Alesis MicroVerb IV

Alesis provides total 'plug and play' simplicity with this unit. There is a clear, well laid out manual and mine came with 2 full page reference sheets for effects paramenters. Literally, pop it out of the box, plug it in, put a line into it and you can make some awesome sounds with it! I use it at low volumes through a practice amp just for jamming and for fun. I have no need for a rack so it just sits on top of my combo, I've had it since 1997 or '98, if I was purchasing something like this now, I'd get the little guy(micro 2?), or the picoverb, because frankly, I have no use for all of the many quality reverbs in this unit! It sounds great, but it's almost overkill for me, unless I'm using it for noise or experimentation. It's fun to set a delay to repeat for a long time, then throw on some nasty distortion! Easy to use and sounds great but may be a bit much overall for the casual user like me.

Regardless of what setup I use (usually a cheap squier through a small combo amp) the microverb 4 always sounds consistent. The delays are pretty cool but no match for a newer device like Line 6's DL 4 delay modeler pedal, which is a delay freak's holy grail (so far). The pitch shift effects are fun but useless, except for noise or experimental free form sludge. All reverbs sound crisp and clean. I think I paid $230 back when I bought mine, it's definitely a better value at its current price. There really aren't a whole lot of versatile items like this on the market at this price, you can't go wrong for a buck and a half.

If I were gigging and needed to use the MV4, I would do so without a backup. In fact I have gigged with it and it sounds fine with guitar vocals (pitch shift shines here). Alesis makes rugged stuff that will last if you take care of it. Mine has been around for many years, as long as you wipe it off with a dust collector cloth or similar soft cloth, it should last decades or more. Mine has fallen off of a bass amp which stood almost 4 feet high, onto bare concrete and still sounds fine. I've stepped on it barefoot and it held its ground. This is built with quality and integrity, the knobs do feel a tad cheap though, as mentioned by another reviewer, but I have had no problems.

I recently got in touch with Alesis for a paper copy of their manual (which is downloadable online). I'm guessing they will get back to me after the weekend. When I bought the microverb 4 I just had some genereal warranty questions and called Alesis, they were friendly and appreciative that I took the time to research and get their product. I know I called them again, too, with some general questions, and they were great.

I've been playing around with effects and guitar gear for over 15 years and this is one of the few pieces of gear that I've never had a regret about, it's so cool. As stated earlier, it's almost overkill, but it is nice to have. I've loaned it to trusted friends for recording and generally just use it as another guitar toy. My favorite settings are the delay patches which sound crisp and true, the reverbs are what it's really meant for though. My only gripe; it's 2006, there's really no need for this to be a half rack unit anymore. Alesis should look into their design department and turn this into a stompbos like the old Zoom units and some of the DigiTech stuff that's come out the last few years. My lack of rack makes it kind of clumsy, perched atop an amp.

It's easy enough to use, but requires some serious tweaking to get a clean sound out of it. Straight out of the box, you should figure it out in about 15 minutes.

I have been playing an Ibanez GAX50 and an Epiphone Explorer II through it into a Crate 212 120W amp. All right, here's the lowdown that nobody else is going to tell you. This box is SWEET at low volumes when you're sitting in your room trying to sound like Jeff Buckley. Truly, it is spot-on, really great reverb. Now the bad news that no one is telling you: it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to gig with. In order to get a volume that is even decent, you have to crank the input AND output knobs up very high, and once you do that, I'm telling you the noise level is unbearable. In between songs I have to turn the amp down completely so that the hiss doesn't kill the audience. The reverb quality is still good at high volumes, yes, but it nearly gets lost in this sea of hiss and noise. Another thing that this box seems to do is kill your amp distortion. If you have it on a heavy reverb patch and try to use your amp's distortion, for some weird reason, it barely works at all, and you have to put your amp at near max volume to even get a decent sound. This would probably be resolved with a distortion pedal in your effects chain before the box. Bottom line: this box is GREAT for recording, but live (unless you want to love it blindly and disregard everyone telling you to turn yourself down even when you're not playing...) it is completely terrible. I'll give it a 5, because like I said--GREAT reverb (and some other patches are pretty good too), but not at high volumes.

