I was fortunate enough to be a beta tester for the M5. There are five things I think make it a great deal. First, it packs pretty much everything from the earlier modeller pedals (DM-4, MM-4, etc.) into one box, plus a number of additional effects and features that the older modeller series doesn't have. Second, you can save 20 presets, which the modeller series doesn't do. Third, it's a whole lot lighter than the modellers. Fourth, the stereo capabilities were undersold. Yeah, I know you probably don't run a stereo rig, but you can use the second channel to *re-process* the sound. That is, you run the signal through the same effect twice for a different flavor. This won't be hospitable to every single effect (I do not want to hear a refuzzed fuzz, or a double ring modulator), but some of the filter, modulation and ambient effects sound really interesting when you take the output of one channel and feed it into the other. Finally, there are a whole lot of effects that many players would be reluctant to spend good money on if they were only going to use them once in a while. Octave dividers and ring modulators are great examples of that. So think of the M5 as whatever your favorite sort of pedal/effect is, and them consider that, for the same money, they threw in 127 other effects for free.
I don't see why allota guitarists cry bout thier amps and stuff being too heavy ,,,I don't care bout weight bro ,,,but all the other 4 reasons that u said bout the line 6 are enough reason for me to get one ,,,thanks bro
One seldom mentioned feature of this pedal is the midi in out connection. No pedal that I am aware of on the market has this feature at this price point. I've used it extensively with my Roland Gr-55 for automatic MIDI preset selection.Amazing....
I love how it's cut off at the most intriguing part of the review. xD I'm buying the M5 today, it has stolen my heart for all the reasons you mentioned. One note: The delay, reverb effects are also able to naturally decay when the effect is switched off, so the echos are not just cut off. This feature is also switchable. Incredible feature packed box! Would be ultimate pedal if we were able to combine 3+ Effects simultaneously, but then again, you could always buy another 2 M5 pedals, because they are cheaper than regular Boss pedals xD.
Glad you highly recommend the M5, if you need a nice individual effect it’s there, it’s got them all and all sound pretty spot on, easily editable, just picked one up for £36 in the UK, so what I can only use 1 effect at a time, for £36 it’s well worth the amount of FX types this little baby brings, well made, rugged, easy user friendly interface, you could by individual budget pedals for £20-25 each, for the extra £10-15 you got every type of effect you should need, brilliant buy at £36
i'm sure it'll hold 24 presets, not 12 as stated. i use this with a midi controller - it allows easy access to all 24 presets, everything 1 click away. i have this and a separate delay on my board to cover all my delay/modulation needs. it's great for a compact set up, using it with a midi switcher increased it's usability loads.
The M9 is even better. To this day, it lives on the boards of many session players because it sounds great and does so much. Tom Bukovac is big fan and said heard a great tone another session player dialed up and was in disbelief when he was told it was an M9. He went on to say that the m9 could be heard in most popular songs recorded from mid 2000’s up through today, and it’s used on basically every song he recorded after discovering the wonders of the m9. Tom laid down guitar for big names like Tim McGraw, Tony Keith, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flats, Faith Hill, Craig Morgan, Vince Gill, Reba, Taylor Swift, Big & Rich, Darius Rucker, Sheryl Crow…and way more. You get the point. The M9 is literally a part of countless records.
still am thrilled with the m5, its holds its own with eventide pedals and quality is great, my small amps dont have effects loop so straight into amps,but allows to use distortions etc...then into a timefactor delay,fantastic sounds and for the price compared to h9 wow. only24midi presets though so must be choosy or buy 2 to get 48 choices lol and true bypass wow!!!
On my third one. Just bought another as a swiss army knife. Not bothered that the effects are "old" at this stage. It will be used alongside standalone pedals and used sparingly.
Hey nice video Phillip! This is Elick, i don't know if you remember me, but i took lessons with matt about 3 years ago. I just bought this pedal and I'm loving it!
I just bought this pedal myself. It's the first pedal I have ever bought. I was going to start with an overdrive pedal but I figure that since this pedal has so many functions and is so reasonably priced I would start with this one. I will eventually get a proper overdrive pedal etc but this will do for now.
I dont't like it's overdrives, but the heavier distortions are ok. This pedal is the hearth of my pedalboard, I use it as a tuner and it has a always on noise gate (hold tap+select, page2) plus the reverbs and delays are very good. I have it between the drive and modulation pedals, so I can use the noise gate to gate the overdrive, and use it as a dynamic or modulation. If I had to start a pedalboard from scratch it would be the first pedal I would buy.
@@paulodpereira I have the M9, I just tried to emulate my Tube Screamer and my Big Muff. The M9 did just fine with the tones, even offering in some cases more settings than for example the 3 knobs from the Big Muff.
I agree that the M5 is an awesome value. I love mine, the delays, modulation fx and compression are first rate. Have not bought the expression pedal, so can't comment on Whammy or Wah sims. The OD/distortion models are a bit lame, IMHO. A linear PS (like Voodoo) is the way to go, It's not just about having high current. Linear PS has less noise and causes less nasty digital 'hash' than switching PS, like the factory version. You'd not hear this on a youtube vid, but if you try you will will like. The linear PS is worth every penny. (choose your brand, I'm not schilling for Voodoo) One nit to pick w/ Phillip is on 'true bypass'. This is not some sort of holy grail for making a pedal good. You actually need a buffer somewhere in you signal chain. Too many true bypass boxes plus cables means lot's of capacitance which means high end roll off.A buffered pedal will fix. Not trying to be a jerk. Great channel.
