Choosing between Bass Podxt Live, Boss ME50B & Korg AX30

[headfonz]

hi guys, i know this has been asked alot of times, but can't seem to find the info i need to make a decision.

my bassist is looking for a multi-fx pedal, we've tested the ME50B and the Bass Podxt Live and we've not decided on one yet. budget isn't really a problem, but would really like to find out from you guys on your opinion of these 3 multi-fx pedals.

Bass Podxt Live
Boss ME50B
Korg AX3000B

he's using a Fender P Bass (60th anniversary MIM) and i'm using a Ibanez SDGR. amp is a Harkte Kickback 15, only bass pedal we're using is a Boss Compressor / Sustainer CS3. he's interested in getting a multi-fx to widen his sound choices to start with. i'm more of a guitarist and recently upgraded my RP7 valve to a Podxt Live so i'm familiar with multi-effects.

hope anyone here can share your opinion on the 3 fx and your experience with them (user friendliness, quality of sound). thanks :wink:

 

[Guest]

Boss ME-50B

This is one of the best user interface ever, in multi-effects control-layout. Very easy to tweak. Your bassist will spend less time on tweaking the sound, and more time on playing the bass. And, IMO, COSM (Boss' technology) sounds better.

For the Line6 and Korg multi-effects, there's more tweaking... and you'll get tired of tweaking...

 

[headfonz]

thanks mate, good point there on the time spent tweaking. you're using a ME50B? any problems so far?

 

[Guest]

i'm more of a guitarist, i don't own the ME-50B, but i had been using the ME-50 for quite some time. They're basically the same in terms of hardware and layout design. BOSS modularized the bass effects on the ME-50B layout with a good logical approach.

I had no problems with the ME-50 so far. Just a small dislike, the tuner is not that precise and sensitive. Nothing is perfect, but IMO this is the best when compared with the Bass PODxt Live and Korg AX3000B.

Do look thru' the whole list of effects that it has. I believe there're quite a lot to choose from.

 

[headfonz]

i'm happy with my Podxt Live for my guitar, the factory settings are so-so but the individual effects and amp models provide alot of possibilties (i'm quite obsessed with messing with my effects)

i'm hesistant to recommend the Bass Podxt Live to my bassist as i'm not sure whether its a good idea to put a bass signal through too many effects without losing the natural depth of tone (correct me if i'm wrong here).

if's thats true, then the ME50B would probably be a more sensible choice since there isn't a need for a million effect choices so long as the main effects like compression, eq, chorus and overdrive are of good quality (in relation to multi fx, not boutique pedals)?

 

[exin]

Honestly, you can't go wrong with Line6 POD stuff ...

i never tried their stuff before but their sound modelling is really good considering it's digital effects.

You can't go wrong with BOSS either .. but one thing i don't like about BOSS is that their interface for most of their products are hard to figure out IMO ... besides their stompboxes lah ...

The POD carries much more variety of sounds from different manufacturers that are signature sounds from their era .. you bass player may prefer that preference .. tweaking-wise .. once you get used to the interface of the POD you'll just use the banks to store the sounds and you're good to go ..

 

[headfonz]

i'm not well informed about bass effect possibilities, i agree with exin's point that in multi-fx, its unlikely to go wrong with Line 6 or Boss. here's an illustration of my concern....

(the numbers here are not the actual numbers available)

Bass Podxt Live
Available Fx: 400+
Actual Usable Fx: 50+

ME50B
Available Fx: 200+
Actual Usable Fx: 50+

my consideration here is if the practical / usable fx in the various pedals are really about the same, then i should just go with the ME50B and save the couple of hundred bucks for other stuff.

its great to have a huge arsenal of fx available, but if alot of the fxs are duds, i just don't see the point. so i'm hoping some here can share their experience on the 3 pedals i mentioned.

 

[exin]

headfonz ...

actually it depends on you and what your bass player wants ..

for me i'm sizing down my pedalboard rig and getting a simple multi-effects to serve my purpose .. i'm not too particular about my tone in terms of sound .. live you can't hear too much of the difference ..

i'm eyeing the Line6 Bass PODXT ... the sound samples on their website was really good ..

