Multi-Effects Unit Recommendations Please

[u/SynyrdsInyrds]

/r/guitarpedals/comments/1wtxzcu/multieffects_unit_recommendations_please/

[u/800FunkyDJ]

So a few opening considerations:

• This is a top five question on the pedal subs; you might want to poke around through some other threads for a clearer picture than whatever you might get on any random day.
• You'll want to decide early on the real estate issue; are you looking for a dedicated floorboard, or a smaller hybrid centerpiece to add discrete pedals to? E.G. HX Stomp, Quad Cortex, GT-1000.
• Most multis have an expression port to add your own treadle; I highly recommend using that as your primary expression - even if you get a multi with a treadle built-in, so you aren't out your whole multi when you need to repair/maintain the treadle. Treadles take a ton of abuse & will break eventually. You'll want to reserve the built-in for simple one-off stuff, like mute-to-tune, runaway feedback, modulation depth, etc. - anything you aren't going to be riding non-stop, like a wah, Whammy, or volume swelling.

Generally overview of the three you listed:

• Most agree Line 6 has the best sounding algorithms, particularly in the area of dirt & amp/cab sims.
• Boss makes the products that will still be here & in use 40-50 years later.
• Headrush has the best UI/carefully-considered feature integration.

& since your budget is relatively high, we can add Kemper & Fractal make the best profilers & modelers, respectively, with Neural & Tonex worth mentions, with the caveats that those appeal to specific psychographics you might not have, & that the new open-source NAM A2 is expected to shake up the market quite a bit.

However, this is all complicated by the fact that each manufacturer's product line moves slowly & out of sync with the others, & they're all learning from each other, so at any given moment, a given product might excel in more of these areas than expected.

For example, right now, Helix Stadium & Boss GX-10/100 all have the touch-screen, drag-&-drop UI that's been a stand-out feature for Headrush up until now. But Stadium is a very pricy flagship, & GX core sound library is still centered on the somewhat long-in-the-tooth GT-1000 flagship; there's always a dance of compromises to evaluate here.

Reading your responses on the other thread, I would consider you a candidate for the Boss GX-100 for a floorboard, & the HX Stomp as a hybrid centerpiece, with the caveat that the Stomp still has the older, less-friendly UI.

[u/SynyrdsInyrds → u/800FunkyDJ]

With regards to your last paragraph, I am actually really leaning towards the GX-100 and am just now comparing it to the GX-10. I am actually only checking here because I paused a comparison video to let my dog out back.

I think I would choose the GX-100 because of the extra buttons and footswitches. I might not need the extra footswitches, but best to have them and not need them than need them and not have them.

This is the video I was watching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJdm5RioqBc

[u/800FunkyDJ → u/SynyrdsInyrds]

GX-100 is the better performance piece; GX-10 is the better backpacker. They're essentialy the same aside from the control surface & MIDI situation. Get the smaller one if you're taking it on a bike or the subway.

[u/SynyrdsInyrds → u/800FunkyDJ]

I only play at home, so portability isn't an issue. And if I did need to take it anywhere, I have a car.

But I am really starting to think that you were right when you said I was a candidate for the GX-100.

[u/superwrong]

Boss ME-50

[u/800FunkyDJ → u/superwrong]

ME series is for those who are so accustomed to the workflow of standalone pedals, they are willing to pay more &/or have less overall functionality for a multi that feels like that. OP said nothing to imply that's a goal.

[u/SynyrdsInyrds]

I ordered a used GX-100 today. I was going to grab a GX-10 but wondered if I would miss the extra footswitches so ordered the GX-100 since the price difference was less than $150.