Finding the best multi effects pedals for your guitar pedal board isn’t that easy because there are a ton to choose from. In this review, we will compare all of the most popular multi-effect pedals on the market, so you can figure out which one is right for your sound.
A few things to consider when comparing multi-effect pedals is:
- How many effects they include
- How easy they are to control
- How much space they take up on your pedal board
- If they have the effects you want
- If they have an expression pedal
Try to figure out which options you must have and then find a pedal that includes all or at least most of them. Well, that’s enough of that.
Let’s check out some of the top-rated multiple effect pedals on the market today!
Click Below to Compare the Top Multi Effect Guitar Pedals in 2020
Contents
- 1 Click Below to Compare the Top Multi Effect Guitar Pedals in 2020
- 1.1 T-Rex Engineering SoulMate
- 1.2 Boss ME-80 Multi-Effects Pedal
- 1.3 Keeley Delay Workstation Analog Multi-effects Pedal
- 1.4 Electro-Harmonix SOUL POG Multi-effects Pedal
- 1.5 NUX Cerberus Multi-function Guitar Effect Pedal
- 1.6 Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain Multi-Effects Pedal
- 1.7 Zoom G3Xn Multi-Effects Processor for guitar
- 1.8 MOOER GE200 Multi Effects Pedal
- 1.9 DigiTech Element XP Guitar Multi Effects Pedal
- 1.10 Line 6 POD HD500X Guitar Floor Multi-Effects Pedal
- 1.11 Zoom MS50G Multi-Stomp Guitar Pedal
- 1.12 VOX STOMPLAB2G Modeling Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal
- 2 What We Recommend and Why
Here is a list of the best guitar multi effects pedals that will add the most versatility to your pedalboard.
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- T-Rex Engineering SoulMate
- Boss ME-80 Multi-Effects Pedal
- Keeley Delay Workstation Analog Multi-effects Pedal
- Electro-Harmonix SOUL POG Multi-effects Pedal
- NUX Cerberus Multi-function Guitar Effect Pedal
- Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain Multi-Effects Pedal
- Zoom G3Xn Multi-Effects Processor for guitar
- MOOER GE200 Multi Effects Pedal
- DigiTech Element XP Guitar Multi Effects Pedal
- Line 6 POD HD500X Guitar Floor Multi-Effects Pedal
- Zoom MS50G Multi-Stomp Guitar Pedal
- VOX STOMPLAB2G Modeling Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal
T-Rex Engineering SoulMate
Specs, features, and benefits
Built in a sturdy, metal case the fully analog T-Rex Soulmate, with its quality in sound and simplicity, makes the perfect fit for the gigging guitar player. This is a user-friendly, versatile and compact multi-effects pedal.
The T-rex Soulmate has five effects on it: Overdrive, Distortion, Delay, Reverb, and Boost. Every effect has a footswitch and four control knobs for ultimate tone shaping. The interesting thing with this unit is that you have Bank and Live mode. With the Live mode, you will control the effects just like you would on a usual pedalboard – with stomping on the footswitches for on/off. However, with stomping on the BANK footswitch, the unit is in presets mode. It basically contains ten presets, which you can control with the bank footswitch, and the footswitches on the effects.
With holding on the Tap footswitch for a few seconds, you will engage the Tuner, which has a Led-display on the top of the unit. And when you are setting your delay, you can use the same footswitch as a “Tap Tempo” control.
On the back panel, the T-Rex Soulmate has also a Send and Return inputs – for including another pedal in the loop, a control knob for the boost, input for your guitar and two outputs – left and right, a power input, and a power output for powering another unit (well, it’s 12 V, so this probably isn’t the greatest thing on this pedal).
