Basic MultiEffects Pedal - Something until i get enough do$h

[keith]

Ok...finally got into a band and the event demands that i have a number of basic effects up my metaphoric sleave. We are gonna start with covers from Queen maybe, Radiohead [damn, too much effects tho], maybe Creed. Not my cup of tea, but i have to start somewhere.
Anyway, i was thinking of something basic like a, was it the Korg1000x? The cheap one in white...? Is the Zoom GFX-7 [or is it 8?] good?

Ah...i want decent tone tho. I'm using an Rg520 [soon with DiMarzios] thru a Laney LC30 valve combo. If the pedal can push the amp into warp [read Bogner :biggrin:] drive it will be a great plus. *


Anyway, you get the idea.
Now get the ideas pouring in :biggrin:

[GuyCool]

Keith, the first band I played with did some old Zep, some punky stuff, some Nirvana, Chillis etc. I used a Zoom 2020 into a (transistor) Laney Linebacker 65. To be honest, the sound was fine-not exactly hi-fi, but pretty good. We only did small gigs, and the audience weren't eactly discerning-they just wanted something to dance to, so I was comfortable with my (!)rig (haha!)
The sounds on the zoom (chorus, tremolo,delay etc) were about adequate.
I am sure the more recent Zoom or Korg stuff would be a step up, and those valve Laney combos are sweet.
Get what you can afford, and don't get too hung up if it doesn't sound just like a Bogner-Live, I find it's the attitude my band projects, more than the finer points of the sound, that matter.

Good luck.
Guy

[carlos seo]

The Zoom GFX-8 is a large and expansive unit, while the GFX-707 is a small, cheap unit (and it has a drum machine also). Both soound too artificial for me. I like BOSS multieffects much more!

If you don't have too much money to spend right now, I suggest you to buy a Digitech RP200. It's small, good sounding, easy to operate, fairly cheap (for what it offers) and it has an expression pedal too.

You have good gear there, so the RP200 should work nicely.

And, like Guy said, it's attitude that really matters in a band!

[Wicked Blade]

Keith,

I myself use the Zoom GFX-8 and I'm very pleased with it. When I bought it I was looking for the same kind of thing as you do (I'm more of the guitar-to-amp persuasion, with no reverb...). I wanted something that would give me Delays, Whas, Volume pedals, Phasers...
With it I got the whammy effects too (they may not be as good as the real Digitech pedals but they're good enough). I'm very satisfied with it and as a result I recommend it to you. Plus it is quite easy to use, I find.

When I did my test of the thing I wasn't particularly looking for distortion effects, as I prefer tube distortion to solid-state distortion. But, provided you use a tube amp (you do, don't you ?), the GFX-8 distos are real good, and, contrarily to other Zoom products, the sounds you got are not Zoom-colored. If you have a solid-state amp you might use the 'VAMS' technology, but I for one am not a fan of this new 'amp simulation' hype...

Now I use only my GFX-8 distortion. I prefer them to the one on the genuine Peavey 5150 !!! (don't flame me !)
In conclusion, I think that the GFX-8 is fine if you use it with a tube amp (in my experience the best results were obtained with a Fender Twin, second place is for the 5150, and 3rd place goes to my own Fender Hot Rod Deluxe). Go for it... You can also find more info on the Fine Clay Matrix site.
Oh, and there's also the GFX-4, which is the GFX-8 little brother and sounds quite good too, I am told...

If you want more info, feel free to ask (here).

[keith]

WOW, tnx guys :biggrin:

Let's say I were to go for something in a higher price range, what's available? Not rack setups, just a floorbox. I know there's the Digitech RP21 , but would the sound quality get better or would it just increase the effects possibilities?

[carlos seo]

I had a RP21 and it's a great multieffects unit. Sounds much better than cheaper units, like the RP200 or Zoom 505. And it has more effects, also.

But my choice, in a higher price range, is BOSS GT-3. That's an awsome unit!

[rickboot]

I like the Boss GTs better than the cheesey Zoom or Digitech gear. You might also want to check out the Yamaha DG Stomp. Runs about $300. I just picked one up. After some tweaking, I found that I got some very realistic tube sounds out of the thing. And the Yamaha effects sound very good.

Rick

[Turrokk]

All I can say is, download their manuals and patch-editing software. The BOSS GT3 whipes all other units' ass.. honestly, it can place effects in any order. The Digitechs lack that, let alone the ZOOM (which is famous for not having many separate modules for mod, rvrb and dly). And it sounds awesome too..

[Wicked Blade]

Turrokk,

you're being partial, I think (I am, too : that's life ! :biggrin.
It IS true that the Zoom GFX-8 cannot place the effect modules in any order.
However, you can do the things that matter. I mean, you CAN place the wha, phaser, crybaby, ring modulation, and slow attack effects before or after the distortion module (there's a parameter for that).
According to the manual, there's a module for Modulation (phaser, wha, flanger and all that) followed by a module for Delay/reverb. I already said that in fact you can put some of the modulation effects before the distortion, noise gate, volume and EQ, instead of after. You might think that the separation between Modulation and Delay/Reverb is a bit rigid, but in fact, many effects are duplicated and present in both modules. I mean, there are delays too in the modulation module, as well as choruses ; the pitch shifting effects are present in both (they're not exactly the same, but it's OK...). So, for instance, if you want to combine a pith shifter with a chorus and a reverb, you can (but you're kind of heavy on effects, dude ) : set the modulation to Pitch, and the delay/reverb to Chorus+Delay, or set the modulation to Chorus and the delay/reverb to Pitch+Delay (I admit you can't get the reverb to be processed before pitch and chorus, but I don't see why you'd want that).

What I'm trying to say is, don't think the GFX-8 is limited : it really isn't.
Keith, you won't be held back by the GFX-8. So the choice between Boss vs Zoom vs Digitech is, to me, more a matter of tone tastes (and money, of course).
I was personnaly blown away by the tones I could get out of the GFX-8, but you may like the GT-3 better. As always with musical gear, the best advice is 'try them all'.

P.S. : admittedly, the little plastic boxes by Zoom (505, 707 and such) are not the same quality as the GFX-8 and GFX-4. These two are the only Zoom multi-effects you'd want to consider...

[tagg 7]

I bought a Boss GT-3, Digi RP-2000, and one of those big Korg ones. The only one I stuck with was the RP-2000, and I mainly use it for effects. I found the distortions, and simulators on all of them pretty not good. The RP just had way better effects. Besides use your amp for your tone. You can always make the pedal do a volume jump for solos, and stuff.
Thats what I would do anyway, and do sometimes.
buzz

[RSVampire]

How are the Eventide Harmonizer's? I know Vai uses them and some other guys too. I don't have ANY around here surprisingly and don't wanna drive for 2 hours to just test drive one.