Rocktron Replifex

This one is not upgraded unit (old version soft). There is one manual ,You need two hours to get it. After You don't have problems with geting what you want. On the other hand - you relly don't need to search good sound - on every patches you will get nice warm analog voice.

The effects are very nice. You can hear that this baby just play;]. As I sad, there is no problem to find your favorite artis sound. My am is Rivera Knucklehead Guitar Amp + rh classic blade guitars. The hush system -(best on the world) works relly nice and fine.

No problem.

After 8 yers of using it I will try to load a new soft then I will check it.

Greattt .You need to play on it to decide to buy it. Meaby it not looks like g-major ;] But belive me - it sounds better .

Easy to use .Editing patches is just a pice of cake.

Play with RIvera combo 2 x 12 and Gibson les Paul standard.No noise on evry settings. I think that this one I will save for-ever (when I play with my band I just feel that the sound is much better) .I Trying to play scofield style and I think that with this unit it;s much better to get.

I have this unit ready from 96. Never have problems. I hardly use this unit on the stage (I play per month 10 concerts).

I play rock jazz (rock-outside jazz:] .I think that will by a new one juts to have this unit in my studio rack. The rocktron corporation are making relly nice stuff but I have tryed almost all his stuff (intellifex chamelleon dpdt) ... and REPLIFEX IS BEST ONE .Just try it ;]

The manual is relly helpful. You need 2 hours to get strted but after that You can make a miracle with your sound. The system od programing patches is very smart. General - VERY EASY TO USE

I am using replifex with guitar Ibanez prestige .Amp Marshall 900. With this stuff I don't hear noise sound - Even if I will turn off the hush gate (the best one on the world) .The sound in relly nice - especially reverbs chorus delays. I with chorus I get the mike stern sound wich is relly nice. I've got many of boss stuff (rv-3 dd-3 rv-2) and chorus but belive me - this ones in replifex are much better. When I play laut, I can hear everything .Also I was trying play on some lexicon models and g-major system - very low quality effects - that's can I say it after I play on my replifex. Just try it and You will love it !

You can depend on it - (this item is much harder to destroy than g-major ).Never has the problems .

They always answer my e-mail in fast tempo. Relly nice and helpful !

As I said - juts buy it and you will fall in love ;].

Easy to use .No problem witch editing the patches .

Best I ever heard. The reverbs and delays and chorus are relly very nice .I am using with 6100 marshall .Tghe sound kick ass !

Still do not know ;/

Don;t know

I play jazz/rock .I play for some 11 yers .I think that this is better than g-major (replifex relly don't compress the sound as you can hear it in g major )

I've had this unit less than a week but it is a great unit for the money used going anywhere from $200 to $450. It is very easy to get most of the sounds you are looking for with this unit. One of the units greatest strengths is its speaker cabinet emulation which can be tweeked for very convincing tube response results without a tube preamp or poweramp in my signal chain - I myself actually combine this feature with the speaker emulation features on my Line 6 POD Pro preamp and it really takes the tube like emulation over the top specifically with the Replifex's reactance setting adjust as you see fit.

Consider that when this unit was introduced in the 90's it sold for like $1200 and was in countless racks (and in many cases still is)used by the pros and you can begin to see the value of this unit. In fact at one time this was one of the Edge's (U2) main rack units (to my knowledge he still uses it). Even by todays standards (2007) this is still very solid unit that can still be considered pro. High points of the unit are of course the speaker emulation, the delays (very, very nice), flange/phasing and effect mixing options. The compressor is very usable as well and the HUSH feature is a great plus as well. Many claim this unit is great for producing very full analog like effects with minimal noise introduction and I would strong agree with this statement. I give it a 10 rating largely based upon its quality results for the money when purchased at its current value. I know of no new unit in this price class that delivers as much as this unit does. It can literally replace dozens of stomp boxes in your chain and lead to a measurable reduction in noise level.

