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Your favourite multi effects.? or single pedals..?


bubinga5
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Looking to get a multi effects unit. Really looking for a good octave sound, reverb etc.. to be honest I don't know much about effects, pedals etc.. i used to own a Korg ax3000b, but never really got to know it and eventually sold it.

you know the feeling you don't actually know what you want, but you want to try something.. really interested in the octave sound… don't really want different pedals as it might be a xmas present so would be nice to have a multi effects unit.. maybe I'm wrong and i would be better off buying single pedals.?

any suggestions or opinions are welcome..

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I prefer single pedals and to avoid the pedal dance when changing multiple pedals I use a Combinator. In photo. This is dead easy to set up, powers all your pedals, gives true bypass and any combination of pedal sounds at the press of one button. Plus a mute switch as well.

This is an lser set up, it has Hyperdrive, 2 x chorus, distortion, delay, flanger and eq.

[url="http://s970.photobucket.com/user/gelfin5959/media/PBoard.jpg.html"][/url]

Edited by gelfin
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Singles. For the simple reason that they're easier to edit 'on the fly'. We've all been there, drummer's late so there's no time for a real soundcheck, and halfway through the first set you step on (what should be) the big box of doom/funk/wobble* and room acoustics turn what should be a mind-blowing aural assault into the sound of a peanut rattling round in an empty yoghurt pot. Times like that it's easier to fix it with individual controls than to start trying to find the correct submenu on an LCD display/3" screen...


* delete as applicable. Or play them all together :yarr:

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The Boss ME 50b for me is the easiest multi effects around. Pretty bombproof and has all switches and knobs to turn instead of annoying and confusing computer menus and switches which you need a computer degree to understand. You could pick one up on BC for about £100 or so. £269 new.
I have tried the more complicated and I prefer simplicity now. It works for me and its a good starter.
Obviously this is only my twist on it, others may hate this pedal but it's worth a look IMHO.

Having said that I don't play one at the minute as I just use a behringer BD121 and a single chorus.
It's simple and effective for all I need.

Edited by bassman344
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Akai Unibass!

Ha- I didn't see what all the fuss was about, but people love them.

I have a pigtronix disnortion which is quite a cool little box- octave, 6 shape fuzz, and overdrive. Nice sounding pedal.

Not multi-effects obviously.

Edited by cameltoe
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I've gone from singes, to a multi and I'm now using the plugins from Logic Pro/Mainstage.

Problem with singles is you generally have 'one' sound set up on them, if you want/need another for a different song/piece or section, then you have to mess about with knobs. The beauty of a multi effects is you can set up different sounds and just call them up.

It also saves all the spaghetti of cables and makes routing easier.

A lot of my stuff on band camp was with a Boss Gt10, others are Logic plugins.

Try a Boss GT3, it's good enough for this guy - just happens to be my 2nd favourite bassist :)

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY4Ra2KOyas"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY4Ra2KOyas[/url]

:)

Edited by ambient
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[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1412884952' post='2573059']
The Boss ME 50b for me is the easiest multi effects around. Pretty bombproof and has all switches and knobs to turn instead of annoying and confusing computer menus and switches which you need a computer degree to understand. You could pick one up on BC for about £100 or so. £269 new.
[/quote]

+1 for buying a used example of decent multi-FX. Once you know what you do and don't want to use, you can always upgrade to appropriate separate pedals - if you feel the need to do so. My best FX setup for bass was an old Boss ME8-B, which I only ditched because it had an intermittent switch problem which made it repeatedly flick back and forth into manual mode!

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I agree with getting a multi effect.
I did that to get me going. I have now gone the single effect route simply because I don't use anything too complicated, I did learn a lot from the multi unit but like the simplicity of just a few units rather than a machine I use a fraction of its functions.

But without starting on the multi fx I wouldn't have known where to start.

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[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1412884952' post='2573059']
The Boss ME 50b for me is the easiest multi effects around. Pretty bombproof and has all switches and knobs to turn instead of annoying and confusing computer menus and switches which you need a computer degree to understand.
[/quote]

+1. I've gigged with the ME50 for lots of years now. Every so often I get GAS and go down the single pedals route, but I've always gone back to the trusty old Boss.

