Tell me about multi effect pedals

PunkKitty

PunkKitty

Horny bag of electric meat
I understand analog pedals. I don't have a good understanding of multi effect pedals. The board I currently use weighs about 15 pounds. I need to be able to layer 2 overdrives with a distortion. I need to layer multiple delays. I need to layer a lot of things. Ideally, I'd like to program what I need for each song, and then just push a button to get what I need for that song instead of fiddling with dials between and during songs. I also have a very limited budget. And I don't know where to start with these things.
 
First, what price range is that budget? There's a huge amount out there and the prices vary widely as you'd expect.

Second, if you've got pedals that are giving you the sounds you need, is a programmable loop switcher an option so that you can bring them in and out of your chain as needed? This means you keep the analog controls you're used to for getting the sounds but get the benefit of programmability as to when they are in the chain or not. Joyo do a couple here for example.

Third, in my experience, multieffects (certainly budget ones) tend to give you a dirt section that you have to program per saved setting for what you want. To start modeling two different overdrives and a distortion directly you're probably into the higher end stuff. Possible caveat - if your unit supports profiles and you or someone has recorded that specific combination to load on, you can use that.

Fourth, again I've not seen a cheaper one that provides multiple delay sections to allow layering so you may need a second delay unit for that. Some of the top end stuff may allow you to model multiple delay pedals in the same chain but that isn't cheap.

If you've got an analog signal chain that you want to replicate you can provide, that would be useful to know as well as then it's possible to work out what can replicate parts or all of it.

Hope this helps as a starting point.
 
Will you be using amp/cab modeling as well, or will you just be using the effects blocks?
 
Gorgon90 said:
First, what price range is that budget? There's a huge amount out there and the prices vary widely as you'd expect.

Second, if you've got pedals that are giving you the sounds you need, is a programmable loop switcher an option so that you can bring them in and out of your chain as needed? This means you keep the analog controls you're used to for getting the sounds but get the benefit of programmability as to when they are in the chain or not. Joyo do a couple here for example.

Third, in my experience, multieffects (certainly budget ones) tend to give you a dirt section that you have to program per saved setting for what you want. To start modeling two different overdrives and a distortion directly you're probably into the higher end stuff. Possible caveat - if your unit supports profiles and you or someone has recorded that specific combination to load on, you can use that.

Fourth, again I've not seen a cheaper one that provides multiple delay sections to allow layering so you may need a second delay unit for that. Some of the top end stuff may allow you to model multiple delay pedals in the same chain but that isn't cheap.

If you've got an analog signal chain that you want to replicate you can provide, that would be useful to know as well as then it's possible to work out what can replicate parts or all of it.

Hope this helps as a starting point.
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All of this is way above my head. Maybe it's because I walked away from the IT world long ago and thinking of having to do any sort of programming makes me want to puke. It sounds like my needs are way above my meager budget and I'd be better off sticking with the analog stuff that my feeble mind understands.
 
Do you mean like the digital ones that can be any effect, or twist the knob but have multiple effects available?
IMG_0226.jpeg
have no qualms in recommending the Nux Cerebus.

It even has a loop so you can insert other pedals before the delay or 4 cable the single unit with your amp.
 
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It’s hard to know what to recommend without knowing budget needs. I’ve used Line 6 products over the years but their costs are significant. I currently own a L6 HX Stomp.

Boss is a name I trust. I own a Boss Katana GO headphone modeler.

Boss makes the GT line. Although, I’ve never owned and used a GT, I can’t help but notice how successful that line of product has been. They seem to make versions in a variety of price points starting with the GT-1 for $199.

It includes amp modeling which you don’t have to use. You can simply use it for the effects. But, it’s nice to have amp modeling as a backup in case your amp goes down. You could use amp modeling directly to PA in an emergency situation.
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Totally understand. I feel the same way about programming sht.
But it’s easy to get out of hand tap dancing on 10-12 pedals.
May I suggest a simpler solution that stays in the analog realm(mostly).
Find a double sided OD and a fuzz that can clean up with your guitar vol knob, infinite shades of gain.
I can get a lot of mileage out of the Protein and a Fuzz Face.
Invest in one digital modulation pedal that can do a lot of stuff and just worry about programming that.
Go ahead and stack your delays/reverbs. Tap tempo can make things easier and quicker to set up on the fly.
With careful selection you should be able to get things down to 7-8 pedals.
Tuner, double od, fuzz, modulation, that leaves space for 3-4 delays/verbs
 
PunkKitty said:
I don't want to bother with amp/cab modeling.
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Then I'd recommend the BOSS GX-10. It's got the same processing power as its big brother, the GX-100 (which is what I use), so you'll have no problem stacking drives and delays. I've found the interface very user friendly. It has a touch screen, and you can drag and drop everything into your signal chain. And with four-cable method, you can have the appropriate effects in front of your amp and others in the loop.

