Korg AX1B

OK-this is a follow-up review to the one right below this. I've worked a lot more with this unit as of recent. Getting a great sound is very easy, as is editing/saving patches. Renaming patches is also just as easy. I previously griped about not being able to use the looper/phrase sampler. All you need to do is press(toe up) on the expression pedal firmly(DON'T jump on it). Doing so on other patches where you have the expression pedal programed to do anything will bypass it's use. Repeating this will reactivate it. The self-luminous screen still kinda sucks, but I have incorporated a light fixture with a blacklight bulb onto my pedalboard=problem solved!

I am currently using this live into a direct box going to the mixer, and paralleling out of the DI into my amp's input. I have been very pleased with the results, and more importantly, so has the soundguy! Any, I repeat, ANY, multi-effect unit can be noisy. Learning how to tweak will fix this on any decent unit. That being said, I have no problems with unwanted noise or hiss. The distortion and overdrive is actualy very good on this unit. I know I said differently last time, but again, tweaking and EQing made all the difference. All other effects are acceptable at worst, many being very good(and very usable). Ring modulation and drone effects may not be for everyone, but that doesn't mean they suck. I like that I have such sounds at my disposal, and for soloing and doing ambient recording and experimental stuff, I couldn't be without them. As I stated in the last review, the amp modeling is a bit primitive, but you have enough tone shaping to get pretty much any tone you need. I have written patches for straight-ahead rock, jazz, fusion, and I even restrung my Dean Custom Zone with flatwounds and wrote two beautiful-sounding patches, one for old-school reggae, and one for that Jamerson-esque Motown thump. Also using a Dean ML with a single humbucker, which sounds great for many styles. I wrote the patch I simply called FLEA with this bass, and at a recent gig, we covered Readymade. A fellow bassist in the audience said I had Flea's tone nailed! Does that count for getting an artist's sound? Otherwise, I generally don't try to get an artist's sound; rather, I try to get MY sound(s). This pedal has been a great tool in helping me build my sinature tone.

As stated in my last review, it is made of plastic. It's a very robust plastic, and the pedals are very responsive with a nice resilient feel. I wouldn't go Kurt Cobain on it, but then I wouldn't jump on any of my gear. I believe it's quite a dependable unit, but I always travel prepared. I also own the DOD Bass 30, and I always have it with me just in case. The Korg can be found for a REAL good price, so I do plan to pick up a second down the road.

Korg is a great company, and the website is very helpful and informative on most of their older products.

As stated above, I play a few different styles, and the AX1B has helped me get the tones I need for those styles. It should then go without saying that it helps me make music, and NEVER gets in the way. After having built a very close reationship with it as of recent, I would be devastated if it were lost/stolen, and would be on the immediate hunt for another. I have owned other multi's in the past, and in this caliber, the AX1B simply blows away all others. The Digitech BP200 just sounds TOO digital, and let's not even go there with the Zoom toys. The DOD Bass 30 is nice, but I haven't owned it long enough to give a full honest opinion on it; it does however make a great backup unit and you can plug a CD/MP3 player into it for jamalong and practicing songs. What do I wish the Korg had? Can we say BACKLIT LCD SCREEN?!? As I said, I did remedy that one setback, and it's worth it!

Let's start by saying that I have a fetish with multi-effect units. I have played with many of them, own a few, and for one or several reasons, love them all. And while most of them are fairly easy to use and fun to mess around with, few of them are really stage-usable. Enter the Korg AX1B, a fairly intuitive unit that actually has the ability to give the working bassist sounds he/she can use in the real world. First of all, it's Korg-always quality products. It's got a button layout(some players prefer a knob-based interface, but I don't much care either way)which is pretty easy to work with. Otherwise, it's your typical two-pedal setup for switching between patches and a programable expression pedal. The manual is nicely laid out and will walk you through every function this unit offers. The loop/sample function is a pain in the arse; in fact I still haven't been able to use it. I've read elsewhere that this feature really takes patience to use. Most players looking for an inexpensive unit that they can actually use on stage aren't worried too much about looping anyway. And like most units of this nature, you need to step on both pedals to bypass or activate the tuner. It's not as bad as some reviewers make it out to be, just center your foot between the pedals, push and hold for 1 second, and you have a fully chromatic tuner. Bypass mode does somewhat kill your sound, but there are enough good sounds here to not have to bypass at all. The 3-LED display for tuning is pretty self-explanitory and very easy to see on dark stages. Red LED's to the left and right of a green LED. Red means your are flat or sharp, steady green means your are in tune. The only real con for this unit is the LCD display-NO BACKLIGHT! Well, almost. The screen is made of a self-luminous material which much be exposed to sunlight/blacklight or real bright light to activate(remember those glow in the dark toys you got in the cereal boxes as a kid?) I suppose if this were going to be your main preamp/efx unit, you could get crafty and build a pedalboard with a small blacklight fixture attached and turn it on occasionally. Maybe Korg's thought on this was to save on battery power, but how many of us really use batteries in these things anyway? A 9-volt 500mA negative tip adapter from Radio Shack is an acurate replacement should the original not be available, and can be purchased for about 25 dollars(you'll spend at least that on batteries in less than a few months).

