The pros and cons of single vs mutli effects units

There are a lot of things to consider when buying effects. Some of us (myself included) have taken the expensive approach of buying everything, at one time or another. Then you try it all out, you don't get the sound you really want, so you go out and buy something else etc... There are better ways.

I used to have a collection of favourite floor boxes, which I just couldn't live without. I had the same problem many people find with lots of individual floor boxes. When you gig regularly, having to set up 5 or more individual boxes, check all the batteries, check all the leads, plug everything in the right way, while the singer is bugging you about the set list etc... etc... can be a nerve racking experience. What's worse, is if you play at a small club where they have several bands on, and you are either headlining or in the middle somewhere. Then you're in the position of either, plugging all your boxes in and dragging them (as a mass) to the back of the stage so the bands on before you don't trip over them, or unplugging them all after the sound check and then reassembling the whole lot cursing and sweating while the whole audience watches you. If you have 5 or 6 boxes to plug in to each other and various power supplies.... well... its not a relaxing way to begin a gig.

The other problem, is that nagging fear that ... just maybe, you forgot to check all the batteries... just maybe one of them will fail in the middle of your solo (its happened to me).

Also, an average setup may include: a compressor, a distortion box (or two), a chorus pedal, a volume pedal, and an echo box (and more). With all the wires and often substandard power supplies, you end up with a lot of hiss and noise coming out the other end when you stop playing. So you end up having to add yet another box in the chain - a noise gate. One more thing to plug in.

So one answer to all this is to mount them all on a single piece of wood, where they are permanently plugged into each other, all with power supplies (no batteries). This was the first option I went for.

But eventually I got our tech guy to take all my effects out of their separate boxes and put them all into a single rack unit, which had a plug-in floor switching unit. This proved much easier to control, the worries about jumper leads and power supply plugs going wrong was over, noise levels were significantly reduced.

Even so, changing sound meant that either I had to suffice with switching effects off and on, or fiddling with the controls between (or even during) songs. Not entirely satisfactory.

Then multi effect units came onto the market.

After one fateful gig where my custom rack unit packed up, and I had to do half the gig through a clean amp, I decided to get a multi effects.

The advantage to using a multi effects unit, is that you only have one box, one lead in, one lead out, no batteries - its so much simpler. Also you get memories. So instead of having to bend down to adjust the controls on floor boxes between songs (often under unfavourable lighting conditions), you just press one pedal, and all your settings have changed as you intended. Most multi effects units have 4 or more foot pedals and many memory spaces. You can program a different sound for each, so you can have for example: clean with a bit of flange for the verse, crunch for the chorus, and full blown distorted lead for the solo - all available under the four or more foot buttons on the unit. New song? Just change banks, and you have four different sounds under the pedals, tailored for that particular song.

So what are the disadvantages of these seemingly wondrous multi effects units?

However good the sounds are, they are all made by one company, because they are all in one unit. There may be a huge array of effects available, but that special sound your old fuzzface produced, just isn't there.

So what some people (including myself) opt for, is a combination of multi effects and perhaps one separate effect box (like a special fuzz box for example). So you get, in a way, the best of both worlds - only two boxes to plug in, different sounds at the touch of a button (or maybe two) and the special sound that a separate single effect can produce.

Finally, its worth mentioning, that if you are thinking of buying a multi effects unit, generally speaking: the more you pay, the better it will sound. This isn't necessarily true of single effects boxes, but with multi effects it generally is. While some of the cheeper multi effects give you every effect under the sun, when all you want is a great pro sounding lead tone (without flanging echo and pitch shift), it just isn't there. Where as a more expensive unit, while it may have slightly less effects, will give you every day usable sounds that are spot on, and sound very professional. So when you go into a shop to try out multi effects units, make sure you don't get taken in by all the fancy effects. Just try a basic lead sound, clean and crunch rhythm sound (for example), make sure they sound great first. Also, make sure you bring your own guitar, and use the same sort of amp as you try out each brand of multi effects. Different amps, amp settings, and guitars can make a huge difference in how a multi effects unit sounds.