companies that manufacture these devices have finally begun to understand how to
design good sounding multi-effects boxes that are easy to use, and have the features
that gigging guitarists need. They also seem to have finally resigned themselves to
the fact that most users want something that will easily integrate with an existing
pedalboard, so that guitar players can continue to use their favorite dirt pedals and
other stompboxes. This turn of events makes modern multi-effects an excellent choice
for players that need a wide variety of modulation effects, for instance, but don’t use
these effects often enough to warrant the expense of purchasing individual phasers,
flangers, and chorus pedals. In this article we’ll examine a handful of these modern
multi-effects processors that focus on versatility, ease of use, and high quality sonics.
ZOOM MS-70CDR MULTISTOMP
CHORUS/DELAY/REVERB PEDAL
Zoom has garnered tremendous respect
for the sound quality and affordability
of its multi-effects, with the MS-70CDR
being a particularly popular unit. This
compact, stereo stompbox is loaded with
86 modulation and time-based effects (up
to six at once, in any order!), including
phasers, flangers, vibes, rotary speaker
simulators, pitch-shifters, all manners of
delay, and 25 different reverbs. Among the
effects it models are famous pedals and
processors from Eventide, Boss, MXR, EHX,
Strymon, TC Electronic, A/DA, and others.
These emulations are uniformly impressive,
regardless of price, but for the 120 bucks or
so the MS-70CDR goes for brand new, the
quality is downright shocking. The Zoom
MS-70CDR is ideal for the guitarist that
wants to save a lot of space and money
while enhancing a pre-existing pedalboard
with a comprehensive library of top-shelf
modulation, delay, and reverb effects.
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TONE TALK //
4 Cheap Multi-Effects Units that Don’t Suck