Korg 104ds Hyper Distortion

easy to use after a little bit of fiddling.Might take longer to adjust than a typical boss type unit in a gig situation.

This unit is capable of some seriosly good tones.Easily nails sounds like creep by radio head or sorrow by floyd.Unfortunately it is equally capable of sounding like a wasp in a coke can if you dont dial in your sound carefully.The noise gate works well and cuts in a treat when you stop playing.The down side to this is that if you hold down a sustained note and let it ring,the end of the note will crackle as it fades because the gate cuts in and out.There is also a slight delay when stomping this pedal on.Only a few milliseconds but it is definately there. For all its faults and there are a few,this is the best sounding distortion pedal I have owned and I will not be getting rid of it in a hurry.

Although there is nothing actually wrong with my unit I have to say it does not give off an aura of solidity and dependability like some other pedals.I would definately have to use this quite a few times before I gigged with it.It just seems a bit cheap looking and light weight.

Dont know,never tried.

This pedal is a strange one.On one hand it can sound absolutely fantastic and make my weedy strat sound like a LesPaul on steroids.On the other hand it is not the kind of pedal you could quickly tweak between songs and would need a sound check all of its own to set it up.On balance the good definately outweighs the bad and for recording it would be the first distortion pedal I would reach for.It sounds absolutely superb if set up properly.I wish I could give it a 10 but that would be to overlook its faults.

easy to use after a little bit of fiddling.Might take longer to adjust than a typical boss type unit in a gig situation.

This unit is capable of some seriosly good tones.Easily nails sounds like creep by radio head or sorrow by floyd.Unfortunately it is equally capable of sounding like a wasp in a coke can if you dont dial in your sound carefully.The noise gate works well and cuts in a treat when you stop playing.The down side to this is that if you hold down a sustained note and let it ring,the end of the note will crackle as it fades because the gate cuts in and out.There is also a slight delay when stomping this pedal on.Only a few milliseconds but it is definately there. For all its faults and there are a few,this is the best sounding distortion pedal I have owned and I will not be getting rid of it in a hurry.

Although there is nothing actually wrong with my unit I have to say it does not give off an aura of solidity and dependability like some other pedals.I would definately have to use this quite a few times before I gigged with it.It just seems a bit cheap looking and light weight.

Dont know,never tried.

This pedal is a strange one.On one hand it can sound absolutely fantastic and make my weedy strat sound like a LesPaul on steroids.On the other hand it is not the kind of pedal you could quickly tweak between songs and would need a sound check all of its own to set it up.On balance the good definately outweighs the bad and for recording it would be the first distortion pedal I would reach for.It sounds absolutely superb if set up properly.I wish I could give it a 10 but that would be to overlook its faults.

There is only one sound and that is to distorted to use with a band. It sounds like a Boss DS1 with all the knobs on ten. People are giving good reviews, so they can sell it on ebay because they are all broken with severe problems. Why do you think korg doesn't even list ever making them on their web page.

I got mine for eleven dollars and feel ripped off. The volume always jumps from loud to soft and you can get this same distortion sound out of any korg effect.

They have really bad switching and volume problems. I don't think you could use it live. Maybe it's OK for some kid practicing on his solid state amp and his lotus guitar.

They're is no customer support. Korg does not even list on it's web page. No manual available from them either. It's like they want to forget they ever made such an unreliable pedal.

I'm glad I sold mine for $15.00, making a $4.00 profit. Thank you to the kid who took it off my hands. I'm sure the person who wrote the review before this really sold all those great fulltone pedals for this. That should tell you something.

This is a very easy to use pedal.

After I got this, I sold my fulltone '69 and '70 Fuzz pedals. It has a great sound and it is smooth. I can acheive the sound I've heard in my head all these years. I have had just about every distortion and this is my absolute favorite.

After using it for a year, it still sounds great. I have had no problems with this unit. It was used when I got it at a local music store. I tested it out and had to have it. It was very unique, giving me two separate sounds.

I don't think there is any customer support for these effects, but I think that there must be some effects tech that could fix it, if necessary.

I paid $95.00 used and made about $700.00 in all the effects I sold because I did not need anymore after I got this.

I find it very easy to get a good tight sound out of this pedal. There are two patches for editing, it keeps your setting until you unplug, then you have to start all over. Not hard to get back, but it would be cooler if the memory was more permanent. The manual is very well detailed and explains everything, I mean everything. Detailed pictures and all. I don't believe this pedal is in production anymore, it is truly a treasure. I practice at home with it always and would trust it at a gig with no backup. Unbelieveable tone, I could write on, and on, and on, but i will stop now. I'm sure you get the point.

I am running a Dean ZX Guitar into the following:
Ibanez LU10 Tunner into a
Dunlop Crybaby GCB-95 into a
Korg Toneworks 104ds into a
Boss BF-2 Flanger into a
Boss GE-7 Equalizer into a Randall 100watt Stereo Chorus
G2 Series Amplifier

This is my pedal board setup. Not noisy at all. I am always using the 104ds with the Boss GE-7. Sometimes I kick on the flanger for the "jet plane effects", but mostly not. Right now i am satisfied and that's saying something. I have a very "Shadows Fall - Art of War" sound that is working for me at the moment. This Pedal is my,"Distortion Holy Grail", if you will. you can get pronounced chords, or power chords just the same no muddy bull. I have currently used other distortion pedals in my line up like the Hughes and Kettner Warp Factor, and the Rocktron Rampage and this pedal beats the hell out of those two. No Comparison, Like two different worlds all together. I would definately buy another if ever needed to.

Seems well built. Brushed metal top and back. Plastic Bottom and sides though. I have only played at home and it is velcroed to my pedalboard, I believe it to be sturdy enough to gig with only limited drunken abuse.

I have never needed Customer Support but I would think it would be somewhat difficult with the pedal being discontinued and all.

I play everything from classic rock, to speed/thrash/death types of metal. This is definately a metal kind of pedal. I have been playing for 14 or so years off and on and I have never heard a pedal like this before. If it was stolen, or lost, ect., I would definately be on the hunt for another ASAP. None other could replace it. I love the sound that I haven't been able to find that is available here. I hate that there is no threshold control on the internal noise gate. Favorite feature would have to be the programmable patch that could only be better if it kept the program after it was unplugged but you can't have it all I guess. This pedal is definately the foundation of my dirty gain sound. I don't know how I got by without it. It is really that phoenominal of a device. Two Words: Love It.

This is a pretty easy pedal to use. With the toggle switch in the up Postion you can edit the Gain,Bass,Treble,Level. With The Toggle switch in the Down Postion you can edit the Mid Feq,Mid Level, Cabinet Size, Cabinet Depth. There are many options for sound/tone shaping, given the small size of this pedal. You can Save you Preset's. Once you have dailed in a sound you like, step or hold down the Program button and in 3-4 seconds it will start to blink a few times and then you Patch is Saved.

This is a killer Metal/Death-metal Pedal.
I've owned 2 of these back in the mid 90's and I liked them alot,but had had some troubles with them and had them sent off for repairs and then to be never heard from again. So I had store credit and started using Rack preamps.

Well I saw one used on Ebay and I thought what the hell, I've been looking for a good distortion pedal for Rehearsal ever since I had lost my other two unit's. Well $40.00 later I had one arrive this week. It kicks just ass much ass as i remember. This little pedal has plently enough Gain for any Metal application. With the Mid Feq selection Knob gives you endless array of Metal tones for any style. The Pedal has very tight low end characteristic's and has great Clarity. I think the Unit has some sort of Noise Reduction or Gate because the unit has very little noise if any at all.
The distortion reminded me of Exhumed " Anatomy is Destiny" album but with more clarity and a tighter edge to it.

I'm using it for Rehearsal and possibly as a back up.

I got it used of Ebay

I rate it a 6 because i've owned 3 of these unit's. The first two I had problems with Program button going out because of Saving my presets and changing between the two programs.I brought a thrid unit off Ebay for $40.00for being aleast 10 years old it was in great condition. everything works on it great and I'm Not having any trouble's at all.
If you have any problem with parts going out it's nothing that a you can't get from a local electronic's store.

It's easy to use, but I lost the manual years ago, and I think there is no way to save your settings once power is lost, so you just have to remember and re-dial them in. The two presests are all I use now anyway

For having to redial in your settings...a 6

I have had this amp for sometime, right now I have it hooked up in front of a Randall solid state 75W with a Celestion seventy 80, also use a separate EQ pedal and it just rips through the clean channel. I use an Epiphone Les Paul with Gibson p/u's and a Gibson SG.

This thing sounds so damn good, I sold my Tube amp and kept this setup. But I keep wanting that tube sound that everyone raves about so this past week I tested about 10 different tube amps in about a 5 hour time frame The only thing that could get distortion like this was the Mesa.

By that I mean, the distortion is brutal yet clear at the same time. It's not fuzzy, raspy, or muddy like most of the amps I played when trying to get a sound like this. The only way I could achieve a sound close was to go through the clean channel and run this pedal through it. But to be honest I couldn't tell that much of a difference between them and my Randall.

Has that cabinet resonator and noise suppression in which is huge.
For some reason though, it doesn't sound worth a SH** through my small 15W practice amp but my Sh**y zoom 505II does, go figure

Bought new in Japan back in 99, and haven't had any of the problems others have stated, may have a split second delay going from the bypass mode to the distortion, but nothing a singer, drummer, or bass player can't cover up live..

n/a

As I said earlier, I just can't get rid of the thing. I keep thinking and searching for an all tube amp that can get my close to this sound on it's own, and I haven't found it yet. Maybe some of the 1500-2000 dollar ones can, but hell I am not out on a 50 state tour or anything...

