MultiFX vs Stompboxes

[Zeetwig]

Hello all headbangers

I have a topic up for discussion: multieffects vs stompboxes

What do you think? I know it's hard to give a general answer to this, as it depends on type of effect and manufacturer and so on, but I'm not looking for an "answer" to this, just your opinions Feel free to comment on specific pedals, and not just in MFX vs boxes in general ^^

Here's my view on it, plus a bonus question for those who are very taught in the art of handling axes and their enhancements :P

I personally like the fact that you can buy an MFX unit for the price of say 3-4 stomp boxes, and get like 20 times the effects However I think the effects in the boxes sound a little better and are more versatile than the MFX effects, but I'm not too picky when it comes to effects so I don't care much :P The price difference between buying dozens of boxes and a single MFX unit justifies the small gap in quality, according to me :P

A problem I see with MFX is when it comes to amps. Since it's a single unit I cannot split my MFX unit into 2 pieces and put one before the amp and one in the FX loop... How do you guys solve this problem? Put the MFX in the loop/before the amp and then buy boxes for the effects needed for the other position?


***

(This has probably been discussed to death previously but surprisingly enough I didn't find any threads that contained both of the words the words "multi effects" and "stomp box" , so I thought why not make a new thread )

[shredfreak]

it all depends what you're going for.

It's sheer stupidity comparing both since every is after something different. You're simply asking a general questiong to a specific answer wich leads to an ambiguous answer that serves no one.

But to answer it to some degree:

If you're on a tight budget you're best off with a multi fx unit since you'll have more to play with.
If you're not on a budget you'll probably have both since there's thing one can do the other can't (wah wah being the first that comes to mind).

for me personally:
i like multifx rack unit since i'm perfectly happy with how they sound, i use a little bit of everything available & it sounds perfect to me, while switching it all easily.

[Zeetwig]

Sorry if I offended you in any way by creating this post. It definitely wasn't the purpose of it :O I was just curious what people think of MFX vs stompboxes in general, but also in more detail

I myself have just MFX, and a stompbox tuner xD I have tried a few stompboxes, but I am curious what people think of them

And thanks for the answer btw How to you set up your pedals with your amp?

[shredfreak]

i'm not offended by it at all, i just find it a little pointless really.

basicly my setup will be:

Tuner pedal > Presonus studio channel > rocktron chamelon > poweramp > orange 2x12. all switching with a tech 21 midi moose

And

Tuner pedal > modded Crate GT1200H > delay in loop > orange 2x12 for extreme metal

im not getting a korg dtr for budget reasons mainly plus i don't want a heavy rack again either. love the sound of the chorus & delay in the chamelon so got all i want with it basicly (and im not a fan of sounds with tons of effects on it either). Only an axe fx will get that chameleon unit out of my rig.

Solo patches are generally delay with a touch of chorus & that hardly justifies a crapload of pedals for me. Rythm pretty much the same for cleans & heavy distortion might get a pitch shifter on it if i'm the only guitarist in the band.

For one trick pony setups with occasional solo's a decent head with a delay in the loop is all you need basicly. (just lucky my head only costed me 400$ new )

Thing is that you can find decent multifx units second hand (rocktron & tc electronics) for the price of a single decent pedal nowadays.

Most common is probably the multifx rack unit in loop with a tubescreamer in front of the amp in metal/heavy rock circles.

[Toe-Knee]

I personally prefer stompboxes purely because i can build them super cheap and they also sound better in some cases and its a lot easier to have say 3 or 4 chorus pedals rather than one chorus effect and just swap them in and out as you need.

Also you can split multifx so you have them before the amp and in the loop the TC elecronics nova system does this very well and im selling one for a friend at a bargain price

At the end of the day though its all down to personal preference.

My setup is as follows

Dual channel looper (clean & dirty)

in the clean loop theres

compressor & chorus

In the dirty loop theres

My custom OD/gate

It just has one switch to switch between both loops and also switches the amps channel accordingly.

This is ideal for me as if i get bored of a certain effect i can just pull it out and make something else to replace it.

Oh im also adding another looper that goes into the effects loop too that also switches channels accordingly.

[Zeetwig]

Ok good I can bare with asking pointless questions, but I don't want to offend people :S THAT really serves no one!

I, too, don't like to have tons of effects :S Distortion, reverb and some delay is the main ingredients, but I might spice up my tone with some flanger, phaser, wah, compressor and EQ when I feel it will enhance the music

I have a Boss ME-70 that I really like ^^ But as you say, a tubescreamer or overdrive before the amp would be nice, and then some delay and maybe chorus and flanger in the loop. But as I have just one ME-70, I can't do both :S Should I buy some stompboxes to fix this, or another MFX unit, or what do you think?

***

Wow you have some complex stuff going on there Toe-Knee :P I cannot build pedals myself so I'll have to stump up some cash instead...

And yeah it probably is easier to have 4 boxes and then do some tap dancing, especially if you're playing live. But since I mainly record stuff and have all the time I need to adjust settings and so on, a single box works just as well ^^

Just one question: how do one split multifx units? Is it possible with a ME-70?

[Chris]

Stompboxes: Ultimate convenience. Want to adjust something, there's the knob.
Multi-Fx: More shit in one spot, less real estate, dive through menus to change things.

Stompbox advantage: Way easier to adjust live.
Multi-Fx: Less physical stuff to deal with, can have presets.

*Though many pedals these days have preset functions as well.

[Toe-Knee]

I dont actually have to do any tap dancing thats what the loopers for.

It switches the channel on the amp and brings in a set of pedals with just one switch.

I arent sure about the unit you have i just know a few do have it.

[Zeetwig]

Originally Posted by Chris

Stompboxes: Ultimate convenience. Want to adjust something, there's the knob.
Multi-Fx: More shit in one spot, less real estate, dive through menus to change things.

Stompbox advantage: Way easier to adjust live.
Multi-Fx: Less physical stuff to deal with, can have presets.

*Though many pedals these days have preset functions as well.

Do you think stompboxes are easier to tweak than MFX? If I have some pretty high-end MFX, like a GT-10 or a POD HD, wouldn't I be able to tweak them just as much as the stompbox? (I'm not defending MFX- just curious )

For a gigging player I think 9 out of 10 would say stompboxes, but for studio purposes?

Originally Posted by Toe-Knee

I dont actually have to do any tap dancing thats what the loopers for.

It switches the channel on the amp and brings in a set of pedals with just one switch.

I arent sure about the unit you have i just know a few do have it.

True ignore my comment on tap dancing :P

I have only one input on my me-70 (except for the mix in for external audio), and nothing that implies any loops or anything. The MFX that you know is splittable, do they have more than one input?

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Zeetwig

Do you think stompboxes are easier to tweak than MFX? If I have some pretty high-end MFX, like a GT-10 or a POD HD, wouldn't I be able to tweak them just as much as the stompbox? (I'm not defending MFX- just curious )

For a gigging player I think 9 out of 10 would say stompboxes, but for studio purposes?

Scenario: You want to turn the threshold on your noise gate up a bit.

Which of these seems easier to you?



Vs:













Which one is more tweakable completely depends on which pedal, and which Multi-Fx. If you're asking simply which is easier, the big knob is always going to be easier than the LCD panel and bajillion buttons to go through menus.