Again, it's Korg! That's not to say it's perfect, but what digital multi-effect unit is? None of the effects suck per se, but some are better than others. The distortions are, well, digital, so take that for what it is. What I can say to further the distortion topic is that I plugged in an Epiphone EB bass using the BRUCE preset, what I got was as close as I've EVER heard to the tone of the man for whom this patch is named! Seriously, the distortions/overdrives aren't that bad used moderately. They can get noisy or hissy at higher settings, so use sparingly. There is an adjustable noise reduction for each preset, so this does help a bit in taming the noise/hiss. The other drive effects(compressor, exciter) are excellent. But like most multi-effect units, only one at a time can be used. Sometimes I wish the compressor was seperate, but for an older unit, I'm nitpicking just a bit. The modulation effects are quite nice. Some of them, however, are only available by assigning the expression pedal. I suppose for something like a ring modulator, it would be useless without a pedal, so Korg put some thought into what effects would be pedal-use only. The amp modeling is primitive(this is an older unit-don't expect 10 amps/cabs to choose from), but still pretty useful if your using headphones or going direct for recording or playing live. The reverbs are OK, but unless your going for something off-the-wall, you don't need much, if any, reverb anyway. The AQUA preset(which is also included in the AX1G for guitar) is just too cool!!! Using a Dean Metalman ML bass with that lovely exposed-pole humbucker, I created a patch befitting of the single humbucker-FLEA. This was created using headphones, and I recorded direct with it with great results. I have overall achieved great results with the two aforementiond basses, as well as a Dean Custom Zone. I typically don't use too many effects playing live, rather I look for specific tones. So using this with an amp can work, or not, depending on your needs. I'd say it's quiet enough to go direct to the house system(I've done so on occasion), but if that's your type of setup, you're more than likely going to buy something more modern and sophistcated-such as the Korg AX3000B or the Boss GT-6B.

Made from a nice robust, heavy plastic, but it's plastic nonetheless. That being said, be nice to your gear and it WILL return the favor! The pedals are pretty responsive, so there's no need to jump on them. This is not my main unit for stage, but if I had to use it for a gig, I would have no worries. The fact that it's better made than some of the Zoom toys(LOL), I'll still give it a higher rating.

Needed them once for another Korg unit that I got with no manual(the A4 Bass-which I will be reviewing shortly-they emaild me a pdf file in less than 3 days, that's good service if ever there was any!). Never need support/service for the AX1B, but the manual IS available for download on the Korg website, as well as some mp3 sound demos. Pretty cool for a long-discontinued product!

There seems to be a never-ending flow of digital multi-effect units on the market for every budget. Some are really good, some are OK, and some just suck out loud!!! All in all, the year or so I've spent with the AX1B has been pleasurable. If you're a working pro musician this is not the unit for you. If you need a GOOD at-home practice unit that sounds great with headphones(powered multimedia speakers with a subwoofer is totaly KILLER) and will inspire some new musical ideas, or your a rocker on a budget and need something in a reasonable price range that will get the job done, look no further. This thing may not have quite as many features as the Zoom and Digitech units it was built to compete with, but that should tell you that Korg wasn't so worried about a drum machine or pretty lights as they were about QUALITY effects and sound for the money. You can typically find these at music stores dealing with used gear and in Ebay for a very good price, which is quite shocking, again, considering the superior sound quality over the competition. If it were lost or stolen, I wouldn't be in a big hurry to replace it, but I would eventually replace it just the same. In this caliber of multi's, the Korg AX1B is hand-down one of the best sounding units I have ever used, and again, anyone needing or just looking at getting into a two-pedal plus expression multi, seriously consider this one before going with one of the Zoom or Digitech units.

Not too hard to figure out. Editing is easy, even renaming patches is easy. The manual is very informative and lists everything it can do, which is not always evident from the presets.

I'm giving it a 9 only because it's not true bypass and there is considerable level drop when not in use, but the Yahoo users' group for this unit has some cool patches to use instead of bypassing it altogether. I'm not fond of any of the distortions, but the exciters are very good, as is the EQ. This thing sounds incredible through headphones. And, I'd give it a "10" for the "drone" function alone--this patch absolutely sounds like the musical (non-tabla)backing you hear in Indian music. With my Conklin GT7 and a phaser patch, I can be George Harrison meets Ravi Shankar all night long.....

Plus that "Disco" patch gets pretty close to the synth sounds in
Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein" ---try using the heel of your picking hand and hitting and sliding it over the strings near the pickups--you'll be able to cop most of that syndrum part as well as the descending "swarm of crickets" sound out of that too. Hours of enjoyment to be had there.

Pretty sturdy unit, but after about 2 years, the screen backlight crapped out on me. If that happens to yours forget it. There is no real light there, it's just a piece of reflective paper and here in Nashville the top notch repair shops couldn't fix it.

Not very helpful. This unit was discontinued and Korg doesn't seem to care about keeping parts for it or even helping you find any.

I play "bar music" and this thing is fun as a noisemaker. I got it because it was cheaper than comparable all-in-one fx units and it's pretty much been worth the money. It needs a truly-led lit screen and true bypass. If it were stolen I'd get another as I've seen them REALLY cheap used.

In short, it does some cool fairly high quality stuff on the cheap, so get one if that's what you need. Like I said it's hard to beat even as a headphone amp.

Much easier than anything else I have tried.