I own the replifex for about 6 years so i know pretty much well what it can do and which are the weak points. Usually most rack effects are quite difficult to program and do not get you a plug and play approach. While the replifex of course is not a plug and play effect (and it is not meant to be...try a boss pedal instead) it is one of the easiest rack effects to use and to program good sounds out of it. The manual also explains everything quite nicely and makes things simple. Very straightforward....10

I use it in the parallel loop of a Boogie DC5 combo and with a Marshall TSL601. It is not noisy at all. Nice quality sounds.....what i like best are the delays..........nice clear and warm delays...........the chorus is not bad at all but do not expect it to sound like the 8 voice chorus of the intellifex. Has quite nice flanger and phaser. I cannot comment on the rotary speaker since i do not use this feature. For me the weakest point of the replifex is the reverb section..................it is very underparametered.......only 4-5(if i remember well) parameters for the reverb and while the reverb is not bad i can never get exactly the reverb i want......That is the main reason i want to find a lexicon mpx1 at a good price. The unit is trasparent enough and does not mess with your tone.
I would give it a 6.5 because of the reverbs...........it's the only section where the replifex shows its age..........

I have never got problems from it even though i used it for giging. It is very well built.....never had problems with knobs not working, with freezing menus , non working LCD or other similar problems like some other much newer units demonstrate (G major comes in mind).

Never needed them.

At this time you can buy a rocktron replifex over ebay for low money......i've seen them go for even 150-180euros..............considering that price the replifex is a very very good fx. I have to say though that after living with the replifex for 6 years i am searching for something better and to be precise i am really getting frustrated with the reverb......It is acceptable but i came to the point that i want something better. I like all the other effects it comes with except for that. So if it were stolen i would spend the extra ? so as to get something like a lexicon mpx1.

My multi-effects units require quite a bit of tweaking before you can get a real usable patch...not so with the Replifex. I plugged this thing in and was in nostalgic sonic heaven! The unit is very easy to use. Twist a few knobs...the LED display tells you where you are at all times. If you are at all familiar with Rocktron's effects units, you will be right at home here. The manual seems to be pretty thorough. Firmware version 1.02

WOW...I was blown away from the moment I plugged this thing in. I am using an Ibanez S-series guitar > ADA MP-1 Midi Preamp > Replifex > Mesa Boogie 50/50 > Genz Benz 4x12. I am especially excited about the vitage analogue effects that this unit models, such as the Small Stone. I really can't believe that this unit is over 10 years old! I compared this to the TC Electronics G-Major and I chose the Replifex. It really does most of the same things that the G-major will do save Filter effects such as wah and Whammy. And the Replifex lets you choose the route for your dry signal as opposed to being locked into one signal flow! (through the A/D and D/A) If I had one criticism it is that the pitch tracks a little slow (but that may just be a parameter I need to investigate further) Great unit...great price!

The thing is over 10 years old and still kicks ass.

Well - the unit has been discontinued; but, unlike some of my other gear, Rocktron is still in business ;)

I've been playing guitar for 19 years. I currently play in the Progressive Rock band 'Man on Fire' (www.manonfireband.com) this unit will definitely help me be more creative and free to express myself. I am looking forward to a long and loving relationship....

If you are looking for a flexible multi-effects unit that has a good mix of vintage and modern sounds for a great price...look no further!

A little tricky to use, not as easy as my Boss gt-3 but once you read the manuel and play with it it becomes cake pretty quikly.

This thing is amazing!!!! Rocktron all the way. I also have a Boss gt-3 and as far as tone this thing blows anything Boss i've ever heard out of the water.

The effects are as clean or dirty as you want them. you can use the damp parameter to get some cool vintage sounding tones out of the effects. But seriously the cleanest effects ive ever heard. Don't know about the built in hush or gate though. Ive got the rack hush for that.

I find it's best used for post-amp effects. run through your amps FX loop

Not a single problem. Awsome unit!!!

This is my favirot piecs in my rig. i wouldn't trade this thing for anything short of a top of the line lexicon. It's an amazing unit. Definetly best for Post effects.

Probably hard for newbe's but pretty easy if you're use to signal processors. I even replaced the processor with a version 1.09 myself. This lets you kick effects on and off within presets like you would with stomboxes.

KILLER FEATURE: There is a Tip Ring Sleeve jack on the back that allows you to switch up to two channels on an amp or whatever else you can think of using MIDI. I use it to kick in a MXR Phase 90 and a MXR Flanger that I have in remote loops in my rack.

