Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)
  • Guitar multi-effects
  • butcher
    Full Member

    OK, so I used to play, many, many years ago. We’re talking mid-90s. And back then I would open the glossy mags and be greeted with these technological wonders promising a multitude of different sounds advertised on the inside page. All mine for several hundred pounds. Which I could never afford with my pocket money of course…

    Roll on a couple of decades and on the rare occasions I pick up the guitar I still have the urge to scratch that itch.

    What I don’t want to do is pay loads of money only to put it away in the cupboard to gather dust. And I’m thinking digital technology has moved on a long way in this time, so surely you can pick something up as good as you could get back then for a fraction of the price?

    I’m thinking between £50-100..?

    This is purely for messing about in the house, not looking for top quality, just some adequately convincing sounds to entertain myself.

    Superficial
    Free Member

    I had a Line 6 POD 2.0 which I thought was great. Mine must be £15 years old and it feels like it’ll last another 100. You can get them on eBay for your budget. I used it until recently but I’ve switched to an iRig HD and an app (I use, and paid for, Bias FX but there are several options each with Pros and Cons). It runs off my phone and means I can wander around with headphones completely unencumbered by cables etc. All in I probably spent £100 on that.

    The only issue is that I’d quite like a looper pedal which doesn’t really fit into that setup very easily (without using long cables).

    zerolight
    Free Member

    You’d get more answers to this posting in a guitar forum – maybe thegearpage?

    What do you plan to use it for? Is it something you want to put infront of an amp, in the FX loop, or are you looking for a modelling device to use alone with headphones and just your guitar.

    If it’s either of the former, analog pedals use the same tech now as they did then and have gone up in price with inflation, so you won’t get much for £50. You could buy a handful of Chinese clone pedals for £100, or a couple of cheap Tone City or Mooer pedals, to stick in front of an amp. If it’s digital multifx to stick in front of an amp, I think you’ll struggle a bit.

    On the other hand, if it’s not for use with an amp, you can spend a few quid on an interface to connect your guitar to an iPhone/iPad and get something like Bias for free with an amp or two and buy some more FX and amps if you need them. It gets the job done, isn’t going to feel or sound like a Kemper or Axe FX III, but I survived a few months with Bias.

    An old Line 6 POD / XT / X3 will fall into your £50 to £100 budget too.

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    whatgoesup
    Full Member

    I’d suggest a Boss GT-1, second hand they go got £80-100 ish.

    All of Boss’s pedals are modelled along with several amp models, it has a built in expression pedal which can be used for Wah or whatever you assign it to, plus it’s got a built in looper. Can be run in the effects loop of an amp, pre-amp, direct into a stereo system or with headphone. Oh, and it can be connected to a PC to both control it and act as an audio interface.

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    I had a Boss GT6. It was amazing but so complex. Traded down to a Boss ME50 which is much simpler and still sounds great.

    Lately I’ve mostly been using an iRig and Amplitube or Garageband on my iPad. Garageband in particular is really good.

    butcher
    Full Member

    This is all new to me. Most of my guitar knowledge is pre-internet, never mind smart phones, etc…

    So the general idea was something I can plug into an amp, or use independently (but I think I’d like it to work with an amp too)

    Definitely looking at digital. I have some basic analogue pedals (currently in isolation at the parents house). I’m looking for a wide choice of features primarily.

    Any reason not to buy one of these? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoom-G1xon-Multi-Effects-Guitar/dp/B017GZNEYK

    Looking for secondhand kit is a bit of pain, although that Boss does look great.

    tall_martin
    Full Member

    I’ve had a couple of bass multi effects.

    They are both fine for my guitar.

    I currently use a Zoom b3, there is a guitar version called the zoom G3!

    It stopped me from buying individual pedals. The guitarists in my old band used to turn up with 10 pedals in fancy cases, they frequently broke, leads came unplugged and were a right old expensive hobby in their own right.

    The multi effect was fine. In the studio I could hear the difference. Easily sorted by letting the sound engineers use some fancy studio effects. On my own or with the rest of the band I could never hear any difference.

    The newer one is £125 new. I’d go for that if I was after effects again 🙂

    https://www.andertons.co.uk/zoom-g3n-multi-effect-processor-g3n?gclid=Cj0KCQjwsYb0BRCOARIsAHbLPhHMU1LqlqVc6lXGoldcEG2d74w7P4SvPAmcOTjY5eryx7VHTOGA-CYaAqDEEALw_wcB

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I have a multi effects pedal – DigiTech, I think? And it’s a bit er.. mental, really. There’s something like 200 effects. 1 is clean, 2 is rock, 3 is blues and so on up to about 10, and the rest are increasingly bizzare and insane noises, ideal for making your own impenetrable death metal or 15 minute prog rock orgies. I may just shop for a more sensible single pedal cos it’s easier to deal with.

