Pedals or Processor??? Age old question!

[Monsta-Tone]

It's official, I'm sending my G-System back to American Musical.
Basically, I think it's an over priced G-Major with a really nice footswitch.
I think in the end, I just decided that it wasn't worth the money because it's all one unit as compared to a processor & pedal. I just kept thinking that when I get tired of the FX, I'll have to sell the whole thing and start over anyway.


So...I'm back to the age old delimna, processor or pedals.

What processor, if any are you guys using?
How do you like it?
Why did you choose the one you are using over the other choices?

What footswitch are you using?
How does it hold up to use/abuse?

I used to use a Roland GP-100 several years ago and loved it. I bypassed the preamp section in each preset and used an MP-1 or a JMP-1 for my amp tones.

I hate Digitech stuff, it just seems to fizzle out when you crank it.

Not looking for a preamp, just a processor.

 

[kiff]

why not just get a g-major and a $100 midi footswtich?

 

[jab]

I've never used a good processor so maybe my opinion isn't so helpful. However, the first thing that comes to mind is us guitar players are always GASSING for new and better tone. As much as we've all said, "if I get this, it will be all I ever need", it's never the case and we're never satisfied. Pedals are more flexibile as you can swap things in and out, take advantage of new products, go back to old, etc. I wonder how many people actually have a processor and are happy with it for years. Sure sounds easy, but I wonder if it will leave you 'in a box' so to speak. That's what keeps me from moving away from pedals.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

***,
That's pretty much what I'm wondering. The problem is, a few really good pedals is about the same price as a decent processor.


I usually end up using a few delay sounds, some chorus, a good compressor, and that's about it.
But...I think the attraction is simply that there are so many things to experiment with in a processor.

 

[Turumbar82]

I'm having the same dilemma. I used to have quite a few pedals. At one time I have a Whammy, Wah, TS-9, Boss DS-1, Big muff, EHX Small stone and Small clone, Boss BF-2 Keely DD-3 delay and EHX Holy grail reverb. I always loved the sounds I was able to get with all of this but it was a pain to go from one sound to another without tap dancing but of course midi switchers are getting cheaper.

I had a boss gt-3 which I didn't care for and a digitech rp250 that I just used for fx and didn't really like that either. I had a digitech VGS 2120 and I actually liked that one a good amount but never used it in a band situation.


I've been wanting to get a g-major but I'm thinking of just getting a reverb, delay, chorus and pitch shifter of some sort, but after all that it's the same price as a g-major.

I do feel like I got my best sounds and tones when I had all pedals. It seems like processors compromise quality for convenience.

 

[ryjan]

I have a Boss GT-8 that is pretty cool if you want a processor/preamp/midi footswitch/and about 100 other things in one box. The sound quality on a few of the effects arent very good but its nice to have multiple effects and the floor control without the mess of 20 little pedals and all the wiring. I used to use mine with a triaxis as an effects processor and a midi board. Worked great.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I've seen a lot of guys using the Boss.
Can you turn off the preamp part of it?

Is there a glitch between presets?
Does the delay spill-over?

 

[ryjan]

The boss is really cool because it is infinitely adjustable. Yes, you can turn on and off any effect you want and you can also run them in any order. The presets seem to switch seamlessly and the delay and other modulations do spill over. The flip side to these units is you have to devote a stupid amount of time to get to know them. I have an old GT-3 that Ive had for about 10 years that I still find new things on. But I guess that is fun also.

 

[jdurso]

Persobally to me it comes down to what your going to use and what kind of sounds your looking for. If your a guy who uses a few verbs, some delay and chorus, then i find a few good pedals (even if some duplicate a certain effect) can be what the doctor ordered. They're simple, easy to dial in, easy to troubleshoot and get you the sound and tone your looking for. Even if they cost you as much as a good multifx unit, they get it done and do what you need to do.

