Korg AX1500G

Using the manual, it took me about an hour to learn the ins and outs of this unit. I plugged it into head phones first because I intitially wanted to know how to get around the effects and controls. It was very easy to do, but I think the manual could have went into better detail. Korg should check out Line 6 POD's manual. It was easy enough to understand, but I felt it should have added more insight on how to edit patches. Otherwise, I would say that it is very to get started on though.

After going thru the manual and learning how to edit patches and how to manipulate the effects, I plugged it into my gear which consists of a Gibson Les Paul Studio and Fender Stage 160 solid state amp. The main thing I was looking for in an effects proccesor was some good overdrive and distortion sounds. The AX1500G didn't let me down. My faves or Metal Dist. and Tube OD. I found that using the cabinet modelling is another way to EQ the sounds. I like all of the modulation effects except for the auto wha, it's just not very dynamic. However the Vox Wha sound in the pedal section is surprisingly good. The delays and reverbs sound excellent. I intend to upgrade to a tube amp(havent made up my mind on what one yet) and will use this unit for the ambience and modulation effects. It does however take a little time to find a sound that you will like, but that's probably the same for all multi-effect units.

I have not gigged with it yet but I will be soon. I am very sure that it will be reliable. The expression pedal is sturdy and it's made of metal. I don't think a backup would be needed. I may bring a couple of stomp boxes(delay and chorus) for backup. i would rate it higher if I had played out with it a few times.

I haven't dealt with the company but I'll give it a rating base on the web-site.

My band covers a lot of ground-classic rock Beatles, Stones, Zep VH, ZZTop to newer stuff like Nickleback, Collective Soul Sheryl Crow and I was able to program sounds that I can use for all these styles. The only real gripes I have are about the manual which I stated above and the size of the foot switches. They are pretty small and close together so that will take a little time to get used to. The important thing is that it is very useful to helping me make music. A feature I forgot to mention is the uvi-vibe. It sounds great!! It's probably my favorite.

This really isn't too hard to use, but if you've never used a multi-effects pedal with built in patches, it'll take a little while to figure out. Editing patches is pretty easy, and you'll probably want to edit your own. Most of the pre-sets are pretty lame. The manual goes into fairly good detail, and it's a good idea to keep it nearby so you know how to use the tuner, the phrase trainer, the metronome, and so on.

The sounds are excellent. I especially love the metal distortion effect. It sounds very smooth, with a nice hint of treble roughness to it. Very good stuff. I am a complete metal head, and I mean GOOD metal like Metallica, Megadeth, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden...etc. This pedal suits me pretty nicely for that. However, once in a while I want to go and play some blues or jazz, (not that I actually like either, but there are...EXTENUATING...circumstances which force me to play these)and this pedal really won't satisfy you if you like that kind of music. In fact, in my opinion, this pedal really only works well for metal, some forms of punk, and maybe hard rock.

I have complete faith in this pedal, it's excellent. It's extremely durable. I frequently stand on this thing with my full body weight (150 lbs) and it doesn't even have a scratch on it. On the LCD screen, one bit of plastic wrapping is coming off, but that's because I dug into it with my pen, because I thought it was some dirt.

I've never had to deal with them, but my friend did. He said that they were just average.

It's hard for me to say whether or not I would buy this pedal again. It's not that it's a bad pedal, but I always feel that plugging in to a decent amp is far superior to plugging into an excellent pedal. I got this thing before I realized that I don't really like pedals. But, hey, live and learn. Still, if pedals are your thing and you like metal, then by all means get this. You'll appreciate the wide variety of sounds you can produce.


Just a quick tip...if you like metal, put the settings to this:

Metal Distortion-
Level-10
Gain-8
Treble-10
Midrange-3
Bass-10

Modern Cabinet
Air-10 (If you turn it to 10, it should say LN)
Level-10
Presence-10

Then, if your plugging into an amp, put the EQ at five for everything. That gives you an excellent metal sound.

There are so many sounds this thing can produce you get a good sound at every turn of the knob. Only problem is deciding which one! Learning takes time unless you read the manual. This is not a unit

I am using a crappy Peavey Express 112 SOlid State and this thing makes it sound like pure gold. Distortion, acoustic simulator, chorus flanger. The only suggestion i have is to make the whammy function sound a bit better, until i figure out how to tweak it anyway. It produces quite a lot of feedback when my guitar is right next to it, but this occasion is so rare it doesn't create a problem

its made of aluminum so it seems sturdy. Since i got it last night I haven't really had a chance to test it out

I haven't dealt with them and hopefully when i do it will be to order something else.

I wanted a pedal that had good classic AND modern metal effect, This is it. Versatility and quality are there. All-in-all not a bad way to spend my mid-year bonus!

