Rocktron Intellifex

Online version.

<< How easy is it to get a good sound ? >>
Depends on what you're looking for. In general the presets are a little over processed (too wet). They give you a good template to build from.
<< How about editing patches ? >>
The process is easy. Knowing what to tweak is where the skill comes in. Havent tried the Internet access mode yet.


<< Is there a manual ? >>
Yes. But why doesn't it provide more explanantion of the individual presets ?

<< What set-up ? >>
Boss Compressor -> Mesa/Boogie Triaxis -> Rocktron Intellifex -> Mesa/Boogie 50/50 Power Amp -> 2 1912 Marshall cabs
I play a 1977 US Strat and a Yamaha Pacifica.

<< Is it noisy >>
No! There is no compressor, EQ or drive pre-amp too mess up the tone. I bought this unit in preference to the TC Electronics G-Force which does have a pre-amp drive and compressor.
Completely clean sounds.

<< Are the effects weak or do they sound great? >>
The sound quality of the effects is very good. The mixer takes care of the mix levels.

<< What amp are you using ? >>
See setup.

<< Can I get the sounds of my favourite artists ? >>
Prefer to work on my own sounds. I'm still trying to get that Dominic Miller(Stings guitarist) clean, chorus, delay with big sustain sound.

<< Are certain effects very good ? >>
The reverb, chorus and delay are very good. I'm not really into pitch shifting so my comments on that aren't worth typing.

<< Can I depend on it ? >>
So far so good!

<< Use it on a gig without a backup ? >>
I've got a Boss SE50 multi-effects unit (very old!) waiting in the wings just in case!

Nothing is worth a 10. I give this unit an 8 and would recommend that anyone looking for a 1U high effects unit offering very good clean sounding time based effects shoud check the Intellifex out. This is a perfect match for the TriAxis in my opinion. Why go and ruin the sounds of your pre-amp with an effects unit with an in-built pre-amp.


Verdict - very good !!

After reading the manual you can get a hold of everything in this unit. This not an easy unit to program: it's easy to set up a simple effect, but if you're chasing a particular sound, it can be a bit problematic.

Editing patches is quite intuitive though. All effects come in configurations; confidurations are assigned to a given patch, and then you edit them. Some are simple (like Reverb, Hush), some are complex (like 8-voice Chorus/Delay). Most voices have their own volume level, which you can mix with the direct signal, by assigning proper levels. It might seem nice at first, but it's not: 1 dB increments are unnoticeable when the voice is silent, but become to abrupt when the voice is heardable. As a result you get sounds with too much direct signal, or sounds which are too soft, and lack direct signal.

One note: I've got an Intellifex LTD but if you can get it, get the new version Intellifex Online. It's got a built in EQ which is a must for this unit.

The Intellifex LTD has the following effects: chorus, delay, reverb, pitch shifter, HUSH system, ducker. Sound quality is good. Reverbs sound convincing, and are -- in my opinion -- the best feature in this unit. They've got many parameters to tweak with, which is really ice.
The delay & chorus are a mixture of several voices (up to 8) for which you assign the rate/delay/depth. You can have either have them in a 4 voice combination (w reverb) or a 8 voice combination (without reverb). Mixing so many voices might seem hip at first, but in my opinion, after 3,4 voices -- the whole sound becomes too complex, and I don't use settings with more than 4 voices at all. Regeneration rates (which determine the no of repeats) are slippery stuff -- it's easy to get annoying feedback onstage if you're not careful.
I surely miss a phaser/tremolo/rotary speaker in this unit, though.

No problem with it yet.

Never dealt with them. Online manuals and website is cool, and a good feature.

I use this thing with a sax (I'm no guitar player). Sax -> e608 Sennheiser clip-on -> Intellifex -> PA.