Pros and Highlights
- High-quality – The circuitry in this pedal, as well as the casing, and the sound are of great quality. This is one of the best multi-effect pedals on the market;
- Versatile – The four control knobs on each effect, and the Bank/Live modes make this pedal very versatile, and probably is the only thing a guitarist on a tour will ever need;
- Easy to use – The T-rex Soulmate is very intuitive and simple to use pedal with all the versatility it comes with
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Expensive – this unit is probably not the cheapest one in this list. However, considering the quality and versatility this unit has, price may not be the judging point when it comes to your guitar rig.
Bottom Line
The T-rex Soulmate is a high-quality, sturdy-built multi-effects pedal that is suitable for many players in the world, especially those on a tour that don’t want to spend a lot of time messing with separate guitar pedals. If you gig a lot, this pedal might be the right choice for you. The price is a bit higher than other multi-effect pedals, but the performance on this pedal is high level too!
Boss ME-80 Multi-Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
The easiest way to describe this pedal is “the whole pedalboard in one unit”.
The Boss ME-80 uses the same technology like the Boss GT-10 does and delivers great performance. You have separate control knobs for every effect, eight footswitches – that allow you to move through the bank or use as an on/off switches if you are in the manual mode, an expression pedal that can be used for volume or wah-wah, or for control of the other effects on the unit. The pedal has nine amp models from which you can choose, thirty-six user presets and thirty-six factory presets, fifty-nine effects and thirty-eight seconds phrase looper.
The Boss ME-80 is a digital unit and has a USB interface, that lets you tweak your sounds from your PC or Mac with the free Boss Tone Studio software, and also lets you record your guitar directly into your DAW.
The pedal has stereo outputs (left/right), headphones output, aux in, and runs on BOSS 9V DC power adapter (not included).
Pros and Highlights
- Versatile – The Boss ME-80 has so much in it – Amp modeling, Effects, Presets, Live and Bank Mode, USB interface, eight footswitches, expression pedal and so on and so on…
- Simple and easy to use – The control knobs on each effect on the unit make this pedal very easy to use. You can tweak your guitar sounds in seconds.
- Sturdy built – This pedal is very sturdy built and can take the beatings without letting a single tear drop (this is pretty well known for all the Boss products)
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Thin sound, low quality – Some players are disappointed with the sound of this unit. Others claim that their pedal stopped working after short period of time.
Bottom Line
The Boss ME-80 is a very versatile and rich with features multi-effects guitar pedal. However, many of the users won’t recommend this to the professional guitar players. Probably it is not the best when it comes to Boss multi-effect pedals, and you may be disappointed. This unit is maybe a great fit for practicing, beginner-type of players that are new in the guitar effect pedals, who want a big variety of sounds, and don’t want to break the bank.
Keeley Delay Workstation Analog Multi-effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are a big fan of the Delay and Reverb guitar effects and want to explore the outer space with your guitar tones, the Keeley Delay Workstation will be a great fit in between your guitar and your amp.
Packed with eight types of delay and six types of reverb, the Keeley Delay multi-effects pedal will rock your space-boat like never before.
Delay Effect Modes you can get with this pedal: Slapback, Tape, Multihead, Analog, Digital, Subdivided, Ducking, and Pitch.
And Reverb Effect Modes: Spring, Chamber, Hall, Plate, Shimmer, and Flanged.
In the reverb section, there are two delay effects (Tape, and Digital), if you want to get crazy with two delay effects engaged at the same time.
The pedal contains ten control knobs, five-for the Reverb, and five-for the Delay section.
And three footswitches: on/off footswitches for the two effects, and a Tap Tempo footswitch for tweaking the delay on the fly. Also, the pedal has stereo outputs for those of you who have big guitar rigs, input for the Reverb-decay expression pedal and input for additional Tap Tempo footswitch.
Pros and Highlights
- Great sound! – The pedal is one of the cleanest reverb and delay pedals out there, and the quality of the sound is amazing.
- Versatile – This unit is a small size monster… It is amazing how much versatility comes with this little thing.
