M-Audio Black Box

This is for Black Box Reloaded version. It is easy to get good sounds from the black box. The amp sims are great, and the tempo synced effects are a blast. Patch editing is easy enough, but there are a few buttons to press and knobs to turn to get there. The manual answered all of my questions.

I run this directly into my computer for recording purposes. It's drivers work as expected and the direct monitoring from the device eliminates latency. When using an amp I use a 60W Peavey with a Sheffield speaker. This is a clean sounding device. All of the effects are very good. The tempo syncing effects are very interesting for the electronic musician as the allow midi editing/following. I do not try to sound like my fav artists, but I don't see why you couldn't.

It is plastic and will mount to a mic stand. I wouldn't want to drop it, but I will using during a gig. It has been dependable for the 3 months I've owned it.

M-audio = solid products at good prices. Web support has been great, and I've never had to call them (I own many of their products). Drivers available easily from their website. They also have a toneroom site for this product for the sharing of patches.

I create electro-rock. This tool is especially suited to computer music. It is a perfect match for my needs. I have been playing guitar for 5 years. I also own a Boss GT-6. I would buy another if this were lost or damaged. I love that this is an effects box, an amp sim, a tuner (hold the buttons very briefly to engage), an audio interface (also has a mic input)and a sound card. I hate that there is no accompanying foot pedal, but they do sell one (I use an FCB 101 for this purpose). It also has basic drum tracks to play along with, so also a great practice tool. It is simple once set up, and the effects are inspiring. It's midi capabilities make it extremely versatile (which matters not to most guitarists, and is probably why it's been discontinued). A great value used.

Relatively good design

I want less frills and more good clean sound options. I ended up using essentially only 3 different amp models in the BlackBox. The sound I got out of it for those options was good.

My BlackBox died! I can no longer output to my amp or accept mic input.

M-Audio basically ignored my claims. Actually, I had to wait a month just to receive their automated response, and that is all I have gotten from them. Let's not support companies like that! Read above stories on bad service from M-audio.

Honestly when your product breaks, the overall rating tanks.

Based on 3 days use (more later) very easy. We immediately upgraded online to 2.3 with loads of new amp models etc. which again was a doddle. At this point we were happy bunnies.

OK, interesting amp models and a decent reverb. Not as good as my Pod XT, but that's not the point, I was looking for a a new tool and for 3 days this was it... The clean sounds from the expanded amp set were excellent, and by just tweaking it you can really get a retro feel from Nashville to Sun Studios. Some great Spaghetti Western twanging 'verbs.

PS: I'm sure you can get all the post-Hendrix 'I can't play but I love to widdle my fingers around with a fuzz boz on' saw tooth distortion options as well but if that's the sound you are after I'd go for a Rolf Harris Stylophone.

CANNOT DEPEND ON IT AT ALL.

Bought from a main dealer in Central London, brand new, ??100. Switched it on, checked it was OK, then had to leave to do work abroad and build a new studio. Returned to it a year and month later and switched it on, downloaded the new upgrade and spent 3 days (perhaps 7 hours total) using it successfully when it suddenly croaked. So barely 8 hours into its working life I rang M-Audio.....(to be continued)

(continued from above)...and M-Audio said, "sorry mate it's a MONTH out of warranty so we won't even look at it unless you send us 40 quid NON-REFUNDABLE even if we CANNOT fix it." So where's the incentive?

It had already cost more than 12 quid an hour thus far for the honour of ownership and now M-Audio want want more just to look at it. If they had fixed it we would have probably griped, paid the extra and put it down to the evils of the corporate culture that owns pop music. But with no agreement other than "we'll have a look" we were not prepared to throw good money after bad.

And just to make it clear - it has not been dropped, shocked, used as a beer mat, mouse trap or frisbee, soaked in liquid, connected to bad supply or nailed to a wall. It had lived its life in a box in a studio and was got out to use on 4 OCCASIONS, 3 of which it worked.

Consequently we abandoned any thoughts of an M-Audio based recording set up - which this was to be part of - so M-Audio's loss in the end.

UPDATE: I put the Black Box on eBay and it was bid to three quid with twelve hours to go when I decided the box was worth three quid to me to keep my unpaid utility bills in and I'll use the Black Box as an illuminated coffee cup stand once I get the courage to get it out of the drawer again.

NO IFS, NO BUTS, ABSOLUTELY THE WORST SERVICE EVER. IT'S M-AUDIO'S DEVICE SO IF THEY HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN BEING ABLE TO FIX ANY BUG WHAT CONFIDENCE DOES IT INSTILL IN CUSTOMERS?

WE SHOULD HAVE USED THE MONEY TO GO TO THE RACES. AT LEAST WE MIGHT HAVE BACKED A WINNER. 100 QUID WASTED AND NO COMEBACK - 'NUFF SAID....!

This unit ain't overly user friendly but a little time spent with it and you should be able to find your way around without much problem. I didn't have a manual when I bought it (second hand) so I just twisted dials and was able to do a fair amount. Later in the day I downloaded the manual and didn't learn a whole lot more than I did by just playing with it.

I play a Godin SDxt through a Behringer V-Tone GMX 212, a Alvarez AD60SC and a Epiphone Viola bass. I played guitar as a teenager and then lost the guitar and the interest for about 20 years and only started playing again about ten years ago. I play mostly church, and classic rock and classic country such as Cash and Beatles.
I didn't find this unit noisy but I don't push the high end either.
Some of the effects are better than others, play around with it. Some work better with a humbucker pickup and other with a single coil.
My advice is to mess around with the setting till you find what you like, there sure ain't no lack of variety.