Now if your like me and use a lot of different reverbs, different delays, different choruses among other effects, a good multifx unit may be the best route. Also there are some effects even the best pedal cant do... for instance the reverbs of Eventide, high end TC electronic and my Axe-FX are unmatched by even the best pedals. A pedal just cannot emmulate the complexity of those units because one those are complex digital algorithms even a digital pedal can't do and two the fx routing you can do on those units just cant be done without getting many duplicates of the same pedal. However since you have that much flexibility and complexity those units can be frustrating to dial in and to get all your levels matched which is crucial. Also you have to make sure you get a unit that has top notch AD converters and a top notch CPU in order to get those stellar sounding fx. Believe me the fx in the Eventides and the Axe-fx are mind blowingly rich and clear but it can take a lot of time and work to get it right.

So there are benefits and downsides to both options... if you go Multi-FX in my experience you need to spend the $$$ to get a quality unit and make sure your using good cabling and make sure you get your levels right. So dont skimp if you go that route

Also dont forget just because you get some pedals doesnt mean you loose that "single button switching". There are many affordible switching units that can either allow you to build a kille one switch pedal board or you can even throw everything in a rack and get all the control you need. Say you spend $600-800 on a few good pedals and you get something like a RJM RG-16 or the Carl Martin octoswitch (i forget the exact name) for another $500-600 (or less if you buy used) your spending anywhere for $1100 to $1400 which is the same or less than you'd pay for a quality fx unit. So remember there are always options that offer something like a hybrid.

 

[TheBlackman]

I used to gig with a boss gt-6 using the 4-cable method. I found that for my playing style i was only using a three or four effects out of everything, the rest were just bells and whistles for playing with at home. That being said, i've got about 15-20 pedals (i've lost count) with 10 on my pedal board, and guess what, I still use only 3 or 4 of them! I'd go back to a processor if i could find one that will swith the channels on my roadster along with the patches, its nice to have unlimited delay and harmonizer settings on the fly. I always set up the patches so i could hit the ctrl pedal and go into manual mode to add/remove fx from the patch during the song, so there was still some dancing to do, but i guess i could have set it up with a bank for each song, but we don't really follow our own set-list when we play, so the pedal board allows me to do whatever i want, whenever i want. Guess what i'm trying to say in such a long-winded manor is that it really depends on what works best for you control-wise. For me, a couple pedals is all i need.

 

[jdurso]

I used to gig with a boss gt-6 using the 4-cable method. I found that for my playing style i was only using a three or four effects out of everything, the rest were just bells and whistles for playing with at home. That being said, i've got about 15-20 pedals (i've lost count) with 10 on my pedal board, and guess what, I still use only 3 or 4 of them! I'd go back to a processor if i could find one that will swith the channels on my roadster along with the patches, its nice to have unlimited delay and harmonizer settings on the fly. I always set up the patches so i could hit the ctrl pedal and go into manual mode to add/remove fx from the patch during the song, so there was still some dancing to do, but i guess i could have set it up with a bank for each song, but we don't really follow our own set-list when we play, so the pedal board allows me to do whatever i want, whenever i want. Guess what i'm trying to say in such a long-winded manor is that it really depends on what works best for you control-wise. For me, a couple pedals is all i need.

Why not just get something like the RJM Amp Gizmo and rack fx unit? You'll have controll of your amp and all the pacthes on what ever fx unit you get as long as it has midi.

 

[ryjan]

The thing about the boss units is that you have a midi pedal, expression pedal, tuner, and all of your effects in one unit. You dont have to use all of them at once. Also, you can set it up to switch patches or turn specific effects on or off with the footswitch. Plus, for practicing or jamming at two in the morning, you can plug a set of headphones directly into it and it sounds great.(and in stereo)One other note is these boss units make a great backup in case something goes wrong with your amp because you can turn on a preamp and send it direct to the pa.

 

[gitapik]

I'm just back to electric from total acoustic and was checking out that Boss rack. It was sweet...I liked the sound...and it was also cool that you could hook it up to your computer and actually see the stomp boxes and adjust them, using the "knobs". Nice feature.