The sound is brilliant for the price. Much better than other units I have owned that were much more recent and advanced (and expensive!!!). Those units I found to be very obviously digital and plastic, crappy sounding. Some patches almost pass for dedicated analogue.

I haven't owned it long enough to say.

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I play Jazz, Blues, Funk etc. I would definitely buy it again for the same price if it was stolen! I love it's sounds and affordability. The wah could be better and the phase is not to my tastes , they could be improved. I actually love the distortion though, unlike most people. It is a useful tool if you use it for one patch per song.
I put a Double Bass through it and it improves the sound wonderfully, I wouldn't be able to play my Double Bass amplified without it, it sounds too spoofy with the cheap bridge contact pickups.

I haven't really gotten into editing the patches much. There are a couple stock patches that are just about perfect. Reading the manual, however, it doesn't seem like editing would be difficult.

The expression pedal could have a little more range of motion, but isn't bad.

When I use this pedal, it's usually going into a Yorkville 200B, from a Yamaha BBN5. I find the pre-programmed effects to be fairly decnt, though most have no functional use in my repetoire of play. There are some fantastic distortion sounds (ie "Bruce") and some of the modulations can really create interesting sounds for your bass. There's not much, if any noise.

I've gigged with this, but only because I didn't have a dedicated effect pedal available and needed some overdrive. It did the job, but it's more of something that you play around with at home/in studio.

Switching between effects can take a second on stage.

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As far as multi-effect pedals go, this is about the best I've played. Patches take about a quarter of a second to kick in after you switch, so your best bet is to use a single effect per song, rather than using it like a stomp box to turn an effect off and on, unless you time yourself just right, there will be a delay. Several of the stock patches are pretty damn good too.
The mute tuning function is a nice add on.

Generally, a dedicated effect pedal is a better choice than a multi-pedal, but if you just want to play around with a variety of sounds, this is a great multi to do it with.

This was the first pedal I had ever bought, after I had been playing for about six months. Still, I found the Ax1B to have an extremely easy editing interface. After three years of experimentation with other processors, I feel like the AX1B has one of the most ingenious editing sytems around. Unfortunately, the LED screen isn't backlit, which used to pose problems at shows when I forgot to charge up the screen (put it under a black light for a few minutes and it glows). But now I have had the pedal so long, I have memorized where all of my effects are.

I run my setup in this order: Fender Jazz - Boss EQ - Korg AX1B - Mu-Tron III - Ampeg SVT350h powering a Hartke 4x10. I never have noise problems with this model, seeing as how I can edit how loud the effect can be either in edit mode or my lowering the master volume.

I am very happy with the sound of most of the effects. The distortion isn't very good by itself, but when blended with other effects it sounds fine. I have used many other processors, and none had effects that sounded this good, or rather, this usable. The sampling system is pretty much worthless, but the other delay, echo, and reverb effects more than make up for it. I love the versatility of this processor; I get multiple types of almost every modulation: wah, chorus, phaser, flange, trem, pitch, etc. My favorite effect on the presets is DISCO, which I tweaked just a bit to fit my bass better. I have a Mu-Tron III and I favor the AX1B's autowah over the real deal. It's much more drippy and disgusting, which is what that effect should sound like.

I have a few effects to get the sounds of a few artists I like. FROGGY gets me a Claypool sound, SLAPPY gets me a Flea sound. The 5-band EQ and amp modeling system really gives this thing lots of versatility

My favorite effect on the presets is DISCO, which I tweaked just a bit to fit my bass better. I have a Mu-Tron III and I favor the AX1B's autowah over the real deal. It's much more drippy and disgusting, which is what that effect should sound like. I also love messing with the pitch shifter. I have five different effects that use it. I love being able to raise the pitch with my pedal while still having a low-octave effect on! Usually, when I set out to create a certain sound (explosion, wind chime, plunger, etc.) I can get it. For the price, I got way more than I could have bargained for.

When I first got this pedal 3 years ago, I was unsure of how it would hold up. The biggest issue most people have with it is the plastic case. I have dropped this thing multiple times and even run it over with my car accidentally and it held up fine. Honest. I have run into some issues with the AC input. It cuts out sometimes, and I have to be pretty careful not to touch the AC jack once I plug it in and get it to work. I love the cord-catch that keeps the AC cord from moving around. It would be easy to fix the problem.

I have been considering buying another one of these just so I can play with both at the same time. I have used it on multiple gigs without a backup. With the AC Input problem, I would want a backup handy. Other than that, I am pretty comfortable with this pedal.

I play lots of funk, jazz, and pretty much everything else. I usually play a lot of slap and flamenco strumming (claypool). I do lots of progressive music, and am also a connoisseur of experimental noise music. This pedal fits me like a glove. It really defines my tone.

I have only been playing for about 3 years, but don't underestimate my bass knowledge. I own a Roscoe SKB3006L lefty six string, and a Fender Jazz bass hybrid with Bartolini pickups, Warmoth neck, and Hipshot tremolo bridge. I also own a Dobro Resonator bass that I converted to a 2-string slide bass.

If stolen or lost, I would buy this pedal again in a heartbeat. I have played the new AX10B, and it pales in comparison to this one. The AX10B has some cool new features, and better amp modeling, but is not nearly as versatile in the sounds you can get from it.

