Alesis MidiVerb IV

IThrough my experiences, I have found this to be a very user friendly unit. You don't need a degree in computer science to opperate it. I bought mine in late '95

Out of the FX units that I have owned (digitech, yamaha, boss, etc...) this is the best sounding one. It is very transparent on your sound. Very little coloration. If you take the time to sit down with the unit and play for awhile, there are some really lice sounds. The only effect that I wish the MV4 had was tremelo. but I'm dealing fine...

I have had a few problems with the display.... other than that, it's preformed like a champ.

Never delt with 'em...

I feel that this is a very nice unit. It has a tone of nice fx at a price that won't break you. It's worth checking out. If you want to hear one, check out my band's site: http://members.xoom.com/psychodance If you go the the "music" page and listen to the RealAudio for the song "Tunnel Vision" you can hear a good example of the MV4.

very simple to use, roll the dial, listen to the pop's as you do. Oh, don't roll too fast, or you'll miss your preset. Editing is done via four buttons, which are fairly self-explanatory.

Ssssssssss.....pop......ssssssss....pop. That is what I have to say. Used it for three days in several different environments (studio, stage, practice) and this thing is SO DAMN NOISY. This was my second one in a week, and it became obvious, the unit is beyond noisy. The flange...forget about it. headroom too low, a lot of popping and clipping. Not a unit to be used with bass.

I own a ton of alesis equipment, which none has ever failed. Though the last two pieces I bought (the MidiVerb IV and the Wedge) both though decent have a hiss. I believe in Alesis, so would give the unit a 10.

Several friends work or did work at Alesis and I have always used them as resources. As far as contacting technical support via e-mail, forget about it. They never return e-mails. Pick up the phone, they will answere.

I brought this unit back..twice due to the noise. It pop's when you change programs, and hisses when you aren't playing. I ended up after buying a DigiTech, a MidiVerb III and a MidiVerb IV buying a Lexicon. Don't fall for the pretty lights and plasma screens. Also, buy from Guitar Center, you have 30 days to return the unit and this policy makes it great for trying gear out in a live environment.

For guitars and synths, it is very easy to find a nice sound on this unit. For vocals -- it is very difficult.

I have never found a good setting for vocals on this unit.
I've had used it for three years, and tried almost every setting
I could find. I use it in a small studio.
I have a JoeMeek Pre-amp and a JoeMeek compressor which
sound great. I run the pre-amp into this unit, and then into
2 channels on my mixer. The MV4 is aux 1.
I don't think it is clean, warm and present enough for my vocals, and I've tried for 3 years. But there are a lot of great guitar settings, for both acoustic and electric.
So if you are a guitarist and use this only for guitar, you'll love
this unit. I know a very good session player in Nashville who swears by it.

The display has given me problems. If I leave the unit off for a week. When I turn it back on - the display will be dark. To fix it,
I have had to leave it on for several days. Then, mysteriously,
the display will eventually light up. The way I've gotten around this problem in the 3 years I've owned it - is to turn it on for a couple of hours every day.

It is difficult to get anyone at Alesis to respond.
I've owned four Alesis devices. The MV4 has
needed support the most. The others were
quite reliable. But it is hard to get free support
from Alesis.

If you are a singer, I don't think you will be happy with this
as your only reverb. If you are a guitarist, this is a great
unit.

This "thing" is pretty easy to use: you only have to turn it up and everything is already clear.Alesis made the simplest effects processor
in its history.I'll give it a 8 as"ease of use".
You just have to push one of the buttons (a,b,c,d)to enter & mdify its parameters,and finally to press store to set them.You won't need the manual to set it up.I'll give it a 8.
This unit 's been working right for 1 year and by now I don't need to contact Alesis.

My set up is made up of a rack system:
ADA mp1 or Mesa studio preamp - Marshall"triple super lead tsl 100"or Marshall 200+200 watts power amp,Alesis midiverb4(now i use an Intellifex),BBE denoiser.All those "children" to a PEAVY 4x12 cabinet.
The first time I turned it up I imediately wanted to call Alesis to expose them what for a "TRASH PROCESSOR" they made:I'm still of the same consideration.The effect set up is the worst you can find:and in 15 years of guitar playing I've tried every kind of processor:low & high prices.It's noisy, ridicolous reverb-sounding,can't set it in a right & clean way,chorus & flange are a REAL JOKE!I've tried every change of patches and config.but there's no way out.Even though its price is quite low,it costs too much to be what it is.Instead of this "TOY", I could buy a puppet...I'd be more satisfied.
- "ALESIS,listen to this": last week I've been in trouble with my PEAVY 4x12 cabinet, because while I was playing,I changed patch (I set a flange at not high volume) and that fucked and damned flange-peack destroied two of celestions."Alesis you know how much two celestions cost?"I'm telling it to ya:just like your Alesis processor!".But I'm gonna write a letter direct to you...
I've never been so critical about anything like that,but I really think what I told before.

