Alesis Quadraverb II

At first glance, it's a rather attractive unit with a very large display. Looking at the FX blocks makes it look rather intuitive and easy to setup. That is until you look under the hood. This unit accords lots of choices and flexibility and usually that comes at the cost of complexity. If this is your first foray into a mulifx box (For people who have previously associated with Stomp boxes) you will find the going steep. It is definately easier to dial in a sound quickly with the boss type multifxs. Do read the manual. After that it should be a breeze.

When you are exploring the unit at first it seems only logical to tweak a given set of block FXs rather than building a complete patch all by yourself just to get the hang of the unit.

The Manual seems adequate and well written with descriptive details on things like EQ etc. There are illustrated examples and suggestions of typical uses of types of EQ etc. which go a long way to explain things for a newbie. I think Jay Storey (One of the reviewers below) has pointed out a lot of the manuals shortcomings which is worth taking a look at. One more thing, I wish the manual had some more musician friendly way of illustrating how to conjure creative new ways of programming patches. It helps music to also have a non techical approch to creating patches. Like for example trying to create a Violin type overtones using resonators for a Eric Johnson vibe.

My Unit is a original Revision. I think it's software version is 1.03. Alesis tech support has improved and has me very pleasantly surprised. I get feedback the very next day. This is a far cry from the Alesis tech support I remember of years ago wherein I never heard from them ever despite several mails and calls. I think the latest available version for the Q2 is firmware rev. 2.01 and it only cost US$ 16ea plus shipping. Definately better than having to fork out 50 bucks for something that not add any DSP. I only hope the new algos in the EPROM are worth the hassle of upgrade. But it can't hurt at $ 16 can it!

I have a Custom Les paul, a U.S. strat and a Japanese Stratocaster and a Yamaha solidtop acoustic. I pretty much use the strats all the time going through a SANSAMP PSA 1 which I gate on higher settings through a Yamaha SPX 900 and then to the Q2. I have a H&H 100 W amplifier which I have had modded to separate the Preamp from the Powersection. The Sansamp feeds the Power section of the H/H and runs dry to a 2 X 12" Gallien Krueger Cab. For the full range output I run the Quadraverb's outputs through a audiphile class A amplifier and nearfield monitors. So at anytime I have a mix of wet/dry controlled through the PC all phase corrected.

The Q2 is not really a quiet unit and one can audibly hear the hiss component of the signal when the S/N ratio is low. The key to this is finding your setting. Adjust the gain on the inputs and the output shows less noise. My experience shows this works best between 2 and 3 o' clock. Before you get any further do remember to critically adjust the input levels. Your sounds depend on it.

The effects are a mixed bag. The reverbs are pretty nice for the unit, especially considering for what they are sold for now. It's true however that on lower density settings it gets grainy and sounds unreal unlike lexicon units. You basically get what you pay for. The Reverbs are the Q2's strong point.

The chorus is not as lush and warm as I'd expect but if tweaked right can sound pretty good. INHO the lexicon 110 has a better chorus and is available at $ 200 but it is not so flexible.The delays are fine. Most boxes do them well.I agree with some reviews that the Phasors and flangers are a tad thin. My OS revision does not have overdrive so I cannot comment.The Pitch shifter ehxibits artefacts! It's truly horrible! My old yamaha SPX has better pitch shifted sound than the Q2 The unit has a pretty decent headroom so that's always welcome. Overall the quality of the sound is pretty clear and transparent and is rather execellent for the price for what it goes now.

I am not so sure if I can get the sounds of my favourite artists from this box. Can one box do it all? And if so, can it do it all at once without running out of DSP? In anycase I think this is a moot point. Most pro musicans have a lot of gear and complex setups and techs to get that 'tone'. I doubt punching in with one unit can get authentic results. This unit has a modern vibe. Don't expect vintage authenticity and you will be fine.

I don't know if its my experience only but the Alesis line of FX units come with quirks built in. My earlier unit (Quadraverb GT) used to freeze up without warning akin to a computer hanging (and yes I have a regulated UPS at work). Then the characters on the LCD dropped of and finally went on the blink. The unit died on me. The Q2 also displays erratic flickering which is entirely dependant on the mood of the ghost in the machine. I have not checked on the MIDI issues as I dont use mod wheels to control CC data.

The knobs dont really inspire confidence especially considering what these units cost in their heyday. I'd like to have a reassuring click not some car stereo feel on expensive studio gear. In all fairness, None of the knobs died on me. So far it's reliable. I don't think one would like to gig with it. Carrying the huge power supply seems cumbersome. It's more at home in a rack. Build quality is standard. The old roland gear seems more sturdy.

