Pedals are still better than multi-fx

[nickboxer]

The drunks at the bar won't know the difference

[jamesp]

High-quality multi-effects units like the H9 or Line 6's HX series can "approximate" most analog pedals well enough that in the mix of live performance or even rehearsal most folks cannot tell the difference. If you're making a stripped-down studio recording, then sure, go for the analog units, although even then the advantage might be small, and is becoming vanishingly so as the tech gets better.

I've learned this the hard way: I have a bunch of analog and even some vintage pedals and I love them dearly. I was convinced by seeing a number of musicians I really love and respect singing the praises of a few different multi-effects units and this led me to pick up an HX stomp. If I'm being honest, I can get a set of working tones that are equivalent to giant pedalboards and can do much more beyond that because of the ton of features in the thing. If there's any big drawback, it's the learning curve to take full advantage of the thing, not tone quality.

[sendforacar]

This might have been an argument 10 years ago, but modeling pedals have caught up to the vintage stuff. Imperceivable difference in sound.

[andisadiku]

depends on whos giving the pay check, Eventide or TC Electronic 😅

[TheManOfThePedals]

you are not using the term "approximate" in the right context, it means that something is close but not spot on in similarity. I personally think multi-effects, especially high ends ones like the H9 that you mentioned, for example, are great at approximating these sounds, they are not spot on but what gives about that? your local gig's crowd will never notice any difference and it's only feeding into a guitarist-centered mindset to care this much if something sounds close to something else, if it sounds good to you, that's what matters, the only other people that care about this stuff are other gear centered musicians who obsess over really minute details but when they're put in blind tests absolutely fail to recognize "the one" piece of gear that they lust so much. I'd love to see in fact a video where you blind test yourself and maybe the entire community with big deal pedals and their digital emulated counterparts, don't reveal anything in the first video and make a followup where you say the actual answers so no one cheats, that would be a great social experiment.

[GearSounds]

Great video however I think it is worth mentioning that certain effects in multi-effects pedals have surpassed or reached the same place as standalone effects boxes. One category where this is certainly true is reverb. The second category where it is becoming true slowly would be delay. Even the analog delay in my RC 600 demo that I just produced has a very wonderful quality that is so close to the analog original that I'm starting to struggle to tell the difference myself.

[tuc]

In theory, sure they can, nothing stopping anyone from analyzing all the parts that make up the sound of your holy analog original then putting that into code with all the variances and randomnesses and warmth you want. That takes time however, and maybe a big big chunky expensive processor that draws lots of power, so are companies going to invest into that and make a thousand dollar pedal with super realism? I'm hoping they're thinking of their employees and all the mouths they have to feed, first.
But in theory, yes they can.

[liontone]

I own both, and you’re spot on. In a mix, the differences are mitigated some, and MFX units shine on session work.

[simonpyza]

They definately can. I got rid of my high end effects and bought hx effects. I use PRS Custom and JK Amplifiers head. You wouldn't be able to hear the difference.

[andersestes]

Pedal companies are like drugdealers. Always pushing the newest drug.

I won't lie, if I had 10.000 bucks to blast, I'd own a sick pedalboard. I don't, so have a helix stomp instead.

[ChuckLopez]

The “problem” with digital pedals is that something better will always come out and piss on your outdated version. The beauty of analog pedals is that they will continue to sound good. That’s my opinion/experience. That being said, there are a lot of benefits on having great digital pedals that save space and provide variety of sounds

[The_artist_called_The_Engineer]

I use both. I think modern multi effects units sound better. But I like how it’s so much easier to tweak my pedal board.

[lukather]

Cork sniffing ! If your in a studio regularly perhaps - playing live never ! No one I mean no one would be able to tell the difference in a mix !!

Oh yea ! And save literally thousands of dollars on boutique stuff you don’t need !

I wish this shit would stop perpetuating!

98% of people don’t need a 100lb board taking up 6ft of space and unreliable!!

Been there done it ! ❤

[BillySoundFarm]

I don't think you would be able to pick out a pedal vs a helix in a blind test.

[lancenunez]

Yes, they can realistically approximate…. And, multi-effects can sometimes do more with additional parameters that the original units don’t have and the ease of combining effects blocks to create new sounds.

[tomaselke]

The effects in my Fractal sound much better than any of the pedals I own. Mostly because they're not susceptible to any external RF, and don't have cables. The Fractal also has an amazing noise gate. That being said, I still have a huge box full of pedals, and I've bought 3 brand new pedals that I still haven't even used. I know someday, I'll almost certainly be right back on an old-school pedal board. Better doesn't always mean the same thing to me, let alone everyone else. Sometimes, I just want my old pedals.
But what's the most funny to me, is that a rotary pedal is already an analog approximation of a physical effect. If that's the standard, then you've already proved that an approximation of a "real" thing can actually be BETTER than the real thing.

[ryandague]

There are so many people using amp modeling and VSTs on recorded albums and live sets. It's indistinguishable what is an analog effect vs digital. I still buy pedals because I like them, but you could easily get the same sound out of a mid range modeler. I'd like to see a shootout where someone could guess the modeled effect.

[EmergenceDelirium]

Pedals can take up a lot of room. But when you have some chained/paralleled to form multi-effects, the advantage over digital multi-effects pedals like the Eventide H9 or the Zoom MS-70-CDR (for instance) is that you can see everything at once and make adjustments on the fly. You don't have to page thru a bunch of menu options. But for those of us with limited space (like in an RV) and little money, we do what we can with the Multies, close our eyes, make our tweaks, and hope for the best! 😬🤯🙀⚡️⚡️💥😆😆😸😸

[nikdrown]

The H9 as far as running chorus and delays and verbs and what not is an awesome utility knife even though I actually have dedicated verbs and delay and chorus. But damn that thing can do anything.

[AVFCAM]

What a reasonable short. I’ve been on the fence about which way to go and most guitar players say “avoid multifx, you want a pedalboard with this and that and the other” when really, I’m never going giggling, I just want to be able to rock out a few different styles when I’m sat playing the guitar…