CONS: I'm not sure if it's the best for the money for my setup. I could use a cheaper multieffect with more capabilities than this. The Intellifex feels like something between those cheap onstage multieffects and studio equipment. Should be good in terms of sound onstage, but doesn't have too many effects to use alone onstage, and it's reverbs and etc. don't make it really pro, studio equipment. If you want good onstage reverbs -- then this unit won't probably disappoint you, however you should think about purchasing additional effects (money, money!). If you can afford it, then have a try.
However if you want to keep your rack simple and have a lot of effects -- it can be a problem with this effect.

Hard to tweak onstage. You have to program this beast before. And it is a problem if you play in different places (eg. changing reverbs when switching from club to outdoors...). An expression pedal is an option -- but that's just more and more money.

PROS: Good reverbs onstage. Nice delays (418 ms in most settings, at most about 1000 ms), ping pongs..etc. This effect adds to your sound, but doesn't change it -- it's fairly mellow and supports such an attitude (see above --> ease of use section).

I have the first version of the Intellifex 1.1 There are 80 factory presets and 80 user presets.

I bought the Intellifex a few months ago after remembering a local guitar tech who used to build huge effects racks (in the 80's), who used to rave about them. I already have several other units (Digitech TSR24 & 256XL, Alesis Quadraverb + & Midiverb III, Lexicon Alex & Vortex) and have tried many others. But the $150 price tag was too hard to pass up. To make along story short, the Intellifex does not have the processing power or flexibility of the TSR24, but the sound and quality of the effects in this unit are absolutely excellent (after creating my own patches... most of the factory presets are overdone which is typical). The sound is utterly transparent on the reverbs and delays. Very crisp and clear sounds. The chorus also sounds nice. The flange is pretty good, as is the pitchshifting (interval stays fixed, does not do diatonic harmonies). The programmable Hush noise reduction is an excellent addition. Keeps things very quiet.

Programming can be a little difficult to get used to due to some redundant parameters, but you get the hang of it quickly. It has been said already that you do lose parameters on multi effect settings compared to single effect patches. Setting up continuous contollers is very easy.

The manual is basic and acceptable.

I use this unit with Fender strats w/humbuckers or Fasttrack 2's in the bridge position. My signal chain goes:
Strat>Dunlop 535 wah>Fulltone Fulldrive II>MXR Phase 90>Marshall JMP1 pre amp (with Digitech IPS33b in the fx loop)> Intellifex> Marshall 9200 power amp > Marshall 4X12 cabs (stereo)

With the Hush, the unit is completely silent, even at high gain settings on the preamp. But even without the Hush, the overall sound is not too noisy, any of which is from the JMP. As I said before, the sound is extremely clear and detailed. In addition to the hush, I feel that the strong points are the quality of the reverb and delays, and probably the chorus. The Flange and pitch settings are okay. I'm not really concerned with getting another artists sound(s), I'm still working on my own. This unit, while not having the flexibility of the TSR, does help me create.

When I put this in my rack, I took out a BBE sonic maximizer, a Rocktron Patchmate, a Digitech TSR24, AND a Rane SM82 linemixer! I couldn't believe it!!! What I gave up in flexibilty I more than gained back in better tone, better and higher gain, and a MUCH more simplified rack setup.

So far so good. I've owned several Rocktron units (two PRO G.A.P.'s, two Hush IIcx's, midimate footcontroller, Patchmate, and now the Intellifex) and have found them, by and large, to be very reliable. Only once on one of my HushIIcx's did the power supply jack on the back become intermittent. But the Intellifex seems okay.

I have ordered a 7 pin midi cable once, and was treated well by the representative. Plus they put alot of manuals online to review and download for free. Try that with some of the other equipment manufacterers.

I mostly play original hard/spacerock music ( similar to Tool, Pink Floyd, Alice In Chains, Led Zep, Hendrix, Soundgarden, etc...) with my band Left of Heaven http://www.leftofheaven.com I've been playing for about 17 years, and have used lots of stuff (more than I should have ever bought). If it were stolen I would track down the same model/version. Of all the stuff I have laying around, this is the effects processer of choice. If I could change anything, I would give it longer delay times (goes up to 1500ms mono, 750ms stereo) and user definable algorithms, but even without these features I have created some really great patches. It definitely helps me to create music. And now I can lift my rack alone!

