Re: Newbie question on multi-effects
Right! After some reading some discussions with Randy, Jeremy C., Vlad and Rob M., I took the plunge on one of the Line 6 units.
Somethings you may or may not know about it....
1. You can run both bass and guitar into the unit as there is an auxiliary input for both sides of the Stick. Heck it's got a mic input so you could technically run a third input if you are singing.
2. You can control the input settings on the unit so that the unit knows that there are two independent signal chains that you will be configuring.
3. The unit is an AD converter (!). You can use this to plug into Garageband, Pro Tools, Cubase, etc.
4. The unit has a headphone jack so you can simply plug your Stick into it. Convenient, seriously.
5. You can control the output settings if you are running 2 separate rigs (lines in a mixer, etc.).
6. Wide variety of quality Line 6 effects and amp modeling along with simple looping, built in tuner and tap tempo for delays (fav) and any parameter you want to assign to the built in foot controller. There will be no shortage of new sounds to discover and the expression pedal is a nice value add.
7. Rugged design, solid pedal construction.
8. Active and helpful Line 6
community.
9. They have a HD edit tool so you can create sounds in their user interface and then connect your unit to computer to sync. Big value add for visual configuration. Good on both PCs and Macs.
10. Download other sounds from other Line 6 POD HD players. Plug and play others configurations.
11. MIDI in and out/through if you are into that.
12. Effects loop if there is STILL not enough effect mojo for you.
So those are some good things. Here are some of the cons:
1. You are going to need to do some reading and some testing with configuration of the unit.
2. You are going to need to do some reading and some testing with configuration of the unit (listed a second time for effect).
3. A little big for a single unit, but considerably easier to work with than multiple pedals, cables and racks.
4. The power unit is a little cheesy, I would have preferred a standard power unit rather than a glorified PS-120
5. There is no on / off switch(?!). I don't know why that bugs the f@ck out of me, but it does.
All in all, an entrant that should be considered if you are looking for a single pedal solution. Scalable, elegant and relevant for the Stickist that wants an all in one pedal, doesn't mind spending a little time testing sounds and a fair amount of time researching and configuring the unit.