Small, feature packed multi effects

[gingertimmins]

Hi guys, life is changing rapidly now (first baby will be joining us in a few weeks!) and I'm currently not in a band so I've decided the gigging amp and pedal board is going up in the loft for a bit.

For a living room set up I've got a cube 10gx which I'm actually really happy with but it's effects are limiting.
What I'm after is something really small and good sounding with plenty of effects to tweak.
I'm not fussed about pedals and think I'd rather something that would lay on the sofa next to me rather than on the floor.

Does the line 6 pocket pod still hold up or has the tech gone far beyond that now?
Are there any others in a similar price range and similar format that I should be looking at?
I've heard some good Things about the zoom single pedal sized multi effects but I dunno.....I have really bad memories of zoom multi effects from the 90s!

[The Elf]

How much are you wanting to spend?

You say not a pedal, but something like the Digitech RP500 would make a good sofa companion. The humble RP50/55 are great for secondhand prices too.

[CS70]

Hi guys, life is changing rapidly now (first baby will be joining us in a few weeks!) and I'm currently not in a band so I've decided the gigging amp and pedal board is going up in the loft for a bit.

For a living room set up I've got a cube 10gx which I'm actually really happy with but it's effects are limiting.
What I'm after is something really small and good sounding with plenty of effects to tweak.
I'm not fussed about pedals and think I'd rather something that would lay on the sofa next to me rather than on the floor.

Does the line 6 pocket pod still hold up or has the tech gone far beyond that now?
Are there any others in a similar price range and similar format that I should be looking at?
I've heard some good Things about the zoom single pedal sized multi effects but I dunno.....I have really bad memories of zoom multi effects from the 90s!

The tech has gone far beyond now. If you limit yourself to effects it may be workable, but really it's not worth it, it's like trying to go to work with a model T.. even a '59 Chevy will be easier, more reliable and get you more miles for the money.

Staying on Line6, prices of later tech units (the POD HD versions for example) have dropped to very little and are much better. Notably the effect-only units (say the M9) have held their value much better, unfortunately for you. Older TC Electronics effects can also be had for a reasonable price used - even if usually not cheap.

There's also the small three-effect units (I have a Mooer Red Truck but there's a lot of them) which do the job but have few effects and only three or four can be active at a given time without having to bend down and switch.

[gingertimmins]

I'm only looking to spend about £50 to be honest. I'm not looking for giggable or recordable quality, just the ability to dial in some effects when I'm noodling on the sofa.
Regarding the rp50....what's battery life like on it as I'd rather not have to use a power cable.

[Wonks]

Battery life on any digital multi-effect is going to be pretty minimal. Your spend on batteries will soon outweigh the cost of the unit. You can of course use rechargeable batteries, but their lower voltage may be an issue on some FX units.

[Wonks]

Mooer GE100? Less than £60 complete with PSU here. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOOER-GE100- ... SwZb5bNLJk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_IuV70IdcY

[gingertimmins]

Good point about battery life!
I'll check the mooer out, a lot of their stuff is quite impressive for the size/price!

[The Elf]

Regarding the rp50....what's battery life like on it as I'd rather not have to use a power cable.

Dunno. I've never used it on batteries (it takes an odd choice of 6 AA batteries). The manual claims 'more than 15 hours' on fresh batteries, so read into that what you will. If I was going to use batteries I'd keep 6 re-chargeables in and 6 re-chargeables on standby.

FWIW I have both the RP50 and the RP55. I somehow find the 50 more appealing, but that may be more to do with the 55's presets being less to my taste - and I'm not a guitarist!

[Sam Spoons]

It adds to your budget but I have a RockBoard LT power-bank, rechargeable LiOn and man enough to power digital pedals for several hours. https://www.thomann.de/gb/rockboard_power_lt.htm

[Hewesy]

For the price point I'd suggest the Mooer gear too, or have a nose around eBay for a small multi FX unit.

The other slightly leftfield option would be to look at using an amp sim via your phone, say the Amplitube iRig system. Use your phone or a tablet to run the amp and output to the Cube for amplification. The benefit here is that as it is portable you could easy plug in earphones and sit in the garage/shed for when you inevitably get told you're disturbing the nipper

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/irig2/

Cheap enough to buy and you can update with amp packs/FX as you want to.

Or consider swapping out the Cube for something with more FX built in, depending on its resale value?

Hewesy

[garrettendi]

+1 for iRig. I used to have a Pocket Pod but part exchanged for the iRig and I've never looked back. The iRig sounds much better, is easier to use, and you can upgrade it with whatever other effects and amps you want. I myself plan to to pay for the £48.99 "all amps" bundle as I don't really need any extra effects but you can simply pick and choose if you want.

And it's incredibly portable. The iRig will easily fit in a gig bag or in your pocket, so handy for playing on the beach while your new kid plays in the sand

It also has an amp thru as well, so you can always just load effects and plug it into your amp.