Try one out if you can find it, and if you don't like it, they still will sell on ebay from time to time

Without a manual, I can't really say if I'm using this thing correctly or to its full potential. With the input switch set to LO, all I got was feedback and squeal. Switched it to HI, problem went away. The noise gate works as it should, it does not abruptly cut off, it gradually fades out. But that said, the gain of this pedal is amazing. If you are trying to play delicate and use dymamics, I suggest you control the volume with your guitar volume pot if you can. Play with your guitar volume on 4 or so, and as you hear the pedal start to fade, turn up the guitar. The thing is, when you do this (and this is why this pedal shines above others) you still have GAIN coming from the pedal, and you still have room at the top end if you need it. For instance plucking the strings Ritchie Blackmore style, soft plucking yields a nice mellow tone, and harder plucking (i.e. really pulling the strings) will ramp up the distortion. It's pretty amazing for a digital pedal to do this. Even most of my playing with this pedal, my guitar is on 7.

I play a stock Epiphone Les Paul Standard through a Fender Super Reverb (4x10 40W tube amp) and before buying this pedal, my effects were a Yamaha FX550 and previously an FX500. The FX500 did not have very good distortion, so I bought the FX550. It had 2 distortion, 2 OD and 1 Crunch setting, so it was an improvement over the FX500, and could come closer to what I was looking for, but, after reading reviews of this Korg, I had to give it a try. The Yamahas I was using, like most digital distortions, are known for their poor-sounding attempts at distortion. This Korg pedal sounds more like a BOSS ME-5 if you have ever heard one of those back in the day.

The palm-muting thing that others have described basically sounds like a wall of sheet metal being grinded with a diamond blade saw two inches from your face (it's a good thing). Have you ever heard the muted distortion on Master of Puppets or And Justice For All...?
This is one louder. It also has a nice little squeal coming off the the palm mute when you stop playing. However, this only lasts the appropriate 1/4 second before the noise gate kicks in and its dead quiet. But as I said in the above section, I have not had a problem with the noise gate while playing expressive passages. As far as sustaining metal-type leads I have had no problem there. There is also a nice subtle tone modulation happening, you can hear it if you hold a note. Not for everyone's preference or style of playing, but I like it because it's similar to how Zakk Wylde uses a rotovibe or chorus (but it is not that drastic!).
Bottom line - if you do not want to sound like Metallica, Randy Rhoads, Tony Iommi, Zakk Wylde, Pantera or Shadows Fall then do not buy this pedal!!!! It will shear-your-face-off-like-a-747.

So far I have not tried it for recording or used the Line setting. I have only played it through an amp with the Amp setting. The recipe for success is: turn the amp up, turn your guitar down, and then adjust the pedal to taste.

I have had the volume drop-out problem when adjusting any of the knobs. Usually if you hit the program switch twice, then problem solved. But it would be nice not to have the problem in the first place. For live gigs, probably not a good thing to have to deal with.
I will give it a 5 out of ambivalence.

There is none for a product this old. Couldn't find an owner's manual on the Korg site or even with the help of Google. Come to think of it, manuals for these things probably fetch a higher price on eBay than the pedals themselves.

If you are going to play Sabbath, Pantera, (old)Metallica, Ozzy w/Randy Rhoads, Black Label Society, Shadows Fall, Halford or Arch Enemy, then this is a pedal worth trying out if you can get it cheap. I got mine for $26 on eBay.
For playing Rush, AC/DC and more melodic/clean/mid-toned music then I would recommend something else. This pedal is just too METAL.

Knobs have two functions you hold down the switch for about five seconds to save one of two programs red or green

I've got digitech zoom yamaha tech 21 tons of boss THIS EATS THEM ALL
UP!!!!!!!!!!!! You know how you try and adjust a distortion till
it's just right but you just can't quite get it right (such as with
metal zone for example) this korg sounds great no matter what the setting and it sounds great thru a big amp a small amp straight into the computer even good right in your home video stereo REALLY i've got about 58 distortion units and this is the BEST and it's so much better then the new korg REMS stuff and you get two sounds to save one for backing and one for solos

You have got to use ultra lithium or the most expensive batteries you can find normal AA batteries will only last about an hour before the unit emits a hum Also if you use an adapter you may have some of the reprogramming resetting volume changes that some reviewers are crabbing about but as long as I use STRONG AA batteries I LOVE it
and it is worth it

what?

I love it and will get more when I can find them the OD is wonderful also the OD has a HOT sound like scorching steam that has to be heard to be believed I truly believe that someone like Van Halen would like the sound of the korg ds or od

I read the manual once and lost it, but that was enough to figure out how to use it. If you have multieffects unit and can edit the patches, this pedal won't be a problem. Flip switch, turn knobs, press buttons with foot (or finger).

My setup: Strat w/ DG20 EMG system > Boss CS3 Comp/Sust. > Dunlop Crybaby > Korg Hyperdistortion > Boss GE7 EQ > Boss TR2 Trem > Amp.

Now, this category is where this pedal shines. First of all, the Hyperdistortion gave me MY sound. The DG20 EMGs are very picky and most distortions, ODs, and fuzzes don't sound good with that system. But the overdrive on the Hyperdistortion perfectly complements the DG20 and the sound I heard in my head was now coming out of my guitar.

Another plus with this pedal is the cabinet resonator feature, which allows my 1X12 amps to sound like stacks. Or I can play through my 2X12 Ultimate Chorus, decrease the cabinet resonation, and let the amp's natural resonance do the work.

Using a Les Paul, the overdrive AND distortion sound absolutely killer. The point is, with so much flexibility in tailoring the sound of this pedal, I haven't found a guitar or amp that it didn't sound absolutely great on. Yes, you gotta fiddle with the knobs to get it right with each guitar and amp you use, but it's worth it.

The folks who engineered this pedal did a superb job on the sound quality. I also think the noise gate is awesome. It works perfectly on my pedal, though some reviewers have complained their's sucks. I have no problem with sustain, but then I get my guitar to interact with my amp when playing legato phrases/soloing, which means the volume is up and I can elicit feedback when I want to (think Trey from Phish, for example).

One thing this pedal doesn't do is blues-type overdrive. If you want subtle breakup, this isn't the pedal for you. But for everything from hard-driven tube overdrive to scooped mid metal to death grind core, this pedal can do it.

I've never plugged the Hyperdistortion into the board, so I can't comment on that. I always mic my amps.

Okay, here's where the Hyperdistortion fails. As I said above, this pedal is MY sound. But since it can't be relied upon to gig with, what am I to do?

Luckily, I don't need to switch between overdrive and distortion (I only use the overdrive setting). However, I've had instances where after getting my OD dialed in just right, the pedal will change my sound on me when I switch from clean to dirty. I dunno. Maybe the vibrations affect the internal circuitry or the potentiometers or something. A couple times I've been playing and the volume would suddenly increase, or decrease. I've also had the midrange go up full bore.

I don't mind having to dial in my sound each time I plug in, but once it's dialed in I want it to stay there. Since I don't want to be playing in front of people and shatter their eardrums with a surprise volume spike (or blow out my amp), this pedal will have to be replaced with another one. I'll still use it for recording, however.

Another problem is that the input jack is a bit dodgy. A fantastic hum will bleet from this pedal if my patch cord isn't set in right. A bit of solder might help, but I've never opened the pedal to look inside.

Never tried. It's a multinational corporation that mass produces many products. I can't imagine Korg servicing this pedal, particularly since they stopped making it.

I play orginal rock with this pedal. I've been playing off & on for 20 years, and I'm just now getting back into playing more seriously after 10 years of hobby playing. If this pedal were lost or stolen I'd be upset, mainly because I'd be an idiot to lose it and I'd despise the person who had the audacity to take it without permission. Yes, I get my sound from this pedal, but I'm looking for a different pedal that will give me the same sound with more reliability.

I love the interactive nature of this pedal with different guitars, amps, and other effects. The sound quality is just absolutely marvelous. Sublime. I hate that it's not reliable. My favorite feature is the overdrive, but the distortion is great too for chunky palm muting type stuff. Scoop the mids and dime out the cabinet resonator and it's like, WHOA. This pedal will sound great with any guitar (though I'd stay away from the cheap single coils with this or any distortion pedal). I wish it had a reliable memory, sturdier knobs and switches, and 1/4" jacks.

I love the sound of this pedal, but for gigging it is unacceptable. Anyone out there find a pedal that can sound like this one with more reliability?

Read below for features.

I need to add that considering its limits stated in reveiws below you may consider this a perfect StudiO pedal. Not such a partygoer, more of a homebody.

Easy enough but many ppl may benifit from the manual rather than shoot blindly just to get it perfect and then loose the patch.

Thats ok tho you may find a better one. Hatebreed or way deeper. I thought the same thing as other reviewers"$1000+ amp".

Sound quality has to be witnessed to be believed. Sounds huge. The cabinet resinator or whatever is kinda like a bad ass mini manual(locked) flanger with depth and freq control. My lord this thing does things soundwise never done with one pedal. One rack maybe. I run it thru a 70 watt ampeg ss 112 and a BCRICH w super dist. and its crushing. I wish I had a full stack. Any stack.

Mine seems ok. No back up. Um not after what I hear from others, but my amp has killer dist too so no backup for me.

Never dealt with .

Buy one if you are needing a break from the MT 2. It satisfies. Two different animals. The korg is more versatle, you get what you pay for.

I wonder if those $200+ pedals sound this good? I never tried one. I don't see how it can get any more brutal. Great for low volume bedroom stoner grind heads like myself.

I would be fn pissed if this died. Would I buy another? Probably not until something happens to my metalzone. Buy then these will cost 300 used cuz they beat buying the amp it simulates and or beats the crap out of. And there were only about 500 made. Just kidding, I am still waiting for an answer from Korg on that one. There weren't many tho.