- Easy to use – The separate controls, for the two effects, give you a great amount of control over your sound. It’s intuitive and easy to use guitar pedal
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Small size – The small size of this pedal is a good thing for not taking space in your pedalboard, but unfortunately it has it’s a downside too. The footswitches are really close to one another, and if you have Bigfoot-like feet like I do, this might be a problem
Bottom Line
Sturdily built, awesome, sonic quality delay/reverb guitar effect pedal. Robert Keeley is no stranger to building high-quality and amazing-sounding guitar pedals. This is pedal can serve many different sets and many different guitar players. The only downside is, that the pedal is pretty small and the footswitches are really close to each other. If this is not a problem for you, you should probably go and buy one of these. It is very hard to find a guitar player, who is not satisfied with this unit.
Electro-Harmonix SOUL POG Multi-effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
The SOUL POG is a two-in-one guitar effect pedal, basically containing two famous circuits from Electro-Harmonix, the Soul Food overdrive pedal and the Nano Pog octave generator.
This pedal contains three white control knobs for the POG (the Octaver), and three black knobs for the overdrive. It has a separate footswitches and corresponding led lights for the two effects. In the left section (POG section), there is also a little button, which is a mode switch. This switch allows you to choose from two modes on the pog, one for solo, and one that works better with chords.
The Electro-Harmonix Soul Pog is a high-quality built guitar effect pedal, with great sound and versatility. This unit sits its place beautifully in this list. The pedal has a send/return and “dry out” inputs for even more control of your sound. With a different placement of the effects in the pedal chain, the Soul Pog will create a different sound.
Pros and Highlights
- Easy to use – This is a very simple and easy pedal to operate. It’s intuitive, and within seconds you can set your guitar to sound like never before!
- Versatile – This pedal is one of the best two-in-one guitar pedals ever. Oh, and did I mention that placement in your pedal chain can affect even more?
- High quality – Well, this one is a no-brainer. Electro-Harmonix is famous for the high quality of their products!
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Pricey – The quality of the pedal would justify the price, for those who can pay. However, this pedal has a high price. Not recommended for bedroom-rock stars.
Bottom Line
In this list, we are discussing the best multi-effect guitar pedals, and with great respect to the pedals that contain hundreds of guitar effects inside them, sometimes the right thing to do is to choose just the two that fit best for you. Electro-Harmonix did a great job, combining the Soul Food and the Nano Pog in one, versatile pedal. Many will fall in love with this thing, many will just dream about it. The price of the pedal is high, the quality of it, is high too.
NUX Cerberus Multi-function Guitar Effect Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
NUX is most famous for their small size and affordable guitar-effect pedals. However, they also produce many different music instruments and gadgets, from digital pianos and drums to guitar amplifiers and multi-effect pedals, Nux is reassuring their place in the business from 2005.
The Nux Cerberus is a multi-effect guitar pedal containing:
- Two analog effects, Overdrive and Distortion
- Digital effects: Tremolo, Phaser, U-vibe, Chorus (Analog, Vintage, Modern), Reverb (Plate, Spring, Hall), Delay (60′, 70’, 80’)
- Inside Routing
- Integrated loop switcher
- IR loader for cabinet simulation
- Midi Control Input and Output
- USB port – for using with software
- Stereo Outputs
- Tap Tempo
- Tuner
- Booster
- 32 Banks
You can use the Cerberus as a stand-alone pedal or you can use all of your gear with the four-cable method. This multi-effect pedal is great both for live playing and recording. This is a new age, modern type of multi-effect guitar pedal. The buttons and control knobs are making this pedal very easy to use and intuitive.
Pros and Highlights
- Compact, all in one – With this pedal, you will be amazed by what can be done. It has all the effects and features, in one, little box…
- Intuitive – It’s rare to find multi-effect pedal with so many features, while so easy to use. You might spend a little time messing around, but when you get it, it becomes very easy to operate.
- Affordable – the rest of the multi-effect pedals with so many features usually cost double the price of the Cerberus
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Not for the plug & play type of guitarist – Well, simple as multi-effect pedals can get, this pedal is still not for the players who want the simplest type of gear. You will need to spend some time messing around with this unit.
