M-Audio Black Box

Out of the box, the Black Box has 99 presets for you to tinker with. However, without an expression pedal (which isn't included), many of them are absolutely pointless (I just plugged an old volume pedal into the Black Box's expression jack, problem solved)

So far, there is NO editing software for the Black Box so you're stuck tweaking things manually. A good 20 minutes with the CD-ROM PDF manual will 'learn' ya in the use of this gizmo though.

However with only two EQ settings built into the device sculpting tone is limited to just bass and treble with no mids.

It also has no power switch so you have power down the device by removing its plug from the socket.

Bill Lawrence, Seymour Duncan and active EMG pickups.

Is it noisy? Well, considering that the built in noise gate is set so high that the nuances of your playing are cut off instantly, then no, it's as clean as a whistle. M-Audio finally posted instructions on their website describing how to adjust its settings (or switch it off) which made all the difference in the world.

The effects sound very gimicky and as mentioned above, without an expression pedal, many of them are pointless. If you're a pop guitarist then you'll probably find many uses for the Black Box but personally, I can't stand it.

The amp models are no better than those on my V-Amp 2, infact, my Zoom 505 has more sophisticated amp mods than this. You have the choice between 12 very limited amp sims which, in my experience, are the most unrealistic to date. Only way to describe their tone is *plunk plunk plunk*, push up the gain and you're presented with the noise gate again (even if it's switched off). Rubbish.

This thing aint so bad as a DI box but even as a USB soundcard it fails to live up to its price tag, especially with it's dated 16 bit sample rate.

With no power switch I can't see this thing lasting for very long at all although, it does have tough casing which will protect it from ware and tear.

In the true M-Audio nature, the technical staff are absolutely useless at offering any means of help regarding their products.

I'm an all round guitarist and play many styles which this device, with its poor sound quality and limited nature, fails to cater for on all levels.

If you're buying this product expecting another POD XT forget it. In my opinion this device has absolutely no redeeming features worth mentioning and if it was stolen? Ahh well.

If it had a power switch, a traditional EQ system (bass, mid, treble) and amp sims as good as the executives from M-Audio claimed then maybe, just maybe, this device would be worth using.

I find myself playing against this device rather than with it and that is what turns me off completely. As inspirational as re-stringing your guitar.

Avoid this product at all costs and use the money on something with more features instead.

This is a basic user review. It is very easy to get some nice tones and drumbeats immediately. The manual is on a CD, I haven't checked it out, yet. It should be upgradable by the internet for future updates.

I really like the guitar presets. I didn't have a problem with humbuckers causing clipping of the signal. I used Rio Grande BBQ Bucker which isn't hot like a Super Distortion. I used it with Sony headphones and the stereo spread is good on the effected tones. The effects are digitally boxy or over processed. They do the trick with lower levels.
Overall, I like the quality of the tones through headphones, so far. It wouldn't be fair to compare to the countless other digital boxes I've had in the past. The amp tomes are pretty tweakable and sound reasonably like a CD recording of that amp.

Looks good and sturdy. It;s a table top thing, not for a gig.

I haven't had to contact them yet.

I have a lot of gear, been playing for 12 years, in a band for 4 of them. I am not a pro and chos are rusty. My opinion is that a relative novice could develop a lot of jam tracks for the band and paste a real drum track over the e drums. It is great for working on timing and intro to computer recording (my reason for buying it)
M Audio makes good products, Roger Linn makes good products. It is a good product. I think the guitar tracks would be a little juicier with an Aphex Guitar X Citer or a BBE something or other. No complaints, it's a good piece to have around

I had high hopes for this unit after seeing a video demo from NAMM '05 but I am somewhat underwhelmed by the performance. I bought it sight unheard as soon as it was released. Like most things it's fairly easy to use once you know how, editing patches is similar to other amp sim/EFX boxes out there. There is a limited set of adjustments available. The manual is PDF only, a minor annoyance. There is a quick start pamphlet that is helpful however.

I am using this as an aux front end to my Mac-based ProTools DAW, usually with a Strat. I've no desire to use this as a live EFX unit. I find the inherent noise on par with POD's and other such digital multi-efx; not too bad, very workable. The non-adjustable internal noise gate is a a bit of a pain. Tha lack of some compression and reverb seems strange to me. Then again this unit seems really geared towards distorted amp tones and they sound somewhat compressed already and there is a very useful delay that covers a lot of ambient ground.