This seems to be a fairly solid little unit, I would use it on a gig for sure.

Never had to deal directly with them but I have been to their web site for the manual download and it was easy to get.

For what I need: amateur recording, occasional gigs and fun with sounds at home, this is a great unit for me. What I like about it is the drum machine, the sycn, the variety of effects and the fact that it doubles as a midi device. I haven't tried it with GarageBand yet but I will soon.

Fairly simple layout, although not entirely intuitive. Exhibits some strange behaviors when switching between functions. Lacks a power switch which really says "CHEAP" to me. Can only handle one input at a time.

I use this mainly as an input device for Pro Tools. The on board sounds are terrible. Too many artifacts and digital noise, especially in the high register.

Cheaply built, often switches from Bypass to the Vox setting on its own. I would never take this to a gig whether I had a backup or not.

If it were stolen or lost it would not be missed. It fails in its most important function: sound quality.

I've used various amp modellers/pre-amps/recording interfaces over the years and this one has it's strong and weak points. It has a limited number of parameters to adjust but the ones it provides seems to be well chosen and very effective. Compared to the vast number of parameters that my Line 6 POD XT live has, this unit is definately much simpler to get to terms with. The firmware update makes things slightly more complex because of the "shift" functions, but they are definately worthwhile and dont take too long to get used to. One thing I do find iritating, is the 4 rotary encoders used to adjust the various parameters seem to be a bit touchy and tend to leep from one extreme to another rather than a smooth linear adjustment. I had some issues trying to get ProTools M-Powered to select the Black Box as the hardware interface over my M-Audio Firewire 410. ProTools can see the Black Box but wont select it unless I reboot the PC with the Firewire 410 turned off then everything works OK - annoying but not a critical problem. Also, there is no adjustment for the viewing angle for the LCD. When I first got it and turned it on, I thought the display was faulty, but realised that you must view the screen from an angle in front of the unit, not direcly above. The users manual is in PDF form (like a lot of other brands these days) which I find annoying and cheap but at least everything is available as a download. Speaking of downloads, I have to give M-Audio full marks on making the firmware upgrade a free download. I would expect any manufacturer to make firmware updates that address bugs and faults free, but this update is a complete makeover with heaps of new sounds and features - fantastic & well worth it. For once, I've actually found an effect process that has some great useable presets out of the box! The high-gain patches are very good and require minimal tweaking to get good useable tones.

I use the unit mainly for recording & practice but also I have found some of the beat sync'ed effects can take my creative juices of in directions I would not normally go - they can be really quite inspiring. The noise gate is pretty effective at keeping the noise on high-gain setting under control. As far as sounds go, I'd put this up against my POD XT Live without a problem - it's not quite as varied in it's selection of different tones but what patches are available are very good, especially mid to high gain. Very easy to get "the record" sound of your favourite artist. Effects are all good with the tweaking that is available, no where near as tweakable as most other units but still effective all the same.

Plastic case with metal base, slightly flimsy knobs - don't think I'd like to gig with it but then I don't really think it was designed as a live unit.

Havn't needed to contact customer support but the website is vey good. FAQ seem to cover most general problems.

Great unit with very usable sounds, bougt the unit second hand for AUS$110.00 (retails for AUS$399.00)so I really can't complain. From what I have found with the Black Box, I really don't think it deserves some of the negative comments some people have thrown at it. For a recording pre-amp system to get a great sound into your PC or multitrack recorder, I really think you could do much worse than the Black Box - just make sure it's upgraded with the V2 firmware.

Not easy to edit or change patches.

Won't work with Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Good if somewhat limited. Reverb is pretty limited.

It seems moderately solid

Crap

I made the mistake of buying the Black Box. It doesn't work with Windows Media Center Edition. I found that out when I couldn't get the ASIO drivers to open and I sent a support request to M-Audio. They told me they only support the use of this device with Pro or Home.

I can't use this for what I bought it for which was to record into Ableton Live 5.

The box itself is ok as a digital multi-effects box but you can do better with Line 6 or Zoom. These boxes have more flexibility.

As as stand alone unit is very easy to use. I mean, all the buttons and knobs have their label, and with the upgrade you just need to read the screen if you can't remember the double tap menu. The presets are ok and they represent a very good (not the best!) usage of every effect or amp. Editing patches its very easy, just have to look at the screen. Manuals are ok, as said the "upgraded" one is the best.
If you have problems dealing with delay times using measures and tempo, you can also use miliseconds, but the combination of measures and tempo makes it really easy to get what you want, specially when you have the tempo saved with your presets.

