Rocktron Intellifex

Well... this is not the first Rocktron product I own. The menus are the same kind of my Chameleon Online.
That way, I have no problem of any kind in dealing with this effect processor. The manual is also very clear.

I find it is very guitar-oriented, as with most Rocktron products.

Absolutely fantastic!!!

The effects are powerful, brilliant and transparent!
I have tried effect units like the TC Electronics G-Major and G-Force and the Intellifex is at the same level as these.
The unit is absolutely silent and noise-free. However, embedded Hush removes any kind of noise that might be in the signal chain (specially due to high gain amp settings).

I have set it up as a part of my rack equipment:
Rocktron Chameleon => Rocktron Intellifex => Behringer Virtualizer Pro => Rocktron Velocity 100 => LMOE Custom 4x12"

The factory presets cover a wide variety of "artist" sounds (EVH, Brian May, etc.)
Rocktron's website has also dozens of user contributions you can load into this unit... so... the possibilities are virtually infinite!

Although I have two different effect units in my rig, they are used for different purposes.
Since the Intellifex' delay goes (only) up to 1500ms, I have set up the Behringer Virtualizer Pro for longer delays (up to 5100ms).

Apart from that, this unit is simply reliable!
I had only one issue, that led me to send it for repairs (malfunctioning relay). Now it's new again.

Rocktron corporation is an example for other companies regarding customer support.
Rocktron's tech, Jim Chowning, is a fantastic guy: he always replies to e-mails and, with my help, he managed to remotely troubleshoot the issue described above.

I would give 20 if I could! :-)

This is the only unit that I'm totally dependable on.
I could replace or change my entire rig, but I definitely would not stop using the Intellifex.
When I hade the problem mentioned above, I was going crazy... and I was already looking for another Intellifex to replace it, in case the problem wasn't repairable.

Its amazing features really pumped up my creativity! :-D
Newer versions don't have TRS latch mute and preset up/down connectors in the back panel.

It suits every playing style.
Just wish it had intelligent pitch shifter/harmonizer...

I find it very easy to use butI read the manual twice before turning it on. I can edit it now in my sleep as it is very logical once the menus are undertood. However, I have 2 Engineering Degrees.

The sound quality is fantastic. I only use the various reverbs, chorus, delays and flanges in light doses. It enhances everything without sapping away any tone. I have used it in 4 different rigs. Marshall Valvestate 100, Marshall JCM 900, Tech NYC Sansamp PSA-1 and now a POD Pro. It kills all stomp boxes I have tried and absolutely kills the effects on the Line 6 Pod Pro. I turn all my effects off. I thought of getting the TC G Force but really didn't feel the need to. It has 24 bit processing when most CD players are only 16 bit. Well, it is good enough.

I have used it since 1995 without issues. It is my only guitar FX rack unit and I have done about 200 shows/gigs with it. Never had a problem. I never really had a proper professional backup or felt the need for one. However, I usually carry a Boss Delay and an overdrive pedal just in case.

No need.

I have been playing since I was 9. I am 35 now. I own my own commercial studio in Singapore so i have a lot of gear. I play a variety of styles including rock, blues, funk, fusion, smooth jazz, reggae and a lot of Top 40s pop in my earlier days. I have played Slayer type metal in my younger days. I jam with some local sessionists weekly and always get praised on my tone.

I currently use a Mesa Boogie F50 or JCM 2000 TSL in the studio. I use the Line 6 Pod Pro combined with the Intellifex for my gigs.

I have over 20 guitars including 6 USA Hamers (1989 to 2002), 1954 & 2 X 1962 Custom Shop Strats, Les Paul Classic, EVH Wolfgang Custom hard tail, Godin Multiac Jazz, Musicman Luke, 2 X Taylors, Guild, ...

If it ever got burnt out, I would definitely look at another Rocktron product or get the TC Electonics G System or G Force,just for a change.

I love the clear sound and the ease of use. Mind you I have had it for over 10 years. It was a real winner back then. It still sounds better than anything today. I use it a master midi mapper without any dropout.

When I younger, I wished it had an intelligent pitch shifter. There is a pitch shifter ... only not intelligent. Now, the device is perfect. I use the plate verbs for rhythms sounds and the delays for solo sounds.

With the POD Pro and the Intellifex, I can create most sounds required on record. It does not have any whacky whammy, synth, tone generators, feedback effects and the like. It does a few things only but very, very well.

I love the unit and it has helped me get a lot of work and compliments. It has also give me years of pleasure.

