ART FX-1

Very easy. Because all you have to do is set up what you want. Bad news is there is no way to preset user sounds. So if you have 10 different sounds you like you have to reset the box each time. All dials are on front and all effect parameters are on top. Manual really not needed. Self explanatory.

I use this in the effects loop of a Tech 21. Minimal noise. I don't use the ART's bypass because the Tech 21 does this for me. I give the sound quality a 7. It is very usable, but nothing to write home about. Gives Reverbs, chorus, delay, tremolo, pan, pitch shift, and various combinations that include stereo with split effects.

Solid metal case. Looks fairly sturdy.

The only reason I reviewed this product is that I was able to get one delivered to me for under $70. I believe that makes this quite a value. There is no distortions or overdrive on this so I let the amp do that. I like the stereo in and outs. I like getting so many effects for so little money. It is a value to me because I like the chorus and the delay on this better than the danelectro Cool Cat and Dan echo. In summary, I find that effect pedals that include distrotion and overdrive are hard to set. I find it quite easy to get the sound I am looking for. It is not great, but it is a fantastic value that few people seem to be aware of.

Very easy to use. It's completely NON-programmable, there are simply 2 banks of 15 factory presets. For each preset, there's a "more" setting that changes the parameters slightly (for instance, on a delay/chorus setting, the "more" switch will give you a longer delay time and a wider chorus), so basically there are 60 presets. Plug in the cords, turn the knob, and you're up and running. Wet/Dry mix knob allows you to dial in the level of the effect to some degree.
The manual is like 4 pages and very briefly describes the effect parameters.

Some of the effects aren't too bad. It's not noisy at all, and it doesn't suck the tone out of your amp like some effects can, as long as you keep the wet/dry knob toward the "dry" half of its rotation. You're not going to get huge spacious effect quality out of this; too much "wet" signal and things start sounding "tinny" real fast. One of my amps has a switchable effects loop, so it was easy to compare the effected tone with the amp's dry tone. Most of the effects can sound a bit harsh, and at anything above bedroom volume you'll need to turn down the presence or high EQ a bit to warm things up. I bought this only as something to go with my practice amps (Peavey Special 212 and Express 112) so I wouldn't need to disconnect my high-end stuff from my main amp setup. Some of the effects, like the flanger, are a bit weak, but there are a few decent reverbs and choruses. There's hall, plate, gated, and reverse reverbs, delay, chorus, flange, a pitch shift (octave down or 5th up)and various combinations of those. Some of the combinations are true stereo, you'd need to use both outputs to make them work, so if you only have a mono effects loop in your amp, you lose about 5 or 6 presets.

It's made of metal, and it's only about 5x6" in size, so I'd guess it'll hold up alright. I personally wouldn't use it for a gig, but it would work OK in a pinch if I only needed to use one or two presets to warm up my sound a bit.

I've never talked to ART. Their warranty is pretty average.

For the money, it's a good little unit. It's tiny, so I can throw it into the back of the cabinet of my combo practice amps and have something for jams, etc. Most of the effects sound much better on clean amp settings than they do when you push the distortion too much.
I have some pretty nice Line6 and Rocktron stuff for my main rig, but at this price I'd buy again if anything happened to it. Definitely not something I'd use to mix down an important recording with

The ART FX-1 is a basic processor unit, with effects similar to those found on the Xtreme pedals. It is a stereo processor with dual inputs and outputs, and two effects banks with 15 effects each; a "more" button boosts the intensity of those effects for a grand total of 60. The controls are as follows: wet/dry blend knob, effect knob, input & output boost buttons (for increasing the pre- or post-effect signal), "more" button and bank selector button. The effects are listed on top of the unit, controls are in front and the AC and I/O jacks are in the back. I bought mine used w/o documentation, but other than not knowing the technical specs for the effects, everything was plainly labelled on the processor. The only drawbacks are that 1) you can't program user patches and 2) all changes must be made by hand. But of course if you didn't want to do it by hand, you'd use a pedal. This is a personal processor, so you sacrifice versatility for low cost and ease of use.

