Diary of a Sick Mind -- Effects Pedals

Despite the fact that I'm 49 years old, on October 8, 2009 I bought a cheap Ibanez starter guitar and have since made every effort to practice every day. Little did I realize the impact that this decision would have. I'm almost four months into my journey and for all intensive purposes I still can't play. Yeah, I can hit the major and minor chords, I've learned different strumming and fingerpicking patterns, I've even picked up some basic music theory. It's really been a great deal of fun and I've really enjoyed it.

The downside to this is that, unbeknownst to me, I have developed the symptoms that I suspect I share with many other guitarists... CGS; also known as Collective Guitar Syndrome. As I compose these very words I need only to turn my head ever so slightly to my right whereupon my eyes will meet the gaze of three--that's right, three--guitars. Holy smokes, that's a guitar every month so far!

The original Ibanez was joined by a Taylor 114ce acoustic electric within two months. At the end of the first trimester--yes I'm speaking in medial terms here--they were joined by a Gretsch G5120 Electromatic Hollow Body. Currently I am awating the delivery of a Boss RC-2 Loop Station.

CGS, Collective Guitar Syndrom... OK, maybe that's not a real clinical term, but I'll bet that most guitarists out there, if they're honest, will admit similar symptoms.

So what's next? Well, in light of the fact that I'm still not able to play music with any real degree of skill, I recognize that I don't need to buy anymore guitars. Of course that doesn't keep me from looking. I have to admit however that I'm researching guitar effects and have been looking at some of the multi-effects processors. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with them and if so, would you recommend them or would you recommend dedicated pedals and switches.

My thoughts are that since I don't really even know what all the various effects are that a multi-effect processor would be a great means by which to learn. I've been looking specifically at the offerings by Boss and DigiTech. It would seem that for anywhere between $100 and $300 I could get hooked up with everything I'd need in a single compact unit.

Oh my gosh! Obviously I digressed and was just again overtaken by CGS. Here I started writing about my syndrome, and before I know it, its symptoms spilled all over this page. Oh woah is me... do I look for a padded room or do I give way and buy a multi-effects pedal? If so, which one?

Do any of you suffer from CGS? How quick did the symptoms take to show up in your life? Do any of you have recommendations regarding multi-effects pedals? ...dang... it happened again! :rolleyes:

*Obviously I wrote this in an attempt to provide some humor, but the questions about the effects pedals still stand. Any suggestions?
:)

Hi. My name is Andy, and I also suffer from CGS.

The symptoms showed almost immediately after repairing my first guitar, and then starting the journey. Within months, I collected a Strat, Ibananez Artcore, Ibanez s470, Ovation acoustic electric, Cort Action bass, Line 6 spider jam III, 3 other amps in various forms of dis-repair as well as 8 pedals/stomp boxes also in need of loving.

Fortunately (well, unfortunate for me as it is) I was subjected to treatment early off, otherwise known as "The Wife" in my situation. But as they say, it is a lifetime disease, and you are never really cured.

With that, I have been drooling over...

http://line6.com/podx3live/

i have suffered for cgs for almost 13 years now. i dont have the treatment so it really goes unchecked in my case. i own 13+ guitars in various states of play. some are in peices some are mint. but i guess it will never really be cured, but then again i dont really want it to be.

as for multi effects:
me personally i dont really care for them. you can never really get just the right distortion or other effect you want. and they are overly complex when they dont need to be. and to me they seem to steal more of the natural tone then they are worth. but there are some pros for them.
if you went out and bought all the stomp boxes for one multieffects board you might spend twice as much for quality pedals. having all the boxes in one board make wiring easy and it looks nice and clean. on some effects boards you dont need to even use an amp you can jack in with headphones which is great for midnight practice.

a few of the boards i used are:
j-station by johnson amps: good board has different head and cab models plus you can jackin to a pc with it. has analog knobs that can kinda control the effects but not like a stomp box.

dod (the big one with the expression pedal i forget the name) very expensive and bulky has some great effects but no real adjustments.

zoom 505 good little pedal pretty cheap nice and small has some good effects but no really way to adjust the effects.

line 6 pod i really hated this one. for me it totally robbed the natural tone out of everything even my amp. the effects were ok but again no real way to trim them or boost them. to me the one seemed better suited for modern metal than anything else. (which is probably why i dont like multiboards)

My name is Kyle and I also suffer from CGS. I am in relapse as I suffered years ago and got the treatment (wife and kids). However, in the last year I have fallen off the wagon. Since June I have purchase a Gibson LP, Fender American Strat, Line 6 Pod x3, Boss ME 50 (for plunking around the house), Keeley modded Tube Screamer and Keeley modded Blues driver, Egnater Renegade Amp and am awaiting delivery of a Fender American Tele. Whew, I hope my wife doesn't read this or I might be single again. One of the problems of relapsing later in life when you have some money is you tend to go a bit overboard. Earlier in life I only wished I could have bought all these things, now I'm staring at them.