I've had this unit for over 12 years. It's good but a little noisy by today's standards. I also have an Ensoniq DP Pro which is an unreal fx processor as well.

I came here to see how much you could get one (intellifex) for.

Anyone feel like telling me how much you paid for yours and how long ago it was?


Muchly Appreciated

AJ fnub

Great, I have not tried 100% of the tricks, but so far I can do whatever I want with it.

My setup, Rocktron Gainiac to Intellifex (Black Face Original) to Roland SRV-330 to BBE 482i to Hush Super C to Randall M-80 (1u Stereo Rack Amp) and Furman RP-8 and MIDImate. No noise, if you have noise, check the electrical ground of the building or house.
Always great, I use it (8 voice chorus) to replace the TC electronics Chorus. Intellifex is my best bet here. Effects are great in my opinion, I use dual stereo reverb units by default so I get and extra kick in reverbs. Artists I can sound like, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, Al Dimeola, Pat Matheny, Dream Theater, Eddie and Megadeth (LOL!, yes I can, Panthera too, just don't piss me off!).

Superb, I tried to kill it but it doesn't die.

Great.

I play fusion, a little bit of everything, my setup does it for me and some other players from different styles too. 20 years playing. I would buy another one if I had to. Rocktron Intellifex is for serious musicians, you might not need it to play three chords in every song. DID YOU SAY TONE? I am sorry to write this, but if you want a tone, you have to work on it, invest some money and shape it yourself. Not just amps and effects, but maybe guitars and pickups too, if you are good at practicing and playing, you will get your money back. If you want to be the king of Death Metal, kill chickens, Grindcore Super Bloody Carcass Overslayer, get a Harmony or Hondo guitar, a 10w Gorilla amplifier with an Arion distortion (everything at 10) and place a Kareokee mic in front of that, then send it into a Pyramid 1,000,000,000 watts rack amplifier (1 or 2 in volume is Ok) feeding a Radio Shack 89% price discounted pair of speakers. Rock'n Roll? Les Paul- Marshall. Blues? Fender all the way.
I might be wrong but, that's how I feel sometimes.

It's easy to usejust 3 knobs control almost everything.but if you want to edit when you're playing on stage or in studio, it' may be slow.

There are several algothithm but they limit types of effect such as if you want long delay , you will not get reverb.
or if you use 8 voice chorus ,you will not have reverb as well.

Each effect don't has too many parameter for adjusting,but there are particular neccesary parameters only.

Midimapping and midi control is good. You can control every parameter via midi upto 7 parameters simultaneously.So you can use exp pedal control everything alltime.

Screen is not good , like digital quartz watch 20years ago.No information otherthan short name of preset while you're playing.

Manual is ok,It emphasize pathway of signal morethan how to get good sound.

Online function I never use it.I think it's useless for me.

The worst thing of this effect is the effect need 9V adaptor.I feel unconvenient and clumsy when I have to connect ac plug.I have 4 unit of instruments.Other don't need adapter .just plug in but Intellifex or every rocktron products need adaptor.It's very difficult although you have furman power condition because you have connect adapter with another line and change into small plug and plugin in furman.

My setup is gibson lespaul custom or Fender strat plus deluxe '91 , JMP-1 , rocktron intellifex online , TC.electronic G-major , mesa 20/20 , 2 mesa 1x12 rectifier cabs , monster cable

at first I use intellifex only for effect.I've just got G-major for 1 months. I can compare both.

Intellifex have hush , chorus , delay , ducker , reverb only .No other modulation effect.

Intellifex is better than G-major in some effect .The chorus is warmer , sweeter , mutlivoice.
Pitch in intellifex.You can control pich level via exp pedal so you can play like intelligent harmonizer.G-major can't be done that.
about Stereo effect , Intellifex can set stereo effect , dry and wet signal seperately.G-major can't be done as well.

The whole sound I think intellifex is warmer , look analog , rock sound , good dynamic range , give you thick guitar sound more than G-major.It's very transparent , not colored your sound , no really drop out when you change presets.G-major's colored your sound alot, and drop when you change routing with preset.

The Disadvantage of intellifex is delay time,it's very short ,just 418 ms.If you want longer delay, you'll not have reverb or chorus depend on algothithm.But If you want to use standard algothithm , chorus , delay reverb at the same time, you will get 418ms delay only.

Although delay time is short , but there is ducker effect.It work like dynamic delay in G-major.

Hush .I think it's ordinary .Not good as the company claim.You'll hear noise alltime.If you want quiet sound,you'll lose high sound ,sound will be damp.

