Alesis Quadraverb Q2

Easy to use, even easier to get useable/musical sounds! Anyone can get a unit to make noises, but is it musical? In the case of this Alesis product, I say a very strong "yes"! If you've had the Microverb III, then bought the original Quadraverb and/or the Quadraverb GT, this is your natural "next step" in the Alesis line of single-spaced multi-FX rack mount units. The best thing is you can get these on ebay used for around $100!!! Best bang fer yer buck I'm aware of!

Lots of buttons, incredibly well-thought out info screen that tells user all pertinent info in setting up patches. Very user-friendly. Best when used w/ a mixing board w/ designated independent FX sends/returns for single channels. Can be mono or stereo. Limited only be yer imagination! Probably not a good idea to use w/ a tube guitar amp's FX loop. But then, I'd never recommend using a digital multi FX unit on a decent tube amp. What's the point? Get yerself some good to great (Zvex?) analogue pedals and use them AFTER the guitar and BEFORE the amp! FX loops suck tone out of yer amp, unless the FX loop is tube driven, and even then, it's gonna take a lil something away from yer overall signal. This unit would best be used on the guitar track AFTER you've recorded it, to add weight/distance/modulation FX to the track. I also use this on my live vocal mic channel, in an "insert" right after the compressor/limiter. Sounds awesome! Especially nailing that Sun Studios tile-wall-Elvis-rockabilly slapback (at about 126 ms). So adjustable, you can control every imaginable aspect to any given situation. I can't say enuff good things about this "working man's" box of tricks. Did I mention drums? This is a drum mixers wet dream. Something about this units' ability to wetten drum tracks, I dunno if it's ever-so-slight metallic-ish reverb quality, or the sterile clean nuances it delivers adding "room" to drum levels. Me just like mucho mucho on eL drumm-o!

Alesis has been exceptional to deal w/ in the past, but I've heard in the last few years, they spread themselves too thin & ended up collapsing in on themselves. Bankrupt? Out of Business? Kaput? I dunno. but back in the day, I broke the ears off a DM Pro, and they billed my visa card and had me a pair in the mail the very next day. Bravo! please, someone, tell me they're still in business? I know they aren't making these anymore. I got my first one for $80 & my second for $85 (both via eBay). buy 'em all up! they're definitely worth every penny, up to about $200. After that, you might wanna consider something newer & w/ a warranty. but I doubt you'll find one w/ this many features...

Like I said above, when they were in business, they were the best. Hope they still are (in business).

This thing is worth the price of admission alone just for the analogue to digital & digital to analogue converters (lots of folks buy 'em up now just for that feature). They got digital & analogue ins/outs, totally creatable signal paths, global FX rules that allow this to work via 100% wet/dry, and all points in between. My only complaint is when you go to change the inner battery, you'd be best off having someone that knows a thing or two about a thing or two do the job (Soldering gun required). If Alesis went under, as I heard, because they built too many great units, too soon, that lasted too long, and offered too many bells/whistles, then that's a friggin' shame! If Chrylser coulda done this w/ cars 20 years ago, no one in this country would know what a "Toyota" is. This is one of those units that I casually watch Ebay for, and if I can get it for under $100, I buy 'em up. One of these days, people will look back at the Q2 like they look back at the Type Two VW bug (before they curved the windshields in 1969 and ruined what was the greatest affordable car ever!). Totally hands-on lay-out, set-up to work the best for people w/ the least amount of time to learn a new set of instructions. Best multi-FX unit Alesis ever made. Buy them ALL, everyone of these you find on ebay for less than a hundred dollars: buy it!