Lexicon MPX G2

You basically get out of it what you put into it. Decent manual, but I
usually prefer just diving in.

If you read all of the other reviews, it becomes apparent that the
wildly varying opinions go beyond mere subjectivity. One also wonders why, if someone is so unhappy with this product, would they buy it
in the first place?

Here is the answer to these puzzles.

Between demos, loaners, replacements and swaps, I've had FIVE of these
things. Sound quality and function varied from one to the next and no
two were the same! The lesson here is that if you hear one that you like, TAKE THAT UNIT even if you end up with a floor model. If you
get one new in the box without carefully auditioning it, know that
you're in a crap shoot.

With all that out of the way, if you get a good one you'll really
like it. As with any "do-it-all" device there are some compromises
(the UniVibe effect comes to mind) but in all, the sounds are usable
and inspiring. Though the apparent lack of quality control is out of
character for Lexicon, the spatial effects(reverb and delay) are not.
They are detailed and three dimensional.

Don't know yet but my fingers are crossed.

Called them on one of the units that was totally unusable right out of
the box. After the usual questions which start with "have you hooked it up right?" the tech guy said, and I quote, "that thing is fried, take it back where you got it." Several loaners and replacements later(Lexicon actually refurbished and returned the totally defective unit and the thing was as whacked-out as when they got it!!!) I ended up with a "good one" and am enjoying it thoroughly. This is all so
confusing that I can't begin to rate this category.

Very cool if you can endure the inconsistencies and find one that
works for you.

Hardly any useable presets (like most effects units, the presets are smothered in every effect possible), but finding a decent starting sound is fairly easy if you study the manual, which is excellent and VERY necessary to unlock all the deep features of the device. There are some quirks in the interface and some things could have been organized better, but overall it's not so difficult to use if you understand what processors are all about. I wish the insert loop was a true effects loop, instead of a preamp-insert only, but I have some esoteric uses for the thing, so I can't complain. The tuner has trouble tracking lower frequencies (hard to use for tuning bass).

My setup is simple: Chapman Stick > MPX 100 > direct into mixer (sometimes into power amp of SWR WM12) with a Gibson Echoplex in the insert loop. This thing sounds incredible. I used to play through a Boss GT5, which had great distortions and wild effects, but really degraded the clean, natural tone of my instrument (a buffering issue, I'm told). The Lexicon is super clean, even with the input gain all the way up. The tone is rich and detailed. Effects quality is beautiful, subtle and clean. Reverbs, delays are awesome, and I never liked playing with chorus effects until I heard the Detune in this device. Some people have complained about the distortions, but I have found several great (and noisy at high gain, but what do you expect?) distortions here, some subtle, some huge. No all-out fuzz like I could get with the GT5, though. Compression works great to overdrive the gain section. Tweaking the EQ in the distortion patches seems to be the key. But I'm mainly a clean player, and the clean tone of my Stick (even, or especially, the bass register) really shines here. Bass frequencies just sound incredible. Also sounds wonderful with my acoustic guitar, using a B-Band pickup system. The speaker simulators are the best I've ever heard- all of them are very good and this is very important since I'm going direct most of the time. If I use a lot of distortion or crank the output gain ALL the way, I get some background noise. So I try not to do that.

I've had this unit for 6 months, racked, and I drag it to practice 2-3 times a week, and have even gigged with it outdoors, in less-than-ideal weather conditions. I wouldn't recommend this, and I try to take good care of my gear, but it has held up fine; never had a problem with it. The foot controller is great (with superb functionality), but the switches click loudly when stepped on. Also I find the toe-controller under the footpedal to be a great idea, but not built so well- I always feel like I'm pushing my toe through the floor to click that switch. This has me a bit worried, long-term. Score is lowered due to this foot issue only. Both rack unit and foot controller are very solidly built.

Never dealt with Lexicon.

Style: post-rock, "ambient" (I hate that term), noisescapes, jazz-prog. You know, I hate all these terms. Anyway, I play a lot of basslines, rhythmic arpeggios, and various delay-and-volume swell-based sounds, and do some loop-based compositions. Unit is awesome for everything I do. With the Jam-Man effect and my Echoplex, I can have two loops at once; I just wish there was more flexibility in the EXTERNAL signal routing (internal is unbelievably flexible), but I guess a built-in Aux bus would be a bit over-the-top, as few but myself would really need it. What else? XLR outs, headphone jack, phantom power for MIDI controller, etc.

A lot of people say this unit is hard to use but I think it is the easiest effects processor to use out there.

