Multi FX vs Individual FX

i_am_a_wishlist

Wow it's been ages since I've posted at the forum...........Anyway

I'm starting a band with some mates and I'm playing guitar and doing vocals. I want to get some effects pedals. I basically know what I want and what each of them does. But what I want to know is how individual pedals in a chain compare to a multi effects unit. I know some people swear by them but I'm more of an old school person when it comes to guitar effects.

At the moment I'm just looking at several Boss pedals.
-TU-2 for tuning and powering the other pedals
-OC-3
-PH-3
-SD-1
-DD-3

Will be using the amp spring reverb (When I actually get the new amp).

Also looking at EH Big Muff Pi.

keeponrockin

DEFINITLEY go single effects.
Just wondering, why mostly looking at BOSS? One of the advanteges of having singles is being able to mix and match. Most people that buy a multi will end up buying singles eventually, so just skip the multi step!

i_am_a_wishlist

I guess I'm going for the Boss ones casue they are good pedals for a reasonable price. I will probably experiment with other brands when I get some more money but it's just a start.

ianvomsaal

Get single effects - they're better all around.
Just remember that Boss pedals ARE NOT TRUE BYPASS - though the majority of what I use is Boss.
If you need more info on true bypass, and especially multi-effects units VS single pedals, this subject
has been thoroughly discussed on here within the in the last couple months.
Cheers . . .

- Ian

xtremehardy388

Single effects are the best. I JUST bought a TR2 not 24 hours ago. It seems to be amazing. I have a moded SD1 and it sounds like the early PJ sound. I HIGHLY recommend you mod it when you get it. Not expensive at all.

i_am_a_wishlist

xtremehardy388 wrote:

Single effects are the best. I JUST bought a TR2 not 24 hours ago. It seems to be amazing. I have a moded SD1 and it sounds like the early PJ sound. I HIGHLY recommend you mod it when you get it. Not expensive at all.

What mods have you done? I want my overdrive to be more Vs. era PJ.

Kegzy05

Ive heard alot about the single effects pedals being alot better than the multi processors. But I have one question as im not very familiar with using them in a gigging situation. All the multi effects units i have seen have a programming ability so that you can keep certain tweaked settings and go back to them quickly and easily. But the single effects dont have this option? So for e.g if you were playing a song using delay and then the next song you had to use a different delay setting (speed ect) then you have to stop and tweak it by hand in between every song??

keeponrockin

Kegzy05 wrote:

Ive heard alot about the single effects pedals being alot better than the multi processors. But I have one question as im not very familiar with using them in a gigging situation. All the multi effects units i have seen have a programming ability so that you can keep certain tweaked settings and go back to them quickly and easily. But the single effects dont have this option? So for e.g if you were playing a song using delay and then the next song you had to use a different delay setting (speed ect) then you have to stop and tweak it by hand in between every song??

Yes. The ONE problem with singles is convience.

Mike_Muse_Rage

i_am_a_wishlist wrote:

Wow it's been ages since I've posted at the forum...........Anyway

I'm starting a band with some mates and I'm playing guitar and doing vocals. I want to get some effects pedals. I basically know what I want and what each of them does. But what I want to know is how individual pedals in a chain compare to a multi effects unit. I know some people swear by them but I'm more of an old school person when it comes to guitar effects.

At the moment I'm just looking at several Boss pedals.
-TU-2 for tuning and powering the other pedals
-OC-3
-PH-3
-SD-1
-DD-3

Will be using the amp spring reverb (When I actually get the new amp).

Also looking at EH Big Muff Pi.

Whatever you do don't use the TU-2 to "power" the other pedals. Just buy a standard 9V daisy chain lead and use that on the power supply you're using. All the TU-2 will do is give you a nasty ground loop. No problems with any of the pedals, but I'd steer clear of the PH-3 since, although it sounds pretty good and is very versatile, it has rather a large volume drop on the majority of settings. I barely use mine because of this. If you want Mike's sound, I'd go for a Phase 90 instead. Otherwise, all looks good.

xtremehardy388

Mike_Muse_Rage wrote:

Whatever you do don't use the TU-2 to "power" the other pedals. Just buy a standard 9V daisy chain lead and use that on the power supply you're using. All the TU-2 will do is give you a nasty ground loop. No problems with any of the pedals, but I'd steer clear of the PH-3 since, although it sounds pretty good and is very versatile, it has rather a large volume drop on the majority of settings. I barely use mine because of this. If you want Mike's sound, I'd go for a Phase 90 instead. Otherwise, all looks good.

Also a Phase 100 or whatever the next one up is. Gets Mike's tone PLUS more versatile.

xtremehardy388

i_am_a_wishlist wrote:

What mods have you done? I want my overdrive to be more Vs. era PJ.

For the BOSS SD-1, I just had a friend of mine do this...

http://www.guitarjam.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7
(If you scroll to the bottom, it tells you what each change does).

http://www.erikhansen.net/?page_id=29


The BOSS BD-2: http://www.erikhansen.net/?page_id=24

The BOSS DS-1: http://www.erikhansen.net/?page_id=28

ALL of these can get you good VS. sounds plus each one does more for various things. I had these done to mine, changed them around on the SD-1 sometimes...it just depends how bored I am. Anyway, I hope these help.

ianvomsaal

I just posted this Keeley DS-1 mod on here for another topic, but here it is again:
Keeley DS-1 Seeing Eye/Ultra Mod
And if you scroll down just above the bottom of Keeley's BD-2 page, he actually tells
you how he MODS the BD-2 Blues Driver (that's class) - here: Keeley BD-2 Blues Driver
Cheers . . .