I find the majority of the presets over the top for my tastes, depending heavily on overdriven tones. No surprise here, most manufacturers do much the same thing. The presets are there to show you what's possible not necessarily what sounds best. Just like any multi-efx unit or synth you gotta get your hands dirty and make this beast your own to really find satisfaction.

The limited set of amp models sound fine and useable to me although I don't understand why the Twin and Deluxe settings sound so thin. I much prefer the Bassman and AC-30 for clean and crunch tones. The harder sounds come in a variety of timbres and I recognize them all and within limits the all sound fine. You don't have the number of adjustable parameters to tweak that you have on many other multi-efx so you take what it offers and move on.

The main reason for the BB however is the beat-synchronized EFX. Here is something new and interesting for many guitarists and although some uses aren't readily apparent I'm sure we'll think of something. There is inspiration in here, especially with the included drum beats that the EFX sync to. The BB will also time-sync to your DAW via a USB connection that makes it very friendly to folks like me. The ability to sync these tremolos, flanges, delays and filters in various ways to your tempo is a standout and a lot of fun to experiment with.

None of the sims or EFX in the Black Box are the best or the worst I've experienced. Again, it all becomes a lot clearer when you start making your own patches. Sometimes ignoring what it says and just going by ear is helpful. All in all this should make getting good sounding and interesting guitar and bass tracks into ProTools easier. That's another thing - using the Bassman sim with very little (or no) overdrive makes for a very convincing bass sound - better than I ever got going direct with anything else without a lot of EQ tweaking.

This thing breaks some new ground like its predecessor the Adrenalinn II and should be evaluated on the potential of the whole package. In this manner I think the Black Box sounds good and is very musical and useful. Examine the inner workings by themselves however won't impress you much compared to what's already out there. I think a good imagination is a key ingredient for using this to its best advantage.

The unit feels fairly solid but I'm not sure if I would gig with it. It seems more at home right where it is - in front of the computer DAW. All the connectors and adjustments work as advertised, I expect it will do just fine if not manhandled too much.

M-Audio was responsive via email when I had a technical question and they are now part of the JBL/Digidesign/Avid umbrella so there is a vested interest in keeping the quality high. Time will tell on the other things.

I've been a F/T player (with a break for video game development) since 1970. My productions skew towards AAA pop/rock and acoustic americana, no "alt" anything here. Strats, Teles and Fender combo amps (including a Cyber Deluxe) along with various acoustic guitars are where I live. If I lost this BB I might audition the Adrenalinn II first. I think it might have more of what I really like about this unit. It is a slight oddball effect IMHO but that's what makes it interesting.

It offers sonic capabilities that I haven't really had before and I look forward to exploring some new ground. How useful it will turn out to be remains to be seen but I think the potential is great. i wish it had more (or better) clean and crunch amp options and perhaps that will come later. I understand the Black Box is upgradeable via the USB connection and I will keep my eyes open for this from M-Audio.

I suggest you really try this thing out first before purchasing, it may inspire you or it might not. I appreciate the novelty most of all and I look forward to what will come that probably wouldn't have without it. The included "Live" software is a bonus especially if you are just getting started using a computer for recording however as an old hand with ProTools, Performer and other "old school" applications I find it more frustrating than anything else. You know what they say about us old dogs...

This unit couldn't be much easier to use. Press the FX key and the 4 FX parameters apear on the LCD. Under each parameter is an encoder you use to change the value. This works the same for editing the amps, the delay and the utilities. The only thing I needed the manual for was learning how to assign the pedal functions.

I'm using this in my home studio with a pair of powered Mackie monitors and I think the thing sounds great! I've owned many guitar effects processors over the years. A few Zoom units and every version of the Line 6 POD. To my ear, these amp models sound more natural to me. The POD sounds great, but it sounds like a POD. These models sound much more like amps to me. I love the Soldano, the Maverick and the AC-30 especially.
The beat-sync effects are a blast! Setting up beat sync delays and tremolos is so easy.
The fact that the sync locks to incoming MIDI clock from my DAW is amazing! Nothing else does this.
Although the Black Box does not have as many paramters as the POD, it doesn't need as many parameters to make it sound good.

