Latest multi-fx?

[tonyguitargoat]

Wondering if you had any experience with the latest generation of multi-fx pedals, such as the Digitech RP150 (I've got a Bad Monkey and love it!).
I want to use the pedal onstage without any amp or cab simulation - I'll be playing through a real amp - but how good are the amp sims in the studio? Is the quality good enough to replace my Pod? Thanks.

[Telenator]

This is all very subject. I'd say you're moving in the right direction using the digital multi-effects units in the studio. In a live performance they just don't deliver IMO. In a live situation, the best compromise I have personally found with any breed or era of multi-effects pedals is to go ahead and use any of the "time effects" but avoid the OD section completely. Use an external pedal for your solo and raunchy tones and these units can work fairly well. In the studio they work better and can be a lot of fun.

[eddiewagner]

i am with the telenator. multieffects are great at home and for recording/studio. for a band situation, nothing worked for me. specially since you have to deal with all kinds of volume-levels. i checked out the rp 150 and it sounded quite nice with headphones. but for live: no chance!

[klast]

Not the very latest perhaps, but I have a Zoom G2.1u. I use it for effects only, with the amp sims turned off, through an all tube Laney VC30. Works great in the studio. Have used it on one live gig so far and it worked OK. The effects I have used so far are "tape echo", tremolo, chorus and wah.

Klas

[proffett]

I have used a few different Multi FX units: (Korg, Digitech, Zoom and others) but I have to agree with the idea that a single multiFX board is no match for a well put together chain of stompboxes. At home or in the studio where you have the time to fiddle with all the settings and sims and such, they can be alot of fun, but when you need real-time fx changes and reliable operation, a good set of stomps hand picked for the job and pre-set to your taste is the way to go. Not only that, but to my ears, the digital copies of the real analog thing just dont seem to have that same 'mojo.'

As far as the amp/cab sims go, your Pod is probably just as good or better... If you are not going to use the sims onstage, I would say skip the board, keep the Pod and spend some money on a good set of stompboxes for stage.

The closest thing I have to a multiFX pedal right now is an OLD Ibanez UE-400 (circa late 70's) which is a rackmount box with a remote, with 5 analog effects wired up inside. It has a Compressor/Sustainer, Phaser, Distortion (TS Circuit, I checked) and Flanger/Chorus. It also has a nifty external fx loop so you can add more... and the cool part is each section is switchable so you can select where in the chain each effect will go, even the external loop.
Really, the only thing it's missing from my view is a delay and maybe an envelope filter/wah.
If you can find one of these, I would strongly urge you to snap it up... fast.

[EunosFD]

Depending on your budget the T.C. Electronic G-System is amazing. Their effects are top notch and sound fantastic and the layout is very well thought out. It's not cheap, but for an all-in-one floor unit (can be put in a rack too if you want) it's tops.

http://www.tcelectronic.com/G-System



As far as the amp sims in the smaller pedals and such they're not likely going to provide a reasonable enough sound to compete with larger, more complex, higher quality units. If you want to go the modeler route then the Fractal Audio Axe-FX looks to be an amazing unit. Not cheap either, but for what it is the price is right and the sounds I've heard from it are great. I'm still an amp/rackgear/pedals guy though so I likely won't be going that route anytime soon.

[giantslayer]

What kind of POD do you have? If it's an older one, then it would probably be a good idea to get a new unit. The Vox units are generally regarded to have the best amp models (with the tube and all).

I had a Zoom G9 and that would have worked great with a regular amp. The only problem with it was that the effects loop wasn't placed quite right for the 4 cable method (it was right before the distortion when it ideally should have been right after it). Is your amp a tube amp or solid state? If it's solid state, I found the tubes in the G9 did an amazing job warming up my cheapo solid state amp.

If you want just effects and don't need amp modeling, a rack effects unit may be a good way to go. You could get a Rocktron Xpression or TC Electronics G Major. I hear that the effects from a rack unit are much higher quality than any multifx floorboards. The downside to this is you need to find a place to put the rack unit on stage and you need to get (and program) a midi controller.


Using a Multifx pedal live without an amp is generally a miserable experience unless you've got an Atomic Amp, Tech 21 Power Engine, or something similar to use as a stage monitor. Most PA monitors are designed to make the vocals stand out, so they won't give you a balanced reproduction of your guitar's signal, hence it won't sound anything like having an amp on stage.

But to get back to your original question, yes, the amp sims on some of these newer units are good enough for studio work. Actually, there are a LOT of recordings done with PODs nowadays (and PODs arguably aren't the best units in their class, just the most well known). Using a multifx to record can make life a lot simpler. Mic placement, volume levels, room acoustics, etc. are issues that can be more or less avoided with a modeler.

[Chicago Slim]

I bought a Zoom G2, to do home recording for a singer/sogwriter. Another artist called me to do some studio work. Again i used the G2, because time is money, when working in a studio. That artist, asked me to play live, with him. Again I used the Zoom pedal for tremelo and chorus. I can turn off all modeling and effects, with this pedal. Then I thought, why not add a little Twin Reverb to the tremelo, and stereo JC120 to the chorus? It sounded even better. Besides once the signal is digitalized, what's the difference?

People sing the praises of the Boss '65 Deluxe and '59 Bassman pedal. They are one trick, digital modeling pedals. Does the name Fender, in the proper writeing add some majic? Many big buck tube amps today, use solid state distortion, and reverb. Sample rates and switching is getting faster and faster.

Once you get used to useing a MFX pedal, they are hard to do without. My G2 pedal is very simple, and inexpensive. If nothing else, I use my Zoom pedal as a tuner, and backup, in case a tube goes on my amp.