I haven't used this unit to make many recordings (although it was the main purpose when I bought it!). I am mostly using it as a modulation and delay unit (amp sim's off). Having said that, you'll guess I run the unit trough the loop effects of the amp. Right now I'm using a Ibanez RG270 trough Boss SD1 or DS1 (Analogman modded), to a Marshall Valvestate S265. Thoug it's not an exceptional setup I can really get very very intersting tones, enough to play very fine covers. So, getting back to the BB, I can fairly say that it almost doesn't colour your guitar tone. I mean, when delay and effects are off, you can unplug it from the loop and barely note it. I don't particuarly like the choruses, but the rest of the effects are ok (rotary speaker's are great). The delay it's nice, and as I said has the plus of tempo and measure settings, so by tapping the tempo you can adjust very easily to your needs. The way I'm using this unit, some of the effects doesn't sound as good as they sound when hooked to a computer, but they can give you lots of good uses. As an example I can play "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" with my DS1 distortion, instead of using the amp simulation that the preset patch loads. Also the sweep efect its ok to play stuff like Vertical Horizon's "Every thign you want" riff (using DS1 and 535q wah)

I upgraded the unit a couple of days after buying it, to get the feeling of both worlds. After I upgraded it, a problem started with the delay program, it was kinda pop pop pop along with tempo setting. Once this problem shows, the only way to "eliminate" it it's by RESETING TO FACTORY SETTINGS... and loose all of your presets. So every time it happens, I have to download again from my computer all the presets, and this is not a nice situation if you're gigging. So when I have to rig, must carry the usb cable and a laptop to prevent the pop problem. Besides that, no other problem that I noticed.
(I understand this is not a live performance multieffects machine, but this isn't a nice situation even if you are recording at home...)

The pop problem lead me to contact M-Audio techs trough the web's support in their site (I live in Costa Rica). The problem this approach has it's that forces you to get three or four automated responses suggesting to upgrade the machine and checking the connections). It tooked about a week to get someone "into" the problem. They could not solve my problem, the final opinon it's that it could have "a hardware failure", and the case was closed. And maybe it is a damage in my unit, but it would be more expensive for me to send this forward to the US and back then, so I learned to live with the pop. :(

I've been playing for almost 15 years with up's and down's. I like instrumental rock mostly, but always tried to get any guitar tone and effect as close as I hear it on records (right now I'm in a cover's band, playing U2, The Cure, Greenday, Vertical Horizon, Queen, etc. and I need versatility on the effects to get the closest sounds). When I bought the BB (for recording purposes only) I was using a Zoom 3030 for delay's and modulation in live enviroments, and the sound quality I got from the BB moved me to replace the Zoom with the BB, even for those live situations. Tough it's not designed for live applications, I've managed the way to make it flexible on stage, by combining the exp pedal and the other two pedals to control effects and delays. I just wish it wouldn't have the pop problem. For the price, It's a very good deal, not only I got a good effect unit, but an good computer interface and an excelent simulation machine.
I guess I had bad luck with the pop problem, no one else have mentioned it here, so I suppose I could reccomend this unit, at least with the usage I'm giving to it I can say it give's me what I need.

It's fairly easy to use. I was able to get some good sounds out of the box. Editing is easy. I didn't need the manual to figure it out. I didn't upgrade the firmware right away. I wanted to get a good taste of it before I did. It took a few tries and don't know what I did different the last time I tried, but it worked. There should be more help from M-Audio on this issue.

I bought this from Musicians Friend and received the foot pedal with two switches as a bonus! The foot pedal is very easy to connect and program! It's pretty hard to beat a deal like this.

I bought this because I needed a good sound that I can take with me when I travel. I wear headphones, and it works great for that purpose. It is only noisy on high gain settings as you'd find in playing through a real high gain amp. I like clean sounds anywhere on the dial up to total distortion depending on the project. I think the delay is good, but am not totally impressed with any of the other effects. They may be good, but I don't get into over effecting a good natural sounding guitar. The overdriven amp sounds are impressive. I've never heard a better digital recreation with any of the other high end units on the market.

It seems reliable. I wouldn't gig with it since I already have and use the amps this box is imitating.

Their web site is pretty good. I've never delt with them, so I don't have an opinion.

I play varied styles. Clean bluegrass and folk acoustics, surf, classic rock, blues, old metal to Steve Vai type stuff. I've played guitar since about 1963... played in several bands through the 70s, 80s and 90s. I, currently, like to play in roadhouses. Those crowds are very good to me. That's where the fun is. I'd probably buy another if were lost. I like it for what it is, a small package I can take on the road and play without disturbing the next hotel room. I don't hate anything about it. I've owned a Digitech GNX4, Boss ME50 and a Digitech RP10. All of those work very well and I don't have a complaint with any of them. I just like the small package and sound of the Black Box. It sounds great in my PA, but less impressive through my Fender Twin Reverb.

This is with firmware v2. There is a bit of a learning curve with this device. Most of it is pretty straight forward(if you've worked with Line6 Pods you'll probably ave no trouble), but, you do have to remember what button gets you to what secondary screen when you double tap, hold down, etc. However, the manuel is easy to follow and informitive. Saving patches is a synch, editing effects can be tedious(for example, it took me an hour to figure out exactly how to tweak the autowah. but it works out well. <br>I did have quite a bit of trouble with the blackbox software. I had to reload it several times before it would recognize my blackbox and allow me to upgrade the unit to the new firmware, and I am still having a few problems with its drivers and hooking it up to the computer, but I have an older system, so it could be as simple as that.

