Which Multi FX will sound good through my Fender Hot Rod Bluesman???

ZarK

Hi Guys.

I've done some research and have a good idea which rig I'm going to work towards putting together but that's going to take time and I need a quick solution rather urgently! It'll most probably end-up being my backup so it mustn't be rubbish either... I'm using the few pedals I have left after selling off my previous rig but the current set-up does not allow me to eq and set the volume of each individual patch. (I'm using a number of guitars which is often more of a pain than a pleasure.) It also leaves me with the dreaded tap dance at which I suck...

Basically I'm just using the clean channel of my Fender Hot Rod Bluesman and I'm looking for a multi fx (or suitable alternative) set-up to supply the distortion, overdrives and fx. I'm looking for the simplest, most cost effective solution that will offer me 1. Decent tone 2. the ability to save patches for single stomp operation 3. overdrive+distortion that covers from crunch to high gain and 4. The ability to eq and adjust/set the volume of each patch individually. I don't need all the bells, whistles and way-out fx that some multi fx units offer while inevitably sacrificing tone to keep the unit at a certain price-point. I'd prefer the simplest solution.

The only pedal I have in mind so far is the TCE Nova system but its already bordering on being too expensive for something that's probably going to end up being a back-up... Unless I find a good deal on a second-hand unit... Then again I've been using some relatively cheap Boss, Marshall and Ibanez pedals in front of the Fender's clean channel for the interim with remarkable results -which got me thinking that I could potentially even get decent tones from a Boss multi fx unit or similar... The Bluesman takes pedals extremely well.

Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated -especially if its derived from first-hand experience! ?

BluJu

ZarK wrote Hi Guys.

I've done some research and have a good idea which rig I'm going to work towards putting together but that's going to take time and I need a quick solution rather urgently! It'll most probably end-up being my backup so it mustn't be rubbish either... I'm using the few pedals I have left after selling off my previous rig but the current set-up does not allow me to eq and set the volume of each individual patch. (I'm using a number of guitars which is often more of a pain than a pleasure.) It also leaves me with the dreaded tap dance at which I suck...

Basically I'm just using the clean channel of my Fender Hot Rod Bluesman and I'm looking for a multi fx (or suitable alternative) set-up to supply the distortion, overdrives and fx. I'm looking for the simplest, most cost effective solution that will offer me 1. Decent tone 2. the ability to save patches for single stomp operation 3. overdrive+distortion that covers from crunch to high gain and 4. The ability to eq and adjust/set the volume of each patch individually. I don't need all the bells, whistles and way-out fx that some multi fx units offer while inevitably sacrificing tone to keep the unit at a certain price-point. I'd prefer the simplest solution.

The only pedal I have in mind so far is the TCE Nova system but its already bordering on being too expensive for something that's probably going to end up being a back-up... Unless I find a good deal on a second-hand unit... Then again I've been using some relatively cheap Boss, Marshall and Ibanez pedals in front of the Fender's clean channel for the interim with remarkable results -which got me thinking that I could potentially even get decent tones from a Boss multi fx unit or similar... The Bluesman takes pedals extremely well.

Any ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated -especially if its derived from first-hand experience! ?

Line 6 M9 is good but expensive and needs extra expression pedals. Boss ME 50 and ME 70 are great. I used an ME 50 for quite a while as my temporary solution. Should be able to get them for about R1500. If not I'd let mine go to someone who would use it more. Oh ye, I used the ME 50 with a hot rod and it really did do me good. Simple, cheap and nice sounding.

ZarK

Thanks.

I wondered if the ME-50 and ME-70 would be good options. I've had the GT-3, 5 and 8 before and hated the distortion tones... Granted, I did not know how to tweak tones correctly back then and I've never had an amp that takes pedals as well as the little Fender does... I wonder if the fx of the GT-8 is better or worse than a more modern ME-50/70 with special reference to OD/Distortion? I still have a new Boss FV-500H handy so an expression pedal won't be a limiting factor...