I love the versatility of this pedal above all else. I hate that Korg had to change so much in the new pedal. What I would like to see would be this pedal, with some of the ritzy features that the new version has. My favorite feature is the Editing.

I have played a Digitech processor in the same price range, a Digitech processor that's about $200 more, the Boss GT3B, the big fancy Yamaha processor, and the replacement for this pedal, the new Korg AX10B. Digitech's effects sound way too digital, which is something I should have figured out from the name. The Boss had excellent sound, but was so confusing that I couldn't get anything from it. The Yamaha was confusing to edit. It's effects were cool sounding but in no way usable in a band situation. As I said above, the new AX10B is better for amp modeling, and has some really cool small features (tap delay button, versatile expression pedal), but lacks any substance beyond that.

I wish this pedal had a tap-delay button, a more versatile expression pedal, and a backlit LED screen. Alas, I would have had to pay more for that.

I made a whole noise album through this pedal. This pedal is a huge part of my bass playing.

It is childsplay to edit it. One editable parameter per fx, I think trained monkeys could produce patches with this. There are two tricks, one is if using a bass synth, ensure you input is no more than -10dB, that is it's kick ass input level. Second trick is deciding what to put on the one pedal "coin toss" or "experience" are all that is needed here. I downloaded the manual at Korg site, simpleton description, easy read, but it lacked the input/output dB ranges (which is important for mixing).
* Advertised as a 7 fx unit, but at most it is a 6. The only downer is only one modulation fx at a time, so know flanger->wah settings, same idea with chorus and phasor. But distortion and overdrive can be included with modulation fxs. As for sonic quality, I notice on some FXs a bit of digital disonance, but overall it can be creamy, ragged or funky.
* I tried using this off mixer board, but it was too painful. The dry input level would be very weak, while the mixed input very strong, and return amp was adjusted for every input mix split (Yuck!)
* However if one uses it as a pedal (which it is) no-problems, either 100%, pedal FX amount, or By-pass for dry.

Considering only one editable fx parameter, and only one modulation fx per patch, - it is freakin unbelievable it has so much variety. I use about 9 synth bass patches, covering many styles, and this baby just using the 30 presets had at least 2 good sounding patches for each base.
* This is not like make any kind of bass sound you can think of toy, but it is like - freaken amazing in the variety if offers, and usable.
* This is mono outs, which I compared it uising Boss se-70 stereo bass fxs, I prefer mono, it provides more power and center to the bass sound.
* If properly mixed, this sounds great (but it is not like end of the rain-bow wow, this would take another class of bass fx unit)

My back-lite is burnt-out.
I feel comfortable with dropping this less than three feet.
- You can stomp on it, and it still plays.

?

I like to feed a synth bass out of my M1Ex. It rocks for many styles. Not the highest end sound, but if set-up right its very good usable. Doesn't have analogue so look else where if you are a retro purist. Dollar for dollar at 86$ US you can't loose, on its pure creative fun. Very strong value play just using the presets (but hey you can create 30 of your own).

Basic functioning is pretty straightforward. It's not easy to do something like, play and tweak the EQ at the same time---no knobs. The manual examples it connected to anything. Do they really engineer a piece of gear to sound as optimal with a bass amp as a home hi-fi or headphones or direct? I wonder what compromises are made trying to be all things.

Through my mixer direct, the overall sound is good, save the distortions as others have mentioned. I wish the output were hotter. I usually add some mic-pre to get the level up. Most of the presets straddle a line between lacking OOOMPH & mud which is fixable with a little patience. The time-based effects are above average, as they are with my Pandora. The wah works well with a guitar; I don't care for it so much with bass.

I think mine was originally a floor model, which shouldn't matter, but I do wonder if that's the reason the sample/playback function doesn't work. I bought it for a good basic DI sound, so I didn't bother with the problem. Sometimes the pedal mod gives out when set to any effect except for volume. I don't know if this is a heat issue or what, but it seems to happen when using the wah a lot & it hasn't been happening recently.

never bothered with support.

I'd buy it again, which is probably the best thing you could say about a piece of gear.

You can edit a lot of great sounds on it, except distortion - big minus - . The other effects are great you have n posibilites for editing, but i repeat distortion stinks !!!!

If you know how to edit it sounds great if you don't bad for you...you'll lose a lot of time trying to make it sound clear...i have to repeat myself...distortion stinks i had to buy a x-torstion to repear it...

In a concert it sounds great !!!
I used in 6 concerts and with no problem, i used even distortion (WOW), it was so good that i didn't use my zoom 505.

In overall it is a great processor, but the lack of distortion is a big think...I used it o bass and electric guitar and it sounds equal great...i recomand it at this price...BUT i think that if you buy it you'll need a distortion pedal too.

Not easy. Takes half an hour. After that "piece of cake". It's worth it. Yes, Zoom is better, but what are you looking for; a Hi-Fi effect box or a toy.

Distortion is not good.
But all the other effects! -> WOW!!!
Good s--t, some of the presets are good, but when your searching for your own sounds, wow, even better!
If they let the distortion out, I would rated the sound a 10.

Looks steady, is steady. But still it is plastic

Don't know a thing. I hope I never need it! ;-)

Good stuff. I was thinking 'bout buying the Zoom BFX708, and I got the Korg. The thing that "did it for me" was the fact that there is a group at Yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/korgbass/) special for the green devil. Nice guys, you can ask everything, and great for patches.

