's something about the pedal being there with knobs to turn which makes it feel more connected. Psychological I'm sure. Kind of like the whole American vs Mexican strat <ducks and runs away>

 

[rampage]

The sound of individual pedals justifies all the hassle for me. My chain consists of a CAE wah, MXR Super Comp (soon to be replaced), Way Huge Pork Loin, MXR GT-OD, Jam Rattler+, TC Polytune, Strymon Lex (soon to be replaced with a Strymon Mobius), Strymon Timeline, TC Hall Of Fame and a Toadworks Booster. Sounds great with my Egnater Tweaker 40 head.

 

[RJKANEAO]

this has been my small gig set-up for about a month.. I switch out my Morley mini wah/volume for my vp-jr when needed.. It's good for me cause I can do my mellow clean tone stuff then get real crazy with the medal when I want to with a click of my pedal..

 

[RJKANEAO]

This is a issue with no real answer. I've spent a fortune going in circles. From two loaded pedal boards and round the bend to the axe fx. My solution was practice, better technique and a Mesa boogie mark v amp with two pedals. It's humbling.

I've been eyeing up a fractal myself.. But that would stay with all the tour gear.. Smaller gigs renders smaller gear.. I must say I really like the boss ME70 buy I recently picked up a endorsement with hardwire pedals (digitech) and so far they've been the answer to a lot of stuff that overwhelmed me.. On my small pedal board I've been using a metal distortion which only goes on when I'm feeling crazy and mostly during practicing alone and I think I'm playing like morse! Lol.. But the reverb and delay are amazing.. The reverb has a lexicon processor Which in itself takes up most of the cost in this power house.. The modulation reverb is sick! I pair all that up with a micro amp and m108 EQ (mxr) and either my Morley mini wah/vol or my EBMM jr-vp!

 

[Roberto Rivera]

i used to have one big pedalboard, but it's impractical to use onstage. so i made a new small pedalboard that only hast boosters, overdrives, delays and a wah, maybe i throw some coloring sometimes like a phaser.

 

[skerwo]

After years of buying and selling pedals meantime I use the TC Nova System in front of my JTM45 combo. I like the analog drive sounds of this unit. Well done for classic rock, blues, not for metal in my opinion. All the other effects are also good sounding. All together in a small unit which is built like a tank + the possibility of creating presets and at the same time using the Nova System like a pedal board. For switching presets I use the G3-Switch from TC. The only pedal I use additionally is my VOX Wah. A great plus of the NS is the boost switch for solo things.

Real good sounding unit for less money. I´m not thinking about returning to a pedal board since I got the Nova System.


Rainer

 

[tbonesullivan]

IMHO, if you have more than 10 pedals, it's time to look into an all-in-one guitar module, either rack or floor mounted. I play bass in a band with a guy who has about 15 pedals on his board, many of which are the same pedal, in different loops. he's gotta pretty much do a dance before each song, and often during. Would be much easier if he just had everything pre-programmed. I mean, sure you lose some of the ability to make "on the fly" changes, but if you are playing a set that is pretty much planned, that isn't much of an issue.

 

[skerwo]

IMHO, if you have more than 10 pedals, it's time to look into an all-in-one guitar module, either rack or floor mounted. I play bass in a band with a guy who has about 15 pedals on his board, many of which are the same pedal, in different loops. he's gotta pretty much do a dance before each song, and often during. Would be much easier if he just had everything pre-programmed. I mean, sure you lose some of the ability to make "on the fly" changes, but if you are playing a set that is pretty much planned, that isn't much of an issue.

That´s what I like about the Nova System. It´s programmable but you can engage each section separately also when using presets. Of course you can realise it with a good looper on a pedal board but more cables are more possibilities of mistakes.

 

[tbonesullivan]

That´s what I like about the Nova System. It´s programmable but you can engage each section separately also when using presets. Of course you can realise it with a good looper on a pedal board but more cables are more possibilities of mistakes.

Ahh yes, that's the OTHER problem with giant pedal boards: if there is one loose adapter plug or patch cable, you've gotta spend 10-15 minutes figuring out what is going on. In a live situation, that's not exactly a good idea.

 

[dfung]

The bend over (to fidget with knobs) and tap dance is always a crowd confuser. "That guy does a jig every time a new song starts or right before he takes a solo!"