Korg Ampworks

Given the fact that almost any change can be made with the twist of a knob is definitely a major plus. Preset management is a little different if you are used to working with lcd screens. However since there are only 2 user patches this is not a big issue.

The easy-start manual summarises use of this unit and is avalable from Korg.com

The 1st time I actually took note of the REMS capability was when I heard and tried the Korg/Vox range of amps that are now available.
This basically led me to trying to find Ampworks unit as the quality blew me away.

Trying to compare the quality of the modelling to original units is to me a waste of time, as the only true method would actually require recording (listening0 through the identical setup Korg's researchers used when developing the models! i.e Strat through Plexi in one room close miked does not 'equal' identical hardware in completely different room/stage/hall etc.

My approach was to hook this up to my DAW and check out how the various 'models' respond. For example if using a preset UK Modern, I would set the tone,gain and volume to my liking and then switch to another model e.g. AC30TB.
I would then change tone settings and note the response of the 2 models. Having worked my way through all the models left me with the overall impression that this small device actually contains 11 different models as stated not just a basic model that has been eq'd (in the firmware) differently to produce the different amp decriptions.

Funnily (not at the time)as I was walking out of the store the packet broke, and the unit fell on the tiles steps. Not a scratch!..

Never had the need to use them..

I bought this unit for the amp and cabinet models only, and in that sense, the price to performance ratio is 27:75 - this leetle box rocks!

Personally I would have dispensed with the effects and would rather have used the remaing DSP power for additional mic distance and mic type modelling e.g SM57 and NT1

the sound is ok but theres some problems with effects, its an interesting box of tricks with a few flaws...

its pretty easy to use, has a list of settings for each amp model the knobs are a bit of a fiddle (small), big wheels for amp/speakercabinet/effects are nice and can be changed with your foot if you're careful.

you can get some nice sounds out of it (queen sounds using the ac30 settings if you have the right guitar pickups)

the onboard effects are a bit lame, i do like the rotating speaker and the phaser/flanger effects these are cool.
the tremelo and the delay are also very innovative with the tap button i just wish there was a longer setting than 2 seconds...

i find some of the settings very noisey, its hard to describe the noise but if you mute the strings it sounds like somone with a shaker full of rice or some sortof percussion instrument, very bad sounding and very digital.

seems ok uses AA batterys so its easier on the pocket compared to rechargable 9V batterys, i wouldnt gig with it, the sound is not good enough and its too fiddly to be changing stuff to suit different songs.

haven't dealt with them couldnt be bothered with the hassle.
the korg site is awful to navigate.

i play rock, some of the settings are ok but theres a few flaws with the system, its difficult to connect up to modelling amps (since the modelling amp settings cancel out some of the effect of the korg modelling. i wouldnt buy another if i lost it, id get a line6 or somthing like that if i needed multieffects.

i wish it had an on/off bypass switch.

Ugh. I think this thing sounds awful. I borrowed it from a friend to try out. Ugh. The models are more or less right, but there's this awful hiss on everything-every note comes with this horrible whooshy hiss, and the hiss stops the second you stop the note. It's creepy and artificial sounding. And the decay is really strange--the notes die out before your strings are done. Maybe that's part of the model, but it doens't happen in real life and it was really weird for me. Ugh. The highs are brittle and overbearing, the lows seem flat. I just hated the sounds from this thing. I'm kind of an old school guy though. I'm not against modeling, but I keep keep hearing horrible things in this that make me want to put the instrument down and take up accounting or something.

It's easy to use, except you have to adjust some of the effects parameters with this "tap" thing which I find hard to deal with--but I'm lazy and don't like to read manuals. There are a dial full of amp models, the usual suspects, and a dial full of cab models, same, and a dial of mostly bad effects

yes, I can get the sound of my favorite artists--or I should say I can get a hissy, brittle version of their sounds with a weird decay. I just really do not like the overall sounds this thing puts out. Why--tell me why--is there that hiss in a digital model? I mean, analog amps don't hiss when you play the note and then stop when the note stops. So why do the models? I don't understand why digital modeling should introduce hiss. But I hate it

I use GarageBand a lot, and the models built into GarageBand don't hiss

Maybe if you record something and bury it in the mix, it'll be good, but you have to bring the treble way down to get risd of the hiss and blunt the effect of the weird decay

I would not use it on a gig, period

It's inexpensive and pretty straightforward, but it sounds awful, at least to me. I feel like I live in a world where everyone is insane but me, or maybe I'm the one who's insane. Because I just can't understand how you could sit down with a blackface fender amp and this and think that this sounds like the blackface amp. I mean it sounds like an amp in exactly the same ways a picture of an amp looks like an amp

It gets in the way of making music, because I'll keep tweaking the bastard trying to get rid of the annoying brittle treble, or the hiss, or the flat and characterless bass. But not if I chuck it into the river--then I'll be free.

Very easy to use. Manual is short but good.

This review is made up from a couple emails I sent my buddy when I got this little device.

Got the korg today, here are my first impressions.
I've played it for a couple hours...
Right there is saying more than I ever could for my sansamp.
It's crazy and pretty dizzying how many sounds you can get, and my hopes for the perfect practicing gizmo may be answered.

It ain't pro-perfect though, but is the best amp sim I've heard, and I got my 60 bucks worth for sure.

There's definitely some noise, and on some sounds a weird thing happens I can only assume is anti aliasing or dithering artifacts during note decay (it's in the background like a high end wooshing and I don't know if it'll show up in a recording). I have been listening with my Grado headphones, and they are often more revealing than any speakers, so I don't know if the highend crap will even be audible on speakers, and the fact that it's TINY and runs on 2xAAs for over ten hours is kind of insane.

