Korg AX1500G

Hmmm, a bit of history...I don't really use effects, I bought a ax1 ? second hand for about ??30, really just for a bit of phaser, and compression. Then something happened which I will describe later...It is very easy to edit and set up sounds, and If you apply logic you can access settings very easily for seemless changes....manual is ok,... only area I struggled with initially was the relative volume of the individual patches....and how they sit in a live mix

Ha... I am a one man band playing to backing tracks, through a JBL eon Pa, my "live" guitars are bog standard Gibson Flying V '67, Gibson Les Paul Junior, Fender Joe Strummer Tele, Fender mexican strat,and for a while an Takamine EN20 electro acoustic...through a marshall dual super lead...I used an AX1 for odd bits of colour, and one night my marshall jacked during a gig, valves started frying...I whipped the ax1 into the desk, and was really pleased at the sound... Then went to sound control, and fiddled about with all the boss, vox, dod, zoom, line 6 etc...I decided to junk the marshall, and the takamine, and bought the ax1500 for ??99, an absolute steal...Through the pa, in stereo, I get some great sounds that sit really well in the mix...strange thing is, If I am trying to dial in a "Kaiser Chiefs...Ruby Ruby" type sound, the starting point was "sabbaf"...and my best Paul weller/Jam going underground, sound comes from the V, through a "british stack" with cocked wah.....not a jangly overdriven vox... trust your ears ! My long standing audience who know about my pernickityness ( why else do I carry a bundle of guitars around ?) often commment on how good the guitars are sounding....and thats the important bit ! ...you should hear my "Angus"... I get a great appromimation with the bridge P90 pickup on the junior... sometimes these things seem "wrong", but sound fantastic !

I have got in a few tizzes...I used the "One" patch, for a U2 "syrup" of univibe, echo, etc and somehow I managed to get ****** over with the user/default settings when returning to more staple sounds....logic and sequentiality can sometimes go out of the window at one of my shows...I don't carry a backup anymore, but I may just start to pack my little vox brian may thing...more out of paranoia from writing this...I can do about 8-10 gigs per month and have never have any major problems...

never bothered...

This unit really changed my life ! and brought me up to date, I was really old school with just my clean/crunch/dirty amp, and the odd bit of phaser / delay, and using different guitars/pickups to generate tones...now ALL my sounds are generated from the korg, although I still rely on the guitars to brainwash me from a feel point of view......I did a big gig with a function band recently, and took my marshall, but ended up going straight into the pa...After 30 years gigging at different levels , The silent tuning facility , simple operation, and ability to read the names of the patches I write make performing a doddle...To be fair, I wouldn't use it for recording If/when it dies, nobody would steal it...they usually whip an SM58 ! I would do an afternoons research and probably look on ebay to see If I could get one cheaper ! I would not buy a ??300 - ??400 unit...I'd buy another guitar ! A PRS SE in Camoflage....eek !

Very easy to use. I prefer the setup over the Boss Multi effects units that I have or have had. Manual was OK, but really not necessary if you've ever dealt with any multi effects. Editing is quite easy. I bought this over the AX3000G specifically because I did not want a huge unit and I didn't want a computer interface. I prefer having my guitar and effects and amp away from the computer, no need for these hookups!

I don't try to specifically copy any artists, but I love the sounds I have been able to dial in on this unit. I currently have a Boss Br-50 and prefer the sound and set up of this one better. I use various guitars, usually humbuckers through a Peavey prowler tube amp. I think the wah sounds better than the Boss and better than the new Cry Baby's. Some older ones sound better for sure though. I get distortion that I like, just takes some subtle tweaking.Other effects all sound very good.

Seems solid.

I play mostly original light to heavy rock. I love this unit. I bought the Boss thinking I'd like it better. Anyone want to make an offer on a Boss Br-50? I would buy another one for sure. It definately makes me sound better...of course most people over use effects just because they are there. i have learned to not over use any effects and sound much better because of it. Nice work Korg...that's all I can say. I have been playing almost 40 years and have owned everything. i know good sound and ZI know good gear. this is good stuff.