I think maybe it all has something to do with dreaming big. I just know that with enough practice some day I'll be as good as Anders, Douglas or Andy.

CGS aka GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). Yup, it's hard not to have it. My better half fails to understand that each guitar is different and fills some particular niche. :)

As far as pedals... I personally would recommend starting out with a multi effects pedal. I was torn by the same indecision, but ended up purchasing a Digitech RP250 and do not regret it. IMO, for a relatively small investment, it (or any multi effects pedal) gives you a chance to try a variety of effects and decide which ones you like/need the most.

You can then continue to use it to to sit in for other effects that you haven't purchased yet.

I also know this common afliction as G.A.S... I've been playing now for 24 years and have around 50 guitars, half a dozen amps and all sorts of related gear.... some of which I maybe use once and then leave on a shelf but that's the way it is.

On effects, it depends what you want to achieve and how you play. Live, I have used a PODxt (the 'Live!' version for a pedalboard), and the BOSS GT8 both of which are excellent and easy to dial in your own sounds. Likewise you can download patches from the 'net straight to them, but they are pricey. The Digitech RP50 costs about $75 from memory and is a great place to start to play around in general.

My view is that if you're passionate about something and in it for the long haul, you will only regret buying cheaper kit later so always buy the best you can afford. A PODxt or similar at some $300 may seem expensive but it's cheaper than buying 6 different units on the way :).

As another thought, the Native Instruments Guitar Rig is brilliant if you play in to a computer... I use many of the plugins for recording even now. Worth considering if you play in to a computer soundcard.

Like one of the posters above, I personally prefer individual pedals but obviously that's more expensive. If you are interested in effects in general sign up for the newsletter where a number of articles on effects will shortly be appearing, written by yours truly... I believe one on Wah has already appeared but there are several still to come.

Originally Posted by: DazooHi. My name is Andy, and I also suffer from CGS.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by: BrokenJerai have suffered for cgs for almost 13 years now.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by: kddean66My name is Kyle and I also suffer from CGS.

[QUOTE=Razbo]CGS aka GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome). Yup, it's hard not to have it.

[QUOTE=ren]I also know this common afliction as G.A.S... I've been playing now for 24 years and have around 50 guitars, half a dozen amps and all sorts of related gear...

OMG... You're mad, mad... you're all mad! Hey, I like you guys. :) But I have a confession to make. :o I forgot to mention the Behringer amp that I bought too. This stuff sure does take hold of a guy, that's for sure.

Seriously though, I really appreciate all the feedback. As I'd mentioned, I am totally new to this but I've been researching this and if I'm understanding all this equipment correctly, the "stomp boxes" are individual units that provide a specific effect, like fuzz, distortion, compression, delay, etc... The foot switch really does nothing more than turn that effect off or on, and obviously, each unit has various aspects that can be altered with the controls on the units. Is that about right?

BrokenJera, I certainly appreciate your praise of the individual pedals but since I'm brand new at this and will probably rarely play outside of my home (and then only goofing around with friends) I'm still kind of leaning towards the multi-effects. I can see that they'd be more complex than the individual units from a settings perspective but as a whole, a single unit will be much more manageable than several smaller units, not to mention, cheaper.

It's funny that you three of you favored the Line 6 Pod because I was just talking to a guy at my church the other day and he really dissed the DigiTech and encouraged me to look at the Pods as well. But then, one of you guys said you loved your RP250.

Man, these aren't easy choices are they? As for the Line 6 lineup, do I need something like the X3 Live? hmmmm.... need... want... I guess it's all in the perspective. I suspect that the Floor Pod or the Floor Pod Plus would probably be more than enough for a beginner like me.

With the DigiTech's the question is similar... Do I go for the RP1000 or would the RP255, 355 or the RP500 suit me?

It's no wonder you guys all own so much equipment. You're probably like me. You can't make up your mind what you want so you just buy one of every thing. :)

Oh, I forgot to mention that the Boss RC-2 Loop Station showed up today. Let me tell you... I TOTALLY suck on the guitar but even so, that thing's fun.

Thanks again for all the feedback. The best to all of you. :)

Being the guy that was pro-Digitech, let me elaborate: I first had a Zoom G1. It was great, but didn't have midi output for recording. So I upgraded to the RP250. My consideration was driven greatly by cost. At that point I could not justify spending hundreds of dollars on an effects pedal. I just wanted something so I could get some chorus, some compression,etc etc... Basically something to play with. The RP250 fit this bill for about $150 at the time.

