Recommendation for multi-effects?

[tredders]

I’m looking for recommendations for a multi-effects box.   It won’t be gigged, just used for messing around with at home.   Something relatively straight forward to use would be preferred, and I don’t particularly need looping / recording functionality.   More something that has a good chorus, overdrive, delay etc.   Headphone output would be preferred too. 

 

Not really got a price in mind - I started to do some research but there’s a ton of choice, and they all started to blur into one after a while.  
 

Oh, and I have £150 gift card balance at Amazon, so it would be good if Amazon stocks whatever recommendation I get.  
 

Thanks in advance. 

[Boodang]

In price order;

Zoom B1x - cheap, cheerful and good enough

Zoom B6 - even better

TC Electronic Plethora X5 - simpler operation, and tc's toneprints are fantastic

Edited March 2, 2023 by Boodang

[tredders]

Thank you - that’s really useful 👍

[T-Bay]

Boss gx100, over budget but well worth saving up for.

[tredders]

1 minute ago, T-Bay said:

Boss gx100, over budget but well worth saving up for.

Thanks - I don’t really have a budget in mind, although I suspect I’ll end up going for something simpler (possibly cheaper?) rather than something all singing and dancing. 

[TheGreek]

Another 👍 for the Zoom range. You also get a built in drum machine. 

[jimfist]

Zoom products are about as simple as you get for programmable multi-effects, and have generally represented the best bang-for-buck at the low to low-mid price range.

I've owned and gigged the B3 (out of production), B3n, G5n (loved that layout!), and now the B6. Never was disappointed in any of them.

 

[Geek99]

Zoom b2.1u gets my vote 

way more competent than me 

 

[tredders]

10 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Zoom b2.1u gets my vote 

way more competent than me 

 

That’s exactly the kind of recommendation I was looking for!  A man after my own heart 😀

[Geek99]

6 hours ago, tredders said:

That’s exactly the kind of recommendation I was looking for!  A man after my own heart 😀

My kid dropped it on concrete, which got dented slightly 

[PaulThePlug]

Zoom B1 Four or the B1X Four with the Pedal... Amazon £79... the X is available for the same price...

[Dood]

On 02/03/2023 at 13:40, Boodang said:

In price order;

Zoom B1x - cheap, cheerful and good enough

Zoom B6 - even better

TC Electronic Plethora X5 - simpler operation, and tc's toneprints are fantastic

 

 

There's also a brand new B2 (like the B6) that has just been announced, though not available yet.

 

I love the TC pedals, the Zooms are all great for their respective price points. As the dollar starts to rise, of course we are in to Line 6 Helix territory starting with the Stomp pedal that is superb as well.

I've not tried the Boss pedals yet and brands such as Mooer, Donner and Nux appear to be bringing a few DSP pedals to market as well. 

[tauzero]

I like the Zoom B3n, but haven't tried the B1x or B6 (and I've got enough multiFX at the moment). If you're not bothered about ease of switching effects, the Zoom MS-60B is a single stompbox that can have a chain of effects - easy programming through a PC, fairly easy programming on the unit itself.

[tauzero]

On 03/03/2023 at 18:03, Dood said:

There's also a brand new B2 (like the B6) that has just been announced, though not available yet.

 

It looks interesting, though I don't understand why Zoom continue to ignore 70% of the market by only catering for Apple, as they did with the MS-100BT.

[SamIAm]

Another vote for a Zoom f/x unit.  My "sexy" multi-fx is a Mod Dwarf, but it requires mains and a web browser to configure (tho it is amazing in terms of the range and quality of effects).

But last night, I was out for a jam session and I left the Dwarf at home and took my Zoom B1XFour pedal ... quality is acceptable, capability is  acceptable, it runs off batteries so no need to hunt for a mains socket and it is small and light ...

Zoom FTW!

S'manth x

 

edit: I should share that I also took my Blackstar Fly battery powered bass Amp (which is also surprisingly capable) so my full f/x&amp system fit into my rucksack ... really low hassle!!

Edited March 8, 2023 by Smanth

[Dood]

16 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

It looks interesting, though I don't understand why Zoom continue to ignore 70% of the market by only catering for Apple, as they did with the MS-100BT.