One you have had a quick look at the manual its pretty easy to get to grips with. Patch selectors are quite easy to use too, although a tendancy to jump to 'B Channel' when channel patch number is annoying. Fix this by selecting channel 'A' and pressing 'write' to re-write the setting on any effect causing this problem.

The sound quality is actually quite good through my little Marshall combo, and even better on my Peavey PA rig. My particular unit fizzes with that horrific short circuit noise every few minutes, but that aside its relatively noise free.
The effects are quite good, but do lean toward distortion and delay quite heavily. I use a lot of clean sounds, and some subtle reverb/delay (think early Beatles) so it was a little disappointing to have so many 'heavier' effects, although the cab modelling is very good.

I think I can rely on my AX-1500, and do for gigs, although I also carry my little 'Zoom Unit' in case of emergency. Like all music gear, it's better to take it and not need it, than need it and not have it with you! The Ax-1500G is quite rugged and well made, although the rotary knobs on the effects selectors wouldn't stand for being trodden on more than once.

I've never had to deal with Korg, so have no opinion on this subject.

I play old style rock and roll mainly, although I'm not above throwing other stuff in last minute, snow patrol, Oasis, Verve - whatever I'm asked for within reason.
I've been playing well over 20 years, and have my own Peavey PA rig. I use a small Marshall combo at home and for recording. I have a couple of backup Amps (an old 'trucker' and another Peavey) I play a Fender Strat, a Yamaha Accoustic and my favourite guitar is my Epiphone Sheraton II, a really gorgeous (if a little heavy) piece of kit.
If I were to 'lose' my Ax-1500, would I buy another? I think I'd go for the next model up, with pedal indicators and more features. It's silly to get used to one kind of piece of floor kit, only to change if happy with it, and if you aren't happy why did you buy it. Music kit is horses for courses. You don't need the most expensive, coolest, etc. Go for what suits you and your style, not for what you think you 'have to' get. I personally like the Ax-1500, but as I have said, if I had my time again, I'd go up to the AX-3000G, but again, buy what you can afford and feels good for you. I got a good deal on mine, so I can't complain about the price.

This pedal is easy to use. However, it could be more useable. What do I mean by that? Well, in terms of understanding how to use it, it's fairly intuitive and once you get the hang of the different modes for editing selecting and tweaking on-the-fly you won't find yourself referring to the manual again. Unless of course you want to sell it on and need to find where you put the thing! In practise, however, useage can be frustrating. Having to stomp multiple buttons at once and often having to bend down to press the smaller keys is a drawback. The real let down, however, is the complete lack of any PC interface which in comparison with the competition is a serious handicap to its usefulness and useability.

Let's not beat around the bush, this unit is cheap and this cheapness shows in the areas where you would expect it to. While it's pretty good for high gain distortion, clean sounds can be nice and smooth if you know what you're doing setting it up and I was able to get a pretty good approximation of the U2 sound with it - it just doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to more subtle effects. The tonal depth of professional effects is just not here. All in all, it's pretty good at the things it does well but as a multi effects unit it raises questions. Were the AX1500G a delay/distortion pedal I'd give it a higher rating. However, it professes to be much more and 70% of the available sounds let it down. The pedal is particularly dissappointing as one must choose between a very narrow range of values, or sacrifice precision for range. Plugged into anything but the highest quality sound card, it's hopelessly noisy for PC recording. For reference, I use it with a Fender Strat directly into the PA.

The whole thing is very solidly built but once again let down by a flaw, this time by plastic knobs. Plastic knobs which don't require an awful lot of encouragement to come off!

Not dealt with them at all.

This pedal has served me well. My band plays all kinds of music and it has been very useful to have something versatile. I am very happy with the delay effects I can get with this pedal and have spent considerable time refining a range of U2 patches. Although I intend to replace it in general useage with a POD XT Live I will definitely be keeping hold of this pedal for those sounds, at least until I can get better out of the Line 6 pedal. The biggest drawbacks are - poor modulation effects, very disappointing wah/volume pedal, restrictive delay range, fiddly editing, having to press two buttons at once to cycle down one bank and plastic knobs (the top row of which are downright ugly)

The AX1500G is maybe one of the easiest multi-effect pedals to use. Everything is under your total control and the knobs eliminate the presence of menu stuff, wnich makes editing patches very easy. The manual is not great but it's useful to read.