Now I use intellifex more than G-major for most of preset.It give sound better than g-major ( if you don't want long delay or bizarre effect sound from g-major)

OK , never broken down in 2 years

you can get some preset from rocktron web.but it think it's not neccesary.

I play fusion jazz , rock , pop rock.If you don't want too many effects but want quality effect ,Intellifex is your choice.

If you compare with the price.I prefer intellifex than g-major.

Little tricky, presets unusable. But you get used to ist soon, then it is all logical and you have your sound in few minutes.

I used my Intellifex (one of the first series) 4 years with a Dual Recto, now I've it with my DIEZEL Herbert setup. Although HERBERT's got a parallel loop and a switchable serial loop, I have the Intellifex in the always-on-serial loop, which means: no noise at all, even at high-gain settings it works vrey quiet. What I like most is the Rocktron HUSH in the intellifex, works really well.
I don't use much effects on my guitar sound (btw, most Robin Custom Guitars and a Les Paul Custom), but I like adding some chorus on clean sounds, which are hard to find out how to set on the Intellifex, but once you managed the right settings, the chorus sounds superb. Also some short Delay for high-gain lead guitar, the funny thing is, delay effects are easily set with this unit, and are also sounding very, very good (I even used it once for recording Vocals, which I usually do with Lexicon. It sounded quite good!).

Never broke in 6 years. I think I'll have to replace the memory battery, just for the case...

Cool. All manuals online.

I don't like my guitar signal messed up with to much devices in the path. I go strictly (ok, through a Dunlop Wha) to the DIEZEL HERBERT.
I just want one device for all effects to handle, and since I need chorus and Delay, this one does the trick PLUS provides a gread working HUSH. What more can you ask for by about 500US$?

If you've used effects processor's before, then it's not too dificult, I did glance at the manual a few times to figure stuff out, but overall not too hard. Although it could have been much easier (like my DOD G7) whoever engineered the G7 has his head on straight.

Sound quality is outstanding!, what else would you except from Rocktron? much higher then something like Digitech or DOD
the reverbs are full and lush, the chorus thick but not overbearing, and the pitchshifter is awesome as well.

I baby mine, I have not used it live, only in the comfort of my home studio and jamspace. Although I'm sure it's quite sturdy, I just like to take care of my gear well.

Called Rocktron regarding a power supply, they were extremely helpful and informed, no lazy slouches at tech support.

I play heavy melodic metal, I guess a good baseline would be a more melodic metallica. I've been playing 10 years and have a good amount of pro gear, my rack includes: digitech s200, DOD G7, Rocktron Intellifex, Digitech DSP256, Behringer DSP2024, Rocktron ProGap tube preamp. I play mostly Ibanez's (4 of em) but also an ESP Kirk Hammett signature and Kramer flying V. I love the lush full tone I get from the intellifex, it was worth the money just for that, very professional fx processor, you can really tweak it till the cows come home!. I wish it had the user interface of my DOD G7, it is a great addition to my tone/sound, makes everything a lot slicker and more professional sounding. Before I bought this, I considered the T.C Electronic G-major and a used lexicon pcm81 or 91, I factored in the price and realized I could have the quality of a T.C or Lexicon at a fraction of the price.

i think all rocktron stuff is easy to use,if you cant run a rack mount processor ,learn,because they are better than boxes.....

i love the sound ,clean ,clear,great for metal,im shocked at the cool presets ready to go in it,someone was thinkin rock,unlike some of the processors i have,or had or used,some of them presets they come up with,are pathetic,the tc g major is one of them......

still rockin....its sev yrs old

the web sites cool,i like that you can download manuals,

heavy metal all the way,cant wait to hear the rocktron xpression,i really love their ease of use,some say they look outdated,so what ,it sits in a rack,i guess they could put a fancy front on,with pretty lights,then they could jack up the price and you and i could suffer.or they could just keep it simple and affordable,i also use some more expensive stuff,but still love this product,I guess if judas priest uses this,and dave mustaine uses rocktron,and their sound its awesome,.........enough said

Very easy to use with the 3 knobs,mine is the latest intellifex online.One can see that this unit was design for guitarists who are afraid of twicking.It's very straightforward.There are a lot of parameters (not 2 or 3 as an idiot wrote on here)but all very accessible.So you can really make your fx sound as your own and quickly.Only the choruses take more time to adjust.Also there is an input level knob (unlike the gt-6).
I use it through the fx loop of my Laney gh50L,guitar Ibanez rg570

