Multi-effects pedals have come a long way since companies like Boss, Zoom, and DigiTech began the innovation of packing multiple guitar pedals into one unit. Nowadays the best multi-effects pedals allow you to condense your entire rig, amplifier and cabinet included, into one handy module.
Multi-effects pedals were initially invented to supplant your pedalboard, giving you all the drives, reverbs, and delays you needed in one place. Thanks to some serious technological advancements, particularly the development of the cabinet impulse response, the quality of amp simulation that’s available now means multi-effects pedals are completely replacing the modern guitar player’s set-up.
Want a backline that consists of a high-gain tube head, a solid-state clean amp, and a boutique tube combo? Now you don’t have to lug three different amps around with you, just take your multi-effects pedal out of the bag and get to work. It’s an exciting time to be a guitarist, and with the best multi-effects pedals you get more choice than ever before.
We've included some expert buying advice at the end of this guide, so if you'd like to read more about the best multi-effects pedals and what you need to know before buying one, then click the link. If you'd like to get straight to the products, then keep scrolling.
Looking for a bargain? Well, our Black Friday guitar deals page is the place to go. From now until the end of Cyber weekend, we’ll be bringing you the very best offers we can find on a range of brilliant music gear.
Best multi-effects pedals: Quick list
Below, you’ll find a round-up of our top choices. You can jump to a more detailed review of every pick, along with our price comparison tool to help you find the best deals.
Part of the attraction to multi-effects units is the sheer potential for experimentation. All those glorious sounds, just waiting to be tweaked and changed. But how much tweakability would be considered too much? Have we reached peak tweak? Not if you ask Neural DSP, whose Quad Cortex is, it claims, the most powerful floor modeler on the planet. A big claim, sure, but it’s easy to see why.
If the HX Effects doesn't quite cover your needs - say, if you need amp modeling, or if you own a Line 6 Variax guitar - then the Helix LT offers all of the processing oomph of the full-fat Helix, but in a slimmed-down package without scribble strips or all of the inputs and outputs of the flagship. Whether it's on-stage or for studio use, the LT is simply a beast, with great quality amps, effects, cabs, mic sims... you name it.
The GX-100 is Boss' first pedal to include a touchscreen, and hopefully it won't be the last. Setting up patches and presets on the GX-100 is a significantly easier, more streamlined and more beginner-friendly process than on some of the other Boss pedals, and when it comes to editing parameters, it's equally as simple and intuitive. While we still referred to the manual on occasion, getting to grips with the GX-100 is a gratifying and simple process.
With the Plethora X5, you can chain up to five TonePrint pedals together from a list including the Flashback, Hall of Fame, Corona, Vortex and many more. These can be placed in whichever order you prefer, although you can run into limitations with the DSP if you attempt to stack five reverbs or delays, for example.
Following on from its much-lauded PedalBoard, HeadRush's MX5 aims to take all that mighty processing power and place it in a unit you can stick in the front of your gig bag. With some beautifully detailed amp models, an array of FX, and an expression pedal, don’t let the small size of this brilliant multi-effects pedal fool you.
If the thought of lugging around an amp head and full pedalboard is filling you with dread, then maybe the Kemper Profiler Stage is the right choice for you. This robust and compact preamp combines the ever-popular Profiler Head and Remote foot controller into one neat package, giving you all the functionality of Kemper’s previous products in a smaller format.
✅Buy if you are looking for the best overall: For our money, the QuadCortex is the best multi-effects pedal on the market right now.
❌ Avoid if you need a looper: Unfortunately, the QuadCortex doesn't have a looper built in.
Part of the attraction to multi-effects units is the sheer potential for experimentation. All those glorious sounds, just waiting to be tweaked and changed. But how much tweakability would be considered too much? Have we reached peak tweak? Not if you ask Neural DSP, whose Quad Cortex is, it claims, the most powerful floor modeler on the planet. A big claim, sure, but it’s easy to see why.
What you’ve got, essentially, is a floor-based supercomputer where every calculation, every process, every action and every interaction is designed purely to achieve the most advanced levels of tonal control and sonic fidelity there has ever been. You can stack amps, effects and anything else as far as your imagination will let you.
We’d find it nigh-on impossible to run through the full feature-set here, so be sure to check out our full review which is coming soon, but if you’re serious about guitar, and have the cash to support your aims, then the Neural DSP Quad Cortex should be front and centre of your shortlist.