Bottom Line
The Nux Cerberus is one of the greatest multi-effect pedals on the market in the moment. It’s pretty affordable when it comes to pedals within this caliber and it offers decent tone quality.
The high points from my perspective are the analog overdrive and distortion effects, and the many modern features, like the midi inputs, the easy to use with software feature via USB, the four-cable method etc. The price of this pedal makes it really hard for the other manufacturers to compete in this game. However, if you’re the type of player that don’t want to mess around with digital or a little more complicated guitar gear, continue reading.
Electro-Harmonix Holy Stain Multi-Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
If you are the analog fuzz-freak type of guitar player (just like I am), and you are looking for a multi-effect pedal, the Holy Stain by Electro-Harmonix will surely satisfy your hunger.
Packed with the two most popular types of Reverb, Room and Hall, a Pitch-shifter, a Tremolo, and a Fuzz/Distortion effect, the Holy-Stain managed to get popular in a very short amount of time.
The pedal is very sturdy built and has a pretty affordable price when it comes to Electro-Harmonix, and multi-effect pedals.
The Holy Stain has two footswitches, one for choosing the effect (Room Reverb, Hall Reverb, Pitch Shifter, or Tremolo) and a bypass footswitch.
And six control knobs: Mix, Amount, Volume, Tone, Color, and Dirt.
Pros and Highlights
- High-quality – Electro-Harmonix is not making jokes when it comes to quality in their products, and you won’t get disappointed with this one either.
- Affordable – This is not the cheapest pedal out there, but it’s pretty affordable having in mind the quality and versatility this pedal has.
- Easy to use – The two footswitches and the six control knobs allow you to have tons of control with just tweaking the knobs, there are no complications with this pedal
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Digital – Every effect on this pedal, except for the Fuzz/Drive is digital. This is weird for an Electro-Harmonix pedal. Maybe this is why is cheaper from their other products? Digital sounds way cheaper if you ask me…
Bottom Line
The Holy Stain by Electro-Harmonix is one little box with six effects in it. The Fuzz/Drive effect is analog, the two Reverbs, the Pitch-shifter, and the Tremolo are digital. If you don’t have problems with using digital gear, this pedal is probably a good fit in your pedalboard. It has the quality all of the EH products have, and it’s very intuitive and versatile. Also, it won’t break the bank.
Zoom G3Xn Multi-Effects Processor for guitar
Specs, features, and benefits
The Zoom G3Xn multi-effect processor is one of the pedals on this list with the biggest amount of effects in this list. The pedal is packed with sixty-eight digital effects, five amp simulators, five cabinet simulators (and even more downloadable), Looper (recording up to 80 seconds), rhythm pedal (with 68 built-in rhythms), tuner, expression pedal, seventy-five factory patches, mono and stereo outputs, headphone output, tap-tempo footswitch, three editing displays, three stomp-switches, and Mac/Windows software. You can chain up to seven effects in one preset with this processor. The affordable price makes this pedal a no-brainer if you are into buying a multi-effect digital processor, that will allow you incredible control over your tone, both live and in the studio.
Pros and Highlights
- Versatile – This is one of the processors on this list with the biggest amount of features in it;
- Affordable – Zoom company is pretty known for their affordable prices. This pedal won’t break the bank.
- Onboard controls – The knobs, displays, footswitches and the expression pedal allow the player to control the tone on the fly.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Complicated, difficult – This pedal is not recommended to those who don’t want to spend a lot of time learning how their gear works. The Zoom G3Xn is not very simple to operate multi-effect pedal.
Bottom Line
The Zoom G3Xn is a very versatile, packed with tons of features multi-effect digital processor.
Many players love it, while others are getting tired with just looking at the board. If you have no problem with using gear that is completely digital and you are willing to spend some time trying to figure out how this unit works, the G3Xn might be a great tool for your guitar playing. The looper and the rhythm pedal are also great for the one-man-band type of player.
