Alesis Quadraverb GT

pretty difficult, but once you work it out, the complexity makes sense, and you have a lot of freedom.

amazing reverbs! So clean and seamless, love them, also this thing is true-bypass, so it does not affect your sound as long as you run the preamp section on flat. the other effects are crap (the delay is okay though), but I only bought it for the reverb, the only configuration I use is 3eq to reverb. 10 for reverb 2 for the other effects.

nothing gone wrong as of yet

haven't dealt with them

I play with a six piece ensemble (piano, guitars, bass, drums, violin, synth, vocals) and have been playing for about 10 years now. If this thing got stolen, I would buy another, it has become an essential part of my setup. My favourite things about it are the reverb and the output volume, because I can tame my Deville (it's too loud) through the effects loop, I can run the master and gain on 10 and control the volume via the quadraverb.

Each set of effects has several parameters that are not very easy to be configured at first. However, a little of patience and a further owner?s manual reading helped. The main problem for me is the rack format - if you want to play gigs you'd rather buy a MIDI foot controller to help you.

My setup is: Ibanez JS100, Boss Compression/Sustainer, Quadraverb GT and a Laney TF100. The modulation effects are awesome, especially reverb, delay and flanger. Ok, the tube emulation is not 100%, but if you spend some time learning about preamp configuration, you may find some good sounds (forgot the preset stuff). And there's always the possibility of bypass the unit and use the pure sound of you valve amp instead. No problems playing live (noise/feedback, etc.).

This unit has never disappointed me, even in the wildest gigs.

Never needed.

I play basically rock/pop. I think that it was an awe deal by the price that I paid. I love the reverb/delay/flanger, the noise gate and all the textures that you can put together to make a bright clean sound. I also use some preamp effects to play leads, I think they?re very cool. However, if you are a hardcore tube fanatic, you may be disappointed (I suggest BOSS equipment instead). However, the Quadraverb GT is a very good option to leverage your guitar sound, together with a good tube head and a compression unit.

Never really found any sounds that I super loved.

Again, did not really love the sound.

Seemed to be very reliable. Never gigged with it, just used it in the studio before I bought more preamps.

don't know

I used this once in a while as a preamp and chorus for a Rhodes 73 electric piano. That was it. I really didn't like the distortion sounds, which populated most of the presets. Eventually I sold it.

It's not bad if you don't mind tap and scroll but a software edit/librarian would be nicer. The set configurations can be a pain since not all features are available on all patches but this was just an initial beef

I find the sound quality to be very good. Okay, the distortions and speaker simulators aren't like my tube amps but I use this unit mainly for practice with headphones (typically: Mac running Band-in-a Box and/or StudioVision outputting MIDI to an Alesis NanoSyth) This is the units forte IMHO. I've tried it with various amps in-line, inserted etc but straight into the board is best. There is no quicker way to dial a sound to tape and it beats the hell out of patch cords everywhere.It can also be used to get a pretty damn good acoustic guitar sound too (after much tweaking)

I've owned mine from new, used it virtually all the time and have never had a problem

The GT can be used with pretty much any style of music but probably lends itself to rock (factory setting wise) Tweaking the settings is a major pain but great when your done, and it certainly has more features than most people will ever need. At the time it was the best unit for my money if it were to disappear I'd probably buy a used one cheap but I'd certainly drool over a Lexicon first. Now that it is set up exactly as I want it I would hate to lose it especially since I haven't any way to back up my patches. For what I use it for it works great any improvements would require entirely new algorythms so hurry up and wait for that.

So long as you don't use the preset patches, just use them as a starting point it's fairly straightforward to get a great sound from the Quad GT, the manual is clear, if repetative, and even with basic digital editing skills like I have, you can still get almost any guitar sound imaginable.

I've been using the Quad GT since 1990 for my main guitar sound in a rock band. The sound it gives out has always been really awesome with the exception of the chorus which is only good compared to the likes of Yamaha and the old Electro Harmonics stomp boxes. I tried changing to a Marshall JMP1 a couple of years ago, I thought the whole sound would be different, but most of it was psycological, and there was, in reality, no real discernable change in sound quality, and through the Marshall it really missed the compression and noise gate.

I always used this on gigs with no back-up and sound wise it has been 100% reliable

This is where Alesis fall down. BIG TIME. The l.e.d. display has died on the right hand side, you just see dark blocks, and it has been diagnosed as the chip on the back, so a new display is needed. I have emailed Alesis SEVEN times trying to get a replacement for my unit, which now CANNOT be edited (as I can't see any parameter values), and to date (6 weeks so far) they haven't even acknowledged me.

I'm now playing all styles of music and, when it can be put back in use, I know it will be perfect for what I'm doing. I've been a gigging musician for some 26 years and is was, wothout doubt, the best effect I ever bought, until it went faulty! At this moment in time, I will never buy anything else from Alesis EVER, because I feel totally let down by their after sales, a bit like, "we've had your money, now go away". Hopefully they will reply one day and change my mind. In the meantime, BEWARE...

Very simple to use, if you a computer with midi-interface then you can even edit using one of the shareware-editors and a midi-cable. Manual used to be okay for starting, but you don't really need it.

It's not fair to compare it with nowaday units like G-Major etc.
It used to be one of the best units money could buy in the late 80's and still sounds okay (after more than 10 additional years of ongoing fx-development). It was also one of the first usable preamp sections compared to Roland's GP-8 or GP-16. The compressor is crap, but very few units had one, so i would take it as a feature in that times... What had been also new in that time was to have a speaker-simulation inside. The QV-GT had two different types, not really sounding like a speaker but useful to get a different sound. The preamp sounds like the typical FET but if you combine the QV-GT with a good tube-poweramp and a 4x12 it starts to sound like a real tube-stack.

