Pedals vs multi effects

[Sweat]

I have been back and forth as well but overall prefer multi effects and am now back to a multi-effect and have zero pedals.

I have the rack mountable Digitech GSP1101 and like it very much.

When things slow down at work I am going to connect it to my Mini Rec on the FX loop sounds better IMO.

 

[Eric O'Reilly]

I agree straight in is the old school way to get great tone, but for me who does alot of headphone practice, the pod hd500 is the way to go, so much at my fingertips to control, and they've come along way, especially paired with a good tube amp, im going to run mine into my class 5 for home practice, or just headphones, even the pod 2.0 sounds great with a good headset.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Gino, I know we texted about this....

I bought an HD500 because a band mate in church bought one after using a Live X3 for years. He raved about the sound (some higher number of bits processor), which I can agree with. It has direct balanced line (3 wire) out as well as 1/4 inch. We go into a house rack system/sound board so there's no amp in our equation. So we have to have an amp simulator.

I ended up selling mine because I've used a digitech rp250 for years and find the laptop display very intuitive. It's like looking at a pedal board. Although the sound was better, I could not get the sounds setup easily with Line 6's laptop display. I do know a LOT of guys who use the Line 6 stuff live and they love them. Maybe I'm spoiled with the digitech display.

So another guitarist I play with ditched the Line 6 Live XT for separate pedals and seems to like them better.

I would strongly recommend that you pick up an HD500 and try it at home for a week. You can download the 2 line 6 programs needed to your laptop without the HD500, which is a nice feature. Then you can change sounds away from the pedal. My digitech with X-edit must be connected to the pedal to even open the program. If you pick one up new, you'll have the 30 days at Guitar Center to bring it back. I have been wanting to get a Line 6 pedal since the Live XT came out and once I got it, it took about 3 hours of using it to go back to my digitech.

Good luck.

 

[Razzle]

I got a GT-100. I found it was very difficult to manage while playing live. I'd say if you want all those wonderful effects, just stay with the stomp boxes.

 

[Atomic punk28]

Lol, I have never heard of these but now I must have them all!!

Not sure if I am comfortable stamping on a dogs face though !

Got a couple wah's, super cool with the led dog eyes! Not a bad pedal for the money. Btw, my three dogs could care less about my wah usage.Lol.

 

[PY38]

Pedals with a midi/bypass looper......

 

[Screamindv]

I use a TC Electronics G System and an M1. I have a drawer in my rack with a full tone Fat Boost, fulltone Fulldrive, a Sparkle Drive a vintage Tube Screamer and an EH Small Stone phaser controlled by a GCX switcher

 

[agt]

I've gone back and forth between both, several times over. I like the all-in-one convenience of the multi-effects units and modellers but I have come to the conclusion that I like the sound of tubes and analog gear and that my creativity/spontenaity is best served by tweaking dedicated knobs instead of wading through menus on LCD screens.

So I say: high quality, true bypass pedals and a great tube amp!

 

[Speros]

Ive heard really amazing things about the TC systems, but at the moment I'm all for separate pedals.

Just feels less fake; only problem would be the amount of noise they cause without a decent gate....

 

[Pablo]

I've used both and come back to pedals. What's more, I'm slowly, but surely, going away from digital effects and going analogue.

My amp, a Diezel VH4s, has a built in looper system, hence, I have my analogue pedals midi controlled - the best of both worlds for me.

Cheers

Eske

 

[Roubster]

Funny thing is that I have the rack version of the HDPro, but I run my pedals through it anyway. I use it mainly for practice, but I get a much better sound running my effects pedals and dirt pedals into the HDPro.

 

[Craiguitar]

I'm an Axe-Fx user, and use it for playing in my local covers band. It nails amp and effects sounds with complete accuracy. I used to use Digitech multi effects stuff beforehand and although good, they were never good enough. The Fractal leaves that stuff for dead really, but you get what you pay for, or more I think!

 

[Oh3AreSicks]

G-System user here too. Amazing effects unit. Also using it to control the channels/eq/etc of my Mark IV. Killer combination.

 

[balance]

Kemper for me. All the effects I need and they are top quality, plus the amp sounds are great.

 

[Richiesos]

Hey guys. This is an interesting thread. I think I have a little insight I can add to this conversation. I have 3 different guitar rigs for different kinds of gigs. One is a VHT rack system with a TC g-force. The second on is an Engl half stack with a TC Nova system and the third is my fly out rig which is my pod HD-500 and a matrix power amp.

The TC units have better effects capabilities and real amps always sound better than the amp models....however... The HD-500 is one of the best purchases I've ever made. This is one of the most useful units I own because of its sheer flexibility. This is equipped to handle any type of gig.

If you're using it as just an effects unit, you can easily bypass the amp modelling. The software editor is very easy to use and it's a fast way to create presets. The effects are pretty flexible too. Some effects in the unit sound better than others, but there are so many different modeled pedals and processors in there that you're bound to find something you like.

I used it on my last 2 gigs in totally different ways. On Saturday, I played with BOC at Tahoe casino. They had backline cabinets there for me, so I just used the HD-500 as a preamp into the matrix power amp. I like having the sound come out of the guitar cabinets instead of just the monitors, so this method works really well for me. Then on Thursday I had to do a solo gig opening for Rick Springfield. They told me I couldn't use an amp, everything had to go direct. Again, I used the HD-500 and this time I used the cabinet simulation and went straight into the PA. I don't prefer this sound to using the matrix power amp, but those were the limitations of the gig and the pod handled the job.

Today I'm doing a wedding gig in Manhattan. We have to put 3 guys in one car to get there. I'm using the HD-500 again.

So, to answer your question. There are better sounding units out there, but the HD-500 is like a guitar swiss army knife, and it's a nice unit to have when you can't use the big stuff.

 

[Roberto Rivera]

Im going to try a Nova System (the red one limited edition), because it was cheap on ebay... i've always been a pedal user.. but I will give it a try to a multi effect system... but i've seen some guys with both approaches

 

[skerwo]

I use the TC Nova System for many years and I´m very happy with it. Everything out of the NS in a clean amp (JTM 45 style combo). Suits me perfect for everything from clean to blues, country and classic rock. I think it´s not for the metal guys, more the old school rocker. I like the everything in one package, it sounds great and the possibility of using presets is great too. It´s got no amp models, this is just a lot of stompboxes in one unit, but with an analog od/distortion section. Straight in the PA is possible but sounds not really great. For playing straight in the PA I use the Tech21 Blonde as "amp" and by this way it really sounds good.


This is my actual setup for years. Normally I play in the amp without using the Tech21. It´s the backup for problems with the amp or for real small gigs.


Rainer

 

[toaster51]

I also have a Peavey 5150 with tube and speaker upgrades. I had an old Line 6 Podxt unit, that I never liked at all - much too complicated to use, and I'm just not a fan of digitally modeled sound. Depending on what you like to play (e.g.. not metal), a good tube amp, a couple of decent modulation pedals, and maybe a compressor, is probably all you need. Best overdriven sound will come from a decent amp.

 

[Axistence]

Kemper for me. All the effects I need and they are top quality, plus the amp sounds are great.

+1
Awesome and real amp sounds, lots of FX, and more important, easy to use!

 

[noise5150]

I'm going to do My live rig over and I was thinking of going multi effects , I was thinking line6 hd500 what dnyou guys use or suggest?

I just sold off the last of my amps - my Marshall DSL and MG combo amp and I am now 100% milti-effects. I am using a GT-8 that I picked up used for nothing and an Eleven Rack. Both going into a pair of ALTO 12 inch PAs. Awesome sound and versatility Im never going back.