Pedalboard modellers: Whats your pick?

[Rhysyrhys]

I've been looking at the Line6 HX Stomp (or Stomp XL) for a while now and I'm getting close to buying time; however last night I was looking at some of the competition and the Boss GT1000CORE and the Headrush Gigboard both look really excellent...

What would be your pick in the 500-700 buck multi-fx sort of range? I just wanna make sure I'm not missing anything killer before I spend anything.

[Doog]

I've used an HX Stomp for a few years now, both as my "amp" at home, and also source of modulation on my pedalboard - it really is pretty marvellous, in functionality and sounds.

The only real downfall for me would be how much memory some of the fancier Modules can use, meaning you'll sometimes have to pick a less memory-hungry alternative (such as the 'Legacy' modules they ported over from the M series) to get your desired combination happening.

[mickie08]

Are you looking to use it as amp as well? How much of a signal tinkerer are you?

The headrush was pretty fun and pretty easy to use. Ive had the fractal fm3 and now have the fender tonemaster pro. Fractal wins for tones and fender hands down for usability/user flow.. but those are a ways over your price range. Though if your in LA area and want to cruise ny way to try the fender you are welcome to.

I havent ever used the stomp personally for any length of time but i know a couople musicians who do alot of fly gigs that take them with the everywhere they go and either use them as backups or on smaller stages/lower budget shows direct. Like doog said, can be a bit limiting here and there depending on what you are doing.

[aen]

I realize I'm a few years behind here, but I really enjoyed the Line 6 M13. It's all their original FX modeling pedals in one, with a slightly better looper. No amp modeling though.

[Bacchus]

I realize I'm a few years behind here, but I really enjoyed the Line 6 M13. It's all their original FX modeling pedals in one, with a slightly better looper. No amp modeling though.

This is where I'm at, blissfully ten years behind the curve, getting what feels like (to me) cutting edge technology for cheaps. The M13 is probably the main component on my board these days.

You see they've got a Playstation 2 now?

[Progrockabuse]

I’m still in the M series era with my M5. I’d love to try an HX stomp or effect but can’t justify the cost when I have the M5 for my once in a while effects. My latest revelation is that I can sync a midi foot-switch with my M5 to stomp between 4/5 presets without having to scroll through on the M5.

[NickS]

For the soul band I have a Roland GR-55 and I have a GK-3 pickup on a Squier Stratocaster. As a pedalboard the GR-55 is limited in the number of effects you can apply and control in any one patch but you can change patches. It's fairly old tech now but still sold.
For the other (rockier) project I'm using an M9 with two expression pedals, a Digitech Drop for pitch shifting and a Marshall Ed The Compressor on the front. I only use a couple of different "scenes" so far.
I did pick up an M13 a few months ago which gives me more options than the M9 but I haven't put it in a case or added expression pedals yet.
I went to a jam night a little while ago where the provided pedalboard was an HX stomp. I'm sure it's fine if you're familiar with it but if you're not it's very easy for things to go pear-shaped, and they did.

[Bacchus]

I have an M13 and an M5 which I've been tempted to put in the loop (M17?) of the M13. It would be good if there was a way of using the MIDI connects to synch tap tempo across them. Maybe there is, I dunno. MIDI is some weird black magic.

Also been meaning to pick up the Zoom CDR70 for the last aaages or so.

[Rhysyrhys]

Are you looking to use it as amp as well? How much of a signal tinkerer are you?

The headrush was pretty fun and pretty easy to use. Ive had the fractal fm3 and now have the fender tonemaster pro. Fractal wins for tones and fender hands down for usability/user flow.. but those are a ways over your price range. Though if your in LA area and want to cruise ny way to try the fender you are welcome to.

I havent ever used the stomp personally for any length of time but i know a couople musicians who do alot of fly gigs that take them with the everywhere they go and either use them as backups or on smaller stages/lower budget shows direct. Like doog said, can be a bit limiting here and there depending on what you are doing.

I've got a Headrush FRFR speaker as well as my 25w PRS Sonzera which is currently my main squeeze, so a bit of modelling would be cool but used mainly as a routing/effects processor that sits on my board. I'd definitely be down to check it out at some point, that Fender Tonemaster looks awesome. I really hope they do a Stomp-like product range off of it, as you say it's too pricy and also just too beastly for what I need.