I sold my gt6 to get the Intellifex and i did well!!It's in another league,I could tell the difference straight away, especially with high gains settings on my amp,the gt6 couldn't simply cope,this one is brilliant.The reverbs are great,spacious,smooth,natural,I tried First of all:this unit doesn't colour your guitar sound at all,it is very transparent,it does what it's supposed to do:bring an extra dimension to your sound,it doesn't suck it!I tried all the reverb pedals on the market and none of them comes near the intellifex,let alone the gt6.It's the only unit for this sort of money that I found has good reverbs,and I'm very peaky,I hate the digital crap from other units such as boss,digitech...
The Choruses are fantastic,every one should find happiness here.Very clear,spacious,so nice...
Delays are top notch too.

I've had it for a month or so,no problem so far

I haven't looked back since,it's a bargain.
If u need a floorcontroller get the Behringer one,perfect match.

intellifex online - It does not take much tweaking to get some reasonable sounds started.. I went over the manual in snippets 4 or 5 times.. I don't know what all the complaints are, it isn't that complicated. That doesn't mean it's easy to program a really good effect though - and that applies to any programmable equipment of course. If doing something serious I would jot down the settings, then dump them out to disk (via the midi) when satisfied.. if you're just fooling around there are a lot of settings to keep track of mentally so yes, it appears difficult! Changing parameters with a dial is excellent!

Beautiful and rich reverbs and choruses (chori??)
I cannot see (hear) what the gate functions are doing.. probably just me..
Of the many other possible effects (amply demonstrated in the vast array of utterly psycho presets) acheivable, there's a lot to fool with.. but this is worth the money just for the reverbs and chorus effects. No presets are subtle at all, you'll have to program your own, IMO, not hard at all.
I'm using this outputting to two Fender amps, telecaster or archtop jazz box in. Super low noise - the hush thing rocks.

Looks well built for a rack unit... not a tank though, i would take a backup.

Rocktron seems pretty friendly and helpful on the phone. This unit is discontinued as of march 2003...

Probably good for any music OTHER than metal or high gain stuff

Hmm...got the original "blackface" version used. (no its not a Fender!) No manual, just read the online manual from the Rocktron website. So yeah, took a few weeks to make it work the way I wanted to. After that, pretty damn sweet! Editing patches is easy enough, as long as you're paying attention to what you're doing and take your time. Don't know if this has an upgrade or not. The Midi stuff on it is a godsend!

Jackson guitars, EMG 81 pickups, Audio-Technica wireless, ADA MP-1 preamp, BBE 482, Rocktron Hush Super C, Rocktron Velocity 300 power amp, 2 Marshall 1960 4x12 cabs left and right, blah blah blah. I bought this just for the heck of it, price was WAY too good to pass by and not try it out. The sound quality was better than I expected! I've stayed away from effects for the last 17 years because they always shitified the sound somehow or another IMO. But this is impressing me quite nicely! The factory presets seem to be a trophy case for wonderful sounding choruses and reverbs. On the other hand, most of them just aren't practical for regular use. Imagine gig volumes with THAT much reverb coming out the speakers! Not the hot ticket for the metal I usually play. But, after some careful tweaking here and there, its actually found a good place within my rig. And its quiet enough when its supposed to be too, even though I don't use the built in noise gate. Got a Hush Super C for that. I also like the fact that it gives me a good stereo sound instead of left/right mono, which I could only get out of my preamp if the chorus function was on. I like the Ducker delay the best, chorus/flange is sweet, too, and the reverbs are really impressive, even though I don't use much reverb. I like the in-your-face sound as opposed to sounding like your far away.

Had it for about a month now, no worries yet. Backup? Yes backup equipment is essential, but I've never had to use ANY of it. Yet. So my backups consist only of more guitars, (in case a string breaks which never happened yet as I have fresh, properly stretched strings for every gig), more strings, picks, and an instrument cable in case the wireless unit decides to go postal (which it hasn't yet) I think this should be dependable enough. If it proves me wrong, I can bypass it right out of the chain completely with minimum downtime.

I've emailed Rocktron before with questions about the other Rocktron stuff, and they've gotten back to me within 24 hours with a satisfactory answer. Other companies I've dealt with (with Jackson being the only exception) totally blew me off because I'm a nobody. Apparantly Rocktron cares and I needn't say more!