Pretty easy to use, it has a crisp LCD and a 1-digit led-display for showing the patch-info. Editing patches is easy, but it takes some patience before you get the sound you want.
I also like the built-in metronome a lot, which is very useful when playing alone.

Sounds great ! even when playing through headphones I heard no annoying static. Some pedals tend to blow up the sound sound when using the the B-snare, but the AX1B remains clear.

Fairly good, although I wish the housing was made out of metal instead of plastic.. I tend to push the buttons quite hard on a gig, and I'm scared of kicking the pedal to it's death.

Dunno, I never required any customer support for it yet.

I play experimental metalcore, with lots of distorted bass. For me, the AX1B is the perfect pedal.
For the price I paid for it, it's a very good pedal imho.

It was farely easy to use, it required some messing with in order to get exactly what you wanted.

The quality was very good i though, of course not as good as lets say... a gt-3 (guitar), but still pretty good. I didn't really notice any difference in quality between patches and effects. I use a 4-string Alembic, a 7-string Conklin, and a 4-string fretless fender jazz bass, which i run through an fender bass amp. I can get the same tones as some of the bands i listen to. I listen to mostly Industrial Dance but as far as heavy bands all i like is Primus and M.I.R.V.

It was reliable... Funny story, i used it about 3 weeks ago and it worked perfect, used an AC. Next time i try using it, which was the other day, use exact same Ac and outlet and the fucking thing won't turn on... it didn' get fried it just won't turn on... not to happy about that.

Didn't call it, i knew i'd end up paying mroe to fix it than to just go buy a new one, and if anybody knows of any good bass effects processors e-mail me.

I play mostly a funkish metal with a dab of experimental. Kind of like MIRV and Primus and Residents mised all into one. I need an effects processor that can give me those weird unique sounds. like the gt-3 for guitar. i've been playing for about 2 years heavily. i pick up things really fast so i'd defeinetly give Les and Victor Whooton a run for their money, i'd love to jam with those guys.

The Ax1B is not very complex . Its easy to create and store the sound. Not easy like a ZOOM but more than the most of the other manufacturer.

I use a Ibanez BTB505 on a EDEN combo METRO (2x10") whit a 2x10" AMPEG
(the vintage serie). The soud of the AX1B is very impressionant . The Ibanez soud is so mid an have a lack of brightness (i think) , but the AX1B EQ give to my bass a realy smooty enveloppe whit more brightenes and definition . The compressor is great , very important for me on stage , when my finger hits the string whit agressivity and power i have normaly some gain problem when i change to a little funky or slappy line , so wiht this compressor i solve my problem .
The quality of the modulation is realy good exept whit the octaver , he ?&$!?%"/!! realy esealyand is very easy to hear the problem .

I depend on it. The AX1B his now in my sond , and i use the effects everyday and in all of my gigs . So on stage i prefer use batteri so
the AX1B use 4 AA , i think 1 or 2 9volts is better . Whit an ZOOM i ever break 2 or 3 times the power input so i never have problem whit the adaptor input of the AX1B.

The Korg page is beautifull and no problem to signal whit the customer.

I play funk , black metal , techno , jazz , rock , hardcore , progressive, alternative... craddle of filth to Jamiroquai , Primus to pastorius , prodigy to dream theater and Mr.Bungle to the real book my AX1B realy help me to soud better and how crazy i whants .So just one big problem ,just 2 foot buttons and realy to near . On stage i have some problem when i have to change quickly . I wants a more big interface whit 2 buttons to switch bank and 4 for the choosing patch , like the digithech bp8 . So i think a version for bass to the AX1000G (for guitar) comming soon . This product will be the paradise , more serious and more easy to use with feet .

The preset effects on the pedal are extremely easy to use. No problem there. But to create your own effect, you're pretty much screwed if you haven't read the manual. But I'll still give it a 9 since the presets that it comes with are pretty much all you'll ever need.

I use the effects pedal with my Sunn Amp and my Fender American Bullet Bass. Using gold-tipped patch cords makes it sound 100 times better too. The noise level is NON-EXISTANT, and you always get a clean, clear sound. Every effect can be turned down without losing overall volume, but turning up the effect can make you alot louder. Almost all effects sound great, but the ones i like most would have to be chorus, flanger, pan, and a "room effect" that gives you super deep sound and sustain.

I've never had a problem with the AX1B, and i've had it for just over a year now. But it's made out of plastic, and that can be a little bit scary. Take it to a gig? Yes - but not without a backup. An amp accidentaly gets set down on it and it's probably toast.

Never had to deal with the company.

I got the effects pedal at a music store blowout sale, and have never regreted it. Playing christian rock and also worship services, it can give me the dynamics i need to play anything. I've been playing for 4 years (yup - rookie) and i can say that sound quality went up big time after i bought it. If it got stolen, i doubt that i would replace it just because i'd upgrade to something bigger. But for your average musician - it's got all you need.

Right out of the box, it's fairly straightforeward to use. A few taps here and there, and a brief flip through the decent enough owner's manual are all that's really needed to get even the more complex functions working. I like it.