One of the best multi-effects pedals coupled with the best interface in town
Our expert review:
Specifications
Number of effects: 104
Number of effects: 104
Number of assignable footswitches: 10
Reasons to buy
+
Excellent user interface
+
Huge number of patches
Reasons to avoid
-
Cost
At a glance
✅Buy if you are looking for ease of use: The interface on the Line 6 Helix is incredibly user friendly and intuitive.
❌ Avoid if you are on a budget: This state-of-the-art multi-effects doesn't come cheap. So if you are on a tight budget you may want to look at the smaller Helix options.
If the HX Effects doesn't quite cover your needs - say, if you need amp modeling, or if you own a Line 6 Variax guitar - then the Helix LT offers all of the processing oomph of the full-fat Helix, but in a slimmed-down package without scribble strips or all of the inputs and outputs of the flagship.
Whether it's on-stage or for studio use, the LT is simply a beast, with great quality amps, effects, cabs, mic sims... you name it.
It's got eight assignable patches on the front panel, as well as bank change, tuner and tap switches and the best user interface of any multi-effect on the market, including Fractal Audio’s Axe-FX III, which is three times the price. What's not to like?
✅Buy if you are looking for reliability: As with all Boss products, the GX-100 is built to last and is rugged enough to handle life on the road.
❌ Avoid if you are seeking lots of amp tones: While we love the sound of the GX-100, there are more effects on offer than amp models.
If you're into your pedals, then Boss will be a household name to you. Their compact stompboxes are infinitely popular – but their multi-effects units haven't quite been met with the same reception. As a result, the new GX-100 comes out the gate looking like it has a point to prove – and it sure does prove it.
The GX-100 is Boss' first pedal to include a touchscreen, and hopefully it won't be the last. Setting up patches and presets on the GX-100 is a significantly easier, more streamlined and more beginner-friendly process than on some of the other Boss pedals, and when it comes to editing parameters, it's equally as simple and intuitive. While we still referred to the manual on occasion, getting to grips with the GX-100 is a gratifying and simple process.
There's a few amp models in the GX-100 to cover most tonal bases, but where it shines for us is the vast amount of effects onboard. All 154 of them sound great before any tweaking, and they only get better as you tweak them and stack them up. When you consider the possibilities with the GX-100, either as a standalone modeling amp, a multi-effects unit going into a tube amp, or as a MIDI-switching blend of the two, this unit is exceptionally priced – and it's easy to use too.
✅Buy if you are looking for a small footprint: This unit is perfect those looking to save space on a crowded stage or rehearsal room.
❌ Avoid if you are seeking overdrive tones: The TC Electronic Plethora X5 has no drive/distortion/fuzz built in.
We’re big fans of the versatile TC Electronic TonePrint pedals, which have always offered a nice selection of user-changeable effects at a highly reasonable price. With the TC Electronic Plethora X5, the team there has brought each of the pedals from the TonePrint line together, in doing so creating a sort of TC Greatest Hits tour.
With the Plethora X5, you can chain up to five TonePrint pedals together from a list including the Flashback, Hall of Fame, Corona, Vortex and many more. These can be placed in whichever order you prefer, although you can run into limitations with the DSP if you attempt to stack five reverbs or delays, for example. These configurations are then stored as ‘scenes’, ready to be recalled whenever required. TC has added further pedals via firmware since its launch, making this a superb, compact solution with enormous creative potential.
Number of effects: 65 effects, 50 amps, 15 cabinets, looper
Number of assignable footswitches: 3 plus expression pedal
Reasons to buy
+
Intuitive 4-inch touchscreen
+
Compact size
+
Excellent recording capabilities
Reasons to avoid
-
Could be too much choice
At a glance
✅Buy if you are looking for lots of effects and sounds: This multi-effects may be small but it is fully loaded with plenty so effects and tones.
❌ Avoid if you need more than three footswitches: Due to it's compact size, this unit only has three footswitches - so if you need more you'll need to look elsewhere.
Following on from its much-lauded PedalBoard, HeadRush's MX5 aims to take all that mighty processing power and place it in a unit you can stick in the front of your gig bag. With some beautifully detailed amp models, an array of FX, and an expression pedal, don’t let the small size of this brilliant multi-effects pedal fool you.
The emulated amp sounds are really detailed and realistic. They’ve got a great interaction with your playing dynamics that makes them feel as satisfying as the real thing. It really shines in the effects department too, particularly with reverbs and delays. There’s a real three-dimensional sound from this unit that’s super engaging.
Overall the unit is a breeze to use too, with that intuitive touch screen providing loads of great options to tweak your tone on the fly. Run multiple chains of pedals with ease, switch presets quickly, or edit specific parameters and save them. Whatever it is you need to do, thanks to the display you won’t often feel the need to dive into the manual.