I pretty much laid out my opinions already. I've seen the previous posts about the prices that were paid for this unit both new and used, and I bet its safe to say I definitly am getting my moneys worth in spades. I've never tried out other manufacturers rack effects, but I sure would if they could be had for this cheap! I would be replacing this unit with another one if the unthinkable happened to it, however I'm certain I would have to pay a lot more for it than what I did pay for it. BTW I found this Intellifex in the used gear section at the local music store hiding under a P.O.S Rane EQ (which I also bought, but I returned that pile the very next day) There is nothing wrong with my Intellifex! No battle scars or any damage that I could see, and it does everything its supposed to! Why so cheap? Don't know, and I'm not gonna bitch one bit. In fact, I'm still pretty smug about it, being the cheap little slut that I am! A TEN!

If you are familiar with basic Rocktron controls set up, then it's pretty easy to use. If not prepare to spend some time with the manual.

I play a Mesa Triaxis and a Mesa Strategy 500 Pwr amp with and ART tube parametric EQ and occasionally a Rane dual 15 band EQ. Mesa equipment is extremely noisey, and my attempts to use the gate feature have only met with frustration and dissatisfaction. Some of the other effects are fair, but the gate sounds and feels like shit. I have run it through the effects loop on the Triaxis and it was bad. I ran the unit in a straight line with everything else, and that sucked too. I tried before and after the EQ - shitty either way. I mentioned that the other effects sound fair, while that is true, the Intellifex is not a reactive piece of musical gear. I have completely cut this thing out of my signal path because of signal and tone degradation. It's great for switching my other midi devices though!

I purchased this unit used from a friend who had had it for a while. I have had it for over a year and up until about a month ago it has been rpetty reliable. Now I'm having some problems with the locking up (what is this? Win 98 or some shit?). Nothing like playing through software that locks up on you. Maybe it's just this unit - maybe it's all of them. I don't know.

Never dealt with them.

Overall, I don't like the non-responsive feel and the gate has really sucked for me. I'm not impressed. I've got another friend who purchased his new and has also removed it from his rack. If you like the feel of playing through software and don't mind it locking up - this unit is for you! For me, the search continues.

Familliar with Rocktron rack units, it was a snap to get up and going.

Path editing isn't too bad. Each patch is assigned an effects order, so you are somewhat limited as to which effects you can use. Effects can not be simply turned on or off via midi controller or front panel--I think you have to turn the volume down on the effect to effectively turn it off via a midi controller.

Overall, the sound quality is excellent.

The pitch shifter is not intelligent, and it seemd to track slow to me. Having 4 voices on the pitch shifter is nice, but not really usable for me.

I thought the delay time were short. The longest being only in mono.

Chorus--up to 8 voices--was very nice and reverbs sounded great too.

The unit was quite but a loud beep occurred at power up.

seemed to be built with quality.

never dealt with directly. web site is good for manuals and patches.

Bought new at local guitar center.

Overall, it was good, but I returned it and got a used t.c. electronic g-major--you can read my review. I would have bought a new g-force or g-major instead of keeping the intellifex. I think both the intellifex and g-major retail for about the same price right now.

The tuner,eq,extra effects, sound quality and other options on the g-major made that the effects box for me and I think it's a much better buy and far mor versatile on sounds and features.

Great Sound.

Mine started to intermittently "Crash", It would just display a whole bunch of charactors on the LED and would stop responding.

I took it back to the guitar shop where i bought it and have not received it back yet (that was 10 months ago - no shit). They have passed it to different repair places, the first place had to wait months to get the schematics for it from rocktron because rcktron were being bought out by GHS strings or something. Its got to the stage were aparrently rocktron don't want to have much to do with supporting australian customers so all of the repair places are scrathing their heads. One guy said they could replace the system board but getting their hands on one first would be the greatest challenge.

It appears that if you live outside the US you're not going to get too much help from rocktron when things go wrong. The guitar shop that I bought it from were official rocktron dealers but have now stopped selling their products (I wonder why?)

Its an awesome unit, but I haven't seen it in 10 months. At this stage its useless to me. No I wouldn't replace it with a rocktron unit. Next time I will do more research into a brand before I buy their product. I play in a band which play atleast once a week when we are not touring and everyday when we are on tour. I need something that is relaible. I have had to borrow gear from people or play without the effects that the intellifex provided me.