I use Ibanez RG550EX with D-Sonic and Breed DiMarzio pickups through a Crate GX60 amp and sometimes direct to the PA. Some good sounds can be got out of this unit by careful tweaking. I like some of the amp models as Seattle, Classic Distortion and Brit Stack. The Big Fuzz and Metal Distortion are OK, but I really hate the Tube OD and the Classic Compressor. The acoustic simulator sounds fine but it has this disgusting hiss sound. However, the choice of cabinet simulations adds much to the features of the unit. Most of the modulation effects are OK, but I believe the chorus needs to get deeper. I really hate the Wah and the Pitch Bend, but the U-Vibe sounds cool. This thing can get really noisy with high gain setups and poor or unstable electricity, and the noise reduction is the worst ever as you can reach the point of no sustain at all. Anyway, I don't think this pedal gives the sound I'm looking for.

You can depend on this thing as long as it is supplied by a stable electric current. I've owned this for about 3 years of continuous gigging without any backup. It is made of metal and is sturdy enough. Since its original adapter was blown in one of the gigs, I've been facing constant electrical problems with other adapters, which make the unit go nuts and the pedal effects are selected randomly by itself!

Never got the chance to contact them.

I mainly play Rock, Blues and some Metal. I believe the AX1500G can really be useful in the Metal genre because it has a very good high gain material and has better sounding high gain amp models than any of the BOSS, Zoom and Digitech pedals I've owned. However, I don't believe this unit to be natural sounding for me, and that's why it's gonna take a rest soon. It lacks the warmth and the feel I need, and also the versatility. I've been playing for 7 years and eversince I've been working hard to get the sound that would please my ears and unveils my techneques. If you are a metalhead, you should probably give this a try because it would also be worth the money.

it is really easy to use, with its "easy-editing" feature you can create a whole bunch of unique tones. you can tweak your tone specifically. it also has a lot of effects to choose from, so its really good for its price..

it sounds really great, i dont usually copy my guitar heroes' tones so i dont if this unit can copy their tone. it has a lot of diff. drives and cabinet to choose from. it is really great for live performance but not in recording. you can hear a lot of noise when using a high gain drive and also the noise reduction is crappy, i doesnt minimize the noise but it minimize the sound quality. i like the echo+ , it sounds great. and the worst is the wah....it doesnt sound like a good wah...its like an "ah" hehehe...

it sounds good, and of course you can really sound good on live acts the downside is it doesnt operate on batteries, i've been to some gigs with a very far power outlet from the front of the stage so its hard, i've been operating my unit behind the amps..

hmm...if you read the manual you can instantly operate the unit.

i usually play rock, japanese rock to be exact and also i like making my own music so having a unique tone is really important to me. this unit is the one closest to my tone preference.

Its very easy to use and you dont need to use the manual

I play all kind of music from Heavy metal to pretty blues the quality of the sound is great it brings the most heaviest distortion for hard riffs sweep picking to the most beautiful acoustic tone ever,and its all sounds great,I'm not really into effects but, the wah is really great,very easy of use, and I prefer it to my crybaby... The reverbs sounds great,they're really reproducing well the contexts wich they are reproducing.

Latly im recording in a studio with my friends and its so flexible to use at the studio,,,

N/A

I play Heavy metal,hard rock,jazz,blues,everything but not classic :)
Ten years,Pia 2000 mixer,Rocktek EQ,Boss metal zone,Dunlop cry baby wah wah pedal.
all the features.

I think Korg made the easiest way to write programs in a multieffect. First when I got it, I tried to figure it out just by myself. Then 2 days passed, and I looked in the manual, and saw, I left out nearly nothing. Everything is written on it. And the manual is great too. Easy to understand, or get around in it. If you want to try out sound processors for the first time, this is the ideal stuff for you! But there's a weak spot in it's construction. The foot buttons can't pushed down enough. You can't be sure if you pushed it down. Or sometimes, it pushes itself twice. And it's a big problem at the chanel select button. But it's not a problem, when you use it at home. Only it could be a problem at live shows.

