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i'm putting together a smaller board to use for more normal situations than i normally play in. i want it to be small and simple, so i'd like to have one modulation unit rather than the five (flanger, phaser, chorus, univibe, ring mod) on the big board. my most wanted effects are flanger, chorus, and rotary. i'm not looking for something like a Zoom box that requires all kinds of fiddle-fucking around with. so far some things i find interesting are:

EXH Mod11
Boss MD-200
EQD Aurelius
Keeley Dyno My Roto
Catalinbread Bitters

the Bitters is billed as a bitcrusher, but does a lot of modulation including a very good-sounding ring mod, and i'm really picky about ring mods. all seem to have good and bad points. anyone got opinions on any of these, or recommendations for something relatively simple to use that won't break the bank?

i was interested in the Soundblox, but didn't like the actual sounds.

I get that this probably is zoned like the Zoom boxes you’re avoiding, but the Line 6 HX One as a much less painful UI than the MS-100BT that I used to have. I’ve seen them used for $200 and I got mine B-stock for $225. One effect at a time doesn’t offend me, and those who are offended are generally comparing to HX Stomp or HX Effects, not other stereo effects at a similar price with fewer available sounds.

If that’s too fiddly and looking for menu-free simple for your top 3 plus Univibe and IIRC vibrato, the Empress Nebulus is solid. The sounds are good, though tweaking is relatively limited and mono only. The preset system is fairly easy, but it doesn’t do MIDI.

I have no experience of the MD-200, but it does seem like a point between. From one perspective, though, anything that’s a digital multi-mod seems like a nerfed version of a more full-featured multi effect. But more mediocre effects vs a handful of stellar isn’t a value proposition I would prefer.

On the pricey end (but killer and WIDE-ranged) side is the GFI Synesthesia. I also like the size and function of the Walrus Audio M1.

I like the MD500 and I'm sure the 200 sounds good. If the features seem to do what you want, that's probably the easy solution. The 500 is nice and customizable and you can set it up ahead then just play once you're out there if you'd consider the bigger box.

I don't think you want to buy a bit crusher hoping it'll give you chorus and flanger sounds that you like.

yeah, that was a first impression. on further examination it's not a practical option.

narrowing things down a bit, the EQD is too quirky and the EXH too plastic. i like the MD-200 and Dyno My Roto. the Empress and Walrus are very impressive. i also happened upon this nifty little piece of kit, the Alabs Novadrift, which may well be the winner at only $99 retail.

https://youtu.be/bNGQV4Kl23E?si=oVGRjmdpu-H6ZeJR

check out the dba disturbance. on paper it's only phase/flange/filter but in practice i've gotten it to do univibey tricks

dubkitty wrote:i also happened upon this nifty little piece of kit, the Alabs Novadrift, which may well be the winner at only $99 retail.

https://youtu.be/bNGQV4Kl23E?si=oVGRjmdpu-H6ZeJR

The Novadrift is 15% off through midnight at Amazon.

i missed this because i was off seeing DIIV in Richmond. oh well, it's still cheap af.

If you're interested at all in the Walrus M1, I got one super cheap on an artist deal (no, not free) and I'll give it to you for the same.

If you decide to pull the trigger on the Novadrift, here's one on the cheap. (and you could return it to any GC)

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifi ... /119974292

If that doesn't work, I've got insights to share, since I've owned the Nebulus, MD-200, the Keeley Dyno, and other multi-mod boxes.

give me a minute to compare/contrast the leading candidates.

insights are exactly what i'm looking for.

BOSS MD-200 --Had it, sold it without much hesitation, sounded more digital than other BOSS emulators.  Just didn't wow me.  The classic modulation stuff was kinda vanilla (chorus/flange/phasing).  I bought it for the Slicer, but sold it for bills and haven't looked back.

