Ok so I start work next week and the first thing on my list of shit to buy is effects units.

I play mostly Rock and Blues, but of course metal aswell.

At the moment I am using a Zoom 505 which is an uber piece of shit. I am looking to get some ideas of a decent pedal to buy.

I see that the Pod Line 6 units seem to be pretty kick ass, but are out of my price range new, unless i can get a cheap one 2nd hand (Which will probably be hard considering where I live)
Are there any other options that I should consider which are cheaper? I just need a decent effects pedal, the Pod is probably more than what i need - just something which can sound good and easy to use.

I am going to get a Beringher eq700 EQ pedal.

I was looking at Boss pedals, like Blues distortion and Overdrive ect ect. Are these worth getting if you have an effects unit in the rig aswell? My friend uses some random effects pedal and has a Fuzz pedal on there too.
Or would it be cheaper just to get a decent effects unit.

I'm open for ideas - Cheers

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Ok i've been looking around and I'm pretty sure I will get the Beh EQ pedal, it has really good reviews and is friggin cheap.

I am gonna go into the shop and check out the Marshall BB2 Bluesbreaker pedal, it has pretty kickass reviews on harmonycentral, and seems like it will do what i want, since it has a nice blues setting and a boost setting. Also is pretty cheap

Still gotta find an effects unit, the pod would be awesome to have but i would rather put that kinda money towards a decent amp over an effects unit.

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See if you can find an older Boss GT multi effect on ebay (GT-5, GT-3). Those are great and would do all you need. Also the Korg AX series is pretty good as well, the AX3000G came out recently and its supposed to be about $300. I have the AX1500G and its great, I can only imagine that the 3000 is better.

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I agree with Valtiel, the Korg ToneWorks AX1500-3000G is one of the best multi-fx pedals I have ever heard. I jammed once with this guitar player who had one, it made the RP-12 [ancient Digitech] I had at the time look like an utter piece of shit.

I noticed your user name is OpethFan, it's worth pointing out I think they used a Boss GT-3 live and in studio, or at least I saw them use it anyways back in 2000. Another great multi-fx pedal.

I still think Line 6 should make a 'only multi-fx' pedal, kinda like the POD XT but without amp modeling. Their effects are the best I have ever heard.

And shit, ZOOM, last time I heard about them I had just started playing guitar

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Thanks guys, I'll check out the Korg pedal on the local shops site.

I dont know if I would get something off Ebay because I live in NZ, so it would possibly get mamed in transit.
But I have seen some Boss effects on the New Zealand trading site, like GT-5 and stuff, it was pretty expensive though.

I'll keep an eye out and see what is floating around 2nd hand, theres a Pod on there for $500NZ at the moment, which is about $300 US, but it will be in a couple of weeks i will have the money to seriously start digging around for one.

Cheers!

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Don't be so sure, i've had a tube amp shipped from the US to the UK without a problem, and a MIDI tube preamp from Australia to the UK from ebay, and neither were damaged in transit, just make sure they pack it well

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I've got to plug the Boss GT-8 here. It has a mean learning curve and isn't very user friendly at first but once you know how to use it all then not much else compares for the price. It kicks the shit out of any other multiFx unit I've ever played... and I hate multiFx pedal boards

Cons:
Price.
You better have a longer than normal attention spand to tweak and program your setting correctly.
You MUST know how to read.
You need to use GT cental for support, because all Roland will give is firmware updates that you got to know how to DL via MIDI.

Pros:
The cost of all the FXs seperate might cost thousands.
The sound quality ( if set correctly ) is superb and better then most pedals I've used.
It gives unreal control over your settings and how they are used.
Plus a bunch of other shit it can do. See the specs.

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thats y i would get a gt-6. simple-er and still sounds good

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Right. Even the older Boss GTs were better in tone then most modern wasted lumps of manpower and cash.

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Yeah I've seen some Boss gt-6's and stuff go for pretty reasonable prices.

I was checking out the Pod xt, and do you have to change the settings by hand? For example to go from one tone to another, is that done on the unit itself?
Does it come with some sort of control floor pedal or do you have to buy it seperate?

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I believe so. I think you set up your patches by hand but you have to buy an extra foot pedal to switch shit live.

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Yeah thats how it looked to me, which is pretty crap considering what you pay for the unit itself.
Ill keep an eye on the 2nd hand market, see if any cheap boss GT-6 units come through, they go for around $500 nz usually which isnt too bad, they are a few hundred more new.

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That's what the POD XT Live is for. It's like the POD XT but comes in a 11 pedal housing with Amp Tone Controls on it with a volume/wah/whatever pedal.

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Oh ok, that would be nice and all except its fockin pricey

Exact same price as the Boss GT-8 at this shop actually.