I just got one a couple days ago and I totally agree for 129 bucks it has some many different pedal and effects that sound great you cant go wrong with this stompbox, I had been picking up used pedals from GC online for good prices but this M5 blows away how much it would cost me to keep getting single pedals. My next buy is the expression pedal their only 49 bucks it's unreal what you get for under $200. This is for sure the best pedal buy I've made when your on a budget. UPDATE The EX1 expression pedal came in and for 49 bucks I get all the wahs, volume adjustment, just to name 2 things the EX1 will do with the M5, it's endless when using both together. oh the voice box with the EX1 is cool too one of my favorites, I also compared the weeper to my hendrix cry baby and its Identical in sound and the EX1 has more range in the pedal than the real cry baby and I tested the M5 against my hendrix mini fuzz face Identical, line 6 did an awesome job of making the different pedals sound like the real pedals! for a fraction of the cost of what all the pedals would cost by them self's
This box looks and sounds great and I was really interested until the moment you said you can't stack the pedals!! Can't begin to see that as a good idea!
Geoff Tate I think you can get a separate midi controller and possibly stack it then... There's a video of one, but the guy doesn't really show himself using it, just pressing buttons. I'm currently searching for that option...
man, I had one of these where you could stack sounds called the m13,I ended up with a goup of effect sounds and sounded like crap.you got to believe this m5 is perfect really as it is.one sound,but a quality sound.you then start to realize you have been ruining your sound with tons of effects. I urge you to try one out for real.
I have one. Gonna get a second one. That will cover delay AND (fill in the blank) or reverb and (fill in the blank). Not counting on this for overdrive though. It's "meh". Planning on getting a Boss OD 200 and a Strymon Riverside, all through my Boss ES-5. Other than OD, these two M5's will be much of my rig.
This pedal is a steal for the money. I like it but I hate the controls. Its difficult to use live and change preset. It should have a third button to navigate through presets.
Great review Phillip, although I disagree that the H9 is not the better choice I do agree from a price point the Line 6 m5 cost almost 70% less therefore making it a better choice for most players. Based on your review and what I read I am buying this pedal mostly for reverb and midi capabilities since I have the timeline and mobius covering the modulations and delays. Thanks again great review.
Great pedal however The only thing I dont see as true, is the power supply thing, I have tried multiple power sources with mine and none work except the one it came with.
ive used a cheap caline power supply as well as a strymon one both worked just fine i still use this pedal with the caline power supply, so it sounds like you have a faulty unit?
I like this so much I have two, one into front of amp for filter fx and the other into fx loop for time/modulation. I love that L6 made a pedal that is fx only and not amp sims. The time/mod fx are superb. The wah is decent, the whammy is spot on. I don't care for most of the OD/distortion models. (they sound like digital sims to me) The one called 'tube drive' is not awful though. The compressor models are great, but I have a Boss compressor so don't use. I love that it has a built in tuner. If I have one complaint, it is that this pedal is huge and the display is tiny. Use some of that real estate for something I can see. And maybe some larger knobs on the controls? But otherwise, this thing is a killer deal for $150.
Hey there, like your videos. I was looking to get the HX effects now but i dont want my tone colored at all when the unit is off/bypassed, so i was thinking of the M5. Now i know the quality of effects isn't comparable to stuff like Strymon pedals or Eventide but my question to you is, what do you think about the M5 today, since years have passed and other stuff came out, its durability, quality of sounds, switch knobs resistance, ease of use, etc.. Im looking to put one in the efx loop for stuff like EQ, Flanger, Phaser to minimize pedals on board and maybe on in front of the amp for wahs, volume, talk box effect, again, to avoid hauling heavy and big pedals to a gig or jam. Thanks.
Can you do a video explaining your stance on single-effect pedals vs. multi-effect processor pedals. It seems taboo for guitar players to use a multi-effect pedals like the Fender Mustang Floor, but why? Is it a noticeable difference between an analog pedal and a digital effects processor pedal? Also, wouldn't you think that most modern single pedals really just use the same circuit board and chip technology that a multi-effects system uses? I agree it looks cooler to have a pedal board over a multi-effects board, but the multi-effects board seems like it can do everything all in one at one set price. I am just really curious about your stance as you are by far the sharpest guitar historian I have learned from.
Some single effect pedals are analogue and most multi effect ones are digital.. there a a few old multi effects that are basicly 4-5 pedals in one board but all still analogue (ex. boss BE-5). So for most its about analogue sound that cannot be copied to its 100% full extent in digital. If you think that matters or not or you can even hear it or not is up to you. If it sound good to you it IS good to you. There are digital single effects out there too and some really great and expensive ones. But in the end its really all up to your ears and taste. .. And remember most studio effects that are used now a days when mixing and adding stuff to tracks in the mixing phase are software. .. But i have tried some truely shitty multi effect pedals i hated .. like the M5.. But some i also think are great!
Everyone says all the drive sounds suck but that isn't true - the Coloursound Overdriver isn't all that far from the real thing. It boosts a Muff very nicely. The Tube Screamer is fine. But the winners are the delays, verbs, and mods.
Hello, hoping you can help me understand the unit a bit better. When I put the unit in user mode and scroll up and down it seems as though something is lost in the sound. When you adjust the EQ and then put it in user mode or save mode it loses some sound, volume . Unless this use this unit one effect at a time
I own an M5, I use the reverse delay, the “auto volume echo” setting,the rotary,the tremolo.. but I didn’t know about the Whammy thing, what is the Whammy pedal model called? Thanks, thumbs up and subbed
great video n' great pedal. but got a doubt ...are there Subdivisions no the delay section ?? I mean Delay Dotted Eighth , Quarter Note , triplet etc.. I'll appreciate someone reply me. t-you =)
nice review man, question... this pedal has a noise gate that can be activated on each preset, if the currrent effect is bypassed (off) the noise gate will still work?