With the software, you can get many different patches and simulations for free. If you are the type of player that can deal with this massive number of features in one pedal, the affordable price will probably make you buy it.
MOOER GE200 Multi Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
Built in a sturdy, metal case, the MOOER GE200 is one of the most up-to-date multi-effect pedals on this list. The GE200 contains: fifty-five amp simulators, twenty-six speaker cab models, seventy digital effects, forty drum rhythms, looper with fifty-two seconds record-time (with half-speed and reverse options), onboard control buttons for moving through the system, two control knobs for Master and Value, three footswitches – Up, Down and Tap Tempo, Expression pedal, LCD Display, mono and stereo outputs, headphones and aux input, and a USB port for connecting to PC.
Pros and Highlights
- Versatile – This multi-effect is so versatile, it has the potential to blow a player’s mind;
- Great sound – The sound this processor provides is outstanding in terms of quality;
- Great build quality – The casing of this thing is made out of metal, and it’s made to last a long time
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Only one modulation effect in the chain can be engaged and has a small number of footswitches, which makes the pedal not so friendly for live playing
Bottom Line
The Mooer GE200 is one sturdy built multi-effect processor with a ton of versatility and great sound quality. The price of this unit is pretty competing when it comes to multi-effect processors of this caliber. However, it has downsides, the small number of footswitches and the fact that only one modulation effect can be engaged at a time makes this pedal not suitable for live playing (well, at least for those players who want to make a lot of changes in their sound during the performance).
DigiTech Element XP Guitar Multi Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
The Digitech Element XP has thirty-seven pedals, twelve amps, and nine cabinet simulations, two hundred presets (100 factory presets and 100 presets), twenty Tone Bank combinations a twenty Effects Bank combinations, built-in Tuner, and built-in expression pedal.
It has two footswitches, and onboard buttons for setting the levels, setting the presets, the effects, to store the bank, and to set the rhythm. On the back panel, you can find the signal input and output, and the aux and headphones input.
What is outstanding with this pedal is the price. For a very low cost, you can get any guitar effect you want to.
Pros and Highlights
- Low price – If you are new in the world of guitar tone shaping, and don’t want to spend a fortune, this is probably the right choice for you;
- Versatility – This pedal has a lot of features, a lot of sounds you can play with
- Easy to use – This pedal is great for beginners, who are not familiar with the more-complicated guitar multi-effect pedals
Cons and Potential Flaws
- No looper – A built-in looper would be a great feature in this unit
Bottom Line
The Digitech Element XP is a great tool for the new and upcoming guitar fellas. It has a decent sound quality, many features, it’s easy to use, and it’s pretty cheap. You probably won’t find a better solution for the price. However, if you are already a professional, working musician, you probably will need something more serious. Keep reading. 🙂
Line 6 POD HD500X Guitar Floor Multi-Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
Line 6 is not new to upping the game in the multi-effect processors world.
The POD HD500X is very similar to its predecessor (the HD500), and has all the same features, plus some new features (like more amp simulations), and most importantly, way bigger processing power. With this processor, you can easily engage up to eight effects at the same time.
The POD HD500X has more than one hundred high-quality digital effects, thirty amp models, S/PDIF, MIDI, Variax and USB connection inputs/outputs, 48-seconds record-time looper, built-in tuner, built-in expression pedal, free software, and five hundred and twelve user preset locations. The Line 6 POD HD500X is a great gear both for live playing and in the studio.
Pros and Highlights
- All in one – This pedal has to offer pretty much every feature a guitarist could dream about in one single pedal;
- Great sound quality – Line 6 made this thing with serious tones in their mind;
- Tough-built – This unit is designed to take the beatings of the touring musician.
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Not easy to use – Players have reported that is hard to deal with this pedal, even the experienced ones had trouble with finding the way around it. So, if you are planning to get one, have in mind that you should spend some time learning how this unit works.