Very easy to use live, as you can tweak settings by using good old fashioned knobs rather than having to access a menu. Very usable effects (although the synths are not great) and the convenience of not having to cart half a dozen pedals to each gig.

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IMHO.. the best Octaver sound won't be found on either a multi-effect or a single pedal (although the BOSS OC-2 is very good - I even have a spare for back-up). I digress.
The best Octaver is a Toneprint by TC Electronic, but you can only access them if you buy one of their Toneprint enabled amp heads.. Tc have declined to make a single pedal thus far - for possibly that reason #cynic

I've owned a few multi effects over the years' and found them too noisy, even in the effects loop.. My current one is the Nova system - bought 2nd hand and it's hardly used.. prefer single pedals.. my OC-2 and Alter Ego (flashback) delay.

All the best.

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BassPod with a shortboard for me.

I ditched single effects back at the end of the 80s when I could afford my first decent multi-effects pedal - a Roland GP8 which I still use in my guitar rig - and I haven't looked back.

Too many single effects units simply don't have the features I need such as tap tempo and MIDI sync for all time-based devices. Plus there's programmability. If I did go for single effects I'd need two or three (at least) of each type to cope with the different sound variations - there's nothing I hate more than people endlessly fiddling with their pedals between songs trying to find the right sound, and besides in my current band there's simply no time. Simply hit the button for the next program and there it is the right sound for that part of the song every time. No messing no fuss. And I can let other bassist use my rig at gigs, fiddle with the sound to their hearts content safe in the knowledge that my presets are just a button press away.

For me a pedal board with all the single effects I need would be massive, take up too much space on stage and more likely than not Mr Venom would fall onto it at some point in the gig completely changing my sound...

Plus all the important stuff is tucked away in my rack at head hight at the back of the stage where it won't get damaged or have beer spilt on it. The worst that can happen is that the Shortboard could get damaged - although it's built like a tank so it wouldn't be easy - and that can be replaced off eBay for about the price of single decent stand alone pedal.

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I had a ME50B for a bit but switched to a GT6B as it has far better fine tuning using the jog dial. I don't go too overboard on effects but regularly use the amp/cab emulation to get a valve sound for most stuff then switch to clean and bright for the odd funky number. I also use it a lot in one prog track we do, where being able to alter the effects chain order is very useful to get the sound I needed. I've never felt the need for any other pedals. Plus it has a tuner and expression pedal (usually set as volume and handy as a quick mute at the end of set)

Try one

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[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1412931484' post='2573346'] I had a ME50B for a bit but switched to a GT6B as it has far better fine tuning using the jog dial. I don't go too overboard on effects but regularly use the amp/cab emulation to get a valve sound for most stuff then switch to clean and bright for the odd funky number. I also use it a lot in one prog track we do, where being able to alter the effects chain order is very useful to get the sound I needed. I've never felt the need for any other pedals. Plus it has a tuner and expression pedal (usually set as volume and handy as a quick mute at the end of set) Try one [/quote]

Though I no longer use effects, the Boss GT6B was a companion of mine for years. Great unit and will get close to whatever sounds you desire, once one is prepared to persevere with programming. It got kicked, dropped, and the occasional pint thrown at it ,but it never let me down. Pretty much bomb proof.

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[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1412940544' post='2573466']
...once one is prepared to persevere with programming...
[/quote]
I keep the user manual in the carry case at all times. Just wish I'd remembered to take my glasses so I could read it though :D

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I use a Line 6 M9 for stuff like pitch shifting, delay, phaser, occasionally the ring mod (basically stuff where I want tap tempo or expression control), and an Octavius Squeezer for envelope filter and fuzz, but the rest of my effects are singles because they're either things you don't really find in multi units (Bugcrusher, Frantabit, synth-modded OC-2), or they have such a good sound that the multi equivalents aren't good enough (Xerograph, OC-2).

I'm not against multi effects but they never seem to do everything I want.

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