What wasn't cool, though, was what used to bother me about this Roland RSP-550 that I used to use. There's still this nano second of "nothing" when you change patches. That used to drive me crazy...especially in the 3 piece bands where so much had to be 'on'. (Also: if something goes wrong with one effect...you know....)

But maybe the guy didn't know how to hook the unit up? Not sure. Electric violinist. Great player.

One of the things I like about the stomp boxes is that you can create unique sounds...not that you can't with the processors...but,say when I combine my Boss boxes (in their handy little case), a Big Muff Deluxe, the Boss half rack Pitch Shifter/Delay, and the Boogie's overdrive set fairly clean; I get a sound that would be hard to find in a full processing unit.

But that's a lot of pedal pushing. Can't beat the presets on that one. I heard the Line 6 rig's supposed to be pretty nice.

BTW: I'm new here...can someone tell me how I can get that "Bottle Rocket" thang off my avatar and replace it with "Mark IIB"?

 

[jdurso]

I'm just back to electric from total acoustic and was checking out that Boss rack. It was sweet...I liked the sound...and it was also cool that you could hook it up to your computer and actually see the stomp boxes and adjust them, using the "knobs". Nice feature.

What wasn't cool, though, was what used to bother me about this Roland RSP-550 that I used to use. There's still this nano second of "nothing" when you change patches. That used to drive me crazy...especially in the 3 piece bands where so much had to be 'on'. (Also: if something goes wrong with one effect...you know....)

But maybe the guy didn't know how to hook the unit up? Not sure. Electric violinist. Great player.

One of the things I like about the stomp boxes is that you can create unique sounds...not that you can't with the processors...but,say when I combine my Boss boxes (in their handy little case), a Big Muff Deluxe, the Boss half rack Pitch Shifter/Delay, and the Boogie's overdrive set fairly clean; I get a sound that would be hard to find in a full processing unit.

But that's a lot of pedal pushing. Can't beat the presets on that one. I heard the Line 6 rig's supposed to be pretty nice.

BTW: I'm new here...can someone tell me how I can get that "Bottle Rocket" thang off my avatar and replace it with "Mark IIB"?

While yes you can get very unique sounds out of stomp boxes in certain orders, you can get equally if not more unique sounds out of a high end fx processor. Its just going to be different and one cant emulate other IME.

As for the bottle rocket... as you post more it changes.

 

[MusicManJP6]

Can you turn off the preamp part of it?
Yes! Using the 4 cable method you do not use the GT's preamps at all. You can if you really want to with the 4CM and the beauty of it is that it will be sent direct to your FX return which bypasses your Mesa preamp!

Is there a glitch between presets?
Not at all. It is instantaneous. If you use it to change your amp channels (which I highly recommend) then you are limited to the speed at which your amp can change the channels, although the effect changes are immediate. With a 2 channel amp like the DC it works flawlessly.

Does the delay spill-over?
Yes! You can go from a great distorted lead with tons of delay (even two at one time if you use the sub-delay feature) and then switch over to a preset that uses your clean channel with some chorus and reverb while the delay spills over from the other preset.

Like I've said several times before... I used to have a pedalboard full of pedals but once I got the GT-8 setup using the 4CM, got the channel switching working, and setup a few presets I sold my whole pedalboard.

I either use 4 presets I have setup for 4CM or stay on one preset and use manual mode so it acts like individual pedals. I can switch in/out of manual mode with the CTL button as well as tap the tempo with the same button. Very cool and extremely convenient. I am very glad i don't have to keep buying/selling pedals every time I think I want octave instead of chorus, etc because i'm out of space on my pedalboard. I don't have to change my forum sig as often either! Haha.

I have 4 presets that I use all the time:

1-1: CLEAN: Clean channel with a little reverb from the amp. I have an analog type delay saved but not saved with it on. Analog delay sounds better with clean tones. It is accessible via manual mode as is chorus, phaser, and octave.