I don't think I'll be touching Line6 any time soon... All 3 my Spider Valves started going crazy after some time. The 2nd last MKII went bonkers within a week and the replacement MKII lost it's mind within the first hour of operation...

I appreciate the input!

BTW: My Bluesman is obviously going to be the amp and cab so I'd most likely just bypass the amp and cab sims on the multi fx and only use the fx... The quality of the these sims are therefore not really important to me. The OD/Distortion and fx is important however as is the ability to set up separate patches for easy operation.

Jacquesg4j

What effects do you intend on using? If it's only od and what have you, don't bother going for a multi. Build your rig one pedal at a time. I am currently using a POD HD500 and must say I am loving it! But I would still go for the m9 or 13 if you wanted a multi. Had a Boss me50 and boss should just not do overdrives.

Skywalker

Hey man. Howzit?

I don't think I'll be touching Line6 any time soon... All 3 my Spider Valves started going crazy after some time. The 2nd last MKII went bonkers within a week and the replacement MKII lost it's mind within the first hour of operation...

Waddaya mean it went bonkers??? ???

Curious as I own a MarkI SV 1x12 combo and it seems to be doing the trick for me :-\

I wasn't sold on Line 6 initially when they came out but have grown to dig them over the last few years or so.

as far as the tap dancing problem goes I reckon you had it sorted with your previous setup with the whole midi controllable thing. Why the change?

ZarK

Jacquesg4j wrote What effects do you intend on using? If it's only od and what have you, don't bother going for a multi. Build your rig one pedal at a time. I am currently using a POD HD500 and must say I am loving it! But I would still go for the m9 or 13 if you wanted a multi. Had a Boss me50 and boss should just not do overdrives.

I've had some elaborate, some would say boutique rigs in the past and I've already started planning my new rig which will be on the same level but hopefully less intricate. It's going to require time to acquire all these components and even more to marry them all efficiently and I have gigs coming up which means I need a quick fix asap that could potentially be used as a backup in future... Nothing more unless otherwise convinced... I'm not going to put unnecessary pressure on myself to try and make everything work in time...

The multi fx idea only came to me because 1. I need something fast 2. I could not believe the OD tones my Bluesman delivers with just a Tube screamer and Boss DS-1 in front and 3. It's impossible to match volumes and re-eq for each of my guitars within my current set-up... I need to have at least 4 individually tweak-able patches per guitar, so 8 banks with 4 patches each should be enough. A little more would be a bonus but much more would be too much and will complicate things more than necessary, I think.

If the Fender Bluesman didn't take the basic pedals I have left so well, I wouldn't have considered a multi-fx. That being said, I don't need anything fancy. If a ME-70 sounds good enough, I don't think I'd need anything more... I basically only need OD/Distortion, delay, reverb and modulation fx but being able to set and save individual patch-levels and eq each patch individually to match each guitar whilst eliminating the dreaded tap dance is my main motivation to go this route. I don't believe in using amp/cab modelling with my Fender HRD Bluesman. I just want to build on the excellent tone it already provides.

I'm taking my time building up a rig with a Voodoolab Ground-control, rack FX section and multiple loops for individual pedals -unless TCE releases a new improved G-System instead of just tweaking their input section and giving it a new colour -as they've just done with the new black limited edition... I enjoyed my red G-System but there are certain features I'm hoping they'll improve before I'll get another...

So far my options are a Boss ME-70 for its simplicity or TCE Nova System although the Nova System will probably be overkill for a backup. It all depends if the ME-70 can be tweaked to offer usable tones with my guitar/amp set-up... I'm going to see if I can't spend some time with a Hot Rod Deluxe and ME-70 tomorrow to see if they match or not... The OD/Distortion section is my main concern due to my GT-3/5/8 experience but I suspect the Fender HRD could very well make it sound better than it should -gauging by how well it seems to take pedals. (Lots of research left to be done...)

Thanks for the input!

ZarK

Skywalker wrote Hey man. Howzit?