My setup is a Yamaha Pacifica(tele model, GFS Bigmouths, Active circuits, usually played with inner coils running parallel-[megaswitch P-Switch])straight into the Blackbox with Cheap Sony Headphones or plugged into a very nice PA (which I don't own and have no idea how to run or even what brand it is). <br>
I never heard this unit with the original firmware on it, so I can't compare it like those posted below me. My first experiance on getting it up and running was plucking a few notes and thinking, "my God, thats awesome." The Bassman model I was on at that time is very, very nice, does it sound exactly like a Bassman, no, but, it sounds very good. <br>
Most of my experiance comes from Fenders so I can say with a bit of validity that this unit does Fender very well. As for the other amp models, I'm not completely sure if they replicate that sound very well, but most of them sound good. I've never played much with VOX, Marshall, Budda, or any of the others. <br> The 'black box custom' models I'm not sure about, 'Solid' IS ok, but many of the others I can't really see myself using. 'Hollow' is a bit weird. 'Octave is pretty neat though' Is it noisy? No, at least not for me, I don't play much (or at all) with high gain, but there is a noise gate if you think you need it.<br> The effects really shine. They make this unit stand out from anything the others (Line6, zoom, Berhinger, etc) have to offer. Most can be beat synched, The TremoloSynch is pretty neat, kinda of a trance like sound. The Appargator is neat too. The SciFi sounds are unuseable though, why put those in? I didn't like the wah at first, but its starting to grow on me(even though I have my own wah pedal and don't need the blackbox for that particular effect). <br> For effects, this unit has almost anything you need and most of the stuff you want(well, almost...no phaser): Compressor, EQ, Drive, Noise Gate, Tremolo, Chorus, Pan, Delay, Reverb, Flanger, Wah, Talk, Auto Wah, Auto Talk, Filter Sequence, Tremolo Sequence, Appagetor, Fixed Filter, Rotary, a few others I can't think of right now, and some midi controled effects I have no idea how to use). Oh yeah, and 99 beats and grooves you can play along with at your own tempo.<br> In defiance to the people below who said this thing probably shouldn't be used live, I did, in fact finally get to use it live the other night. Turned a few heads, namely the other guitarist and the soundguy. Sounds beautiful through a PA(I wouldn't play it directly into a guitar amp, thats not what it was designed for...it would probably work good in a keybooard amp). Very nice saturation in the PA.

Yeah, the top is made of plastic, but the bottom and back is solid metal, which leads me to think most of the chasis is metal under that plastic. Still, its not a stomp box, so don't stomp on it and you'll be fine. Used it at a gig the other day and it worked great.

N/A, hopefully never will be.

I play mostly Praise and Worship. I've been playing since '98. If it were lost or stolen I couldn't affor to get a new one. This is a great value. I used a POD v2 for a few years (never owned it, just used it twice a week at the church). It was between this unit and the POD v2 at the same price. I chose the Blackbox because it had more effects(and control over those effects), more amps, drum loops, mic in, and digital out, as well as a large, easy to see and understand, user interface. Its also about 2 years newer technology. <br> What do I wish it had? Control over speaker sims, a software based editor, and a larger online tone library. Its a gret song writting tool and works great live.

Sounds are easy to get. The new firmware upgrade is awesome! really makes it into a whole other machine than what it used to be. My complaint is that it was a nightmare to install. I tried at least 7 times to get it done. I ended up going to the Yahoo Groups Black Box User site and found the fix.
Haven;t edited patches yet, but it is a menu deal like many effectors. Shouldn't be a problem.
Manual seems fine, especially after printing out the updated one.

I have only listened through headphones so far while playing my G&L Legacy, but the sounds are great. It really let the Straty sound of the Legacy shine through. I love the Bassman model. Many of the models are very good. Noisy? A few patches, but not any noisier than the amps would be that are being modeled.
Effects sound fine, although the choruses and such aren't as creamy as my Visual Sound H20. Where it shines is with the sync'd effects. Having them automatically be in time with the built-in drum machine or an external source is very cool.
All in all, this will be a great recording tool. I don't need it for liive use right now, but I wouldn't be scared to use it that way.

Don't know yet. It seems ruggedly built, but with all computer chip driven items, I guess it could get wiggy. This isn't against M-Audio; just the nature of the beast.

I sent an email a week ago before I bought it to ask a question. Haven't heard a thing back yet. I tried calling today to get my firmware issue resolved, and was on hold for about 10 minutes. I tracked the solution down via Yahoo Groups before anyone came on the phone. I just had a computer built, and the guy put the M-Audio Audiophile sound card in it. It was a few months before he was able to get them to give us a driver fix for a pop and click issue. This doesn't speak well for them as being customer-friendly.

This is a great bargain with the firmware upgrade additions and the free Black Box footswitch that was included. It will be an awesome recording addition, and will be great for a portable practice or small gig rig for me. I play CCM and lead worship, so it will be a good match for all that. I have lots of stuff I have accumulated over the years, and have been a gadget freak for a while. I can see replacing this with another one, since I am so impressed by the sounds of it. Having a drum machine and a mic pre and a direct recording interface in one box, along with a foot controller, all for $200.00 is amazing.
There are probably units out there that do certain things better than the Black Box, but none have the features and sounds for this money.
I give it an "8" only because of the firmware installation problems and the lack of customer support. Otherwise it would be a "10".

There's no doubt this is an easy unit to use, controls are pretty instinctive and common sense. Connecting to PC was ok, driver took a bit of fiddling to work, and Ableton requires some patience.

It is no possible to emphasise enough, as previous couple of reviews state, GET THE FIRMWARE UPGRADE (version 2.xx) - it addresses many of the moans on Harmony Central - M-Audio have well and truly sorted it out. Tweaks of the firmware were available before, but this upgrade actually increases the number of decent amp sounds and effects.