It is so damn easy to get some fresh sounds out of this thing. The presets are kinda weak, but they do give you an idea of what the unit is cabable of.
The editing of the patches takes some time to learn, but with those big ass chicken head knobs make its a snap. During practice if my band hates my dist, or there's too much chorus, it takes about 11 seconds!! the other guitarist in my band has a Boss GT-3. He stumbles thru that damn and cant seem to get the right sound out of it.
The manual for the Korg is kinda small.. you really have to sit down and get creative with the unit itself. The manual just gives you a crash course.. but to get the best sound, you must futz with it till you get it.

I play in a NU metal hardcore(What the hell does that mean anyway?) with very low tunings and eratic time changes. I'm currently using a Les Paul standard with a mongrel amp that consists of a Crate DSP head (which is amazing for the price by the way) A Laney 4-12 cab with a Madison 2 12 half cab.
The Korg has the absolute BEST Distortion out of any multi effect pedal out there. If you dont like it after a week, you can alter it for something deeper or higher, its always easy to find the perfect low end crunch with this thing.
There is No noise. some of these other bastards are talking about noise. The only noise i can hear is the beer can that tipped over because of My bass throaty Distortion.
Like i said, the Distortion effects are amazing, and the other effects are very very genuine. The sound like seperate Boss boxed dumped into one pedal. I love the traveler and the Texttrem. They really really ad some spookyness to some songs.
The only beef i have with this pedal is the time delay between patches. It sucks but i just have to stop playing about 1/12 of a measure before i would normally click. It just takes some getting used to.

Hell yes!!
This bastard weighs 5 pounds!! its solid steel and on a dark stage it really spooks things out. Most Digi-pedals have the yellow/green digital display, this ones Red and black and have all these Red lights all over it. it looks evil.
Last practice i spilled a Hurricane on it. I freaked out, but after some paper towels it was fine, not even sticky. Next time i'll just be more careful.

Why would i need it?

F all the other mutli-effects. IF you are into a dependable, easy to use, fun pedal this is the one! It screams with distorion, but in one click you can have the most wonderful acoustic sounds.. i know alot of pedals do this but this one has an AMAZING transition between the two. I'd recomend this pedal to anyone. You'll be suprized!!

I discovered all the ins and outs of patch editing within half and hour or plugging the thing in. The chicken head knobs for the effect bays helps to keep things simple.

That said, once you realise the full scope of the unit the sheer number of different sounds you can achieve can be a little overwhelming. And the difference between a great sound and an undesirable one is usually one knob that you forgot to tweak. Be prepared to spend some time fooling around with it to get the sounds you want. It is worth the effort though.

The Manual will give the basics of navigation and patch editing etc but it could have been a little more explanitary about its cab models and distortion sims.

I use an Epiphone Les Paul plugged into a Crate TD-70, which has a tube in the pre-amp. In some respects I think a pure solid state amp would be more desirable for the AX1500G, the amp modeling tones would come through clearer.

Some choose not to use the Cabinet models when using an amp but I believe they are crucial to finding that particular sound you want, especially when editing distortion sounds.

The distortions are all top rate, there is literally about a hundred different distortion sounds you can achieve even before you start using the equializer. If there is a sound you want it has it (you just have to find it).

Modulations
The Chorus is great if a little thin at times. The Stero Chorus is the best I've ever heard.
The Flanger is also good, though you can easily create harsh sounds if you over use it.
The same goes with the Phaser. The Black phaser is the one I use as the Orange Phaser is too harsh.
Tremolo is very good. Fairly hard to stuff it up really.
Octave is very good.
Delay, top notch. As good if not better than any other digital delay pedal i've used.
The Filton and auto wah sound great and are fun and funky but I don't use them much.
Pitch shifter and the rest of the useless effects are servicable but I can't see myself ever using them.

Pedal Modulations
The Vox Wah is the worst POS if ever heard doesn't even compare to a really Wah pedal such as my Jen Cry Baby, but this was expected anyway.
There are a heap of pedal effects including Uni-vibe and pitch bender that I never use but still sounded great when I tried them out.

Ambience
This is the difference between a good tone and an unbelievable one. Every reverb modal is first rate. Simple. Spring, plate, hall, room, as well as multi head and echo are all perfect.

The unit is practically noiseless (I say practically because my amp hums a little by itself) and the noise gate is very useful.

NOTE: My amp all of a sudden started picking up AM radio when using the higher gain distortion settings, and while getting a weather update in the rests can be useful it started pissing me off. An RF destroyer or a ferrite suppressor with kill the interference from the mains.

You can achieve practically any sound you desire with this unit, whether its funk or blues or death metal.

The only reason I didn't give this a 10 is because it can sometimes be a little hard finding a really good clean sound. But if your prepared to sit down and tweak with the modulations and the reverbs you can usually find it eventually.

Never had a problem with it. It's made of medal and the foot switchs are very well made with little travel, so it wont break if you stomp a little too hard.

Never had to deal with them.