Earlier when I contacted them, when they were in the middle of restructuring I thought that service was really terrible. I must have mailed them on on various issues over a period of six months and never had a reply....Until my last mail. That was answered in a day.Concise and quick. They seem to have their act together.
But the service I've had from guys at Tech 21 and Morley is a case in point. They are fantastic people. You can feel the passion they feel for the gear they make. I wish more mega corporations were like that in their support.

I play mainly prog rock interjected with blues. Most of the tone comes from the sansamp and Q2 is good as a post production tool. I use this in conjuction with a DAW so this is not primary but I like it. I have been playing since I was 16 and I'm 32 now! If it were stolen or lost (Or busted most likely!) I would probably get a Lexicon MPX 1. Not to be unfair but this unit is out of it's time. Probably excellent value bought used but limited worth with every passing day as happens with most Digital gear. However I'd rate it much much higher than the new Midiverbs and the like. Newer does not always mean better. I like the units display and the unit's ease of use once you know the beast. A lot thought has obviously gone into it and overall it seems to be a good job. I like the data wheel, though it could 'feel' much better. Wish it was not such a plasticky job.I wish it had a true analogue bypass, but I guess the design is such that it warrants a A/D D/A conversion even in bypass mode. There is a discernable 'loss' of character bypassed at least to my ears.I wish it had a lot more DSP, I wish I had that beautiful Italian Girlfriend, I wish I had that Eventide! Given normal workloads it should do fine without running out of DSP. I beleive at the time it certainly looked like one of the best of all the other units at the same price brackets. Well, time moves on and crowns change heads. Used, it is a great deal.

The unit does not beckon me to tweak it everytime i fire it up so it's not really tweaky. I work hard on some patches and tend to leave it there.
In final analysis, it's strongest point is the reverb, which is really good. This unit is probably more value today than when it was new, considering what you pay used, you'd be hard pressed to find a unit that does all this for so little.

I tried out a few multi fx before I got this one. I found this unit very easy to manipulate, almost too easy, especially for its versatility. The routing options, and the ways you can manipulate and control them, are very impressive. Maybe I found it easy to use because I read the manual through before I powered it up...:)
One thing I found is that to do volume swell type things with a midi controller, set the controller to adjust the patch routing levels instead of the direct or master effects level in the mix. This way you get a usable, smooth swell instead of a choppy, delayed swell which is annoying and disappointing (until you realize you are doing it wrong)
anyways, I found it very easy to use. The manual was straight forward.
The pitch shifting is HORRIBLE.

I am playing a gibson firebird into a carvin quad x preamp with this in the master effects loop, always on and I use the expression pedals to bring in the effects instead of trying to bypass it. The quad x then runs into a peavey classic 50/50 power amp (I love that amp!) and into a peavey classic 412es cab. I find it to be very transparent when running with no effects, and pretty clean with the effects loaded on.
I am not a hardcore effects freak or anything, but I have used a variety of effects units, some have really pissed me off with their sound quality, some I thought sounded good, but with this thing I feel that the only reason an effect sounds bad is because I've set it up wrong, and when I tinker a bit more, usually it works out. ROUTING IS KEY PEOPLE; watch how you have it routed, it changes the sound drastically, which gives this unit is versatility.
I don't have any problem with the noise floor. The main thing is to make sure you balance your input and output so that your input is higher than your output, but still keep the out an in between 3 and 7 o'clock because that's where they were designed to be.
I have not been able to get a wah sound out of this thing. The wah effect is there, but it only works if I use the expression pedal SLOWLY. Otherwise it is choppy and crappy like the volume swells were when I was setting it up wrong. This makes me think that maybe I am setting it up wrong, but maybe the unit just sucks at this. Who knows. if you find out email me at jontornblom@hotmail.com PLEASE.

This thing is from the mid 90's and it's still kickin. I find that sometimes when I change programs, my quad x doesn't change channels, but I pretty much know this is from my midi cable loosening out from vibration from the cab. Therefore I think I will stop putting my rack on top of my cab. However, I haven't gigged with it at all yet, but I will be soon. I'll post another opinion after I've played say, 8 shows with it.

These guys really suck bad. No reply from repeated emails asking about getting the wah to work or about their upgrade chip (don't ask me about it, that's why I was emailing them!) Phoned them and got a "the number you have dialed is not in service" BOOOOO! I've heard bad things about them to this extent, so it isn't just me.