Empress Nebulus --Nice variety of flangers, trem-chorus, psych vibratos.  I think this one's quite underrated and maybe my favorite of all these options I've owned. (used $150ish-180 these days)

Matthews The Botanist --Quite stripped-down and straightforward.  I've not used this one, but this one definitely delivers on the immediacy front. ($150 new)

Fender Pinwheel --This is one of my favorite rotary boxes.  It's a shame Fender didn't seem to get it to the right audience.  If you like those old hypnotic throbs, this is a unique one.  One of the algorithms is based on the rare Fender Vibratone that Gilmour used. (used $130 - 160)

Keeley Dyno --I sold this one to a friend.  It's solid, but probably no settings with much 'wow' factor.  I'd recommend the Pinwheel over this, if the goal is lush throbs for psych/spacey possibilities.

Jackson New Wave --Maybe the deepest chorus you can buy?  Has banks for 70s/80s sounds, rotary textures.  I've heard a lot of nice chorus examples from this, and I have to imagine you can cop some solid flanger stuff on more extreme settings.  There are 7 onboard memory slots with no external MIDI tools required. ($215 or less used)

TC Electronic Plethora X3 --This is pricier than other options, but it's compact enough to swap between a main board and a specialty or travel board.  The Viscous Vibe has nice Univibe sounds.  TC Electronic has a solid history with chorus/flange.  As a bonus, you've got a third slot for delays/looping/tremolo/additional ambience. In the $300-400 range, it offers a fairly extensive catalog of effects (15+ effects boxes in one).  I think >90% of the editing is accessible on the surface, so you don't have to worry about sub-menus or a 2nd/3rd editing layer. ($280+ used, $369 list)

Beetronics Seabee --One of the weirdest chorus/flange units. It has stepped/filter capabilities, an arp mode, lots of sci-fi hiccups and warbles. I've not purchased one yet, but it does some Lovetone/Subdecay-esque stuff in demos. ($200-240 used, $349 list)

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifi ... s&index=38

the use case here isn't really Bob Goes Wild...i'm looking for something that does relatively normal modulation stuff. i really want the greatest possible variety of sounds, but they have to be sounds i genuinely like. now, i may consider some of these for the big setup if they're not suited to the Normie Board. the lo-fi features on the Walrus could go a long way in my ambient/loops area.

narrowing it down, the Walrus is amazing but the sounds don't quite move me. i can't explain why. The Nebulus is awfully good, but i like the sounds on the ALABS better. almost every sound i heard on the best demo i saw made me smile at some point during its part of the demo. i still need to go back to the Keeley and check out the Matthews. if i wanted a rotary-only i would definitely check out the Fender, and i may anyway; i have the MTG Tube Tremolo and it's great if a power hog at 200mA. i think the recent Fender effects are kind of sliding by under the radar...all the ones i've heard were quite good.

You're going to be playing through an amp, right?
I'd guess a lot of the demos you're listening to are recorded through emulators so some of the digital sheen will be softened in the room.

My favorite sounding straight modulation pedal is my Spaceman Aurora. It's a flanger and comb filter. It gets a little weird and has some fun tricks but isn't really all that wild. I bet their Meridian sounds great, too.

for this board, always. this one is meant as a grab-and-go to cover the bases one needs in an evening of normally-constructed 70s-20s accessible rock.

the Pinwheel is amazing. if i ever want a dedicated rotary simulator i'd pick one up in a heartbeat. back-burnered there for future consideration.

the Keeley's rotary sound is beautiful, but i don't much like either the flange or phaser sounds, which makes it less useful than the Pinwheel for my purposes.

the Botanist sounds amazing, but unfortunately you 'd have to jigger the chorus or phase to get a flanger sound and flanger is my favorite mod-family effect.

i expect to use a multi unit 50% for flanging, 30% for chorus, and 20% or less for everything else. i almost never use phaser. and i have a kick-ass tremolo so i don't need that on any of the boxes. i just don't want a situation like the main board where i have (in sequence) envelope filter (which some of these builders think is a modulation function), univibe, ring mod, chorus, phaser, and two tremolos. the whole point here is to be a point-and-shoot camera, not an elaborate shoot with bespoke lighting.

the largest mod section i want is one multi-mode box, one envelope filter, and one trem box.