Recommendations for Multi F/X Pedal???

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mikeh

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Anybody care to offer suggestions for a decent multi- F/X pedal in the $200 range?

This is for studio use only - and the signal would be routed from the F/X thru either a POD 2.0 or a J-Station (or possibly on occasion thru some low watt amps such as a Fender Champ, a small Marshall or a Roland Cube)

I mainly need the ability to have a clean (or slightly processed) rhythem sound will the ability to switch to a dirtier lead sound etc. Since this is for recording I would likely need no more than 2-3 sounds in a given sounds.

I realize I could multi track, but I want to be able to play parts to keep, more of a live feel (ie: switching from clean to dirty)

The problem I have will all the multi effecs pedals currently on the market - they all have amp modeling, built in drum machines, etc. -and all I want if a pedal that allows we to switch sounds.

Not that it matters, but I would be running a Tele, Strat, SG and Epiphone DOT thru the unit - with music styles mostly in the country/pop, funk & jazz rock styles.

I have and old Zoom 505 (which does not really have decent sounds and a Pandora PX3 (good sounds but no foot switch). The J-Station has decent F/X but no foot switch. I just goth the small floorboard fro the POD, but there is a noticable delay when switching.

I welcome any advice.
 
Almost all MultiEfx pedals have that delay thing.....where the reverb or delays just stop when you change settings......so the best bet for that is just normal pedals. Still have to try before you by. I have a Boss DD-6, its continues the delays after I turn it off.
 
I got the Boss ME-50 a few weeks ago and like it a lot. It has all knobs, so it is made to emulate the experience of dealing with individial pedals. Essentially, it sounds like most of the individual Boss pedals, but it is done with COSM. There is no amp modelling at all in this. I use it to go to a Tech 21 Trademark 10 and this is intended to provide variation in addition to my POD 2.3.

There is a distortion overdrive section with about 23 variations; a modulation section with about 11 choices and a delay section with about another 11 or so choices. You can have all three on at a time. There are a few other goodies too. Many here will frown upon such a unit, but I have found it to be 95% cool. There can be digital artifacts if I over load it. I think it is beyond your $200 target though. I paid $300.

Jeff
 
I picked up the ME50 last night and spent about 2 hours working with it . I didn't even have to open the manual and I figured out how to work it in about 5 minutes.

Since I have not owned many of the pedals it models I can't attest to how accurate it is, but I was able to get the sounds I wanted (useing several different axes) with limited experiance.

I tried it thru a Fender and a Marshall as well as a POD and a J-Station - naturally each "amp" reacted in it's own way - but the ME50 is very, very easy to tweak on the fly, so it was not too hard to adjust tones for each amp.

I'm sure there are many players who are more "purist" who would likely bash this unit, but for $275 it gives me a ton of options - all with knobs (no scrolling thru a dozen screens). At about $80 a pop, it wouldn't take too many individual pedals to spend $275 (not to mention patch cables, pedal board, etc.)

So far I'm very satisfied.
 
I do everything you are mentioning with a J-station. What you need is a foot controller with it so that you can turn on/off effects, switch effects, boost your gain etc. Why buy another FX unit when you already have a pretty good one? I strongly recommend getting a Behringer FCB1010. It is the only piece of Behri gear I would recommend, but that is because it doesn't make any sound!

It is a midi foot controller, two expression pedals that you can program to do anything you want, 10 buttons to control switching things on and off. It works great. Really.

I have mine set in various configs. In one particular setting, for example, I have 1) footswitch that changes amps to give me the drive I want (say from J Clean to J Crunch), 2) turn on/off wah 3)turn FX on/off, and change effects 4) tap tempo delay control and level and feedback 5) verb on/off and change levels 6) compressor on/off and adjust settings....
plus another footswitch that I haven't found a use for.

http://www.behringer.com/02_products/prodindex.cfm?id=FCB1010&lang=eng

it is bombproof (made of metal), super versatile, $170 US or less, ...but it will take you a while to learn how to program it, but it is worth the headache.

Plus, you can use it in any other MIDI application you want. I also use it as footpedals and switches to control softsynths in Sonar and Reason.

Plus, if you are using a different amp, then you just use the J-station on "direct" (no amp modelling), no cab-sim, and it is just a straight up fx unit.
 
mikeh:

The ME-50 is a really a bargain, sounds good and does a lot. Very versatile and flexible. I've tried it---don't have one yet, but one is in my future.

I understand that the new Behringer V-AMP-2 has a "hard" bypass for the modelers and can be used just as an effects unit. Not as many effects.

Paj
8^)
 
cstockdale,

I appreciate your toughts on a MIDI controller for the J-Station. As you siad there would be a learning curve (programming). It seems I'me constantly reading manuals to get each piece of gear to do what I need it to do (I'm getting teched out). I do think the J-Station has some decent on board processing.

The ME50 is so easy to use - it is worth the few extra bucks to have a fun piece of gear instead or yet another technical headache.

Paj,

So far, after about 5 hours of playing with the ME50 I'm very satisfied. As I just indicated it is actually fun to play with because everything is the simple turn of a knob (vs. scrolling thru a dozen screens). One of the first pieces of gear I've bought in a while where I immediately know I like it, vs. I think I'll like it once I learn how to use it.
 
"One of the first pieces of gear I've bought in a while where I immediately know I like it, vs. I think I'll like it once I learn how to use it."

Yeah---that was the sensation. I'm sold.

Paj
8^)
 
mikeh said:


It seems I'me constantly reading manuals to get each piece of gear to do what I need it to do (I'm getting teched out).

T
Click to expand...
I spent the better part of the past year reading (sonar, reason, drum sequencers, midi programming, j-station editing). I nearly forgot how to play the damn guitar, this summer I am finally playing all the time instead of reading. I can sympathize.
 
glad you like your ME50 too.

It doesn't look like enough time transpired between my post and yours for my suggestion to have been much influence. :-)

The ME50 IS just what the doctor ordered for me.

Now I have two palletes:

1) Modelling with the POD 2.3

2) A more analog approach with the Trademark 10 and ME-50

J-
 
ahuimanu,

While your original post did not have an immediate impact on my purchase - reading that you liked it after using it for a while did help reinforce my decision.

After useing it for almost a week I have found that it seems to work better with an actial amp rather than thru the POD or J-Station.

Even when I set the modeled amps to the basic "clean-sound" the processing from the ME50 seems harder to dial in. Whereas when I run the ME50 in front of my Fender Champ it works well.

So far my STrat to the ME50 to the Champ seems to be the best overall signal flow - (it almost always seems Fender axes work well with Fender amps) but I'm still working with the POD & J-Station (trying to get the ME50 to work well with them).

It sure is fun to tweak knobs for a change!!!
 
Which multi effect pedal is best for sound and value?

How good is the ME50 for home recording through a mutlitrack? Does anyone know? I"m undecided between many pedals (althought I"m super attracted to the ME50 interface) I dont mind spending but I gotta like it...that's why I'm also checking out the ME50...
How does it stand against these other pedals in home studios?
Gfx-8
Podxt-Live
Other?
 
Check out a DOD FX7, it's one of those either you love it or you hate it. Aside from being a little noisy on the flanger (but what efx pedal isn't) it is a decent multi efx pedal. It's major drawback is that it requires an external voiceing pedal for volume/wah and it costs an extra $90.
 
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