1-2: CRUNCHY: Clean with T-Screamer model as a boost with delay before the Mesa preamp (compared to after or 'in the loop' like in the other presets) - sounds so sweet and natural!

1-3: DISTORTION: Lead channel with no effects. Boost disabled but accessible if in manual mode along with any other effects.

1-4: LEAD: Lead channel with comp and delay. Boost disabled but accessible if in manual mode.

I also have phaser, flanger, chorus, and an octave available for different presets accessible via manual mode if needed.

The wahs are actually pretty dang good. If I didn't get my Bad Horsie for next to nothing I would not have an external wah. The whammy isn't bad either. I leave the volume pedal engaged first in the FX chain for all presets.

I've also used just the GT-8's factory presets straight through a PA and they sounded pretty killer! I've also recorded direct, used the GT-8 as just a midi controller for controlling Guitar Rig 3 on my PC as well as controlling the start, stop, and record of my DAW software. It also sounds great through my Crate Powerblock and Recto cabs. It has tons of uses! It can also be used for late night sessions like someone else mentioned.

I wouldn't have anything else right now. I'm completely content!

Now if I could just acquire a PRS I'd be completely happy I think...

 

[gitapik]

While yes you can get very unique sounds out of stomp boxes in certain orders, you can get equally if not more unique sounds out of a high end fx processor. Its just going to be different and one cant emulate other IME.

As for the bottle rocket... as you post more it changes.

Yeah...I was impressed by the Boss unit...you heard the Line 6?

Thanks about my li'l bottle rocket question.

 

[jdurso]

While yes you can get very unique sounds out of stomp boxes in certain orders, you can get equally if not more unique sounds out of a high end fx processor. Its just going to be different and one cant emulate other IME.

As for the bottle rocket... as you post more it changes.

Yeah...I was impressed by the Boss unit...you heard the Line 6?

Thanks about my li'l bottle rocket question.

Which Line6? The POD XT Live or the M13? Not a fan of the XT Live but the M13 is a great unit if you just need fx and not modelling. Better than that IMO is the TC Nova System.

 

[gitapik]

Which Line6? The POD XT Live or the M13? Not a fan of the XT Live but the M13 is a great unit if you just need fx and not modelling. Better than that IMO is the TC Nova System.

Cool...like I said: I'm just now back into electric. Nice to see that TC Electronics is still recommended. I loved their stuff.

I WAS talking about the POD XT Live.,,had heard lots of good stuff about it. But, "no"....I'm not interested in a modeling device. Extremely happy with my amp. It rocks.

Thanks for the tip on the M13...looks nice on the screen, here...and I bet it's excellent. Line 6 puts out nice stuff.

 

[MarkofXlnts]

I tried many processors, only to find that my ears prefer analog tone. I would always rather have one or two good analog pedals over a processor full of digital effects. I don't have anything against digital delays, but other digital effects never sound right to my ears. I am biased and prefer single analog pedals.

 

[gitapik]

I'm looking around at people's rigs, lately, and seeing LOTS of mention about the Fulltone pedal. I'm almost (but not quite) embarrassed that I don't know anything about them. My extended acoustic guitar vacation has left me feeling like a dinosaur.

I've had so many distortion pedals over the years. Wasn't 'till relatively recently that I really got the knack of my Boogie's overdrive/distortion (aka: holy ****!). The ones I've used, lately:

A Big Muff Deluxe. I had it modded by the original designer...found out he lives 5 minutes bike ride away from me. It's really off the charts, now. Quiet (he set it up with a nice bipass) and MUCH more bass/mids on it. It's a versatile monster, now. I can still dial up the exact original sound, too, if I want it. He gave me the capacitors and whatnot that he replaced, in case I want to return it to it's "vintage" condition, someday.

I also use a Real Tube floor model. I like it mainly for blues, on it's own.

I can use them either through the clean channel or in tandem with overdrive/very, very little distortion on my Mark IIB, and they sound great!

But I'm very into gear and always looking for something new. Can someone tell me about that Fulltone? They've got a full lineup, I see...