First, the amps:

The rectifier sucks (but the real one does too) a thin fizz hangs over everything, but if you pick the right cab and really carve with the EQ, it has its moments.
The twin sucks, well it sounds very convincing, but I hate twins (hollow sounding and the breakup is pointy and nasty).
Plexi is a bit too real, really Yngwie! not really JH or Angus (cranky in the mids and weird when driven).
The jcm800 is good sounding, period
The jcm900 sounds like a Metal Zone and I don't love it.
The AC15 is a Tweed Champ and sounds damned good (I had a real AC15) the way the eq changes the gain is tricky and a bit too real) but needed actual thought to get it working.
AC30 is cool but when gained up sounds like a jubilee marshall?... like slash?
The Fuzz setting is too real (germanium style) and sounds like crap if you turn the gain down, it gets muddy really easily, but it's cool to have in there.
The bassman is very gritty but has great strattyness and focus.
I'm not sure about the Bluesbreaker setting, very fat and reactive, but a bit too loose in the ass, very Cream.
I think 'UKModern' is supposed to be a JCM2000?
The best I could get out of it was Vai in Yankee Rose (kinda cool hollow laser gain?)

Here's the crazy part, the effects are pretty freakin good too.
the verb is very VERY cool, the tap tempo button is the decay time and the knob is the level. I swear it goes from small room to hall. Like the reverb patch is being changed. Anyway, I'm impressed with it and I hate most verb. Up about 1/4 it makes any sound almost real.
The delay is fine (when was the last time you heard a bad delay?)
The trem is good and can get crazily extreme.
The leslie sounds good, not great but does ramp down and up when you change the tempo.
The comp is cool but noisy, it's fast as hell though, which I like.
I don't care about the other effects.

The speaker sims are good and very different.

Well a few more hours down the road with the gizmo and things went both uphill and down. I did mess with the models i wasn't feeling before and got something out of the AC30 and the Rectifier and JCM2000 models that I could use. the AC30 does sound very real through the "wrong" cab.

From what I understand, the Vox Tonelab is similar but is 20bit d/a a/d and has more amps, more effects, and less cabs and digital and midi? I/O... oh, and a tube, and I bet does in fact sound really good.

The little guy I have is still going to do what I want, help me write with headphones.

Something else about my little toy, the noise is in the analog pre stage.
I put a clean boost in front of the Ampworks (it gets insanely loud) and this really helped the noise floor and I mean a lot!
The artifacts are also reduced and it doesn't clip the front end!

Eh... it's a tiny piece of plastic. Don't treat it like a Rat.

I'm told they're pretty good in this dept.

This thing is great for recording direct and for practicing and writing. Buries the POD and Sandamp (I've owned both).

I would replace it immediately. Helps me write and practice.

Very easy to operate and program, due in large part to being limited in programability. Manual is good.

I didn't get mine for gigging, but I guess you could? This thing is built for what it's for, sitting on the table or desk for getting sounds into a computer or headphones. All plastic. If you want to play out with one, my advice would be to put some industrial Velcro on the bottom and on top of the amp you're running it into. A guitar cable will pull this thing to the floor and probably its demise.

I hear Korg is shokingly good with cutomer suppport, but none of my Korgs (keyboards) have had any issues.

I play in several bands, trad blues, R&B, Hardcore, indie rock...

I would replace it, no doubt.

This little piece of plastic crap has got me playing and writing more and I will not live without it.

Very easy to operate and program, due in large part to being limited in programability. Manual is good.

I didn't get mine for gigging, but I guess you could? This thing is built for what it's for, sitting on the table or desk for getting sounds into a computer or headphones. All plastic. If you want to play out with one, my advice would be to put some industrial Velcro on the bottom and on top of the amp you're running it into. A guitar cable will pull this thing to the floor and probably its demise.

I hear Korg is shokingly good with cutomer suppport, but none of my Korgs (keyboards) have had any issues.

I play in several bands, trad blues, R&B, Hardcore, indie rock...

I would replace it, no doubt.

This little piece of plastic crap has got me playing and writing more and I will not live without it.

The unit is pretty easy to understand. I was looking for a simple amp sim that had an amp selection/cab selection/gain. The effects are a plus in that I didn't really care much about them. The manual is straightforward and easy to understand.

With this unit, I am trying to get a variety of sounds through my Peavey Envoy amp, which I keep at a neutral setting. I run my guitar into a Digitech Distortion Factory Pedal, and from that into the Ampworks. The Ampworks outputs to a reverb pedal, and from there I can run direct or into the amp. The sound is pretty good whether used direct or into the amp. I've found that keeping the Ampworks on a relatively clean setting works best (depending on the amp model), letting my distortion pedal take care of most of the gain. The Ampworks is pretty quiet. The effects are ok at best(chorus/flange/phaser), but mostly I select the compressor effect and keep it at a low setting.

So far I've been able to depend on it. I don't think this is really made for gigging. I don't gig much at all so I can't say from experience. I wouldn't feel too comfortable depending on it at a gig.

No experience with Korg Support

This has been a pleasant surprise, especially since I payed $39 for it! I get the some good bluesey, overdriven sounds, about as good and as warm a sound as can be expected without actually having tubes. This is a good match for my playing and for what kind of gear I want. I would replace it. The thing I dislike is that the settings are hard to read on the knobs, glare can easily make it impossible to read them. But that's a small complaint.

Didnt come with manual but this is about the weasiest multi effect ever - dials with names though hard to read in certain light - simple knobs no menus what a dream -
Saving the (2) patches is easy and can regularly be changed - one manual patch - though in the store the bypass worked but it does not now - I think that it needs the adapter to have bypass work.