Palmmute heaven baby.

it's pretty easy editing patches even without the manual. sounds great to me.

funny as it sounds, i use a karaoke amp that i wired up for room practice. for gigs, I usually end up using valvestates or jcm 900s. the 104d has a bit of a warm sound to it, underneath all the chunky gain. the delay switching from clean to heavy kinda kills it though. i'l probably have to save up for an a/b switch to fix this. i had an mt2 but the 104d has a more tubey sound for soloing so that kinda sold me. i play rapmetal. I know it's out of date, but i still dig it so fuck you for caring.

the clean switch kinda got screwy with me. but contact cleaners kinda did the job. I don't have a back up. just sold my mt2. if it dies on me onstage i'll just switch my set up to straight jack. better to be quick on your toes than just stand there crying like a cockmonger when things fuck up.

fuck the company, takes too long. i just get whiz kids to fix it for beer. whiz kids like beer... they better.

if it's chunky and tubey, that's all i need. after all, it's never about the equipment, it's about the hands, the ears, and what's in between. as for sustain? it kills only when you roll down your guitar's volume knob. other than that my notes ring out fine. if it still chokes then it must be your fingers, check your vibrato. stop passing blame and improvise.

easy to use, never read the manual

i use gibson studio with it connected to a marshall jcm 900, and i totally love the sound, when i want it to be heavy it can be as heavy as i want it,when i play alternative stuf it can also be as warm as i like it

can't depend on it that much though, the little switch in the middle looks like its gona give way, and according to the other reviews the knobs and switches arent that tough

no trouble as of yet

when im with my band we play stuf like sepultura, wolfgang, razorback, and alot of funk rock, and i can use this pedal for all of them. i have been playing for six years now, i back this up with a art xtreme multi fx and a vox wah, sounds great with the wah. what i like about this pedal so much is that unlike other pedals, it doesnt have that sound which sounds like hard rain when you put the bass and the gain up, this pedal was refered to me by the guitarist of eternal now a band that plays dream theatre stuf.. i just hope it had a little more sustain in it,

Getting a good sound out of it is really easy, getting a few excellent sounds is relatively easy with this thing. Using the controls may be too much for an average retarded musician: there are
four knobs and a switch for 2 different modes for each knob, plus 2 footswitches labeled program and bypass. Confusing?

I have used this pedal with 2 ESP guitars (A Horizon & K-500), either
through a Marshall EL34 50/50 or directly into my computer's hard disk via the Line In.

The pedal is not noisy at all, although it can amplify cable hiss/hum (like every distortion box on earth)if you use cheap cables.

I sold my SansAmp PSA-1 because of this pedal. The sound is that good.

THERE IS ONE DRAWBACK THOUGH: THIS PEDAL EATS SUSTAIN! I'M GOING TO GET MINE FIXED SOON.
The distortions are very versatile, and the pedal does not eat the bottom end of your sound like most others do.

Never gig w/o backup with ANY piece of equipment..

No contact yet, no opinion

This is perfect for metal, except for one thing: the pedal eats sustain because of the internal noise gate. That is the only thing anybody into metal could possibly hate about it. There should at least be the option to tune the sensitivity of the gate trigger..

AS TONS OF PPL SAID: IT SUCKS DUDE!
SPECIALLY CUZ WHEN SWITCHING FROM CLEAN TO CRUNCH ON THIS PEDAL, HOWEVER, THERE'S A SLIGHT DELAY BEFORE THE DISTORTION COMES ON! I REALLY DON'T CARE IF IT'S BUILT LIKE A TANK, CUZ I KNOW KORG PPL WROTE REVIEWS HERE (NO JOKIN') IT'S WORTHLESS!

MR. SADAO FUKUSHIMA, U MUST WARRANTY US A GREAT PRODUCT AND TEST IT BEFORE IT'S SELL TO PEOPLE! I REALLY DON'T THINK U CARE ABOUT WE AS
CONSUMERS!!!

IT SUCK! PPL WHO AGREE W/ME AND PPL WHO DON'T (SPECIALLY KORG PPL) FEEL FREE TO MAIL ME.

I just want to add to "Jonitals" public service announcement below. Mine started to crap out on me, changing EQ settings. I pretty much just took the whole thing apart, unplugged and re-plugged the little clips with wires coming out and then put it back together. It seemed to work, for now. I think the problem is the little switch that flips you between the function of the 4 knobs. Either the switch itself or where it connects to the insane circuit board. It glitches, and if say the "MID" knob is set somewhere other than where it's preset is, it will go to that. Because I was setting the "LOW" on full, then it would glitch and suddenly the "MID" was cranked(they share a knob). The "MID" preset was more like 1 o'clock. If it does it to me again I'm going to try "Jonitals" suggestions.

Pretty easy to get used to, but not totally self-explanatory. Read the little manual sheet once, and you should be ready to rock.

I use this in my bass rig, a 1992 Ernie Ball StingRay (w/ active elctronics), into a Kustom KB200 w/ a 2x15 cab. I also use a DOD FX27 Envelope Filter (iffy) and an old Boss phaser, all set up in a custom FX chain w/ a mini-mixer for separate wet/dry signal control.
I get a great "Tony Levin/King Crimson" bass fuzz out of this doohickey. I mangage a pretty good overdriven tone, but the heavy-duty muck is where it really shines. There's no denying that you can get this pedal to spit out some garbage, but on the whole I find it pleasing if a little noisy. Definitely needs a wall wart -- batteries bring ugly hum. AndI could never use this if I didn't also run clean bass signal along with it -- eats up ALL the bottom end (as most dist. pedals do on bass).

I do rely on it, and I have never used a backup. But that's because I'm lazy, not because I don't need one. The switches are flaky at times, other than that it's been pretty dependable for several years now.

Couldn't tell you. I've never had a problem that I felt warranted contacting them. At least until AFTER they discontinued the product....

I've been playing folk, classic/prog rock, jazz, fusion, some R&B/hip-hop, etc. for about 14 years. This is not my first distortion pedal and it probably won't be my last, but it's served very well. It has the flexibility I need to provide 2 different distorted tones, plus easy adjustment on the fly, plus a wide variety of possible sounds. And keep in mind, I'm using this in a bass rig. If I lost it somehow, I'd probably not fight too hard to get another one -- surely there are other possibilities (my late lamented DOD American Metal pedal was AOK for several years.....).

read the instructions, it isn't that hard, just a little longer than that of a 3 knob pedal. the patches are a cinch, just set and hold down the switch for 3 seconds.

i am using a esp/ltd mv-100, and a dean avalanche 7 string. my rig is guitar/dunlop crybaby/boss superovedrive/korg hyperdistortion/danelectro milkshake chorus and a crate vc head and a marshall 4x10 cabinet. not noisy at all, it has a built type of noise gate. i can get anything that i would ever need out of it, i play everything from steely dan to metallica and pantera. also it holds the bottom end of my 7 string very well, i do like korn. the good thing is you can set each channel for different settings or set them the same and set one a little louder so it can be a volume boost for leads. love the damn thing.

i have seen that some people have had problems i haven't had any and i have had it for almost a year. i don't gig anymore so i haven't used it live.

n/a

i mainly play heavy rock and nu-metal. when i want to play some older stuff i use my amp distortion and my sd-1. this thing is great and versatile it just takes some time to get your own liking out of it. i think it can do anything that the metalzone can do and more. this is one phat ass pedal.

JUST READ THE MANUAL!!!

Great Sound. A little loud, but yep, GREAT SOUND!

I already used it on several gigs and....well...it's f*ckin' nice but it depends on the amp you R usin' cuz it don't fit at everyone. That's y the soundcheck before the gig it's necesary.

Nope.

I play INCUBUS'S songs and this dist. fits perfect as Mike Einziger's. As he does; the pedals synchronization is essential as his dist. so it helps me a lot (most of all the 2 dist.) (His Rotosphere costs about $420, but this shit sounds similar)-anyone who enjoy INCUBUS so crazy as I do, just mail me!!-

I'm going to skip this as my sole reason for this contibution is to help all the poor souls that bought one or more of these much maligned pedals.

Keep reading....

As you already know,these pedals all have a severe problems with the switches that manifest themselves as dropouts, even total silence.The problem can be addressed, however by opening up the units via the six Phillips screws, then pulling up the right side first guiding the PCB past the two metal lugs.You might as well disconnect the battery holder ,while you're at it, because all these pedals hum like a mother
without a PSU.
Now, see that plastic clip that clamps the PCB to the footswitch?It is almost certainly putting undue pressure on the cheap nasty footswitch,causing the contacts to be misaligned.You can remove the clips by squeezing them with pair of needlenose pliers,however the circuit board then might flap around and the LEDS will fall into the body.The thing to do then is undo the footswitch collar and reseat the switches in such a manner,that thereis nop pressure on the switch itself. You do this by lowering or raising the footswitch in its hole
by rotating the nut on the inside of the chassis.You have to gauge this by sight, and you might have to do it more than once to get the footswitch to catch everytime,but it worked for all three of my pedals.Do this to both switches in the unit then give 'em a blast with DE OXIT or WD40 for good measure.In the event you still have a problem
replace the footswitches with a pair of Carling or Fulltone switches.Although this requires major surgery these boxes(except the multi effect)are worth it.I'll try and answer any questions (tykey@ix.netcom.com),but I am not a representative of Korg,so don't hassle me.This information is free and it's a pantload more than Korg ever gave us.
THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT!

If Korg made cars there would have been a class action suit already.
Hello,Jacoby and Myers?