- Ian C.T. vom Saal

EvilTB

I currently have a cheaper Multi-effects unit, a Digitech RP-250. I like it, but I would hate to use it in a band situation. You have patches but you don't have significant control over the individual effects on the patches.

Cheap Multi-effects units don't have the connections necessary to integrate well with guitar amplifiers either. They often sound like crap. They sound better through keyboard amplifiers!

Kegzy05

What about the modern multi fx boards like the Digitech GNX4, would it go close to giving you a sound close to that of single pedals? it looks awesome.. I understand that you would probably get a better sound out of individual pedals but i like the fact that you can preset everything instead of mucking around tweaking different settings in between songs. I am also torn between a multi or single effects set up.. I dont know what i should do. To me the multi FX board seems more "gig friendly"?

Kegzy05

Is there anyone that plays live in a band etc. that finds the lack of being able to pre-set (like you can with multi fx) with single effects chains? I am trying to get into a band situation, playing pubs etc.. and it just seems like it would be very inconveniant

xtremehardy388

Kegzy05 wrote:

Is there anyone that plays live in a band etc. that finds the lack of being able to pre-set (like you can with multi fx) with single effects chains? I am trying to get into a band situation, playing pubs etc.. and it just seems like it would be very inconveniant

It's not too bad. It actually allows you to be more versatile and more than likely, you'll realize, the positions aren't hard to learn, nor will you change them a lot.

ianvomsaal

Kegzy05 wrote:

What about the modern multi fx boards like the Digitech GNX4, would it go close to giving you a sound close to that of single pedals? it looks awesome.. I understand that you would probably get a better sound out of individual pedals but i like the fact that you can preset everything instead of mucking around tweaking different settings in between songs. I am also torn between a multi or single effects set up.. I don’t know what i should do. To me the multi FX board seems more "gig friendly"?

I know a guy that had that exact processor (GNX4), and it really SUCKED. Then he got the GNX3000 because of all the advances and USB capability,
and he never uses any of that for anything. He's gonna go the individual pedal route because something is constantly going wrong with both GNX
systems - I told him to go the individual pedal route, but he too thought a multi-effects board would be easier to use than individual pedals . . . NOT TRUE.
And out of the 200+ available pre-sets he only uses 1-bank of 5-presets, and he never scrolls off that - I get just as many sounds out of individual pedals.
Plus those multi-effects units don't really sound that good live - they always sound better through headphones than through a real guitar amp.

Kegzy05 wrote:

Is there anyone that plays live in a band etc. that finds the lack of being able to pre-set (like you can with multi fx) with single effects chains? I am trying to get into a band situation, playing pubs etc.. and it just seems like it would be very inconvenient

I've never had any problems with individual pedals and versatility - you learn the tap dance routine and you're fine - Shit, take a look at Mike McCready's
Pedal Board - if there was a problem with individual pedal versatility do you think he'd still be using them - IMO multi-effects pedal boards are just toys.

- Ian

MichaelMcKevin

I asked hte same question on here about 5 months ago and I took their advice. Go individual. Sound is better by far, plus if one breaks, you still have all the rest.

DriftingByTheStorm

yeah.

i just want to throw in about single pedal versatility and the perceived drawback of not being able to save positions for settings.

I SUCK at guitar, but i have 5 or 6 pedals i really like and even i find it VERY easy and intuitive to switch the sounds.

I will use a chain like this very often:
tremolo-->compression-->distortion-->phase-->delay-->amp

[maybe not that exactly, but i do tend to overstack pedals] ...

and i will find myself doing something like this:
pick a position for the compression ... usualy doesnt change much at all ... adjust the tremolo for a speed sweep compatitble with what i'm using (if i'm using it at all) ... set the phase somewhere moderate and keep it (again if i use it, and with a acceptable sweep) and maybe screw around with both the distortion and the delay a bit as i play ... if i do anything with the other pedals it's just turning them on or off ...

and as far as adjusting the delay or distortion, i'm more than happy to do so ... you learn to adjust delay settings in real time quite easy i've learned ...it's a lot of fun to push the guitar into a feedback loop and then back off on the decay ... and for distortion, sometimes you just get tired of a lot and switch to a little, or vice versa ...

i dunno.
I've owned multi-FX boards, and they are great for what they are. You usualy get sick of the "sameness" of all the sounds ... and when you get 5 or 6 really great single units, it can bring amazing versatility ... especialy if you get two complementary distortions and switch or combine (you guys tought me that for sure) ... and then just play around ...

i dunno.
I guess i'm just trying to say i don't really find not being able to store effects settings as a problem ... by the time you are starting to deal with multiple single effects, you are getting to be so proficient at pedal settings that it is a non-issue... and again, i still don't feel i'm a great guitarist ... but i sure do love and enjoy screwing around with the pedals.

xtremehardy388

If you DO go for a multi FX board, the Tonelab is the best. You gotta shell out a lot to get good stuff to be quite honest. You get what you pay for.

ianvomsaal

xtremehardy388 wrote:

If you DO go for a multi FX board, the Tonelab is the best. You gotta shell out a lot to get good stuff to be quite honest. You get what you pay for.

The tube in that Vox pedal is complete NONSENSE.
There isn't enough plate voltage running through it to light up the tube.
The tube's there to fool people into thinking that it's a tube powered EFX.
The tube is actually being lit by a small light bulb behind the tube (soo cheesy).

- Ian