I use a Lexicon mpx 500 and the Mpx g2 with a Alesis compressor.The g2 is very quiet. I use it mainly for distortion the digital effect are some of the best in the world right now. If you want a modren sound the g2 is the way to go. the only bad thing is the factory patches they suck bad.

In side of the g2 it is a fairly simple system setup. Therefore you can depend on it. The unit does not get hot at all so in a stage setup efficiency and dependability are key words to keep in mind.

I have not had to deal with the company yet.

I play metal music and complex clean sounds. I have been playing for 4 years. I love the lexicon g2 it is the best thing I have in life. It is well worth the money. But I hope that a software up-grade will soon be made so that the factory patches will be better and more useful.

First things first. The factory settings are limited-use at best, over-processed and unusable at worst. My recomendation: start with a clean slate and build sounds from the ground up.

Editing is easy once you get the hang of it. I LOVE to tweak effects and sounds though, so for the technically inept among us, stick to the three knob boss effects. Once you figure out how to speak it's language though, it's very easy to deal with.

The manual is very good. It walks you through a great deal of what you need to know. However, I think it is aimed at the more technically savvy user. There are some things that are clearly omitted to save space however. For instance, I can't figure out how to get the Jam man to sample say exactly 8 bars of 4. I think that it could have gone into much further detail on the individual effects parameters and what they do, but these are things that your ears could probably tell you better than some tech writer from Lexicon.

PRS-like guitars custom made by ME, and one PRS Custom 24 ==> Lexicon ==(insert send)> (input)Carvin Quad X Amp =(master EFX send)> (insert rtn)Lexicon =(master out L+R)> Carvin Quad X Amp(master EFX return) =(stereo out L+R)> Mesa/Boogie 50/50 => two ADA split stack 2x12's

On this unit, high gain = high noise. The gate is very sensitive and useful however and can offset this. It is globably defeatable for studio use.

The Effects are godly. Compression is perfectly tunable, wah sounds better than a lot of the analog ones that I'm used to, way too much to list here, but the best is the Verbs and Delays. Absolutely 3 dementional and lush. Not just cavernous, but truly give you a sense of space.
It should be mentioned that I really HATE the preamp section in this. It misses all of those beautiful in-between colors that a good tube preamp can give you. In the gain stage, I either just use some tonal coloration, or the Tube Screamer sound. Not quite TS-9, but close enough.

Why in the world would I want to sound like another artist? I suppose you could. I think sound is more about technique. BB king would sound like BB King through an Ibanez Jem and a peavey side-kick....nuff said.

BTW, the 8 is for how much the Pre-amp and pitch shift suck.

dependable. I've dropped it 4 feet in my rack with no adverse effects. Gets kind of warm. I gig several times a week with it in my rack. It's the most durable thing in there.

spoke with them once. Very helpful. It helps to fully explore any problems before getting them on the phone. The more you can tell them, the better equiped they are to help you.

I play lead guitar in a groove rock band. I am the only lead instrument, so I need a lot of different tones to keep it interesting in a 2-3 hour set. The G2 is a huge improvement over the 2 acre pedalboard I was using prior. Lots of sounds, less real estate.

I've been playing for 15 years. Own lots of gear, but see above for my gig-rig.

I really like the flexibility of this unit. I love the control I have over every little detail of the sound. There are certain effects that I find completely useless however (the 'preamp' and the pitch shift.) I'm finding a place for most everything else though. I love being able to change a number of parameters at once. (chorus rates and delay decay with a foot controller for instance) Tap delays from the G2 are my new best friend.

If it were stolen, I would bring my pedalboard out of retirement until I could purchase another one.

I think I played just about every effects rack that I could get my hands on (I sat in a few different guitar centers for hours at a time) and this was my favorite. There are some things that do certain sounds better, etc... but nothing had that verb and delay. Also, nobody else let you tweak as many parameters as the Lexicon did.

I wish there was some way to link it to my PC just for editing. I hate having to look at that little tiny screen. It would be great to be able to set my laptop up to it and move a few sliders (a la 960L) to get exactly the sounds I want.

This piece of electronics, more than anything else I've ever bought (with the exception of guitars) inspires me to play and innovate. When you build a sound from the tools that the G2 provides, the results can really take you to another level.

Don't even bother getting this if you can't invest time into tweaking it to perfection. If you're the type who scrolls through factory presets and expects great tone, this isn't for you. If you're the plug it and crank it type, don't even bother. If you have the patience and a taste for adjusting nuances, then this unit is for you.
Oh yeah... if you're going to put this in your rack, get a tube preamp like a TriAxis or Quad x amp or something.