The only real downfall for me would be how much memory some of the fancier Modules can use, meaning you'll sometimes have to pick a less memory-hungry alternative (such as the 'Legacy' modules they ported over from the M series) to get your desired combination happening.

This is my problem with the Helix stuff in general and probably common complain: the switching between patches is poor and the amount of ugens you can run in a patch is low comparatively. I really like the idea of having a patch with an optional model loaded so I can plug my FRFR speaker into the R jack and have a stereo setup, with it's own set of compressors/room etc. all ready to go without having to affect my main set of effects - it's basically not possible with the Helix stuff, it's even worse when you load two amp/cabsims and two IRs at the same time, you get a measily 1 effect to use afterwards and it can only be like a fucking compressor or something.

[Rhysyrhys]

I am enjoying all the Line6 M-series love in here. I was very jealous of everyone that had one a few years back and it's nice to know they are good and still good - L6 definitely have a few products like that now, DL4/MM4 still appearing on boards around the world 15-20 years on, I imagine these will be also.

I think it's come down to a bit of a shoot out between the Fractal and the Boss, the Headrush looks sick but doesn't seem to have much in the way of weird pedals which I want. Neural is hella expensive and I don't think there is actually anything else - am a lil tempted by one of these cheap amazon brands like Hotone or Joyo, just because I've had very pleasant experiences with cheap Amazon tat pedals

[Bacchus]

I'm sort of confused why you're asking about this whilst selling the Helix LT in the Classifieds. Am I missing something about what the Helix LT does? I assumed the Stomp was the same thing, minus the amps modellers?

[NickS]

Getting a bit off topic here, but for Bacchus...

I hooked up my M13 MIDI Out to my M9 MIDI In. Tap tempo is sent - but so are any selections made using 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B on the M13. I suppose that could be useful if you could work out how to use those combinations. ISTR that expression pedal inputs would also be transmitted.

There is a company that makes single-function MIDI pedals, one of which sends MIDI Tap Tempo; but it's $79 plus postage and, no doubt, tax. Most of the small programmable MIDI footswitches are USB* but I did find one that does a programmable DIN MIDI footswitch for €139. Cheaper options would be larger, like the Behringer FCB1010 that you can often pick up used for under £100, or the Harley Benton MP-100 at £105. If you are trying to set tap tempo for both Line 6 devices from an external footswitch I think you'll need to use a MIDI fan-out box to prevent the output from one affecting the other.. a Y-cable might work if your sending device has enough current sink capability.

*I'm not sure whether a MIDI USB host box would work with one of these but they all seem to be around £60 or more anyway.

[Rhysyrhys]

I'm sort of confused why you're asking about this whilst selling the Helix LT in the Classifieds. Am I missing something about what the Helix LT does? I assumed the Stomp was the same thing, minus the amps modellers?

Too big. I want to put the Helix in a teenie weenie box on my main pedalboard and feed it pedals, n' then sometimes use the models from it if I don't want to take my amp.

[Rhysyrhys]

I'm sort of confused why you're asking about this whilst selling the Helix LT in the Classifieds. Am I missing something about what the Helix LT does? I assumed the Stomp was the same thing, minus the amps modellers?

Too big. I want to put the Helix in a teenie weenie box on my main pedalboard and feed it pedals, n' then sometimes use the models from it if I don't want to take my amp.

Also the HX Stomp _is_ the Helix, just inna-box with no switches and expression pedals and less outputs, which I think is why it's so attractive to many.

[Rhysyrhys]

OK I drank way too much coffee and blew my load lads, someone on Reverb.com offered me 100 bucks off a GT-1000CORE and I ate that shit up like sweet, sweet doodoo butter. 500 Simoleons shipped. I promise myself to put my other pedals on teh verbz to make up for the indiscretions against my wallet.

Apart from the dangerous levels of caffeine what pushed me over the edge is that I have a MeloAudio MIDI Commander at home and didn't know it has a mapping for the GT-1000CORE so you don't have to do loads of setup to get it to work. I'm put them together on the bottom row of my board and use them to switch on and off the effects loop for my drive n' other pedals.

Then imma make it all fucking stereo BUT THEN in homage to Roober put the speakers on top of each other for a crushing wall of mono, much to the lamentations of my neighbors.