I bought it in early 1990, never had any problems, using it a lot of gigs without any backup. I even have a functioning backlight on the display (maybe some people are playing soccer with their fx-units ;-))

Never needed...

Playing different styles, from 60's to 70's, German New-Wave to Industrial, never had a problem and never missed a feature or sound.
I use the QV-GT together with an Engl 530 tube-preamp and an Engl 930/60 Poweramp as well as a matching MIDI-switcher. Tried all the expensive units like Rocktron, T.C. and Lexicon... They may sound better but the QV-GT is still okay, and 11 years ago there was no alternative. I would buy it again, because making new sound patches would cost me to much time and why should i spend thousands of marks if i can get that unit again for only 400-500 (used)... I even used it on some studio recordings (directly to the mixers input) and it was okay...

This used to be the top of line studio main-stay multi-fx processor from the late 80's/early 90's.

Comes with 90 Presets that are really good starting off points to tailor your own sound. Editing patches is pretty much a breeze. LED display shows step by step all editing options. Based on preset effects chain configurations. Very versatile!

The Quadraverb GT is simply a Quadraverb Plus with added preamp features. Given this, the delays, reverbs, and modulation effects are of course, excellent. Has that very unique Alesis character that can't be recreated with another unit. However, the preamp portion of the unit is sub par. The distortions/overdrives and compression features are not really to die for. (However, I do like the "Meaty" preset though). Anyway, who do you know that uses a multi-fx for distortion? Get yourself a dedicated analog stomp box like a TS-9, OD-2, or Dallas Arbiter..

Got this unit simply because John Squire of the now defunct band, Stone Roses, used it for their legendary first album and live shows. The Quadraverb can be heard all over the album....if you don't have the album, get it! It's their self titled debut album "The Stone Roses"...

Had it for over 10 years, and it still works without any problems.

Never dealt with them.

There are loads and loads of other multi-effects processors out there now...most modern ones have tons of more features. However, these late 80's quadraverbs have a certain tonal quality that is very lacking in the new units out on the market today. If you need a strong reverb solution to your guitar rig, consider the unit cos that's where it shines the most.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd pick another one up on Ebay. They go for around $150-$200 in the used market now.

Damn easy! It's just time consuming to go through all the parameters but your sound should come way before time!

Sounds great as far as I'm concerned. I'm not a analog man so I love every last drop of that processed sound. Every effect sounds great with the exception of the compressor wich is very noisy. You can get slight overdrive to full on heavy metal distortion. The delay is amazing. I play bass so i set the stereo delay to 1 millesecond for the left and 2 millesoconds for the right. The fattens your bass tone a lot. It's like a wall-o-bass! Reverb can get a little crazy if you crank all the settings to full but that will happen with anything. EQ and pitch mods are incredible too. Sampling is good but there are some audible clicks that may mess up your sample.

10 years and still going strong!

Never dealt with them.

I play bass in a blues/funk/rock band and I take lots of solos. I can count on some amazing effects from the GT when I solo or a fat sound when I'm groovin'. I play a Fender Jazz Bass Plus out of a Fender Bassman 400 stack. I use a Boss rack-mount compressor because the Alesis comp sucks:( Get this multi effects and you won't be sorry

It was my first FX box in '94 and I've never needed a manual. Easy controls to get around. The configurations are the only thing it took about a week to get the hang of, and this is when I knew nothing about effects.

I've used a variety of guitars and keyboards through it. The distortion is very digital as others have noted. I like that. I'm not an analog purist and I don't really want my sound to be too warm when it's distorted. The clean FX are nice and warm to me. Not really natural, but if I wanted natural I'd record it in a big empty room. This box is a great sound mangler. I have a patch that makes a guitar sound like a string synth. One that turns a simple synth bass into crashing dirtiness. The reversed gated reverb is a blast. Not everyones cup of tea, but my personal fav through the years

Never let me down functionally. I lost the LCD backlight a few years ago which, I understand, is common. Never a single flaw in it's performance. Gigged it without a backup for three years straight.

Never needed 'em. They do have manuals for all their old units in .pdf on their site

I do industrial and mellow gothic. It's perfect for my sound... maybe not for yours. Would I buy it again? My second one is arriving this week. Always productive to my creativity. MIDI controls quite nicely. I really prefer it for keyboards now. It can do great sound perversion

Very stright forward. I do not have the manual. Start at the <config> button and <page> to set. I bought it used from a dude that needed cash.

Distortion and Overdrive do not come close to authentic tube sounds - use sparingly. Though, pre-set factory patches are pretty cool for the most part. I use a pignose, tubeman (hughes & kettner), Fender Studio Bass amp., and a rouge amp. Usually mic'd out with a SM57 or whatever mic will color sound. The delays, pitches, eqs and reverbs are not too bad.

Dependable. Very dependable. It obeys my commands always.

Haven't needed help from Alesis, yet. I would like to have "all" the factory presets again. (the dude i bought it from was a jackass and erased some of the preset patches)

I have had it for 5+ years. I songwrite "un"-pop. music. Been playing/recording for 20 years. I have digital audio computer-based recording gear, blah, blah, blah. If the GT were stolen/lost/crushed/etc. - who knows? I would be sad. I would be forced to spend money on some new gadget or toy (yikes). I enjoy the GT as much as I enjoy Batman re-runs from the 60s. "Wham"! "Pow"! Same Bat-processor!