Sometimes you have to unplug it and plug it back in because it just isn't altering your input sound at all. This is rare, but it happens. I've dropped it a few times and gigged with it many many times (but everytime I swear I want to throw it against a wall after...) and it still keeps on tickin'.

Alesis' website is decent, I found a manual and other stuff (after some searching) but I've never had to call them.

This box will force you to be creative. It has some very, very good reverbs...BUT it will make you want to kill yourself if you ever gig with it. Get it for recording, but NOT live playing, which is sad because the reverbs sound so good. I have a love/hate relationship with this box, and just can't force myself to sell it. Some of the sounds I've gotten with it I cannot reproduce with ANY other piece of gear. I play spacey Radiohead/Jeff Buckley-type music, which requires lots of reverb, and this delivers to an extent, but not live.

This unit is very easy to use. I very much like that I can turn it on and find a good reverb in just a couple of minutes. That leaves me more time to concentrate on other sound related issues.

The sound quality is fine. It has some great sounding reverbs and very little background noise but it's certainly not the best available....but then, it doesn't cost anywhere near as much as the best available either.

Overall, I would say that it is reliable. Mine still works but the right effect parameter knob acts screwy sometimes. When I change a setting, it will "jump" back and forth between my setting and the next or previous value. It takes some fiddling to get the knob to sit so that the exact value is selected and the display returns to the program number.
I haven't had any other problems with it and have frequently used it as the only reverb unit in my rack for certain live gigs.

Never used them, but if they are anything like their sales department, they wouldn't be much help.

Overall, I would strongly recommend this unit for someone looking for a low-cost, good-sounding reverb. For the price, there isn't anything else out there that compares.

Pretty simple. Although it is annoying that you can't see the edit values until after you turn the knob and change them. Make sure you write your edit values down!

The reverbs and chorus are nice. For under $200, you can't get a better reverb sound. I noticed nobody comments on the other settings. In particular, the pitch shifters. There is a pretty significant delay between the dry and effected signal in the pitch-shifting functions, which to me make it somewhat difficult to use. I realize its not meant to be used as a harmonist, but I think this difficulty almost makes those effects useless. I estimate almost a 250ms delay between wet/dry...nearly delay slapback!

Had it for 5 years, never a problem.

I called Alesis about the pitch shifting delay, and the guy test his Microverb while I was on the phone and noticed the same problem. I was surprised to hear him say no-one has ever complained about it considering how noticeable he thought it was too. Strange.

Great for reverbed-washed out sound.

At first I got lost in the manual but after a while it the light comes on and it comes alive. There are a lot of usable patches preset.

I use a Marshall TSL 100 with a 2z12 Marshall Cab. I like a little corus, delay and reverb when I play, This unit satisfies all of those needs. I have been playing for over 20 years and quality is my mark! The MicroVerb 4 offers the superb audio quality that you should expect from every Alesis processor. Good Job Alesis!

Never gave me a problem and I feel confident that I would not need a backup

Never had to use them

As I said earlier, the MicroVerb 4 offers the superb audio quality that you should expect from every Alesis processor. It takes only one rack space and is made to fit the new and old style racks.

Very easy to use. Turn a few knobs to change the parameters. (Very minimalistic & simple), the Midi though is not the best if in a chain of 3-4 units, "midi-buffer full"...

OK, I know this sounds like overegging the pudding, but the reverbs (hall, room, plate)in this unit is the best I've heard. To get better reverbs than this you'll have to pay big $$$. No noise(if settings are right)and a clear,somewhat warm, sublime sound. No digital cluster or stepping even on full decay. The Chorus also is very good. Flanger and delays are good. A Ten'er for the reverbs.

Never let me down. It weighs a mere kilo and it's built quite solid. Never crashed on me.

Never needed it. But I guess you could get it at your local dealer.

Not even a quality studio would be ashamed to have this unit around. Good for adding reverb to vocals, guitars, drums and also synthsounds(AUX send-return). You can get all types of reverbs out of it, and it sounds top notch. I will never part with it. Reverbs are special, other effects are good for the price, but it lacks Distortion & Phaser effects.