Not a happy customer.

this is very relative. the intellifex have lots os parameters to make a present, and u got lots of possibilities from effects with this. but u must sit down, read the manual and play a lot with this unity. after u got the "mood" from intellifex become very easy to use. And they got a windows editor in rocktron's website.

my setup-> ibanez Jem -> jmp1 -> mesaboogie 20/20 -> 2x12" 200W spearkes..
I got no noise from intellifex(HUSH). and all effects are very clean and bright.. the only problem is the pitch shifter.. i lost lots of times to get a good sound...

it's ok

nver broke... but their website is very good, with some patches and information..

it's the best rack effect system that I ever get... clean and silent..
get this if u wanna a powerfull delay/rever/chorus system.

Getting a good sound out of this unit is a peice of cake. I use it as an FX loop for my mixer and it's perfect for anything from heavy guitar, to vocals, to bass, to even my harmonica. You have to ensure that the "input" knob is turned so that you see some activity on the unit's LED's. Them tweak the output level so that you don't kill your mixer and you're all set. Simply turn the preset knob and use the recall button to select your patch. Programming this unit take some getting used to however.

I'm using an Roland keyboard, Ibanez JS electric and a Korg ToneWorks AX1500G .. no amp. (I was using a Gallien Krueger , but I don't remember the model.) The Rocktron unit is is primarily used for reverbs and chorus. The reverberation is superior. The unit is 24 bit capable and can be used with vocals, bass, acoustic, keyboards. The sound is awesome when the levels are properly configured.

well sometimes I turn the unit on and it seems as though it's jammed. I restart it and it's fine. This happens 1/40 times. Once the unit is on however, it NEVER fails.

Customer support? .. who needs it. Although I'm using a power supply that's not made for the Rocktron, it's rated at an amp level that's slightly less that required. Works fine, but I should order a new one.

I play blues, hard rock, neo classical and progressive. I've been playing for 12 years now. If my rocktron got stoken, I would probably smash a couple of things and go on a rampage. It would hurt, but I would definately purchase another one. I love the ability to control it with a midi footswitch. I personally find it easy to use. It's a great asset to my home studio since it's my main reverb/chorus/delay unit. Compared to the Korg's reverb and to my software based solutions in my Cakewalk Sonar, I find the Rocktron untoucheable in terms of sound quality and flexibility.

It is difficult if you want to go beyond the presets. I own an original blackface one. i don't know if its any better or worse than the new ones. I got the manual with it, which you can't live without. There are extensive modifications you can do to the presets with the many parameter options.

Good sound quality. I mainly bought it for reverb and occasional delay. It is very good for reverb. Much better than a pedal reverb. The delay is very good, however, i wish that you could start from scratch and custom build your own, instead of modifying presets.

i don't gig

don't know. they make quality products though

Try if before you by it. like i said, i would like to be able to start from scratch and build from there, instead of the way its setup.

I'ts quite a hard job to get the feeling with this unit, also because when editing parameters you don't know exactly wich parameter you are going to save and what you are comparing...

Good, cristall reverb, nice delay and chorus, very warm...preset patches are quite difficult to use, better start from a blank blackboard;
Quite noiseless and good audio output, but the lack of balanced output really disappoint me!

Good quality...I can trust in it

When buying it I noticed a problem with the adaptor and they didn't help me at all, I had to ask the italian import company...no help without asking more money for a 20$ adaptor!In many cases they also let5 me understand I was disturbing them!
The unit was used but still under warranty

Good for all style of music and instrument, but some configuration limit the parameter set and in certain condition this can be a problem

This is the Online version. Not extremely easy to program. I read the manual one night, and programmed all my presets, and I've forgotten how to program it now. The manual is adequate, but I just wish it was a little more intuitive. It sucks to have to read the manual to remember how to store a preset, etc.

Hamer Studio > Mesa Boogie Triaxis > Rocktron Intellifex > Mesa Boogie Simulclass 2:90 > Marshall 1960AV 4X12. This does great time based effects. The chorus and delays are excellent, and the pitch shifter is good for a unit in this price range. Still have not been able to get a good flange sound except when I don't want it to. The reverbs are nice also. The presets are a little "wet" for my taste, and there is a flange effect that is unintentional when playing with alot of distortion and heavy reverb. Doesn't do anything spectacular, but is best to add subtle sounds to the signal. I'm a former owner of several Boss pedals, and a digitech unit. I miss being able to reach down and turn a few knobs on the pedals, but the convienience of a single rack unit to take the place of 3 pedals is great. I really wish it had a tremolo and a better flange.

I gig all the time without a backup, but I don't rely on effects. If I did, I'd probably want some kind of backup. I fear tubes going out more than this thing.

Haven't tried it yet.