*** if anyone has any patches that they'd like to share/trade, let me know *** dbeccia@tiac.net

Good presets that are easily customized... I have to admit that it took me a while to get used to scrolling around to change some of the settings -- For instance, the MIXER has input and output controls, regeneration settings for delay and reverb, etc. Then there are the individual effect parameters to contend with separately, with similar settings... It was a bit confusing at first, and the manual was a little too techie-oriented

My current rig is powered by a Mesa Simul-class 2:90, with a Rocktron Pro-Gap v2.1 preamp(bought in 1990), the Intellifex v1.1 (also purchased in 1990) and a Mesa Rectifier cab with 2 Celestion Vintage 30s... I also use the Rocktron MIDI Mate controller... The unit is very quiet and crisp, with excellent reverbs and solid effects (not too overdone -- subtlety is easily accomplished)... The HUSH obviously helps the noise, but isn't really necessary... At the time, I had the choice to grab a Digitech, and ART or a used Yamaha REV unit... The Intellifex blew the ART and the Digitech out of the water, and matched the Yamaha REV pound for pound on the reverbs...

My only complaint is with the pitch-shifting capabilities... because of the 64x oversampling and limited processor speed (hell, it IS 10 years old technology...) you can't successfully use an alternate tuning without experiencing some kind of delay warble (i.e. tuning your guitar to C by eliminating the incomming signal and maxing the effect level) -- other than that, I have never felt the need to get another processor after all these years...

hmmm... I guess I also have to note that because of memory limitations, the presets that use a single effect have a much wider range of control than presets with multiple effects (fewer options in decay, regeneration, delay time, etc...)

Road warrior gear -- I've abused this thing to no end, and haven't ever had a problem... Again, this is the first release of this unit, and I've been using it since 1990... I love the 7 pin phantom power for my MIDI Mate...

Never needed support

I've used this unit for everything from top 40 rock to extreme metal... It worked wonders when I did the Pink Floyd tribute thing for a few years... If it were stolen, I'd probably grab another, especially since the price has dropped so much over the years, and there has bound to have been quite a few modifications to the design... Again, excellent quality effects without cheesing out with over-processing (like other inexpensive units like Digitech)-- great for subtle effects, but versitile enough to juice it up! I also love the HUSH... Down side is the limited processor speed and memory for convincing pitch-shifting and wide parameters for presets with multiple effects...

Anybody want one, cheap?

There are two things that drive me crazy with this unit:

1. In configurations that have, for example, chorus and delay, they drop half of the parameters for each of the effects. I like to set up presets where I can have reverb, chorus, and delay assigned to on/off switched and bring them in and out as necessary. But the controllable parameters you get for any of these is much more limited in the multi effects configurations than in the "single" effect configs. So that 8 tap chorus I loved when I first heard the unit (and that is described in the manual) drops down to a 4 tap when I want to use chorus and delay together. Ditto for all those delay parameters. Ditto for Reverb. And the controls for chorus are mixed (overlap) those for delay in these configurations as well.

2. There is no in/out parameter for chorus or delay in some of the configurations!! The workaround is to assign a controller to the mixer function of the effect and use its minimum and maximum value instead of on/off.

I am trying to use it with a Marshall JMP-1 preamp, Marshall 20/20 power amp and Marshall 1922 or 1960 cab. I play a Les Paul, and an Ibanez RG 570 with EMGs. The Intellifex replaced a Digitech GSP 21-Pro.

I picked up this unit because I always liked the chorus sound and I was never satisfied with the chorus in the GSP. Each individual effect in the Intellifex is superb but it's the configurations that drive me crazy. I hate that I loose parameters on delay and/or chorus in most configurations.

So far, ok.

