Alesis GuitarFX

Not the most straightforward guitar effects to use. Entirely because there are a LOT of features built into the unit. Mastering them takes a lot of experimentation and its wise to have the manual nearby for reference. In rating this unit, I'll give it a 2 because I can't think of any other guitar accessory that is more challenging to master. :-)

The sound quality is pretty good. However, the range of the controls is so vast that you can get it to sound shitty if you're not careful. (I think this is why a previous reviewer was shitting all over it) Case in point, I normally play through an overdrive pedal that I just crank up full bore. To get the same effect from this unit I only need to go about two-thirds throttle - going any further just adds hiss. Would I record with it? Sure, if you noodle around with it enough you can get it working fine.

No problems to date. Build quality isn't as great as those cast-aluminum pedals though.

Have had to deal with the company for any product issues. What would be nice is if they had a list of recommended presets to mimic certain guitar tones.

I play a mix of styles: surf, vintage metal, AOR, speed-picking, cowpie & boogie-blues.

It's kind of confusing to start with because each sound has sub-sounds that you can edit, but that's good because it gives you more versatility.
Editing patches is very much like a Zoom pedal for those of you familiar with that.

I use a Les Paul/Marshall 100W setup. This effect is the noisiest pedal I've ever had. (That includes the original electro-harmonix big muff) I couldn't believe how much hiss is in the effects. I makes all kinds of wierd comb filter noises (depending on the effect selected) and hiss right as you attack the strings. It's really a 70 dollar piece of shit. I expected MUCH more out of Alesis.

I haven't used it much except for farting around with the different sounds it makes because I would be embarassed to go one stage with it. But it seems to be reliable and doesn't really suck the batteries down either.

I will be checking with the company soon because my unit sucks

Good pedal for a beginner that isn't playing for money. Makes a lot of nifty sounds and has a large variety of effects for the money. Just get a good noise gate first.

Easy to Use. Laid out like a ZOOM pedal. Patches are straightforward. Manual is good.

I play an ESP F-100. That runs to an A/B Box ....A side goes to a distortion amp... B side goes to an FX Pedal board (alesis guitarFX and Zoom505 II) then on to a clean amp.

Its not too noisy. Except for distortion...but all distortions are noisy, thats why they made noise gates.

This pedal allows you to later 3 effects.... its awesome. Very usable.

I use this with a CRATE GFX1200H 120 watt Compact Head

I PLAY NEW ROCK and NU METAL like deftones, 36crazyfists, mudvayne, tool, sevendust......

I RECOMMEND THIS FOR GREAT CLEAN FX.

THIS IS THE PROB. Some settings can mess up and make this sqealing noise.... not much ..... but once in a while. It only seems to happen when i scroll backwards in the patch list.

I DO GIG WITHOUT A BACKUP.

I play NU-metal. Melody and Heaviness combined. This pedal is good for clean FX sounds.

Ive played guitar for 6 years. Ive owned Crate, ESP, Yamaha, Zoom, Dod, Digitech, Rogue, Ibanez, etc.

If it was stolen. Id get another.

I love its FX layering ability. I hate that it doesnt have an expression pedal built onto it.

I compared it to a ZOOM pedal. It is better except for the tuner. Its tunner sucks.......zooms got it beat there.

What I did was download the user manual from the Alesis site a while before I actually purchased the unit, so I knew the ins and outs of the unit reasonably well when I got my hands on it. If you are interested in the unit (as you probably are since you're reading reviews about it) I'd recommend downloading the manual from the site here - http://www.alesis.com/downloads/manuals/index.html - For a list of features go here -http://www.alesis.com/products/guitarfx/index.html

I think that this unit has the simplest user interface of any multi-effect unit in it's price range. Two knobs do it all. Even so, this unit does quite a lot so reading the manual is essential. One knob moves through the effects, the other adjusts value, master volume and stores your settings. Only complaint here is that I would have liked the patch level closer to the dist level since turning up the gain also increases the volume (so as to balance the two without having to turn all the way right to get to patch level and then left again to gain), but this is a minor niggle. The unit's 80 patch locations come loaded with a selection of preset sounds for different styles etc. which you can easily edit to create your own sounds. I've not paid that much attention to them since I started creating my own patches almost straight away. I did give them a quick glance though and it's a decent selection spanning from clean sounds to r&b to hi-gain, vintage and just plain weird. You can download the preset program chart from the alesis downloads page. My unit didn't include this sheet. (don't know why, maybe it doesn't ship with the preset sheet included) The preset chart helped me understand what they were going for with the different presets. The included manual is well written and clear.