It seems to be built well. I have it mounted on a mic stand in my studio. This makes it easy for me to stand and play and make edits. I don't have a problem viewing the LCD that I've heard a few people complain about. I also have an expression pedal and two momentary pedals hooked up. So far so good.

I called tech support because of the noise gate issue that others have complained about. They explained how to change the noise gate settings. Apparently these functions were added after the manual was written. An FAQ on the subject is on the M-Audio website. You simply press the TAP TEMPO key and the drumbeat up or down button at the same time to make adjustments. This was the only issue that was bothering me. Now that this is cleared up I'm a happy guy.

I think this unit is a godsend! I love just jamming along with iTunes via USB. I tap the tempo of the song and all of the effects line up. Assigning the pedals is really easy and powerful. I've been using the expression pedal to control delay volume, one momentary pedal for FX on/off and one momentary pedal for drum machine start/stop. I've been using Black Box with MOTU Digital Performer for recording. It works perfectly. I can now get rid of my POD XT, my DR-660 drum machine and my M-Audio Mobile Pre.

It's not that it's not fairly easy to use, but it takes a while to get used to the fact that some things don't work the way you expect, and in fact some are simpler than you were assuming. But, for example, I keep hitting the "utility" button thinking it has what I need, but it only has four parameters, preset volume, guit/drums balance, expression pedal assign and tempo. Aside from actual sound changing, with the amps drive or tine or the fx, there aren't any other adjustments available. In trying to make it a $250 box I don't fault Linn for that approach. But I kept clipping the input with every guitar I fed into it and it sent me looking for an internal level control or anything that would allow me to use some of my hotter pick-upped guitars with it without clipping at the lowest input setting, and I guess I'm out of luck. Even passive mildly hot humbuckers seem to be a problem. I can't imagine what the top 75% of the input range is for.
Regardless, the box isn't hard to suss out, but do not buy it on the notion that with the included "Live Lite 4 Guitar" software will have you making demos any time soon. This has to be the WORST software given its purpose I've ever been depressed enough to have to slog through. It's not just not intuitive...it's counter intuitive. I've been running ProTools and DPerformer sessions with hordes of clients and musicians hovering over me ever since the first versions of both, and this thing has me both scratching my head and banging it against the wall. Major bummer. You get four tracks but the limitations of it are huge, and the interface makes Tracktion seem fun to use, in comparision. If you have something else to input it to, you'll be way happier than wrestling with this horror show. Yeah, I know it's only for getting ideas down, but consider yourself warned: it's a scratch pad, nothing more.

Here's the biggest downer though: I figured if it has two or three sounds I go to often it'll be worth it. Anything else is gravy. Doesn't look like that's the case though, although I've only had it for a week and will give it more time. I've used modelers from most of the major manufacturers, and for a while used the Amp Farm plug in (Line 6, same as the Pod) extensively for a year, and the BB seems to rate near the bottom so far. I had high hopes for it, but have been dissapointed with the models for the most part. As with most products, you need to kill all the presets, because they're smothered with delay and distortion. Of the 100 presets that you check out upon first firing it up, 60% are heavy amps on 11, and 75% of the ones that aren't are maxed out with beat synced fx, which hopefully is a real plus for you. Personally, I need more great clean and slightly crunched sounds, and I'm not getting them backing off the drive on the models. I'll keep at it, but these are my impressions after a week. It may turn out to be a perfectly fine home doodlebox, but I don't envision bringing it to the studio to lay tracks with it.

Seems well built. Don't think I'd bring it on a gig in the first place.

Never dealt with them. God bless Roger Linn, though. I've heard several first hand stories of how great he was helping with Linn gear. M-audio, dunno.

I produce and record professionally in NYC. Yada yada yada. Been at it for 25 years. All kinds. I really wanted to love the BB, but so far I don't. The problem is, heavy, heavy wacko sounds are really not that hard to get using anything. Great not heavy sounds are (moreso), so it may just be a case of me not being in the niche. I don't want to slam it for what it isn't, though. But since I have plenty of cheap boxes (as well as expensive ones) that get great sounds that I pull out often, I thought for the price it would be worth the risk. Plus I don't own my own stomp box modeler that I could use at home or travel with, so i figured, what the hey, order it. I'm hoping a firmware upgrade helps. In the meanwhile, as the questionaire asks, if it were stolen I'd get something else.