Effects: Infinite clean/drive voice capability and 125 banks of 5 patches
Number of assignable footswitches: 14
Reasons to buy
+
Endless guitar tone possibilities
+
A lot of technology packed into a small unit
Reasons to avoid
-
Small screen can be hard to see
-
A lot of set up required on first use
At a glance
✅Buy if you are looking to model your own amps: The biggest selling point of the Kemper is you can realistically model your own gear.
❌ Avoid if you are new to multi-effects: This is a professional quality effects unit and it can be intimidating for newbies.
If the thought of lugging around an amp head and full pedalboard is filling you with dread, then maybe the Kemper Profiler Stage is the right choice for you.
This robust and compact preamp combines the ever-popular Profiler Head and Remote foot controller into one neat package, giving you all the functionality of Kemper’s previous products, but with the added benefit of freeing up some much needed space in the car!
We know this is a list of the “best multi-effects pedals” but the Kemper Profiler Stage is way more than that. At its heart, it’s an incredibly powerful amp modelers used by many guitar players to reproduce the sound of almost any amplifier imaginable.
The Profiler Stage organizes amps, effects and speaker cabinet simulations into Rigs, which are stored in 125 banks of five, resulting in endless tonal possibilities.
So those are our top picks, but there are may more great options to choose from that offer something a little different in terms of features and performance. We've selected some more of our favorites below.
✅Buy if you are looking a more compact Boss unit: Coming in a lot smaller than the GX-100, the GT-1000 is a great option for smaller stages.
❌ Avoid if you are more interested in amp models over effects: Like the other Boss pedal on this list, the GT-1000 offers way better effects than it does amp models.
Boss has been the market leader in compact effects pedals since the early ‘80s, and chances are, if you're reading this, you own at least a couple yourself.
With its recent 500 series of studio-grade pedals - the DD-500 delay, RV-500 reverb and MD-500 modulation - the company brought its expertise to a new form-factor and a higher-ticket area of the market. If you looked at the release of those pedals and thought "if I had a board of just those three, I'd be set," you'd be far from alone, and that's exactly what the GT-1000 delivers.
Obviously it's not just those three units in the box; yes a lot of algorithms were ported over, but there's also a state-of-the-art amp and cab simulator, as well as an impulse response loader.
This small and mighty multi-effect puts incredible power at your feet
Our expert review:
Specifications
Number of effects: 104
Number of assignable footswitches: 6
Reasons to buy
+
Feels great to use
+
Great range of effects
Reasons to avoid
-
Not what you're looking for if you want amp modeling
At a glance
✅Buy if you are looking for a simpler version of the Helix: With no screen and simplified layout this is a great starting point if you want to get to grips with multi-effects.
❌ Avoid if you need more from your pedals: This unit doesn't include all the features of its big brother.
With no screen, the HX Effects relies on scribble strips and colored lights above the footswitches in order to indicate what's going on to the user and to edit patches.
It sounds like that shouldn't be enough to compete with the larger units, but this stripped-back interface is elegant, and packs all of the effects of its larger brothers. This means that it has all the firepower to make it the best multi-effects pedal you can buy, particularly if you play live.
Moreover, besides the standard delays, mods and reverbs there's also some gems like the particle verb, which is a clear nod to boutique effects.
There are only six patches available on the front panel, but if that's an issue then you could always integrate it into a traditional pedalboard setup. It's not drastically more expensive than a single Strymon big-box pedal, and size-wise it's about twice the size of a Whammy.
✅Buy if you are on a budget: The NUX MG-300 is an incredibly affordable way to get into multi-effects and the tones on offer are outstanding.
❌ Avoid if you are hard on your pedals: This pedal feels relatively well made, it definitely isn't as rugged as the options from Boss or line 6.
The out-of-the-box sounds of the MG-300 are seriously impressive. Its simple user-friendly design with expression pedal, tactile controls, push-buttons and a color screen is easy to navigate - you’ll barely need to crack open the manual. The MG-300 doesn’t overwhelm you with too many features either.
It packs only the necessary garden variety of desirable amp models and classic effects – all of which are fantastic in tone and feel – along with 25 built-in cabinet IRs that combine four classic microphones with three positions, while you can also load third-party IR files via NUX QuickTone edit software for added versatility.
This pedal’s audio modeling secret weapon is the TSAC-HD (True Simulation of Analog Circuit) algorithm, which delivers studio-quality guitar tones that actually sound authentic and dynamic compared to other modelers. Add in 56 built-in drum beats and a 60 second loop function, and the NUX MG-300 punches impressively above its weight for price, portability and sound.