Keeping in mind that multi-effect pedals are more complicated than regular stompboxes one should really keep the manual handy (I still refer to it sometimes) to check on certain settings etc. especially with regards to the two digit led display. But for a multi-effect, this is pretty easy to use. I've had it for just over 2 months now.

Sound quality is a very subjective term really. One guy might think something sounds great and another guy might think it sounds like crap. Anyway, I don't have any real complaints about this unit soundwise. I think it sounds good. Only playing round the bedroom with it but have turned it up loud a couple a times.

The overdrive/amp model/distortion section has a decent variety of sounds from slightly crunchy to high gain. Backing off on the guitar's volume knob actually cleans things up a little and turning it up dirties a patch a little more. Very nice. I especially like the three amp models (roughly a fender, marshall and mesa boogie) and the overdrive, lead and blues settings. The blues setting is very crunchy. The tube clean(fender) goes from very clean to "darkish" overdrive , the marshall and boogie models sound somewhat alike though the marshall is a little more open and "angular" sounding while the boogie setting is punchier and angrier. Slight breakup to full on gain, it's your choice. Though if you play super-heavy-death-metal-whatever then an extra distortion padel would probably come in handy. As for me it's got more than enough gain available. AC/DC like crunch and Gary Moore blues-on- steriods like wail is the hardest I'll push this unit in this department.

The EQ is limited but useful, compressor is subtle, noise reduction I don't really mess with. Cabinet modelling is nice and useful for going into a PA and for direct recording or even into an amp (I play through a very clean solid state amp and the cab sims are useful in further shaping the sound toghether with the EQ as all three sims sound a little different from each other, though I suspect this works the best through fairly neutral sounding amps). Adds the sound of a
speaker cabinet and adds a little punch as well. The 2x12 sounds a little darker, the 1x12 is my favorite clearer with good trebles and bass, and a 4x10 which is more trebly and open sounding to my ears anyway. Don't know how close this is to the cabs they model and I don't really care.

The modulation and delay, reverb effects all sound good te me (with exception of ring mod, pitch shift etc. which I don't like and don't use) You can combine modulation effects with eachother and with delay/reverb. You can change the way the effects are chained toghether with the "routing" function. This way you can have your modulations etc. placed before or after your distortion section. Routing your effects after the distortion causes the effect sound to dominate the overall sound more and vice versa. Not mindblowingly different tones but useful to have. Very importantly though, when using the Wah effect, you should route it so that the wah is placed before the distortion, otherwise it just sucks. The wah by the way sounds pretty neat though it struggles a bit to pick up on my high E string especially further down the neck(but I currently have a set of 09-45 on ) thicker strings may not have this problem. Each effect has two adjustable settings (usually something like effect level/depth and speed/rate) For delay it's feedback and delay time and for reverb depth and decay. Also most effects has a pedal setting where you can control the effect with the use of and expression pedal (which you can plug into the unit) This goes for volume, wah and gain as well.

Haven't had it long enough, only a little over two months. No problems with it yet though. Only time will tell.

Haven't had to deal with the company yet. They have a decent website with manuals, info, contacts details etc. Anyway I'll just deal with the dealer I bought it from if something goes wrong.

I like the music of Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Dave Gilmour and Pink Floyd, Chris Isaak, Gary Moore, Tom Petty, Chris Rea, Eric Clapton. No heavy metal and stuff really, maybe a little Savatage now and then so the tones I'm going for fall into rock&roll and blues mostly. This unit gets me where I want to go. If this was stolen I'd get this again , although Alesis have now come out with an amp built around this unit, the SpitFire, so I'll probably go for that. (Check it out - it looks really spiffy) I love multi-effect units as it's great having it all on the pedal right in front of you, and being able to save an recall sounds whenever you want to. I think Alesis did a good job on this unit. As for competition in this price range, I think the GuitarFX has both the Digitech Rp 50 and the Zoom 505II beat.