Hi Philipp, nice review. You said that this M5 is different from the M9 and M13. Apart of the obvious reasons, like size, number of effects you can use together, ect, in what aspects those pedals differ?
I guess just because they were made with the same software, it just the same. I am not sure if has the same connections (MIDI, number of exp pedals jacks, etc), but everything else is the same.
This pedal is true bupass but not true analog thru, with means that even in true bypass when you engage any effect even a reverb the buffer inside is engaged, wich means that when the pedal is engaged the sound is colored by the buffer inside
Hi Phillip, I know this is an old video, but bought one of these after seeing your video and a few others. Do you notice your tone gets thicker when the pedal is in your chain? Not a bad thing, but when I power the unit, the tone of my single coils seems to thicken a bit. Thanks.
After 3 years do you still like this pedal? I am interested in getting one but I am sure there are pedals that compete with it since it is older now. Cheap enough to just buy and add to the collection I guess.
I have the mp3 I just use it for mods, reverb,and delays, and delays, I was so apprehensive,but I was so blown away .so users it and was totally blown away, but will say my drives r separate, but that’s just me...buy the pedal it totally make ur gig time easier ....
1:40 just so people know this is a mischaracterisation of true bypass. If its a purely mechanical true bypass switch then yeah they can operate when you pull the power. If its relay true bypass then the coils need to be enegized to revert back to bypass which needs power. THIS DOES NOT MEAN ITS NOT TRUE BYPASS! true bypass as per the name suggests means that the fx circuit is totally unconnected from the signal line when off. Just because it requires a pulse across a coil to move the contacts in the relay doesnt mean its not true bypass, because once the relay is flipped to bypass, it is still totally isolated from the effect in and out. In fact, this means it uses a soft touch switch to flip the relat to bypass, and this lasts a hell of a lot longer than wearable 3pdt footswitches seen in ehx etc. If you want unnaffected tone then relay or mechanical true bypass will both achieve this. relay might not revert back to bypass if powers pulled but the switch lasts much longer, so there are the pros and cons.
Jack Bradley - I have never encountered a relay that DOESN’T revert to its original state once the voltage is removed from the coils. You either have the A contacts with the coil not energised or the B contacts with the coil energised - if the power to the pedal is lost, the relay would revert (due to an internal spring) to the A contacts.
@@duncanmcneill7088 I might be wrong but I believe something like this would not revert www.geofex.com/FX_images/ltchrly.gif But yeah, the above is usually not common in most pedals.
also mention if using midi you get 24 presets that can be recalled ,I use 2 to get 48 midi recallable presets, note:m9 you still only get 24 midi presets
hi mr Philip. thanks for this video. i am watching this unit but i have no see any videos of people creating an effects chain. is this possible? or one fx each time? for example can i create a preset of distortion + reverb + delay + compressor + eq in any particular order? os this possible' or how it works' thank you for your help : )
Hi, anyone could give me a list of the note values provided for delay times when tap tempo is enabled? Also the delay time goes from 2000ms to how many ms? 1ms? 0ms? Thanks!
can i daisy chain this together with my other analog pedals? i basically just wanna use this for the modulation effects delay and reverb.. will i get noise issues since it has 400 miliamp draw? my power supply has 2k miliamps but isn't isolated @_@ really wanna order this unit online but scared that ill run into noise issues
my m5 just shot crabs on me. i read where this a common problem. the screen goes blank an that's it. are you aware of this problem. if so, what is your take on this pedal being dependable.
hey zoom 70cdr can let you play multiple pedals at once yet this is limited to one at a time. but sonically how they stack up against each other?? anyone??
Alexander I own both, I love both. Autosave is good on both, both have good sounds. The M5 has easier tap tempo, midi, true bypass, per preset noise gate, expression input. I prefer the octo on the line 6. I can't pick one over the other though.
Alan Angel i own both too, zoom requires more virtual tweaking in the menus which is not always ideal. Its nice having real knobs for direct access to settings on the M5. If i had to choose between them id go for simplicity, M5. But not stacking effects could be a deal breaker for some. Depends on yr requirements i guess
I have the Zoom MC70cdr. It sounds good, but it's a bit fiddly. You have to do a lot of navigating around to tweak things, which become annoying. The Line 6 pedals seem faster and simpler to work with. The Zoom is a good unit, though. Lots of FX and you can stack them and even configure it so you can switch individual FX on and off, or switch between two stacks. I just don't have the patience to tweak it.
I was learning and growing as a Guitarist in the 80's so with not a lot or actually no extra money for effects we just cranked it up scooped it some and if it had reverb we were thrilled . Music as the 80's progressed used more and more effect's . I now have but rarely use a Phaser , Flanger and OD the OD is an Original Ibanez Tube Screamer still works like a brand new one . Got it in a Pawn shop for $20 bucks in 86 - 87 . It sounds better the the new re-issues that I have compared . Gives that George Lynch OD tone when I get ready to shred .
Yes, it is a tough pedal cold rolled steal casing. Metal switch, and a metal guard to protect the plastic knobs. I have almost a dozen friends using this pedal on gigs and a couple use it on their weekly gig two nights every week four hours a night. Here is the tone. My buddy Jimmy is playing the PRS and using that pedal plus a line 6 M9 pedal. ua-cam.com/video/UV7pp-uzSDU/v-deo.html
Yeah, I have one. I think that's the downfall. I'd love to use three or four sounds at once while playing with my band.The tuner is ok but not great. It's a great peddle for recording that's for sure.The cyborg sounds are badass, haha.