I'm using this with a Rita 4-string bass (check the review) and a Slammer Impact series bass (with a Fender pickup fitted, so it's not as useless as a normal one). My amp, a Trace Elliot 65W. conveys the sound very well. The AX1B seems to actually help the rather quiet Rita along very well. The Slammer is also greatly benefitted and given a richer, deeper tone. The Distortion effects are downright nasty through it, ideal for playing Black Metal or related stuff (and yes, Metallica's "Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)" can be perfectly imitated with the Beast effect). Also, Roger Waters' delay effect in The Wall can be copied to perfection. Most of the effects are top of the line, fantastic. The pedal Wah is a little disappointing, but fiddling with the settings for a bit and increasing the intensity does have an effect. The volume pedal can come in handy in a stage show, and another nice addition is the ability to switch delay/echo on and off with the pedal. The loop feature is a little sad though, with only 1.8 seconds of recording time, rendering it useless for anything other than techno-industrial use. The loop Backwards-Forewards is even less useful, with too long a delay time for the back to take effect. The tuner is a bit unreliable, but good enough to make adjustments on stage if theres no analouge tuners around.

Getting an adaptor is rather important, as batteries never last long on a multieffects system.
It is dependable, enough so that its very difficult to unintentionally destroy it. The plastic may concern some people, but the price really doesn't warrant a metal case. Come on, get real.
Backup on stage for a multieffects is a bit difficult, so in the case of a complete catastrophe, it's rather simple just to pull the lead out of the output and put it in your bass.

Ehm... dunno.

I play lotsa everything, metal, blues, jazz, weirder stuff etc. so a versatile FX platform was necsessary. Bass solos have never been so much fun, and you can really experiment with this thing to find just what you're looking for.
I've been playing for about 4 years now (since '96) and I own a Rita 4 string bass and a Slammer Impact with new pickups, through a Trace Elliot 65W.
I guess if it was stolen, I'd go get another one. Wonderful for the price, and a hell of a lot better than that Zoom 506. The varaiety of effects is huge, and the expression pedal is cool too. The metronome is a bit sad, but then you can't have everything. I wish the loop was a bit longer, maybe even 5 seconds. 1.8 is a bit useless. It helps a lot to add depth to sometimes dull basslines, and being creative and making all manner of strange noises is great fun.
As far as bass players who refuse to use effects are concerned, wake up and see the world of the Mutltieffect pedal. The possibilities are ENDLESS.

To start off, one of it's weaknessess is that it's compression and distortion are in the same parameter, so you can't have both at the same time. This is the same for reverb and delay. The five band eq is great, it gives you so much versatility. Editing is usually quick for me now, and it wasn't that hard in the first place. The manual told me what I needed to know, it couldn't be any better, I mean it's not a fisher price toy. Unfortunate that you can only switch up and down to different presets, so if you switch in a song, the presets have to be organized properly.

It makes my cheapy bass and basic yorkville 200 watt amp sound much more expensive than it did before. The amp simulater is the biggest asset to the sound quality. It basically gives the sound so much more life. It's noisy at times when you crank the wrong effect, and the distortion gets no credit what-so-ever. Any sort of pitch shift will crap out if there is more than one pitch in the signal. I found the chorus to be weak compared to the phaser and flanger. I like the options with each modulation effect, you can get almost anything you want. It has some very unique things, like the sampler. Although it's only records 1.8 seconds, the scratch effect lets you make it sound like a turntable dj right in the expression pedal. And the pitch modulator (pixalator) doesn't sound like cheezy alien noises, it sounds like bubbles, however, it's somewhat weak and sounds gay.

As long as you're not stupid, it'll hold together. Plastic can be surprisingly strong sometimes. I can't afford a backup, it works well in a gig mostly because it doesn't get in your way. The expression pedal is quite stiff. I haven't had a problem with it yet and I've had it for almost a year not. You have the choice of using batteries in it, (4 AA), which you don't see often in processors. I will never be able to fully depend on it cause there is something about the way it was built, it feels really fragile. Like i said, you have to be pretty careless to break something like that.

Never tried or needed. Probably never will.

I'll play anything, and so will it. It's best for some one who's starting off, I may be buying something bigger in a couple of years, but the korg will be fine till then. It makes my crap sound better, which is a plus. But if you want something completely crazy, this is not the way to go. I would probably buy it again if I had to because it's so damn cheap for what you're getting. It blows the competition prices out of the water. I hate the fact that I can't use it to it's full potential, but what bass player can, we're rarely the center of attention. My favourite thing about it is the amp simulator, I wouldn't buy another processor without one. It takes tinkering to make everything work well together, if you put the wrong things together then it makes nasty buzzes and hums. Mixing compression with any modulation is bad. I'm glad i bought it, and at the time wouldn't and couldn't have bought anything else.

The manual is not clear and it is easy to program your settings.
Editing the patches is simple but you have to practice and then memorize the sequences to do it automatically.
It doesnt have an on/off switch.

I am using EMG Active Pick Ups and a Peavey TKO Amp.
The effects are to "digital" and a little noisy but only when you play the bass at real time. You have to deal a lot to get the effect you want.
My favorite artist is Victor Wooten and It took me about 1 week to get the right sound.
If you connect your bass directly to the amp you will notice that this unit is stilling your EMG electronics.

It is plastic. You have to be very carefull with the unit.
Recomendation: always use the box to keep it safe.