 

[cheyen]

this topic is good,...im also choosing between the boss and the line 6,...


more feedback please??

 

[rottenramone]

..

i use the pod xt live essentially for the varied amp tones. haven't really fully explored the effects side of it, but its pretty comprehensive once you get to study the interface.

what i really like abt the xt is that you can actually adjust the settings to what PA/amp you're plugged in.

 

[headfonz]

hi exin, thanks for your comments bro. to be honest, my bassist doesn't know what he wants cos he is very new to effects. so i hope to identify the better choice between these 3 multi-fx for him that can grow with him as a player for at least a couple of years.

hi rottenramone, agreed, the amp models are really quite varied, what i found really interesting was the A.I.R option thing where you can select between different mics setups for the amps, best heard through headphones.

however, can i check if the mic up works the same way for bass amps? or should we actually use the direct output from bass amps to the mixing console? cos if that's the case, then the A.I.R option is pretty useless....

hi cheyen, agreed man...more feedback please :wink: thanks

 

[rottenramone]

..

i would say that the xt live is more suited for recordings than for live gigs. over in recordings, you can really hear the difference.

 

[platypus]

in terms of effect quality i was more impressed by the me50b, as compared to the line 6 podxt live.
i guess the only advantage you get from the line 6 in the "amp simulators" and the higher no. of patches. also take note that the line 6 has less variety of effects as compared to the boss .
even though they both have 50+, the reason why the line 6 has such a "high no." of effects is because it has many of the same type of effects(many reverbs,choruses), while the boss has many different effects some of which the line 6 doesnt even have ( note hold, slow gear, expression "whammy"+/- 1 octave, kick drum, hollow, fretless). i dont think there are any effects the line 6 has that the boss doesnt have. but there are many effects the boss has that the line 6 doesnt have.
plus i think most of you know - the boss is 10 times more user friendly (all knobs), while when you use the line 6, you need to tweak and changes the effects digitally throught the LCD.

SO. if you're too lazy to read this^... get the boss!

p.s. im not sure if this is really true, but the ranking guy(boss i think) told me that the boss me-50 and me-50b has all analog effects . could someone confirm with me whether this is true?

 

[rudy]

i suggest gt6b to a me50b,all the sound u need is already in the presets,me50b has lack in selecting user bank,unless u are playing original songs and wanna experiment with sound,otherwise stick to stompbox and DI box like sansamp BDDI,Bassbone,MXR M80 etc.

 

[headfonz]

hi platypus, i think the Boss multi-fx are all digital effects...COSM (Composite Object Sound Modeling) processor inside...the ME50B has 1, the GT6B has 2.

 

[CrispyEgg]

IMO The GT6b is abit of an overkill, i didnt really need to tweak alot of my ME-50B settings to the detail and the "analog design knobs" did the trick.

get an ME-50B and an external footswitch to change banks if u need to do so. then u'll be a happy camper behind your pedal board =)

 

[headfonz]

seems like most people prefer the ME50B over the other options available.

after playing with the Podxt Live for 2 weeks, my take is that its more of a amp modeller with effects an option vs the ME50B which is a multi-fx 1st and foremost.

any Korg AX3000B users here would like to share your opinion? comparing the 3, the Korg has the most effect options.

 

[exin]

i tried out the KORG AX3000B before .. very nice sounds .. but i still think the sounds of the PODxt beats the KORG flat ... there's just the vibe missing from the KORG .. while Line6 has that GAS factor ..

i'm getting the Line6 PODxt LIVE in the near future! once they have stock .. hahha .. despite being it more of an amp modeller .. i think the recording function and the USB in has a huge advantage ... for me ..

 

[headfonz]

here's the numbers....

Korg AX3000B - 72 effects 11 amp 16 cabs (7 simultaneous)

BassPodxt Live - 50 effects 28 amp 22 cabs (6 simultaneous)

Boss ME50B - 32 effects (6 simulaneous)

 

[exin]

looks like the KORG is more inclined towards effects while line6 inclines more towards tone modelling ..