I don't think I'll be touching Line6 any time soon... All 3 my Spider Valves started going crazy after some time. The 2nd last MKII went bonkers within a week and the replacement MKII lost it's mind within the first hour of operation...
Waddaya mean it went bonkers??? ???

Curious as I own a MarkI SV 1x12 combo and it seems to be doing the trick for me :-\

I wasn't sold on Line 6 initially when they came out but have grown to dig them over the last few years or so.

as far as the tap dancing problem goes I reckon you had it sorted with your previous setup with the whole midi controllable thing. Why the change?

Hey dude! Its all goood. ? Your cool studio still haunts me everytime I go back to mine -a job well done! 8)

My Mesa/Boogie and G-System was a match made in hell. I had to buy so much extra gear to solve level issues etc that the setup ended up being a nightmare to put together which made it impossible for gigging without a roadie or two -which I obviously don't have... I'm quite certain I'm going the midi-route again but probably the VoodooLab Ground-control and rack route this time round -starting with a great clean tone and adding what I need step-by-step instead of just getting everything I think I could possibly need and ending up scratching my head as to how to make everything work together efficiently... I'm sold on the clean tone of my Fender HRD Bluesman and I'm also quite certain that my main distortion tones will come from the combination of a Wampler Triple Wreck and a Tubescreamer or two.

Regarding the Spider Valves... -exactly what I said: They all lost their minds in one form or another. My first one (MKI) is now our rhythm guitarist's amp and it has proven to be the most reliable of the three -by far! It's clutched out probably 4 or 5 times over the last year, however... It just goes crazy! when you move the expression pedal it'll start changing patches on its own or just put on a light show that doesn't make any sense in relation to your actual input... Luckily in his case the problem is resolved when you switch off and on again and it's only happened a couple of times in more than a year. My last two Spider Valve MKII's where another story altogether... The first one just started freezing and cutting out completely within the first week. Its replacement (a month and a half later) did exactly the same thing -this time within the first hour and with the nice addition of a high pitched scream that couldn't even be controlled via the shortboard... (I almost shat myself when it happened!) There's definitely processor-related issues with the one's I had... The fact that all three had issues strikes me as rather odd and has sunk any faith I had in Line6 products... I'm still using a Pod studio UX2 which I really dig but new gear in the short/medium term from Line6? I don't think so... Such a pity because the tones Spider Valves are capable of producing are truly amazing if you tweak them correctly and play at the correct volumes... Probably the perfect all-in-one gigging solution -if only they they where reliable in my case... And don't expect any service and backup from Line6 in SA unless you threaten them with legal action... Not my idea of fun...

Skywalker

ZarK wrote
Skywalker wrote Hey man. Howzit?

I don't think I'll be touching Line6 any time soon... All 3 my Spider Valves started going crazy after some time. The 2nd last MKII went bonkers within a week and the replacement MKII lost it's mind within the first hour of operation...
Waddaya mean it went bonkers??? ???

Curious as I own a MarkI SV 1x12 combo and it seems to be doing the trick for me :-\

I wasn't sold on Line 6 initially when they came out but have grown to dig them over the last few years or so.

as far as the tap dancing problem goes I reckon you had it sorted with your previous setup with the whole midi controllable thing. Why the change?

Hey dude! Its all goood. ? Your cool studio still haunts me everytime I go back to mine -a job well done! 8)

My Mesa/Boogie and G-System was a match made in hell. I had to buy so much extra gear to solve level issues etc that the setup ended up being a nightmare to put together which made it impossible for gigging without a roadie or two -which I obviously don't have... I'm quite certain I'm going the midi-route again but probably the VoodooLab Ground-control and rack route this time round -starting with a great clean tone and adding what I need step-by-step instead of just getting everything I think I could possibly need and ending up scratching my head as to how to make everything work together efficiently... I'm sold on the clean tone of my Fender HRD Bluesman and I'm also quite certain that my main distortion tones will come from the combination of a Wampler Triple Wreck and a Tubescreamer or two.