Some cool sounding presets. Pretty simple to copy presets and tweak and save to a user....but, to create one from scratch will take some time and effort. This product is not easy to configure. I have been using the G2 for 4 months and can't seem to find POD comparable user groups on sharing usersets, tips, etc. All support comes from the manual (absolutely necessary) and email support.

I use this with Mesa Boogie Mark IV combo along with a Fender Midi Switcher so I can use the Boogies 3 channels along with the G2 (simply, all tube is the way to go!). The G2 does not steal the Boogie tone! The reverbs, delays, chorus - basically are professional quality and DO NOT get any better. Whats cool about the G2 also is that you can use it on any instrument or voice. And, can be used on dry pre-recorded tracks - very flexible. All the effects have very advanced tweaking for example: the octavater can have 2 other notes - my favorite is orginal note, then another note 2 octaves down and another 1 octave higher - sounds fricken monstrous! and you can use the pedal to fade in the effect! The pre-amp distortion is really flexible and can get some heavy metal sounds but usually need to pull back on the post distortion bass (cool cuz you have pre and post distortion eq'ing) I actually use some through the Boogie Clean channel to get scooped analog Pantera type heavy distortion - however, a double coil is needed. I play live 2 or 3 weekends a month with 2 types of bands - progressive metal (Vai freak!) and a dance funk band. Between my 70's strat and my Ibanez RG 7620 7 string the G2 allows me covers all those easliy. The wahs aren't the best, maybe a 6.5 out of ten - I prefer the Bad Horsie switchless-but are good for live. Just have to deal with one pedal board and one cord! I like the idea of the toe switch cuz it allows switching between volume pedal to way easy - and can even swith some effects with the toeswitch. The gates aren't the best but good and very effective (8 outta 10) and between the digital gate and analog gate it just plain works! Oh yea, smart harmonizer for all modes and keys - very fast tracking-totally usable. I could go on and on....

The first unit I got the delay and reverb were really noisy and loud - got another one and not one problem. If you get a good one you should be good to go for years to come. I've had my G2 for 4 months and I use it everyday. I transport it to practice and gigs 2 or 3 times a week. Not any problems. The pedal board is all metal and the buttons seem rugged. A friend has a Line6 pedal board and sometimes those buttons just don't seem to work. This replaces my old pedal board with volume, wah pedals, delays, amp switcher, compressor, etc. I would have to go to that if the G2 took a dump - but, don't see that happening. In all these reviews not one talks about the G2 taking a dump live - once you get a good one that is. I give it a 8 cuz the first one I got was broke.

I use email support for all my questions. They have always been happy to help with my questions no matter how stupid as they realize this is not the most easy unit to master. Lexicon is world famous and its products are used by hollywood and professional producers - they are not going anywhere.

I have been playing for 15 years influenced by yngwie and vai. I am total tone freak. I love the fact of having just one rack and one cord to one pedal board. Only thing I disliked is it took me about 3 months to get everthing tweaked between eq'ing, volume settings between presets, etc. But now have it dialed in and its fricken smooth and effortless. People have complained about the delay between presets - I, however find it acceptable and not noticeable playing with a live band. Basically, there is about a 100ms delay loading presets but this can be minimized by setting some global parameters and allowing the original signal to pass through (and not noticeable when using an amp). Also, that is not its intended design. A single preset can be used for a whole song by switching individual effects plus there is an A/B switch for each preset. Example: there is a Metallica preset that has heavy crunch distortion, little reverb, little delay and wah then press the A/B to get a clean sound with compression, heavy reverb, and heavy chorus - happening instantly since its in the same preset. I use it that way and also change between presets in songs - no one notices. Needless to say - The R1 foot controller makes all this happen very easily.

I checked out the reviews here and on some other products and:
Eventide: not really a preamp with distortions, wahs and stuff. Kinda pricey but killer over-the-top crazy effects. Basically, the best effects processor out there but, costly and extra gear needed.
Digitech DP2101: has built in 2 - 12AX7 tubes but I've read reviews comparing it with the G2 and the G2 actually sounded as good if not better. Plus, the 2101 doesn't have the routing ability if you wanted to use it with a multichannel amp head.
Line 6 POD 2, Spider - You know I like that stuff but the distortions just can't get the feel, tone, focus of my Boogie High Gain channel. I mean it gets close - I've played them, but there is that presence and infinitely sensitive touch felt through the fingers of tubes - especially clean. The other guitarist in the my band uses a POD and it sounds good. But side to side with my setup - he just shakes his head.
TC Electronics - nice too, but it doesn't do half the things the lexicon does.

Its expensive but considering all that it does - its a great deal. There is no perfect do-it-all, all-in-one rack mount. But this is as close as it gets. Only upgrade to my rig would be to the Boogie Triaxis with a 2:90 or wait for the new Boogie Road King 4 channel combo amp. Shred on!

