Some may argue that a guitarist's rig is directly proportional to their talent, which obviously isn't true in many cases, but that doesn't stop most of us from being absolutely obsessed with guitar gear and tech. While my pedalboard consists of some pretty decent talent aids (DOD Corrosion, DOD Grunge, Ibanez DEZ delay/echo, Digitech Whammy, Ibanez CS5 Super Chorus, and a Boss PW-10 wah) I had always wanted a powerhouse of an effects processor to fill the gap for such things as flange and envelope filtering. After much research, I found that it came down to two processors: the Line 6 Floor Pod or the Digitech RP line. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, but it really comes down to one tried and true king in the guitar accessories market—Digitech.

I want to begin with Line 6, as they've built quite the reputation over the years for guitar modeling, mainly due to the explosion of the Pod many years ago. For a fairly reasonable price of two hundred clams (as most processors start at roughly $400-500) will get you a Floor Pod Plus, which essentially is the Pod 2.0, with a few extra amps, effects, and other features aside from the obvious benefits of a floor board. The included amps attempt to simulate such brands as Fender and Mesa Boogie, but honestly fail at doing such, thanks to lack of tone. More specifically, having the unit on dramatically decreases the overall volume, while bypassing all amps and effects leaves you with a loud clean channel. I did contact Line 6 on this issue, which they were able to verify the volume issues of bypass vs. not. Here's their solution: “Try adjusting the volume knobs, ya know those chrome ones, should do the trick.” Aside from that, the built in effects and compression are fairly decent, yet there really is no tweakability to them—you have effects mix, on and off, and that's really it. After dealing with support and resetting the processor to factory settings to see if that would fix the problem, I took the Floor Pod Plus back to the music store. If tone isn't important and ease of use is, Line 6 is the way to go, but if you're looking for something a little more concrete, definitely do some more research.

While Line 6 has some serious issues, Digitech has an incredibly long history in guitar effects and their latest products are absolutely insane. Just take a look at how many artists are rocking the innovative Whammy pedal these days. While the Whammy a fairly old concept, the latest model is simply a must have for any professional guitarist. The Digitech RP-500--being only $100 more than the Floor Pod--blows me away at how much content is crammed into this floor board. If you take a look at their website, the amp simulation list is daunting, as it covers various years of Fender amps such as the famous Blackface, a few different Mesa Boogies (including not only the dual rectifier, but the tripple as well), Marshalls, Rolands, and a few of Digitech's own designs just for this pedal. The effects list is equally insane as the amps, if not more. What really gets me about this is that literally everything sounds great. Each and every amp and effect not only displays quality, but they accurately represent the models they are based on—even the Mesa Boogies! Further, you can fully tweak every possible parameter of each effect and amp, not just limited to a simple effects mix Line 6 includes. Finally, and most important, there is a master volume knob that actually controls your volume of just the pedalboard, not the overall sound running through the board, even when bypassed. Its learning curve is a bit more steep compared to the Floor Pod Plus, but after an hour or two, creating and saving your own presets are easy as pie.

In conclusion, multi-effects processors have always been a tricky subject for guitarists, as tone is usually put aside in a focus of number of amps and effects. Line 6, while doing an OK job of modeling a few amps and effects, really fails in producing a decent processor. I find it strange after all the success of the Pods and their newest line of horrifyingly expensive amps, they decide to cut back on some of their quality in a floor board. With that said, Digitech truly steps it up by accurately simulating a ton of amps and effects without loosing focus on quality. Both pedals are fairly rugged, but Digitech seems to have the touring guitarist in mind, as they mainly went with medal--Line 6 chose plastic. While the Line 6 made usability the focus, Digitech really isn't all that complicated in the long run. Sure, you may find yourself scratching your head, but within a very short period of time this pedal becomes very easy to use and tweak. Aside from the price of $200 vs. $300, computer connectivity might come into play. Most of Line 6's line does support editing via a computer, except this board for some strange reason. Digitech, however, comes with a USB port and a ton of software to get this thing working with your system. Simply put, multi-effects, and guitar modeling for that matter, is Digitech's domain these days—it's time for Line 6 to step up their game.