Pedals or All in One Box?

castpolymer · July 3rd, 2008, 06:28 AM

I just traded in a Line 6 Spider 3 modeling amp for a Deluxe Reverb Reissue. Now that I have the sweet tube amp, I need effects. The question is this. Do I go with pedals or a all in one box? I play a lot of different types of music. Stones, 80's progressive, AC/DC and surf rock. The only type I don't play ( or attempt to play ) is jazz. The cost of the boxes or pedals is not a huge factor, but I would prefer not to purchase really expense custom pedals as my playing ability likely does not deserve that yet. Please impart your Tele tone wisdom on me and help a newbie make good decisions on effects. I play multiple Teles and a G & L Legacy if that makes much of a difference.

bowlfreshener · July 3rd, 2008, 08:49 AM

Personally I prefer individual stompboxes because multi-units tend to remind me of Swiss army knives where you get a little bit of everything, but nothing that is really useful in any non-emergency situation. I mean I'd use the saw on the Swiss army knife if there was no other option, but I'm not going to do any major project, like redoing a deck, with the saw on the Swiss knife...

castpolymer · July 3rd, 2008, 09:32 AM

Any preferences on stomp box type and manufacturers?

photoweborama · July 3rd, 2008, 09:46 AM

pedals. I have both, but pedals are it for me.
I like that you can turn on as many or as few as you want, where as multi units, you can usually only run one effect.

Plus, you can choose the best pedals for each effect. Multi units usually do everything ok... but not the best.

Plus, if you jam or gig out, you will kill your back with a multi unit, doing the "cyber-hunch".

There a lot of great manufactures. Boss does everything pretty well.

I like MXR DynaComps, and Phase 90's. I like the Digitech Bad Monkey, and I also like my Tubescreamer. The Boss DS-1 is sort of a have to have standard.

I have a Weeping Demon Wah, but it is too tweakable. You can get some great sounds, but not what I really want.

Just-Jim · July 3rd, 2008, 09:47 AM

I personally did not like the all-in-one-box that I had (Boss ME-50). I sold it and went all pedals. I am happier with the pedal setup......but, I figured out I had too many pedals and was getting frustrated with not being able to figure out the best settings, combinations, etc. I unhooked most of my pedals and now just play through my amps and find those really do give me the best tone. Occassionally I will use my modded Blues Driver pedal for overdrive, or my fuzz when the song calls for it. Other than that I like keeping it simple these days - and much less "tone suck".

IronJoe · July 3rd, 2008, 09:51 AM

I use separate boxes but sometimes I don't know why. If you pony up the dough for a good multi unit, you'll save money in the long run. The new Boss unit has just about everything. I like the Vox Tonelab a lot, too. Carl Martin has a pricey multi unit that is all analog.

I guess I use single pedals because it provides flexibility. I can go with just a couple pedals if I'm feeling minimalistic or load up all of them when I'm in the mood. Plus, you can mix and match different brands.

As far as brands, Boss and Ibanez probably have everything you'll need. But, come on, when was this ever about need? Check out MXR, Maxon, Barber, Electro Harmonix, Nobels, Visual Sound, etc.

Take it one pedal at a time and pick out the best ones to your ears.

castpolymer · July 3rd, 2008, 09:53 AM

Ibanez seems to have a few models of Tube Screamer. Which one do you folks use?

aberrant · July 3rd, 2008, 09:55 AM

Have to say pedals, by far.

Just to reiterate the point: Multi-effects units are more concerned with giving a butt-ton of effects, while a stomp box is more concerned with giving you one really good effect.

Yoni · July 3rd, 2008, 10:16 AM

I'm a pedal guy but the New Line6 m13 is very tempting as it puts all the stompbox modelers into one square of footswitches.

photoweborama · July 3rd, 2008, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by castpolymer

Ibanez seems to have a few models of Tube Screamer. Which one do you folks use?

I have a TS9DX, but honestly, I never use the extra modes. So a regular TS9 would have worked for me.

It was a gift, so I did not pay for it or my DS-1 anyway.

I'll soon be getting a Dunlop Wah, MXR Phase 90 and an MXR DynaComp in trade for my 1977 MXR Script Logo DynaComp.

fivenote · July 3rd, 2008, 11:02 AM

Pedals over multi-effects, for sure!

I've tried a few mult-effects over the years, even giged live with one for a while. It was ok, but never just so. The only one I have now is a Korg Ampworks for practice. It is REALLY compact and has lots of tones.

But... for the real world, get pedals. Find the ones you like and can afford, then invest in a pedalboard/case.