We`ll i orderd the Lexicon mpx g2 package with the floorboard from musicians friend about a week ago and to my luck it came today right after i smoked a
BIG!!! fatty....I went down to my studio and hooked everything up and started her up and messed around with it and right away i said holy shit...this thing does everything just how to make it do everything is the hard part... i could tell right off the bat this thing is gonna take alot of time to get used to(and a buzzkiller due to fustration) me and my bass player sat there for hours pushing buttons and laughing at the blinking lights..that got old so we whiped out the (phone book) manual and it all started to come together one thing after another..without the manual i would have never figured out some of the great things this thing can do.....read the manual

The sound is great, everything seems to be crisp and clear no hiss just great sound...everyone whining about the hiss and other noises are stupid...
good good good sound........

for the $$$$ this baby cost it better out live all my pets.........the unit it self will be as reliable as you treat it..its high quality this babys tuff...
the floorboard is heavy enough to knock some drunk fool out cold...that also means tuff...

i hope i never have to call them.....

i will write in another review in a couple of weeks when i get this thing down to a science.....
it will be a project and a half but i know the out come will be great............i love you lexicon

The lexicon g2 is the best and easyist unit to use for any tpye of music. It does require you to read the manual. as for all fx unit you should read about all the features of your units.

I use this with a Mpx 500 and a Alesis 3630 compressor. the unit is very quiet. the effect are very strong. I use a alesis power amp and crate monitors. I can easily simulate any sound from any artists.
The distortions are not very good but the per-amp sound very good so I use that for distortion.

You can depend on this unit
You could use this for any setup of any kind it all depends on your tastes in music

? dont know never called

The lexicon g2 is good for any type of music. I don't recommend using this with a amp.

THIS UNIT IS VERY EASY TO USE COMAPIRED TO OTHER UNITS ON THE SAME LEVEL. GETING A GOOD SOUND IS VERY EASY ONCE YOU READ THE MANUAL

I USE THIS WITH A LEXICON MPX 500 AND A ALESIS 3630 COMPRESSOR. IT SOUNDS VERY GOOD. THE PREAMP DISTORTION IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER HEARD. THEN IS UNIT HAS DISTORTION SUCH AS ,TONE,SCREAMER,CRUNCH AND DISTORTION THESE EFFECTS DONT SOUND THAT GOOD. I ONLY USE THE PREAMP BECAUSE I USE IT AS A STAND ALONE FX PROCESSOR.

YOU CAN DEPEND ON THIS UNIT. IT IS CONSTRUCTED OF THE BEST MATERIALS

I HAVE NEVER CALL SUPPORT.

I PLAY METAL, MOSTLY THINGS SUCH AS EMPEROR AND OTHER BANDS LIKE THAT
IF THE G2 WAS STOLEN I WOULD BE PISSED THIS UNIT IS VERY EXPENSIVE.
OVERALL THE LEXICON G2 IS THE BEST UNIT IN THE WOURLD EXCEPT MAYBE FOR THE EVENTIDE GTR4000. THE UNIT IS VERY GOOD I WILL ALWAYS BUY LEXICON UNITS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST. THE LEXICON G2 SOUNDS BETTER THAN ANY TUBE FX PROCESSOR. THE G2 IS DIGITAL AND SOLID STATE.

Writing reviews is not something that I care to do but this product has driven me to this keyboard. It has be 1 1/2 years of frustration that culminated in this review. Today I turned on my system to find that many of my programs don't work as they did yesterday. The manual is poorly organized and in most cases useless. For example: when copying the wah-wah patch to the "lead" program that I use the G2 doesnot copy the toe switch patch. This most be added later. But where in the manual (in language i can understand) is it??? I had to make 4 phone calls during east coast business hours(Texas to Mass) to get the answer from a very helpful guy named Jim. Today, Saturday, the wah-wah inexplicably comes on every time I switch to that program. That's not how it was the last time I switched it on. Who do I call today??? Nobody!!!!! The rhythm program that I use is inacessible. Why??? That's not how it was the last time I switched it on. Who do call today??? Nobody!!! If I had a gig tonight I'd be going without any effects.
In the manual there is an assumption that you know how to run this unit. The entire pathway for setting up programs and patches is not given, let alone in a language that I (not an electrical engineer) can understand. The people at Lexicon could care less. I'm not saying that they won't help you. But, they won't listen to criticism and then do something about it. If you have ANY reservations about using a very difficult and complex piece of equipment, STAY AWAY.
I bought this unit to simplify my rig. One unit vs a pedalboard. I guess it failed. I've had a for-sale ad in the local paper for two weeks and not a single call. I'd take 1/4 of what I paid for it. I guess the word's out. I sold a Rocktron Replifex to get this. Big Mistake!!!!!