Overall, I think this unit has the best bang for the buck on the market. Much cheaper than the POD but IMO is just as good if not better because you don't have to fork out an extra couple of hundred dollars to buy the foot controller.

It is everything I wanted and delivered on every expectation.

If it was stolen I would definitely replace it.

Very easy to use comparred to other devices (if had a GT-3 but it had to many parameters and options). Just turn the knobs.

Great distortion/overdrive 10. (better than the GT-3)
Cab/Amp simulation 5 (don't use it when playing thru an amp).
Nice chorus/flanger 8.
Delay/reverb great 10.
Wah pedal 6.
All the other effect from a 7 to a 9 but i don't use them often.

No problems so far. It looks rock solid.

I use this pedal for live shows. This is extremely easy to use. The presets are varied and useful, (although I don't think Creed has been so influential that they deserve their own sound.) The sounds are grouped 3 per bank, with A/B channels (which actually makes 6 sounds). This is important to me, because the less I have to scroll, the better. Also, adjusting the sounds quickly is quite easy with the chicken head knobs and parameter dials.

Now the negative. 1. The foot switches are close together. I play in Doc's, and I have had to develop the ability to hit the buttons with the side of my foot. Very annoying. 2. Scrolling up is easy, but scrolling down requires you to hit two buttons simultaneously. I just try to scroll up. 3. Volume pedal is very sturdy, but the range of motion is fairly small. Using Vox and other effects takes a great deal of practice. If you're looking for a great wah pedal, don't get this pedal.

Sounds are great and easy to control. I need a variety with the music I do. I play lots of rhythm, and the acoustix sound is really useful. Also, being able to kick in overdrive on a sound is great for switching from rhythm to lead. The sounds take some tweaking, but you can save them in your user presets. And that means save. Remember, alot of pedals let you program, and then when you unplug the unit, its all gone.

Super reliable. I do gig without a backup. But then again, I don't have a backup.

The bottom line: this pedal is worth $300. You will get more for you money than you would in a Zoom or a Digitech of similar price. The only pedal to consider that is better is the Boss GT6. Harder to use, but much more controlable. Of course the boss will run you over $500. The AX1500G will give you everything you need to play live, or in a studio.

A couple of gripes in live use. [1]Bank switching: going 'up' thru banks is fine, but to go 'down' requires footswitching 2 adjacent pedals at once. [2]The display: inexplicably dim, making patch check and tuning a strain.

Better than many competitors, the AX1500 parameters are largely adjusted with knobs, NOT buttons, making things easier to change on the fly. Responsive logic control allows for on-the-fly tone changes requiring a mere twist of a knob and then a double click of a button and it's stored.

Also, the ability to have an "a/b" setting for every patch (whereby, you can introduce a little more drive or volume boost by toggling the far left button) is really useful for changes without using another patch. It also doubles the effective number of patches.

I use a Custom shop Tele ('54 body wood) with otherwise new parts, and Harmonic design P/Us. Noise reduction is easy to dial in and except on extreme settings, doesn't interfere with sustain or sound. Preset patches are BAD with few exceptions. However, dialling in new patches is considerably easier than a lot of units, just remember to disable the cab settings if you're using an amp!!! OVERDRIVE and DISTORTION(9): better than the flagship Roland; very warm and rounded with analogue 'feel.' Really very good. CHORUS/FLANGE/etc(6): limited but useable sounds, but not as euphonic as others. Roland has an edge in this department. PITCH SHIFT/RING/TREMELO(4): thin sounding - not that great. The control pedal makes VOLUME(6) manageable, though a tad 'fast' for my tastes. Takes a little getting used to.

Yes, but only because I'm lazy and broke.

The Korg AX1500 is compact. It is of metal construction, not plastic. Great, very smooth distortion sounds with 'feel.' Uninspiring but adequate chorus/flange effects. Very easy, intuitive to use. Cabinet sim for recording versatile and very usable. If you are not fussy about overdrive sounds, and lean towards cleaner tones, subtract 2 points!

The manual is very complete and helps alot. The knobs vs. electronics like the old ones make it easy to use.

I use a vintage strat and play direct through a PA. The distortion is impressive b/c it won't give you "unclean" sounds when you're comping. Through my PA, this thing can really kick. It also comes with tons of preset sounds, most of which are modelled after certain artists (See the Korg website). Very versitile...you can make this thing do anything you want.

I would definitely use it on a gig w/o a backup, but I've only had it for about 2 wks.

I've never dealt w/ the company support.

I play punk...it's good for that. I'm 15 and I've been playing for 7 years. I love it. I also play at my church and it can do very good clean sounds. The only products that came close to this was a comperable Digitech. It's really cool.