My trick was to try out the pedals at GC, then hover on ebay until I could get what I liked at a discount. I quickly filled my board with the pedals I liked/needed in about 2 months.

castpolymer · July 3rd, 2008, 11:04 AM

I hate the hovering. It is the smart thing to do to find a deal ( and I always screw it up ).

eryque · July 3rd, 2008, 11:38 AM

Some of the multi units sound really, really good, and when using them on stage no one but you will likely be able to tell the difference.

As far as that "cyber hunch," I've never seen a multi unit that weighed anything like what my pedalboard does. I've got 8 individual units and a power supply, and it weighs quite a bit.

Yoni · July 3rd, 2008, 11:53 AM

If you really like line 6 already then I still say try this guy out.

http://line6.com/m13/

IronJoe · July 3rd, 2008, 11:57 AM

I use a TS-10 that I found on ebay. Love the Ibanez 10-series pedals!

There's lots of variations on the Tubescreamer out there. The Nobels ODR-1 is worth checking out. As is the Bad Monkey. Both are pretty affordable.

robbysturgis · July 3rd, 2008, 12:10 PM

Use sparingly.

DRRI has a great tube sound, reverb and tremelo...what else would you need?

If you brought it to your friends living room, you would want to turn it way down - so I like to use the Hot Cake Bluesberry - to make it sound like it was at ten.

What do you want to use Chorus for?

What do you want a Flanger for?

What do you want to use Delay for?

What do you want a fuzz unit for?

What do you want a tone or manual wah for?

tjalla · July 3rd, 2008, 12:13 PM

Another vote for pedals... ease of tweaking on the fly, changability of sounds in the future and staying in the analog realm are big pluses for me - AD/DA conversion on my guitar signal is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

Having 3 or 4 great fx trumps 99 mediocre ones. That said, the above mentioned Carl Martin (i believe its the Quattro) wouldn't be a bad choice at all - I wish they'd kept the tremolo thought, it was replaced by chorus in later versions.

Now that you got a nice DRRI, for the styles you list the trick is to find a couple well-voiced OD pedals that are happy to work with the bright capacitor in the amp's reverb channel... definitely try before you buy scenario. A DRRI can make many ODs (but not all) really shrill, esp at lower volumes. If you're cranking the amp, ignore this consideration.

A good Brit-voiced pedals for not much coin is the MI Audio Crunchbox, maybe try something tweed-esque for early Stones vibe. 80s prog? I draw a blank there! Get a decent analog echo for the surf, the red maxon/ibanez is a good start.

Beerts · July 3rd, 2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eryque

Some of the multi units sound really, really good, and when using them on stage no one but you will likely be able to tell the difference.

As far as that "cyber hunch," I've never seen a multi unit that weighed anything like what my pedalboard does. I've got 8 individual units and a power supply, and it weighs quite a bit.

I couldn't agree more!
however, I'll still keep my individual pedals...

mlove3 · July 3rd, 2008, 03:14 PM

have you seen the show us your pedal board thread? My guess is not only will 95% of the tdpri advise you to go pedal, but 95% of tdpri have huge multiple pedlapboards, which really astonished the crap outta me.

FX are cool but some of these pedalboards are Nasa mission control.

I can barely remember the song, never mind tap dancing!

Silverface · July 3rd, 2008, 07:16 PM

Robby Sturgis has a great answer - basically, "why"?

You don't NEED effects...and if you don't know if you need a boost or overdrive you need to do a LOT of reading. Posting a "what should I buy?" note on a forum will get you nothing but a list of player's favorites for THEIR style, which may be totally irrelevant to your style.

THINK about what you want to sound like. Turn your new TUBE amp WAY up and learn how top use the guitar's controls and pick attack to manipulate it to play quietly, and then make it scream - all with your hands, one switch and two knobs.

Forget effects COMPLETELY until you know how to "play" your amp. Otherwise, like many players, you will simply be another victim of "clone tone" - just sounding generic and like an unidentifiable player, as you never learned how to properly use your BASIC equipment.

But again - READ. A LOT!. Go to websites and listen to samples.

A "boost" and an "overdrive" are different animals, although makers overlap the descriptions a lot - and you won't know what those overlaps are.

Save your money, learn to play your guitar and amp...THEN cautiously start with one or two things MAX that will enhance YOUR music.

Hope that helps -

Jim

kp8 · July 3rd, 2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silverface

Save your money, learn to play your guitar and amp...THEN cautiously start with one or two things MAX that will enhance YOUR music.