BAD FEATURE: Some effect combinations require you to run you're direct signal POST HUSH (anything that requires HUSH, compression, EQ, and tremolo if I recall correctly). This actually does slightly alter your sound. If you really listen you'll notice that it makes it slightly less bright. I believe this is because the whole singal will now be going through the anolog to digital converters. If you run your singal PRE HUSH then half you signal bypasses the D/A converters and you won't notice any sound coloration.

Also, if you have a preset stored POST HUSH ther WILL be a slight drop out when you kick in that preset. Not so if you run the preset PRE HUSH. I don'e use the Replifex's HUSH, compression, or EQ, and rarely use tremolo so 99% of my presets are stored PRE HUSH. Might be an issue for others though.

Reverbs: aren't as lush as on the Intellifex. Probably because the Replifex has a more narrow bandwidth in order to replicate vintage effects (the Intellifex is more of a Hi Fi studio quality reverb/chorus/delay unit). They still sound very good though, just not as 3D souding when ran in stereo.

Chorus: not nearly as good as the Intellifex's. It's only a 2-voice compared to the Intellifex's 4 to 8-voice chorus. It sounds about as good as you standard stompbox...which us what it's supposed to sound like.

Pitch shift: Here's a tip. If you want a tighter less "washed out" sounding chorus, use the pitch shift and set it for a slight detune (-5 or so). That being said, the Pitch Shift is okay. Not super smooth or quick tracking but it works fine for octave solo's and special effects.

Delays: are nice. The Hi Freq damp lets you darken them up so they sound like a tape delay. Easy to adjust and excellent sounding.

Phaser: could be better. This one sounds thin and like a toy. More of a special effect than musical sounding. Probably because Phasers (like Wah's) sound better in front of the amp. The one in Rocktron's Taboo Twin amp sounds just like a MXR Phase 90. It must be located before the preamp section in that unit.

Flanger: Good but not outstanding. Much better than the lame one in the Intellifex.

Rotory: sounds are killer. Some of the best! Speed (like most all other parameters) can be controlled using an expression pedal.

Tremolo: Excellent and flexable

Stereo Pan: Haven't used it.

Speaker simulator: Haven't used it.

HUSH: The built-in HUSH in the Repifex, Multivalve, and Intellifex are crap. Go with a good outboard unit. The HUSH in Rocktron's preamps work great though.

Compressor: Well if you use run the Replifex in your FX loop (like your supposed to) then your compression won't be infront of your amp like it's supposed to be. That kind of defeats the purpose of sending a level signal to the input of your amp. So I haven't used it. I suppose you could use it to simulate poweramp compression in the FX loop.

EQ: Very flexable but it's a parametric EQ so you better know what your doing..you could be tweaking for days!

The wall wart gets a little hot. You'll want a spare and they are about $30. I've burned a few out in other Rocktron units.

Excellent!!! Jim Chowning (sp?) has helped me via email and over the phone on numerous occasions.

For $200-$300 used it's a steal. Nothing else touches it until you start spending a few hundred more. I think the Replifex use to list for $1000+. Discontinued now.

I've had my Replifex now since 1998. I bought it new. Before then, I was using a Roland GP8 guitar effects processor which I had since I was 14. Eventually, I got sick of it; I just couldn't get it to sound like a guitar effects unit. The only cool thing was the delay; everything else sounded unnatural. As time went by, I was craving for a unit that had NORMAL guitar effects. You know? Ones that sounded like REAL guitar effects! I always liked the sounds of stomp boxes, but there were quite a few sounds that I liked and I just couldn't see myself buying all the pedals, hooking them up with patch leads, supplying the power and building a pedalboard to accomodate them; It was just too much trouble. Also, I couldn't imagine using three different effects at once and then having to change to another sound. It's cool if you're only using a couple of pedals, but more than a handful would've been a nightmare! So when I got the Replifex, not only did it have all those sounds that I dug, the effects themselves sounded more like the real deal. They worked really well when combined together, except in some cases. The sound quality was more pristine and more professional compared to the GP8. The Replifex also had some really cool features like real-time 'Tap Delay' and the 'Channel Switching' feature, where you could use the unit to switch between the channels on your amp. That made such a big difference; I no longer had to use the amp's channel switcher: just the Rocktron Midi Mate. Another cool feature was the Reverb and Delay Spillover, and there were no drop-outs between presets. The Replifex is fairly easy to use. Best way to get around it is to follow the instruction manual which is very straight forward.