+PHX rocketry If you're using any of the time based effects (delay, reverb, modulation) then you will want to likely put it after your distortion pedal. Alternatively if you are using your amps drive channel, then you will want to put those time based effects through the effects loop of your amp. This all depends on the desired effect you want though. Some people like the distorted/muddy/trippy sounding time based effects placed before your distortion/in the front of your drive channel. That is where a pedal like this becomes challenging because it also has distortion effects which you would place in front of other time based effects and in the front end of your amp.
put it first then into delay or reverb..sweet...straight into amp. f/x loop is only good for delay/reverb bt you lose out on all its other sounds really.
thats the problem, if you want to use a compressor at a certain song and a reverb on other you are kinda fucked, because these 2 effects normally are on different parts of the signal chain
Digitech also screwed over people that bought their loopers - computer connect doesn't work, no updates anymore, and the updates they had, actually made some functions not work anymore. Old ones not available. Unreal.
I had an m13 and was using so many effects that the guitar sound got lost,the m5 keeps it clean and simple,you should not need much more than an m5, maybe a delay or reverb,the m13 was just too easy to do overkill on effects and I never did think the m13 was as clean sounding...I found that using fx's sparingly is one of the keys to great guitar sounds.
But if you're like most pros, you'll already have drives, delays, verbs, compressor already on your board. Look at the m5 like a swiss army knife. With 24 bankable presets, I can reach a quality phaser or octave quickly. There's a reason they sell a ton of these units.
You would need 4 or 5 of these pedals together to make them usable! On their own and for the money they sound a good entry level beginers pedal but you are raving about them like they are pro products. Most sounds fall into the unusable bin!
They make a version were you can run 3, and another that will run 4. As for the pro sound everyone's ear is different. But this pedal kinda falls into the I pod verse CD debate. Do you want it to sound good or do you want to have every song at you finger tips. Axe FX makes a version of this, that would be the one to check out. It comes with a lot more features, but it's in the $2400 range. I might get one of those and do a review on it.
you obviously have not tried the m5, it is absolutely a pro sounding pedal which is why its amazing and if you really need 4 or 5 of them to make a useable sound you need to reevaluate your use of effects in the first place.and yes it has some wierd effect filters as well but sound quality is excellent.definitely pro gear,not a toy
Guitarist Denis Taaffe I have used it and dumped it! It is definitely not aimed at the pro market like Strymon, Eventide etc! If to your ears it sounds good, then use it. But it just sounds like Line 6 to me!
I was literally blown when you pulled the power and still be able to play through it.
EJ Celis my M13 does the same thing.
They are truly true bypass!
I bought this pedal because of your review, and every single thing you said about it is true. Dead true, just a great pedal.
I was fortunate enough to be a beta tester for the M5. There are five things I think make it a great deal. First, it packs pretty much everything from the earlier modeller pedals (DM-4, MM-4, etc.) into one box, plus a number of additional effects and features that the older modeller series doesn't have. Second, you can save 20 presets, which the modeller series doesn't do. Third, it's a whole lot lighter than the modellers. Fourth, the stereo capabilities were undersold. Yeah, I know you probably don't run a stereo rig, but you can use the second channel to *re-process* the sound. That is, you run the signal through the same effect twice for a different flavor. This won't be hospitable to every single effect (I do not want to hear a refuzzed fuzz, or a double ring modulator), but some of the filter, modulation and ambient effects sound really interesting when you take the output of one channel and feed it into the other. Finally, there are a whole lot of effects that many players would be reluctant to spend good money on if they were only going to use them once in a while. Octave dividers and ring modulators are great examples of that. So think of the M5 as whatever your favorite sort of pedal/effect is, and them consider that, for the same money, they threw in 127 other effects for free.
I don't see why allota guitarists cry bout thier amps and stuff being too heavy ,,,I don't care bout weight bro ,,,but all the other 4 reasons that u said bout the line 6 are enough reason for me to get one ,,,thanks bro
@@ampcruz2540 Thanks.
One seldom mentioned feature of this pedal is the midi in out connection. No pedal that I am aware of on the market has this feature at this price point. I've used it extensively with my Roland Gr-55 for automatic MIDI preset selection.Amazing....
This is a brilliant, short and sweet review, you've convinced me to finally buy one of these to add to my pedalboard, thanks!
I love how it's cut off at the most intriguing part of the review. xD
I'm buying the M5 today, it has stolen my heart for all the reasons you mentioned.
One note: The delay, reverb effects are also able to naturally decay when the effect is switched off, so the echos are not just cut off. This feature is also switchable. Incredible feature packed box! Would be ultimate pedal if we were able to combine 3+ Effects simultaneously, but then again, you could always buy another 2 M5 pedals, because they are cheaper than regular Boss pedals xD.
Love having this pedal on my board as a "wild card". You wanna mix things up throw one of those models in and... bam instant gratification.
THANK YOU AND GOD'S BLESSINGS.
Glad you highly recommend the M5, if you need a nice individual effect it’s there, it’s got them all and all sound pretty spot on, easily editable, just picked one up for £36 in the UK, so what I can only use 1 effect at a time, for £36 it’s well worth the amount of FX types this little baby brings, well made, rugged, easy user friendly interface, you could by individual budget pedals for £20-25 each, for the extra £10-15 you got every type of effect you should need, brilliant buy at £36
If this pedal could stack even ONE more effect it would be worth its weight in gold!
"in the beginning"... brilliant!