Well, it's quite easy. Let your eyes fly through the manual if you're not sure about how to do things, but I got a hang of it after 2-3 days of experimenting. The push-turn functions of the knobs are a little bit confusing at first.

I'm using several Guitars with it ...Squier Strat, Ibanez RG, Ibanez Destroyer and an Isonez Les Paul copy into a FenderX15 Amp.

Well if you think you'll get this,an amp and a guitar you're all set, you are wrong ! It's nice to play with it ESPECIALLY WITH HEADPHONES but for the real thing the quality is just too sucky. If you use it with an amp you'll never be satisfied with it. Ok it didn't cost much but you have to know this. Especially the distortions are horrible.
But once again : For a beginner who wants to use it with headphones and wants to learn about all those different effects (to figure out which ones he might need in the future) it's o.k. !

Nah, it's not a boss-tank or anything. It's for home-practise, nothing else.

never dealt with them. Would they tell me about a hidden knob that boosts up the quality of the effects? :-)

I play mostly metal. But that wasn't the reason I bought this. I wanted to gain flexibility. But this thing...well..can't give it to me. (except with headphones and without distortion)

Fool's proof, thank God. Like any manual, its user guide doesn'say it all. Prepare to spend a few minutes playing with it...

Well, anyway, it's bang for the buck, or "What were you waiting for$$$?"

No, I'd rather not carry it with me. Anyway, I sold it!

I play from Blues/Rock guitar to Matal, 80's style. I own a Roland cube 30 and a Musicyo Spirit GU-7R Custom. As I mentioned, already sold the little thing. It's for begginers... I mean, I'm beggining in electric tough played classical acoustic for 15 years, but I don't like the sound of that little blue box... Well, 70 bucks... Shoul have tried the RP-50, I think.

It is really easy to get a good sound out of it - just plug your lea in and play!
You can edit all effects.
The only problem is it can ny a bit tricky understanding the guide hence my rating.

I run my Guitar (ARIA PRO II MAC 60) through this and a CARLSBRO GLX 30 amp. When your not playing you can't hear any noise at all.
The effects always sound great. It is easy to get sounds of favourite artists - BLINK 182, etc.

This always works, unless I get the leads in the wrong sockets - In or OUT - I always get it wrong with anything!

I play all styles of music - rock/heavy metal, jazz, classical etc and I havent yet found a style that this product can't help me with.
I compared it with a Zoom pedal which is the same price, but on looks yet alone the sound I chose this one.
If ever I need insperation for music I try a different effect - works every time!

The Guitar FX might be a good entry level effect processor.
Has some decent effects, with tweaking you can get some nice sounds.
The only patch editing that I know of is that, you have juggle the built in settings around and save them in memory.
It comes with an OK manual, don't lose it as you might need it down the road!

I am using an early 80's style Black Fender Strat with an old Fender Princeton Tube Amp(They sound very sweet together!)or just headphones.
Just using the Guitar FX as a stand alone can make for some interesting effects.
The unit can be noisy at times on some settings, but usually adjusting of some of the parameters will help.
You can probably emulate most styles of playing with the unit.
Some of the effects sound muddy and are unusable. They are probably there as a basic setting that you can modify to suit your needs.

Well, now for the bad news!
The Guitar FX cannot be depended on and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The knobs are just to fragile. Be very careful when using the foot switches, STAY AWAY FROM THOSE KNOBS!
The controller knobs/switches are just too flimsy to hold up through heavy use. (Maybe the makers have hopefully improved this!)
Don't ever use this unit without some kind of backup!
My unit failed just after a little more than a months usage.
I bought my unit when the first hit the streets, the price was right.
It wasn't being gigged or being transported, just used around the house.
I am an electronic tech by profession and cracked the case to have a look and verified that the knobs had failed and I was shocked at the types of knob/switches that were used in production. They are very fragile and can be easily damaged without much effort. These types of knobs should have never been used on an footswitch type effects processor.
It does still function on the presets, but all effect modification does not function.
I use it on occasions, but not much.