I use a 1994 American Standard Fender Stratocaster, a 1994 Gibson Les Paul Standard and an Australian-made Maton Mastersound 500 Deluxe (beautiful guitar!). I play them through the 'Holy Grail' of my tone, which is an Australian hand-built Lab Systems Cage 30A all-valve Class A head and a hand-built Lab Systems 212 2x12 speaker cabinet loaded with Celestion Greenback 25-watt speakers. I run the Replifex into the Cage's effects loop. I have always used only one rackmount effect unit for all my guitar effect sounds, except wah-wah. The effects are used only for certain songs or certain parts of the songs. I never use too much effect signal either; only what is needed to produce the specific character and texture. This way the foundation of my tone is always the amp and occasionally my Boss Blues Driver pedal which I stick in front of the amp on the clean channel to produce a different type of overdrive tone. Because of the way I have everything set up, the Replifex is fairly quiet. I don't even use the 'Hush', EQ or 'Speaker Simulator'; I feel they alter the natural characteristics of the amp and the Replifex. I try to get the effects sounding as warm, organic and analogue-like as I can. With the Replifex, it is possible; it just takes a little time to sit down and tweak them until they sound good. I get the ideas for the sounds from the hundreds of old and new CD's I have in my collection. I spend a lot of time listening to all the little characteristics and nuances of a specific sound and then try to imitate that sound. This also makes a good starting base for experimentation and creating my own sounds.

I've had it for over four years, played so many gigs that I lost count and never used a back-up. And I haven't had a single problem with this unit. Now, that's reliable!

Never had to deal with Rocktron. There was never any need.

Well, what can I say? You know, over the last few years, I got pulled into this big debate on ANALOGUE Vs DIGITAL when it came to guitar gear. Personally, I don't give a shit. If it works for the guitar player, then that's all that matters. I have read a lot of reviews on this web-site where there's always this constant bitching and resentment towards digital guitar gear. I personally see someone like Rocktron or Lexicon or Eventide or TC Electronics as an option; an option for guitarists like myself, who want a little bit more than just one specific sound. I understand the nuances, characteristics and the magic when it comes to analogue gear, but I also know what I personally want as a guitar player. It's funny how it seems we're all on this quest for the holy grail of tone, but what's even more funny is how every individual guitarist has his or her own vision of what the holy grail should look like. There are the fortunate few with the abundant funds, or the lucky handful who are in the big league, who can take the risks and not get burned, but let's face it; a lot of us shmoes don't have the abundant funds and certainly most of us will never get the big break. But, we can still afford to make some decent choices, but the choices are very individual. So, my point is this: the Rocktron Replifex works for me. It works for me in every way. But, it didn't happen overnight. I had to sit down with this thing and make it work for me. In the end, it was extremely rewarding because over the years, literally wherever I played, I always had someone, be it a vintege tone conniseur or just a regular joe who likes to have a strum every now and then, come up to me after a gig and ask me how I got this or that cool sound. So, make the most of what you have.

Cheers

Slav
Sydney, Australia

Im basically a lazy user and so I have remapped for convenience and changed a few effects and thats that. I found it takes time but is not difficult.
Have never been able to get the download thing happening. Not sure if it was my computer or what.

Have always previously used patched into a Carvin X100B head with 2 celestion half quad (since Ive had the unit)and sounds absolutely superb. I have recently moved to the USA from Aussie and bought Mesa Boogie 50/50 and V twin pre amp and am still waiting to see how this thing sounds in stereo (when I get speaker boxes).
This unit Ive found to be noiseless. Ive been using my unit since I bought it new 5 years ago(Ithink)and playing in church thats very important. I mainly use the delays,rotary and chorus but have not really been overly impressed with the chorus. I must admit I love nearly all the sounds and their quality but have heard better chorus on pedals and other rack units. Thats the only disapointment.
I dont use it much but the detune sucks as well (not much scope).