When choosing the best multi-effects pedal you’ll need to take in a selection of factors to ensure you make an informed purchase. Multi-effects pedals can do everything from replacing a few pedals on your board to substituting your entire rig, from pedals to amp to your cabinet.
What is a multi-effects pedal?
Typically, a multi-effects pedal would be something that replaces your pedalboard, whereas something that replaces your entire rig is often referred to as a floor modeler. Confusingly you’ll find both of these terms are interchangeable too, so it’s definitely a wise move to research the feature sets of these multi-effects pedals and find out if they meet your needs.
Some of the units here are designed to replace your traditional pedalboard, featuring a variety of effects pedal recreations like overdrive, distortion, delay, modulation, and reverb. This allows you to quickly and easily set up at practice or on stage, whilst simultaneously narrowing down the chance of a mid-set failure from one of your patch cables or power supplies.
What should I look for in a multi-effects pedal?
For beginner guitar players, having one of these types of multi-effects pedals is also a great way to begin getting into the world of effects. They allow you to have your choice of the vast majority of sounds and experiment to find what you like. Every great guitar player has ‘their sound’ and with a multi-effects pedal, it gets you one step closer to discovering yours. For more advanced players, a multi-effects pedal might be a way to cram more effects onto a busy pedalboard, mixing it with some regular stomp boxes to create a hybrid pedalboard.
Now that technology has advanced, multi-effects pedals are able to emulate not just your pedalboard, but your amp and cabinet too. Some of the simulations available are uncanny and it gives you the option to slim down your entire rig to just your guitar and a backpack. For travel-weary guitar players who have been lugging around tube amplifiers for decades, this is a welcome development. Although it sounds like a complete floor modeler is a no-brainer, there are a couple of things to be wary of.
Should I buy a floor modeler?
With a modern floor modeler, you’re going to have a lot of choices. For someone who isn’t sure what they want from their sound, this can be a real positive. For others the abundance of choice means you end up spending too much time tweaking and not enough time actually playing. If you’ve got a good knowledge of effects and guitar amps then you’re probably going to find it a lot easier to get stuck into a complex floor modeler, but we definitely wouldn’t recommend them for a beginner guitar player.
With a floor modeler, you’re also going to need some way to monitor your sound, whether at home, at practice, or on stage. Even with a loud tube amplifier on stage, it can sometimes be difficult to battle your way through a muddy monitor mix, and playing without being able to hear yourself is a guitarist's worst nightmare. Thankfully there are some great full-range, flat response monitors (known as FRFR) purpose-built for exactly this kind of thing. The best FRFR speakers give you a completely neutral monitor mix that ensures you can always hear your painstakingly created guitar tone whether on stage or in rehearsal.
What connectivity do I need on my multi-effects pedal?
Lastly, you’ll need to look at connectivity. Many multi-effects pedals have a huge array of connection options, but it’s always wise to make certain to check that you have the connections you need to integrate into your existing rig. If you’re a regular home recorder, then USB Outs or Direct Outs are a must. If you’re practicing at home make sure there’s a headphone out. If you’ve got a complex stereo amp set-up or want to take advantage of an FX Loop be sure to find a picture of the back of the unit or the manual to ensure you can use your multi-effects pedal to its full potential.
How we test a multi-effects pedal
Testing a multi-effects pedal is a lot like testing a regular stompbox, just with a couple of extra steps. Just like a normal pedal, we'll first start with the enclosure, checking to see how well made the unit is and how robust it feels. These are units that you stand on, so they need to be sturdy and able to take a beating.
Next, we'll then turn our attention to the footswitches and expression pedal. We are not only checking to make sure that these switches are reliable and smooth but also that they are easily accessible and well laid out. At the end of the day, multi-effects pedals are designed to make your life easier, so this is a crucial test.
Now, when it comes to testing these pedals sonically, we will, of course, start with the onboard presets, paying close attention to the sound they are trying to achieve and score them on how authentic they are. Next, we'll have a go at making our own sounds to see how well laid out the user interface is.
If the pedal includes any other features, such as an accompanying app, MIDI in/out, or FX loop, we'll go through them as well, ensuring we've tested every last feature onboard.
You can trust Guitar World
Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Alex Lynham is a gear obsessive who's been collecting and building modern and vintage equipment since he got his first Saturday job. Besides reviewing countless pedals for Total Guitar, he's written guides on how to build your first pedal, how to build a tube amp from a kit, and briefly went viral when he released a glitch delay pedal, the Atom Smasher.