Very easy to use. There are two manuals (the second being in pdf format on one of the 2 CD-ROMs that come with the BB) which overlap in content, but omit some very important features. The 'knowledge' section of M-Auio's website is a good resource for additional information.

The large LED display and the four rotary knobs beneath make editing a breeze. The downside being that there are very few parameters that can acually be tweaked. For example, there's no mid control for the amp sims and the drum sounds cannot be edited at all.

Here's where it gets interesting. Reviews on the sound quality of this product have been generally negative, while the AdrenaLinn gets consistently high marks in this same category. Roger Linn's website has a page comparing the BB to the AdrenaLinn and many of the sounds are apparently identical. Could the people who've purchased the BB have higher expectations?

The noise gate is factory set at '3', which cuts the decay off of sustained notes in a very unmusical way. I'd rather deal with the noise which is inherent in high gain amp simulations. The amp sims themselves are more trebley than the original patches used in the AdrenaLinn. Some people may like this, but I find myself rolling off the highs on most of the presets. The chorus sounds are OK, but limited to depth & speed adjustment. The AdrenaLinn has aditional parameters (resonance, for example) which might explain why some are dissappointed with the sound quality.

The beat synched tremolo/filters/flangers are simply mind-blowing. There's nothing else out there (except the AdrenaLinn) that does this. The arpeggiators also have to be heard to be believed, but I don't know how useful they'll be in a musical context. The talk-box sims are very good and there's even a 2.8 second looper that, when synched to a beat, is a lot of fun to play with.

Considering that this is an amp simulator itself, it sounds best direct or thru' a PA. It was not meant to be plugged into a guitar amp and is really more of a recording device. I haven't had an opportunity to use the recording software included.

Seems sturdy enough. It comes with a bracket for mounting on a mic stand. Good idea, as this thing was not made to sit on the floor. It also gets very hot, and needs as much ventilation as possible.

Haven't used it live yet. It's more of a 'stand alone' device and doesn't really work well in my long signal chain of analog stompers.

The product comes with a standard manufacturers warranty, and customer suport has been excellent so far. An M-Audio rep has answered every question I've had very thoroughly and promptly.

I love this thing. They've packed alot of features into a small, inexpensive package. I'm using an Alesis CF1 combo foot controller to manipulate the sounds in real time. I've got the footswitches configured to stop/start and change the tempo of the drum machine and am using the expression pedal as a wah, tho' there are other options detailed on pages 14 and 15 of the pdf manual.

This box has been designed as an 'AdrenaLinn Lite' for dumb guitarists like me, but I've been having so much fun with it that I'll probably get an AdrenaLinn as well for the additional features and tweakability.

I am playing with a crappy guitar w/humbuckers and recording directly to the computer. Sounds pretty good... Some effects do sound quite digital but maybe that's because they are digital. I like the arpeggios. They are different than other effects pedals. That's the main reason I bouth it - the arpeggios...

Only had it about a week. Cannot comment on reliability.

As another reviewer noted, the LCD can only be viewed at extreme angles - like 45 degrees or more. It can't be viewed from straight on. I think this sucks. I emailed tech support and their only response was: the "LSD" cannot be adjusted. Apparently this thing's on acid or something... I emailed a second time to ask if the viewing angle thing was normal and got the same response as the first time. They did respond with a couple days, so I guess I'll give 'em a three.

The Black Box is what I have been looking for sound-wise. The performance of the display though, leads me to contemplate sending it back. It shouldn't be so hard to read.

Very easy to use.
M-Audio only includes a quick start guide in the box. The complete manual is on their website. Anyway I feel like these docs had been written independently or by different people. I mean that the downloadable manual doesn't actually seem an extension of the quick start guide or the quick start guide a summary of the complete manual.
Both docs are multilingual.

Amps are not very good. They tend to sound too digital.
Anyway, after some/many tweaking I managed to get some decent tones.
Effects are not that good either.

It seems somehow fragile for gigging though in the studio it is ok.
IMO the most unreliable thing is the 4 central knobs whereas the connectors are high quality.

I have always gotten good support through M-Audio website.

I mainly purchased the Black Box because of its tempo synched effects and the built-in drum machine. Personally, I think it is worth having the Black Box just because of these two features.
I use it for practicing and getting some ideas. The tempo synched/drum patterns thing is quite inspiring for a guitarist/composer.
For serious recording and gigging I rely on the tones I get from another preamp and effects.