YOu can get a great sound quickly by just trying different combinations - OF COURSE< the one problem is the same for all effects - (digital) - They are not made for strats -
Someday somebody will make amp modeling and effects just for strats and teles -
The Blackface or Blues with the 2X12 cab is the warmest - the 70's amp and rectified have good gain

The effects just turn the dial and the effect tweak and use the tap button - very easy to explore the range

I use a strat, various amps Line 6, Fenders, I use this for recording or when i am lazy and dont want to set up my board at rehearsal
Any noise is due to turning up gain as with anything
the gains are tinny and digital but not bad for the money and size - I wouldnt use them live but for practice or fun they are ok
EFFECTS: MAJOR Design flaw as with all products (Seems a problem with KORG ) REVERB AND DELAY must be separate - you cannot get reverb combined with any effect - great unit works long on batteries but there should be a separate reverb - ARE YOU LISTENING TECHIES - NO EXCEPTIONS (the greatest feature of Line 6)

Otherwise - I hear everyone complain about the effects - MAN o MAn - I have tried all Boss, Ibanez, multieffects and stuff - The effects ARE GREAT - you guys are crazy - The size of your palm, runs long on batteries and the phaser is great, delay is fine,
AUTO WAH - I dont get people - the auto wah is amazing - turn it right and you get a great T-Wah just like Jerry - turn it to the left and you get a decent auto wah (There is no sub for a cry baby) -
Even the compressor is pretty cool - man: small size - no menus and runs on batteries - This was the stuff of science fiction 30 years ago -

Plug this unit into an amp or recorder and have your own reverb set - and you get a great range of effects - they are really good (but I suppose a matter of taste)

If you are storing - as with anything - set the volume accordingly - when you change to a distorted sim - the cvolume will boost
Some of the mods are pretty accurate but digital -
I LOVE THE EFFECTS -

Negatives:
No separate reverb - big drawback on any effect
No bypass w/ batteries
Not made for strat (I am sure a les paul will wail)
Combinations are with chorus (come on, how much chorus do people need!)
hard to see the names on the dials
Adapter not standard
Distortion digital

POSITIVES:
Really does run on batteries and is tiny
easy manipulation of sounds and set 2 patches
Effects are good and have wide range (some other reviewers have ridiculous expectations)

I would not use this for most gigs because I need pedals and because I cant bypass it - but I might use it on a short or travel gig right on top of the amp
Seems fairly well made and its simplicity allows for fewer problems - Have not had a problem yet

NA

been playing 30 years - I am always looking for simple multieffects for rehearsal, recording, travel and fun - this was too interesting to pass up
I wouldnt buy it again - I would probably buy one with an expression pedal so I could have wah - more presets and a bypass -
For the real thing I use real pedals -
For recording, travel etc... it is really great just turn the dial and you got a new effect (though the inability to combine effects can be frustrating) For the price, I think it is very good
Good for a beginner to try out different effects and cabs and choose for the future OR for professionals for travel and fun

My styles include Rock-Funk-Blues -Fusion-mid-Eastern and others - the size and range of effects (a T wah on batteries and a multieffect) was tempting - dissapointed that it has no bypass and lack of separate reverb
Like with many substitute effects or toys - it actually provides some very different effects and sounds to create by alone or with a band
My effects include - Digitech Synth Wah - Vol.- Cry baby- Sansamp - TS-9 - Delay pedal - Line 6 amp and others- this unit contains most of those sounds

If you need a serious multi effect - dont buy digital - if you want a travel one or recording effect its pretty good - I have a pod and sometimes I prefer this - easier to program and I can see what I am choosing

Couldn't be easier, I am used to usiong multi fx units and this is easy in comparison. Very intuitive.

I use a BC rich virgin with dual humbuckers into a Marlin reverb 50c amp or straight into my laptop. I also have a zoom 606 multi fx and this gives a far better modern distortion sound and has made my old amp sound how I always wanted it to.
It's not perfect, some of the effects leave a lot to be desired, especially the auto wah. Don't expect that to turn you into hendrix!
It isn't noisy at all with my setup, something I was worrying about after reading some of the reviews here.
I bought it mainly for headphone practice, but have found myself plugging it into my amp constantly.
I'm awaiting delivery of a few dedicated pedals so they will probably take it's place in front of the amp but I doubt I@ll change it for anything else for headphone practising.

Buy a decent set of headphones though, my cheap ones were fine on the distortion type settings but you couldn't hear anything when switching to some effects. Through pc or amp it was fine so knew it was the (very) cheap headphones.

Haven't had it long enough to tell. As everyone else has said it is very plasticy, but I paid #30 uk new so can't really complain at that price, plus it's not designed to be a stompbox.

Haven't needed them yet

It's an amazing little unit, not just for the price but full stop. I play everything from blues to metal (thrash, black and nu-metal) and can get a decent sound for virtually any sound. OK it may not be a perfect reproduction of what you hear through mega expensive equipment, but for my uses its fine.
I've been playing for 15 years now, and wish I had one of these when I started out, when you get a great sound you just want to carry on playing! It's rejuvenated my intetrest in playing, and that can't be a bad thing!

Ease of Use is one of the main pro's of this unit. Just plug it in, mess with a couple of dials and bingo, tone is ready. Editing patches are easy as drinking water, and saving them too. There's only 2 patches (user) and one (manual) mode, that can be used as a patch if you keep your knobs at the same position.
It comes with a nice, folder-on manual, very complete, althrough a manual isn't the case here. I only referred to mine to double-check the footswitching use of the unit.