I am playing funk, prog rock with occasional noisecore, and straight up rock. I like this thing for what it does. It basically has a lot of typical effects, most of them sound really good, the reverbs are good as long as you keep the diffusion and density up high, but then again, the low diffusion and density can create cool sounds too, as long as you're going for something other than smooth, transparent reverb. For the price you can get it, it is a good deal, I think. If it was stolen, I think I would get a replifex, though, just to try it out, or else save up for something real fancy!!!

Lots of options and free in concatenating effects. The manual is well done and downloadable from the net

For now it seems to be grat. No noise, no transiction. It doesn't have good distortion wich is not a problem for me because I have a preamp.

Just bought, so I don't now.

I have found the manual online, but no patches, no preset, no faq and no responses to my emails

I play in two bands: rock, metal, funky. It seems to be good for them all.

I know that there is a little program called "QClick" which can help in making your sound using your computer. In my opinion it would be great because of the difficulties in making sound (there are A LOT of combination) but the site from whitch it was downloadable is no more online. PLEASE if someone find it EMAIL ME!!! thanx.

I can say that this machine, if anything, is incredibly flexible. With this flexibility, however, comes the thing that most people hate: a rather steep learning curve. I would rate the ease of learning (or complexity) as similar to a basic four operator FM synth. It takes a bit to get the hang of it, but once you have it, no problem.

Editing the presets isn't too bad. It seems straightforward enough. Following the manual isn't such a great task, but if you have firmware v2.0+, then you should definitely use the addendum manual. If you don't have access to the addendum (v2.0) manual, then you should download a copy of the Q20 manual from the Alesis website - it looks like that the Q20 os is similar to the Quadraverb 2 v2 os.
At least it is similar enough to use the manual to learn the system.

If you don't have v2.0 os for your Quad 2, Alesis still has a few upgrade kits available. You have to buy them from you local retailer, however.

I have, really, no complaints about the sound quality. I didn't buy it expecting a tc electronics reverb, but I did expect a better one than my old effects boxes. Which is what I got.

My setup consists of a few synths, a bass guitar, and a sampler. The Quad 2 gets used for everything from vocal, drums, bass, leads, etc. I route the outputs from it into a very quiet mixing board and use a pair of AKG 270s headphones to monitor. Really, if there is noise, this system brings it out. I would say that this unit adds noise when used in a chain of 3 effects boxes. Used singly (synth-effect box-mixer-headphones) I am reluctant to say that it adds much, if any at all.

The reverb is excellent for the price range. The delay works very well. The chorus, flanger, and phasor effects are quite good, but not as beefy as I would like, which brings the overall rating in this category down a bit.

I don't use the box for overdrive or distortion so I have no real opinion about its qualifications in this department.

Also, I don't use it with an amp - it goes direct into the board.

To answer the question posed by the team about whether or not it emulates my favorite artists, I'm sure it would, but I don't really try to rewrite songs.

The box seems solid. I can't say that I use it as a coaster or frisbee for disc golf. I am sure that with normal usage it'll last as long as it should.

I don't gig, but if I did, I would have no qualm in using it live. The units are cheap right now and the cost of replacement negligable.

The buttons feel about as sturdy as the ones on an Alpine car stereo, if not more so. I wouldn't beat on them with a mallet...

Alesis tech support is wonderful. I called and was put through to the department immediately. The gentleman there answered questions about the basic functionality of the Quadraverb 2 and its dynamic dsp allocation and the virtual patch cable technology. When asked about a direct order for a firmware upgrade, he said that since the restructuring (July 2001), all hardware orders must be placed through a retailer. This, he said, was subject to change, but he didn't know when.

The Quad 2 that I purchased had firmware v2.01, so there was no need to upgrade, but the chip was available through a local retailer for about 40 dollars.

For what I do, this is a good effects box. The delays are great, the flexible routing yields wild special effects, and for pads and ambient, the reverbs give an excellent depth.

I have been writing, very part time, for three years. I use various synths, including VA, '80's digital, analog, and software synths. I go direct to a DAW that doubles occasionally as a computer gaming device.

I really like the Quadraverb 2, and would purchase one again if it were broken, especially at today's prices. It is a cut above the run-of-the-mill Micro or Midiverb and delivers astounding flexibility with the virtual patching system. It is a good effects unit that fits in with the dsp effects included in the DAW.

Even though I have yet to run out of DSP power when building patches, it seems that, based on the processor usage estimates in the manual, that they could have built it with a bigger dsp. Since I am using this in conjunction with a computer hardware effects processor and effects algorithms included in software wave editing programs (cool edit pro, etc), I don't depend on this for everything. If I did depend on this for EVERYTHING, I would get a tc electronics box...