Very easy, 5 knobs anyone can reach any sound of it. I didn't give a 10 because the effects are not described in the front panel, so you'll have to learn about them and test it before you go ahead.

The reverbs are fantastic! Very natural. I use it with vocals and acoustic guitars. Seems that you are singing or playing inside a big church or inside a small room, and you can easy change the settings to reach it. The dalays are great, but not fantastic, I like very much the function of hi cut on the repeats, to simulate tape echoes, it's very nice and natural. The chorus are good enaugh to use with the guitars. The flange is noisy and too much deep to my taste. I don't use the multi effects session since I have two units of it.

It has a problem a few weeks ago, but it's an olllllld equipmente and a simple cleaning in the circuit board and it was back alive. I'll give a 10

Never dealth with them

If you want a good and cheap equipment this is what you want. It sounds better than the Boss effect pedals and it's even cheapper. Choose this one and you'll see. Trust me!

Using this unit is pretty simple. Select effect, tweek knobs. Not much to it. However, all of the numbers without any descriptions is a bit cryptic. Would a better LED readout made this much more expensive? Without the cheat card on the side of the unit... I hope you have a good memory.

For the price range, I can't complain too much. I'm using it on a bass rig through the effects loop. Once the input knobs goes past 2/3, you will hear some heavy duty sizzle and hiss. Nevertheless, the sound quality is quite good. The reverbs are smooth, the delay is pretty nice... and some (only some) of the multi-effects are pretty sweet.

Solid build. Put it in a rack, don't worry about it. Wall-Wart SUX!

Haven't had any need to contact them yet.

For guitar and bass, it's hard to go wrong with this piece of equipment in its price range. However, if you have plenty of cash to burn, there are nicer options. I would not recommend this for a studio or for keyboards as there is a little too much line noise. Plus, some of the sounds are not quite as "subtle" as would be necessary for recordings.

Easy to use. Need the quick reference card if you want to delve further. If you loose the card, its hit and miss to find the right program. Other then picking the program and time (reverb time or delay), not much user control.

I'm using this in a front of house rig, mostly for vocals. IMHO it is very noisy. I find the converters are low quality and add unwanted noise to the signal. The reverbs sound pretty cheap. Delay is not terrible, but can easily be made to sound very bad. Easy to overload the unit.

Never had a problem. Have used it as my sole unit at a gig.

Haven't had to deal with the company. Seems to me that Alesis makes lots of info available.

Good unit for mild use. Too noisy for recording. Better units for a few hundred dollars more (TC Electronics M-One). Would like to upgrade when I get more money.

The Microverb 4 is very easy to use it has a control knob that is jiggy wit it. I basically took it out of the packaging and started rolling because it is just that easy to use, therefore you can almost throw the manual out( Even though I wouldn't suggest diong that!)

I use this for individual mixdown and for complete mixes. I use it with Keyboards, and Vocals. If used right does wonders for guitars. The effects are simply beautiful. Music to my ears and the effects shimmer to perfection with so much clarity. The only thing that is kind of bad are the multi effects patches, they don't show too much strength there.

Yes I can depend on it and I would use on a gig!!!!! No Doubts about it!!

Nope I never had problems so therfore I never had to call

The Overall rating is... I give it an A+. I use this for R&B music, Rap Music, Gospel and Any other thing I am feeling and this little son of a gun performs. First Off I am an electrical engineer and i would make a tracking device for it so therefore if it was stolen I would be able to hunt them down like an animal. That proves how much I love this machinery and electronics. It is the biggest help to my music

very easy to use, even without the midi pedals. Not sure about editing. Manual is extensive and comprehensive. I bought mine 4-18-97

Some noise is audible to my ear. I would guess 90 db @ .03%. Effects are good as multiple pedals without the wires. 90%+ effects are great.

Very dependable, Especially with the midi pedals. I would trust it with out a backup for gigs, even with clumsy roadies.

I've never upgraded or dealt with the company except for mailings witch arive promptly.

Wish I had the Quad. Actually I wish I had 4 of them.

