Guitar players, does a really good multi effects pedal exist?

[Rick Lee]

Today I finally broke down and redid my pedalboard such that some pedals go through the loop in my Plexi and others go out front. Takes two more cables, but it sounds awesome. I will take it to band practice next week to ask the guys what they like more. Even though this Plexi has a master volume, it still comes alive in a different way when the master gets to noon or above.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

I use it to eliminate issues and avoid loss of signal tone.

Think of the true bypass switcher as just an extension of your guitar cable....the guitar signal goes in one end and out the other end.

When you want a particular pedal in the signal, you press that corresponding button on the switcher and it brings that pedal into your signal path.

The guitar signal only ever goes through that pedal when you bring that pedal into the signal. J

If I didnt use the true bypass switcher, my signal would always be going through the 10 pedals I use.

That causes several issues. Signal loss, and, difficulty with trouble-shooting.

With my setup, if the phaser dies, not only will I know that it is in fact that pedal that has a problem, but I can keep playing since I can avoid sending my signal to the dead pedal by choosing not to select it.

Anyone that has ever had a bunch of pedals chained together and suddenly there is no sound will know what I mean. I got sick of that a few years ago and decided to do something about it. #1 best thing I ever did with my gear setup

What if the true bypass switch breaks? thats would be a huge problem that I couldnt fix. Its built like a tank and I havent heard of people commonly having an issue. If it happened, I would unplug and plug directly into my amp for the rest of the evening like keith richards I guess.

I didn't realize that was a true bypass switcher. I thought it was home built. Neat. Can you run two effects at once? I just hear about guys going on about the pedals themselves having TB. I had a chorus pedal take a dump and my whole signal with it, so I know what you mean.

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Today I finally broke down and redid my pedalboard such that some pedals go through the loop in my Plexi and others go out front. Takes two more cables, but it sounds awesome. I will take it to band practice next week to ask the guys what they like more. Even though this Plexi has a master volume, it still comes alive in a different way when the master gets to noon or above.

As a confirmed signal chain nazi, thats the thing I dont like. Adding say, 4mtrs of cable x2 between the preamp and power amp. But- as long as it sounds good....

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

I didn't realize that was a true bypass switcher. I thought it was home built. Neat. Can you run two effects at once? I just hear about guys going on about the pedals themselves having TB. I had a chorus pedal take a dump and my whole signal with it, so I know what you mean.

YOu can get some TB switchers that can be programmed, so that you can patch any combination of FX into a single loop, available off one switch. I use one as well, a much smaller one than Ramones, only three loops, even though almost everything in my stuff is true bypass anyway. The redundancy of being able to cut out a failed unit rather lose the lot, the ability to combine FX into one loop/one switch- and also the convenience of one row of buttons rather than wedging your toe into a crowded board. Also pedals and connections hold up better because youre not actually stomping on them.

Cons- as you see from Ramones board, they can occupy a fair bit of real estate.

Also- there is true bypass and "true bypass", and TB is not neccessarily always good. Lots of people put a dedicated buffer in the chain.

[ramonesfreak]

Yea you can use as many pedals as you want at once

Originally Posted by VaSteve

I didn't realize that was a true bypass switcher. I thought it was home built. Neat. Can you run two effects at once? I just hear about guys going on about the pedals themselves having TB. I had a chorus pedal take a dump and my whole signal with it, so I know what you mean.

[72doug2,2S]

Opinions on the h2o liquid chorus and echo. larger blue one? Or the looper?

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by stuartj

As a confirmed signal chain nazi, thats the thing I dont like. Adding say, 4mtrs of cable x2 between the preamp and power amp. But- as long as it sounds good....

The good news is that the preamp signal through the effects loop is at 600 ohm line level so there is essentially no signal loss. You can also set the mix on your loop to 30% so most of your signal still goes direct thru the amp. Lots of choices with a good effects loop for reverb, flange, chorus, delay, univibe etc.

Running long cords between guitar and amp input is where most of the bad stuff happens because the signal is tiny and very high impedance.