Havent had this unit for long - I've done 3 rehearsals and one gig with it so far. SO I guess I still have to get used to it. I still am not completely happy with my sounds. I've been tweaking away for days and I feel confident I will get wat I want in the end but it's too long to be tweaking. I dont particularly like many of the preset sounds for using through an amp - for use straight into a desk should be better. However editing is easy - very easy!
THe manual is sufficient I guess, although a few points were unclear to me.
Wats a firmware revision number? Is that like a software upgrade and no I dont know the number.

I am using a '73 Les Paul Custom with Seymour Duncan Pickups through a Carvin 212 combo with groove tubes.
The unit is noiseless mostly.
When using through an amp. I straight away got rid of all the cab simulator settings - they suck. All the distortion sounds are way way over the top - too much. I also got rid of all the huge delays and reverb/echo sounds. YOu can get good distorted sounds, but the presets are not that great, I like the ones I punched in better. The preset distortions are just too mushy, very little punch. ALthough I am hopeful at programing my own as I said - however this kind of makes all the preset end of things a bit obsolete. I used to use a Zoom Super PLayer 8080 - and Im sorry I sold it.

I'm sure its dependable. One point though, you need skinny feet to operate it - hehe. I find with my doc marten shows I often hit 2 buttons instead of one - very frustrating at a gig!

Nope not yet.

I play mostly rock and metal. I think its better for this style than say - blues or clean stuff.
I've been playing for 20 years, dunno if I would buy it again, but for know Im stuck with it until I get more bucks together or I fall in love with it.
I love the 2 channel feature for each patch - that is great.
The unit is a bit small, everything is too close together for my personal liking.
Its nice and sturdy though and wont break easily.
I'm happy with it for now.

I tell you this is probably one of the best pedals out. I played a boss me-33 and i thought it was really shite. I played on it with a prs ce24 and i didn't find that it half as much stuff. The buttons are very simple and easy to use. Great!!!!!!!!

All good. Need i say more.

I could depend on this alot. I got this so i could play gigs.

Company were good sending me details.

Fuckin brill

At the beginnign I thought i should carefully read the manual in order to use this baby correctly but it really pisses u off with its simplicity! The possibility of changing the parameters with either the knobs or the master/value buttons is really useful. You can start editing since the beginning. The manual is fine and brings good information 'bout the parameters.

I use an ibanez grx20 through a 150w peavey console an two 150 nameless amplifiers.
When i play it in my good ol' crate 15w it is a bit noisy but this old rascal is a little old indeed. The effects are just incredible, this thing even talks!!! I liked the chorus and flanger effects, the amp simulatrs are ok.
with effects such as wah and distortion i can get sounds of metal bands i like -metallica, a perfect circle, iced earth-
Distortion really kicks ass and unlike other delicate customers i'm pleased with the wah alright.

Actually I WILL use it for my gigs. Its faCada cries out loud to be played live!!!!

I contacted korg online because my manual was in french and wanted to know if i could get one in english.
They still don't have the manual online but I got it anyway in the store i bought it.
They should have a manual for this baby already online!

Im in a metal-alternative band and this baby is just what I needed. Ive been playing for about 2 years and owned a zoom 505 which is lame crap compared to this marvel. If it were stolen i would definitely save my money for a new one... it's my new baby!!!
I love the distortion, wah and talk effects, they kick ass!!!! Chorus , flanger and delay are awesome too. I hate the univibe effect, i find it totally useless. I was planning to get a boss me 33 but this definitely blow that thing off of my mind, the effects are better.
I wish the time for the recording of the phrase trainer would be larger.
This baby is definitely the best tool ive purchased!!!

the only thing i dont know is how to use the metronome. I would appreciate any help sent to my e-mail...

Pretty easy to use! Can not be simpler

EXCUSE MY BAD ENGLISH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It takes a little bit of time to get (your) sound , like every other pedal, amp ..... but for blue, rock, even jazz it does the job. I have to say that I am not a big fan of effects but the basic sound is great for what I am doing with it. I sound like Pat Metheny to Steve Vai in one push of a button. "There is a little delay between patch :-(" Even if it is a clean sound versus a clean sound. But it is a -400$ toy so...
I plug it directly in the input of my AMPEG sj-12r. My guitar is a custom shop classic telecaster.

I would gig with it for sure.

Never deal with the compagnie so far.

For me, it is a very good match for the style of music I play.
Tom Petty, Al Di Meola, Pat Matheny, Tragically Hip, Satriani, Vai.
I used to play only tube amp, so with the AX1500G, I play more old Rock and Jazz stuff versus Satriani and Vai stuff. I prefer a nice tube sound for that kind of music (Hard rock) and with a telecaster... well no vidrato... but such a nice overdrive and clean sound.

Chicken Beak dials! Very retro looking and so easy to edit, you can even perform minor adjustments on stage. Its very easy to use! Plus the A/B switch is ultra handy for lead/rythym or clean/crunch switching. The tuner is well done too (but then it is a korg!)