EASY TO USE,EDTING IS SIMPLE,HAS A MANUAL AND A CD NO NEED FOR EITHER VERY SIMPLE TO OPERATE.

ITS GOT A NICE SOUND VERY USUABLE PATCHES I PLAY DIRECT THRU COMPUTER OR HOME STEREO.

GREAT MACHINE FOR THE GUY THAT PLAYS AT HOME,AND WANTS TO JAM WITH A KILLER DRUM MACHINE, GIVES YOU ALOT OF DIFFERENT AMP MODELING AND EFFECTS FOR UNDER 300 DOLLARS NOT DESIGNED FOR AMP OR GIG'S,USE THIS THRU YOUR HOME STEREO FLAT EQ OR PC AND YOU WILL LOVE IT ANYTHING ELSE YOU WONT

Pretty simple interface really.
One thing that threw me was finding the 100 "user" presets. They're stacked up above the standard presets, and since they share all the same settings as the first 100 I kept thinking I was still on the standards. My "doh."

Editing patches is easy which is a good thing as imo, almost every one of them needed tweaking. It would be nice if the drum pattern settings would "stick" w/ the preset once it's edited - tempo and drum/delay settings all stick, but the basic drum pattern doesn't seem too. Hopefully they can fix this with a firmware upgrade?

The manual clears up a lot of the simple things, but I get the feeling that they've left a lot out too.

Once tweaked, the amps sound pretty good thru my Peavey Classic. I haven't noticed excessive any unit noise. But it does seem strange to me that the "heavier" amps (anything that isn't a Fender, iow) have a lot of "dirt" even when the gain is off. Hardly seems accurate, but I've got zippo in the way of experience w/ modelers so...

At first, it seemed like a "dry thru" signal would be a good thing, but then I figured out how to tweak and save a user preset to "close enough for Jazz" settings.

I've only ever owned one stomper, but compared to that (the Boss SC,) the chorus onboard the BB seems a bit limited, but I'm still learning so... The thing is that having never owned a Flanger, or a Delay, or an Appegiator, Autowah or Filter effect and other etc.s' to the nth degree, I am Having a Blast playing with this thing!

Beat-synched Tremelos alone are worth the price of admission, imo.

I can't really speak to the reliability, yet. It seems fairly robust. I would worry about toppling it off a mike stand in a gig setting, tho'.

I had a question wrt hooking the BB up to my XP and filed a RFI on the m-audio site. Two weeks later, LONG after I figured it out myself, I sent them a second email. I mentioned that I'd be mentioning their lameness in "my review." I got a response to that one within two hours... That get's 'em a "1".

Hopefully, they'll get their act together and sell a ton of these. Maybe even get their own forum going for us self helper types. There's already a yahoo group going, but it's still waiting for members.

For 30 years I've been mostly an acoustic folker, with one short stint in a punk band in the early 80s. I've done most of my playing on a 000-28, but I've also got a Squire tele, my Wurly piano, a really nice mandolin and most recently, an Eastman AR804CE (Wow, btw.) For amps there's the Peavey and a Roland Cube60.

I was to record mandolin onto the computer. At the same time I wanted a drum machine to make "metrognome-ing" more fun. Then, getting that beautiful AR804 made me really want to play more electric, but even with my small rep of "standards" I still enjoy playing Rock, Folk-rock and (what I'd have to confessedly call) Country more.

I was talking all of this over w/ my Brother (the REAL guitarist in the fambly) and he referred me to the m audio site. I listened to the demos, watched the video and bought the thing the next day, completely clueless as to what else was out there.

So far, I'm enjoying the heck out of it. It's a great tool for headphone practice and general rocking-out to the drum machine. While I'm looking forward to "jamming-out" w/ friends on it, so far I'm still in a "selfish-discovery" phase. Hooking it up to the XP and recording a few backing tracks was no problem whatsoever, but even more I've enjoyed playing it LOUD.

If it broke tomorrow, I'd look into Pods and Adrenalynns, but whatever I got would HAVE to have beats and beat-synched effects.

I've got a small list of improvements and additions that I'd like to see happen, but all in all, and considering what it cost, I wouldn't recommend against getting one.