I was browsing through the F/X reviews and noticed that no one has submitted a review of the Quadraverb 2, so I thought I'd post my opinion.

I kind of have a Like/Hate relationship with this box, the reverbs, for a mid 90's device that was mid priced ($600ish in 1994) are pretty good, but I was a sucker for the ads that touted "ease of use" and "octal effects".

In reality I discovered two things:

1. It's pretty easy to tweak existing effects, but to build your own chain and route the effects to one another is a total pain in the ass, in spite of the large display.

2. Once you start adding effects blocks, you soon run out of DSP.

I also have a Digitech TSR-24 (purchased about a year before my Q2)
and they addressed this by offering a 2nd user installable chip that doubled the DSP power.

Alesis offered an upgrade (Version 2.0), but it didn't add any DSP.

If you find a sound you like, it's easy to tweak it into something you would like a lot better, but trying to envision a sound in your mind and develop it on the Q2 is a total pain.

I'm no newbie to effects (I own 8 F/X units, and have another two units that friends own at my house), I do a lot of F/X programming and midi stuff, so believe me, if you are not well versed in tweaking F/X units, the Q2 will just confuse the hell out of you.

I can deal with it, but it's not much fun, the ads made it seem like with the large display, "virtual patch cords", etc. that it would be easy, but it ain't.

The basic architecture of the Q2 is that there are individual F/X "blocks" (Reverb, Delay, Pitch, EQ), and you can have up to 8 blocks (just don't think you'll have a reverb block when you have 8 blocks going). The blocks can be connected to each other in a variety of ways, almost like a modular system. On the surface this sounds pretty easy but in practice it is not.

The best approach is to find a preset that has the blocks you want, then program them the way you want it to sound. The block routing parameters in particuliar are very confusing.

If you owned an original Quadraverb and thought it was hard, the Q2 will give you a headache.

In it's defense, there is a WHOLE lot you can do with it, but it's pretty easy to paint yourself in a corner, and wind up with a crappy sound that is not an improvement on what you started with.

NOW, if you just call up a preset, and edit the existing parameters, it is not too hard, one nice feature is the block button, which will let you program the parameter set for each block.

The thing is, it's easy to get confused between the Block and page buttons when you are programming, you'll hit block by mistake (since it's next to the page button), and next thing you know, you are tweaking the parameters for the next block.

The manual is ok, but not great. There are some major omissions in it, but the advanced applications section is nice, gives you some examples that you can apply, and explains the midi modulation setup pretty good.

Here is one example of a MAJOR omission (and I'll get back to this particuliar thing later, because this implementation REALLY SUCKS):

If you decide that you want to use midi to modulate your F/X (e.g. use a slider to change the reverb decay time) the thing the manual never tells you is that the PROGRAMMED VALUE OF THE PARAMETER IS THE MINIMAL VALUE THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED BY MIDI.

I'll expound on this later, but in practice what it means is that say you program in a reverb decay time in the preset of 3 seconds. Then you want to use midi to vary the time between one second and five seconds.

You CANNOT DO THIS, because a midi controller value of "0" will only take the parameter down to it's lowest PROGRAMMED value, in this case 3 seconds.

I'm not sure of my firmware Rev number, but I bought mine the month it came out (big mistake that, never buy an original Rev of an Alesis product), so it's the original version.

Alesis offered an update (did it fix any of the bugs

I'm am using my Q2 with a mixing console (Allen and Heath GS3), patched into an unbalanced F/X send (-10db) and return (-10db).

I used to use it mainly on snare drum, but I recently bought a Yamaha REV 500, so I'm using that on snare. Lately I've been using the Q2 on background vocals a lot, I have used on lead vocals some as well. It also sounds pretty good on acoustic guitar.

Noisy - hell yes, for a mid priced F/X device I think the think it is pretty damn noisy.

Now I am running it unbalanced, so that may contribute some, but let me put it too you this way:

I have FOUR other F/X devices routed to my mixing console, when they are all turned up and the returns unmuted, the hum and hiss from the F/X units is pretty obvious. If I mute the return of the Q2, the level of hum and hiss gets cut in HALF.

The Q2 is noisier than a bunch of lowball stuff I've owned and other stuff I still own (Digitech DSP 128, Lexicon Vortex). In comparison (and it's a good one because both of these units came out around the same time and sold for the same amount), my Digitech TSR-24 is whisper quiet (actually it isn't, but compared to the Q2, it's pretty damn quiet).