The first time I used it i took the headphone out & plugged it straight into my soundcard & it f*ck*ng rocked! It took a while to get a good sound thru an amp but once I stopped using the amp emulators i was well on my way! It's not the very best at clean sounds but if you are willing to muck about with the compressor and the delays, reverbs and chorus you can get some real nice sounds like Andy Summers or even the Edge! The distortions are spot on though, in fact I dont know a sound it can't do. It's great for emulating good leads souns like Slash, Santana, Moore, Satch, Vai etc plus it does the best Van Halen I've heard (not the VH preset though). The range of cabinets is great for direct recording but useless through an amp unless you have a really good fx loop. The delays, reverbs are very high quality. The extra effects that stood out as setting the board apart were the Acoustic emulator, the Talk Box & the tape echo effects which are all very nice bonuses, very well done! However the pedal is crap, it does have a high movement range & the wah & pitch bend suck! If you want good wah & pitch bend hunt down a Digitech Whammy-Wah XP200 its the Daddy!

Its wings are like a shield of steel! I wear New Rock boots & I havent broke it yet, so far so good.

Havent used on this board but I bought it because my old Korg A4 was busted. Customer Service for Korg UK were very helpful and quick to respond and when they quoted me a price for fixing it they didnt suggest buying a new board, which was quite a surprise!

If you rock then buy it. Dont buy anything else in its price bracket cos it has the best distortions on the market. Only individual stomp boxes could do better. For people who like cleaner tones it isnt perfect but it does have a good array of delays, reverbs, echo's, chorus, tremolo, phaser & UniVibe which are all of a very high standard, plus the ease of editing is second to none. I would recommend this board to any who plays rock music because it is an excellent board at an excellent price.

It's east compared to those like GT-3 or GT-5..
a little bit confusing when starting up, but you will get over it
It is a shame that you can't COPY a patch and Paste to another bank which is sometimes necessary
But editing patches are easy enough to cover that
The Manual was ok, but it will be tough for guitar-newbies to know all the kinds of effect, but what I say is LEARN BY LISTENING

I use Dame B2B 6mf (which is a good quality Korean made guitar, sales only in Korea) and nameless yamaha amp (30wt).

A lot of Distortions and choruses sounds very nice, flangers and other side effects like octave and phaser are okay.
I especially like the cabinet effect which allows you to simulate various amps and very useful when you are recording direct input.

but as all the multi effecters do, the Wah pedal SUCKS -_-;
although it is not USEFUL, its better than nothing you know

and preset patches are okay, but you should make your own one since those one don't always work with your equipment
(I liked the "Creed" "*zep*" and "Hidden" patches they sound cool)

It is like a stone
the knobs seem tight enough
I wrapped the whole machine with plastic paper though, to avoid scratches

Never tried
(I doubt I will ever need to)

I simply play guitar for my own interest and currently in a rock band made by me and my friends
Since I never used SUPER priced equipments I can't compare this unit with those
But what I can say is that I won't need anything else than this unit to play live performance or to practice in my room
I thought of buying GT series by BOSS but those ones are too heavy to carry (which is an important factor to me)
So if you are an amateur and don't need expensive units, I definitely recommend this one

I hate reading instruction manuals, but I have to say this one was quite easy to read and understand. It basically guides you through each of the effects and functions of the processor. Editing is easy to do as well.

I use a Les Paul Classic and a Gibson SG with a Marshall Valvestate combo amp. The effects sound great through it as long as the reverb is down. I particularly like the Octave and Pitch Shifter effects.

I just bought it a week ago so I can't give an accurate answer on the reliability. I seems like all I would need.

There is no warranty card which sort of freaked me out. I called Korg and they assured me that there is no warranty card and just need the receipt. It is good up to a year.

I used to have an outdated Boss ME-3 so compared to that one, this blows it away. I play rock,jazz,funk,carribean and reggae style music. This effects unit has a good variety of wierd sounds to play with. I was looking at the Digitechs, but this one sounded much better.

When i first switched this puppy on, i was amazed my the intitial sound this unit hits you with! When i worked through the sounds i was very impressed by the different types of effect, especially the distortions.
I found it incredbly easy to edit the patches, i loved the knobs for editing effect paramaters. Very impressed with how easy it was to make great sounds of your own.
The manual was easy to read, and i have only had to read it once, this is good considering i have never used a floorboard style effects box befor :)

Using a Pacifica 112, with custom pickups through a fender Cahmpion 110 amp (75w). It was very quiet witch is good coz i am planning on using it live shortly. It has all the sounds i need to play my bands live set. Heavy distortions are plentlyfull and the chorus effects are great! I also found it was great for sustain, makes Parisiene walkways a hell of a lot more fun :)

fine so far.

nope :)

very impressed indeed. I love the auto-wah on this unit, easy for passing time :)
the playback function is v.usful for learning songs, and the jam play is also good.
i would buy another if it were stolen, if i had the money anyway.
havn't found anything up with it yet, great buy my fav peice of kit ;)

im not very experienced in this feild with processors, and i must complain that the manual wasnt as great as i had hoped. the thing is only 8-10 pages and thats it. there's a lot of helpful infor, but for those not used to the guitar realm, they might be left with some questions.

the sound throguh this thing is great. so far ive managed some really freaky effects and produced U2, Oasis, Bush, and lots of others.

this thing is built like a rock. cant break it.

havent had to deal with them yet but from what i hear they are really good.

if you're willing to throw donw some bucks, do it for this one. its a great peice of equipment and im still finding new things to do with it.

