what kind of pedals do you use? i currently only have one of the multi function Digitech entry level pedals. I don't use them too much but have always wanted to start using them more. I didn't really know the pros and cons of the dedicated pedals vs. the multi function ones.

Hi zenbone: I have a flock of individual stomp boxes and I also have an old Boss GT-3 multi-FX unit.

As people will be queuing up here to tell you, the advantage of individual pedals is ease of tweaking and the possibility of boutique flavors. In a playing situation the advantage is that if you want a certain effect switched in you simply step on it and away ya go. There are now also some multi-FX boxes that work the same way; Line 6's M9 and M13 units, for example.

The disadvantage of individual pedals is... pretty much the same list. If your settings change a lot from one number to another you can find yourself involved in some pretty complicated tap-dancing and maybe even grovelling on the ground hastily twisting knobs - for a different delay setting, say.

So what the programmable multi-FX units offer is the chance to set up an entire sound for a given number, complete with all your choices for delay time, verb, drive level - and every other thing you can think of. So instead of all that resetting of a row of pedals all you do is a couple of foot taps to switch to a new preset assortment of sounds for the next song. Or the next sound within a song - very handy for the Pink Floyd impersonators amongst us, for instance.

For those who play in covers bands and so need to have a lot of very different sounds instantly available without hassle I’d suggest a multi-FX unit is the way to go.

Though these days many of them also offer amp simulations which many of us might consider a mixed blessing in real life playing situations – we perhaps prefer the true tone of our amp and don't want a replica of another one piped through it.

And the disadvantages of the multi-FX units pretty much mirror the advantages of single pedals. They are hard to tweak on the fly, because doing so usually involves working your way through a row of menus in a stupidly small display screen. If in a number you suddenly desire the chorus to be off but everything else to stay the same you can't have it, unless you pre-programmed that option in.

So it really is a case of horses for courses.

...You could always follow my approach and stock your effects storeroom with both!

Or one last possibility. Some manufacturers offer a kind of halfway-house unit. For example, in addition to all the above I also have Boss's ME-50 toy. A goodly array of emulations of famous pedals, a simple memory function to save settings, the ability to switch the important sounds in and out individually with single toe taps and good ol' knob tweakability. And no silly amp sims. Some people will tell you this unit is too generic in its sounds to be taken seriously, and that's fair enough. But for home practice and even for live work I think there's a long way you can go with these things, and at worst they give you a hint of whether a real Tubescreamer or a Muff or whatever is the particular pedal you seek, down the line.

And frankly, if a single member of an audience can tell the difference between the real thing and Boss's emulation of it in a gigging situation I'll eat my hat.

Ooo, what a lot of typing. Any use?

Cheers - C

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you have a "flock" of pedals?
interesting choice of words ceri, gotta love it.

you didnt mention our beloved bradshaw system ceri.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

To go with a herd of guitars. And a stampede of amplifiers.



Gotta leave something for others to talk about.

Cheers - C

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oh Lord thats to funny ceri.
i have to agree on both counts.
i think we are starting to sound like gear nerds.
they have a local deal going on at a music store. if you bring in 1 can of
food you get a free string change. (you either buy or bring your own strings)
not a bad deal for the new student actually.
an even better deal for the floyd rose owner.
i might have to make the trip today. i know their guitar tech very well. hes on point and
ive used him many times to do multi setups on FR equipt guitars. i wonder how many
i can take in to him today before he gets at me? im sure i can come up with 12 or 13 cans of greenbeans downstairs before i have to go to the grocery.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

If your amplifiers are stampeding, you might look at putting some type of rubber mat underneath them or perhaps strapping them down. You're probably setting the bass too high.



No, you don't have to leave something for others to talk about...do tell about your Bradshaw System!

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

...Starting?



Oh, I see. That type of can of food. For me it's a different type of food that comes in cans:



And to get this thread safely back on topic with pedals, I recommend the Boss OD-1. It does things certain other pedals can't manage:



Cheers - C

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Oh dear, is this the moment to admit I don't know what this Bradshaw System is?

I was kind of hoping someone would tell us without having to ask.

Cheers - C

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I use a Delta Labs multi fx pedal and have a bit of a love/hate thing going for it. It's not at all what I call intuitive, it took me a long time to begin to understand how it was set up and how to use and program it. Now that I understand it better it's becoming usefull and I find that even though most of the preset sounds are a bit over the top, they work very nicely while playing along with my favorite songs. I'm finding it's a little weak in the wah department and that will probably be my first dedicated pedal buy soon.

