bass effects

[stef030]

well got meself some boss multi effects,
now its been a few years but jeez
nobody told me you need a applied degree in nuclear physics
to understand this lot,this parameter,that one
given me a bloody headache,so it would seem persistance is key on this one




or is it just me getting senile,
does everyone think its too complicated



cheers
stef

[chrismuzz]

Multi effect units are way beyond my comprehension too. Last one i had was so confusing i just sold it! I prefer individual pedals, with as few knobs as possible

[paul_5]

Yup, single FX are the way forwards (and oddly, backwards too).

[dmccombe7]

yep same for me.
I have the roland GT-GB and now only use the reverb / echo for my fretless and probably a touch of compression on a live gig or rehearsal.
I use the vol pedal when switching basses at home too saves touching the amp.

I'm now gonna look at individual pedals. Quite fancy the RE20 Space Echo pedal and a decent compressor ?

I did look at the Lexicon MPX100 OR 200 models with footswitch and they looked relatively simple to use.

Good luck
Dave

[Danimal]

Hate them. Convoluted, tone-sucking pieces of crap. Much prefer single effects for the stuff I REALLY need without the gimmicks. Less is more.

[phil.i.stein]

fx 'r' fun

[steve-soar]

2 Ren And Stimpy avatars. it's all good.

[Danimal]

[quote name='steve-soar' post='1297593' date='Jul 8 2011, 08:02 PM']2 Ren And Stimpy avatars. it's better than bad.[/quote]
fixed

[Ancient Mariner]

Multi-effects processors are great if you'll invest the time and effort to program them, even the absolute tone isn't usually as good as individual pedals. I've used a Korg unit for guitar since the early 90s, and it's great: just plug in and all my tones and effects are there, just waiting to be used. No panic trying to find out which patch lead stopped working, which knob got moved (so it doesn't sound right) or wondering how you're going to fit that extra pedal on the board that you MUST HAVE for a new song.

I have a separate pedal board too, when I need the very best tones. But when all I want to do is make music in unfamiliar surroundings the processor is a much easier route to take.

[xgsjx]

If you're new to FX, then a multi fx unit is your best starting point so you can find out what fx does what & saves buying a couple of funky looking bricks. Once you know what's what then single pedals all the way (tho there's some very good multis that I'd have.

Oh, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.

[Wolverinebass]

[quote name='stef030' post='1296527' date='Jul 7 2011, 10:05 PM']well got meself some boss multi effects,
now its been a few years but jeez
nobody told me you need a applied degree in nuclear physics
to understand this lot,this parameter,that one
given me a bloody headache,so it would seem persistance is key on this one


or is it just me getting senile,
does everyone think its too complicated


cheers
stef[/quote]

Depends. I happen to think multi fx stuff is infinitely better than stomps. Especially for delays. Good luck trying to do a tap tempo with an analogue stompbox. Just my opinion. The tone is subjective. Take your pick to what you like best.

However, if the programming isn't for you, then don't do it. I used to quite like having stuff on tap that was simple. Now I prefer to having to work something out and have become a bit of a tech head for multi fx stuff. For example all my rack stuff is midi controlled by one unit. So basically, I press one button on the floor and the whole lot changes. Say from clean to dirty with flanging and delay. Just like that. You might think that doesn't allow stuff to be flexible as stompboxes as the settings are seriously programmed, but you'd be surprised.

I happen to enjoy programming stuff. I did my guitarist's rack rig for him a while back as he wanted to do something like what I did but like yourself when he saw the word "parameter" in the manual just asked me to go over to his house and sort it for him as he couldn't figure it out!! He doesn't really know how it works, but the fact that it does is enough for him. Made me laugh.

[TheGreek]

I'm sooo glad it isn't just me - I've got the Boss ME20B - I think I've spent more time trying to make sense of the instructions than I have using the unit!! The info on the box give the impression that's it's "plug and play" - yeh as if such a thing exists..

[stef030]

well thanks for the replies so far gentlmen,
it would seem its not just me,although a haa
it probally is,
so it seems back to the instruction book for the
forseeable future,

[Paul S]

I have a zoom multi-effect unit and also find it confusing. I couldn't get on with the manual as although it seemed to be in English I didn't understand a word of it.