VERY EASY TO USE.......... but that scares me ....... i might be missing something

i just got this home tonight........ i did try it out in the store..... ive only used it through cheap phones.... and a mexican strat.... FOR THE LIFE OF ME I CANT FIND A CLEAN SOUND WITH BITE.....i could on the pod... but the clean sounds on the 1300 sound 'corky' and compressed.... i cant get a nice RINGGGGGGGGGGGGG......whats up .... anyone want to help. I rented the POD for one month..... cant beat the rectifier. I did have fender bullets before on the mexican and just put on ERNIE BALL SUPER SLINKY'S......they feel rubbery compared to the bullets. And in the pod you cant beat those rectifiers... man o man. Some of the distortions sound BUNCHY..... how do i get them to separate ...im only renting this strat.... mexican pickups suck as im finding out. Second toggle position on strat sounded clear on POD.... but warm and blicky on the Korg..... maybe its me. I like some of the effects ..... but a lot of songs i play need a really good clean bite.... i cant get it here.... yet. Ive been tweakin my arse off for 8 hours... cant find a good clean bite. I'll reserve a 1-10 deal....as i may not know what im doing.... but i think i do. I want to use this for straight into pa system.... but i think i should have tried the Boss GT6 which was right beside it...... damn. Im starting to see this is for metalheads.......

SEEMS SOLID ENOUGH........

ive heard Korg is fairly prompt and helpful...at least the Canadian contacts

i want to believe............ if anyone has some constructive advice please email........ FLAMES FROM PUNK ASSES WILL BE IGNORED.....LOL

I am dying to bust this baby out onstage.
So easy to use, editing patches is simple with the cooker knob program switches and the dial-a-tone settings really easy to configure.

The basic programs are quite nice but most users will instantly want to personalise them. I adore the distortions and the mahuuusive range of realtime effects is excellent.

The manual is only needed if you've never set eyes on a digital multi-effects box before. It's a one read wonder.

Through my SG and Marshall JTM30 60w (single 15") it throbs and wails like all your favourite sounds ever.

The outputs are silent although through the headphone Jack (handy item) you get a tonne of gain noise. I think that good equipment will prove noiseless in any environment with this beast.

With all digital processors there is a huge range of effects that you wouldn't dream of buying seperately. I would say that the AX1500G goes a long way to convincing you that you can do more than chorus and Reverb your dittys. Nearly all of the effects will be usefull to someone. No crappy step like shit like on Zoom units.

The effects all do their Job well and they don't scream I AM AN EFFECT. Rather they can enhance your sound and are completely friendly.

I play an assortment of metal styles and make some industrial noises too. The basic Pantera alike programmes are pretty unrealistic but you can easily dial up your favourite sound if you have the right gear.

My Korg is my new buddy.

You couldn't break it if you wanted too.

Time will tell if I can though! but I doubt it.

Why would I need to call them?
Flawless

My band Look Mum No Head will undoubtedly gain from this.
Even tho we sound like scary monsters doing stand up comedy over a Death and Roll soundtrack.

From the acoustic simulator to the deep thrashy squeeeeel, this is a fantastic buy.

Looks good
Sounds good
Feels Good
Mine even smells good

Korg are Pro's. the distortions on the AX1500G cannot be compared to other digital MultiEffect units.
If It were stolen I'd get another one ASAP or the next one possibly.

I have been on the hunt for new effects since March and this is the clincher. But that's a personal opinion.

BUT!!!! What no Battery Pack???? No Midi??? What the Fu.....
and why no-one earths metal effects boxes I'll never know ;)

Korg are 100% there on price, 97% there on features but only 80% there on practicality. But I now love them.