Sounds : While i read here through the reviews here, there were a lot of mixed reviews, some described it as noisy and thin, and others as good.
To me, it was a little bit of both. The low-gain amps models are perfect. Not noisy and very believeable. Some of the high gain models (especially the Uk Mdn and Recto) are really noisy on certain situations.

I play a custom made super-strat with Dimarzio Evolution pickups most of the time (althrough i have a Ibanez RG with Seymour Duncan pickups (JB/FullShred set). But i play pretty much every type of music, from blues to heavy.

The clean sounds of the Ampworks are great. I love to use the AC30TB factory preset, with the neck pickup of my main axe splitted into single-coil mode. It has a very unique voicing and it sounds great for jazz and some rythyms work. It does get a little messy with the full humbucker mode.
The bridge pickup sounds great with the AC30Tb in full gain, and with the BLK212 for cleans and satured (Stones-Like) tones. And with the Blues combo and the coils tapped, i can go to a SRV like sounds.

The dist/dirt tones of the Ampworks are middle-to-weak. I haven't used much of the UK Mdn, and especially the Recto. The Recto modelling sounds are very thin, without that low bottom that made the Recto famous, and the Uk Mdn, is very hard to tone. I have been using the Uk80's for heavy sounds (especially rythyms, can get that Wylde pinch harmonic squeak). And the Uk Mdn with lower-gain settings for doubling guitars in recording. For Ac/dc like tones, this box is heaven. Both the Uk80's and the UkMdn can get that fat sound. Using it with the 4x12 VIN speaker sim, is the way to go.

Speaking of speaker sims, they are pretty much all very good. I personally use the VOX 212, 4x12Vin, BLK 2x12 and TWD 4x10 most of them. But pretty much all of them have its qualities and really affects your tone.

On to the effects, this is the major downfall of the Ampworks in my opinion. Most of them, sound weird to me. Ok, i am not a effects kind of guy, but it really seems that most effects just adds weird noises to your tone. I use the reverb (on lower settings) the noise reductor and a little bit of chorus every now and then. But i really disliked the phaser (doesn't sound like a phaser to me), and the "auto-wah" which is really weird. However, the tremolo is really really good. I say that is better than some dedicated tremolos i heard.

This box is for recordings, mostly. I have been using it for 1 year now, and made some very good recordings with it. Doubling tracks and stuff is very easy, because you can change a speaker sim with a single finger. The sounds from it, are good. Not great, and are no substitute for the real amps, if you can afford (which i can't) them, but it have some really nice sounds and some nice flavors too.
Vox, Uk80's and Fender amps are all very usable. I have to rate it high for the clean sounds alone, but the dirt ones are a nice addition to the list.

I used it live a couple of times, but i like the ampworks better when used in line. The amp really colors the tone, even on loop. But this thingy is small, fits right into my guitar case, and i can easily and fast dial tones for about any kind of music, and i don't need to bring an amp, especially if i am just doing a jam with friends or a small recording in a studio (like a demo or something).

I will keep using mine for a long time probably.

Well, it is made of plastic, but so its most no-boutique effects these days. I have used mine a couple of times live. And had no problem. I used a Behringer footswitch, and it worked great. No Major problems at all. But yeah, it is made for desktop recording, not for stages.

Never really dealt with Korg about the Ampworks. But i dealt with them about some keyboards and they were great.

Like i said, this like box has tons of pros and cons :

Pros : Small
Easy to use
Very good clean sounds
Some usable dirty sounds
Footswitch operation without unwanted noises.

Cons : Some really unusable dirty sounds
Background hiss on high-gain options
Plastic.
White-on-Silver writings.
2 presets for user only.

I liked it a lot, and will probably continuing to be using.
If it were stolen i would replace it if short in cash, or try a POD (or a KORG AX3000G) if i had some spare dough. My favorite thing about it is the VOX sounds. (I use it a lot of time, for blues, pop, rock and others songs).
I did compared to the V-Amp by Behringer at time. And this little thingy offered more quality for less money. (I didn't tried the V-Amp rack version however).
I wish it had more user patches.

Buy it for practice, recording and some live playing.
Don't buy it if you only play high-gain sounds (metal) and don't care about clean tones.
Buy it if you need something small, that can fit on a case, and still delivers good tone.
Don't buy it if you are a audiophile that hates any minimal background noise.

But, yeah, i love my little ampworks.

Este es el punto fuerte de esta cosa, todo es facilisicimo, se pude usar en directo sin ninguun problema, no hay complicaciones, excepto que las letras en los controles de amp, cabinet y efect no se ven, yo tuve que ponerles marcas de color para poder verlas mientras toco en directo.

mhhh, no es para profesionales, eso es seguro, ni para heavy metaleros, es muy ruidoso y articial, muchas simulaciones de ampli se oyen mal.Sin embargo, hay 3 que valen mucho la pena: TWD 410, Blues y 70, yo las uso con un Ibanez tube screamer(Ts9) y se oyen muy bien: un sonido fantastico a lo metal 70: Sabatth, Zep, Kiss, Ac/Dc, y pues la reverb, compression y delay son muy buenos;sin embargo, el chorus y tremolo son muy malos, muy artficiales , tambien creo levanta mucho el sonido de las guitarras y amplificadores baratos, les da calidad y potencia, pero creo que este aparato funciona mejor con un overdrive en previo, ya que los simuladores de amp no tienen mucha potencia por si solos, con un tube screamer suena mucho mejor, sobre todo si buscas un sonido blues-rock vintage; ahora quiero probarlo con un eco pedal en previo, y en el efecto solo compresion, creo que sonaron mejor y menos ruidoso en altas distorciones, debo decirte que lo uso con un viejo peavey scorpion de 100 watts y una guitarra ibanez rg270, asi que pruebalo primero, porque no ha todos les va gustar, sobretodo a los metaleros, pero si buscas rock clasico y blues es una buena y barata opcion, siempre y cuando le pongas un overdrive antes.

solo lo uso con pilas, pues no he podido encontrar un elimnador con el voltage exacto, y pues me ha funcionado bien asi, nunca me ha fallado; es muy practico para llevertelo donde quieras.