Korg sucks

It's definitely not a Distortion+ in terms of simplicity but thanks to these reviews & a bit of fiddling around I quickly figured it out(no manual).

It sounds good, no denying that but I wouldn't say it's the best sounding ever. It's very versitile. I can get GREAT sounds straight into a mixer with the cab resonator feature. Lots of ways to shape your sound, almost too many options because you can get caught up in programming instead of playing. It didn't sound great with every amp I tried it with, my 1980 Marshall 2204 didn't like it. My Marshall Artist & my old Randall sound good with it. I'm going for insane high gain sounds. I plug this into already distorted channels, not into a clean amp. Seems to have a built in noise gate, no adjustment for it that I've found. When the effect unit is bypassed into a clean amp or mixer the volume difference is apparant. The Hyper Distortion isn't as loud as bypass. Kind of sucks. Also, when bypassed there is a strange digital hum emitting from it, very evident into distortion channels. This is with batteries. I plugged in an Ibanez power supply and then it stopped. I'm going to try to find a Korg power supply.

I had the sound switching randomly problem. It suddenly got all high ended. But it happened right before the batteries died on me so I think that has something to do with it. You'll know your battery is dying when the effect just starts cutting out, in a steadily increasing rate and the "Program" light blinks slightly.

I've been playing about 23 years, I play rock, pop rock, hard rock, whatever. I just like distortion a lot. This is not the greatest distortion ever but it's a good one. My Rat and XXL will still be used. The 2 saved distortions is a cool feature. I wish the bypass was better(less noise, equal volume). If I were to put this in a pedalboard I would buy an effects loop type switcher and have it in a loop so that annoying hum wouldn't be going all the time when it's off but maybe an actual Korg power supply will solve that.

not as ordinary as other pedals..but almost same controls except for the toggle switch

Great sound quality..people who reviewed this pedal were right.." it makes your small-cheap amp sounds like an expensive Marshall or Mesa.

THIS WILL END THE SHOW FOR THIS PEDAL...

1) It Reboots by itself..all presets will be lost in the process.
2) At times, it will not make any sound for no reason at all.
3) The volume just fades out or you just cant control the darn thing.
4) the volume from this pedal is always LOWER in the BY-Pass mode.

korg is as witty as hell, after the stupid release of this product..they just PHASED-OUT this darn thing. DID THEY TEST THIS PEDAL BEFORE LETTING IT SPREAD IN THE MARKET? DO THEY HAVE QUALITY CONTROL DEPARTMENT?

A suggestion to KORG... Just continue the digital quest and justleave the ANALOG area alone..

nice sound but crappy mechanism...WORTHLESS!!!!

At first it's a little intemidating but once you get the hang of the controls and the toggle switch it's not so bad.

The sound quality of this pedal is fucking spectacular!!! It sounds like a $1,000 amp. I play mostly hard rock and metal and this pedal is perfect for my tastes. Never gotten a better sound anywhere.

I have had some problems with my pedal fading in and out or sometimes just dropping out totally. I have found that sometimes if I unplug the unit and then plug it back in it kinda reboots it self. But the last few months the problems just keep getting worse.

I contacted Korg about my problems with the pedal and was informed since the pedal was out of warrenty then they would charge me $65 an hour to fix it. I said FUCK DAT!!! I will just buy another since it only cost me $135. Then I was informed that they don't make the pedal anymore so now I'm screwed.

Sound quality is fantastic but it doesn't do me any good if the pedal doesn't work properly half the time.

Read the manual first before anything else..not the ordinary stombox you used to know..

The BEST DISTORTION EVER...NO noise what so ever...better than MetalZone,Sansamp GT2 & DOD Deathmetal.GREAT for all heavy metal riffs and leads .FAT and HEAVY!!!

NO problem whatsoever..I'm using it for about 2 years now. 1-2 gigs a night. Use Lithium battery or better yen use an adaptor for better performance

DISTORTION pedal at its finest

well, it was basically a plug and play thing as far as i was concerned, it was a case of connecting up and away i go, the sound that i think sounds best is the factory settings, they suit me down to the ground

it sounds great, when it decideds to work, ive also got a ps 2 with it, and i can seem to get a nice thick phase yet, it sounds cool on overdrive but not too hot when using the thick distortion

funny story, true story, we went on stage the other night, we opened our first song was i fought the law (the clash) and after the first chord i dropped my pic and since i was singing as well couldnt bend down to pick it up, so i ended up strumming using my fingers, anyway point is, i stomped the stomp pedals and the program selector jkust jammed! and i was stuckk with thick distortion and a clean, which sucked cos i needed the overdrive for certain parts of the set. i have never been so pissed off in my life. all it needed was some oil on it, ill tell ya, im gonna get the metal zone pedal as a back up now.

i got my dad to fix it

we play punk ska and rock, so i need an overdirve sound, if its gonna keep sticking, then its going in the bin.

It's very easy to use. Just a glance at the instructions is necessary. Storing patches is easy too.

I'm using an Ibanez RG, an Aria 7 string and a Strat, with a Marshall Valvestate, and nothing else. I love the sound from this pedal.

There are 2 big probs with this pedal. 1 - the switches are dodgy. The program switch on mine broke, making the pedal un-useable, cos it was switching between patches about 5 times a second, and the effect switch is on the way out now. 2 - the pots sometimes decide they moved when they actually haven't, changing your sound without warning.

Had it repaired once, no prob.

Good pedal overall. Other than reliability, pretty much perfect. I play heavy rock, verging on metal, and it suits me completely.

very very easy~~~~~~

easiest distortion~~~~~~~~~~~very good

i use gibson lespaul standard...and marshall dsl2001 with

hyperdistortion and i use prs welborland custom

oh my god........ the best distortion in the world...

very heavy sound but smooth........,,mmm and never noisy~~~

very nice distortion~~~~

i only use 104 hyper distortion with dd-3......

i will no change this effect.....sound is excellent

no alternative~~~~~!!!

mm, i dont know.....

very very hard case.......so not break.....

excellent distortion

this rack in a stomp box~~~!!!

i recommend this effect all over the world~~~~~!!!!

very nice distortion

this thing is real easy to use. i won't go into how to do it since all the other reviews do and so does the manual.

i played this thing through a crappy fender princeton combo amp, which was usually very tinny sounding, but this pedal added significant balls. pretty good for smashing pumpkins and failure and chunky stuff like that. it adds nice low end without sacrificing note articulation or mid range. sucks when the distortion level is low but then again it's not an overdrive pedal, it's meant to be used in a hyper fashion. heh.

i bought this thing used from a music store so i'm assuming it was a demo model... after about 6 months one of the switches crapped out, rendering one setting useless, and now i get no sound out of it whatsoever. i would not use this for a gig at all, for reasons explained in "overall rating..."

never tried it

ok. this pedal sounds reel nice, but there's one thing that renders it useless to me: the music i play has alot of sudden dynamic changes. i often switch from clean to crunch very quickly and without warning. when switching from clean to crunch on this pedal, however, there is a slight delay before the distortion comes on. talk about being anti-climactic. there is no delay when switching from one preset to another, but only when going from clean to crunch. so if you're playing all distorted all the time, go for it, but if you can't live with this like me then don't bother at all.

Just twist the knobs, and play with the buttons.

I compared it to my boss metalzone, and ran it through my Marshall Valvestate amp, and my Mesaboogie Half stack. The distortion is very deep heavy crunch. Not treble heavy like the metalzone, and smoother sounding. If you know the song Mine are the eyes of god by the band Corrosion Of Conformity, then thats what this sounds like. You can even make the sound deeper if you want. I like it.

All metal, I guess we'll see.

Don't know. I've never talked to them.

If you like that deep heavy sound, then this is the best I've heard.

not so difficult.. but not easy

Very good.. you can get any kind of hard distortion from TS-9 to MT-2

but..noise reduction is not good.. it sucks high tone.

good,steel case

good. i've used all kind of stomp box.

this one could be acceptable. and..you can get sound, like rack-

system model thru this box

This unit takes a little more thought than some others, but its not brain surgery. The 4 knobs control 8 different setting. A toggle switch changes the parameters controlled. It also has 2 footswitches: left turns the effect on or off, right changes between the 2 saved settings.

I nice feature of this unit is the ability to save "different" settings (patches). Editing and saving these different patches is very easy. Simply adjust the knobs to the desired setting and push, and hold, the right footswitch until its LED indicator flashes 3 times. THAT'S IT!

It also has an "amp" or "line" level switch. I have never used this feature. I only use mine as part of my effects chain in live performance.

One complaint, it is a little noisy as you increase the gain. However, I find this to be the case with most distortion pedals. I do not find it distracting enough or noticeable to look for anything else. It is also not transparent, but, with the intense distortion this unit provides, one should not expect such transparency.

THIS UNIT IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! Nor is it for the "blues guys" out there. This is "over-the-top", "balls-to-the-wall" HEAVY distortion at its best!

I use it principally with my Hamer guitars with humbuckers. However, on occassion, I have used it with my Strats and Teles. It works fine with any guitar, however, my band tends to play more Modern Rock and I can obtain a wider range of tones from the Hamers then my Fenders because of coil splits, etc. For amps I use an '83 Marshall JCM800, Model 4010, rebiased to EL34's and a Fender Blues Deluxe.

A great example of the tonality of this unit is Mark Tremonti's heavy tone in "Higher". I have that down to a "T"!

Its VERY solid with a metal casing. Mine is also mounted to my pedalboard.

I've never had a problem and I gig 3-6 times per month without a back up.

N/A

My band plays a very wide variety of rock from classic to pop to modern. I find this particular unit very condusive to the some of high gain modern material of today. If lost or stolen, I would definitely replace it...if I could...they are out of production!

I have been performing, teaching and recording for over 25 years, I think this unit and its "sister" product, the 105od (see my review of that one, too!), are a couple of the best sounding distortion boxes ever made!

Grab them while you still can!

This is one of, if not the best distortion pedals I've ever had the pleasure of plugging into. I didn't get a manual for it, but it's not all that complicated to figure out. You have 4 knobs with a mini toggle switch that basicly doubles their function (turns them into 8 knobs...). It also has a program switch that lets you set up 2 completely different distortion sounds, this I like. It took me a few days to really get it dialed in the way I liked it, but damn it sounds good when you do.

I mostly use this with a Rivera M60 1-12 combo and a 1980 Gibson E/2 Explorer, although I also use it sometimes as the sole distortion unit for my old Earth head. To me it sounds best with buckers (passive or active) and this is one of the few boxes that I like while using passive pickups, as I'm a big EMG user. I use the amps distortion for all but the heaviest shit I play. Thats where this little jewel comes in, for doing black and death metal. Oh yeah!!! I tend to go through a lot of equipment, but this is a keeper. I've had other distortion units with more distortion, but very few with better tone and clarity.

The jury is still out on this one as I've heard mixed results about this series of Korg products. So far I've not had a minutes trouble
out of it, and its a few years old already.

I've asked them a few questions of different products I've had over the years with mixed results here as well. Some of their staff knows whats going on, and some don't. I guess like about any other larger company.

I mostly play death-black and other heavier forms of metal along with your basic hardrock and rootsroot, but little else. It works well for the heavier tones I need, there is very little else for me to consider for a pedal with this much gain and bottom end. Can you get more gain in a pedal? Yes. Can you get more gain and a even better tone? Not for what I do. It works well for most death metal like early Xysma, Amorphis, Deceased and things like that. Good heavy bottom end that is pretty tight for fast palm muting. Also excels at the black metal kinda more midrangy tremolo picked thing. Thats basicly how I keep mine set up. Death on one channel and black on the other. Oh, for you people that think that is not music, this pedal will also do lighter distortion as well. I don't know about the cabinet simulator as I don't use it, gives me more bottom then my combo can stand. The noise gate is one of the better ones I've heard in a pedal, but its on all the time really. With the exception of some Art products (like the Xtreme) and like a Rocktron Rampage this has the best heavy distortion I've ever used in a pedal. The Art and Rocktron are also very good pedals, but different. This thing slays a Boss metalzone, even if it has a little less gain. It also don't have that hissy high end the Boss has, thank God. If anything happened to this I'd get another in a heartbeat.

its knobs are sucks...
should have made more knobs.

sound is almost perfect!!
killer distortion! you can vary tone vety widely!!

it's metal...

well, this is kinda hard to explain, but it seems difficult at first be cause you are overwhelmed by the complexity of this pedal, but once you get used to it or dial in "your" sound its o.k. It has 4 controls but also a toggle swith that allows each control two separate functions, EIGHT in all !!!

I dont know how I've made it ten years with out it, they've been around for about five years but I just got mine off of E-bay a few months ago. This thing is simply amazing. I can get tubescreamerish to Metallica. Whats great is that you can program one sound, store it, and totally swith the settings for another tone and save it also. So you can have a rythem sound then stomp for your lead !!! Also it has a built in noise gate for whisper quiet operation. I run it through a Peavey 100watt Trans-Tube head and a 4x12 sealed back cab. If your an 80's metal man, I have discovered that putting a Boss Metal Zone infront of this thing will make you weep with tears of joy. A true WALL of tone and distortion. It takes time though, to get 'em both tweeked just right. I've found the sweet spot for these two pedals used as a multi-stage gain, and I don't move the settings. I give it a 9, because it takes adding a Metal Zone to get a good harmonic producing, all out raunch distortion. Buy one. Then buy a MT-2 to add a little sizzle.

Mine is used and I believe it to be about 3 years old. Every once in a while, it has a little glitch and the tone changes, but stomp the swith and it goes back. I've heard bad things about the reliability of these pedals, so I would gig with it day in a day out.

I've never tried to contact anyone, since mine is used and not under warranty.

Great addition to any set up, unlimited possibilities from blues to metal, it can do it all. By itself its a little fuzzy, but add a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone in front and you've got TONE and SIZZLE. Built in noise gate and cabinet simulator for direct recording are a plus !

Very flexible pedal. Offers quite a few nice features, including two programmable presets. Takes a little bit of *well invested* time to dial in the sound that you're seeking.

Sound quality is great. Overall tone is smooth, yet this thing can crank out a nice Metal tone when necessary, including a great chunking rhythm. Sweet for leads as well. Makes my strings feel good. Good response. I only wish it had more volume (not gain). The amplitude is lower than the signal when the unit is off.

Made of cast aluminum, and the switches and knobs feel sturdy. i've been using it for a year now with out any problems, although i don't gig.

Never dealth with 'em

Great pedal for Metal, rock, alternative, and possibly blues because if its sweet tone. Sounds like tube through my cheezy solid state Crate. Damned shame they're discontinued. The only thing better would be a Mesa Boogie Triaxis.

It is relatively easy to use, after you read the manual, of course. You get to store two patches, which is cool. Editing is a breeze. The manual, after you find the language you speak, is kind of straightforward to a fault -- not very friendly (no "congratulations for buying the 104ds"), no suggested settings. But overall it is fairly easy to use and program.

This is a rack preamp in a box!!

My setup with this pedal is a little different than most folks here. The great thing about the 104ds is that you can use it as a direct box, going directly into a mixing board!! That's how I use it, going direct into a 4 track recorder I use for practice and riff writing. This pedal has a cabinet resonator, and I can get deep 4x12 tone with it.

The tone is awesome, getting a range of heavy tones, with scooped mids for metal, and cranked mids for hardcore. The tone is thick and with tweaking of the cabinet resonator parameters, massive tone is all here. The amount of gain is incredible. You can emulate any heavy sound, from Metallica, AIC to Sick of it All and BioHazard.

I am not using it with an amp, so I can't comment on amp sound, but if it sounds great direct into a mixing board, it will sound great in an amp.

I should also say that it is a warm, tubey sound, which is what I am always after.

The only flaw is there is not much volume to this pedal. Bypassing the effect results in a louder clean sound. This doesn't affect me much because I don't use this pedal for live performance, and I rarely play without distortion!

Oh yeah, you can get Stephen Carpenter's sound on the first Deftone's CD with the 104ds!

Like I said, I haven't used this on the road yet. I don't know if I ever will, so I can't really comment.

The pedal has always worked for me; looks solidly built --> alumminum casing,

Tuff enuff for the road and hard stomping ? -- I don't know!

Have never dealt with Korg Customer Service

If you're like me and don't get a manual with your unit, expect to spend some time experimenting with the settings. The fact that you can store two distortion types and switch with a click of the "Program" button is cool, but using four knobs with each having two functions (switched by a single toggle) and assigning two separate distortions will seem a bit overwhelming to a new user.

Refer to earlier reviews for the "play-by-play" of the various controls. With a minimal amount of experimenting, I was able to get two good distortions dialed in, which I will discuss below. Once you get the idea of how to use this pedal, you're in business, but take your time!

I use this pedal as a backup. My main rig consists of a custom pedalboard with an ART Xtreme providing my distortion and eventually running into Peavey 212 tube and solid state amps. I initially set one distortion type on the Korg to match the ART. Then I hooked it up to my Peavey Rage 158 practice amp, setting the pedal to drive that amp without blowing the speaker. The results were amazing, to say the least.

Using a Jackson AT2T with Armstrong chrome-covered humbuckers, I was able to get a distortion out of this 15-watt 8" amplifier that sounded just like a tube half-stack. I scoop my mids on both the amp EQ and the pedal, which is a good setting for this and other Jacksons when playing metal. I was able to get a rhythm tone not unlike what the guys in Carcass got with the old original Marshall Guv'nor distortion pedal, and a latter-day Testament lead tone when running through a Boss DD-2 delay. No noise to speak of, even through a tiny solid state amp, and the results were as good with my regular setup.

People rant and rave about Boss pedals, but this Korg is at the same level. Aluminum housing and out-of-the-way jacks are a plus, but I'm not sure how many well-directed stomps the Program and Effect buttons will take. The first 104ds I brought home had a defective button, so I'm a little untrusting. That bad experience aside, this thing appears to be built like a tank. I'd use it without a backup, but this IS my backup!

For any type of music requiring distortion, this pedal can fit the bill. I play metal, and am extremely picky about my tone, so the fact that this can essentially emulate my main rig through a practice amp is a credit to Korg's designers. It's versatile enough to be your sole source of distortion, but for me it's value is as a backup to my main distortion pedal. I bought it out-of-box on clearance and got a real bargain.

Since this whole line of pedals has been discontinued, you might have to hunt to find one, but it'll be worth the time spent looking for it and learning how to use it to its potential. For a lot less money than a number of other high-end distortions, it does a better job and can take a beating.

Whem compared to other pedals the Korg 104ds definitely appears to be intimidating. But don't worry, those few extra knobs are worth it. The pedal has 4 knobs, each of which controls 2 settings (switched between with a 2-way toggle switch), and 2 footswitches (one to turn on the pedal, and the other to switch between each of the 2 programmable functions).

This isn't a pedal where you can just plug it in and go, and that is the reason that I rated it as a 9. However, the fact that you can't just plug it in and go is a good thing. A musician wants to be able to tweak their equipment to their own personal settings. The couple of extra knobs on this pedal allow you to do exactly that, and even though it will take you a few extra minutes to get going, once you do, nothing will compare to this stompbox.

Let me just start off by saying that I am a tone freak. For the original music that I play I demand a wide variety of tones, and I have spent a great deal of time and money trying to accomplish a sound that I am happy with.

I play a Guild Madeira w/ humbuckers through a Fender Blues Deluxe w/ Mesa Boogie tubes. For my other distortion I use the blues overdrive channel on my amp as well as an Ibanez TS9 Deluxe Turbo Tube Screamer.

The sound that I have been trying to get is something that is rich and creamy, with lots of drive, but with lots of smoothness and sustain. I wanted to find a pedal that I could use for soloing, both for thick and chunky solos as well as real smooth stuff. The Tube Screamer simply doesn't provide enough drive for that type of sound.

I also wanted a pedal that you provide lots of drive but still provide clarity to chords. Most pedals can get thick and chunky, but full chords get muddy and when you try to adjust them they go overboard on either highs or lows. This pedal allows you to tweak it so that you can play full chords and have clarity throughout the highs, mids, and lows.

I have tried everything. Boss Metal Zone and all other Boss pedals, the Big Muff, DanElectro Fab Tone, Digitech RP-7 and similar units, etc. No pedal can compete with what this pedal delivers. The others simply sounded too fake, dull, and computerized. Even playing a Paul Reed Smith through a Mesa Boogie Nomad or Rectifier I couldn't get a sound that I simply loved as much as the sound that I get through my setup.

I am here to tell you that this pedal can cover it all. It can accomplish sweet singing sounds like Santana (for soloing) or it can bring you into the realm of straight forward rock and roll and even metal.

Trust me on this one. No matter how expensive the equipment that you have tried is, if your situation sounds similar to mine, check this pedal out. When you hear it you will be sold.

I have not had this pedal for very long so I cannot give you a very accurate rating. However, the pedal is constructed with a sturdy metal face/sides, with a hard plasic bottom. The knobs are rubbery, and the footswitches are very durable. As durable as they get.

I would use this pedal without a backup no questions asked. Once you master using it and get your settings down the way that you want them, you will be all set.

I have never dealt with Korg.

Overall rating for this pedal could be nothing less than a 10. I know guys who put together rack units and expensive guitars that cost them thousands and thousands of dollars. This pedal can give you just about any tone desired (with the exception of real light blues). Just combine it will another bluesy pedal and a decent amp and your sound will compete with if not exceed the "best" of them. For the price this pedal sells at new, NOTHING can beat it. NOTHING. Best tone I have ever heard for what I desire from anything, price not considered.

4 knobs with two switchable functions (gain, low, high, level, semi-parametric mids and 2 controls for the speaker simultaion called "Cabinet Resonator"). With the two programs (red and green) you can save two totally different settings and switch between them. The manual is okay even there are no suggested settings in it. With the semi-parametric mids it takes a lot of time two find your desired sound. The possible settings are enormous and no setting sounds really bad. Two choose two of them is rather difficult...

I'm using a Les Paul with two Gibson Humbuckers and a Hughes&Kettner Tube50 Head with a Mesa/Boogie 2x12" Road-Ready-Cabinet. Because of the noise gate the 104ds has got, it's very quiet. The distortion of this unit is absolutely great. The sound ranges from crisp overdrive to highest-Gain. The only annoying thing is, that the noise gate cuts the sustain right at the moment when your guitar wants to start singin'. I play mostly rock-stuff like "Therapy?" or "Live" and this box delivers every sound I need. I can't imagine that any distortion box can sound better than this thing. I had a Ibanez Thrashmetal before, but I sold it for two beers after I've played through my 104 for the first time.
The output-level of the 104ds is too low, definitely. With the level-knob all the way up, it achieves at least the bypass-level. That's a bit strange but no reason for me to give something else than a 10 in this category. The sound is simply too good to give something else.

That's where the unit has got it's problems. After two to three weeks of use the output-level sometimes dropped totally when I switched the unit off and on again. It came back after switching between the programs. I brought it back to the store and they sent it away for repairing it. I got it back after two weeks and it works perfectly now. No more problems since then. I own it for one year now and played some gigs with it without a backup. To destroy the box is rather complicated I think. Massive aluminium, very stable switches and rubbered knobs. The only critical thing is that mini-switch to choose between the knob-functions. It looks a bit weak.

The volume-loss is a general problem of the unit I think. As I've read here, some more users have got the same problem. To give a rating is very hard. After this one issue it has always worked perfectly and it's built like a tank. I give it a 7.

Never dealt with the company itself, but they repaired it surprisingly quick. I've made different experieces with other companies at that point.

With a former list-price of DM 399,- (~$200) it was simply too expencive. That was perhaps the reason why Korg let run out the whole series. But DM 180,- ($90,the special-price I payed for it) for this thing is more than cheap. If you can get one for this price....buy it and you won't have to look for a better distortion-pedal any more. I really can't imagine that there is even a better one around (I've never heard a better one at least).
I love it...

Mine was a floor model, last one in stock at GC. It is fairly easy to get a good sound out of it. Don't be scared by other reviews: Yes, it is more complicated than your average pedal, but a quick review of the manual will have you tweaking it to taste in no time. You will be rewarded by reading the manual because the pedal has some unique features (or quirks).

I use this with a DG20 equipped Am. Std. Strat and a LP Custom into a PV Classic 30 or a Fender Super 112. It is noisy if the Hi-Lo impedence switch isn't set correctly, or if your pickups are cheapies. Noise is effectively eliminated by this pedal because it has built in noise reduction that operates like a gate. Not the most subtle gate in the world, but this is definitely a HIGH GAIN device, so it comes in handy. Because of this gate you will NOT get infinite sustain, unless you consider feedback sustain because that is the only thing that will keep the gate open once a note decays.

You can save two different settings on this unit (one indicated by green light, other by red). You can get sounds ranging from dirty overdrive to ear bleeding distortion. However, what I think Korg was going for here was a pedal that could make your little amp sound like a stack - and this it does extremely well. I just made my first digital multitrack recording with it using my Strat and my PV, and it sounded MASSIVE. That's what persuaded me to buy it in the first place. It has this thing called a Cabinet Resonator adjustable with 2 knobs: Size and Depth. All the way to the left and it's flat - all the way to the right and it's a closed back stack.

It is not meant to be a direct box in any way. But it is great for micing smaller amps in a home-type studio or in clubs. Also, I have found no cheese in this pedal. It sounds "grown up".

I haven't made the pedal sound like any other artists I can think of, especially any of my favorites, but I also haven't tried.

Minus 2 points for abrubt quality of noise reduction and no true bypass.

I would gig it without a back up, but I'd bring extra batteries. I think it works better off AC power, but I'm too cheap to buy an adapter :) I haven't gigged out with it, though I've auditioned with it and no problems.

Korg is one of those companies that hasn't caught on that customer support is the way of the future. They make some fine products but, hey, just look at their web site. I've never had to contact them about this or any of the other products I own of theirs - and I hope I never have to, either. I'm marking them down for their alienating website (no online manuals, no toll free numbers, etc.) and from what I've read from other people.

I originally bought it because I read the reviews here and heard it was discontinued. I was going to sell this pedal last summer but am now glad I didn't. With my little home recording set up I'm finding it valuable to retain any and every toy I find. I can't figure why they discontinued this pedal; maybe they combined this series of pedals into their new multi-effects, the AX1000 or whatever it's called.

For metal, hard-rock, or hard-edged electric blues (or a boost for a tubescreamer) this is the best distortion pedal I've ever had. It's extremely versatile (a blessing or a curse), great for home studio use, and stores 2 separate settings. I love the cabinet resonator feature.

Better noise reduction (or quieter circuitry) and stereo outs would improve this pedal, as would true bypass. (For the way it sounds and what I paid I ain't complaining!) If it were lost or stolen I'd buy it again at same or lesser price. I'm glad I snapped it up.

Thus thing is actually quite easy to use if you have a quick read of the manual to find out the purpose of each knob. There are many possibilities with this pedal though and that does mean spending a bit of time with it to find out exactly what it can and can't do. The cool feature is that there are tone shaping options. It also has two programs which allows you to find a sound you want, save it and then save a second for two switchable distortion modes

I'm using this with and Ibanez RG and a custom designed strat with 3 SC's running through a Fender Super 210. You can pull some great sounds out of this. Heavey rhythm, high gain solos with endless sustain. Also you can back off the gain and adjust a few knobs and get some really good overdriven blues sound. However, even with the gain backed off all the way there is still a fair amount of distortion. If you prefer an overdrive, Korg also offers an overdrive version of this pedal.

This is where the pedal really sucks. I've had it for maybe 2 weeks and it's already gone back to the factory the be repaired - and this is not a one off problem. It's a MAJOR design fault!!! The first problem is that the bypass mode is louder than the effect even at full volume. So when you step on the pedal to switch it on for a solo or some rhythm the volume drops and you can't cut through the rest of the band. Secondly, this pedal causes the signal to drop out altogether even when the effect is not engaged. I returned it to the shop and the guy tried to get a replacement from another store but the two they had in stock had been returned because of the exact same problem and needed to be returned to the supplier to be fixed! Like I said this is not a one off problem. The reliability of this makes Digitech products look great!

We'll soon find out.

Great tones but pathetic reliablility. Another thing is that Korg have stopped producing the Hyper distortion as well as the overdrive and echo pedals which are based on the same lines.

Quite easy too use, though this pedal has too many crap additions. This makes it frustraiting when all you want to do is get a great sound right away. The facility too store two patches is cool, though.
The manual is crap and has no settings, is a sheet of paper with loads of japanese shit written all over it!

I'm using this with a peavy amp (loud) and strat also a few other pedals. It isn't really noisy as it has a shitty noise gate, which cuts the sustain (on a distortion pedal!) The real disappointment is that the dist when engaged is quiter than the bypassed sound, unless turned extremely loud)The sounds aren't really all that bad though, you can easily get a KoRn like crunch from this pedal in its highest stages or a good scooped metallica sound.

WHAT THE HELL DOES RELIABILITY MEAN TO KORG. THEY NEED A LESSON ON RELIABILY!! This pedal sometimes cuts out mid song, or when stomped on comes in at about half volume. I took mine back to the store and got a danelectro fab tone which I'm having fun with today and 4 ever!

Never Dealt with Korg.

people, don't buy this product and take my word for it. I hated it so much and was jumping when i got rid of it. I play hardcore metal/ rap or alternative and even a lot of Hendrix (praise the god) and blues. If it was stolen I would congratulate them on getting this piece of shit off my hands!

More complicated than the typical 3-knob pedal, but I could get used to it after a while. I wish they put 8 knobs instead of 4 knobs plus a mode toggle though.
The manual is basic but is anything more necessary ?

My setup : guitar :a Charvel 4 bought used in 1989, with original Jackson pickups ; amp : an FBT (Italian-made) solidstate amp, 50 W gives a good colorless sound with no real character. Effects : an Ibanez Tubescreamer TS10 (you know, the one with the footswitch that works once out of five...), a whole bunch of old Boss pedals that I don't use since I bought a Korg AX1G in February...
It is not too noisy and the hiss is hushed by the AX1G noisegate.
Most important : the sound is GREAT, i mean it is a very nice distortion sound and it sounds big, as if playing with bigger gear than actually used.
The gain control is not the most usefull : I turn it up but I must confess that I tend to do that with all my distortion units, I can't help. Set at the minimum gain, the sound using the humbucker seems to be "crying for more", but using the single coil pickup (I mean the bass one)I could get an interesting bluesy sound. But it not made to overdrive the sound but alter it more radically...
The EQ is very effective and the guys in Korg understood very well how important it is. So the sounds are very versatile, from big rock to Death-Doom-Trash-Whatever metal you like.
But there is one problem, even if I am not completely sure it depends on this unit. The distorted sound level is much weaker than the dry sound level even with the pedal level all the way up, it is a bit frustrating especially with a unit that is supposed to give a powerfull sound!
I had exactly the same problem with my old Boss HM2 (which I couldn't stand anymore any way...) but not at all with the TS10. I found a solution by creating a patch on my AX1G with some compression (which is then used as a "dynamic equalizer", do I make myself really clear?)
I think it is linked to the gain of the amp, as this problem doesn't occur so much when the amp gain is high. But it is definitely a problem when I output the sound thru the computer (Soundblaster Live) speakers, which has no gain obviously.
If anyone has a hint that could help, I would be just glad to read it!

I have had it for a couple of weeks, it should be as reliable as any metal pedal.
I wouldn't feel it necessary to have a backup, if ever I have a gig planned...

I don't know.

I play blues, rock, a bit of metal and more and more jazz,
I have been playing for 14 years.
If lost or stolen, I think I would buy it again, and be very unhappy because it was a special : FF 690 ($ 120) instead of FF 1200 ($ 200).
Eventually I found a pedal that doesn't make the guitar sound like coming out of a tiny box of transistors.

This pedal is not quite as easy to work with as the typical 2 or 3 knob stompbox. Getting the sounds you want out of this pedal definitely takes some time. However, the time spent is well worth it. The manual doesn't have any suggested presets, as most pedal manuals do, so it is a little more time consuming to find your sounds. To program the sound of the pedal, it has 4 knobs and a miniature toggle switch. The switch gives each knob a dual function, depending on the switch's position. With the switch in the up position, the 4 knob's functions are Drive, Low, High(treble), and Level. With the switch in the down position, the knobs functions are Mid Freq, Mid(level), (Cabinet Resonator) Size, and (Cabinet Resonator) Level. This knob/switch arrangement takes a while to figure out, and a little getting used to. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out. Once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake. It also has 2 stompbox foot switches. The left one is labeled EFFFECT and is for turning the pedal on and off. The right one is labeled PROGRAM, and allows you to switch between your 2 favorite stored sounds.

This is the first equipment review I have written on Harmony Central. I think it is worth the time to let people know how good this unit is. I have been playing guitar for 31 years. I am very, very picky about my sound. As with most guitarists searching for the ultimate sound, I have GAS. I have tried or purchased just about every distortion and overdrive pedal on the market in the last 30 years. I have also played most preamp and multi-effects units out there. Believe me when I say that this box produces absolutely wonderful high gain distortion! I've compared this box to just about everything. This pedal beats them all, hands down.
I have a Peavey Trans-Tube FEX rackmount multi-effects unit whose preamp distortion sound I absolutely love. Until I got the Korg, the Peavey's Ultra mode distortion was the best high gain distortion I ever had. When I compared 104ds' distortion to the Peavey's Ultra mode, the 104ds was considerably smoother. The Korg 104ds can't do the nice overdrive sounds of the Trans-Tube FEX, or beat it's versatility, but it certainly is a nice addition to my setup. After all, the 104ds is simply a distortion stomp box, compared to a much more expensive rack mount multi-effects unit.
The distortion from this box is the thickest, richest fullest and smoothest I've heard, bar none! It also has the chunkiest bottom I have heard out of a pedal. Palm muting tones are wonderful! The wide range of sounds this pedal can produce makes it great for rhythm or leads. The sound quality of this pedal is simply amazing! It has tons of sustain, and is very responsive and dynamic. Lead tones sing and are harmonically rich. Getting pick-edge harmonics is easy. The sound is clear and distinct, and never gets muddy. Try one and you'll see what I mean.
The Cabinet Resonator is basically a speaker simulator. While not the best speaker simulator I have ever heard, it does give the pedal an incredible range of sounds you can't get with other distortion pedals. I find it very useful. The ablity to store 2 different settings, and the incredibly wide range of tones available through the pedal's (virtual) 8 knob arrangement make this the most versatile distortion pedal in the market. It is in a whole different league than most simple one sound stomp boxes.
This pedal is also one of the quietest I have tried. It does generate some noise when the drive and level contols are both set high, but that is the nature of high-gain distortion. It is still way quieter than any other similar pedal I have tried. A good noise gate should be able to eliminate the little bit of noise it generates.
I love this pedal's battery compartment. It is like that of a TV remote controller. It's screwless, and easily snaps open and closed with no tools. Great! The pedal takes 4 double A batteries instead of a single 9 volt. I will probably eventually power it with an AC adapter.
I won't tell you this pedal can do anything, as one of the other reviews stated. You can get an endless variety of distortion sounds out of it. It is extremely versatile. However, as I said earlier, it is a high gain distortion pedal. It is more geared toward hard rock. Even with the drive at it's lowest setting, it has more distortion than most overdrives at maximum. Those looking only for classic rock of the 70's sounds, blues overdrive, or mild distortion should look elsewhere. You need a good overdrive pedal for those type of sounds. For any type of harder rock sounds, this pedal IS IT! It can cover just about any harder rock sound. I do have one setting I like with the drive at a little less than a quarter that sounds nice for high gain blues. It's like a Gary Moore type blues, not your typical light blues overdrive.

I just purchased this pedal as a store return from Guitar Center 2 days ago. So I can't tell you about it's long term reliability. However, as most other reviews said, this pedal is literally built like tank. It is very heavy duty, solid metal with very durable looking knobs. It appears to be made of really thick brushed aluminum. It stands up well to heavy stomping. The knobs are rubberized, so they can't crack or break like cheap plastic ones. I hope it holds up well over time. By it's heavy duty looks, I expect it to last a long time without problems.

I haven't need it yet. I hope I don't.

This is one of the best distortion pedals I have ever used. It is definitely the best high gain distortion pedal under a grand that I have tried. I've been searching for years for this good a tone in a pedal. I've finally found it! The ability to program 2 different sounds is great, and the sound is excellent for all heavier types of rock. The only negative thing I have to say is that like others, I wish you could save more than 2 program settings. It kills me to have a programmable pedal that only stores 2 sounds. 4-10 programmable sounds with a rotary knob to switch between them would have been nice. I guess I want it all. Storing multiple sounds would have made it more complicated and probably a lot more expensive. Maybe I should get a second one to store additional sounds. I hate it when manufacturers make you do that. From other reviews, I see people paid anywhere from $135 to $199(list price). Guitar Center periodically runs sales on them at $99.99. At that price they're a bargain. I guess I got the deal of the century on mine. Even at $170, they're worth the money. But why pay the high price if you don't have to. Shop around. I would have easily paid 3 times the price I did. The pedal is that good. I would buy it again without blinking an eye.

Pretty simple- a few more knobs than you usually see on a distortion pedal...manual isn't much help though you shouldn't need any

I'm running a Jackson PS-1 (an OK guitar, I've got a Duncan Distortion at the bridge so it sounds pretty good) running through this monster of a pedal into a Peavy Audition Chorus...this is the distortion pedal to end all distortion pedals! If you are looking for a distortion pedal this is definitaley the one to get, period!

had it for about half a year-hasn't broken down on me yet-looks tough enough-though you could probably break it if you really wanted to.

N/A

If you play metal, then this is the one you've been looking for-if not then maybe you should try it out before you buy it.

Oh, it's simple. Few knobs...few buttons...I think most people will be able to handle it. If you can't, well, maybe you need to check into a mental institute of some kind. Perhaps you should call up some psychiatrist and ask him why you can't ascertain how to use such a simple device. Cuz if you don't find this box easy to use...your hopes of functioning in society are gonna dissipate.

Dudes, I'm not playing around here. The only reason I bothered to sit down and waste time ploping down this review is that I think this box rules and people should know. This thing has got some righteous distortion! I've compared this box to my Marshall amps distortion, Boss GX700, Sansamp GT2, Zoom 510, & DOD Hard rock, and this pedal excels above them all. It's so thick & smooth...you gotta try one out. And it's quiet too...when you're not playing that is...real quiet! I mean to tell ya, i can't get over the sound quality of this thing...it's magical. The distortion is meant for hard rockers though...so no wussies need apply. I will say one thing negative however--do not buy this box to use it for direct recording, for it sucks big time at this task--just like all other guitar amp simulators--but if you use it with a real live guitar amp, it will make you crack a smile.

Looks pretty tough to me. I guess when I'm 100 years old I'll be able to tell more of it's reliability. So far after 6 months is still works fine.

Aww, who needs em.

Overall smoverall...the distortion rules....go buy the thing! Hey, if you don't, I really don't care... I'm just trying to help your little lame setup out.

As easy as anything I have ever used, I mean its not an entire effects processor (which for the record are not that hard to use). Sure it has a few more nobs than your average distortion pedal, however, one must note that it is still just has distortion, eq, and level, just like any other pedal. With the addtion of the cabinet resonator which mery controls size(resonance frequency point) and the level of the effect.

The most amazing thing I have ever heard. I have tried alot of pedals and I must confess, the roctron rampage distortion and the boss metal zone both had more gain then does the hyper distortion. However, lots of gain does not mean good tone. The roctron was quite, the boss was noisy, but neither had the thing that I love ... tone. I never thought I would ever buy another distortion pedal until the hyper distortion blew my mind. I thought I would have to buy an expensive rack unit to get the tone I wanted; I have tried the RP-20, GT-5, GX-700, chameleon, line6, and everything else imaginable. The result, the gx-700 can give you wicked tones and max out the sound of any amp to sound as huge as the amp possibly could, the catch, the gx_700 would cost 1000 dollars after adding in the foot board and expression pedal. With the hyper distortion not only can I get a could sound out of amp, but the reason I but it was for doing 4-Tracking at home. The hyper distiortion can actually give the tone of an amp direct through my stereo!!! I can get a fat mettallica low end chunk fest out of my stereo, and direct on tape with one more added bounus, it never gets muddy, and it is the most quite distortion I have ever heard.

Built like tank, only pedal I ever saw that looked cooler and stronger is the mesa boogie V-twin. One may be interested to know that it takes 4 double A batteries instead of a single 9 volt. I am not sure if this gives it a longer life, but I know I have a bagfull of rechargable pure energy batteries that i would rather use than a pricy 9 volt.

Never need it.

The best direct sound under a 1000 dollars that I have ever heard, the double patch system is sweet, and the sound is very useful for various metal and rock genere. For a 150 bucks you should not be able to buy tone like this, THANKS A MILLION TO KORG!!!

Okay, this pedal is a little more difficult to work with than your average stompbox. It has Level,High,Mid,Mid Freq, Low,Depth,Distortion,Size. The size and Depth switches take a little while to get used to. After a few minutes you get the hang of it and begin having loads of fun, though. It took me about 2 hours to get the sounds I wanted out of it, but it was well worth it. It can do ANYTHING! The manual is easily understood and the pedal is all metal with very durable knobs. Not something to let you down.

Here's the good part. In my opinion, this is the ultimate distortion pedal. It can do ANYTHING YOU want it to do. It has this thing called a cabinet resonator. To let you know how great it is sound-wise, it can make a solid amp sound almost like a tube! No lie. I use a Boss Metal Zone for stuff like Metallica and Deftones. This I use for everything else. I wanted a pedal that could do anything I wanted (which at first sounded pretty impossible). It's great for classic rock like Skynyrd, Foghat, Black Crows as well as newer stuff like Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, and Tonic.

Just got, but handles great so far. Very durable in a metal casted body.

Haven't had to deal with Korg before, yet, whatever. Like I said before, pretty durable.

I play everything but country and this thing does it all. I'd call it the miracle pedal for that reason. I record with this, play gigs with this, and practice with this and it can't be beaten!

It's not hard to get a good sound out of it if you know what you're looking for. However, I wish they had just added another row of knobs instead of using the switch that sets which knobs are controlling the settings. But the sounds you can get out of this thng are great! So it is worth the time it takes to get those sounds.

This is the tone I've been looking for. I have a DOD MetalX, Digitech RP-12, and a Big Muff (and I've used my friend's Boss Metal MT-2 many times) and this pedal tops them all as far as distortion tone goes. You can get a heavy bottom end out of it, but the top end stays in there, unlike the other distortions I have tried which are too "muffled" sounding. This is great for palm-muted tones like Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura, the Deftones, and even Korn. I didn't give it a 10, only because I always assume there's something better out there. :-)

It seems very reliable, but I haven't necessarily gig-tested it. All knobs seem durable, and most importantly, the big silver stomp switches look like they can take a beating without getting demolished.

Haven't dealt with them, but from what I've heard they provide good customer support. For the sake of objectivity, I'll say "no oppinion" here.

High score, simply because this is the tone I've been looking for in a pedal, and that's what matters most to me. Complaints: I wish you could save more than 2 program settings. Well, most distortion pedals only provide 1 setting (whatever the knobs are set to), but since there seem to be many tonal possibilities with this pedal I'd love to have more program settings. As I've been using it more this has become less important because I've found the sound that I like. Like I said earlier, it's a little tough to figure out at first, but now I have no problem with it. The price is higher than other pedals, but if you read these reviews and don't waste your money on the bad pedals, then the price is justified.

While this unit is easy to use it will take a couple of hours of tweaking to get the right sound.

The Distortions are great. The are thick and chunky.

I just got it.

There is only one problem I have with this unit. When going from a clean sound to distortion there about a half second delay before the distortion come in. I find it very irritating.

It's pretty simple to get the sound that you want, but it will probably take 2 or 3 hours to get it. The only reason why I gave it a 9 was because there is no presets given in the manual. The manual has every type of language you could ask for. Other than the fact about the manual this pedal has the best sounding distortion I have heard. It has level,low,high,drive,parameter select switch,mid,mid freq,and cabinet resonator with size and depth. The CR is pretty cool it gives some more different distortions.

I have a gibson nighthawk 3 pu. and a fender bullet guitars running in to crybaby, boss metalzone, then the hyperdistortion all going into my crate 100 watt stack. The pedal is not noisy at all when you use humbuckers but you get a small amount of hum when you use single coils. If you have a metal zone then I would strongly recommend this pedal because it will give the extra distortions that you can't get on the metal zone. The distortion is incredibly thick especially coming out of a stack. This pedal covers everytype of distortion except for a blues overdrive. I listen to hard rock like Helmet and Deftones and you can get the same distortion tones as them.

This baby is built like a tank. I would not even worry about bringing a backup. The whole pedal is steel except for a section in the back which is plastic for the battery compartment.

Had this thing for a month and no trouble so far

This pedal gives out some of the thickest distortions that I have heard. I've been playing 3 years and have tried many distortion pedals and this one tops them all. I would buy it again even though the price is expensive, but if you heard it you would buy it again to. One thing I love about it is that you can have two different distortion settings saved under the program menu and if you want to mess around with the settings without saving it, it's okay because when you want to go back to your orginal settings just move the knobs until the LEDs start blinking. another thing I love about it is the battery compartment. It's the easiest thing, It's the same thing remote controller battery compartments that don't slide. It's awesome no screws. the only thing I hate is that it takes 4 AA batteries, so buy an adapter. I compared it to the boss ds 1, the big muff, and the vox distortion booster. But this had the smoothest distortion and you get two distortions in one unit.

This has got to be the best distortion pedal I have ever used. I spent 3 months searching for the right distortion and I found this one. I compared it to DOD(sucks), Digitech(RP-6), Bixonic's Expandora, Mesa/Boogie V-twin, Rx electronics Yardbox, Danelectro Fab Tone(not to Fab if you ask me), BOSS stuff, and many others. The reason I gave it a 9 is that you can get any sound you want, but it takes some time. You have Drive, Low, High, Level, Mid Fc, Mid, Size,& Depth to play with. The great thing about it is that it is fully programable and it puts out enough volume to blow out a 10" combo. The manual is good if you need it and if you can find your language(it has 4 or 5 different languages) but the unit is pretty easy to use. You have Drive, wich controls amount of distortion, Low, High& Mid which you can probably quess is the EQ, Mid Fc, this is where your tone can realy change, it controls the frequency of the mid and the Mid controls the amount of that frequency, then you have Size which is part of the Cabinet Resonator, it changes the sound as if changing the size of the cabinet in which you were playying through. Changing the size can give you from a dry 8" combo sound to a full stack with some amount of natural reverb. The Depth changes the impact that the Size nob has on the tone.

The sound is great. You can get explosive results from this pedal. I am running a Fender Strat through it into a little Peave 8" combo. It makes my amp sound like I'm playing through my friend's stack. It is not noisy at all is has built in noise reduction, not a gate. You can get a heavy metal distortion out of this and still tell what your playing. You have two channels to switch between neither being specificaly lead or rythm.

This thing is built like a tank! Nothing weak about it, it's probably one of the heaviest one I've tried.

I haven't had to deal with them yet. The warranty is to be handled by your dealer.

This is a GREAT pedal for what I do I play mostly Megadeth and Pantera, alot of Led Zepplin. and a little bit of Alice in Chains on the side. I don't know what I would do I something happened to it if it got stolen or something, I mean I would definitely buy it again but the question is could I afford it again. All in all this is a awsome pedal for what ever style of music you play, be it a bluesy overdrive or a deathly thrash metal sound you are looking for this is you pedal!