Chuck your Zoom in the bin (I have)
Put your Boss MT-2 to one side (done that)

Plug in and Rip. (Ohhh! I certainly Shall)

i'm gonna do quite a detailed review seeing as there aren't many reviews up yet, and it's needed!
note -- ATTM = according to the manual. gonna see it lots.

it's my belief that you can't just plug into something like this and sound "good". take the time to play with it and get to know it. the manual is sad. leaves a lot of things unexplained, and focuses too much on the "big" features.

excellent, no excess hum or buzz, and all effects come thru nice and loud.

i'm playing an ibanez "s-classic" (sc220) thru a marshall 80w valvestate (reviewed as well). i play mostly metal, but dabble in just about everything (except country). i run the guitar into the pedal, the pedal into the main input on the amp, which stays on the clean channel. sometimes (mostly out of boredom) i'll use the effects loop.
the pedal does offer stereo output

there are 4 effect "blocks" which each offer a specific kind of effect; amp models, cab models, non-expression pedal effects (chorus, phaser etc), expression effects (wah, volume etc), and ambience (reverb, delay etc).
some of the amp models are pretty crap, and some are pretty decent, with a fair range of distortions - DON'T be deceived by the "seattle" setting (as i initially was), it's the best-sounding and most usable distortion. the "metal" setting sounds like an average distortion pedal (crap in my opinion).
the cab settings don't make a *huge* difference, but they can be the diff between the sound you're after and a sound you'd rather not hear.
because there are so many parameters to control between the amp and cab settings combined, its easy to come close to the sound you want and never quite get it coz you missed a knob.. which is annoying. if you're fussy about distortion (as i am), be prepared to spend a few hours dialing thru sounds - the end-result is worth it tho, i'm very happy with the distortion tone i ended up with (suitable for metallica/megadeth/dreamtheater and the like). finding a good clean tone is just as tedious, but i'm not as fussy so i just dialed something in and use it (tho like the first reviewer mentioned, it seems to lack a nice warm sound, but some fiddling might rectify this). it has an accoustic simulator as well, which i think works quite nicely.

as for the effects themselves - well they could be improved upon. in brief:
the choruses ("stereo" and "classic") are 100%
flanger = 100%
phasers ("black" and "orange").. not so great. they add too much to the tone and in places of the phase the guitar sometimes gets lost. orange is ok, but black is barely useable.
mod delay - ATTM can be used to get a modulated delay.. have yet to find that, all i can get is regular delay out of it.
pitch shifter - nice harmonizing effect, but "over-effects" (as i call it) too easily; above 5 or below 5 pitch and the sound becomes too processed and digital-sounding to be of use. NOTE - with just about any effect, this happens when you have too many parameters set too high, but on some effects it happens easier than others.
filtron - auto version of the "traveller" effect on the next block (ie useless)
auto-wah - if only the proper wah had the parameters this does... as far as auto-wah's go, 100%
octave - this is probably my favourite effect, its pretty simple in that it just generates a signal an octave down, to double your guitar signal. feed the pedal in after amp distortion (so the generated signal gets distorted too), and this is one crushing effect. setting the pitch shifter to -12 theoretically achieves the same thing (only on a processed signal) but somehow doesn't sound as beefy. maybe it's just my ears.
text-trem - volume modulator, works nicely.

pedal block
volume - there would be big problems if this didnt work ;) altho the pedal can be calibrated (so for example if you wanted one centimetre of travel between full volume and nothing, you could set it - tho this obviously applies to all pedal operations not just volume).
vox wah - COMPLETE CRAP. there is not a single parameter to fiddle with, and the default just doesn't cut it. it's got no depth, and resultantly sounds too lame.
talk - i've never used a talkbox before, but this seems to do ok.
traveller - ATTM, modeled after an early korg wah pedal.. it does have some wah in it, but also does strange things wi

i play for my own amusement/enjoyment, but i don't think i would gig with this, mainly for the reason that i got big feet and this has got small buttons, and it could get ugly. i've had it about 2 months, so its too early to tell as far as parts failing and/or breaking, but with proper use i don't see anything going wrong.

n/a

overall pluses and minuses:
+ general switch/button use is very simple and quick to use, from selecting effects, to dialing parameters, to saving/renaming patches (VERY easy, don't bother with the manual tho)
+ nice solid feel to it
- to move up thru banks, you press one button... to move down, you gotta hit 2 at the same time. it's not easy to do (becomes progressively more difficult with alcohol consumption), and resultantly you often end up hitting programs along the way to the one you wanted.
+ using the channel switch, you can bypass the amp+cab effects, and essentially use the effects straight thru your amp (tho if you're going to use amp distortion, you might want to use an effects loop or the effects are very weak)
+ built -in metronome and tuner
- 90% of the 48 factory presets are useless
+ you can have 48 of your own presets (and still keep the factory ones)!
- you can't get rid of the factory presets :(
+ excellent display system
- no off switch (tho apparently this is now the norm for effects pedals)
- not enough loop time. phrase trainer and sample and play could/should be combined into one more usable feature, with more recordable time!
- effect settings aren't kept if you turn a block off and another on, or change between two. so for example if you tweak the flanger , then use the traveller, its comes back on with another effect active, and when you select a new effect it always uses its default values, so turning the knob back to flange isnt going to help. this is a nuisance. i suppose the obvious solution is to use the pedal in individual mode (this is where the patch buttons control effects blocks and you can't change patches) but that can be a nuisance in itself.

were this lost or stolen, i'd want to try more pedals before buying. unfortunately in south africa music stores do not carry much stock and you have to order what you want with the expectation that you'll buy it. i was originally going to buy a digitech rp-200 (based on reviews here), but after 3 weeks of waiting decided to test the korgs the store actually had in stock. i played on the AX-1000, and it seemed fine, but this wasn't a whole lot more (relatively) and but did have more features, so i went with it. thus far, no regrets.

if anyone has any questions i'll be glad to try answer them.

