I bought the equivalent of $15,000 worth of effects units

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 2 Dec 2013 2:37 pm

Let's see, 100 effects stomp boxes at $150 each is $15,000. Seems like a lot of money, Oh but wait the Zoom MS50G is only $100 and has a little over 100 effects.

When Josh Gibson and I realized what we had we just smiled. Now I have had other units with tones of effects, Boss SE-70 was $762, Boss VF-1 was over $400, (I have 3 used units), so I am thinking this is a great value and it sounds good.

I used it the other night with the fiddle, One song was in C#, C# what are you thinking? Just went to the pitch shifter, made a slight adjustment and now I am playing out of an open D position but the sound is C#. Now that is worth $100. A band I played with on July 4th tuned down a half step. I elected to detune the steel, this would have been the cat's meow. Next time.

More to come. The next time you want to buy a RV this and a DD that save your money and check out this great little unit.

Larry Behm

John Dowden · Post by **John Dowden** » 2 Dec 2013 4:03 pm

Sounds pretty interesting but how does the fiddle sound tone wise when you shift up or down a half step? I seem to remember there being some fiddle players around here (Louisiana) using them back in the 80's and early 90's to get around having to bring more than one fiddle to gigs and the tone always seemed to really artificial compared to how it normally sounded.

David Higginbotham · Post by **David Higginbotham** » 2 Dec 2013 9:34 pm

Those Boss SE-70 & VF-1 units are fantastic and very versatile to say the least. They are compact and can be used as a preamp or effects units and sound fantastic. That being said, John is one if the most amazing fiddle players around. He plays so well that it makes all the other band members want to stop playing and listen to him play solo!!!!

Joshua Gibson · Post by **Joshua Gibson** » 2 Dec 2013 9:42 pm

:roll:sheesh Larry...SIX MONTHS I bugged You about this thing and would You listen?....NOOOOOO

Oh You forgot the '65 DLX rexerb at $1,000, the '65 twin at $1,400, the '59 bassman at 1k minimum, ALONG with the misc. '62 Marshall stack, Diezel, VOX and Dr Z amps that ALL sound dang close to the original real thing(I can make a session 500 sound like a DLX or Twin CONVINCINGLY), if You add those into the total You'd actually be looking at around $ 30,000 in subsequent FX AND vintage amps

,

Food for thought Y'all,

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 2 Dec 2013 10:09 pm

Is the 100BT worth the extra cost over the 50?

I can't imagine bluetooth connectivity is that important, is it?

Joshua Gibson · Post by **Joshua Gibson** » 3 Dec 2013 12:28 am

It doesn't really seem worth it to Me Tom, everything that You would be able to update via Bluetooth You can update via USB cable, but to each Their own the Ms-50g is more than sufficient for My tastes,

Howard Steinberg · Post by **Howard Steinberg** » 3 Dec 2013 2:58 am

This unit could easily replace the pedal board that I drag to gigs when playing guitar. I've had multi effect units in the past and always had difficulty adjusting to the menu driven device. Any thoughts on the learning curve for this device? I'd love to use a pedal like this if I could get around on it comfortably.

Joshua Gibson · Post by **Joshua Gibson** » 3 Dec 2013 3:40 am

The learning curve isn't too extreme it might take You a couple of hours of tinkering but You'll catch on pretty fast, You can run up to six consecutive fx in a chain(depending on the different fx)so I'm not sure how big a board You use, but just FYI

,

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 3 Dec 2013 3:57 am

So, using this, do you always have to keep the instructions nearby, file them away after your two hours of "tinkering", or did your figure it all out the true American way, and never open the instructions (no offense to fellow Americans or other nationalities - we just tend to ignore the directions when possible)?

Howard Steinberg · Post by **Howard Steinberg** » 3 Dec 2013 4:03 am

Reading manuals is heresy!,

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 3 Dec 2013 4:59 am

That is, BTW, a serious question (despite my usual sarcasm) two posts up. And one other one - how easy is it to tweak a single effect on the fly? Say you realize the room is not as live as you thought once people fill in, and you want to add a bit more reverb. How may buttons and knobs are required?

Joshua Gibson · Post by **Joshua Gibson** » 3 Dec 2013 9:07 am

Bear in mind...when I got Mine the unit had barely been out for two months so there was very little useful info out there about it, but even at that I browsed through them to THOROUGHLY understand the patch editing.

However, now that They've been out for a while there's quite a bit of info for Their use, But, no You don't have to keep the manual on You at all times...

I'll go in depth on the editing for a moment

, there are a total of 8 controls on the unit, You have the standard footswitch, positioned around the FS are 4 cursor buttons, positioned DIRECTLY UNDER the LCD screen are 3 dual function knob's that are also push-buttons, When You first get the unit PRESS the Center knob, that opens Your patch list...there are a total of 50 patches on the unit(25 Presets, 25 User)again using the center knob scroll down to a "Empty" patch and press the center knob once more to return to the editing screen, once in the edit screen press and hold the left cursor key and You will be taken to a category select screen "Dyn/filter, OD/Dist, Mod SFX, REV/DLY and Amp...Ok so let's say You want Reverb to be the first effect in line, using the cursor buttons(left and right)move the selector to the reverb/delay block and press the FS, You'll be returned to the edit screen, once there use the cursor keys(up and down)to browse the different reverbs and delays, once You settle on one(the FX will be active from the time You return to the Edit screen unless You press the FS, so You can audition them)TO EDIT PARAMETERS press the right knob and that will take You into the parameter adjust screen for the effect, once there...there will be up to three pages of parameters w/ up to three parameters PER page. to adjust each individual PA use the knob directly below the PA, to change the page press the right knob once again.