I got to say I bought these pedals because of Phillip McKnight. Thanks for the review Phillip! :)
i'm sure it'll hold 24 presets, not 12 as stated.
i use this with a midi controller - it allows easy access to all 24 presets, everything 1 click away.
i have this and a separate delay on my board to cover all my delay/modulation needs. it's great for a compact set up, using it with a midi switcher increased it's usability loads.
The M9 is even better. To this day, it lives on the boards of many session players because it sounds great and does so much. Tom Bukovac is big fan and said heard a great tone another session player dialed up and was in disbelief when he was told it was an M9. He went on to say that the m9 could be heard in most popular songs recorded from mid 2000’s up through today, and it’s used on basically every song he recorded after discovering the wonders of the m9. Tom laid down guitar for big names like Tim McGraw, Tony Keith, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flats, Faith Hill, Craig Morgan, Vince Gill, Reba, Taylor Swift, Big & Rich, Darius Rucker, Sheryl Crow…and way more. You get the point. The M9 is literally a part of countless records.
so few reviewers say anything negative about any product it makes you wonder.
i'd say this is an informed and unbiased review.
me getty this pedal.
Great, but it's a bummer you can't stack at least a couple effects. A little reverb sounds good behind just about everything I play.
Purple seems to be the Sid and Marty Kofft settings.
still am thrilled with the m5, its holds its own with eventide pedals and quality is great, my small amps dont have effects loop so straight into amps,but allows to use distortions etc...then into a timefactor delay,fantastic sounds and for the price compared to h9 wow. only24midi presets though so must be choosy or buy 2 to get 48 choices lol and true bypass wow!!!
On my third one. Just bought another as a swiss army knife. Not bothered that the effects are "old" at this stage. It will be used alongside standalone pedals and used sparingly.
I have mine hooked up to my Boss ES-8 switching system and I can move it anywhere in the chain that I want. Pretty cool unit and it sounds great.
Hey nice video Phillip! This is Elick, i don't know if you remember me, but i took lessons with matt about 3 years ago. I just bought this pedal and I'm loving it!
Hey how it going? Glad you like it. It is one of the best pedals out there. I will Matt know I talked to you.
I just bought this pedal myself. It's the first pedal I have ever bought. I was going to start with an overdrive pedal but I figure that since this pedal has so many functions and is so reasonably priced I would start with this one. I will eventually get a proper overdrive pedal etc but this will do for now.
I dont't like it's overdrives, but the heavier distortions are ok. This pedal is the hearth of my pedalboard, I use it as a tuner and it has a always on noise gate (hold tap+select, page2) plus the reverbs and delays are very good. I have it between the drive and modulation pedals, so I can use the noise gate to gate the overdrive, and use it as a dynamic or modulation.
If I had to start a pedalboard from scratch it would be the first pedal I would buy.
@@paulodpereira I have the M9, I just tried to emulate my Tube Screamer and my Big Muff. The M9 did just fine with the tones, even offering in some cases more settings than for example the 3 knobs from the Big Muff.
Phillip important question. You said the m5 has a whammy effect. Will it do a decent job of the solo from 'like a stone,' by audioslave?
I agree that the M5 is an awesome value. I love mine, the delays, modulation fx and compression are first rate. Have not bought the expression pedal, so can't comment on Whammy or Wah sims. The OD/distortion models are a bit lame, IMHO. A linear PS (like Voodoo) is the way to go, It's not just about having high current. Linear PS has less noise and causes less nasty digital 'hash' than switching PS, like the factory version. You'd not hear this on a youtube vid, but if you try you will will like. The linear PS is worth every penny. (choose your brand, I'm not schilling for Voodoo) One nit to pick w/ Phillip is on 'true bypass'. This is not some sort of holy grail for making a pedal good. You actually need a buffer somewhere in you signal chain. Too many true bypass boxes plus cables means lot's of capacitance which means high end roll off.A buffered pedal will fix. Not trying to be a jerk. Great channel.
I just got one a couple days ago and I totally agree for 129 bucks it has some many different pedal and effects that sound great you cant go wrong with this stompbox, I had been picking up used pedals from GC online for good prices but this M5 blows away how much it would cost me to keep getting single pedals. My next buy is the expression pedal their only 49 bucks it's unreal what you get for under $200. This is for sure the best pedal buy I've made when your on a budget. UPDATE The EX1 expression pedal came in and for 49 bucks I get all the wahs, volume adjustment, just to name 2 things the EX1 will do with the M5, it's endless when using both together. oh the voice box with the EX1 is cool too one of my favorites, I also compared the weeper to my hendrix cry baby and its Identical in sound and the EX1 has more range in the pedal than the real cry baby and I tested the M5 against my hendrix mini fuzz face Identical, line 6 did an awesome job of making the different pedals sound like the real pedals! for a fraction of the cost of what all the pedals would cost by them self's
This box looks and sounds great and I was really interested until the moment you said you can't stack the pedals!! Can't begin to see that as a good idea!
Geoff Tate I think you can get a separate midi controller and possibly stack it then... There's a video of one, but the guy doesn't really show himself using it, just pressing buttons. I'm currently searching for that option...
man, I had one of these where you could stack sounds called the m13,I ended up with a goup of effect sounds and sounded like crap.you got to believe this m5 is perfect really as it is.one sound,but a quality sound.you then start to realize you have been ruining your sound with tons of effects. I urge you to try one out for real.
I have one. Gonna get a second one. That will cover delay AND (fill in the blank) or reverb and (fill in the blank). Not counting on this for overdrive though. It's "meh".