The effects are pretty strong, most of the programmed presets have levels jacked so you can really hear them. The output of the Q2 is pretty strong, and you have to try pretty hard to overload the input.

In that respect, the Q2 is a lot better than say the Midiverb IV, which overloads if you look at it wrong.

I would say this box would be a lot happier connected to a console than in a guitar rig. It has a huge "lump in the middle" power supply with a proprietary connector, so it's not something you would want in a guitar rack anyway.

I think the reverbs in the Q2 are it's best feature, as long as you keep the Density and Diffusion parameters up high. I wondered why all the presets had these turned up to 99, and then I figured out why.

Once you turn them below about 75, the reverb gets very grainy, and in fact at low settings, it sounds like a bunch of BB's in a coffee can.

Poor sound quality at low Density/Diffusion settings is the hallmark of a cheap reverb, which I guess the Q2 is (and was). If you wonder why some Lexicons and TC units cost $2,000, try this test on them.

Still the reverbs when set appropriately do sound really good for a mid 90's box. I was pretty happy with the snare drum sound I got, I just wanted a change, plus I'm thinking of selling my Q2.

The delays are pretty good too, but that's pretty easy for any box to do. The chorus and flanging are not that great, especially compared to something high end - they are there, but the overall sound is just kind of swimmy and hissy, I've never found an app where they sounded that good.

For a digital box, the rotary speaker (called Lezlie by Alesis, nice ploy on words to avoid lawsuits by the real Leslie folks) is actually very good. My keyboard player has a Hughes and Kettner rotosphere which kills the Q2's leslie sound, but for a digital device, the leslie effect is pretty good.

Other than reverb, delay, EQ, the only other effects the Q2 has are in the pitch block. The pitch block includes stuff like chorus, flange, leslie speaker, stereo simulator, etc.

There are not any distortions, or mangling type of effects, just bread and butter stuff really.

I think for a mid level recording situation (newbies would get turned off by the user interface) or a rehearsal PA, the reverb and delays on the Q2 would be quite serviceable for vocals and drums.

It's a bit hard to get a handle on all of the pitch parameters, etc. so for guitars, you might want to consider another device.

I'm giving a slightly high rating for sound quality, because frankly that's the best feature of the Q2.

Huh, you've got to be kidding, right?

While my Quadraverb 2 has never actually broken, it has a lot of "issues", mainly related to software bugs. Every Alesis F/X unit I have ever used has had major software bugs, which never get fixed in subsequent revs. For that reason I plan on never buying another Alesis F/X unit. Here is my list of problems and gripes:

1. Holding Global Parameters - this one is weird, my Q2 goes through phases with this, currently it is working fine, but for two years before that it didn't.

Basically what happens is that MOST of the Global parameters would get puked out every time I shut the unit off. This means each time I cut the unit on I would have to reset the Global Direct Mute (the parameter that sets all the programs to 100% wet, for use with a mixing console), the midi channel, the midi thru, and about four other parameters that the thing would not remember.

The thing is, when I first got it, this worked fine. Then it stopped working. Then it started working again, for about 6 months, then it stopped again, etc.

This seems to happen for about 6 months to a year at a time.

Currently it is working, but only now for two months - we'll see how it holds out.

2. Midi Page bug - When you access the midi page, you cannot go forwards in the parameter list or it bops you out of that page. You have to go BACKWARDS in order to access the midi parameters.

3. Midi modulation parameter "freeze bug" - sometimes when you set up a midi modulation patch, the unit will "freeze" at the maximum setting (e.g. Reverb time at 99 seconds). This happens without even sending the box any midi data. The only way to undo this is to turn the amount setting for that modulation parameter down to "0", then cut it off, then cut it back on.

If you just cut the power off with this value left turned up, it boots back up "frozen".

Figuring this one out the first time it happened took me two hours (ggrrrrrrr).

4. Display - mine since it was just out of warranty (how convenient) has a problem with the large LCD display. It will darken in one corner, and then start to "flicker". Like the one problem, it will do this for months at a time and then decide to not do it for 6 months or a year. Very strange.

5. Midi Program Change - the Q2 has 200 programs, 100 user, and 100 preset. The thing is, there is NO parameter to address more than 100 programs via midi, and Alesis only routes the Midi Program changes to THE PRESET PROGRAMS.

So if you send a program change 50, it calls up preset 50, NOT USER PROGRAM 50.

