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Often these effects Effects are often lumped together in a <u>multi-effects</u> (also called multi-FX or MFX) unitunits, where groups of effects and settings can be stored and recalled as ''patches''. Multi-effects often come in a floorboard format, which features several footswitches, as though it were multiple stomps in one unit. These are typically used to change patches, as well as toggle effects on and off, with many units allowing you to assign which effect each switch controls.
→Form Factors
Stomp Pedals usually offer a single effect, switched on/off by stepping on the pedal (or its primary footswitch). Many players combine numerous of these effects, daisy-chaining them together on a pedalboard. Often only 1 or 2 are engaged simultaneously, although some players will layer many at once.
To turn many on/off at once, you have to quickly press numerous switches in a row - a difficult process known in the guitar community as ''tap dancing''. To alleviate this, there are "loop" pedals that allow you to place several pedals you typically toggle on/off together in a loop that can be toggled bypassed or made part of the signal chain with one a single foot tap.
Rack gear typically offers more complex effects than stomps. While they often have an onboard display and buttons or dials to edit and create patches (or interface with a PC, tablet, or smart phone), they require an interface to external gear to switch patches or otherwise control them in a live situation. This is often done via a [[Foot Controllers|MIDI foot controller]].