Before the upgrade I must agree the sound was weak - everything was too heavy, my Gibson SG pushed almost all the amps into a weak fuzzy sounding overdrive. SO WHAT - the units been completely re-programmed with the firmware upgrade and you can now get some great amp sounds out of it. Have only had it a day so I can't offer an exhaustive review of all the amp models, but the clean and slighly overdriven sounds I have been using are great - compares very favourably to my Vox modelling amp. Particularly like the Marshall and Fender models - they are good 'mature' amp sounds, great for blues or jazz. Conclusions - this isn't a toy for metelheads anymore but has some great usable amp models.

Some effects are nice too - numerous choruses and flanger sounds plus Roger Linn-style appregiators and trems. Unit has been criticised for 'computer music sounds' - there are some pretty out-there effects which may not be usable, at least its good fun!

Wouldn't gig it (its plastic!), brought it mainly as a USB interface for home recording. But seems sturdy enough.

I must say, the firmware upgrade was the reason i brought the unit, so from in that respect thumbs-up to m-audio. Plus a good website, manuals and a resource for sharing presets with other users. Not bad

OK - here's my take on Black Box. Its 99quid - thats the price of Pandoras box, a second hand Pod2 - or some zoom piece of plastic. BUT - its a USB interface which also works along (unlike toneport), with Mic-in, Ableton software, drum machine, etc. I admit, if you're not looking for a PC interface there are probably better units for the price. But to get you guitar onto computer this is an UNBELIEVABLE BARGAIN! Even with a basic usb-instrument interface and amp modelling software you'd spend well over #100. And this box is SO MUCH MORE. Yes it lacks 'vibe' and 'flare' - buts its functional, looks sleek and has real pots to control amp characteristics, volume etc. A lot of criticism has been thrown at the Block Box and, with the new upgrade, i don't think it deserves it. (for e.g. its not true that you cannot bypass the amp models or effects, or turn off the noise gate, & there are bass amp models and a mic-pre amp)
At the price the unit is selling for now (#99 at turnkey) i think it will genuinely be hard to beat.

Very easy to get a cool sound right out of the box. You do need the firmware upgrade to give it some mojo. It's a different box with this upgrade, no question about it. If you are using the version 1 firmware you are not talking about the same box.

There is a steep learning curve with the included Abelton software but worth the effort if you want to do some digital recording. This is what this thing is all about.

Get the firmware upgrade!!!!

The purpose of this thing is as a easy interface to your PC to recdord stuff and the amp sims are excellent!

It sounds killer with the firmmware upgrade. Did I mention this already?
Some people have tried to use this with an amp and that is not what it was meant for. Even the documentation does not expect you to use it with an amp.

Powered speakers? Ok that will work but not with an amp. It is not intended to be used with an amp.

The amp sims are quite good and get the essense of the amnp.

40 amp sims that work quite well.

Looks reliable. I am not ready to gig with this thing and although you couold use it for that purpose I cannot comment on it. It is a recording and practice tool. Mostly recording to a PC or Laptop.

I had a problem installing the latest drivers which included the firmware upgrade to v2. Called Customer support and the guy was way cool and kinowlegeable on this product. We did not resolve the problem right away but we made an appointment for the guy to call me back. He called right on time but I had resolved the issue without his help.

Very impressed by his callback right on time.

If you want to record stuff to your PC this is a great tool. It is also a great practice and jam/inspiration tool.

I would not hesitate to buy it again. The Line 6 toneport seems cool but this has way more features and the amp sims are easily as good if not better.

I have used alot of gear, so this was fairly easy to figure out, only looked at the manaul a couple of times

Through the phones it sounds fairly decent. using it through an amp was horribel, I think primarily because you cannot bypass the amp models. The effects are failry good, thoughalot of stuff I would never use, like synth sounding tremolos, etc.

Only had it a few days, so it lasted while I had it

No basis

OK, here is my main problem, and listen up all you gear manufacturers: this gear has absolutely no vibe, and did not elicit a bit of inspiration (with the exception of the looper). A piece of gear must be MUSICAL and INSPIRATIONAL and USEFUL, not just cool, convenient or a good copy of something else. This unit, in my humble opinion, failed in this regard and will not go down in history as a classic, must have unit (maybe that is not what they were going for). The first night it kept me entertained for a couple of hours through the headphones while I was surfing through the presets. But the next day when I plugged it into my amp I was very disappointed and starting figuring out how Musicians Friends return policy worked. I agree with many others in this forum who said that the sounds did not even come close to the demo (which was why I bought it). It is definitely not a good live unit.

I suppose you might like this unit if:
1. You are a new player and have never played through real analog and tube gear and so have no basis to compare this unit.
2. You need an inexpensive, all-in-one sollution for recording.
3. You like strange, electronic types of effects (blues and straight ahead rockers, stay away)
4. Money is no object and you can afford to but this for the one or two things it does well (I cannot, I have to get alot out of my gear to justify the cost).
5. You primarily record guitar direct and can spend time tweaking sounds in order to find a good one. I primaily mike tube amps to get tube amp sounds, and it is hard for me to go back to the direct guitar sound anymore.

Well...seems like I get the honor to review the reloaded version of the Black Box. Firmware upgrade on 17/03/2006.