    Scapegoat
    Full Member

    But if you’re after a digitech board with loads of effects for not a lot of dosh there’s one on ebay for fifty quid. Gotta be worth a punt. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digitech-RP70-Modeling-Guitar-Processor/253583244403?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item3b0abd3c73:g:2hAAAOSwvcJZ7d~l

    Rockhopper
    Free Member

    If you watch the online reviews most of them are pretty neutral about multi effects pedals, especially the cheaper ones. They gives you tons of options but only a very few are useful and even then you’ll often get a better sound with a dedicated pedal. Check out Landlord Effects if you are on a budget
    Or you could get an app for your iPad and play with headphones?

    bullandbladder
    Free Member

    In my (admittedly limited) experience, Zoom are a good bet for budget multi FX pedals. My guitar gear-buying ceased years ago, but I occasionally drag out my early 00’s Zoom707. I’d imagine 20 years development has improved the modelling since then.

    Edukator
    Free Member

    I picked up a second-hand Fender Floor for 100e mainly because I use the Mustang amps which use the same software. It’s pretty good played through headphones or a hi-fi and sacrilege – through a Fender Bass breaker 45 valve amp and 4×12 cab!

    The pedal effects aren’t in the same league as genuine pedals but the amp models are pretty realistic. The cab models shouldn’t need to be used with a real cab but a 4×12 cab model in addition to a real 4×12 cab gives a grain I really like.

    timdrayton
    Free Member

    Line 6 amplifi 100fx

    Pedal, which you can plug straight into your hifi or amp

    Clever bit is the cloud based app and forum for creating the effects/amp models

    Then you can play music through it too

    So if you want to sound like jimi hendrix on a specific tune someone will have built it…

    Without a doubt the best 70nquid i have ever spent on ebay, and the best guitar related purchase ever!

    tillydog
    Free Member

    I’ve got an old Zoom 2.1Nu which sounds like the sort of thing you want.

    It’s OK – great for messing round – includes rhythm & a looper – can be used with headphones or an amp. (In fact I’m going to dig it out this evening so I can use it with headphones as I no longer get an empty house to make widdling noises these days).

    That model is well obsolete by now, but might be worth looking for current equivalent (may be the G3 as above, but I’m not up with current models).

    I’ve tried ‘soft’ fx, but couldn’t live with the latency (not much, but detectable and annoying to me).

    ajantom
    Full Member

    I spent many years chasing this particular dream – it’s a very deep rabbit hole if you’re not careful.

    Many of the multi effects pedals on the market are overloaded with absolute shite, you will generally only use 2 or 3 of the effects, and all the others are just useful for making funny noises.

    I went through separate pedals and pedal boards – this is good as you can tailor your choices and be specific in what sounds you can get, but you then have issues with effects chains, leads, power supplies, and not to mention the bulk and weight.

    Then the cheaper end of the market, i.e. Zoom multi-effect pedals. Generally ok, but they tend to have a lot of pointless sounds, and the sound you do get out pf it can be a bit ‘digitally’. These tend to be a bit plasticky, and are not really up to heavy use or gigging.

    Higher end amp modelling and multi-effects units, i.e. Line 6.
    These started with the venerable Pod in the 90s, and then various iterations, Pod 2.0, Pod XT, etc. These can be bought 2nd hand for £30-50 – in fact I off-loaded 3 Pods for sod all money on eBay last year.
    These give a much better sound, but you often have menu upon menu to scroll through to find and set sounds, and whilst they often have a PC/Mac interface to set up sounds it isn’t the most user friendly thing in the world.
    Much better suited to home playing and recording than gigging, but they are great bits of kit, even the older ones.

    There’s now a few companies doing what are basically a few standalone analogue pedals in a combo case. So if you know what you need and are happy with what they offer, you get the best of both worlds – a range of good quality pedals and sounds, but no faffing with little leads and PSUs or batteries.

    I’ve got a Tech 21 Fly Rig 5, and I can honestly say that after 30 years of guitar playing and looking for the perfect pedal/pedals/effect unit, this is it.
    Reverb, delay (tap tempo, and variously tweakable), excellent sounding amp modeller, nice overdrive, and a boost. Does all I need it to.
    Quite pricy new (but can be found SH for not too many ££). I sold a bunch of my older pedals and the Pods, and came out even.

    ashhh
    Full Member

    +1 for the zoom gt3. I got one a couple of years ago. YouTube the andertons / rob Chapman review. I really like it.

    butcher
    Full Member

    I’m going with the cheap Zoom offering I linked to above. Can’t find a bad review on them really and it’s at the ideal price point.

    Ordinarily I’d be eyeing up very closely some of the recommendations in this thread but unless I start seriously playing again I can’t really justify them, not when there’s bikes to be bought.

    eddiebaby
    Free Member

    I have an old Korg Pandora PX3 for wandering around the house and Guitar Rig 5 that I’ve been running and updating since GR2.
    I still am going to get a Line6 HD500X. And today seems a good day to do it. Ta for the reminder. Go Line6, I’ve always loved their gear.

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