The way around this is to use the "Midi Program Change Table", but this is lame on three accounts:

1. Why not just have a global "midi program select" parameter, that could be "Preset Programs", or "User Programs"

2. Just implement Bank select, so you could use a bank select message to select user or preset banks

3. Alesis just ASSUMES that you will want to call up THEIR programs, not yours.

I hardly ever use stock presets (maybe as a starting point, but never in stock form), yet Alesis assumes that I will mainly want to use their programs, not my own.

Should be the other way around...

6. Midi Modulated Parameters Implementation

Actually the original Quadraverb was like this too and it totally sucks, two big downers:

a. The display does not update the parameter setting when you change it via midi. What this means is you patch your midi slider to the box, setup all your settings, move the slider and you don't hear any change.

Alesis F/X do not "update" the parameter display, so even if the thing is working, you have no way of knowing, short of "hearing the change".

Most other boxes will update the parameter settings when changed via midi (some require no user input to show the change, others require you be on that particuliar parameter page).

This is nice because if the LCD does not show t

Hah, hah, hah, this is getting funnier by the minute...

Alesis tech support is the worst, even worse than Roland, and that is saying something.

I have never had Alesis answer my emails, and out of maybe 12 calls I made, I actually got through to live humans three times.

Only one of those three people even had a clue what I was talking about, and that guy just blew me off, with "oh it would take too much DSP to update the display, so they left that feature off".

The other thing that chaps me is that they released this thing with NUMEROUS BUGS, then had the audacity to suggest that you needed to pay $45 plus shipping to get an update ROM.

I might have ponied up the bux, but I wasn't so sure it would fix the bugs.

Two friends of mine own MidiVerb IV's, and both of them have the same midi bugs in them, and they were purchased four years APART!. They are two different software revs.

One of the bugs is pretty major, if you have any of the delay and reverb programs and change the delay output level, then the reverb level will shoot up to 100% wet and stay there until you reload the program.

Pretty much makes using midi modulation useless on those programs.

I have gotten some parts from Alesis (rack ears for a 3630 that got dropped) and that worked ok, but the tech support, either by phone or by Email is atrocious.

Now I realize that everybody in the US owns an Alesis device and they get a lot of calls and emails, but when you think about the boatloads of money that Alesis made over the years (hell just looking at 150,000 ADAT sales alone), they really should try harder to support their products.

I get a helluva lot better tech support on my Allen and Heath console, which I bought used and was last made by the company 5 years ago.

I would not buy an Alesis product if I thought I would need a lot of tech support.

You want to see a tech support disaster, just type Alesis PCR (their interface card for PC's) into any search browser - talk about a piece of crap that didn't work, and then the company just dropped the ball...

I'm sorry but the have to get a 1 on this one...

I realize that I have bashed this box pretty hard here, but when you pay $600 for an Alesis, you expect it to be better sorted out than the Quadraverb 2 was.

Overall sound quality is pretty good, not quite up to something like a Lexi MPX-1, but I think the verb is as good or better than it's Lexi comtemporary, the LXP-15. The thing is, I wished I'd spend another $250 and bought the LXP-15 II, then I would probably still be keeping it.

I plan on selling my Q2 (let's hope they don't read this review).

Again, it is a really good sounding box, if you are just a preset puncher, I think you will be happy with it.

If you like to dig in under the hood, it will really frustrate you with it's various bugs and other problems.

Nothing to totally stop you from working with it, but I hate stuff that pisses me off.

I play mainly hard rock and prog rock music, the Q2 is really good on snare and toms, and vocals - I never used it that much on guitar, but when configured with a mixing console, it would probably be good on that as well.

It does sound really good on acoustic guitar, the verbs are really nice and smooth for that (just keep the Density and Diffusion up).

I've been playing a lot longer than I would care to admit.

I'll put it to you this way, I was playing when Digital rack F/X meant the original Blue MXR digital delay, which cost $1200, and a bunch of Americans were staying in an Iraqi "hotel" in which they could "check out any time they liked, but they could never leave..."

Uhh, I own a bunch of gear (my friends suggest I'm a gear slut...), I'll just list my F/X (and ones I use) since this is an F/X review. I'm generally not a fan of F/X patched into guitar rigs, I'd rather get it at the console, I don't have much experience there. My current list of F/X (most are pretty lowball) and applications:

YAMAHA REV 500 - Snare reverb (pretty nice unit, real easy to use
especially for a Yamaha)

QUADRAVERB 2 - Backup and Lead vocals

DIGITECH TSR-24 - I like this one better than the Q2, but it's got
some quirks as well. I think the Verbs on the Q2
are slightly better, but the TSR-24 can do a lot
of interesting things and the midi on it ROCKS...