Rocktron has only one guy who they say is qualified to offer support on the Intellifex. All he could offer was to suggest I buy another Rocktron product.

Simple, straight forward. Everything is in sections (Reverb, Hush, Delay/Chorus 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,etc.) and each section has it's own parameters. The only thing is that there are so many parameters, so you have to pay attention when you tweak (this is actually a plus!). Editing uses a rotary knob (very easy and quick). Recalling patches is simple (turn and push).
To me it's super easy, fast, and logical. To others, it may not be as easy. Once you play with it for a while, it's second nature.

Smokes! Super clean. I can only hear a faint touch of flange when I'm cranked. This unit doesn't color your tone. It's almost unbelievable. The 8 voices are incredible. Too much for me, too many parameters. If you're looking to create something new, you can do it with this unit.
I'm using it with my common effects loop on my Peavey Rockmaster. The tones are incredible. I'm using Gibson flat wires, on a Les Paul Epiphone with OBL pickups.

No problems yet. Seems very reliable. Have had it for over a year, and bought second hand.

Never dealt with 'em. Have been to their website, and like what they offer.

Best processor I've ever used. This is a pro piece of machinery. If you are looking for a sound, you can create it with this. It's got all the bells and whistles.
The reverbs are very rich, and the presets are too rich. They will need some tweaking. I would buy it again, and recommend it to my best friend. I especially like the display. It is bright, and can be seen from across the room.

Editing sounds in this unit is rather difficult. Because there are so many parameters in some settings, you really have to "listen as you go" during the process. The Reverbs seem to be the easiest thing to edit (but that's not saying much). And, the factory sounds are so wet, they're cartoon-like.

The sound quality of the effect IS excellent. The fact that the unaffected signal stays analog really helps, especially if your Effects Loop is Series-only. Careful not to overload the input; it sounds like crap if you do. The 8-voice chorus is lush and beautiful sounding, and the Reverbs are very sweet, but get very 'wet' in a hurry, so heed my above editing advice. Balancing left and right sides is cool in stereo!

Bought used and hasn't failed yet. They do have a good reputation, though.

Best WEB site I ever saw for the DO-IT-Yourself Customer. If only H-P's Site was so easy...........

Good Stuff basically. Good sound quality, and bang-for-buck ratio. I'd buy another Rocktron product any time. Very interested in their tube effects unit (forgot name) or the Replifex. Too much money for now; my toy budget is a little tight. I'm taking donations, however......

I never use presets on any effects unit, and this one is no exception.Although I am quite experienced at programming effects, it took me a while to get everything dialed in.The manual is thorough, and the editing process itself is made easier by the knob format.It can be tempting to program too much stuff into your patches; I got the best chorus results using either two or four voices, rather than the available eight.

I use the Intellifex primarily for my fretless bass. I go into an active splitter; one side goes to my dry amp and speaker cab, the other split goes to a Mackie 1202VLZ board, then into a Hafler stereo power amp and two cabs for stereo wet sound.I return the Intellifex to a stereo channel on the board, which gives me a better sound than using the effects return.The whole setup is very quiet, clean, and just plain amazing.The stereo imaging is very programmable, and using a realtime controller setup works very well. I do kind of have a reputation for being an alien, but I LOVE the pitch shifter. I use it more for vocals than anything else, but it's cool on my guitar synth too.As others have mentioned,it's best used for octaves, but I set up two voices an octave up, then slightly detune one. This creates a great steel drum like sound on the bass, and is interesting on vocals also.Dropouts are nonexistent when switching patches, a critical consideration to me.

No problems in one year of use. All wall warts fail eventually though. Very well built, and has a professional feel to it. I do carry a Lexicon as well, so I would be covered if disaster struck. The Lexicon is a low end one though, and it's not even close to being in the same league.

Great website, I have no premonitions of doom. Good manual too.