En Mexico, no lo se...aqui nada tiene garantia de nada

Toco rock n roll, blues y rock clasico, tengo 3 a?os con la guitarra electrica, me he acomodado bien con este aparato, pero realmente no es lo maximo, me gusta mucho su tono de blues, es realmente profundo, muy a lo BB King,Led Zep,Clapton(60) por eso me ha gustado usarlo a lo largo de 1 a?o, tambien su slap echoe a lo Sun Records para el rock n roll, y me ha dado varias posibilidades e ideas para usar con mi equipo, que es muy, muy barato, asi que ha sido bueno para mi, le ha dado variadad y matiz a mi estilo blues

Easy enough to use. It's all pretty self-explanitory. The markings are hard to see in the dark. Getting a GOOD sound is another story altogether, though.

Not so good. Most of the amp models are pretty thin sounding. Tremolo is not smooth at all. The auto wah is a nice idea. It just soesn't work very well.

It's pretty cheesy.

It's a little hard to find anybody at Korg. Not as hard as Roland, but hard.

I got this for home recording into a Roland VS 1680. I have a Pod that I've used a lot and really like. I take the Pod to events where the backline is provided and it can really make a so-so amp sound okay. I don't think this would. This is pretty much a dog purchase. I know it's a lot more cheese up front, but buy the Pod. It sounds like an amped up electric guitar. This doesn't.

The controls are very simple and easy to dial in tones. Manual is clear and easy to understand. Also includes a card that breaksdown all the presets so you can see where every dial was set for the preset.

I am using an Epiphone Joe Perry Les Paul and just running to a Roland Cube 15 practice amp. The models are pretty impressive. Some of the effects arent what I hoped. The auto wah is not very good and im not real impressed with the tremolo. It does produce a little background noise, but it is very little. This thing makes a cheap practice amp sound great.

I havent been using this for very long so i cant really comment on reliability but I would use it for playing live as it doesnt feel like it could take much abuse. I would really just recommend this for playing at home and possibly home recording, although I havent recorded with it yet to see how it comes across.

I have to admit that the are very few companies that I feel have very good online support. Korg is awsome. I emailed them late last night asking for the settings of one of the demo tones they had on the website that was not a preset or in any of the documentation. By the time I got off work today, I not only had a response, but they sent me the complete settings for all of the demo tones on the web site in a very easy to read/print format. I know that doesnt sound like a big deal but most companies you deal with just send out a standard automated response, if they even respond at all. The fact that Korg did, weighted heavily with me.

I have overall been very impressed with this and for the money, I could not have asked for anymore. After using this, I would have gladly paid twice what I did. Small and compact enough to take anywhere and cnn be used with headphones. I have an Arion Hott Watt II that will probably never get used again.

Okay, I just got off the phone with Joe from Korg USA (in the guitar department). I encountered a problem with my Ampworks G (see above review by LARRY for a complete review) this morning. I powered it up (battery power) and the PROG/WRITE/TAP buttons were all flashing simultaneously. The ON button was a solid red. I called Joe, and at first he suggested new batteries (alkaline only). Easy enough, I went to my local drugstore and purchased a 12 pack of the CopperTops. I came home, inserted two new batteries, and the same thing occurred. I called Joe back, and he walked me through this (pay attention if this happens): make sure the Ampworks is plugged into an amp/speaker/PA unit; hold down the WRITE button as you insert the plug into the INPUT jack. If the lights are not flashing anymore, and if your get sound, you are good to go. Joe explained that sometimes with this model (Ampworks G), the unit may go into a "service" mode that is only accessible by a technician (i.e. pressing a sequence of buttons, etc.). To exit this mode, you generally have to perform the above task. It worked. Thank God. I had knee surgery yesterday, and playing my guitar is about all I can comfortably do at this point in time. This is, and I let Joe knwo this, the first time I have had such an enjoyable and positive experience with a manufacturer. Hats off to KORG!

THANK YOU JOE AT KORG!

Not difficult to manage - there are 2 user settings - it's easy to tweak. I use it for home play/recording and informal jams. For live performance, a footswitch would probably help. 2 AA batteries.

I play a strat or hummer equipped. It's noisy on the high-gain settings - the noise gate helps, but does not completely eliminate. I?ve had this for about 6 months - it?s a fun guitar toy, and several of the tones sound good ? a great value for the price. I recently discovered another benefit: plugged into my little cheapo Crate practice amp, it turns the usual boxy tone into some good sounds, especially for the strat. I now have a decent practice amp. May not deliver perfect tube tone, but the Ampworks processor can definitely help in the punky SS tone department.

It's only plastic, so no rough handling. I bought this through MF, and the first one thay sent malfunctioned - switching was all off. So, was that Korg's fault, or did MF send a previously returned/abused item? The exchange was easy, and the second one has had no problems.

Another nice feature is the headphone jack. If lost, I would definately buy another for $50. More user settings would be nice.

It is very easy to use and the manual is very imformative but like a lot of multi effects there is little difference between some of the settings, maybe too many choices. The worst thing about it is it is hard to read the white lettering on the silver knobs.