Planning on getting a Boss OD 200 and a Strymon Riverside, all through my Boss ES-5. Other than OD, these two M5's will be much of my rig.
cool review, stuff most don't talk about. thank you, I learned something. Also is it possible to chain these together if you buy more than two?
When a pedal is unplugged and still sending signal it doesnt automatic mean it is true bypass
Really good!
It's got good reverb delay.but carnt say much for the distortion
This pedal is a steal for the money. I like it but I hate the controls. Its difficult to use live and change preset. It should have a third button to navigate through presets.
Great review Phillip, although I disagree that the H9 is not the better choice I do agree from a price point the Line 6 m5 cost almost 70% less therefore making it a better choice for most players. Based on your review and what I read I am buying this pedal mostly for reverb and midi capabilities since I have the timeline and mobius covering the modulations and delays. Thanks again great review.
The M5 may be the H9 killer in terms of price and ease of use.
Great pedal however The only thing I dont see as true, is the power supply thing, I have tried multiple power sources with mine and none work except the one it came with.
ive used a cheap caline power supply as well as a strymon one
both worked just fine
i still use this pedal with the caline power supply, so it sounds like you have a faulty unit?
I like this so much I have two, one into front of amp for filter fx and the other into fx loop for time/modulation. I love that L6 made a pedal that is fx only and not amp sims.
The time/mod fx are superb. The wah is decent, the whammy is spot on.
I don't care for most of the OD/distortion models. (they sound like digital sims to me) The one called 'tube drive' is not awful though. The compressor models are great, but I have a Boss compressor so don't use. I love that it has a built in tuner.
If I have one complaint, it is that this pedal is huge and the display is tiny. Use some of that real estate for something I can see. And maybe some larger knobs on the controls? But otherwise, this thing is a killer deal for $150.
Hi, can you demonstrate lead sound for Van Halen works?
Hey there, like your videos. I was looking to get the HX effects now but i dont want my tone colored at all when the unit is off/bypassed, so i was thinking of the M5. Now i know the quality of effects isn't comparable to stuff like Strymon pedals or Eventide but my question to you is, what do you think about the M5 today, since years have passed and other stuff came out, its durability, quality of sounds, switch knobs resistance, ease of use, etc.. Im looking to put one in the efx loop for stuff like EQ, Flanger, Phaser to minimize pedals on board and maybe on in front of the amp for wahs, volume, talk box effect, again, to avoid hauling heavy and big pedals to a gig or jam. Thanks.
Great review. Would be great if it had a looper in it.
I have 1 and still using in a gig.
I love the look on your face at 5:23 lol
Wish it did 3 at once, like MOD Delay and Reverb.
Great review man good job
Can you demo this pedal with the MIDI clock and midi Sync features
Can you do a video explaining your stance on single-effect pedals vs. multi-effect processor pedals. It seems taboo for guitar players to use a multi-effect pedals like the Fender Mustang Floor, but why? Is it a noticeable difference between an analog pedal and a digital effects processor pedal? Also, wouldn't you think that most modern single pedals really just use the same circuit board and chip technology that a multi-effects system uses? I agree it looks cooler to have a pedal board over a multi-effects board, but the multi-effects board seems like it can do everything all in one at one set price. I am just really curious about your stance as you are by far the sharpest guitar historian I have learned from.
Some single effect pedals are analogue and most multi effect ones are digital.. there a a few old multi effects that are basicly 4-5 pedals in one board but all still analogue (ex. boss BE-5). So for most its about analogue sound that cannot be copied to its 100% full extent in digital. If you think that matters or not or you can even hear it or not is up to you. If it sound good to you it IS good to you. There are digital single effects out there too and some really great and expensive ones. But in the end its really all up to your ears and taste. .. And remember most studio effects that are used now a days when mixing and adding stuff to tracks in the mixing phase are software. .. But i have tried some truely shitty multi effect pedals i hated .. like the M5.. But some i also think are great!
Everyone says all the drive sounds suck but that isn't true - the Coloursound Overdriver isn't all that far from the real thing. It boosts a Muff very nicely. The Tube Screamer is fine.
But the winners are the delays, verbs, and mods.
Hello, hoping you can help me understand the unit a bit better. When I put the unit in user mode and scroll up and down it seems as though something is lost in the sound. When you adjust the EQ and then put it in user mode or save mode it loses some sound, volume . Unless this use this unit one effect at a time
I own an M5,
I use the reverse delay, the “auto volume echo” setting,the rotary,the tremolo.. but I didn’t know about the Whammy thing, what is the Whammy pedal model called? Thanks, thumbs up and subbed
Its the pitch effect
TY!
When in doubt Phil will sort ya out. Just bought a cheapy M5 of classified and wiped half the nonsense on my board.
great video n' great pedal. but got a doubt ...are there Subdivisions no the delay section ?? I mean Delay Dotted Eighth , Quarter Note , triplet etc.. I'll appreciate someone reply me. t-you =)
nice review man, question... this pedal has a noise gate that can be activated on each preset, if the currrent effect is bypassed (off) the noise gate will still work?
Hi Philipp, nice review.
You said that this M5 is different from the M9 and M13. Apart of the obvious reasons, like size, number of effects you can use together, ect, in what aspects those pedals differ?
I guess just because they were made with the same software, it just the same. I am not sure if has the same connections (MIDI, number of exp pedals jacks, etc), but everything else is the same.
When he said that, he was talking about the power supply. I'm assuming that the M9 and M13 have different power requirements.
This pedal is true bupass but not true analog thru, with means that even in true bypass when you engage any effect even a reverb the buffer inside is engaged, wich means that when the pedal is engaged the sound is colored by the buffer inside
oh you mean when you turn the effect on, yes,but when off it colors nothing,but isnt that the point of an effect?