I'm in 2 bands, a stupid hard rock/metal band, a funk oriented band, and I do some studio work for hip-hop groups. I've been playing for about 12 years. You can find these things for around 225 on ebay. For the price, they are great. Just know that there is a reason why TC Electronics, Lexicon, and Eventide units are so expensive. Its because they are better. Also, its hard to program on the fly, so you can't really use it to write, except with pre-existing effects. (At least I can't) For someone who just wants a bit of effects, I think it is perfect. If you want to sound like Steve Vai, get a better unit, and practice more. The units I compared it with were pieces of crap, like the Alesis Quadraverb, because of the price. For me, this is to tide me over until I can get a TCE G-Force.

I use the intellifex Online version 1.11!!
Presets are good but its a very long way to find out how to programm own style!!

I use Yamaha Dg 1000-intellifex online-Mesa Boogie 50/50!
I think the hush at the Bypass channels damage your real amp sound!
But the other effects without the Pitch Shifter have a very good quality!
I don`t know what i will do with the Pitch Shifter

Overall its a good FX! When you look at price and what you get for it is The intellifex better than the Ge Force!
I played both at stage and in the studio!
On stage prefer the Intellifex but at the studio take the Ge Force (attantion: Program Orgies!!!)

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.

It's easier to use than the Lexicon LXP-5 (the unit it replaced in my rack), but not much!
Some paremters must be saved before you can go end edit others (or you will lose your changes). I also haven't found a way to copy a patch to a new location without editing at least one parameter first.
Yeah, this unit needs some real improvement here. I wish Rocktron offered editing software for computers. This unit is a natural for a small Visual Basic applet that would give graphical sliders for editing all parameteres at once.

This is why you should consider this unit. Close to Eventide and TC sound at a fraction of the price. Very atmospheric. I don't generally like choruses because they obscure the note attack. These are terrific.
Totally agree about the factory presets being too wet and too extreme. Although, I was able to dial in a REALLY convincing Eric Johnson "Dover" emulation using the Stadium reverb patch. I normally hate most large hall emulations (I prefer plates). This one had a lot of personality, almost delay-like, very smooth.
The overall sound is extremely musical and very atmospheric. Never harsh or raspy. It even accepts too hot signals without misbehaving too badly.
It's not an Eventide or TC, so it doesn't get a 10.
A word about the LTD model. Supposedly, the LTD is much quieter than the original Intellifex's. This unit is DEAD quiet.

So far so good.

I give it a 10 purely based on value. Unless you are a VERY discriminating studio musician, no one will notice that you haven't spent three times as much on an Eventide or TC. Other low-end units (even low-end Lexicons) are tone-sucking pigs compared to this.
Lacks some features such as Intelligent Pitch Shifting that are becoming fairly routine. But I'd rather have a few good effects than a bunch of mediocre ones.
It's worth the trouble to spend the time to tweak your own patches.

The only short-coming the Intellifex has is the number of parameters you need to adjust in order to obtain the sound you are looking for. It is definately designed for the experienced programmer and not the beginner. Another commentator at this web site said it was his fault that he could not program a usable chorus. I have a lot of experience programming effects processors and it took me a good deal of time before I managed to creat the two choruses I was looking for.

The Intellifex is one of the clearest most "transparent"(sorry to be cliche') effects processors in existance (in the under $1000 price range).

I have never had a problem with it in the ten months of constant giging and recording that I subjected it to.

N\A

If you are looking for a quick-plung-in-and-play-out processor, this is not it! If you have programming experience or some patience and can't afford a Lexicon, t.c. electronics, or Eventide then this is what you want. The Intellifex works best with guitar, keyboards, and pro audio. It does not work as well with bass guitar. In addition, the pitch shifter is not great for anything except octaves.

Editting is very easy with the three knobs (no buttons get repeatedly pressed while adjusting the patches)
Most of the default sounds seem very wet. Its pretty easy to get a more usable sound by simply decreasing the amount of the effect. The manual is acceptable, and available via Rocktron's www page, should you wish to take a look at it prior to owning the unit.
In my opinion, the most of the pitch-shifting effect is useless. It doesn't seem to be intelligent (just stays a certain interval above or below what you play). It is handy to be able to tune your guitar down a half step via the pitch shift, though.