As I told before I'm gonna speack with the company for the damage I got.I hope they'll understand my reasons, even if I don' think so...
I'll write my rate after having contacted them...

I mostly play Van Halen,Satriani,Hendrix and other's music...with my bands.We've recorded last CD 3 weeks ago.I've been playing guitar for 15 years using different gear:my "live" guitars are Jackson "San Dimas",Jackson custom Saim.Duncan "invader"equiped,Dean"Elite".Now I need a Steinberger.
If I had a lot of money and the Alesis were lost or stolen,I would be not surely happy,but "indifferent".I don't like right anything about it...No favorite feature at all!
I wish it was what it's supposed to be..a real effect processor!
I just can't sell it...nobody wants this thing:not even shops!!!
Don't know I choose it.When I bought it I gave some instruments to a shop and I told them to change these with a f.case,a processor,a phantastic Brunetti made in Italy Brunetti tube-preamp, a superb ADA mp1 MP1 made in USA.The best gear in my opinion are american ones!
Intellifex is one of the masterpiece of USA production.And also my Jackson guitars.Congratulation!!!
But Alesis has gotta improve a lot to make me happy...I burned two celestions and my money when I bought Midiverb 4.
"YOU MUST HELP MUSICIANS WITH GOOD PRODUCTS,DON'T SELL US "JUST SOMETHING" IN ORDER TO MAKE ONLY YOUR MONEY!".

After coming off of the DigiTech effects bandwagon, I found the Midiverb IV to be bitter-sweet. They could definately stand making the next model more user-friendly. Some effects like the Flanger could stand to be improved...I'm only saying this because the sweep on the DigiTech line was very smooth while the MIDIVERB tends to have a harsh sounding peak. I would recomend this unit to musicians who've had previous experience with multi-effects programming. Don't expect too much help from the manual.

I am currently using a Fender M-80 preamp with a Behringer DualFX in the M-80's FX loop. I then go from the mono output of the M-80 into the front of a 50 watt Marshall JCM 800 set VERY clean. The M-80 / Behringer combo acts as a high-quality distortion box (anybody like the lead guitar tone from Boston's "Don't look back"?, here's how to get it!!!). I then go from the Marshall's FX loop into the MIDIVERB. From there, I return back to the Marshall with one channel and directly to the board with the other. As far as getting the sounds I want? Never been a problem!! Lots of the presets sound great out of the box and with a little tweaking or an expression pedal I've been a very happy camper.

Although nothing is fool-proof, this is as close as you can come. Does it's job quite well live and in the studio.

Never had to deal with them. That's a GOOD thing, don't you think?

I play mostly rock (metal, rock-n-roll, call it what you want). Our band uses it as writing tool for original material. A definate source of inspiration. My only complaint is that my delays and reverbs get cut off when I switch programs. Hopefully Alesis will remedy this in the future. As my rack grows, there will always be a place reserved for the MIDIVERB IV.

Easy to use if you've ever used a computer. If you're having trouble with real-time MIDI mapping, read your controller's manual, that is where that info is supposed to be. I got the mapping to work just fine, but then decided to use my real-time controller to control the wet mix on my preamp's effects loop, because the MIDI mapping on the MIDIVERB is very limited, to say it nicely. But, I know, it is only $250.

Chorus good. Delay good (especially the stereo delay). Reverb not good, it is bumpy, clicky, whatever you call it. I haven't tried using only reverb, becuase that would be pretty useless to me, but maybe running that single effect, it is an o.k. sounding effect. But, in a chain configuration, it is not good.

It is fine, but the major problem is that the MIDI mapping is so limited. If you want to use chorus, delay and reverb (which is the configuration I use on the bulk of patches), and you want to control the reverb and delay mix with a midi pedal, but not touch the chorus, you cannot do that. To me, delay and reverb depend on the room you are in and the part of the song, but chorus much less so. I certainly don't like to lose the chorus effect when rolling off the delay and reverb (which is what happens when I use a midi pedal to control the effects loop mix on my preamp). But, I still controll it that way because mapping the midi pedal to the Midiverb doesn't help. In each patch, the two paramters controllable via midi are preset by Alesis, and you can't change them.

Editing patches is pretty quick and easy. Selecting them is another matter: turn the knob too fast and is hasn't a clue where it is ot where it's going. I have not tried midi control. The manual is ok except for explaing how to do dual effects - I still have not figured it out.

Used as FOH effects in a small PA. The unit is very quiet. I have found the sound to be quite wanting. (The dry signal is phase shifted from the input but not 180 degrees, if the wet is too this may account for part of it). The chorus and flange cause too much pitch shift to be useful even on a single instrument. The reverb presets are all either too boomy, too bright, to long, or too brash (a few sound good on acoustic music). Even with tweaking I have yet to get a reverb sound that I'd call good for a live gig (for recording I would call them barely tolerable).