Alternately, go by a cr@pload of pedals and sit in your basement twiddling knobs till you figure out what they all do.

hee hee~

Middleman · July 3rd, 2008, 10:58 PM

Pedals here as well. I had two multi-effects units and sold them. Too slow, unintuitive and, when you are under the pressure of playing in front of people, on/off is the best and most immediate way of accessing a sound.

If you hit the wrong button on a multi-effects box, you can spend 15 seconds or more trying to back out of the sound you ended up with.

garytelecastor · July 3rd, 2008, 11:40 PM

I am completely sold on using pedals over multi's. I find that even if they try to copy the original, such as Line 6, it never is the same. If they offer their versions then they may get the distortion right but the delay stinks.
So I have a POD XT Live and I use it to record, but on stage it is all pedals.

11 Gauge · July 4th, 2008, 12:29 AM

It is possible to use pedals and not be a "tone clone" - go try out some in a store. Do it without a manual. Find one or two that you like, take them home, and continue without the manual. Try not to imitate what you hear on recordings. It's hard, but try.

I'm a fuzz pedal freak, but most folks will tell you that it's a whacked out effect that should be used sparingly. I just can't adhere to that rule. Sometimes I do use it judiciously, other times not. I'm not telling you to go try this specific effect - more along the lines of just try stuff and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

As far as multi versus separate, I don't really care any more. If the price is right and there's at least one sweet spot in the box, it's good for now.

You'll never know if you're a guitar->cord->amp player, a multi effect player, or an indie stomp tap dancer until you've tried them all.

This is the kind of thing where IMO you have to jump in with both feet. A little research won't hurt, but it's simply not really experiencing anything.

yelserpdog · July 4th, 2008, 01:19 AM

I use both. The multi's I use for playing with heaphones or recording and for trying out new sounds, I have used tem live as well though on the odd occasion. I use my pedals live. It originally had about 7 pedals on the board and it now only has 2, boost and an overdrive. I play country and southern rock.

July 3rd, 2008, 06:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
castpolymer Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oklahoma Age: 37 Posts: 337	Pedals or All in One Box? I just traded in a Line 6 Spider 3 modeling amp for a Deluxe Reverb Reissue. Now that I have the sweet tube amp, I need effects. The question is this. Do I go with pedals or a all in one box? I play a lot of different types of music. Stones, 80's progressive, AC/DC and surf rock. The only type I don't play ( or attempt to play ) is jazz. The cost of the boxes or pedals is not a huge factor, but I would prefer not to purchase really expense custom pedals as my playing ability likely does not deserve that yet. Please impart your Tele tone wisdom on me and help a newbie make good decisions on effects. I play multiple Teles and a G & L Legacy if that makes much of a difference.

July 3rd, 2008, 08:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
bowlfreshener Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2007 Location: Virginia, USA Age: 32 Posts: 1,383 6 Photos	Personally I prefer individual stompboxes because multi-units tend to remind me of Swiss army knives where you get a little bit of everything, but nothing that is really useful in any non-emergency situation. I mean I'd use the saw on the Swiss army knife if there was no other option, but I'm not going to do any major project, like redoing a deck, with the saw on the Swiss knife... __________________ RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

July 3rd, 2008, 09:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
photoweborama Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Age: 50 Posts: 1,431 15 Photos	pedals. I have both, but pedals are it for me. I like that you can turn on as many or as few as you want, where as multi units, you can usually only run one effect. Plus, you can choose the best pedals for each effect. Multi units usually do everything ok... but not the best. Plus, if you jam or gig out, you will kill your back with a multi unit, doing the "cyber-hunch". There a lot of great manufactures. Boss does everything pretty well. I like MXR DynaComps, and Phase 90's. I like the Digitech Bad Monkey, and I also like my Tubescreamer. The Boss DS-1 is sort of a have to have standard. I have a Weeping Demon Wah, but it is too tweakable. You can get some great sounds, but not what I really want. __________________ Best guitar photos on the net! photoweborama.com!

July 3rd, 2008, 10:16 AM	#9 (permalink)
Yoni Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Age: 25 Posts: 304	I'm a pedal guy but the New Line6 m13 is very tempting as it puts all the stompbox modelers into one square of footswitches. __________________ Fall in Love it's Fun-EV Check out my band at www.myspace.com/agent355

July 3rd, 2008, 11:02 AM	#11 (permalink)
fivenote Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 146 4 Photos	Pedals over multi-effects, for sure! I've tried a few mult-effects over the years, even giged live with one for a while. It was ok, but never just so. The only one I have now is a Korg Ampworks for practice. It is REALLY compact and has lots of tones. But... for the real world, get pedals. Find the ones you like and can afford, then invest in a pedalboard/case. My trick was to try out the pedals at GC, then hover on ebay until I could get what I liked at a discount. I quickly filled my board with the pedals I liked/needed in about 2 months. __________________ ~~~~~ fivenote ~~~~~ One day I'll finally have the perfect guitar for me. That's also the day I'll get arthritis. It was a fun ride.