Bottom Line
The Line 6 POD500X is a great piece of gear. It’s very sturdy-built; it has a ton of features and sounds great both live and in the studio. However, many of the players find it hard to set this thing, meaning that you should spend some time learning how to set your tone with this machine. The price is not the lowest, but the features you will get with the POD500X, will justify the money spent.
Zoom MS50G Multi-Stomp Guitar Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
This little pedal features a lot for its size: fifty-five custom effects (47 stomp boxes, and eight amp models), thirty factory preset patches, and fifty custom-user patches, built-in tuner, and a tap tempo function. The pedal can be powered by AC adapter, USB bus, or two AA batteries.
The Zoom MS50G on the front panel has three control knobs, a footswitch, four buttons around the footswitch, and a display. Don’t be fooled by the size of the pedal, this is a monster in a small box!
Pros and Highlights
- Versatile – This pedal has a lot to offer… Forty-seven stomp boxes, and eight amp models. You can chain six effects at once, in any order you want to!
- Cheap – This pedal is very cheap compared to others who have the same number of effects in them;
- Small size – The pedal is really small and can easily fit any pedalboard
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Complicated – The pedal operations are not very intuitive, and the instructions that come with this unit are not described properly, which means you should do your research and try to figure it out with some playing around.
Bottom Line
The Zoom MS50G is a great, little, multi-effect guitar pedal. It has a lot of versatility, a ton of effects in it, and it’s pretty cheap. There are better multi-effect pedals out there for sure, but with this price, it’s really hard to compete with the MS50G. While this unit might work for some players, for others, it will be a headache. Many users have reported having trouble with finding their way around tone-setting with this pedal. If you are still interested, we encourage you to try it out yourself.
VOX STOMPLAB2G Modeling Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal
Specs, features, and benefits
The VOX STOMPLAB 2G is a great multi-effect/processor guitar pedal, with a lot of features, and it’s easy to operate. It has more than one hundred modeling guitar effects categorized in to presets that can be chosen via a rotary switch. There are three rotary switches on the front panel of the unit, one for presets, one for gain, and one for level. There are two footswitches, Up and Down, and a built-in expression pedal. There is also a little screen in the center of the pedal, for easy navigating. The pedal has a built-in tuner.
Pros and Highlights
- Easy to use, beginner friendly – This pedal is created with beginners in mind. The presets are named after genres, to make the Forty-seven user-friendly. Great for newbies in tone shaping. Also, it has a headphones input, making it perfect for practicing.
- Cheap – This pedal is very cheap, making itself even more beginner-friendly;
- Versatile – Although the pedal is cheap, and best for beginners, it still has a tone of features, nobody should ignore
Cons and Potential Flaws
- Bad quality hardware – Many players have reported broken footswitches after short time period of usage. Others reported the pedal died after a short period of time.
Bottom Line
The Vox StompLab 2G is for sure on the cheapest spectrum of multi-effect pedals, and many players reported issues with it after a short period of usage. However, many players are completely satisfied. The StompLab 2G might be a good fit for the beginner, newbie, or bedroom type of guitarist, but it’s not good if you are professional. It has some decent sound quality, but there are better options for sure. Of course, if you still want to give it a try, you should, but we encourage you to try it before you buy it.
What We Recommend and Why
First and foremost, I must say I’m not a huge fan of the digital guitar effects.
However, in this list, we’ve covered the best of the best multi-effect pedals, from the cheapest models to the pricey ones.
Our choice, without any hesitation and doubt is the T-Rex Engineering Soulmate. The Soulmate has a ton of versatility, keeps your dry signal fully analog (which is very important to the sound-freaks), it has the right effects for every single player in the world, and it is very easy to operate. The price may be high, but the quality you’ll get with this pedal is even higher than that.
If you are looking for something cheaper, you can read this list again. Or you can go the smart way around guitar pedals and build a pedalboard with your own choice of pedals.