Like most processors, a little effort is required, but in this case, very little effort. The effects are laid out in a way that makes them easy to remember, 100 editable presets, followed by an identical 100 , which apparently have slightly different settings of the same patch and can be edited AND stored. The front panel has a chart of the layout: 0-9 Hall,10-19 Room,20-29 Plate,30-49 Chorus/Flange, 50-59 Delay,60-69 Pitch Shift,70-89 Multi-effect (Reverb & Flange, Reverb & Chorus,Reverb & Delay),90-99 Dual Send (A mono send-ie. Left Channel In Chorus, Right Channel In Reverb -both come out stereo.) I guess One could send bass through flange and guitar through Reverb, but if you and your friends are that hard-up for effects, I would suggest a second job. As for editing, two knobs control delay length, feedback, room size, reflection brightness, flange depth, sweep rate, etc. My only problem is that I've been unable to see the exact values of the presets, when you turn the knob to adjust, a value replaces the effect #, but doesn't tell you what it was set at before you changed it. However, the original value is easily approximated by turning the knob. The manual is to-the-point and effective, it comes with a 8 1/2 by 11 quick reference guide. It include definitions and suggestions for using the different patches. My unit is software version 1.02

I tested the noise level by boosting gain on the rest of my equipment with and without this unit. When all of the settings are set on extreme levels, and the mix is all effect, this thing is nearly noise-free. I only did this on the reverbs, but I suspect the chorus is just as quiet, and the flange maybe a little noisier. But it still is quiet enough. As with any processor, this unit can exaggerate existing noise, so care must be taken to adjust the presets in a way that fits the music going in. Some presets sounded great on my keyboard synth sounds, but awful on piano sounds. Several of the presets sounded bad and useless with my instruments and music styles, but several more sounded excellent. If you only find 15 good patches out of the hundred that work for you, it's still a bargain. Reverbs can sound real, and chorus can sound natural when adjusted properly.

It seems sturdy enough, but the knobs feel a little cheap.

Never needed it.

I'm planning on buying another since the only downfall this thing has, is that except for the multi-effect patches (which have two effects but one adjust knob for each instead of two), you can't use reverbs and chorus's together like I wish I could. But seeing my reverb on one processor and my chorus on another will very be user-friendly and affordable as well.

The Microverb IV is a pretty straight forward multi-effects processor with a huge selection of rooms, plates, choruses, flanges, delays and multi-effects. Each effect is easily edited. You can set the decay on a reverb or the length of a delay with the twist of a knob. In fact, there are so many effects it's easy to get lost. There's input/ouput monitoring, a value wheel with 200 presets, input/output control and a mix knob. I don't really understand the values assigned when editing different effects. It's numeric readout with no real value other than "higher or lower" -

The old adage about getting what you pay for still holds true. I won't argue that the MIcroverb IV is a tremendous value but it can't hold a candle to other "under $400" units. Even though Alesis recently lowered the price on this unit, I think there are better sounding units out there within $50 of the best deal you'll find on this unit. All things considered - some of the effects on this unit are pristine - others are useless. I especially like some of the plates and a few of the choruses (23,28 &32) are some of my favorites. My major complaint with this unit is the sensitivity of the high cut knob. It seems you go from glass rattles to knocking on wooden boxes with not much room between. This is a very "tuneable" unit - be ready to spend lots of time experimenting with different patches, levels and volumes. This may sound like I'm very critical of this unit but now that I have it installed in my home studio and I 've played with it for a while - I don't think I could live without it. For the money - It really is a great tool.

Alesis is reliable. Period.

I had a problem with noise the first day I used it (daisy-chain) - The people at Alesis were super helpful. I have quite a bit of Alesis gear - it never breaks.

It's a great unit. It's super cheap. It has everything!! It sounds great in my studio. I wish it had auto-levelling. It's probably the best selling 'verb out there. It just doesn't sound quite as good as my Lexicon Alex. But the Alex is also 50% more expensive - so... It's a lot of bang for the buck. I don't think you'll be disappointed. You can always use another Multi-Effects somewhere. Trust me.

Simple, flexible controls. Clear manual and reference card. I'd like to see an on/off switch and an internal power supply.

Beautiful true stereo effects--much much cleaner than the Microverb III. Some of the flanges and multieffects are noisy, but not so much that they aren't useful.

How did people live before affordable 18 bit processors like this one?