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My inexpensive NuX MG-300 multi-fx pedal has bit the shed. I’m in the market for a new one but want to spend under US$500.00. I’m just playing at home, and may occasionally take it with me to a friends house, but I’m not planning on doing any live gigs.
Right now I’m looking at the Headrush MX5 and Line 6 POD Go but I haven’t dug deep into features or reviews yet. I thought I’d check here first to see if anyone has any suggestions.
It would be nice if it had an expression pedal that I can use for either volume or wah.
It would also be nice to have a looper but it’s not a deal breaker.
I would like to be able to play it through my Macbook’s PreSonus Eris 4.5 studio monitors and, of course, I need to record it with GarageBand.Anyone have any suggestions?
Joe
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge -
Good question, Joe. I thought about getting a Kemper, like Brian has. It comes down to a question of pre-processing vs post-processing. I never do any gigs, just play for myself and Youtube. So I can just play mostly clean, then add in any of countless thousands of effects from my DAW. Logic Pro (which I use) is the big brother of GarageBand and has more effects options. I do like the idea of having a pedal that can switch from volume to wah, but I’ve never seen such a thing. It’s possible to do volume swells and controlled wahs in Logic, but it’s much faster and easier to just do it manually with a pedal.
Sunjamr Steve
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Joe
I’m going to give you something to think about on this issue.Instead of recommending a multi-EFX pedal, I’m going to ask you – how many effects do you typically use?
The reason that I ask this is simple – I had a 1st generation Fender Mustang amp and we all know what those are. A digital amplifier with a boat load of effects and possibilities.
The cliche “Paralysis by analysis” came into play when I had that amp because I ended up playing around with all of the features more than I was playing & practicing. I finally sold that amp and went back to discrete pedalsSo before you jump into buying a multi-EFX pedal, consider what effects you would need and how much it would cost you to build a pedal board to your specs. If you look on eBay, you’ll find aluminum pedal boards with canvas carrying cases priced reasonably. That’s the route that I went and now I set my effects and forget it.
And if you consider pedals by Behringer, Joyo & Caline, you can build a pedal board very reasonable. All 3 brands are building good quality pedals that are clones also at very reasonable pricesKeith
aka GnLguy-
I’m going to echo this… mainly it’s ALOT of fun to collect/experiment/research different pedals. And you can get really good clone pedals for <$50. I’m also not a fan of “menu-diving” on a digital screen whether that’s in a multi-fx or a computer. Cheaper in the long run for sure, but not as fun in my opinion.
There’s something very satisfying about researching a new overdrive, putting it on the board, seeing how it changes your sound, trading my old pedal, and adding to my little pedal collection. It’s a hobby in and of itself, and I’m all for making guitar playing that much more fun 🕺🏽
Nick
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A YT channel that I find interesting is JHS Pedals; Josh Scott, owner/founder of JHS pedals will demo various pedals that are competitors of his company and he will give an honest review of other products. I think that shows a lot of confidence in his products to give straight up advice on products by other companies
Here are his comparison & review of the 3 companies that I mentioned: Behringer, Joyo & Caline
And 2 other companies that I see a lot that are even cheaper prices than the 3 that I mentioned is Azor & Mosky; they actually look the same so it may be the same pedals with different names on them. Pedals by both companies are getting good reviews and in the demos that I’ve heard, sound pretty good
I saw an extra large aluminum pedal board with a decent case for $49 on eBay. I think for $200-$250, you could build quite a nice rig to your specs
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I hear what you’re all saying and really appreciate your comments. I already have a pedal board with a looper, MXR Super Badass distortion, Ibanez Tube Screamer overdrive, and Morley Classic Wah. These have been fine so far but I’d like to add reverb and delay but have no FX loop on my amp (Fender Super Champ X2). My amp has reverb, delay, chorus, vibration, and tremelo but I can’t combine them (i.e. reverb and delay).
I’m looking for an Mfx so I can also play around with the different amps and cabs without having to shell out a lot of $$$$. The Kempers are way too expensive for me…even the Kemper Profiler Player is US$700 which doesn’t include an expression pedal. The Line 6 POD Go is at the top end of my budget (US$500). The Headrush MX5 looks very nice and is US$400. I just didn’t know if anyone here had used them or had another suggestion for me to consider.
I am also going to try my amp with a mic and see how I like that (the problem is it doesn’t have an attenuator and can get pretty loud). The last thing I want to do is waste a bunch of time chasing tone instead of playing.
Maybe I should be looking for an amp with attenuator?
Joe
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge -
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I am a huge fan of the HX Stomp. You can probably pick one up used for under $500. It is so versatile: huge range of effects, world class amp and cab modeling, fully functional audio interface for recording and integrating with your computer/monitor setup.
If you are dead set on a built in expression pedal, then the POD Go is a great option too.
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I bought the Berhinger mfx pedal from Sweetwater and have been pleasantly surprised. If you want a great reverb pedal, TC Electronics Hall Of Fame 2 is awesome! I also own the Berhinger Delay pedal. I started to buy a better one, but decided to wait until this one dies. So far, over a year and still works great.
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I am trying to use my Spark 40 amp which I’ve had for a couple years but could never successfully record with it. If that doesn’t work I will definitely look into some of the pedals mentioned here. Thanks.
Joe
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge -
I just thought I would update this thread…I have been very happy with replacing my mfx pedal with my Spark 40 amp. Previously when I used it to record it never sounded good. Well, thanks to the help I received from André, I’ve been able to use it quite successfully. As a bonus, I’m quite happy I didn’t have to spend more $$$ on a new amp or pedal. 😃
Joe
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge -
Lucky you, Joe! Congrats for finding an optimal solution without additional cost. Quite an interesting topic and thread, because I think sooner or later we guitarists all land at that junction: MFX or pedals? I started out with an amp that had all the bells and whistles you can ask for, but after playing around with all the options, I felt it was only distracting me and keeping me away from playing. And of course it did. So I sold it and got me a tube amp with just two pedals: Overdrive and Reverb/delay. That’s already enough for me to dial in different tones and experiment with. Most importantly, the sound is just the best I ever had! The amp itself (Blackstar HT-20) already sounds good, but once I switch on the two pedals, it sounds like a million bucks! I am very content with this set-up, but I have a few more pedals I might add over time: A looper (partly, because my DAW stopped working, partly because I prefer the amp anyways), a drum machine, and a compressor. But there is no urgency for that and I will take enough time before I pull the trigger. I don’t want to end up having dozens of pedals lying around and thus too many choices. Which would keep me away from playing again.
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