Multi-Fx vs Pedals - what are we saying?

[TSJMajesty]

Yo wtf why are the only VP4s on reverb listed at 2x retail. According to fractals website they’re in stock

Because they'll sell to countries where Fractal doesn't have a distributor, and the price is high due to a weak dollar against their currency. But that's just my somewhat educated guess.

 

[Jarick]

I think a really simple board with a 2203 would make a lot of sense. Like a tuner, boost/overdrive, modulation, and delay. Then you can do a real basic board and not have to worry about fancy power supplies and all kinds of crazy cabling.

 

[maguchi]

Seriously torn at the moment. Used modellers and multi-fx for ages but I’m at a point where I need to put a board together and not sure which direction to go.

I know I could grab a Helix or VP4 and have pretty much every base covered. But honestly the thought of programming a device like that currently fills me with dread, part of me says fuck it, I’ll just get a DD3, DM2, Holy Grail and call it a day.

I do have to cover tons of sounds for function work but then, does anyone really care? I reckon I could use one sound with a lick of delay here and there and no one would notice.

Unfortunately budget is limited (just bought a badass amp) so it’s either a handful of pedals or a multi and that’s that.

Can't offer any insight to your question as I'm on the fence too, but love your avatar bro!

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I tried to go back to pedals but quickly realized it was a PITA compared to something like a Helix, especially if you're on the "no one would notice" train. Power supplies, patch cables, what size board?, pedal layout, pedal roulette, where's that noise coming from?, tap dance, who touched my knobs?, pedal order, side or rear I/O, to midi or not to midi?, at which point is my signal attenuated?

 

[the swede]

I would love to be able to use a modeler only (as a home player). Sadly I cant handle the wealth of options and possibilities and my creativeness turns into tweaking and testing.

Simple mono pedals into an amp sim pedal is my sweet spot. Hybrid I guess. The pedals are set and forget and I have to accept them for what they do, and there’s no reason not to be creative and just play. And personally for me it’s more fun with pedals. Get to swap one now and then for the nerdy fun part.

 

[TubeStack]

I’m tempted to get a VP4.:: I assume it can probably do everything the stomp does and then some…..

How are the octave and synth fx?

I only use octave-down and to be honest, I haven’t found anything I like for that with any fractal. I used ring mod instead. However, I’m currently using an HX One for that, in front of the amp (Simple Pitch).

I haven’t tried any of the synth stuff. Mainly use the VP4 for delays, modulation, clean boost/eq, and controlling my MKVII via midi (channel switching, reverb and/or geq on/off).

 

[laxu]

It's a "win some, lose some" situation.

Pedals

Pros:

• Mix and match pedals without running into the complications of doing that with larger multifx boxes.
• Dedicated knobs for almost everything.
• Cute colorful boxes.
• Can go all analog for most pedal types if that matters to you. IMO it's irrelevant these days. I use digital fx with analog amps.
• Limited options can help avoid tweaking rabbit holes.

Cons:

• Multiple fx control with one button is complicated and costly. Loop switchers or MIDI controllable pedals.
• Having to deal with:
  • Power supplies.
  • Patch cables.
  • Buffers.
• Routing changes require a lot of physical rearranging.
• Any more complex board quickly becomes bigger than an equivalent multifx unit.
• Pedals from different brands will behave differently. E.g I'm annoyed that my Boss FZ-1W defaults to ON state, with no way to easily change this due to its SMD construction.
• Depending on what you buy, cost can be quite high. My "mostly Strymon" board, even though most pedals are bought used, costs probably about as much as an Axe-Fx 3.

Multifx

Pros:

• Anything related to routing and switching is easy to do, and often much more powerful than what you can achieve on a pedalboard.
• Lots of fx types on offer, so you don't need to buy more stuff for that one time you need e.g a specific modulation.
• Visibility to presets. You can easily see what is in there, and how they are set up.
• You can easily keep everything time-related tied to a single tempo.
• One-time cost.
• Depending on what you buy, it can be much more compact. I can't throw my pedalboard into a backpack, but I can do so with a HX Stomp, Hotone A2 Stomp, Boss GT-1000 Core etc.

Cons:

• What if it doesn't have your preferred version of some effect? E.g on my Hotone the tape delay is quite good, but it's no match for Strymon or Fractal.
• Editing anything is a pain in the ass. Cramped knobs, often having to move a cursor around on non-touchscreen units. Menus, menus, menus.
• Lots of options can mean you never choose and end up endlessly trying stuff.
• You can't avoid latency. Even if minimal, it's there.
• When a new model comes out, you lose a lot of resale value.

I'd honestly love to use a multifx unit for effects, even if it's with a real amp. There's just not a single multifx unit on the market that I feel is truly the sweetspot between easy editing, sound quality and form factor. Everything is its own compromise.

 

[Jarick]

I spent about an hour re-assembling my pedal board an running 4CM into my Friedman JJ Junior. I don't like how half the pedals sound and the whole thing is noisy.

Pretty sure at this point I may just get a Helix LT for when I want to do that sort of thing. Then I can run noise gates, switch amp channels, and set up scenes.

 

[fiftyshadesofslay]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Still completely torn on it.

Biggest pro in favour of multi is definitely the switching, I don’t really like tap dancing.

But then I also feel like it could be cool to simplify, maybe like a couple of delays with tap, maybe some modulation and a boost. I definitely think I’ve relied a lot on loads of reverb, delay, everything in sync etc but I really do wonder who even cares about all that.

When I think of all my favourite guitar players they all use fuck all, even most of the shoegaze type bands don’t have a great deal going on.

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Still completely torn on it.

Biggest pro in favour of multi is definitely the switching, I don’t really like tap dancing.

But then I also feel like it could be cool to simplify, maybe like a couple of delays with tap, maybe some modulation and a boost. I definitely think I’ve relied a lot on loads of reverb, delay, everything in sync etc but I really do wonder who even cares about all that.

When I think of all my favourite guitar players they all use fuck all, even most of the shoegaze type bands don’t have a great deal going on.

How about a boss MS3?
Basic multi efx, and you add the main pedals you want simple/tactile interaction with in one of the 3 loops.
..tap dancing issue also solved,

 

[sleewell]

i prefer multis

having some type of snapshot feature where you can turn on or off lots of stuff at once and change the parameters within each block is very handy. drastic changes are super easy without any tap dancing.

assigning any parameter to the exp pedal is very nice

i like when you are writing something to be able to quickly loop the riff and scroll through 30-40 different effects to see what sounds best. think about how much longer that would take if you were swapping out pedals each time.


its also cool that i use the same unit to play live with my band, then take it home and play almost silently without firing up tubes at home, and then also use it to record when we hit the studio.

 

[Jarick]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Still completely torn on it.

Biggest pro in favour of multi is definitely the switching, I don’t really like tap dancing.

But then I also feel like it could be cool to simplify, maybe like a couple of delays with tap, maybe some modulation and a boost. I definitely think I’ve relied a lot on loads of reverb, delay, everything in sync etc but I really do wonder who even cares about all that.

When I think of all my favourite guitar players they all use fuck all, even most of the shoegaze type bands don’t have a great deal going on.

Why not both?

You could do a multi-effect when you feel like that, and then a simple board when you want that route.

The nice thing with the 2203x is you don't have channel switching so you have more options. You could do like an HX Stomp XL or HX Effects and if desired add some analog pedals too.