But, for the zoom pedal at least, there is a site somewhere on the interweb where people have uploaded various patches with instructions on how to program the various settings to reproduce those patches. I found one that works for me that does a passable Muse 'Hysteria' sound (especially when wet blended) without having a whole bank of individual pedals - so I think that these multi-effect thingies can be useful. I also found that by following the instructions on these patches I was able to get more of an ear as to how the different parameters changed the sound and reckon that if I spent a few hours entering in some of these patches and listening to how they work I would feel confident enough to change things to my exact requirements. I just haven't got around to it yet. Maybe worth trying it from that angle, rather than getting frustrated with the manual as I was. I am sure there must be a Boss equivalent somewhere.

[thisnameistaken]

I think multi-FX used to suffer from the UI being the product of an engineer, not a designer. So each unit on the market had its own collection of different-shaped lit buttons that had to be pressed and held and toggled and so on.

They're getting better now (the Line 6 M series interface is pretty good), there are a lot more quality UI designers around since the web took off.

Roland are still doing a sh*t job of it though.

[Fat Rich]

I've got a Korg AX3000B which is easier to program than most.... I don't use it much though, I'd probably get away with just a chorus pedal and maybe an EQ.

Can the Boss be plugged into a PC and programmed from there? With a proper interface these things become less baffling.

Edited July 9, 2011 by Fat Rich

[BigRedX]

Personally having spent the early 80s wrestling with non-programmable synths live and hoping that when you hit the first note of the next song you would get a sound vaguely like the one you were expecting and not either silence something loud high-pitched and out of tune, for effects in a live situation, I'll take programability over an alleged decrease in sound quality everyday.

I use a Pod and an Adrenalinn for my tone-shaping and effects. The fact that when others use my rig at a gig they can tweak the controls as much as they like and then when I come on one button push gets me back to the sounds I need is fantastic. For those of you with pedal boards, what would you do if you came on stage to find that some punter in the front row had zero'd all your pedal controls?

Also remember when comparing multi-effects against individual pedals for sound quality that a single boutique distortion pedal can cost more than many of the multi-effects units on the market.

[deepbass5]

Interesting how most hate them. About 20 years ago I got a Yamaha FX500 because our guitarist had one and was impressed, they did bring out a bass unit later the FX500B. But with all these programmable units what you sort out at home sounds S--t on stage. I actually worked out settings for every song we did and logged the step numbers to the set list. That lasted all of one Gig. I then got down to about 5 useful settings for certain songs. But any over or under volume, depth or speed could not be adjusted if it sounded bad in the live situation. Things have moved on but don't like um..
I now have a small pedal board, comp, Oct, chorus, flanger, synth, and bass xciter. I don’t always use them, could get by with just the Chorus and the Octave

[Danimal]

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1297640' date='Jul 8 2011, 08:40 PM']If you're new to FX, then a multi fx unit is your best starting point so you can find out what fx does what & saves buying a couple of funky looking bricks. Once you know what's what then single pedals all the way (tho there's some very good multis that I'd have.[/quote]
This is a very good point, to be fair.

The main thing I dislike is that any multi FX units I've tried have had a negative effect on my tone when I'm [i]not[/i] using them. I also usually find the pedals to be too close together, and in a high energy live environment I'd end up stepping on two at a time by mistake.


[quote name='xgsjx' post='1297640' date='Jul 8 2011, 08:40 PM']Oh, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.[/quote]

Edited July 9, 2011 by Danimal

[xilddx]

I ADORE my POD X3 Live. It's a little bit of a learning curve, but so what? Get stomp boxes and you'll be spending loads of cash, asking which goes where in the chain, creating unwanted noise, and be restricted to your settings and box choices.

I would die without my POD. No amp, no boxes, no DI box, and I can use it with bass and guitar and vocal. And I can set up a bunch of patches for each song. It's fantastic.

[Danimal]

Am I strange for [i]liking[/i] the restriction that comes with single pedals? I'd like to hope it makes me think more carefully about what I buy and when I use it.