True bypass only matters when the pedal is off ffs...
Hi Phillip, I know this is an old video, but bought one of these after seeing your video and a few others. Do you notice your tone gets thicker when the pedal is in your chain? Not a bad thing, but when I power the unit, the tone of my single coils seems to thicken a bit. Thanks.
After 3 years do you still like this pedal? I am interested in getting one but I am sure there are pedals that compete with it since it is older now. Cheap enough to just buy and add to the collection I guess.
I just bought my 2nd M5. I had two H9s but I think for what they are, the M5 is a killer pedal that tons of usable tones. It may be the H9 killer.
I have the mp3 I just use it for mods, reverb,and delays, and delays, I was so apprehensive,but I was so blown away .so users it and was totally blown away, but will say my drives r separate, but that’s just me...buy the pedal it totally make ur gig time easier ....
Yes, true bypass! great demo of that.
1:40 just so people know this is a mischaracterisation of true bypass. If its a purely mechanical true bypass switch then yeah they can operate when you pull the power. If its relay true bypass then the coils need to be enegized to revert back to bypass which needs power. THIS DOES NOT MEAN ITS NOT TRUE BYPASS! true bypass as per the name suggests means that the fx circuit is totally unconnected from the signal line when off. Just because it requires a pulse across a coil to move the contacts in the relay doesnt mean its not true bypass, because once the relay is flipped to bypass, it is still totally isolated from the effect in and out. In fact, this means it uses a soft touch switch to flip the relat to bypass, and this lasts a hell of a lot longer than wearable 3pdt footswitches seen in ehx etc. If you want unnaffected tone then relay or mechanical true bypass will both achieve this. relay might not revert back to bypass if powers pulled but the switch lasts much longer, so there are the pros and cons.
Jack Bradley - I have never encountered a relay that DOESN’T revert to its original state once the voltage is removed from the coils. You either have the A contacts with the coil not energised or the B contacts with the coil energised - if the power to the pedal is lost, the relay would revert (due to an internal spring) to the A contacts.
@@duncanmcneill7088 I might be wrong but I believe something like this would not revert
www.geofex.com/FX_images/ltchrly.gif
But yeah, the above is usually not common in most pedals.
also mention if using midi you get 24 presets that can be recalled ,I use 2 to get 48 midi recallable presets, note:m9 you still only get 24 midi presets
Hi, Philip...Does the Pedal Still hold the Quality after 8 years? :)
If I run this in line with my other pedals, can I use it as a noise gate!
hi mr Philip. thanks for this video.
i am watching this unit but i have no see any videos of people creating an effects chain. is this possible? or one fx each time?
for example can i create a preset of distortion + reverb + delay + compressor + eq in any particular order? os this possible' or how it works' thank you for your help : )
No
good review ! i just did a video on can u get a good recording with a Line 6 amp this pedal your reviewing would really help !
how many presets? ok, 12, are they easy to scroll through?
Hi, anyone could give me a list of the note values provided for delay times when tap tempo is enabled?
Also the delay time goes from 2000ms to how many ms? 1ms? 0ms?
Thanks!
can i daisy chain this together with my other analog pedals? i basically just wanna use this for the modulation effects delay and reverb.. will i get noise issues since it has 400 miliamp draw? my power supply has 2k miliamps but isn't isolated @_@ really wanna order this unit online but scared that ill run into noise issues
What kind of expression pedal do you use with this for Whammy stuff?
Hi. Do you does that M5 MUTE when tuning? I'm considering this or the M9. Thanks
my m5 just shot crabs on me. i read where this a common problem. the screen goes blank an that's it. are you aware of this problem. if so, what is your take on this pedal being dependable.
hey zoom 70cdr can let you play multiple pedals at once yet this is limited to one at a time. but sonically how they stack up against each other?? anyone??
Alexander I own both, I love both. Autosave is good on both, both have good sounds. The M5 has easier tap tempo, midi, true bypass, per preset noise gate, expression input. I prefer the octo on the line 6. I can't pick one over the other though.
Alan Angel i own both too, zoom requires more virtual tweaking in the menus which is not always ideal. Its nice having real knobs for direct access to settings on the M5. If i had to choose between them id go for simplicity, M5. But not stacking effects could be a deal breaker for some. Depends on yr requirements i guess
I have the Zoom MC70cdr. It sounds good, but it's a bit fiddly. You have to do a lot of navigating around to tweak things, which become annoying. The Line 6 pedals seem faster and simpler to work with. The Zoom is a good unit, though. Lots of FX and you can stack them and even configure it so you can switch individual FX on and off, or switch between two stacks. I just don't have the patience to tweak it.
Bob does Trey Anastasio’s rig and Trey uses two of them.
I was learning and growing as a Guitarist in the 80's so with not a lot or actually no extra money for effects we just cranked it up scooped it some and if it had reverb we were thrilled . Music as the 80's progressed used more and more effect's . I now have but rarely use a Phaser , Flanger and OD the OD is an Original Ibanez Tube Screamer still works like a brand new one . Got it in a Pawn shop for $20 bucks in 86 - 87 . It sounds better the the new re-issues that I have compared . Gives that George Lynch OD tone when I get ready to shred .
Nice rievew.but my question is, do you used this pedal for any gigs.?