July 3rd, 2008, 09:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
castpolymer Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oklahoma Age: 37 Posts: 337	Any preferences on stomp box type and manufacturers?

July 3rd, 2008, 09:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
Just-Jim Tele-Meister Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 318	I personally did not like the all-in-one-box that I had (Boss ME-50). I sold it and went all pedals. I am happier with the pedal setup......but, I figured out I had too many pedals and was getting frustrated with not being able to figure out the best settings, combinations, etc. I unhooked most of my pedals and now just play through my amps and find those really do give me the best tone. Occassionally I will use my modded Blues Driver pedal for overdrive, or my fuzz when the song calls for it. Other than that I like keeping it simple these days - and much less "tone suck".

July 3rd, 2008, 09:51 AM	#6 (permalink)
IronJoe Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Age: 33 Posts: 413	I use separate boxes but sometimes I don't know why. If you pony up the dough for a good multi unit, you'll save money in the long run. The new Boss unit has just about everything. I like the Vox Tonelab a lot, too. Carl Martin has a pricey multi unit that is all analog. I guess I use single pedals because it provides flexibility. I can go with just a couple pedals if I'm feeling minimalistic or load up all of them when I'm in the mood. Plus, you can mix and match different brands. As far as brands, Boss and Ibanez probably have everything you'll need. But, come on, when was this ever about need? Check out MXR, Maxon, Barber, Electro Harmonix, Nobels, Visual Sound, etc. Take it one pedal at a time and pick out the best ones to your ears.

July 3rd, 2008, 09:53 AM	#7 (permalink)
castpolymer Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oklahoma Age: 37 Posts: 337	Ibanez seems to have a few models of Tube Screamer. Which one do you folks use?

July 3rd, 2008, 09:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
aberrant TDPRI Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 72	Have to say pedals, by far. Just to reiterate the point: Multi-effects units are more concerned with giving a butt-ton of effects, while a stomp box is more concerned with giving you one really good effect.

July 3rd, 2008, 11:04 AM	#12 (permalink)
castpolymer Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oklahoma Age: 37 Posts: 337	I hate the hovering. It is the smart thing to do to find a deal ( and I always screw it up ).

July 3rd, 2008, 11:38 AM	#13 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 6,928 44 Photos	Some of the multi units sound really, really good, and when using them on stage no one but you will likely be able to tell the difference. As far as that "cyber hunch," I've never seen a multi unit that weighed anything like what my pedalboard does. I've got 8 individual units and a power supply, and it weighs quite a bit. __________________ my blog: eryque.blogspot.com Updated 10.27.07 Subscribe_____________________

July 3rd, 2008, 11:53 AM	#14 (permalink)
Yoni Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Age: 25 Posts: 304	If you really like line 6 already then I still say try this guy out. http://line6.com/m13/ __________________ Fall in Love it's Fun-EV Check out my band at www.myspace.com/agent355

July 3rd, 2008, 11:57 AM	#15 (permalink)
IronJoe Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Raleigh, NC Age: 33 Posts: 413	I use a TS-10 that I found on ebay. Love the Ibanez 10-series pedals! There's lots of variations on the Tubescreamer out there. The Nobels ODR-1 is worth checking out. As is the Bad Monkey. Both are pretty affordable.

July 3rd, 2008, 12:10 PM	#16 (permalink)
robbysturgis Tele-Meister Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: fairfax Posts: 414	pedals can be a crutch Use sparingly. DRRI has a great tube sound, reverb and tremelo...what else would you need? If you brought it to your friends living room, you would want to turn it way down - so I like to use the Hot Cake Bluesberry - to make it sound like it was at ten. What do you want to use Chorus for? What do you want a Flanger for? What do you want to use Delay for? What do you want a fuzz unit for? What do you want a tone or manual wah for? __________________ In early '57, I bought a Fender Telecaster. ~ Johnny Rivers