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'10 American Deluxe HSS Sunset Metallic
'10 JA-90 Thinline Telecaster
'15 Music Man JP-15 Blueberry Burst
'07 Les Paul Standard Faded LCPG #82
'14 Carvin ST300
'12 Carvin CS424S
'66 Guild Starfire IV w/Bigsby
'14 Warmouth Partscaster Daphne Blue

Back to the original post, it seems like the programmability of a multi-effect is best for cover bands where you are trying to copy the tone for particular songs without tap dancing between songs. It's also convenient to have everything in one (relatively) compact package.

If you are playing original songs, trying to develop your own particular sound/tone/style or playing covers "your way", it might be better to go with individual pedals. I'm not saying you can't develop your own tone with a multi-effect, but...

You can get your favorite fuzz, overdrive, modulation (phase shifter, flange, etc.), wah, delay, etc., and blend them to make your overall tone/sound.

I personally went the individual pedal route, and I enjoy that more, since I am constantly on the prowl for another new/different/better texture or sound to add to my sonic pallette.

Since you asked what pedals people have, here you go--



Here's a legend for my sonic map:

• Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
• Ibanez TS-9 (re-issue) Tube Screamer (overdrive)
• Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble (rotary speaker simulator)
• Dunlop MWA Crybaby Wah (modified GCB95)
• MXR M-101 Phase 90 (phase shifter) (late 70s block logo, no LED)
• Dunlop JH-2S Jimi Hendrix System Classic Fuzz (now discontinued)
• MXR M-66 Classic Overdrive (limited run Guitar Center exclusive)(modified)
• MXR M-133 Micro Amp (gain/volume boost)
• ISP Decimator G-String (noise reducer)
• MXR M-169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay
• Morley ABY (A/B box for amplifier channel switching)

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

i have a boss me-70 (to me way better than the me-50) but i plan to add a few pedals to it to either perfect some effects (like wah and distortion) or add stuff that the me-70 doesn't have (like a decent reverb control)

Hi falfcaetano: well now that's an interesting comment. If someone's in the market for this type of box then the ME-70 is a step up from the ME-50 without a doubt. But here's an odd thing: I would naturally be very sniffy about the 50's one knob reverb function - except that of the four flavors it offers one of them is called "modern" and to my complete surprise I rather like it. Strange but true. The tiniest touch of that is usually on when I'm using that unit (strictly for practice in the downstairs bathroom. I have more practice rigs than any grown-up should reasonably wish for...).

And while I would never bother to argue with anyone dismissing these models as beginner's toys, of the 22 drive emulations the ME-50 has its sim of Boss's own OD-2 is... kinda good. To my ears at any rate. I suppose if they can accurately replicate anyone's sound it should be their own.

Cheers - C

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lol the me-70 only has 2 reverbs it's probably not as perfect as i thought... i don't really consider a multi effects pedal as a beginners toy... it is a good way to experiment on a new sound for me... plus i'm not big on modulation and delay though they are necessary sometimes and i use the me-70 for that kind of stuff but there are things in your sound that should be unique (like distortion) and that's the downside to these multi effects...

Exactly! That's the pleasure of these types of unit. Lots of different flavors at the twist of a knob. Good stuff - and while pricewise they are obviously pitched at the bedroom hero crowd there's absolutely no reason someone couldn't use them for serious gigging.

I think they're highly functional and underated.

Still, this thread will soon fill up with people talking about their Keeley modded Rat II pedals and other such exotica - and that's all right and proper too.

It's all good clean fun!

Cheers - C

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After reading Ceri & Raef's comments, I realized that everybody who uses multieffects board says, "It's great except..."

If there's an "except" on my pedalboard, I start looking for another pedal pretty quickly.

That doesn't mean the ME50 or ME70 are useless (a former bandmate used an ME50 with great results live and in studio), it just means that, as he said, "I found two of the 22 overdrives were good; I found one of the four reverbs good, I didn't like any of the wah or phase effects..." and so one. He ended up using just the effects he liked, and the rest were just wasted bits and bytes to him.

I guess I would rather just buy a good-to-great overdrive (note the two on my board) than rifle through/eventually ignore the other 20 "meh-to-bleh" overdrives.

Multi-effects are cool and always improving (I'd like to hear the newer Line 6 models in person), but I still think if you're going for an original or personalized sound, go with individual stompboxes. If it were a "backup" or bedroom/practice rig (a la Ceri's downstairs practice rig), that's a very cool use for the multi-boards.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals