Korg 411fx Super Multi FX

For some reason I found editing very easy on this thing. I've learned how to do it fast and I have everything memorized. But then again I've had it for a year and a half. It beat the crap out of anything by Zoom. I had a zoom for about 2 days.

My Setup > Very, very modified Fender Strat 40th Anniversary with Hot Rails > Vox wah > ToneWorks Real Tube Distortion pedal > Korg 411fx > Alesis Midiverb > Marshall JCM 900 50 watt head.
Before the addition of the marshall I was playing through Solid state heads and combos and so the 411fx was very useful for eq, distortion with compression, etc. I think the flanger is pretty good like someone else here said and I also thought the tremelo was pretty killer if you don't mind it very bright. I also use an Alesis ADAT XT20 for recording and found that when I was too dang lazy to set up my whole rig that the Korg 411fx made a great recording processor. I found that it was quiet enough to record with the patches could be edited quickly for another take and the it was great for just quick little sweetening notes with tremelo or a little delay or what not. Bad effects . . . the chorus sucks and I don't even like chorus but I know you can do better than that. and the reverbs are terrible ? alot of hiss and noise.

It was reliable for me after I bought it and one of the switches broke and I had to send it off for a replacement switch that took 8 weeks to put it. I think they had to take the slow boat to china to get the switch. It's been reliable ever since.

As I just said, repairs take fooooorever!

I've been playing 5 years and I think that if you are just starting out and want to play with alot of effects for not much money or you have a really crappy amp then this thing may really make you happy. I have to say one more time please get this instead of a Zoom 505 . . . please . . .

Edititing is easy, but you have to tweak it just right. The manual need not have so many languages.

I use a '98 Gibson Les Paul Standard through a Marshall Valvestate half stack. The red patch sounds great on the clean channel of the amp. It is awefully noisy, though. The chorus and flanger work well, but the echo is just not right. The distortion is psycho!

I could not depend on this thing to work right, and I would definitely carry a backup.

ok this thing is VERY noisy on almost all the patches, editing sucks,manual reads like ancient sanscrit. Looks real nice and shiny like it would last forever but....

Ok here's where this thing shines... the flanger in this thing was so damn good that I still think about buying it again every once in awhile. Unfortunately thats the only good thing about it. I used it ONLY at my house to practice with since my good stuff is all at my drummers house. I was using a marshall jcm800 50 watt headthrough the low gain jack. It had a pretty neat death metal distortion on one of the presets, but when you werent playing it was super noisy. MOST of the effects on this thing were horrible, but MAN!!!! that flanger was sick!!! I still cant find another flanger that I liked as much as that one. Its hard to describe really, instead of the normal swoosh it was like a "scccccrrrrreeeeeeeeoooooooooooo" type deal. Chorus was good. Just not as good as that damn flanger! 10 for the flanger. 1 for the rest of the effect. I guess that equals out to a 5?

heeeeeellllllll no!! I went through seriously....3 of these things in 5 months. And I wasnt the only one. The store that I shop at had gotten a few other returns on the same unit. It would just flash the right led and stop working all together. quite a shame actually. I'm usually pretty loyal to things that I like (ie the flanger in this piece of junk) but you have to draw the line somewhere.

Screw the company. The store just kept replacing em till I gave up and traded for store credit.

poop.

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In Hong Kong --- Tom Lee Music Co., Ltd.

EA style ?U?# play 'L , but good match 'N<Y preset bank o?J 3/4/5 , user (preset) bank o?J 7/9 patchs , ?U play oY? about 3 years guitar , all gear ?U?#|? , cos i working at a music store , hahaa... , if it were stolen or lost , i will buy AX1000G , cos this is new product , ->'a-n?i 10/1999 Yy|??f , ?U compare 'L 411fx |P zoom 505 , 505 YiYH?~??(c)U?#?i !

The presets are good and powerful. It's easy to edit the patches but only once you get the idea how its done. Took me a while before I could figure out the whole process. The manual helpful but only slightly. I figure out how to use it by trial and error.

I've a Pacifica 112M and I have a Charvel 20Watt amp. I seldom use my amplifier, I have my setup runs thru via the preamp of my 4 track to my monitor. The unit can be quite noisy but the noise gate could keep the noise down to the minimal. I like the distortions especially. They are the reason for getting the unit. I don't use much of the others except the modulation effects. Of course my BOSS Chorus CE-2 sounds better but then for the convenience of the effects in one box, I seldom use my CE-2. The sound from this box is professional. More towards the digital side but its not lacking in warmth like most digital sounding pedals are. I'm quite happy with this unit sounds. I give it a very high 9

Limited plastic. Mainly metal casing ! Won't die on me I believe.

N/A

Good all effects in one. I'm thinking twice about using my Sansamp GT2 and my classic BOSS CE-2. Not because the Korg 411fx sounds better but because it's convenient and sounds good at the same time.... anyway I may not hard to please ... so for me its a 9

At first it seems sorta hard to figure out presets. This may be because I didn't have owner manual at first. Once I got one it made a world of difference. Pretty easy once you get the hang of it.I am still experimenting with it after 4 months or so.

At first I used this effect with my current pedal chain. All Boss pedals with bcb-6 carry case. Seemed to had a big difference in tone with no effects patched in. I use a Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall JCM 900 half stack. All sounds that I have heard are excellent. Delay's ,echos.chourus flange are top rate.

Like I said I've had it for 4 months with no problems. I power it with my Boss pedalboard + - groung adapter. Seems to be reliable. Built like a tank.

Have called once to get owner's manual. Arrived in 2 days!!

I play variety rock n roll. At first I used it in my pedal chain. Then I went out and bought a Boss acoustic simulator. What a mistake.I had the idea of using the 411fx with an acoustical guitar only. My acoustis has a Dean Markley Pro Mag. What a sound. All effects and EQ and etc. for acoustical only. Try it sometime.Went back to putting in my pedal chain. By[ass on electric stuff and kick in for acoustical numbers.

It is easy to get phat sounds out of this thing. Just play with the dials. Editing patches is a bit more of a task, but not impossible. You would have to read the manual for that. Speaking of the manual, it is pretty weak. It helps but it could help a lot more. Only problem is there's so much to change that you're forever changing things and not playing things.

I play an Epiphone Sheraton II into a Crate GX30-M. The Korg is generally very quiet, and it has a dial for noise reduction too. Some of the effects are weak, but most of them sound great. For example, the pitch shift sounds awful to me but the phaser is great. My favorite artist is Jimi Hendrix and I have been able to get a good "Angel" setting and come somewhat close to other settings. I think the wide range of sound available should allow most folks to imitate their favorites. I like the range of distortions a lot, from low gain stuff to pure fuzz and noise. Overall, great sound.

This thing is pretty sturdy. I have not had a problem with reliability.

No problems with my Korg yet.

I play the blues and rock. This effects pedal is great for me as a beginner with effects. I can achieve many sounds with this. I have been playing for a few years and the 411fx is perfect for me because I just jam with my friends. The hard part is finding the exact sound you want from all the possibilities- from there it's great. I compared this to a used ZOOM 505 for $99 and the Korg sounded much better and quieter even though it doesn't have as many effects. Plus the ZOOM is plastic. Go for the Korg, even at a slightly higher price. This pedal helps me enjoy playing and I recommend it for anyone getting into effects. Besides, it's a great price-even new!

This is an update of a review I did of this like 50 years ago, when it was my first effect. Now that I'm older and wiser, I thought I'd repost a review.
This is pretty easy to use. I tend to prefer the ease of use that multiple single effect boxes provide (ie want some chorus on, hit the button, want it off, hit it again), but then again with a multi unit you can have distortion and phaser and delay come on all at once with a pre-programmed patch.

The rating of 7 is misleading. Some of the sounds are great, some suck, and some are good when combined with other effect pedals. The clean with reverb sound is great. Echo sounds good but is not that editable. Chorus is good but a little thin (no depth control on modulation effects, only speed). Doubling chorus is good. Flange sucks ass, and is only useful when combined with distortion. The phaser is good, especially when combined with a Cool Cat chorus. Then there's the phaser with unique peaks. Weird but cool. Let's see, vibrato is okay. Tremolo is good. Auto rotary is pretty cool. Auto wah is good with distortion. Pitch shift is good on the setting that I use it, which is with the pitch shifted up like a 6th from the original note. Good for chimey, ethereal sounding chords.
What else we got. The compression is good. My fellow band mates don't use compression, and consequently their strumming is much harder than me and they make a guitar go out of tune really fast. Overdrive is good, but can be a little harsh and trebbly. Same goes for distortion. Distortion is best used for soloing. The fuzz is really nice though, smooth and growly. Good for rhythm and soloing. The three way eq and noise reduction are also good.
I guess I better explain my setup. I play a Fender Telecaster (Mexican-made) into a Snarling Dogs Super Bawl Whine-O Wah, a Sustain-Punch modified Big Muff (soon to be sold so I can buy a Tech 21 Comptortion), the 411fx, a Danelectro Cool Cat chorus (they're like bellybuttons--everybody has one), a Korg Toneworks 301dl dynamic echo, into a Peavey Bandit 112s. I use the amp's distortion quite a bit because it kicks ass, and I have the chorus and the echo in the fx loop.
I'd complain about the fact that you can't combine the modulation effects with reverb, but I use the reverb on my amp anyway. Despite it's drawbacks, this is a great pedal, and still the most important box in my effect arsenal (if you will excuse the militarization).

Well, it seems to be doing great except on bank 11, periodically the sound drops out for brief moments. It was doing that a while back, but it's not doing it now. Could have something to do with the fact that I've dropped it down the stairs and onto cement.

No idea, but if the bank 11 problem comes back, I have to figure out how to get a hold of these guys (no help from their web page) because I depend on this pedal for all my songs.

Overall, I love this pedal and it's still the most important effect pedal I own. There's never a time when I'm not using it. Not all of the effects are great, but I like it much better than Digitech multi-effect pedals and crappy DOD pedals and even the new Toneworks AX1-G, because this thing makes those pedals sound like cheap toys. This one sounds REAL. I think they're being discontinued, so if you think you need something like this, better get one fast.

Sometime back in the mid '90, someone at Korg probably had the great idea that there was a huge market for a line of good-sounding programmable effects units disguised as simple stomp boxes. However, despite meeting these two critera, and garnering favorable reviews in Guitar Player and Guitar Shop, the pedals tanked, and have since been discontinued. As with all the other pedals in the ToneWorks line (104 Hyper Distortion, 105 Classic Overdrive, and 301 Dynamic Delay), "ease of use" is a thorny issue, as their hybrid nature makes them neither fish nor fowl in the world of guitar effects. Is it as easy to use as a Tube Screamer? No. Is it easier than a DigiTech rack FX unit? Oh, yeah. Did I have trouble using it right off the bat or editing patches? No, it was all pretty logical, despite the abhorrently sketchy nature of Korg's instruction sheet/table cloth.
The main thing to remember with this line is that after recalling a patch, the knobs will probably not reflect the values of the effects. Once you get familiar with what each knob does, as well as the range of sound the knob controls, the fact the knobs don't line up won't be a problem. And since this unit doesn't have a mini-toggle switch to assign dual parameters to each knob, it's far less of a problem in the 411fx than in the 104ds Hyper Distortion or 301dl Dynamic Delay units.
As a final note, my 411fx is set up so that "High" imput should be used for humbuckers and "Low" with single coils. While consistant with the instruction sheet, an earlier ToneWorks pedal I bought (301dl) has this reversed to follow the more conventionally accepted (and as noted in Guitar Shop)"High" for single coils and "Low" for humbuckers. It's all just part of that Korg charm.

Although I have a couple of guitars and amps to choose from, my favored Gibson SG/Ampeg VT-60 tube amp setup in my home studio has been picking up a lot of radio interference lately, so I have been running my Gibson 335 solid body (yup, back from the dark days when "heavier=more sustain") through my Peavy Bandit 65 which I have set up in the living room (needless to say, my wife is none too pleased about this). The 411fx can get initially a bit noisy when using some of the high gain settings, but with a bit of EQ and noise reduction, this thing is dead silent.
I try hard not to be a shill for the Korg line, but I like their effects so much, I've bought all four of the pedals over the course of the last six months. This pedal beat all expectations I had for it. The modulation effects as a whole are among the best I've ever heard, and the compressor and auto wah are exceptional. Although I have auto wah effects on other units (ZOOM, DigiTech TSR24S), I never really used them. Fire this one up, throw a copy of "Shaft" in your VCR, and you can amuse yourself for hours!
Although some people have griped about the lack of programmable parameters in the 411fx, I find them to be liberating. It's my theory that there's a diminishing return in effects and effectiveness. Every parameter that you can tweek removes you a step from your real goal of making music. If you can't get what you want out of these effects, the problem probably lies elsewhere.

While some reviewers have complained about the unusual nature of the four AA-cell arrangement, I really like it, as they last much longer (three or more sessions) than my 9-volt equipped zoom 505 (which, when using rechargeables, lasts about an hour before conking out).
As far as the durability of the unit itself, I'm not presently gigging, but did use it to squash an earwig that was scooting across the carpet. While this may have voided the warranty, the unit was none the worse for ware. It is solid as an old Nikon camera, and if/when I gig again, I'd have no reservations about leaving my rack unit at home.

I haven't had any problems with the 411fx. I did, however, have a slight buzzing problem with the 105od Classic Overdrive of the same line. Musician's Friend took it back with no hassle, and sent me a new one within a couple of weeks. Now that the line has been discontinued, however, getting repairs or a replacement could become more of a problem.

I put off getting one of these because of programming concerns raised by reviewers both here and in Guitar Shop, and the general "ho hum" reception from Guitar Player. This is a decision I now regret, for the time (and fun) I've lost playing with this unit. I've been playing for about 12 years, and, honestly, this thing has made playing fun again. Riffs and ideas just kinda ooze out of it. Smart people will buy one before they become the Electro Harmonix of the twentieth century.

This thing is pretty easy to use. Two knobs, one effects one program. However if playing live it is quite difficult to switch as sometimes the footswitches may get slippery and the switch not activated.

i used to use this with a fernandes strat copy and a peavey rage 158. it sounded pretty good actually. the chorus is pretty good, lush and full and the distortions are great. the phaser is also top rate and the flanger kicks ass!!! it tends to get noisy however if you combine three or more effects but you can always reduce the noise. since then i sold both my guitar and amp and am a proud owner of an ibanez rg 250. i expect it would sound even better with my current guitar and my soon to be amp, a fender frontman 25 watt reverb.

yeah i would depend on it but i am not really sure if i would use it during a live show. as i said it's pretty hard to switch it would be better if they changed this into a stompbox.

nah never dealt with them

i play mostly alternative rock and it suits me pretty well. a good multi effects overall and a good buy at its affordable price.