Greetings from indonesia sir.:)
Yes, it is a tough pedal cold rolled steal casing. Metal switch, and a metal guard to protect the plastic knobs. I have almost a dozen friends using this pedal on gigs and a couple use it on their weekly gig two nights every week four hours a night. Here is the tone. My buddy Jimmy is playing the PRS and using that pedal plus a line 6 M9 pedal. ua-cam.com/video/UV7pp-uzSDU/v-deo.html
to bad you can't stack the pedals..it's a multi fx pedal should be too..like distortion with reverb and delay with the noise gate
Phillip do you still recommend this pedal? or have you seen anything new the last 2 years?
I do, Eventide sent me a H9 to check out. For my needs I still prefer the M5.
Phillip McKnight awesome, thanks for the reply
Phil - Do you still own this? If not, why?
I hear that , its only ONE effect at a time! .. is that true ?!
Yeah, I have one. I think that's the downfall. I'd love to use three or four sounds at once while playing with my band.The tuner is ok but not great. It's a great peddle for recording that's for sure.The cyborg sounds are badass, haha.
Is it ok to run the distortion on the M5 in the FX loop along with all the other effects? thanks.
Nah, distortion will sound horrible in an FX loop.
i just bought one a month ago.Does anyone know how this turns off? i pull the plug to power it off.
Johnny Linn there's an on off rocker switch on the back
This or Zoom MS-50G?
5:30 hilarious!
Can you please tell me if the reference pitch on the tuner can go to 432hz?
I do not believe so.
Yes, you get to save a dozen or so presets that you can call up. The only down side is only one effect at a time.
yes it does tune @ 432hz
Where do you put this in your pedal chain?
+PHX rocketry Anywhere you want it should work fine depending on what effect you are using in it.
+PHX rocketry If you're using any of the time based effects (delay, reverb, modulation) then you will want to likely put it after your distortion pedal. Alternatively if you are using your amps drive channel, then you will want to put those time based effects through the effects loop of your amp. This all depends on the desired effect you want though. Some people like the distorted/muddy/trippy sounding time based effects placed before your distortion/in the front of your drive channel. That is where a pedal like this becomes challenging because it also has distortion effects which you would place in front of other time based effects and in the front end of your amp.
put it first then into delay or reverb..sweet...straight into amp. f/x loop is only good for delay/reverb bt you lose out on all its other sounds really.
Itd be awesome if u could stack it
Can i run it through the front of my amp? I don’t have an effects loop
Roberto Aldrete yes, mine is in front, sounds incredible.. best reverse delay available at any price..
is that a heartfield??
nice argument for buying this thing.
Bro is that a 1527 at the back? the one with the pickguard. :)
Yes, I like 3 way toggle switches, so I made a pick guard and changed it to a 3 way switch.
What is the preset used at 5:20
Just wondering, where would you guys put this pedal in the chain?
Depends on what you use it for, I use mine for delays and modulation so I put mine in the effects loop of my amp
Use mine as a stereo tremolo at the end before the looper. Nothing like chopping a reverb and delay. Simply awesome
But you can only use 1 effect at a time. Can’t even stack 2 effects like flanger and reverb am I right?
thats the problem, if you want to use a compressor at a certain song and a reverb on other you are kinda fucked, because these 2 effects normally are on different parts of the signal chain
mathrotondano nope not a problem at all. I bought two of these pedals already. Used both in my effects loop for reverb and delay. Loved it!
Where's the pedal made
China
Why dont this have a headphone jack?
Timanator what I do is use my amp for a speaker, which I can plug headphones into. You can use pretty much anything you can plug headphones into.
How can all those weird filters be useful? 😄
$old. Line6 sells no junk. No lies either.
studio use yes, live use no.
Not 12 but 24 presets
Digitech also screwed over people that bought their loopers - computer connect doesn't work, no updates anymore, and the updates they had, actually made some functions not work anymore. Old ones not available. Unreal.
2024
Digitech a lier jajajaaj
Hmmm...can't stack the effects. Not particularly useful.
U can with M13! Nice screen Name btw lol!
for $129 and it becomes any pedal you want? It's pretty useful.. you could buy 3 for a little over 300 and the sky would be the limit.
I had an m13 and was using so many effects that the guitar sound got lost,the m5 keeps it clean and simple,you should not need much more than an m5, maybe a delay or reverb,the m13 was just too easy to do overkill on effects and I never did think the m13 was as clean sounding...I found that using fx's sparingly is one of the keys to great guitar sounds.
But if you're like most pros, you'll already have drives, delays, verbs, compressor already on your board. Look at the m5 like a swiss army knife. With 24 bankable presets, I can reach a quality phaser or octave quickly. There's a reason they sell a ton of these units.
You would need 4 or 5 of these pedals together to make them usable! On their own and for the money they sound a good entry level beginers pedal but you are raving about them like they are pro products. Most sounds fall into the unusable bin!
They make a version were you can run 3, and another that will run 4. As for the pro sound everyone's ear is different. But this pedal kinda falls into the I pod verse CD debate. Do you want it to sound good or do you want to have every song at you finger tips. Axe FX makes a version of this, that would be the one to check out. It comes with a lot more features, but it's in the $2400 range. I might get one of those and do a review on it.
you obviously have not tried the m5, it is absolutely a pro sounding pedal which is why its amazing and if you really need 4 or 5 of them to make a useable sound you need to reevaluate your use of effects in the first place.and yes it has some wierd effect filters as well but sound quality is excellent.definitely pro gear,not a toy
Guitarist Denis Taaffe
I have used it and dumped it! It is definitely not aimed at the pro market like Strymon, Eventide etc! If to your ears it sounds good, then use it. But it just sounds like Line 6 to me!
well to each his own, i cant force you to like it lol,but I think its a great pedal and complements an eventide perfectly
Sounds awful