 

How do you mean? The B2 Four and B6 both have Guitar Lab software for Mac and Windows and Windows audio drivers. I see that the hardware is compatible with IOS software such as mobile DAWs but no support for Android, which is understandable because..well, audio on Android, need say no more lol! 

[jimfist]

The bluetooth adapter is only compatible with IOS devices with the Handy GuitarLab for B6 app, which is only for basic functions on the B6 and IR downloading. Nothing about audio there IIRC.

https://zoomcorp.com/media/documents/E_HandyGuitarLab_for_B6.pdf

 

I, too am and Android user and a little bummed that Zoom didn't include an Android app. 

But also, I've read of some users who've said Bluetooth implementation with the adapter is less than stellar, FWIW, YMMV.

That saved me from yet another purchase.

[bassman7755]

Zoom B1x4 seems like a no brainer for change from £80. Even it you don't do looping the loop is really useful for being to tweak the effects while having a riff played back at you. Super intuitive to use generally and very good variety and quality of effects, the amp models are a bit meh but the OD emulations (sansamp / darkglass etc) are really good. Oh and another thing about the Zoom is it has no processing latency (that I can detect anyway and I'm very sensitive to this on bass).

Edited March 10, 2023 by bassman7755

[jimfist]

Agree regarding Zoom...historically great bang-for-buck products.  I've been using them at home and on stage for many years and they've always done the job.

[tauzero]

On 09/03/2023 at 11:10, Dood said:

 

How do you mean? The B2 Four and B6 both have Guitar Lab software for Mac and Windows and Windows audio drivers. I see that the hardware is compatible with IOS software such as mobile DAWs but no support for Android, which is understandable because..well, audio on Android, need say no more lol! 

 

From their website:

 

ITS OWN APP

With a constantly expanding library of patches and effects, bassists can continue to expand their sound with the "Handy Guitar Lab for B2 FOUR" app (for iOS), available to purchase on the Apple App Store.

 

So you can mess around with Guitar Lab on your phone if you're one of the 25% with iOS but not if you're one of the 70% with Android, just like the MS-100BT couldn't be used with Android but only with iOS. Nothing to do with audio.

[Baloney Balderdash]

I own both, but by far prefer the previous generation B1Xon and G1Xon to the B1X Four and G1X Four, just a lot more tweakable and customizable (for one you get more tweakable parameters per effect, plus the X versions of these pedals, that is those equipped with a build in expression pedal, which by the way is genuinely great, can be assigned to control any one parameter of any one effect per patch, at whatever direction or range you wish, whereas the newer X Four pedals limits the use of their build in expression pedal to merely a handful of dedicated expression pedal effect models), and honestly in my opinion sounds far better too.

 

Mind I wouldn't use any of these for pitch shifter/octaver effects or amp/cab sims, and the drive models, while not sounding bad, kind of has limited use and does have a somewhat digital flavor to them, but most of the remaining effects (that is the equalizers, compressors, filters, modulation effects, delays and reverbs) are actually genuinely excellent, and many of them, dialed in right, as good as pretty much any.

 

Another advantage of the Zoom units that utilizes Zoom's previous generation of digital effect models (that is the B1(X)on, G1(X)on, and the still in production Multi Stomps, the MS-50G, MS-60B and MS-70 CDR), is that you can use the unofficial third party firmware hack program "Zoom Effect Manager" (just do a Google search, the most recent one is Version 2.0), to load whichever of these units with whatever effects from any of them you wish (something Zoom ought to have made possible right from the start anyway in my opinion).

 

Love my G1Xon, loaded with my own custom selection of effects so much I bought a B1Xon as backup, as well as a G1on (also own MS-70CDR, and as said a B1 Four and G1 Four, but the latter two will doubtfully see any more use, ever).

 

Edited March 15, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[EmpInfNed]

 

[Tubster]

On 03/03/2023 at 19:03, Dood said:

 

 

There's also a brand new B2 (like the B6) that has just been announced, though not available yet.

 

I love the TC pedals, the Zooms are all great for their respective price points. As the dollar starts to rise, of course we are in to Line 6 Helix territory starting with the Stomp pedal that is superb as well.

I've not tried the Boss pedals yet and brands such as Mooer, Donner and Nux appear to be bringing a few DSP pedals to market as well.