My experience with the company was a game of letter tag & email tag.
It took a while to get an authorization number.
After looking at the cheap price of the unit and the time and trouble to get an OK to ship the unit. It just wasn't worth the effort for the money it cost.
I just tossed it into a box with my other junk.

It was a good unit when it worked, but just didn't hold up even through light usage.
If it was stolen or lost, I would not buy a replacement model.
I will go the digitech route the next time.
I've got an original old Tom Sholz Rockman and it has always seen me through many years of playing. So the Guitar FX failure wasn't too traumatic.
Overall the Alesis Guitar FX was nice when it lasted, but it didn't last too long!
I have been playing for around 25 years, just as a hobby. Nice to kick back alone or with friends and to do the old living room or garage jam session.
The guy who taught me my first nice chops was Mike D. He was fortunate to have played with Billy Cox in Florida. Billy Cox was the 2nd Bass player that played with Jimi Hendrix a lot. Old Army buddies, I heard.
Mike D. can shread like no one I've ever heard!
I have a long way to go to get anywhere close to that!
But he was an inspiration and I will always keep playing and learning.
Thanks Mike & Thanks Ray!(Another Friend from Florida who plays with The Danny Morris Band)
You both have inspired me so much over the years with my playing!

It only has a two-digit display, bank letters A-G on the first digit, then patches in the bank 0-9. Lots of room for your own sounds, which is good, for reasons you'll read later. You won't be able to program it without the manual nearby for the first couple of hours, until you get used to the weird codes for the various effects.

1988 Fender Heavy Metal Strat into this thing, then DI to the mixing board and into my DAW.

The distortions suck, period. My RP300 stomps all over the distortions on this unit. Pitch bend sucks as well. Noisy is right, the noise reduction circuitry can't handle high gain on any of the distortion models - it hisses like a leaky balloon!

THAT said, where it does seem to work well is on effecting without distortion. I can get a nice, quacky echo/reverb sound out of it, the chorus and flangers sound different than my RP300, and I can't complain about the quality of the NON-DISTORTION effects. I ended up using this pedal as the "clean channel" feeding into my mixing board.

It's plastic but it's pretty solid. I'd never *depend* on it for a live gig, but in my home studio it's just fine. The knobs don't wiggle and the pedals don't wobble, it appears to be constructed decently enough.

Never dealt with Alesis support, so I can't say anything here.

I play trance/rock, jazz/rock, what I call thrash-space-metal (lol) and generally gothy/darkambientrock (I do defy categorization, honestly!). This box is a cheapie, no doubt, but for getting nice clean echo/chorus/flanged sounds it's as good as anything else I've ever tried. Thank heavens I have my RP300 for distortions or I'd be using this as a doorstop! Running this in parallel with the RP300 works out *very* well, but if you're not into that dense/textural stuff you might want to look elsewhere for an all-in-one pedal.. but for fifty bucks (on sale) it's well worth it for what I need it to do.

If someone stole it, I'd wish 'em luck with it and buy Boss pedals or another Digitech. This was an experiment, and while it's not a total failure, face it, you get $50 worth of quality and that's about it. I do love it for clean stuff - the effects sound VERY different from the Digitech - but for your only effects pedal? No way!

If it had better noise reduction it'd be a real winner, crappy distortions aside (I like crappy-sounding distortion, though).

Very straightforward. There are some limitations because of the large number of options.

As a music store employee, I get to play a lot of the equipment. This is the best multi-effect at this price and for a lot more. Very little noise and lots of combinations.

Our experience with Alesis products has been exceptional. We see very few returns

As a retailer for their products, Alesis's support is average to slightly better than average.

I enjoyed playing the GuitarFX so much, I bought one for home. We charge $90. There is an unlimited number of sounds you can get from the Alesis.

You can spend a lot of time with the other brand units before you hear of this one, since it is not as popular. Alesis makes top quality products and have for years. Also compare the power supply requirements and the cost of the adapter of competing products. The Alesis uses a low cost ($10) adapter because of the low power usage. Other competing models require the more expensive adapters ($25).