DIGITECH DSP-128 kind of my old workhorse, I've owned it since 1988
It's dark and muffly, but for some things that is
cool. I plan on replacing it, but I have to say
for it's age and price ($305 in 1988) it has been
a great unit. Back in the day (1988 - 1990) it was
my MAIN vocal F/X

LEXICON VORTEX - I call this one my "Secret Weapon". People are
just becoming hip to this unit. Bascially it's
two digital delays, but it goes far beyond that
It's great for whacky F/X , just not something
you want to use on every song.

ALESIS QUADRAVERB Keyboard Reverb and F/X

The original. This one has it's quirks and bugs
but is WAYY more solid than the Q2. IT also
does not sound as good as the Q2. Still for an
1989 box, it sounds good. The midi
implementation is just as screwy as the Q2, but
overall it's a lot easier to program

DIGITECH DSP 256 This one is in the rehearsal PA at my keyboard
player's house. Not exactly a high end unit, but
for 1989 tech, it sounds pretty damn good.
This has got to be one of the easiest to program
F/X units ever. I had this thing down cold in
about a week after I bought it. Great deal on
the used market ($100 - $125, just don't think

Nonostate offra una grande varita' di combinazioni di effetti risulta comunque molto facile ed intuitivo da usare... anceh per i principianti.....ovviamente essendoci infinite possibilita' di abbinare gli effetti occorre conoscere come lavora ogni singolo effetto!! (sul manuale e' brevemente riportata la funzione di ogni effetto)

La qualita' del suono e' molto alta, certamente non ci troviao di fronte ad un g-force ma si riescono a creare suoni molto piacevoli!
Da tenere presente che suona abbastanza trasparente, quindi non si avranno mai i suono saturi (ma freddi) di uno zoom (CHE SECONDO ME FA SCHIFO)

Ci sono alcuni programmi che danno la possibilita' di lavorare con il quadraverb 2 attraverso il computer lavorando esclusivamente con il mouse!! il Programma che io uso e' il qClick, lo potete trovare il versione trial (lo usate 30 volte poi non si apre piu) su internet e volendo trovate anche la password gratuta per usarlo anceh dopo i 30 giorni (cercate qClick crack con google)

Io uso il Quadraverb 2 per fare musica metal!!! La conversioen A/D e' a 18 bit quindi la distorsione rimane piacevolmente invariata dopo il passaggio!! La parte dietro comprende due uscite ottico/digitali, due uscite normali (a Jack) per la connessione stereo e un canale per ricevere dati tramite Pc. Ci sono poi le connessioni midi a 5 pin In e OUT.

I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to complex rack units, but the manual for this thing is very thorough. If I were to take the time to actually study it, I'm sure I could tame this thing and get everything I want out of it and more. For now, I'm satisfied with the presets. I just adjust the presets to my liking, but someday I will gett of my lazy butt and learn the ins and outs of this thing.

Like I previously stated, I haven't really used this thing to it's fullest capacity. I can say that in my opinion, what I've encountered so far is nothing short of awesome. This thing has some of the best reverbs I've ever heard. The pitch effects(chorus, flange, detune,phasor, leslie, etc.) are top of the line. The delays are great, the eq's (parametric and graphic) are ok. The guitar overdrive kind of smells, but I get all the crunch I'll ever need with my Rocktron Piranha. All the effects have the option of mono or stereo, by the way. I run my rig through a stereo 2x12 and I love the stereo effects! Some of them are just too cool! Unlike alot of companies, alesis actually employs very capable people to program the very usable presets. I give the sound quality of this thing an 8, simply because I cannot believe that they could not have installed a more acceptable overdrive. Also, the grapic eq makes an annoying little hum when the mids are tweaked. I hate mids anyway, but you get my point? Other than that, this is a top of the line unit with some really impressive sounds.

I bought this used and the dirtbag who sold it to me never bothered to tell me that it was slightly broken! I wasn't able to create my own programs. Alesis kindly fixed it for me and I haven't experienced any problems since.

Alesis customer support rules, boys and girls!!! Like I said, my unit was broken. I contacted them, they gave me the info I needed to send it to them for repairs and for a flat fee of $100, I got my unit back in... Get this!....TWO WEEKS!!! I shit you not, two weeks. Now, THAT'S customer support!!

