ART Phat Boy

Extremely easy to use since no programming is reqd. Tones of very usable tones and sounds. Really warms up and punches up tone. Another Ebay deal, $26.50!!!!! Wall wart powered.

I was looking for a pre-amp/multieffects unit for cheap. Quality wasn't even that important. I'm using a Curbow C4 with a Songworks power amp and a ported 12" cabinet. The amp only has a volume knob and nothing else, so, I needed something to give me some adjustment range. This little sucker does that and then some. It has stereo/mono out, headphone, and a DI out. The effects are very musical and usable. I just wish it had 1 more knob to tweak the effects. The footswitches are also very useful.

I've only had it for awhile now, but, it is made very sturdy except for the 2 puch buttons.

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I'm mainly a guitar player with 30+ years experience, mostly at home, but I know gear and this is a nice piece of equipment. I've owned dozens of guitars, basses, and amps, and have built some as well. I'm keeping my out on Ebay for another bass player freind of mine it's so good. This such a cool little box, especially for $26.50!!!

It could not be any easier to use. All of the effects are preset...simply choose and play. The presets may be one of the only drawback (if you are a tone freak and HAVE to set your own). However, ART did a great job pre-programming, and unless you want to get really weird, their presets (which can be adjusted slightly with the wet/dry knob) pretty good. This came with an owners manual that was easy to follow, easy to understand, and actually had a couple of funny one-liners.

I was using a Fender Bassman 100. It sounded great through there, but have recently decided to go directly to the board and out through the PA. This sounds even better! Face it, it you can mix the entire band through the PA, you get a better sound. Remember, this thing is also a DI box, so the XLR output to the board gives a great, balanced sound. It is very quiet with no real noticeable hiss. I imagine, however, if you screwed with the EQ enough you could MAKE it hiss, but who would want to do that?
I am a beginning bass player in a gigging band that plays a lot of classic rock, some country, and originals (along the same genre). I was trying various equipment before I got this and was not pleased with anything I used. The tone from the Phat Boy is great. Now, I know I said I was a beginning bass player, but I have played rhythm guitar in working bands for 10 years and have just recently made the switch so we could have a reliable bass player. So, I am not a complete novice when it comes to judging tone.
The flange and chorus on this are pretty good. However, I haven't found a use for them yet. The reverb and reverb combo effects are great, and I usually leave it set on one of these... along with the nice compressor it has. I would give it a 9.5 (I don't believe any tone is completely perfect), but since there are no halves on this rating scale, I will be conservative and give it a 9.

I haven't had it very long, but the thing is made of metal and seems to be really sturdy. So far, so good.

Haven't had to use it yet, but since it is a discontinued model, I do wonder...

I have to give this thing a 10! Now remember, I bought this thing off of E-bay. It WAS, however, new... let me explain. I bought it from a music store that was cleaning out its warehouse of past items that did not sell for one reason or another. This had been pulled out of the box for an in-store demo., but that was it. I imagine it did not sell because the original list was $299.99 (even though I feel it is worth it, too much for my lowly budget...hehehe...).
Even though they are not made any more check the auction sites like E-bay, Yahoo!, and others. If you can find one, new OR used, get it! If I knew ahead of time the sound quality (and don't forget it is a DI box!! This is one of the reasons I feel it sounds so good going through the PA. It is pure.), I would have no problem paying $175-$200 used (but only if it were in GREAT shape!).
For the price I got it for, you can't beat the value!!

Very easy to use. Has knobs for EQ, Compressor, and FX blend. You can choose the FX you want using a rotary switch with 16 different settings... mix it with the dry signal to your taste.

I know this may not be the best, but for the price I got it, it rules!

It can get some decent tones for slap bass, as well as very fat runs when the "GROWL" switch is on. Compressor or Limiter effects are not that excellent, but they do add a lot of punch. The EQ is OK - BASS/MID/TREBLE, but it would have been better if it had a graphic EQ.

As for direct recording, it does the job well! No noise, and you can hear each and every note you play... even the nuances can be heard.

I'll give it a 9 because it has very few features.

No problems at all! Built like a tank.

From a guitarist's point of view, it is great for recording and live performance. Unless you are after a signature tone or if you are very demanding in terms of dynamic response, vintage tone, etc., this is an excellent unit.

The advantage of this unit is that it has a DI out if you want to plug to a PA or a recording console.

Overall, I give it a 9 because it handles the job well for me in recording.

Very simple device, I give it a 9 instead of 10 tho 'cause to change effect types you have to bend down and turn a knob. You can however turn a couple of effects on and off with foot buttons.

Personally, being a guitarist not a bassist, I LOVE it's sound quality and would probably give it a 10. But if you're a real bassist I'm sure there's other (more expensive, fancier) equipment you like the sound of better. For me this thing is all I need; it's great as a direct box into the mixer out the PA and into tape.

Bought 1 new and 2 used and all work great, never a problem at all. Sturdy metal chassis but 2 of the 4 buttons are hard plastic; they recommend you hit the plastic ones w/your hands but let's be real, everyone's gonna hit 'em with their feet. So far the 2 plastic buttons have not cracked and will probably last fine for me.

I've had great support from ART on other older stuff I've bought used (DR-X, X-15, etc.). They only charge $5 for any manual they have (Roland charges me $15 or $20 but they do provide good support also).

The price of these new was too high, I had to search high and low to get $230. But now that it's discontinued I've found 2 more for only $100 each which I think is a bargain. NOTE: before I bought this I bought the Sansamp Bass DI and folks that thing sucks! the bass di is WAY overpriced (at $159) and sound is awful! My crapped out first-edition Peavey TNT sounded better than the bass di, and the Phatboy stomps all over the bass di.

It absolutly cannot be programmed and has nothing but some knobs and four buttons. It has two versions of sixteen presets, compression/limiter, growl distortion, three band eq, and my favorite: a wet/dry knob to blend the effects.

The sound is fairly good. The noise is for the most part non-existant, but I always like hearing flanged hiss. The Flanges are really great, and I usually don't care for that. The octave pitch shift sound really weird, like a koto or something along those lines. The Growl distorion is fairly annoying, but I'm not into bass distortion. The chorus is nice and I like the reverbs. Some of the delays are a case where I wish I could mess with the settings, but the blend knob does work for some alterations for being subtle or psycho. The combos are interesting. Again nothing can be programmed, and everything is preset.

Haven't had it very long. It is made out metal.

Cannot be upgraded, but does have a three year limited warranty

Great for a plug and play bass player who needs a little more. I really like the fact that it is a preamp as well.