Alesis Quadraverb GT

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!

You actually need the manual. I'm technically minded but the signal
paths inside the unit can only be understood through the manual.
The other parameters are a piece of cake, for each effekt.

The reverbs which are a bit unnatural. Especially when using longer reverbs. This character is also found in the Microverb 1,2,3 and Midiverb 2 where this unnaturalness is even higher.
The compressor is absolutely worthless. The attack time is fixed to
a long time so when a note is picked it is actually decompressed.
Because one of my ears has a damage, it is more sensitive to levels and distorts sounds that are to loud in some frequencies. I cannot
use the compressor. The attack transients become larger. This is a
poor choice of Alesis to use a fixed long setting here. Since the circuitry is analog it is possible to replace a resistor or a capacitor with another value.
The distortion doesn't sound good for me either but the overdrive is
quite good.
The leslie is quite good but the time from fast to slow is too long.
The other effects are ok.

Has been working ok.

I asked for a schematic diagram and I was promised that but did not
receive anything.

I play blues and melodic rock. The QV GT only works for me with the overdrive. I have been playing since 85-87 when I was 20-22. I own
too much gear to specify it hear. I would buy it again because I know
how to use this shit. I love the resonator and I hate the compressor.
My favourite feature is the speaker simulator and the leslie. I used this because it was cheap back then 1994. (About 300$ in todays value). And it did help me to play without an ordinary amp.

I've used the GT since 12/92 with a few different amps and guitars. Without boring all of you with the arduous story of my search for tone, I have recently been able to get TONE with effects that I am happy with (and other veteran guitarists like the sounds as well). Editing patches is tedious but simple; I found the manual to be gibberish (excluding the sections on reverb, chorus, delay, and distortion textures).

I used to use the unit with a peavey Special 112, then a Fender Super Chorus (amp alone would change guitar's tone as amp's volume was turned up - yuk!), then a pair of Peavey Special 130s, and finally a Trace Elliott Super Tramp 2x12 (w/Celestions). My guitars were - at first - a 1991 Jap Strat. I put Lace Sensors in the Jap Strat and that improved tone. By 1998, I had a US made custom Tele and a Lonestar Strat. Recently, I purchased the Trace and an outboard compressor (BOSS). The QVGT's compressor totally blows as it produces quite a bit of noise. The overdrive is quite good when used with the cab sim features. My current configuration involves the Trace, the Boss compressor, and a touch of the QVGT's chorus, delay, and reverb. I use the amp's distortion mostly, and only on occasion do I use the GTs distortion. As far as artists, well, I've dialed in a very close reproduction of Brent Mason's (studio hound) telecaster tone, and have a very sweet Vince Gill (artiste extrordinaire) strat tone. When I rock the house, I use the strat as it sings like a mother. I have found that patience is most effectively bred into a guitarist when funds are limited. Subsequently, I had to noodle with the GT over several years. Now that I have finally found a guitar/amp combination that really lets the unit do its job, I am quite satisfied with its tone. HOWEVER, when ever I have tried it out with pure tube amps, no matter what I did with the GT and/or amp, the NOISE was deafening! Tube amps and ANALOG effects make for a happier guitarist.

I depend on it - period. I have used for nearly 7 years without a backup. In late May of 1999, the light source for the display screen stopped working. I am still able to edit so long as there is light shining near the screen. I give it a 10 for reliability in spite of the display light problem; the GT has served me well for the last 7 years and not let me down once.

I've contacted ALESIS about the display light problem, but have not gotten a response. PISS POOR!

I am mainly a finger-style guitarist and gig regularly in the Country scene in my area. I do however get to stretch my wings when we get requests for classic rock (amp's distortion or if I feel like it, a more modern digital sound from the GT). HOWEVER, despite my feelings for the GT, I am assembling a set of stomp boxes as I write this. It is time to go "home" so to speak. My new rig will consist of the Trace, and the following BOSS pedals: CS-3, BD-2, CE-5, and a DD-5. 'Nuff said!