Easy to use. Version 2 includes a new shift function giving you access to:
* mid control
* compressor
* 5 types of reverb

The updated user manual can be downloaded from the M-Audio website in pdf format and is very well written.
Once you get the picture, this enhanced Black Box is very easy to use.

I first bought the new Line 6 TonePort, which turned out to be a downer for me. Not because of the sound quality, I thought it sounded very good, but because of a chipset problem on my laptop(acer aspire 1804 3,2Ghz). Using TonePort, USB has an unreliable sound stream when controled by Intel series 915 chipsets. This would cause the stream to interrupt and replace the audio by nasty white noise every now and then. I tried a pcmcia usb card with a NEC chipset but the problem persisted. I eventualy got fed up, brought the TP back to the shop and swapped it for the Black Box. I had never heard of the BB before....

My first impressions were rather negative. It sounded metalic, dull and soulless. I didn't realy recognize the Plexi, Twin reverb etc
Also no reverbs, no compression, no bass amps...
I kept on playing for a couple of hours but in vain. I had already stored it away again in order to return it when I found out on the internet that a firmware upgrade had just been released.
Not having anything better to do on this rainy day, I started downloading and installing the firmware upgrade and gave it a second try.

Wwwhooooow... Now that's what I call good tone !!!!
If you have a BB, upgrade now!!!!!

It's a different product, it sounds alive, it sounds convincing.
The Bogner Extasy is a killersound.
There are 40 amps and 120 effects to chose from and they realy sound very good.
So far, the best I've heard in this range of products.
(I've tried out pretty much everything: korg, boss, line6, native instruments...)

The beat sync effects work very well. Very usefull.

No clue, just got it a few days ago. It looks sturdy though.

I don't want to find out...

I was looking for a not too expensive device/software being able to offer decent guitar and bass tones mainly for home recording activity and I am more than pleased. The BB delivers.
I have played loads of amps (from Class A to solid state) in 22 years of music playing and I think this product is closest as can be to the real things. Try it out for yourself.
Most factory presets come without effects or delay/reverb.
M-Audio is not trying to hide mediocre simulation behind a wall of effects. When you play the amps without anything added to it, it already sounds close to the real thing. Check it out.

Cool features: all BB owners can exchange their presets over the internet, the beat sync effects.... a must!, pretty convincing drum loops to play along with and also a nice addition of drum loops and samples on cd rom to be used with your favorite multi-track recording software, very convincing bass amp simulations and more...

All this for 289 euro, I'll give it a 10.
(20 years ago, one would have gotten 2 stomp boxes for this money. Isn't life great in the 21th century?)

I tried the Line 6 before this, and the line six was definately easier. I have had this for about 2 weeks now.... and I just now have figured out the basics. I dont know if it is just not working properly, or it is just so confusing or what the deal is, but it is not a one day and jam type product. I am very computer literate, and have 3 solid years of guitar play. If I could return it to trade for something else, I would definately do it, but I have already swapped it for the line 6 guitarn 1x

I have expensive cables and accesories, and there is quite a bit of noise. It says to increase the latency to decrease the noise? It keeps resetting to a lower latency I dunno? what that is all about... it will only let me go to the second to the highest latency setting. ( I have a P4 3.2 80gb) so I dont think I am lacking in the computer dept.)

Tried updating .. still noisy

it seems to be pretty reliable.. I dont think I would gig with it though...the audio settings arent very versitile.. maybe I havent had it long enough to comepletely figure it out ... I will give it an 8 that is being very generous....

Havent dealt with them yet.. I am in Paris right now, and it would cost a fortune to call.. plus the time diff.. N/G

I dunno.. I am not that happy with it.. it has sound through the headphones.... so I can jam on the road.... but I dont think I would buy another one.... the line six had way better quality... but it just kept having short moments of silence/ pauses. Take your chances... but I would try one before you bought one for sure.... it is really way to noisy for anything but practice

Pretty easy especially if you have previous experience. I havent bothered with the software but as far as I can see it does not have a pc patch editor like the pods and vox boxes, this is a major downfall for a pc tech like me.

In the past 2 months I have tried many of the latest units and this was the very worst by a mile ! There are more 'metal robots' in this unit than any other and no amount of tweaking will get you sounds that are similar to the demo's.

This is the very last time that I trust any Manufacturers demo's apart from the vox tonelab demo's which represent a true likeness to the sounds you will achieve.

Cannot comment, its back in the box to be returned already.

Dont know, never will know, but hope its better than the quality of sounds.

I play all kinds of styles and for many years. I am a studio guitarist and bought this for 'inspiration' at home. Everything works as advertised but there was no inspiration to be found at all and the sound quality is worse than some of the early zoom units ! For the price I think its very expensive and over-rated and although the beat synch and drums are reasonable they just dont justify buying it in the first place because the poor effects and sound let the whole unit down.

If, like me, you are a studio / home guitarist looking for a single unit to give realistic amp sounds / effects for direct recording without endless hours of tweaking and fiddling with 'magic boxes' or having to carry your entire rig into a small studio - buy a Tonelab and be done with it. Period !

Ive tried the pods, zooms, cack box and Tonelab - Guess which one ive decided to keep.................

As most reviewers state, the interface is intuitive if limited. Editing and saving is simple, though a quick look at the documentation will speed things up. Fortunately the docs are also short and to the point. You will not find any info about the "Gate" in the docs, or the display contrast which is best viewed at a certain angle and not adjustable.