I have all the confidence in the world when it comes to Alesis. Their products, customer support, whatever. I really do like this unit and if it were lost, I couldn't buy a new one because it's been discontinued, but I would definitely look into another Alesis unit. The best bang for your buck in my opinion. But in the end, it's all up to you, right?

routing is the beast to overcome but when mastered its play time,who said the distortion sucks is insane the trick is use 2 overdrive blocks in series with an eq block before each and ROLL OFF THE LOW END
ive gotten a thight bass with insane low noise upper mid to high end
crunch!also your acually designing a vurtuall preamp this way so tweek
the frequencys carfully ,try 2 or 3 band parameterics,so i got a great
distrotion thats where the brick wall appears NOT ENOUGH POWER IN THE
PROCESSING DEPARTMENT!,8 blocks but not enough power to put them into
effect,well just my luck eq's are power hungry hey i need my delay +
reverb on to the next rack unit which really sucks because the concept
was on the mark and i got 3 blocks left but out of steam!3eq's +2overdrives=5,you can add a delay but thats it ,if it only had 2x the
power or 3x the power wow then i would have kept programing my way to
nirvana(not the band!)hey im a guitar player and i'd have to stack 2
of these babies to get the job done->too much money!.as a studio rack
its great but again promise of 8 effects blocks but wimpy horsepower
to back it up!

great on all fronts except as i noted on ease of use its strong points
again are the routing abilities and the 8 effect block concept!but
if it had 2 or 3 times the power and possibly 10-12 block ability it
could have ruled the realm!

never banged it around so never had a problem

for a guitar player whos a distortion tone freak it had a good distortion in there but took most of its muscle to achieve,if only
one overdrive block was made right ,it could have been a stand alone
wonder box but that wasnt the case hope they continue the concept and
juice up the power and blocks!

very easy to use. just 4 modes, type (effect), routing (of virtual patch wires), parameters and mix (levels and so forth)
simple, but allows really complex routing of effects.
big display helps.

home studio. electronic equip only. using adat ins and outs. very cool.
as far as i can tell, fx are all quality. could do with more destructive distortion. its about 3 years old now (this is 1999) so the fx arent as good as really modern units, but its the routing system that i bought it for.

dunno yet. looks really solid though

waiting for tech support on a query. the first time they replied v. quickly, but not after.

wicked. its the modularity that is the winner. 8 fx blocks in any order with any routing, even with feedback. 8 modulators per patch (including 2 lfos and envelopes). eg, split the signal into 3 bands with filters, put each freq component thru different fx, eg a ping pong delay, slow pan, and a reverb. feed the outputs into a parametric eq, then into reverb, and feed this signal back to input!
what other fx unit offers this? as far as i know youd need at least 4 normal fx units to achieve it.

Once you understand the basic concepts of how the unit works, building new patches is almost as easy as stringing pedals together. If you're going to build a patch from scratch, plan ahead, because the architecture doesn't lend itself to random experimentation unless you've got a MIDI controller with a carload of value wheels on it. A copy-and-paste feature helps for getting things together quickly with bits of your favorite patches, although you have to maintain some discipline to keep from losing your work when you're jumping fast and furious between the patches.
If you intend to gig, I recommend a MIDI controller, as it's difficult to quickly navigate the 200 patch slots with either the dial or the keypad.

With the exception of a truly awful pitch shifter and a distortion that doesn't do well beyond _al dente_, everything on the box gets a thumbs-up. The stereo reverbs are truly outstanding, although a couple of them eat up a lot of DSP and don't leave room for much else. I bought my Q2 to be used with a tube preamp, so the distortion isn't much of an issue for me.
The Q2 is first and foremost a studio unit, and as such the input stages are best driven at line level. You can plug a guitar directly in, but cranking up the input level tends to make the sound muddy and lifeless.

So far it's spent most of the year I've had it in my den without burping. The previous owner had it in his reinforcement rack and never had a bad word to say about it.

I called Alesis to find out where I could get the factory patch set to download to the unit when I got it. They promptly and courteously pointed me to their web site, which had exactly what I needed.

If you're looking for an all-in-one guitar processor, the Q2 will fall far short. If you've already got a preamp and are looking to add some depth to your sound, it does a great job at a very reasonable price. I'd buy another if they still made it, but its successor (the Q20) looks even better.
If you're buying the Q2 as a guitar processor, you'll have to invest some time writing patches. Most of the built-ins are geared for studio work (i.e., vocals) or are more demos of what the unit can do. I've done a few dozen patches that serve most of my needs, and the time spent on fine-tuning them has been well spent.
The only things I wish it had are a global toggle to make the outputs mono and a built-in power supply instead of a cord with a lump in the middle.
Other than that, it's all-'round a good unit.