I never dealt with the company.
My unit did not come with the 9v adaptor and a friend bought the AX1B and AX1G and came with the 9v adaptor.

I choose this unit to avoid buying a lot of pedals/effects. I play serious funk and slap. For practice with headphones it is ok.
This unit is for beginners who like a lot of effects and do not care of sound details.
I wish this unit have an analog circuit for some effects mixed with digital effects to get a better sound.
If you use this unit "bypass" the bass signal gets like muddy. Then it is not possible to connect it to an effects chain.
I will not buy it again.

It's like I heard before I got it. It's easy to use, but require some tinkering. Don't expect to edit setting on the fly. Prepare your patch before playing. The LCD is hard to see in the dark but there's a led color-code for that. BTW, is there a site where I can get settings (patches) for this? If you have some you like, please send them to me, I might make a site with them... (and mine)

WOW! This is great. I was shopping for the Zoom 505 and I kept getting "buy the AX1B instead" from salespersons. Now I know why! Chorus, octaver, flanger, ampsim and more are great! I use it at gigs and in studio. The distortion is weak and not clean enhough, but I don't use it much. It's enhough for fuzz though. Again, great sound! (the talk-box sound is really cool!)

Well, it's plastic, but it looks like the most solid plastic I ever seen for something like this. It feels solid enhough. Only time will tell...

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This is great! You cant beat the AX!B in this prica range. You could spend ten times that to get all the separated effects and no get much more quality and control. To be completly satisfied, I'dd just need some better distortion, but you can just buy a dedicated pedal with the leftover money!

There are some good sounds coming out of this product, but not without some unneccessary effort on the part of the player, if only the AX-!B had been designed right in the first place. For starters, the unit has no on/off switch. You must plug or unplug. Trying to read the patch name while the unit is on the floor while sitting down or standing is impossible. This is not the well-lit Zoom unit with bright red glowing letters and numbers. This is an unlit LED. Try messing with that for awhile. Not good.

Sound quality runs the gamut from quite good to "Why did they even try to make that stand up as a distinct patch?" About five are at the top end, maybe another ten somewhere in the middle to low: the rest are just crap. Especially crappy is the metronome, which is touted for solo practice. The reason, I'm sure, is that bandmates would keel over from laughter if they heard this feeble excuse for a metronome.

You'd have to be crazy to take this thing out on a gig. Every two minutes you'd be bending over it with a flashlight to see if it's really doing what you think it is you wanted it to do.

Never dealt with the company. Korg does make other products, however, that are quite good.

I took it back to Guitar Center for a full refund less than a week after getting it. I have the Zoom 708 which is a much better unit, even has drum machine.

Pretty damn easy to use. Most of the presets are useful, but some are downright goofy. At least the presets give you a good idea of what the unit is capable of. Programming the unit is simple, about the same level of difficulty as the original quadraverb. One bummer is each effect has only one adjustable parameter. On mod effects, this tends to be speed, it would be nice to be able to adjust at least the depth too. But for the price, this is a small complaint. The manual is OK, it was clearly translated from the Japanese, and has a few of the typical errors associated with that, but it's still intelligible. Main minus is the bypass is accessed by hitting both up and down keys at the same time. These keys are far enough apart that this is difficult to do unless you've got clown feet. It's nice having a tuner at your feet as well, and the built in metronome is great for settling tempo arguments with the drummer.

Almost all the sounds are really good. Nice clean reverbs/ delays, although those tend to be dangerous effects to use on a bass, for the mud factor. I'd like more flexibility on the modulation effects (depth, tone, regeneration, as opposed to speed only). The distortions aren't that good, but they get the point across. There's a ring modulator that is as useable as one of these can be. The autofilter isn't the greatest, but it serves OK. The pitch shifters are cool as you can adjust them in real time with the pedal. Nifty. I like the wahs (there's 4), especially the 'voice' settings, which emulate talk box type vowel sounds. Smooth gate. Evil sounding octaver is pretty damn cool. Also the auto panners and tremolos are especially cool as these are controllable via the expression pedal. The 'random' effect is fun, kinda raindrops falling on my head sounds. Hmmm what else? It's great as a headphone amp. Amazingly quiet. Not just for a stomp box, but for a rack unit as well. This is much quieter than, say, an alesis product. I'm using it with a Danelectro adapter, and it seems to be no noisier than when powered with the batteries.

This is suspect. The all plastic construction inspires no confidence. The jacks are plastic, direct to circuit board types, and probably won't last. The stereo output jack will also grab a hold of some (cheaper) 1/4" plugs and not let go. Switchcraft types are fine. On one of my cables it took 2 people to remove it. At least it's not going to come out accidentally at a gig! Bonus points for having a cable catch for the adapter, as well as for being able to power the bugger via batteries. I'll be using it on gigs withou a backup, but if I had a longer tour to do, I likely would carry a backup.

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Price to performance, this unit is freakin' rocks. no doubt about it. I'm not a big effects freak for the bass, but this is the most fun, best sounding all in one's for the money in creation. I've been using it with a DeArmond Ashbory and a Musicvox Spaceranger bass through sony mdrv-6 headphones as well as through a trace elliot GP11 w/ 12" carvin PA speaker loaded into an old Dean Markley bass cabinet, and haven't been able to put it away. It's definately not the be all end all in effects, but for the $ (even new), it's a 10.