Oddly this unit makes an excellent pre-amp for my Yamaha Acoustic (w/ added Martin piezo). The acoustic sound going out dry is clear and realistic. Unfortunately that is not what I wanted the box for. Used as an effects box for electric guitar it suffers. The effects are overblown and the sound quality is poor even for the cost of the unit. There are a few amp models and drive settings that are usable. Most however, are way too overdriven and do seem to clip regardless of how the gate is set. Some of the amp models are already distorted when the drive is set on "0" or "1". That can't be right. At settings of 1 to 5 some of the amps overdrive in a usable way, but most produce grainy noise. In it's favor, the beat synced effects do work and I have synced them to an external MIDI sequencer as well as the onboard tempo/drums. With some tweaking it could produce an interesting wah or flange to sync with a song.

So far so good. I mounted mine on a mic stand using the included adapter. It seems to be the most convenient way to use it other than on a desk. The stand fell over once right on the front input jacks. That's an arc of about four feet onto a wood floor. Nothing cracked or came loose. Still sounds the same.

I needed info about the digital output (S/PDIF jack at rear). I like this feature because my recording interface has a digital input. However, I could not get the guitar and mic to both output through the digital S/PDIF out. An email to M-Audio support did not get a reply in 24 or 48 hours or whatever they claimed. After 3 days I called. They we're very helpful once I got someone on the phone, but why not answer the email? So apparently it will only send guitar or mic but not both to the S/PDIF out. Through the L and R analog outputs, you get a mix of both guitar and mic so why not through the S/PDIF as well? The USB interface appears to work and breaks up into guitar R, guitar L, drums, mic.

I jumped on this realizing I could be burned by early adoption and ouch. I really wanted everything to work better than it does. I will be selling the Black Box and trying out something else.

I found the use of the BB to be very easy to get good sounds and new presets. I was surprised to hear the bashing of this unit. Between the user's manual, quick start guide and the Black Box Tone Room and website it was pretty straight forward. I downloaded the latest driver from the website and there were some problems with the recording software not accepting the code on the CD to activate the program but as soon as they were contacted, M-Audio sent me a new full copy of the Ableton software! So far as getting good sounds. No problem. Listen to and watch the Roger Linn video. Read the recent Guitar Player review by Mike Molenda. The amp simulations are good, effects are awesome and beat syncing works well with guitar and vocals. For me the unit is very easy to use BUT you have to understand how to set up and EQ your equipment properly (Hint: Amps and boards have EQ too!). The presets are good but with a little work creating your own additional 100 presets is easy. For some reason, the user presets sound weaker than permanent ones. I'm tweaking them all so it doesn't matter. Out of the box through headphones, I got some awesome sounds. Then I added the M-Audio Expression Pedal and programmed the use I wanted for it to each unique user preset. Then instead of buying two non latching momentary pedals to turn things on and off or change preset selections for a combined price of $40 to $50 with shipping, I built a device box with a couple of non latching momentary switches on it for about $6 and some spare parts laying around my fix whatever breaks on my amp or guitar electronics bin that will do the duty better and is a lot easier to fit in my gig bag and use. Sound? Next I plugged the BB into my 59 Fender Bassman Reissue and got some good sounds out of it. Then I plugged a mic into the BB used the mic preamp and added some live vocals and drums after adjusting the bpm. To address the awh! there's no reverb on the BB what do I do now reviewers, I added a Digitech RP 300 into the signal chain and created a pretty neutral preset on the Digitech that only added some Room reverb with the RP300 expression pedal controlling the amount of verb. A mic preamp may be added on the front end of the vocals as well to warm that up. To any of the reviewers who have been very negative about this unit, I really don't feel you did enough in the how to use or set up your equipment category. Clapton and Mayer gave some decent unsolicited comments about this technology and the BB is a continutation of the Adrenalinn concept but a heck of a lot more interface friendly to computers and digital recorders. Sorry but your options are wide open here. I can be very comfortable using this unit live with it installed on a mic stand at hand level and using the floor pedals and other effects in the signal chain using powered speakers, one amp, two amps, one amp and into the mixing board, just into the mixing board and all the while recording into the computer and wearing a couple of earbuds so I can hear my guitar and vocals. The ability to record vocals and guitar and add guitar parts and effects over it is pretty awesome. Don't forget the Beatles did some of their best work on a 4 track.

See above for set up. Guitars include a Les Paul, Clapton Strat, Tex Mex strat with the super strat and Jimmie Vaughn/Eric Johnson tone mods and (laugh) an Oscar Schmidt OE30 Delta King with Cort 57 Classic and Plus pickups. Here's where the BB gets real subjective. Each guitar makes each preset sound different and reacts differently. The BB has truckloads of gain so you have to know how to adjust your amp gain, amp volume, guitar input, output, wet/dry mix, drums/guitar/vocals mix and volume and a lot more when you get into the recording software and mixdown. Mine is very quiet on clean sounds and the high gain sounds are as dirty as the amp they emulate. Amp gain and amp volume are the key items in how clean or dirty you can sound. The GP review might have been even better with a little tweaking of the amp gain and preset amp volume. Dynamics would have been better for other than high gain uses but I do like the ROAR too. There aren't many sounds you can't get out of this box IF you are willing to get your hands dirty on set up. There are many sounds that you may have never heard. You can get lost in this thing. 4 hours can feel like 5 minutes. Caution you may forget to eat or sleep and your wife may leave you or say "I wish you had your hands all over me like that black strat you have been stroking all night!".