I went to my local music shop and tried it out and managed to work out almost all of the functions and features straight away! The AX1500G is definatly very easy to use!

I'm using a Hohner Rockwood guitar (cheepy ;)) and a marshall G30R CD solidstate amp. The little unit is not to bad on sounds although i can work out how to make a guns n' roses - sweet shild o' mine type sound, other than that all the distortions r gr8 and i especially like the acoustic sim!

For going on gigs i would definatly bring this piece of kit out, its just so solid, i think it would be almost impossible for me to break it

I play Many different types of music on this and i think it works best with metal the distorions r just gr8. i've been playing for about 3 years and have tought myself to play stuff like metallica - hit the lights, if i lost my AX1500G i think i would but it again but i would like to explore with world of rack effects!

Editing Sounds is as easy as doing that on a Line 6 AX2 combo.
The Manual is a mess, though. It took me 2 days to figure how to
use the Sample&Play function and The Phrase Trainer

From the guitars (Peavey EVH Wolfgang/ESP Horizon 2) to the AX1500G and from the left output to Rocktron Replitone 1x12" combo. The pedal is very quiet on most settings. The noise gate works well, but I prefer to use the HUSH of the Replitone, as it is significantly better. As are the delays. On the other hand, the Korg has better
chorus and flanger/phaser type sounds.

BUT, to get to the point, I am a METAL player and I bought the
Korg mainly because of the distortion is really brutal, powerful
and distictive. Thanks to the cabinet simulator options, you can
tweak the distortion character to a completely new level.

Distortion-wise, this thing beats the Boss GX-700, DOD Death Metal,
all Marshall Pedals and Ibanez (wussy-pedals by the way), and
most of the preamps available below the 6000 FIM price range.
Even most of the Zoom pedals (which have a very good distortion for the price) sound somehow tame compared to this "it's alive" type of horror distortion.

Can't beat the Peavey 5150 distortion, though.. which is, by the way,
the absolute metal heaven.

Sure Thing. Bullet-Proof metal casing :)

No need yet.

This thing is made for METAL. It's got the BEST distortions available
in the low-mid price range. The delays and wah are GOOD, the chorus, phaser and flanger are EXCELLENT,and the ring mod & pitch shifter
are just plain USELESS (to me at least). The PRICE/QUALITY ratio
is about MAXIMUM for Metal, otherwise don't bother.

I love the Phrase Trainer&Sample functions! Really helps to learn
to play. I wish it had even more gain, but I guess for that I'd
have to buy the SANSAMP PSA-1 preamp or the Peavey 5150 head.
I'm quite happy with this one, though.

Some much easier that my rack of effects.

All of the modeled effects are right on the mone.

Any time

I called their tech support and they called me to answer my question.

Blues and Hard Rock, 32 years, 1964 Fender Twin Reverb, 1970 Bassman with 4X1 cabinet. I would hunt that bastards down and draw and quarter them. I did consider the Digitech model which does a lot more, but it seemed metalic or tinny. This one had the warmest distortion for the money. The reason I called Technical Support was, that you can't change the effect for the A/B channels it will chanels them for both. A have an easier time with this unit I take it to work and jam all day long. I do wish it had a storage or dump feature.

This thing is a breaze to use. I bought it the night before a gig and had it programmed in no time. The knobs make operations really easy and there are no sub menus.

I used this thing in my room through the fx loop of my amp and it was noisy. I use a jem trough a mesa/boogie single rectifier head and 2x12
cab. There was noise coming through, the effects were great but not clean.

It looks tough, it is made of metal. I dont think it would break easily.

I called Korg to ask them what the bit rate of the a/d d/a converters was and they qwickly responded. By the way, there are no notices of the bitrate(16bit18bit exct.) of the converters posted anywhere. Not on the manual, nowhere. I had to call Korg to find out.

I've been playing for 15 years and am currently in a prog metal band. I have heard better boxes than this one. I plan on returning the unit, it is too noisy for me. It seems to be geared more for beginers. Its a shame because the selection of effects are great. You get your conventional effects (chorus,flange,delay)and then some really spacey stuff(ring modulator,ya ya). I guess you get what you pay for. For me the bottom line is sound and in that department this box suffers from a bad case of noise. If it had 24bit converters instead of 16bit(which as I stated previously I couldnt find those specs printed anywere) it would be a great box. I mean c'mon 16bit that's what was being used in 1990, it's 2001. Oh well.