I use it with PRS guitars and a Mesa/Boogie Mk IV amp. The sound quality is stunning. The overdrive and distortion are processed sounding but I have a Boogie for that. Everything else is not to be believed. Absolutely super!! Even the Wah-wah is great. The pedal feel is nicer than the Dunlops I've had.
Here is the realization of digital technology. Analog devices don't compare to this unit. There is no added noise. No clicks thumps or buzzes.

Physically it's indistructible. But, after the irratic behavior I'd have little faith in it.

Jim is very helpful. In fact I called them from home and left a message and they hunted me down at my office to return the call. Unfortunately I'm usually with patients and can't spend a lot of time inthe phone. As I mentioned before they don't 'want' to help. If you don't know what I'm expecting for $1200 just buy a shirt at Nordstrom and you'll quickly get the idea.

I've been playing for 25 years and have had lots of equipment. I play mostly jazz and funk. I thought this would be a solution. Instead it has created more problems than it solved. And it's very, very expensive. You would think that this kind of money would buy some ease of use, but not so. That can't happen until Lexicon reads some of these reviews and respond to the complaints by addressing the problems. They are in denial. They feel that the problems are with the customer. It will be a very,very long time before I consider buying another Lexicon product. Now, who has the problem??
The sounds are great but you must spend hours and hours to get them. That's an impediment to creating music. I don't mind some investment but this has been more than I'd care to make. As I said, I'd love to have my Replifex back. If I could sell this I'd buy something else.

Writing reviews is not something that I care to do but this product has driven me to this keyboard. It has be 1 1/2 years of frustration that culminated in this review. Today I turned on my system to find that many of my programs don't work as they did yesterday. The manual is poorly organized and in most cases useless. For example: when copying the wah-wah patch to the "lead" program that I use the G2 doesnot copy the toe switch patch. This most be added later. But where in the manual (in language i can understand) is it??? I had to make 4 phone calls during east coast business hours(Texas to Mass) to get the answer from a very helpful guy named Jim. Today, Saturday, the wah-wah inexplicably comes on every time I switch to that program. That's not how it was the last time I switched it on. Who do I call today??? Nobody!!!!! The rhythm program that I use is inacessible. Why??? That's not how it was the last time I switched it on. Who do call today??? Nobody!!! If I had a gig tonight I'd be going without any effects.
In the manual there is an assumption that you know how to run this unit. The entire pathway for setting up programs and patches is not given, let alone in a language that I (not an electrical engineer) can understand. The people at Lexicon could care less. I'm not saying that they won't help you. But, they won't listen to criticism and then do something about it. If you have ANY reservations about using a very difficult and complex piece of equipment, STAY AWAY.
I bought this unit to simplify my rig. One unit vs a pedalboard. I guess it failed. I've had a for-sale ad in the local paper for two weeks and not a single call. I'd take 1/4 of what I paid for it. I guess the word's out. I sold a Rocktron Replifex to get this. Big Mistake!!!!!

I use it with PRS guitars and a Mesa/Boogie Mk IV amp. The sound quality is stunning. The overdrive and distortion are processed sounding but I have a Boogie for that. Everything else is not to be believed. Absolutely super!! Even the Wah-wah is great. The pedal feel is nicer than the Dunlops I've had.
Here is the realization of digital technology. Analog devices don't compare to this unit. There is no added noise. No clicks thumps or buzzes.

Physically it's indistructible. But, after the irratic behavior I'd have little faith in it.

Jim is very helpful. In fact I called them from home and left a message and they hunted me down at my office to return the call. Unfortunately I'm usually with patients and can't spend a lot of time inthe phone. As I mentioned before they don't 'want' to help. If you don't know what I'm expecting for $1200 just buy a shirt at Nordstrom and you'll quickly get the idea.

I've been playing for 25 years and have had lots of equipment. I play mostly jazz and funk. I thought this would be a solution. Instead it has created more problems than it solved. And it's very, very expensive. You would think that this kind of money would buy some ease of use, but not so. That can't happen until Lexicon reads some of these reviews and respond to the complaints by addressing the problems. They are in denial. They feel that the problems are with the customer. It will be a very,very long time before I consider buying another Lexicon product. Now, who has the problem??
The sounds are great but you must spend hours and hours to get them. That's an impediment to creating music. I don't mind some investment but this has been more than I'd care to make. As I said, I'd love to have my Replifex back. If I could sell this I'd buy something else.