To add other FX to the chain simply repeat the same pattern as You did to add the reverb. as per so many arguments You can actually RE-ARRANGE the FX chain if You want, and the unit also auto saves so You never have to worry about that.

Sorry for the novel but I wanted to give a THOROUGH explanation as I've noticed that there have been some problems with the procedure for building the chain.

Hope that answers Your question+++ Douglas.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 3 Dec 2013 11:17 am

what about latency? Have you A/B'ed it with a real amp of the same "model" to compare response time?

Joshua Gibson · Post by **Joshua Gibson** » 3 Dec 2013 11:29 am

It's actually almost identical to the real thing, My main guitar amp is a '65 blackface reverb and the model is as close as I've heard. I actually use the unit with a mosvalve 150 stereo amp(When I need more power)and it sounds just like the front end of My amp.

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 3 Dec 2013 3:51 pm

Douglas, no more no less than other effects units.

1. Scroll to the reverb
2. Turn any of the 3 knobs on the front to access
3. Hit knob 3 to access more pages with more options

If what you need to change is on page one not page 3 this will be pretty fast. Like any unit it take a little time to learn to get around.

Larry Behm

Howard Steinberg · Post by **Howard Steinberg** » 6 Dec 2013 2:47 am

Thanks to Larry and Joshua for passing on the info regarding this pedal. There are some decent videos on you tube demo-ing the sounds and the programming. All of this in one stomp box and having one less case to tote (pedal board) is indeed a beautiful thing. It's very motivating to learn how to use this unit.

robert kramer · Post by **robert kramer** » 6 Dec 2013 11:24 am

Thanks guys. Didn't know about this pedal - need to carry less stuff - ordered the Blue Tooth version. Many thanks for the tip.

Michael Hummel · Post by **Michael Hummel** » 6 Dec 2013 11:34 am

Based on Larry's recommendation, I swung by the local gear shop and just bought one. For $105 Canadian (the price of 3 cases of beer) I figured what the heck.

I've only had it for a day, but so far I'm terribly impressed. I like my steel through the "Z Clean" (non-) amp followed by a little mid-dip EQ into the analog delay and spring reverb. The Twin model seems pretty good; maybe a little bright to me at first, but I need to spend more time with it.

And my 6-string guitars sound amazing through the Deluxe Reverb model.

As others have said, I can replace three other pedals in the chain with this one, or at very worst have it as a very credible backup. And the unit feels very solid. Way more solid than I would expect for the price tag.

I don't know if this has been mentioned previously, but there is a firmware version 2.01 available on the Zoom website. (Version 2.0 added another 45 or so effects and amp models!)

Cheers,
Mike

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 6 Dec 2013 11:54 am

Maybe this is obvious, but....

Dragging a pedalboard to gig after gig takes it's toll on the cables. The little patch cables between the pedals get knocked around and need attention from time to time. I've had cable problems during gigs. With a unit like this, those darn cables are gone. You end up with a more bomb-proof rig.

Joshua Gibson · Post by **Joshua Gibson** » 6 Dec 2013 12:36 pm

, Yes Mike, Me and Larry had just found out about the firmware upgrade...THATS when Larry started singing this things praises

,

For the cost of one iffy reverb pedal and infinite options based on future updates You really can't go wrong with this unit.
Also just one other little piece of info for those who may be interested, If any of Y'all have seen the "williams" drink holder that clips on Your steels leg? well they're about $5 through Williams website and they make a GREAT leg mount holder for the MS-50G...a bit more convenient to tweak parameters on the fly

, Just FYI.

David Higginbotham · Post by **David Higginbotham** » 6 Dec 2013 4:39 pm

Although this is a bit off the topic, I stated how amazing John Dowden plays fiddle. Here is a clip of him and another member Murnel Babineaux playing. The drummer, Jamie Beard, and Murnel are also fiddle players.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95pEu1suey0

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 7 Dec 2013 10:09 pm

Seems like most of the effects for sale in the StompStore are for bass.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 11 Dec 2013 9:01 pm

I got a ZOOM MS-100BT and had to send it back. Very wonky and noisy as crap. Same thing with any cable. With my ShoBud, when I switch necks with the neck selector switch, the damn thing powers off. It won't even turn on with my C6th neck. I'll try another, then I'll give up.

Joshua Gibson · Post by **Joshua Gibson** » 11 Dec 2013 11:32 pm

Tom, what kind of amp are You playing through?...The only time that I've found that issue is with My old Peavey Heritage 212 w/a tube pwr section and an SS Pre.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 12 Dec 2013 9:58 am

It's my bedroom amp. A Mustang I with all the effects turned off. The path was this:
ShoBud > MS100BT > amp

The Steel Guitar Forum

I bought the equivalent of $15,000 worth of effects units

I bought the equivalent of $15,000 worth of effects units

first one was a dud