Pristine sound quality. What drew me to this unit was the degree of "clean" it seems to allow. I often play with lots of gain, but I want my time-based effects to be clean.
Chorus effects(up to 8 voices) are impressive. Again, the presets tend to be too wet for my tastes. When you get over the fact that this is best used to enhance your existing sound, not replace it, it is very usable.
The Reverb options are incredible. I haven't even begun to customize them, the presets are so varied.
The pitch shifting sounds wierd. I can't imagine much of a good use for it. There are some interesting things, but you will probably not want to use it for most of your music. (unless you're an alien)
This unit delivers extremely clean effects! When changing patches, the effects are breifly interrupted, but the dry signal is still present, so its not nearly as disturbing as the total dropout other units have.
They effects are added in a parallel fashion, so your entire tone is not ruined by the digitizing process. You can control the mix of effects to vary per your taste.

The unit seems solid, but I can't vouch for its reliability.

When the effects are toned down, this provides extremely pleasant and effective reverb, chorus and delay. Its not that the effects sound bad out of the box, just that they are too prominent for practical use( probably to try and sell more units in the music store)
I would appreciate a headphone out, but that is really beyond the call of duty for a device like this. Stereo inputs should make it very useful for vocal effects as well. Be very careful when you consider this unit! I love what it does, but it is very specific. No distortion, no compression, no speaker simulator. Stricly time-based or domain effects. This box will not make you want to play guitar if you've been getting bored. :) It will however provide fantastic domain effects...

It's quite easy, with some editing of the factory presets- they all suck, to get great tone. There are a lot of perameters to scroll through but the tones are good. The manual is ok. It explains the basics pretty good but doesn't go into the practical things that well (i.e. troubleshooting)

Not noisy at all, effects sound great once programmed. I haven't been able to program a usable chorus, but that's my fault.

I blew a fuse, but that has been my only problem. It is a reliable piece of gear.

I sent a previous unit in for repair and it was done in a timely manner. The guy on the phone suggested the fuse thing when it wouldn't power up.

I would buy it again, maybe if it had some more practial presets and less perameters.

I'll start by giving my usual layout guide. The front panel boasts power and recall switches, preset selector, config switch, a large LED (in tasty blue!) compare switch, parameter adjust, compare switch, Paramete rand function selectors, bypass switch and input and output levels. A +4 -10 db selector completes the lineup. The rear panel covers Midi in, out and through, left and right input and outputs, 9v input and a seperate 9v 'phantom' to power the Midi Mate via a special 7 pin Midi cable.
The preset patches are a good place to start tweaking, but there are just so many parameters making up each sound it is very easy to get into a hell of a mess. Each patch is made up of a 'configuration' These range from Hush+Reverb (dead easy!) to Hush, Chorus, Delay, Reverb, Ducker(woah!!) Each of the sections of a configuration has an associated set of parameters, eg chorus level, rate balance (left & right), delay, dry level etc. Add the mixer (common to all) into the equation and you soon realise that you're looking at a very complex piece of professional level kit.
The inclusion of a 'compare' switch lets you play with parameters a little at a time, and compare them back to the original patch settings This is a god-send when it comes to creating your own patches.
I'll have to be ruthless and say that if you've not used studio quality rack gear before, this is NOT the place to start. If, on the other hand, you're more than comfortable with the complexities that this type of unit throws at you, you'll not a find a better piece of kit.

Is this a great unit? Does Winnie the Pooh shit sawdust? This has to be the best FX processor I've ever had in my rack, and probably as good as anything I've used in a studio. one of the secrets of it's 'transparancy' as people seem to quote is that there is no EQ to get in the way of you amp's settings. This means that the only thing you add to your basic sound is the effect itself.
The reverbs are lush, and the damping on low and high frequencies can make a lot of difference if you're looking for reverbs that sound like different finishes, e.g. a carpeted room lacks a little of the high, so knock it down a touch, and so on.
The chorus section is just out of this world, and what else would you exect when you have 8 voices, each with it's own delay and mix? The Pitch Shift also boasts the multiple voice approach, but you are limited to 4 voices (the arpeggio I mentioned above).
Delays are as good as anything you can get your hands on, and the HUSH just finishes the whole package off.

I've not had any problems with the unit, but like most things, you just can't tell. I'll keep you posted regards reliability.

I'm looking at getting the software upgraded, so again I'll keep you posted.

If you had to pay half as much again, it would still be a must for the pro-minded player. The quality of the effects combined with the flexibility that only comes with pro gear make this little 1U unit the best Multi-FX unit that I have ever used. It is definitely NOT one for the beginner (stick to your little toy Digitech's) or for the musician who doesn't like too much technology, but for the serious semi-pro or pro musician. it's the business!!

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