This thing is great for silent practising as you can play straight into the unit with out an amplifier using head phones. I found when I play through my Fender frontman 15G there is a lot of hiss which can't be cured by the noise reduction . I tried using a Roland 30watt Amp which I use in my Church worship team and found the noise was not a problem due to a couple of reasons. The first is being only a small venue of about 250 people we don't play at a million decibels and the other is with ambient noise it is not a problem.
I tend to use the blues settings on the dials with reverb as you can get a slightly overdriven sound without hardcore distortion and the factory preset channels. One has a bright chorus sound and the other a moderately heavy distortion. I have housed my effects unit in a small box with removable lid, together with my tuner with foam rubber, so they dont move and have drilled the holes so I can plug in all the cables. I run it with a mains voltage adaptor otherwise they tend to get through batteries. It is great as I can store all my guitar cables, spare batteries picks etc. and have them to hand easily.
I have my guitar looped through the tuner with double plug socket and short patch lead so all I have to do is turn down the effects volume turn on the tuner and there is no unplugging cables necessary to tune up.
I am using a home built Les Paul shape guitar with Steward Macdonald "Golden Age" overwound humbuckers and 24 fret neck which sound really nice even without effects. I also have coil taps on them but I prefer the gruntier humbucker sound.

Well I haven't had it that long but I use it every time I play on our Church worship team now without problems. The worst aspect is when changing preset channels the volume is louder on some channels than others so you have to be aware of that.

I think you actually need to own a multi effects unit so you can decide on what type of effects suit your style of music. Many of the effects I would never use. I would probably settle for a Boss distortion/chorus/reverb effect pedal if lost or stolen probably. Value for money the Amp Works is hard to beat though and I bought it from Sweetwater and they shipped it to me in NZ within a week. Great service and it cost including freight about half the price they sell for here.

The Korg ampworks is very easy to use. The only things you'll need to refer to manual for are the mode/preset selection & amp/line switch. It doesn't get much easier than this.

I bought this to use for practise with my nice AKG studio headphones, and for some gigs where I can get by without an amp rig.

Pros:
I love the following amp models: Boutique Clean, Blackface Twin (it gets a great fender sound with the blackface 1x12 cab model), Vox AC-15 & AC-30 top boost. The UK 70's model is also very nice, but not quite as authentic sounding.

Cons
I DON'T like any of the high gain models: Marshall JCM 800, Modern Marshall, or Mesa Rectifier. They all sound very fake & the tone controls just don't work well on them, so it's difficult to dial in anything useful. You just get a lot of mud and/or buzz. That's too bad because I really like to do some shredding every once & a while.

The unit would still be very useful for the great classic sounds, however all of the models suffer from an unusual amount of hiss noise. THIS THING IS JUST WAY TOO NOISY! Sure you could turn up the built-in noise gate threshold. That will make it quiet when your not playing, but as soon as you hit a note all the noise rushes in along with it. I really hope Korg fixes this because other wise they have a really useful modeler.

The chasis is made out of toy quality plastic. It's really flimsy, and the batteries even rattle around when you handle it. Also, the pots are not nutted to the panel, instead they are completely supported by circuit board solder. I would never trust this in a gigging environment.

This unit is on sale for $49.99 at Musiciansfriend.com, or at Guitar Center. It is of toy quality. However it does have some nice classic models if you can deal with all the hiss. Unfortunately I found it too annoying to use, and I returned it within my 30-day period at GC. I sincerely hope Korg takes this unit to the next level. They are on the right track with the classic amp models, and the compact size that can fit in most guitar cases. However they need to clean up the noise, use a more rigid chasis, and improve the high gain amp models. They may also need to work on some of the cabinet models as some of the 4x12 models didn't seem quite right. I cannot comment much on the effects because I don't like to use most of them. I tried the delay & reverb and I found it hard to get a subtle amount. It was like nothing or way too much with no range in between.

I toured with this across Thailand rigourously for 1 month this summer (2005) and it worked fabulously. I bought this over a POD or VAMP because it sounded better with my pedalboard and was much cheaper.
Took no time to be able to get it working. Manual is great and helps with editing patches. I only used 1 setting and worked great.

Setup:
EB Music Man Axis - TU2 - NS2 - MXR Dynacomp - DS1 - GE7 - Korg Toneworks Ampworks - Danelectro Tremolo - PH2 - DOD FX65 - Digitech XDD - RV3 -> Direct Line In
No noise, good tone
I couldn't bring a tube amp, so this was the next best thing for the size and price.

Yes, but power supply should conform to the rest of my pedal board for ease of use.

No dealings

Good stuff. Buy it if you want to have good tone but not pay a fortune and can live without a tube amp

It?s pretty straight forward. However, the markings on the dial are difficult to see under any circumstances. On a dark stage they would be impossible!

I apologize to those of you who have given it high marks, but I must say this: If you think this thing sounds good, you have absolutely no idea what good tone is! This little booger digitizes your signal using a terrible A/d, then processes the crap out of it using awful algorithms, and then turns it back in to analogue using an equally awful D/A. The end result is as to be expected: TERRIBLE TONE. I bought one of these on sale at musicians friend ($40) because of the good reviews. Who are the tone deaf idiots reviewing these things, anyway??? Mine went back. One side note: I found the ?rotary speaker? sound to be quite acceptable. At $40, I would have kept it and added it to my pedal board for that alone ? if it had a bypass switch!