This is one of the simplest bass processors to program and operate. Each parameter has just on value to adjust. For instance, the chorus effect would be adjusted with a "1" to "10" setting.

Keeping in mind that this is not a high end effects processor, the unit gets good sounds. The sounds are not digital sounding and sound somewhat warm. One of the sounds that I use is for Nivana's "Come As You Are", the chorus sound is very good. Another sound that is great is the delay, perfect for getting the bass sound for Pink Floyds the "Wall" album. I use the distortion to thick'n the sound for Cream's "Badge" and "Sunshine of Your Love", it's not perfect, but it does a good job--good enough for live gigs (my guitar player requests that I bring it to rehersals for that Cream sound!!!). The octave effect sounds great too, I have the "Meatbox" from DOD and AX1B sounds just as good for that effect. The reverbs sound warm (there are 2 of them: room & hall), I bought a Zoom pedal to which is on the same level as this, the 505 I think, and it is real digital sounding. I dont know how good of a unit it is for slap bass because I dont play that stuff, but for classic and modern rock the unit does a really good job. I give it a 10 for its price to functions ratio.

I use an adapter. A word to the wise, always spend the extra $9.95 for the adapter, because batteries arent realistic for processors or stomp boxes that are heavily used (ie compressor, chorus). It is plastic so I give it an 8.

This is a great box. I do alot of open mikes gigs and this thing is great because it fits right into my gig bag and it is really lite. I dont like putting stomp boxes in the gig bag because they can move around and possibly hurt the bass. To be honest, I dont think that there are alot of good effects out there for bass. I know people who have spent $599 to $1,100 for processors only to not use them or only use them for one or two applications. I have a Quadraverb 2 which is so advanced, I use it for the studio and some bass, but I dont think that it is that much better than this AX1B for what I use it for.

Extremely easy , use of all keys is very simple to understand and for lazy ( or hurry ) players, all preset sounds are very musical and useful ( BOSS should learn on that ). Read the manual carefully and in half an hour you will know all the features by heart.After, it will only be required to see differences between some effects that can seem very close. although, it's clear and simple.Preset features are written and you get a blank chart to write down your programs on paper if needed. Programmation is a child game. You get the sound you want in a very short time.Only one parameter on each sound, but as there are 71 types you can be sure to find what you need. The bypass mode obtained by pressing 2 pedals at a time requires training( you should wear wide shoes ). Good also to play on stage if you point a small lamp toward it - LCD screen is not lighted - and attach it to the ground - very light.

I play fretted and fretless 4 string custom passive neckthru basses. The fretless comes with DI MARZIO ALCHMY pickups and the fretted with BARTOLINI P and J-Quad. I plug them in an AMPEG SVT-3-PRO on a GENZ BENZ GB210T-4R closet. This effect is not a noisy one, except when batteries come old. It's absolutely perfect for using as a phone-amp. The amp Simulator sounds great on console and tape but can make a muddy effect if you already got a 'big bollox' amp like mine. All sounds are crystal clear, very versatile and musical, incredible for that type of pedal.Can you believe it ? I used to have an old GSP 21 PRO and i really prefer the sound i get from this unit. Reverb is giant, modulation effects are always musical. Loops and Delays are short in Hi Fi, but by using a delicious Lo Fi Vintage sound you can have up to 1.8 second, enough to record a small phrase and play over it.Good for practise and solo playing - see mum, without no hand. Distortion and overdrive SUCK. All you can get cool from them is a heavy distorted guitar sound, bass synth sound and a half fuzz sound. Octaver if very fast and makes a real double bass sound when played on neck pickup. Wah is honest, but can be boring because it's always the same sound that comes up, no surprise like you would get from a real wah. AWAH and Random Wah effects are the nearest from a Mu Tron i've ever heard, except from the real one. Noise reduction is very efficient and doesn't cut the end of the sound like a gate. All sounds in one box, except for distortion.

Cheap plastic unit. I would not try it on a worldwide tour without having a second one. I use it on stage but take care of it. I don't trust the expression pedal that much. Connectors won't last 10 years of playing i guess.

Never tried it.

I really play all kinds of music in balls, and i play jazz rock and Death Metal in 2 bands.It's perfect for every style. I play the bass for 7 years and own this effect for about 6 months. I still ust my old Century Bass Flanger and an Ibanez PL 5 for distortion. As it come with a Tuner, an Amp Sim and a Metronome, can work on batteries and is very small, it's a perfect toolbox for studio working, bedroom training and in fact for everything. If you need a cheap multieffect, you need this one. I've used it as a click track for the drummer, a pre amp to get directly in a sonorisation power amp, a companion to play in the street, a volume pedal for the guitarist and many other things. Sound is really incredible for such a cheap effect.I would buy it again with no hesitation, even twice the price. Bad points : None for that price, but : No light on LCD screen - that pisses me off for programming and stage playing -, plastic box and pedals - again, it still didn't break or nothing but i'm not confident -,Hasardous bypass system, only 30 presets and 1.8 seconds for loops, muddy distortions and cheap connectors. Good points : ease of use and programming, all in one concept,incredible sound. I can see nothing better in that range of price. 100 more bucks for a metal box, a lighten screen, strong connectors, built in DC adapter, at least 4 second loops,a real distortion unit, and it would make my perfect one.