How much do the live pedals cost seperate? Is it just one big board or can you get like a pedal just for switching between sounds?
Because I dont need wah or anything else, just to be able to switch while playing.

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Im actually leaning towards the Pod xt live now, if i order it from musicians friend it would end up like $260 cheaper than from here... So I might think about that, what are their rates for overseas shipping like?

If I'm going to look at getting something from overseas, is the Pod going to be worth the money and hassle?

From what I've read and seen it looks damn good to me, but the Boss gt-8 also looks pretty kickass, though its slightly more expensive and like Soul said its more complicated.

So im not sure, maybe ill go have a jam on a pod and gt8 some time if i can in the shop to see what i like. Im not sure how much difference there is between them.

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All I can tell you is that I'm a hardcore Line 6 POD XT user, I've been into Line 6 since the Flextone series came out. It's damn good, especially for the money. It sounds incredible through even my DOD Grind IT 15 inch amp [I used to have a power amp and cab but hocked those for cash]. It's all about how you set your tone on it, and there's so much shit you can tweak in it, plus it has effects up the ASS. Everything and even more you can think of. Plus you can hook it up to a computer via USB cable and edit/download/get tones/record with it.

I say whatever you end up deciding on, make sure you try it before you buy it.
Just remember MOST FACTORY PRESETS SUCK.

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Yeah I agree, I do like how you can hook it up with your pc, i think thats why i want it over anything else.

Well time to start saving i guess Im selling my rg570 so i should get a bit of cash from that

Thanks guys!

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Arr its so fucking hard finding good opinions.

Like you go to harmonycentral, both the pod xt live and the boss gt-8 are like the same overall rating, and you go through the posts and you come across someone saying they have worked in recording ect for 25 years and give it all 1's claiming that they have totally shit tone ect cannot get it sounding good at all.
Most of peoples problems with the gt-8 come down to it being hard to use.

So i really dont know what to think, is it just really anal tone freak's opinons putting me off? All I want is a pedal board i can program sounds onto for live use, good tone - and remember i am used to the shittiest tones. And continue liking it as I become more experianced.

I want something I will be happy with even when i upgrade my amp and while gigging and recording.

So yeah i guess i will have to go in and have a play with them if i can. I will order it from the USA though because it will save me about $300 off the POD.

Also, with an effects unit like this, is there any point in getting stomp boxes at all?

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I still use my ISP and BBE pedals with my GT-8, but for the most part you shouldn't need any other pedals with one of these units. If you do end up getting a GT-8 just remember to use that link I gave earlier and take your time with learning the unit. Most of the people that end up hating it never read the manual. Once you know whats going on with the unit then you will be able to tweak get just about any sound you can think of.

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I highly highly agree with soul on this one. I'm sure the pod will be good too but you can do so much with the gt8. Its just my opinion but to me the pod sounds like its trying to emulate what a tone would sound like after being mastered. Yes the gt8 has a learning curve but I think its worth it and while you're learning you can just dl some patches from boss gt central, people post some good stuff there sometimes.

My friend has this exact same dilemma, hence why I made the GT8 vs. PODXT Live thread.

I personally think you should get the pod if you're going to use it as a main source of sound like if you're amp doesn't have too great distortions and such. But if what you need is a billion effects then you probably want the Boss. The Boss might be more versatile I think.

REMEMBER THAT IF YOU BUY FROM OVERSEAS you will most likely have to pay import duty taxes! Most of the time these fees + what you payed for the pedal will equal what the pedal costs in NZ! So try to buy it used from someone(not a store) on ebay and kindly ask them to declare it as a gift to avoid these fees, stores and ebay stores are generally reluctant to do this so buy from an individual on ebay or something. Finding people that will ship to very far locations can be a pain though.

The GT8 is for very advanced users, who need a billion different possibilities, but I think if you just want quick good easy-to-program sounds grab the PodXT. It's what my friend is leaning towards, since the GT8 is very hard to learn and he's not very convinced with it's distortion sounds.

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In regards to negative reviews on Harmony Central, those need to be takin with a grain or two of salt. Most of time its some dipshit that dosent know his ass from a hole in the ground that just likes to hear himself talk. And think of how many other circumstances go into whether or not someone likes a product. Anyone that gives these these 1's all the way across the board is usually completely full of shit. Remember, people tend to learn to hate things they dont understand.

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Ok thanks, I'll look further into the boss.

Yeah i see what you mean about the Pod trying to sound mastered, some of the samples on the site were pretty bad. Then again I heard some which would be what I'd use.

I might check out GT-8 or GT-6 because the gt-6 comes by 2nd hand here every now and again for a reasonable price.

Cheers!

Oh yeah - can you hook the boss into the PC and edit patches like with the Pod? Because I thought that would be really useful compared to doing it on the actual board.

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