Here is my rig in signal flow order:

?64 R.I. Strat with Seymour Duncan Hot rails with coil tap in bridge position, Texas Special in middle position, Seymour Duncan Hot PAF in between middle and neck, and a Texas Special in neck position. (Yep, my main axe is a 4-pickup ?Frankenstrat?!) Or, a ?92 SRV Strat. Or a Parker Nite Fly. Or a ?60 Les Paul. Or a ?83 Flying V. Or a ?78 Kramer (original one, with the aluminum neck). Or, a couple of funky old semi-hollow bodies (slide tunings in E, A, and G).

Next is a Korg DT-10 tuner.
Then a highly modified Cry-Baby.
Then the Bad Monkey.
Then A modified TS-7 tube screamer. (I use it in ?hot? mode with the drive maxed out for more of a Mesa Boogie hi-gain sound, which the Bad Monkey can?t do)
Then an old DOD analogue delay.
Then an A/B box to either?
A ?67 Super Reverb (w/ Alnico CTS speakers)
Or a ?67 Bassman head with a 4-10 Marshall cab loaded with vintage celestions.

I'me rateing it low HERE because it is a flimsy plastic box after all.

See above...

It can?t be easier to use. Its a simple 3 dial operation. And bam, you got yourself a good tone. Simple and effective.
It only has 2 programs, and writing them is a matter of 2 touch button, didn?t even needed a manual for that.
The manual seemed pretty complete, and the guide with the exact position s of the presets is a nice addition i haven?t seem before.

I play blues, mostly teles (althrough i have a "super-strato" custom with hi-gain pickups and floyd rose), and it was a pleasant surprise to hear this. At first it seemed too noisy with my tele, but setting the NR was simple and fixed any problems i had with it.
The tones in this little box are GREAT! of course they aren?t substitute for a real vintage tube amp, BUT its cheaper smaller, and easier to handle. It fits right into my guitar case, and it has some killer tones. I specially liked the BLK212, the TWD4x10 and the BLUES combo. I don?t know much about hi-gain amps, but the UK?s 80?s seemed pretty close to a lot of albums i heard (And its my favorite for fast leads and some other heavier stuff).
I use it mostly for in-line recording and practing through headphones. But i have needed to put it in front of a Fender Roc Pro-700 and it sounded great, because it saved me time of toning it. I simple left it flat and got my BLK212 tone right off. Simple and effective, like it should be.
I can get some good tones easily, the BLUES preset, when combined with a neck single coil vintage pickup, sounds a lot like Stevie Ray Vaughn, and the TWD4x10 with the delay can do some Floyd sounds easily.
The effects are good. The chorus is smooth, and the reverb is usefull. The delay is full, and the tremolo changed according to the model being emulated, which is a nice addition. While it can be noisy sometimes, the rotary speaker seemed pretty usefull for pop musicians.
Like i said, it is no substitute for a real amp. But its a small box that can hold your tone.

Well, i?ve reading pretty bad things about it. Meanwhile, even if i?m not a pyrotechic player, i feel like i can rely on it. Its meant for recording sessions and not giging. And works great for both. I?ve gig?ed with it using the footswitch, and i was complimented for my good tone. Yes, its plastic, but so is behringer?s v-amp and line 6?s pod. So no complain there. While it looks like it can?t take a beat, i can assure that can take my kind of beating.

Didn?t had to deal with them.

Overall, its a great tool for musicians of almost any style, its easy to use, and it can hold great tones, and sit tight in your guitar case. Its something that i am getting each time more addicted to and if mine gets stolen, broken or lost, i would get another one.

Its a great bang for the buck. Cheap, and great.
The main thing that draw my attention to it, its is small size (i?m a petite man that can?t carry big things to rehearsals while taking the city bus) and the tones. I had considered getting a POD or a V-AMP, but the v-amp sounded weak compared to it. And the POD costed 10x more here. (I don?t live in the US). I?m definately not regret that i got it.

Like i said. Its a great tool. But i won?t be selling my Fender tube amp for it. However, its a great backup amp, and a great tone box. Recommended to everyone that has a home-studio or wants to record at home. And to everyone that likes to have their tone inside a small, carryable, silver box.

Not tough to get started or to get a decent sound but the subtleties of programming this are kinda tricky (figuring out original and default values)

ok, let's be up front. this is a DIGITAL model. The top end of the reverbs and overdrives is a lil pixellated. If you're listening, you can hear the crispiness. And you can only use one effect at a time. This unit is totally worth it, though. The models are much better than some i've heard (the old pods, and original v-amp) and the speaker sims are very flexible. The tap function is nice too. Makes it easy to tweak the reverbs and delays.
None of this stuff is prevertable, and you only get to alter the effects level (not the individual parameters). Still, the effects are very useful in a tasteful way.

uhhh, plastic plus plastic. you do the math.

haven't dealt with them yet.

at the price they go for right now, they're a STEAL. If you need amp sounds with minimal disturbance, this is IT. I use mine to record and travel with. As long as you can handle this like eggshells, you should be golden. Is it perfect? no. Is it excellent? yes!

This is extremely easy to use if you have any experience with pedals or effects units. The manual is well written and informative.

It is important to read the manual. The settings (tone, gain, etc) are set to mimic the original amp it is modeling. This digital unit is the very same brains that are used in the Vox ADVT series amps (Vox/Marshall owns Korg). Look and listen to the amp, they are identical.
This unit is meant to be direct recording unit. It is NOT a stomp box (thus the plastic cover). It sounds simply unbelievable through headphones or recording.
Also there is a switch to change the voicing for direct recording or to an amp. This is no joke. I engage this switch (to let my amp do the cabnet voicing) and use this as a preamp by going into the "power amp in" on my peavey. It sounds even better than the direct record sounds.
The real gem about this item though is that you can really put effects infrom of the amp models and they sound better than ever! I really didn't expect that. I use good effects (tonebone and Keeley modded blues driver). It takes the sound (direct record and amp) to a whole new level.