Boss GX-10 Multi Effects Processor

Guitar/Bass Multi-effects Pedal with Amp/Effects Modeling, Cabs, Mics, LCD, Expression Pedal, MIDI, Effects Loop, and USB-C Recording Interface
www.sweetwater.com
 
jrockbridge said:
It’s hard to know what to recommend without knowing budget needs. I’ve used Line 6 products over the years but their costs are significant. I currently own a L6 HX Stomp.

Boss is a name I trust. I own a Boss Katana GO headphone modeler.

Boss makes the GT line. Although, I’ve never owned and used a GT, I can’t help but notice how successful that line of product has been. They seem to make versions in a variety of price points starting with the GT-1 for $199.

It includes amp modeling which you don’t have to use. You can simply use it for the effects. But, it’s nice to have amp modeling as a backup in case your amp goes down. You could use amp modeling directly to PA in an emergency situation.View attachment 105745
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I have this unit as a backup, and while it does actually sound pretty damn good, it's very limited. There's really no way to stack different types of the same effect. You get one drive, one delay, one reverb, etc. per patch.
 
I ended up ordering one of the $200 Boss GT-1 units. Traditionally, Boss products are well made. I don't know about some of the less expensive Chinese brands. Also, Boss usually has good support. I thought it would probably have more pre made patches that I could download. I'm sure that I can find the sounds I need with it. And, with 0% financing, it's within my budget. This is baptism by fire for me. I need to learn how to use this thing by next week. Thanks for your help.
 
PunkKitty said:
I ended up ordering one of the $200 Boss GT-1 units. Traditionally, Boss products are well made. I don't know about some of the less expensive Chinese brands. Also, Boss usually has good support. I thought it would probably have more pre made patches that I could download. I'm sure that I can find the sounds I need with it. And, with 0% financing, it's within my budget. This is baptism by fire for me. I need to learn how to use this thing by next week. Thanks for your help.
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I fear you won't be able to do the layering of effects you want to do with this unit.
 
Can you patch other effects into its signal chain? If so then you might can layer some stuff.

A while back I bought one of those Valton units for my pedal steel. Plan was to replace a pedalboard. But I need to set up a custom signal chain and patch in a vol pedal and a tuner with my pedal steel tuning codepents. Every time I try to set up a signal chain the way I want I get frustrated and give up. Even though its supposed to be able to do it I just cant figure the damn thing out. Ive concluded Im just too damn old to follow instructions, or else the instructions are gibberish, idk. I wish I knew a 14 or 15 year old they could prob show me how to do it in 5 min
 
After looking into it a bit more, this may not be the right one for me. I can always send it back. Better to spend a few bucks to return it than to keep something that won't work.

But I'm trying to figure out where to go from here, or if my thoughts are unrealistic. Ideally, I'd like to arrange whatever patches that I use in groups so I can bring them up sequentially when I need them. So, if I need P94, P35, and P46, I'd like to arrange them in a group so that I can just cycle through them as I play the song by tapping the up or down pedal on the box at the appropriate time. Is this even possible? Do I need something so advanced that it's beyond my price range? I figure that I can spend as much as $400 or so total if I get 0% financing. I can recoup some of the expense by selling pedals that I have now. I really need to get moving on this, so picking something up locally is probably my best bet. Here's what I have available, according to Reverb.
 
Nita Strauss using a Boss GT1000 unit on her solo stuff and admitted that she uses the stock presets on stage.

Here she is demoing the Gt1000 core.

 
PunkKitty said:
After looking into it a bit more, this may not be the right one for me. I can always send it back. Better to spend a few bucks to return it than to keep something that won't work.

But I'm trying to figure out where to go from here, or if my thoughts are unrealistic. Ideally, I'd like to arrange whatever patches that I use in groups so I can bring them up sequentially when I need them. So, if I need P94, P35, and P46, I'd like to arrange them in a group so that I can just cycle through them as I play the song by tapping the up or down pedal on the box at the appropriate time. Is this even possible? Do I need something so advanced that it's beyond my price range? I figure that I can spend as much as $400 or so total if I get 0% financing. I can recoup some of the expense by selling pedals that I have now. I really need to get moving on this, so picking something up locally is probably my best bet. Here's what I have available, according to Reverb.
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That is possible, but you're going to run out of banks if you're sequentially running through, say, three or four presets for every song for an entire set. There's a better/easier way, though. On a unit like the BOSS GX-10, you can turn on/off multiple effects and/or change multiple parameters all with the push of one foot switch. So you can have a baseline preset, with whichever effects are on at the start of the song, then hit button 1 to engage your OD and delay and and whatever else for the solo section. Hit it again to go back to baseline. Then hit button 2 for the middle section that calls for a flanger or whatever, then hit it again to go back to the baseline preset again. Rinse and repeat. And, again, with this unit you can absolutely stack delays and drives--especially since you won't be using amp/cab modeling, so you'll have plenty of DSP to work with.
 
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