July 3rd, 2008, 12:13 PM	#17 (permalink)
tjalla Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 1,682 7 Photos	Another vote for pedals... ease of tweaking on the fly, changability of sounds in the future and staying in the analog realm are big pluses for me - AD/DA conversion on my guitar signal is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. Having 3 or 4 great fx trumps 99 mediocre ones. That said, the above mentioned Carl Martin (i believe its the Quattro) wouldn't be a bad choice at all - I wish they'd kept the tremolo thought, it was replaced by chorus in later versions. Now that you got a nice DRRI, for the styles you list the trick is to find a couple well-voiced OD pedals that are happy to work with the bright capacitor in the amp's reverb channel... definitely try before you buy scenario. A DRRI can make many ODs (but not all) really shrill, esp at lower volumes. If you're cranking the amp, ignore this consideration. A good Brit-voiced pedals for not much coin is the MI Audio Crunchbox, maybe try something tweed-esque for early Stones vibe. 80s prog? I draw a blank there! Get a decent analog echo for the surf, the red maxon/ibanez is a good start.

July 3rd, 2008, 03:14 PM	#19 (permalink)
mlove3 Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Boston Ma Posts: 143	have you seen the show us your pedal board thread? My guess is not only will 95% of the tdpri advise you to go pedal, but 95% of tdpri have huge multiple pedlapboards, which really astonished the crap outta me. FX are cool but some of these pedalboards are Nasa mission control. I can barely remember the song, never mind tap dancing!

July 3rd, 2008, 07:16 PM	#20 (permalink)
Silverface Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hermosa Beach CA Age: 56 Posts: 1,865	Robby Sturgis has a great answer - basically, "why"? You don't NEED effects...and if you don't know if you need a boost or overdrive you need to do a LOT of reading. Posting a "what should I buy?" note on a forum will get you nothing but a list of player's favorites for THEIR style, which may be totally irrelevant to your style. THINK about what you want to sound like. Turn your new TUBE amp WAY up and learn how top use the guitar's controls and pick attack to manipulate it to play quietly, and then make it scream - all with your hands, one switch and two knobs. Forget effects COMPLETELY until you know how to "play" your amp. Otherwise, like many players, you will simply be another victim of "clone tone" - just sounding generic and like an unidentifiable player, as you never learned how to properly use your BASIC equipment. But again - READ. A LOT!. Go to websites and listen to samples. A "boost" and an "overdrive" are different animals, although makers overlap the descriptions a lot - and you won't know what those overlaps are. Save your money, learn to play your guitar and amp...THEN cautiously start with one or two things MAX that will enhance YOUR music. Hope that helps - Jim __________________ “No Chops – Great Tone” ©

July 3rd, 2008, 10:58 PM	#22 (permalink)
Middleman TDPRI Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: MV, CA Posts: 43	Pedals here as well. I had two multi-effects units and sold them. Too slow, unintuitive and, when you are under the pressure of playing in front of people, on/off is the best and most immediate way of accessing a sound. If you hit the wrong button on a multi-effects box, you can spend 15 seconds or more trying to back out of the sound you ended up with.

July 3rd, 2008, 11:40 PM	#23 (permalink)
garytelecastor Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,303 18 Photos	I am completely sold on using pedals over multi's. I find that even if they try to copy the original, such as Line 6, it never is the same. If they offer their versions then they may get the distortion right but the delay stinks. So I have a POD XT Live and I use it to record, but on stage it is all pedals. __________________ éí 'aaníígÓÓ 'áhoot'é Redd Volkaert is a Jedi Knight at one with the Force!!!

July 4th, 2008, 12:29 AM	#24 (permalink)
11 Gauge Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The East Coast Posts: 2,827 10 Photos	It is possible to use pedals and not be a "tone clone" - go try out some in a store. Do it without a manual. Find one or two that you like, take them home, and continue without the manual. Try not to imitate what you hear on recordings. It's hard, but try. I'm a fuzz pedal freak, but most folks will tell you that it's a whacked out effect that should be used sparingly. I just can't adhere to that rule. Sometimes I do use it judiciously, other times not. I'm not telling you to go try this specific effect - more along the lines of just try stuff and hope to be pleasantly surprised. As far as multi versus separate, I don't really care any more. If the price is right and there's at least one sweet spot in the box, it's good for now. You'll never know if you're a guitar->cord->amp player, a multi effect player, or an indie stomp tap dancer until you've tried them all. This is the kind of thing where IMO you have to jump in with both feet. A little research won't hurt, but it's simply not really experiencing anything. __________________

July 4th, 2008, 01:19 AM	#25 (permalink)
yelserpdog TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: London Posts: 10	I use both. The multi's I use for playing with heaphones or recording and for trying out new sounds, I have used tem live as well though on the odd occasion. I use my pedals live. It originally had about 7 pedals on the board and it now only has 2, boost and an overdrive. I play country and southern rock.