Regarding the Spider Valves... -exactly what I said: They all lost their minds in one form or another. My first one (MKI) is now our rhythm guitarist's amp and it has proven to be the most reliable of the three -by far! It's clutched out probably 4 or 5 times over the last year, however... It just goes crazy! when you move the expression pedal it'll start changing patches on its own or just put on a light show that doesn't make any sense in relation to your actual input... Luckily in his case the problem is resolved when you switch off and on again and it's only happened a couple of times in more than a year. My last two Spider Valve MKII's where another story altogether... The first one just started freezing and cutting out completely within the first week. Its replacement (a month and a half later) did exactly the same thing -this time within the first hour and with the nice addition of a high pitched scream that couldn't even be controlled via the shortboard... (I almost shat myself when it happened!) There's definitely processor-related issues with the one's I had... The fact that all three had issues strikes me as rather odd and has sunk any faith I had in Line6 products... I'm still using a Pod studio UX2 which I really dig but new gear in the short/medium term from Line6? I don't think so... Such a pity because the tones Spider Valves are capable of producing are truly amazing if you tweak them correctly and play at the correct volumes... Probably the perfect all-in-one gigging solution -if only they they where reliable in my case... And don't expect any service and backup from Line6 in SA unless you threaten them with legal action... Not my idea of fun...

Hahaha!!! Nice dude. Thanks ?

It took bloody long enough to get it to where it is!!!

Interesting about the Line 6 gear. One of the guys that jams here has the SV100 head and has never had any problems to date and I've just picked one up for a steal here on the forum (thanks Alan 8)) so was obviously interested in what your spin on them is.

I do think they sound great for what they are (i.e. modelling amps). Let's see how it pans out and if it starts going bonkers and crapping out on me you'll get the first invite to say "I told ya so!!!" Hahahaha ?

One thing I've picked up over the years is keeping things as simple as possible-especially live. I own a bunch of axes but the ones I use and abuse live the most are pretty consistent tone wise so there are NO issues when I change a guitar live. They all sound pretty much the same which works for me. Bust a string in the middle of a song and change guitars to another one that is totally different tone wise and you will probablly have to tweak your amp mid set to get it all happening again. Pain in the butt for me :?

Work with what you've got, find the axe that works for you tone wise and stick with and I guarantee you the rest will come pretty quickly!!! You've got a cool amp with a kief clean sound as you said so find the OD/distotion sound you dig and roll with it from there!!!

Complicated setups are called that for a reason I think......They complicate things ?

Hope that helped dude!!!

Rock n Roll 8)

Where and when are you guys playing BTW? Would dig to come and check that out!!!

ZarK

I know of a few people who own Spider Valves and none of them had issues. I think they're fantastic amps. Tweak'em correctly and mine could come within 10% of a Mesa, Marshall, Fender and Vox... Can't say that of any other amp I've tested/owned before... Its just sad that I had so many issues and therefore also had to deal with Line6's so-called 'backup' service. I think you can be rest assured if you haven't had any issues with yours up to date, however.

I agree about keeping it simple... I've learnt that lesson the hard way... I use specific guitars for specific songs and this does complicate things a tad when trying to match volumes and eq'ing each instrument... No way around this at the moment, unfortunately...

We're doing a few anonymous gigs first to prep for our launch. I'll let you know. Thanks for the interest and input! ?

Skywalker

Schaweet!!

No probs dude!!!

We're playing at Nameless Pub next Friday if you're keen to pull in and watch MY tap dancing show - Hahahaha ?

Rock n Roll!!! 8)

Norman86

Im late to the party on this, but the multi's im considering, are the Vox Tonelab EX, and the Zoom G3!

G3 only has 3 simultaneous effects though, the Tonelab has 5! (dont be fooled by the 9 they claim... the other 4 effects are amp, speaker sims, global EQ and something else i cant remember right now!)