Well I never tried to copy a certan artist. I just wanted to make my own sound. And this stuff nearly got it! I'm using it for at least 5 years, and I never got bored to its sound! The distorsion effects are amaizing! The difference between them is not just the ammount of distorsion. Every distorsion have a different dinamics. If you want brutal fore, you can get out from it! If you want real soft windlike distorsion, it got it all! The effects are amaizing too. Only the wha effect is a bit weak for me. Its only a static wha effect, you can't change anything. (that's why only 9). And of course it's amaizingly silent!

Its amaizingly strong stuff. I steped on it accidently many times, and nothing happend. I droped it several times, again accidently, but didn't broke. Coverd with real heavy metal, its, unbroakable! I would, and I am using it without a backup.

No opinion, never dealt, with them (never had to).

I play mostly metal, and this stuff suits it well. As I sad it before, it has a huge ammount of power in it! I'm using this for at least 5 years, and I'll never sell it! I love it's sound, I love how easy to write programs. But it's biggest disadvantage is the foot buttons. Their position is great, not too close and not too far, but you can't be sure, without watching, that you pushed a button or not. Without a shoe, it's not that big problem, but in shoe, it is! Or it wouldn't be that big problem, if it would have a midi port. But it doesen't. If it's lost, I'd definetly buy another one. It's still perfect for home practice.
The best thing I like in this stuff, is its practice mode. You can record 8 or 16 sec in it, form it's aux in or from your guitar (by playing something) than you can play it back as many times you'd like. And you can slow it down without making it sound deeper. Or you can hold a note, so you can search it on your guitar. It's very usefull, when you try to tab down a fast solo, or some harmonic stuff.

AX1500G's pretty easy to use... It's easy to edit patches and save them as your own... The manual was very comprehensible. The only thing I don't like with this unit is that it doesn't have a seperate "Bank Down" footswitch. You have to simultaneously step on footswitches 2 and 3.

I like some of its distortions and amp models specially the Britstack. Somehow, you can emulate sound of Dimebag, Satriani, Vai, Petrucci, and most punk rock style of playing by carefully and patiently creating patches from scratch. I like the Vulgar patch which I believe emulates Dimebag's sound. I hate its Acoustic simulator coz it has a hisssss on it... One bad thing about AX1500G is it's noisy when using patches with distortion... this is very annoying... even setting the noise reduction to 9 or 10 does not eliminate the noise... And when you set NR to 10, there's no more sustain on notes you play... My rating for Sound Quality could have been 9... if only there's no noise... tsk tsk... I'm kinda dissapointed. Zoom's got a superb NR... without affecting sustain of notes you play.

The casing is made of metal... good thing! The wah is kinda weak... I'd buy a Jim Dunlop or Morley wah to use instead of the Ax1500G's. I haven't tried using a Noise Supressor to kill it's noise... I don't if it will work...

NA

Good for live situations, but not for recording... Some patches sound great, some suck... well, all you need is a little time to edit and play around with the patches to get the sounds you want... I have to say again, Ax1500G's waterloo is with its noise... a real pain in the ass... setting the NR to high will not give you a good sustain... you don't want that, do you?

Pretty simple to use, just takes time to figure out what you want. I tried using the presets, but then just started from scratch.. That's the best way to get what you want. Like many effects, its built for what I call the 16 year old with issues. I wish they would put a memory for the knobs, it is best if you keep a record of the settings you invent, because when you invent a second one you move the knobs and forget where you were if you want to edit the first setup.

Of course this depends on what your looking for. I found the compressor and the delays to work well but didn't like any of the distortions. Amp and Speaker moduling were good and some light octive works well. Heavy reverb did a good job but the phasers took a lot of tweaking for each song (I guess that's standard) to be usable.

I've had this unit for 5 or 6 years and dragged it to the gig every weekend for 3 of those years. I put it in a case and have never had even a hiccup out of it.

Sorry N/A never called em.

This unit taught me a lot about effects and setting them up. It was worth every dime just for that! I like the stereo delay. It makes you sound huge. I would buy another in a hot minute. I'm still looking for that special sound, and this is getting me closer.