The band I work with has had two for several years. The only problem has been a dead backlight. The backlight consists of six very odd dual LED packages wired in SERIES, so if one goes they all go (great for cutting power supply drain, stupid otherwise). I replaced the two dead ones with resistors and we can read the display just fine.

I have never contacted them.

I like the comprehensive adjustability, but this does not seem to enable it to produce a good reverb. I would recommend that the band buy another only if everything else I could audition sounded even worse.

Pretty easy to get through all the programs that come with it. But when you start dabbling into making your own programs there are so many parameters to deal with that you really have to spend a lot of time. It's definately not a plug and play device.

I'm using the midiverb on the effects loop of a Laney VC30 along with an Art pre-amp. I also go through a compressor and a wah using a Fender Strat. The Alesis is the noisest piece of junk in my whole set up. Even used with just my acoustic and going direct into a desk it hisses really badly. Altering input and output levels to reasonable hiss volume results in quite a substantial loss of signal. The effects I most often use are the chorus, delays, flange and reverbs. These work OK if you don't mind noise.

I have to depend on it as it is all I have. I has never given me any problems except for the dial which sticks a bit.

I bought it in the States and on coming back to England had to get a new power supply for it. Alesis was fairly helpful but rather than spending thirty pounds on their special power supply I bought my own which matched their specs for less than half the price.

I've had it for three years now and used it for recording and playing both electric and acoustic sets. I am most happy with it when I use a bit of chorus and reverb with my acoustic. Apart from a bit of hiss it works fairly well for this. When using it with recording i have to use a gate otherwise it is unbearably noisy. I have given up using it with my electric. It would have been better for me to have bought a couple stomp boxses as these are quieter, easier to use and a bunch easier than carrying a rack around. I bought it originally on a friends recommendation. I wouldn't advise anyone to buy one. If you want guitar effects get a proper guitar processor. If you want studio effects spend a couple hundred more and buy somthing decent. Don't try and cut corners and get something that you hope will do both!

Editing can be a little tricky AT FIRST, and the manual sucks IMHO. But the sounds are quite nice, preset, and once you start tweaking, you can do anything.

Okay, most people here seem to have bad reviews of it, and you look at the equipment it says "this amp", and that might be why! This is meant to be used in a RACK SYSTEM or studio, not so much as a guitar effects processor (I.E. BOSS). But I use this in a RACK with a Marshall Preamp and a peavey power amp (both all tube), and I get the most AMAZING sounds you will ever hear. I keep the effects 50% wet, 50% dry, run stereo with Peavey cabinets (5150 4x12) and it sounds so nice. The panning is amazing, the chorus is lush, the delays are pristine, and my only real complaint is the pitchshifter doesn't sound like an Eventide. WELL THIS THING COSTS $250. Not $2500. WOW. Barely any noise at all!

It's a rack unit, it stays in my rack, so it should be good there, but as a digital effects unit.. it probably could NEVER be fixed by me, eh? And i would use it on a gig without a backup- I don't base my sound on effects, the effects are just the icing on the cake.

I don't know.

Nothing else near this price (or even much more), sounds this amazing. I tried damn near everything at Chuck levin's washington music center, and I fell in love with this. It sounded amazing. And not expensive at all! A more organic harmonizer would be cool though.

This unit is very easy to use. All the parameters are clearly visable in a big, backlit LCD. It can take some time to figure out what all the parameters do, but it's easy to get a good sound with basic knowlegde of the parameters. The manual is quite good, but the explantion of midi controls is fairly weak. As others mentioned, the dial is very poor quality, which prevents me giving it a 10.

I'm using it with a Fender Jazzmaster and a 70's twin, and a whole lot of other effects. It's kind of a toss up on what to give it as a rating. I mostly play Space Rock/shoegazer (in the vein of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine), for which it does the trick quite well. I use this unit primarily for reverb abuse (long decay times, 100% wet, ect), and for that it shines. For a dedicated reverb, I'd give it a 9, but I find most other effects weak. The chorus and flanging are no where near as good as seperate pedals. They sound very digital and very thin. The pitch shifter is also really weak. The leslie is quite good, and the auto panner is spectacular. If you run t he unit in mono, turn the speed up, and you get really nice tremelo. With two amps, the panning effect can be dizzying. The delays are good (especially the stereo delays), but once again, not as nice as pedals. The mulit effects are pretty weak, the three effect configurations pretty much stink. The quality of each effect is really toned down.

I haven't ever had a problem with it. I wouldn't hall it around without a rack. It's built well.

Never had to deal with them. I'm sure that they are very nice people.

I've been using it for a year and a half. it's a great budget processor. Even though I gave it a low sound quality rating, I'm giving it a high overall rating. I use it pretty much for shoegazer stuff, big walls of reverb, where no recognizable guitar sounds come through, and for that, it is beautiful. I do also use 8 other pedals before the Midiverb, as the Midiverb would not be able to this well on it's own. For regular guitar reverb, it is quite nice as well. the plates sound great on vocals. If it was stolen, I think I'd replace it with a Lexicon unit.