I have to say the quality of effects was much better than the ZOOM G1, which only cost me $70. So, from that I can surmize that the more you spend, the better it will get. Like most things, I guess. :rolleyes:

One little thing you can do with a multi-ped that you can't with separate boxes is have an instant switch for a group of effects. Lets say you are doing an intro that's clean with some nice chorus & reverb, then you want to switch to to some OD effect with compression. It's hard to do that in the space of a beat with multiple boxes to press (unless there is some trick I don't yet know). With the Digitech, I can set up effects groups side by side, so I can get instant switching like that.

All that said, it's important to be aware that a modeling pedal is just that: electronic simulation of effects.

Originally Posted by: RazboOne little thing you can do with a multi-ped that you can't with separate boxes is have an instant switch for a group of effects. Lets say you are doing an intro that's clean with some nice chorus & reverb, then you want to switch to to some OD effect with compression. It's hard to do that in the space of a beat with multiple boxes to press (unless there is some trick I don't yet know). With the Digitech, I can set up effects groups side by side, so I can get instant switching like that.

Hey Razbo, I'm glad you pointed that out. It's an ability of the multi-effects units that I read about but I guess I never really considered just how convenient that capability really is.

The only thing that I'm absolutely sure of at this point is that I'm going to get a floor model multi-effects unit, so while I still have a lot to consider, at least I'm starting to narrow my choices. If I go with the digitech I'm hovering between the RP355 or the RP500. If I choose the POD, I think I've narrowed it down to the floor pod plus. The additional bells and whistles of the more expensive models would definitely be nice but I have to be realistic and recognize that I won't use most of the features anyway. With either of those that I've zero'd in on I'd be spending under $200.

I also just happened to notice the Boss ME-70. There are a lot more knobs on it but all in all, the way they are segregated it looks like it'd be easier to understand. It runs $300 but I get the impression it doesn't offer near the effects of the others we've been discussing.

The really cool thing is that Valentine's day is just around the corner and I'm thinking I can squeeze this one through pretty quickly. :)

Thanks again for all the info. I really do appreciate the opportunity to hear from experienced guitarists.

ksturgeon,

You don't have to get the X3 live. Have you checked out the Line 6 M13 or M9 multi-effects pedals? They are more pure effects pedals and should more than satisfy your desire for a fantastic multi-effect pedal.

As for the boss me-70...I have an me-50 and it just sits on the shelf. I know it isn't quite the 70 but I suspect the 70 would sit on the shelf as well. Most people compare the X3 to the Boss Gt-10, so you might take a look at that unit if you are in the processor market.

Just my 2 cents. Best of luck with your decision.

I was up to 11 guitars (ouch)3 amps a bunch of vintage pedals...I sold 3 guitars will sell at least 3 more maybe 5

I do not regret at all if you buy quality stuff you can always sell and get your money back

today I am waiting on my vox tonelab st and my gt75 celestions for my 5150 combo!

I will not part with my 1st guitar 79 yamaha sg2000, or my 67 gibson es 355

and my favorite guitar 93 evh ebmm the others goodbye

I just signed up to be part of this guitar tricks site.....should be fun

Hey everyone, I figured that since you were all nice enough to reveal your sick minds... I mean, help me decide what to do with regards to multi-effects processors... that I'd follow-up and let you know what I decided.

A guy in my church happened to have the DigiTech 255 as well as the POD 2.0. He invited me over to his place and impressed on me, with words and action, that the Line 6 POD was the right fit for me.

I ordered a new POD X3 today for $339. In all honesty, the user interface on the POD 2.0 looks much simpler than the X3 but doesn't seem to have near the offering based on Line 6's POD comparison chart.

I was tempted to just go with a used POD 2.0 from ebay but CGS, GAS--whatever this disease is--drove me to the leading edge of the pack.

Anyway, thank you all for your time and help. :)

Waiting on an order is hard. I'm waiting on a TS808 as we speak. Sucks, man!!

hahahaha... you got that right Razbo. Makes me feel like the Heinz ketchup bottle... "Anticipation, anticipa-a-tion, is makin' me late."

Have fun with your new toy when you finally get it.

I've had the Korg AX3000G, Line 6 X3 Live, JM-4, and a Line 6 Bogner with built in effects. I have individual pedals which I DO like, but for the money, get on craigslist or Evil Bay and find a Digitech RP 500 used for around $150-175. Hands down the best tones and easiest operation of all of them. Online support is awesome with firmware upgrades and editing software updated often. The vacuum switches will be very durable and the chassis is made of Titanium or something real strong. Play it through the clean channel on your amp and just try to wipe the grin off your face when you dial up a vintage amp or "Hendrix" tone.