[Rhysyrhys]

I looked at the Fractal but 900 is too strong for the FM3, and then new FM3 TURBO is like 1700 bucks. I just don't got that sorta juice for dicking around in my boudoir and then some jazz gigs y'know?

[dots]

I ate that shit up like sweet, sweet doodoo butter. 500 Simoleons shipped.

hahahaha might be my fav post of the year, which is saying something in late november!

i haven't used the GT series boards for quite a while, but the ones i did use back in the day were rugged and easy to use. i imagine you'll be pleased with it...simoleons or no.

[Progrockabuse]

All the line 6 love reminds me of the first ever guitar magazine I bought when I was 14. Had a demo disc for the then new MM4 modulation modeller. Still lust after that one, even though all the models are in the M5.

24 years ago, fuck I feel old

[Doog]

OK I drank way too much coffee and blew my load lads, someone on Reverb.com offered me 100 bucks off a GT-1000CORE and I ate that shit up like sweet, sweet doodoo butter. 500 Simoleons shipped. I promise myself to put my other pedals on teh verbz to make up for the indiscretions against my wallet.

Apart from the dangerous levels of caffeine what pushed me over the edge is that I have a MeloAudio MIDI Commander at home and didn't know it has a mapping for the GT-1000CORE so you don't have to do loads of setup to get it to work. I'm put them together on the bottom row of my board and use them to switch on and off the effects loop for my drive n' other pedals.

Then imma make it all fucking stereo BUT THEN in homage to Roober put the speakers on top of each other for a crushing wall of mono, much to the lamentations of my neighbors.

This post reads like year 2 Goldsmiths Rhys, love it

[Rhysyrhys]

This post reads like year 2 Goldsmiths Rhys, love it

He's in here somewhere. I didn't just magically stop having ADHD

I only dun n' got the fucking GT-1000CORE (which I like imagining as like, normcore, deathcore, corecore like the birds do). It's pretty cool! It's very small. Like a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be and it's got me like whoa, cos I remember when something 100x less powerful than this sorta thing took up the whole pedalboard area. It's the same size as a DD-500 and has everything from Boss inside of it. That alone is pretty just impressive, I found myself just kinda like ogling it for a bit cos it's so... yeah, impressive.

I'm actually also very impressed with the drive sounds, some of them sound really awesome there's not really a bad one just some that sound a bit flatter than others. The Helix has a some amazing drive sounds, especially in the fuzz category, but there were one or two that were fucking naff. I think they are comparable on both the drive and the clean sound front. I kinda judge these sorts of machines on their low gain "amp breaking up" gains, and I definitely think the Boss edges out the Helix.

The effects on the prebuilt patches are also interesting applications of processor power but there's far less usable stuff than the Helix. Even today when I plug the Helix in there are about a dozen prebuilt weird effects-y factory patches that I love playing through and sounds great in front of an amp and through a model into an FRFR and in Ableton. The Boss has a lot of nice patches with different amps and routing configs, then some really fucking far out shit like step tremolo into pitch shifter into pitch shifter delay into god's butthole sorta patches and not a lot in between. It loses on that front to the Helix and I think if you were to buy this as a relative noob you might not get a decent idea of what it's properly capable of because it's either (excellent) mudane amp/cab/drive pedal combos, or alien space lasers with incredibly specific and complex routing.

What it does have that makes me absolutely melt is the gorgeous CE-1 recreation from the MD-200, it's so correct and vintage-y sounding. I briefly had a CE-1 and it's my favourite sounding pedal and my biggest sales regret but a boy gotta eat. It has some cool shit that's non-Boss to, its not like just all Boss stuff inna-box, there's a lovely sounding Wurlitzer and a Small Clone and Fuzzes that aren't the FZ-1. It also has the Teraecho algorithm in it and I fucking love that sound, so there's a lot of good stuff to be cooking with.

Screen is bright, I don't think anyone has ever complained about Boss roadworthiness, it's solid as a rock. I'm looking forward to having 24 Ugens per patch with flawless switching, I've not really got that deep yet but I was always so let down by the Helix on that angle, I really hope that it doesn't replace my SourceAudio Collider, but if I find that there's a decent enough Oil can delay on the GT-1000 then it's just dead 300 bucks I could have my bank account. Originaly my plan was to have a HX stomp then offload the delay duties to the Collider and midi them together, but you can run 24 things at the same time on this, so I might just not need to do that at all...

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