I saw the price of the Line 6 m9 and m13... i could almost buy another amp with that kinda money! Or, at least 3 zoom G3's for the price of one line 6 m9!

arjunmenon

Zark, have you considered the TCE Nova System? It's got some very nice drive tones and the ambient effects are pretty legendary.

doc-phil

I'm selling my BOSS ME-50 for R1700 if you're interested... Contrary to what Jacques says, I have enjoyed the overdrives and distortion stomps models.. The blues driver is awesome and the metal zone can sound good if you tweak it a bit and avoid it sounding like a swarm of bees!

AlanRatcliffe

The Nova system is the only one I'd consider (or the G-System, but you've been there! ?) Maybe a little bland (or "pristine", depending on how you view it), but the only really well made and good sounding solution.

But...

...A few well selected decent stomps and a good amp and you can do everything you really need for a good performance. With pedals you only thing you really lose out on is the multiple settings and the "one stomp recall" simplicity of patches (and there are ways around that - unfortunately not cheaply though), but you gain in other areas (tone, cohesive sounds and the ability to choose different brands of FX). While you lose patches with pedal setups, you also don't have to write patches specifically for different guitars - that's an idiosyncrasy you really only get with multis. Each guitar just brings it's own tonal palette/drive range to the table.

Don't get me wrong - I love the complexity possible with the better multis (Particularly some of the rack stuff), but for live band use, the simplicity and individualised tone of a good pedalboard usually wins out at the small expense of having to pare down your range of tones.

Norman86

Alan Ratcliffe wrote The Nova system is the only one I'd consider (or the G-System, but you've been there! ?)

Exactly why i suggested what i did! There arent exactly many multi effects WITHOUT amp modelling!
Only the TC Nova's, the Line6 M5/9/13 and Zoom G3!
Unless im missing something??

Squonk

Norman86 wrote
Alan Ratcliffe wrote The Nova system is the only one I'd consider (or the G-System, but you've been there! ?)
Exactly why i suggested what i did! There arent exactly many multi effects WITHOUT amp modelling!
Only the TC Nova's, the Line6 M5/9/13 and Zoom G3!
Unless im missing something??

You can switch off the modelling on most Zoom Multiple Effects, I have had my G2.1U for about 5 years and never used the modelling at all. Only the EFX

Norman86

Squonk, im talking about Multi's that DONT do amp sims!
Like the Nova system, the Line6 M series! They dont include modelling at all!

Squonk

Norman86 wrote Squonk, im talking about Multi's that DONT do amp sims!
Like the Nova system, the Line6 M series! They dont include modelling at all!

I get what you mean Norm. 8)

ZarK

Skywalker wrote Schaweet!!

No probs dude!!!

We're playing at Nameless Pub next Friday if you're keen to pull in and watch MY tap dancing show - Hahahaha ?

Rock n Roll!!! 8)

If I'm free on Friday, I'll be there! (As soon as I google where 'there' is... ? )

Thanks.

ZarK

Guys.

My very first post stated that the Nova System was my only choice so far and that I'm looking for more options...

To reiterate: The amp I'm using is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Bluesman and this is the amp that will be used irrespective of which fx I'm getting. The only reason I'm considering anything but the Nova System is because the Bluesman takes even cheap pedals exceptionally well +this won't be my main rig... This is supposed to be a quick fix that will probably become the backup system or get sold again. I am using a separate pedals set-up at the moment and I'm struggling to match volumes between guitars + I'm tap dancing my a$$ off... Not enjoying it too much but I'm getting used to it... I do not wish to get a foot-controlled fx loop system for the current setup as I will most probably be getting a midi-controlled loop system for individual pedals as part of my main rig. This is the main reasons why I started the thread. I have a good idea of which direction I'm taking with my main rig but its going to require time to get it all going and I'm not going to rush the process just because I have time constraints. I'd rather get a temporary solution for now and take my time with the main set-up. (Just wanted to clarify my needs.)

I appreciate all the input!

Many thanks!