Mine has had no problems and I gig without a backup. The pots and controls are smooth, setting it up on a mic stand is very user friendly, the detached expression pedal and momentary switchs are great because how many boxes with attached pedals have a broken pedal and good electronics but no way to attach an expression pedal. The chassis is metal and top is a hard plastic. It's not a stomp box. It's a recording interface that will work well live unless you want to slam stuff around and then nothing is going to last you!

M-Audio tech support has answered my questions, sent me new upgraded software and have a good website. If you don't get an answer soon enough, just respond to their tech support contact confirmation e-mail and someone will address your issue. Concerning customer support, I got to say I bought mine from Musician's Friend as a blem and it came UPS with all the finish rubbed off the knobs due to a packing issue and other things - not a MINOR defect anymore because a lot of the knobs don't seem to come off. MF sent me a brand new one at the blem price and a label to send the bad one back. Can't beat that.

Playing electric since 1966 and classical a couple of years before that! I play classic rock, blues, a church rock gig on Sunday and a lot of the newer Clapton, Perry, Mayer, Third Day, Green Day and Buddy Guy as well as working on my own stuff - yeah!. The BB is a great addition to my arsenal and adds computer interface at a good price. It works with other effects but is sensitive to amp gain, amp volume and changes in guitar types but so are a lot of amps. A Les Paul drives a Deluxe different than a strat, etc. I looked at POD XT Lives, Digitech GNX 3s and 4s (they are getting outdated and the GNX 3000 is too new, expensive and still not available), Vox ToneLab and this one turned out to be a steal. I wanted a basic all in one guitar, mic for vocals and amp sim recording interface and the BB really fills the bill. Try singing along with your guitar and the beat synced effects and you will see what I mean. It's probably every guitar players dream to be able to lay down some basic tracks, vocals, drums and layer some bass over that to produce your very own Joe Perry Joe Perry CD. If it sucks you can break it. This isn't a Pro Tools equipped studio but it can produce some quality products if you understand what to do with your work once it's in the puter. I wish it had on board reverb, compression, amp mids and presence, more uses for the expression pedal and more momentary switchs and more options/effects on the mic preamp and XLR outs as well but it would have jumped into the Digitech, Vox, Line 6 $699 retail slot so....I'll take it like it is - a bargain. You can tweak your effects more in the Live Lite 4 GRT software after/during recording but that don't help if you are doing it live. I'm having fun with this thing and the sounds produced and features are cutting edge. It does what it says and more if you get a little creative! If stolen, I'd hope the insurance paid me replacement cost retail and maybe Mr. Linn M-Audio will come out with a more advanced model with all the goodies.

I've had my Black Box for a little over a week now and I absolutely love it! I was checking out the reviews here and was horified to find someone bashing the product. Someone who sounds like they work for Line 6 or another competitor. So I thought I'd add my 2 cents.
The unit sounds great. Getting around on the unit is very easy. I was able to tweak sounds to my liking very easily.
I only read the manual to find out about the USB recording features. This was well explained. I've been using the included lIve LIte 4 GTR software with no problems.

I'm using the Black Box with an old pair of Alesis monitors and a Halfler power amp.
Some of the high gain amps are a bit noisy, but so are the high gain amps that are being modeled, so that's ok.
The effects are nothing short of inspiring! The time based effects are where this unit really shines. Tremolo, Filter Tremolo, Random Filters, Filter sequences, arpgiators, etc. These all automatically lock to the internal drum machine OR the MIDI Beat Clock coming from Live Lite 4 GTR. So all of your effects are in perfect time with your song. These effects are like nothing else I've heard in any other guitar effect processor. I highly recommend that you check them out! The Chorus and the flanger are nothing to brag about, but they sound fine.
The amp models sound great. I'm personally not fond of the Hiwatt DR-103 or the Fender Deluxe. But I don't like the real amps any more then the models, which do sound accurate to my ear. I love the Bassman, AC-30, Marshall Plexi and Marshall JCM-2000.

I've not had a problem with it so far. It's really not the kind of thing that I would gig with, but I would certainly take it to studios for recording gigs.

I haven't had the need to call tech support for this product, but the website is helpful. There are FAQs for things like adjusting the noise gate and resetting the factory defaults.
There is also a new website called www.blackboxtoneroom.com. This allows users to share presets with eachother. I love things like this! I can't wait to start sharing presets.

I play mostly rock music. I've been playing for nearly 20 years. There's not a sound that I feel that I can't get out of the box. Except for a large reverb sound. But the software comes with a reverb plug-in for my recordings, so no big deal.
I would certainly replace the unit immediately if it were stolen. There is really nothing quite like the Black Box to replace it with.
There are certainly things that I wish it had. A compressor, a reverb, more amp model controls, etc. But for the price and the feature set I'm more then satisfied.
It really HELPS with music creation. The ability to automaticallly lock your delays, tremolos, etc. with different time signatures right to the beat is a god send. I've used almost every effect processor ever made at least onece or twice and owned many of them. It's a nightmare trying to match these effects to the beat with any other device. This single feature is worth the price of admition.

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.