I play various Jackson Dinky models through a Peavey Express 112 Transtube. Other effects include an ART Xtreme multi-effect pedal and a BOSS DD-2 digital delay, going straight to the amp input. I originally tried putting the FX-1 in this chain, but moved it to the effects loop because of a slight hiss and minor signal degradation. I bought it so that I could free up the Xtreme for "special" effects like detune or pitch shifting, while using the FX-1 for more constant effects, namely reverb and chorus. By using the combined chorus/reverb/delay settings in the 2nd effect bank, I can get a perfect sound for either clean or distorted playing. The reverbs on the FX-1 are very good for such a basic unit, and since the other effects are similar to those on my existing ART pedal, I can mix and match between the two, even though neither is programmable. I don't have any need for the stereo effects (panner, stereo transposer, etc.), but all my effects gear is stereo, so if I ever need those effects, I have them.
The sound quality of the individual effects is hampered by the fact that you can't do much editing of duration, frequency, etc. For example, I can increase the presence of delay with the wet/dry dial and boost the amount of delay to a preset duration with the "more" button, but a can't make a gradual change or choose the exact amount of delay in milleseconds. The same applies to the tremolo effect...there is no way to adjust the repetition. However, based on my knowledge of ART products, the manual (if I had one) would give the low-down on the value of each effect. In this situation, a dedicated pedal (for instance my DD-2) is better for fine-tuning the effect.
One other item of note: you might notice a slight loss of volume with some of the combined effects on the second bank. If so, hit the input boost button. If you're running in stereo and want to bump up the signal AFTER it comes through (ie. make a flange effect more prominent than the actual note played), use the output boost.

Since this isn't a pedal, it might be inconvenient for playing live. In that case, you might be better off with the FXR rackmount model, which lists for $50 more, retail. For a small venue, or for recording purposes, I'm sure the FX-1 would hold up fine. I use it in conjunction with another ART processor, and if one died, the other could compensate using the preset combinations. As with other ART products, the FX-1 chassis is steel. The edges are rounded, so it should be able to withstand some banging around.
If you're going to be doing extensive gigging, just don't make this the first piece in line after your guitar cord...it's small and fairly light, so if you decide to start jumping around and pull your cord tight, this little unit might go airborne! I set it on top of my amp, and since it's in the effects loop (NOT between axe and amp) it's out of harm's way.

I've never talked to ART, and unfortunately, most of my gear is used and didn't get purchased directly from an ART dealer. It's all American-made and pretty sturdy, but buying used is always 50/50.

I play metal, but this is a fairly general purpose device. In addition, the variety of reverbs would lend themselves to vocal use in a pinch. The FX-1 isn't sold specifically as a guitar processor, and I've heard of people using it for keyboard and bass as well. I think it will come in handy for recording, either on my amp or in the effects loop on my Tascam. I originally planned on upgrading my Xtreme to a Plus model, but this actually works out better -- I can keep my pedal and essentially add twice as many effects to my sound, all having a similar sound quality (since they're the same make).
I don't think that most multi-effect units can match the versatility of dedicated pedals, but this does what I need. With my Xtreme handling distortion and my DD-2 covering delay for soloing, this fills out my rig nicely. I tried a Korg 411fx pedal, but it just didn't do what I needed. Still, if you're a first time buyer looking for all the neat toys and/or you need added distortion, this won't have the fun factor...it's a tool for adding that "extra something" to your sound.

The Fx-1 is a reasonbly priced personal effect processor. With 30 preset effects and a switch which boosts each of these for a total of 60 different sounds. Instructions are easy and the wet/dry control combined with the mix control of your amp (through effetcs loop)I think really lets you customize the effect you've selected. It is powered by a seperate transformer (included) which requires outlet space. It's quite easy to use and the effects are listed in the manual as well as thier boosted specifications. The two banks of 15 effects are also printed on the top of the unit for quick reference. Two small knobs on the front select the effect and the amount of wet/dry signal output.

I'm using it on my Crate GTX-100 amp as well as on my Tascam 424 4-track for recording for mixing down with reverb etc. The effects are solid however on certain effects and mix levels on the amp I seem to get a lot more hiss from the guitar amp. It works great to enhance the sound of preset voices from keyboards; pre or post recording, with reverb, chorus, and delay, etc.

So far in about a years use I haven't had one problem with it. The unit is small and strongly built with metal case. Probably don't want to be too rough with it though. I think it'll handle constant use for performing musicians, but it's not really intended for stage use. Its more of a personal use product.

Haven't needed any customer support.

I play a rather eclectic variety of music from Surf to Santana, Blues and Rock the FX-1 gives me a fairly balanced selection of guiar and keyboard voices to choose from. I'd buy it again. One drawback is that its design has the effects printed on top of the unit and the controls for wet or dry and the effect select knob are located on the very small front of the unit. The numbers on the selection knob are difficult to see without picking the whole thing up to get a better view of the numbers around the dial. I'd like it better if the effect list and control knobs were both located on the top of the unit for easy viewing and selection. But thats a minor thing really. I also play my acoustic, equipped with a Don Lace sensor through it and have had a blast getting new and unusual sounds from it. For recording I patch through my Tascam 424 4-tracks effects loop and add reverb and chorus etc. to individual tracks at mix-down. Of course, you can't change effects on the fly like a foot pedal type, but for home use and recording I think its a great little device. In fact my experience with this makes me want to try other ART products in the future. I chose it for price and types of effects and I haven't seen anything short of a rack mounted device that I like better for my purposes.