Be warned, getting it to work with the feedback settings is a pain so it's not all sunshine and rainbows.

Failing the above, then it's another vote for the Mooer. I've used their stuff in the past, and while it's not for me, I can vouch they do sound good.

[Music Wolf]

And it's incredibly portable. The iRig will easily fit in a gig bag or in your pocket, so handy for playing on the beach whilst your new kid buries it in the sand

Fixed that for you. Welcome to fatherhood.

[gingertimmins]

Ahh I'd not thought of irig. I own it already on my laptop. It's pretty old now but does anyone know if my license will allow for use on my phone/iPad too or do I have to buy it again?

Having thought about it I have cubasis le that came with an interface. Perhaps the bundled amp software will do me? I'd only need the camera kit for that to work.
The big drawback of that though is that I'd have to move my interface between living room and upstairs desk. Plus the wires which is something I'm trying to avoid....

Too many options!

[garrettendi]

And it's incredibly portable. The iRig will easily fit in a gig bag or in your pocket, so handy for playing on the beach whilst your new kid buries it in the sand

Fixed that for you. Welcome to fatherhood.

[garrettendi]

Ahh I'd not thought of irig. I own it already on my laptop. It's pretty old now but does anyone know if my license will allow for use on my phone/iPad too or do I have to buy it again?

Having thought about it I have cubasis le that came with an interface. Perhaps the bundled amp software will do me? I'd only need the camera kit for that to work.
The big drawback of that though is that I'd have to move my interface between living room and upstairs desk. Plus the wires which is something I'm trying to avoid....

Too many options!

Amplitube CS on iOS is free, comes with three amps, and if you register your iRig on the app, you get an extra two amps.

No idea if you can register the iRig on Amplitube iOS if you've already done it on your laptop, sorry.

[gingertimmins]

Hi guys, just want to thank you all for your input on this thread and to let you know the outcome.
I tested a few various units in the local gear exchange shop and decided on the pocket pod. I know it’s dated tech but it actually ticks all of the boxes. It emulates my AC30 pretty well and although a little fiddly at first, it allows me to add some delay and reverb etc pretty easily. It’s footprint is tiny and for jamming on the sofa I’m really happy. It only cost me £25 too so I’m quids in!

[Hewesy]

Bargain mate, well done.

As an aside I wouldn't get hung up on "dates" - if we only used new kit we wouldn't all want a class a point to point wired valve amp...!

Enjoy,

Hewesy

[Dynamic Mike]

I've heard some good Things about the zoom single pedal sized multi effects but I dunno.....I have really bad memories of zoom multi effects from the 90s!

https://www.zoom-na.com/products/guitar ... -zoom-fire
Are you suggesting this isn't an appreciating classic? Mine actually still works, although the volume pot is a little scratchy.

[Drew Stephenson]

Ha! I think I've still got one of these kicking around somewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH7Ugi3CyNw
But I may have given it to my brother...

[The Elf]

Ha! I think I've still got one of these kicking around somewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH7Ugi3CyNw
But I may have given it to my brother...

This and the G4 (that still adorns my studio) were really very good pedals...

[garrettendi]

I feel very young now. I started playing in 2003 and my first multi-effects was the Zoom G2.1u. Looked like something from a sci-fi film.

It was a beaut though

EDIT: I also had a Boss MT-2 for a while though, so not all my pedal choices were even half decent

[gingertimmins]

Ha! I think I've still got one of these kicking around somewhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH7Ugi3CyNw
But I may have given it to my brother...

I remember that bad boy. My first multi effects board! That and a bespeco wah pedal.... man they were good times!

[gingertimmins]

I feel very young now. I started playing in 2003 and my first multi-effects was the Zoom G2.1u. Looked like something from a sci-fi film.

It was a beaut though

EDIT: I also had a Boss MT-2 for a while though, so not all my pedal choices were even half decent

It was actually the g2.1u that put me off zoom! I didn’t like the amp models on it but worse than that I had 3, all of which had failed footswitches.... so much for a pedal marketed with the robustness and ease of a stomp box.

[garrettendi]

I never had any such issues, but back then I thought the amp models were great. I wonder how I'd feel if I took a listen with the experience I have now, especially given the many modelling amps and plugins I've had since. I imagine I'd hate them now. Might take a listen on YouTube at lunch sometime.

But regardless of whether the amps were good or not, the main effect I used was the Marshall Guvnor clone. I tried things like phasers and the like but I just didn't have the knowledge, the experience, or the ears to know how to use them.

So all in all, it was arguably a waste of my money. If I wanted the same tone today, I'd just buy a Guvnor on eBay.

[garrettendi]

Had a few listens on YouTube... It sounds better than I remember actually!

I think I might try and get it back from the mate I gave it to, Hope he's still got it.