I'm an audio repair tech, and I've been playing for 25 years,so tone is a big deal to me. I play everything from Ornette style avant-garde to square dance fiddle tunes, often in the same song, so quick sound changes on the fly are key. This is the first "keeper" effects unit that I have ever owned.It would cost quite a bit to noticeably improve on the sound quality. I would probably upgrade to another Rocktron unit with more features if this unit went away, but for my purposes this one has all the sounds I'm looking for.The continous controller facilities are great, up to 8 parameters can be controlled simultaneously. The burpless patch shifting is a very strong feature as well.I use the Hush noise reduction all the time, and usually I hate anything even remotely like a gate.The one downside for me is that it doesn't work in my bass amp's effects loop very well at all, but neither does my Lexicon, or any of the other rack effects units that I've tried.The separate wet amp setup is definitely the way to go for bass,and I prefer it for guitar as well, although the Intellifex works fine in a standard guitar setup...

Pretty easy if you're into programming these things. One of the things that attracted me to it was the number of parameters to tweek, but after messing around with it, I found it relatively simple. But don't get me wrong... It is flexible and has enough control to keep you second-guessing your saved presets. I have revised quite a few of mine several times. Anyway... The interface is great! I love turning knobs instead of pushing buttons! Really saves time and frustration.

I'm primarily using it with an ADA MP-2 (tube guitar preamp). I have the speaker sim outs going into the Intellifex. Quite frankly it's overkill for this purpose because it's so incredibly quiet. The dry signal stays analog too!! I don't use the hush much at all but it's nice when appropriate. The reverbs are nice and dense, but most sound very similar to each other (halls and rooms for example). Excellent reverbs but I sometimes get the impression that this thing could have better reverb algorythmns to go with the audio sound quality. The choruses can be excellent or cheezy depending on how you program it but with up to 8 voices, it's got the flexibility! I usually use mine straight into a mixer or my home stereo for practicing so I can hear much more than if I used it with guitar speaker cabinets, But I still hear "Pristine" sound quality.

I guess it's reliable (I hope). I bought mine used COD. Haven't had the slightest glitch or whatever but I haven't had it long either. I didn't rate it here because time will tell...

No need yet but their web page is nice, download manuals if you need, and patches too!

Excellent unit overall... you can't get all your effects with it but it's strengths are reverbs, delays, chorus. You can get flanging and some wierd sounds with it but those aren't it's realm really. I'd recommend it for time-based effects for anything... It will handle any kind of sound perfectly! You can't beat it for the price either!

As I'll explain below, I haven't had much of a chance to delve into the (copious) editing depth, yet. It appears to have a lot of parameters, and the manual is quite nice. I don't yet know how even the continuous-controller functions are, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

I'm quite happy with what I've heard of the unit (which is why I bought it). Not quite the top-end harmonic sparkle of a T.C., but very resolute and smooth. However, when it's broken (as mine is), it sounds... very BORING. ;)

I bought this unit used, in excellent (apparent) shape, used it for about a month and then one day, mid-note, it just up and died on me. No signal, no light readout- kaput. I've tried various minor troubleshoots, but it appears I'll just have to send it back to Rocktron (or a service center). Depending on repair cost, I'm debating just getting a T.C. unit, instead. I imagine it's just a blown IC somewhere inside. The build quality appears solid, and I expect once I get the unit running again, all will be well. Here's my big gripe, though: This unit is, by a LARGE margin, the smallest piece in my rack. It's only about 6 inches deep. But it has a %&$@*! WALL-WART! Come on, Rocktron! You've got plenty of room to spare; what does it take to add a damn internal power supply? Unfortunately, the answer looks to be "about 5 bucks more production cost". This one lame move makes an otherwise very professional-looking piece of kit seem chintzy.

Well, I'm going to talk to them soon. We'll see what happens. I'll give them a decent rating for now, as I like all the materials they provide on their website (good job!).

I don't want to pass judgment on this unit, yet. I expect the problem will be one common to dsp units (a burnt IC); one that Rocktron can't really control and that must be expected to some degree with this type of box.