As I mentioned this unit is meant to be a direct recording unit. If you treat it as such, you will have no problems. This is not to say it cant be used live. I place it right on top of my amp as a preamp, and it works fine. No technical problems to date and I've had it over a year.

I haven't had to use them.

I play and record everything from blues to metal. This is an extremely versatile box especially if you are looking to record. For the money there is absolutely no comparison. I have seen them going fo $50 new on close outs. Its a great deal.

Very Guitar Friendly...

I'm using this as a practice rig... A PORTABLE PRACTICE RIG (10...)

OK... so... it's cheap and it's plastic... BUT It's got some amazing sounding tones (vintage type and growly overdrive tones) in it!

I'VE VELCROED THE LITTLE MONSTER TO MY GUITARS (one piece on the processor and one piece on the guitar)... I use G&L's only... Legacy Strat, ASAT Classic, and Commanche. Small patch cord from guitar to processor, headphone out of processor for stereo processed practice.

I've used it live (velcroed in place) and then into a Peterson strobo stomp (in DI mode). It doesn't sound as smooth live as my Fargen Blackbird Tube amp, but c'mon... it was $50-.

Anyway... TWO REMARKABLE THINGS ABOUT THE EFFECTS
1. the TREMOLO SETTINGS "seem" to FIT the amp settings when you change them... ie. Fender trem sounds round and full (like a Fender trem) and the Vox Trem sound stuttery smooth when used with the Vox amp. I may be hearing things wrongly, but I've double and triple checked it... Is that possible for $50?
2. The ROTARY SPEAKER "sim" actually RAMPS UP AND DOWN in speed when you use the tap tempo feature (velcroed to the guitar).

THIS KIND OF STUFF IS CRAZY FOR A CHEAP PLASTIC PROCESSOR!

I bought 3 of them...

Scares me a bit here....

No idea... hope I don't need it...

Been playing for about 10 years...

Lead worship in a small church...

Still convinced the sweetest tone is found with a single coil guitar into a small watt tube amp with a couple of great pedals for about 4-5 fat tones... BUT...

I can't always practice with a tube amp and pedals (that's my "live rig")...

So... This beats everything else I've tried for this purpose (Line 6, Digitech, Yamaha DG stomp, Marshall Mini-stack, etc.)

I've told every guitarist in my church to grab one before they're gone!

Almost way too easy to use out of the box. This little monster has an ease of use that I was not prepared for at all. The manual is a nifty fold-out job that is easy to read in an unfolded manner. I just received it on my doorstep and played with it for about an hour before writing this review. I am kinda blown away.

I am using a 1992 Mexican Telecaster with Lace Sensors and AMERICAN MADE pots and switch (essentially an Amercican made Tele, no thank you NAFTA!). The noise reduction is great with the single coils. I ran it through my Vox Pathfinder 10 with the all knobs at 12 o'clock (gain, treble, bass, and volume). All the presets are very good, with a noticeable difference as I switched the amp and cabinet models around. I am no amp snob, but I could tell the differences in sound and timbre. The effects are right on, and I had no problems with shaping the effects to my liking. The "tap" function is way cool and easy to use.

I was a little amazed that the housing is made of regular plastic. This box could easily be broken apart and probably would not be receptive to a good beating onstage. Those who paid more than fifty dollars US may feel gypped by the flimsy housing. The list price is around $180.00 US. I would have expected more for the money, but I only paid $50.00, and expectations are satisfactory for the money paid. I feel I can depend on it, but probably not in a live situation, unless it was modified and fitted into a sturdier housing.

I haven't had to deal with KORG, as I just recieved it.

Hands down, a ten indeed.

Ok, where do I start? I was looing for an amp modeller so checked out various models all arounf the #100 price range. BUT, for a cheap price, and if you know what to expect these can work wonders. I chose the KORG cos it was 1. cheap and 2 small enoguh to fit in my guitar case along with the rest of my stuff. Easy enough to use. Had to read the manual just to check how to save my own settings.

Soundwise it's not bad. The POD II and Behringer are up there too, a little different but offer more heads and cabs. NONE are mind blowing. NONE are brilliant, so don't get any misconceptions that you're gonna get a balls out Boogie triple rectified distortion, or a great fender twin blues tone cos you ain't - plain and simple!

Very plastic, so don't drop it. Mine is still intact, but can't see it surviving any serious drops. Same goes for the POD II and Beringer though. All are plastic so really wouldn't recommend drop testing!!!

Dunno - not needed it yet.

I play rap metal kinda thing. Love full on distortion and hi gain amp sounds. My situation is unique, but the KORG works well in my setup. I play live with a hip hop/drum n bass crew, and I have a live setup consisting of a CD DJ deck, scratch mixer, Korg ES1 electribe drum machine, a Korg KAOSS Pad, and now a KORG Ampworks, a H+K Warp Factor distortion pedal and a Westone Thunder 1A (laugh if you like but this cheap Japanese thing has lasted, and still plays better than ANY #350 Epiphone/Ibanez/Squier guitar - been trying to convince myself it needs replacing and have failed every time! Gonna fit an EMG 81 in it instead of replacing it. Just check out the reviews here and see for yourself!) ANyway, with my setup I run the guitar through the H+K, into the Amworks into my ES1 sampler which goes into the DJ mixer into the KAOSS pad and out to the PA system/mixer. I use a clen setting on the Ampworks with the H+K distortion (which is FAT) and I get a sound that is pretty damn good considerin