Been superb what can I say. The unit has been used heaps.
I wouldnt use a backup (and havent) mainly because of cost but Id just use the amp dry.

Have only dealt with Rocktron to ask about accessories.

My music style is blues flavoured rock,funk and heavy rock and the Replifex is great. I thought the sound quality better than everything I had heard when buying except the chorus. When I was looking I tried the GP100,Digitech stuff,zoom(crap),Boss and others and found nearly all of them had better chorus but werent a patch (haha) on the Replifex for basic modulation effects with clarity and depth.
If it were stolen I would probably look for a better unit such as a Lexicon or something but I would miss its channel changing ability and usefulness with my Midimate(Rocktron as well).
My brother swears by vintage pedals but for me playing live all the time although in the perfect world or for recording that would be great, my Replifex does a proffesional job of emulating the classic pedals. I would thoroughly reccomend it to anybody who play from Jazz to Death metal really.

First of all: I am from Germany so please excuse my bad english...

I bought the Replifex in 1996 and paid about 900US$ ( including an 2HE
plastic Rack...). I use it with an Hughes&Kettner Attax100 + that MidiExtension. I play a Framus Renegade CustomShop.

The ease of use is ok. I don't know how to improve it...
But it really takes some time to edit a preset ( u like).
But I guess that's why it has got a lot of great effects in it.
Rotary, Flanger, Hush, Compressor.... all u need...
With a software called Dumpster ( download it @ rocktron.com) you can
upload presets of other users from the net. Very nice, even if the patchbay@rocktron offers not many ( 10 or so) presets to download.

The sound quality is really great. My amp somehow makes some noise
in the distorted channel...But the HushNoiseReduction of the Replifex
kills it.
The Rotary effect is nice for vintage sounds ( sounds like warm >wapwapwapwapwap<). Great for alternative sounds.
The Flanger and the phaser are great too.
The Compressor is not the best i ever played... It somehow doesn't his job well.
Delay and Reverb are kickin ass. The EQ-Section rules! You get nice
sounds. ( Check the "DeathScoop"-Preset with your amp full distorted!)
All in all you will get a top-sound quality.

I never had any problems with the Replifex.
I use it since 1996 and no problems so far...

Never needed it... ( 10!)
But the patchbay @ rocktron's site is too small. They could offer or
develope a little software to edit presets from the pc. The Upload
with a midi-cable works great... But no software so far...( 1!)

I play kinda independent and alternative music. Sometimes hard heavy
stuff. The Replifex is like the Intellifex with a Rotary-Section.
You can really improve your sound. But I think, that the Replifex is better for players who like alternative. But Top40 will be ok too
( never played top40...;-) I would pay about 550$ used. You will enjoy it!

Its great, but I'm looking for someone out there who has written a software program for editing the Repliflex in my PC for windows...

I have the dumpster its great for saving patches but we all need a piece of programing software. do do all the editing realtime on our PC's
Does anybody out there write code come on guy's get busy and help us all out...

works great need a windows interface...

its reliable but again who has a windows interface fot this piece of gear?

haven't had any problems just looking for a software interface for this piece of gear?

Very good for the price
If you have or know of some who has programing software for the the Repliflex send me an e-mail

ausnss@proaxis.com

I m sorry for every body, but this review will be written in french, 'cause my english would not allow me to write the whole review.
(I also know that a lot of frenchies are checking this out).

Bien...
ce replifex est a mon gout assez facile a programmer, mais il fo preciser que g possede un intellifex et un voodu valve avant, ce qui aide a se familiariser avec l'interface Rocktron. Les menus sont clairs, et les potards se tournent bien, avec un peu d experience, on peut aller assez vite en fait. Je ne lui ai mis que 7, parce que je sais que d autres sont beaucoup plus faciles a programmer, et que la notice, bien que complete n'est pas d'une grande aide lorsqu'il fo se faire un petit delay, et qu'il ya 20 parametres a prendre en compte... le plus rapide a ce moment la est de passer en revu les 128 presets et de copier la partie delay de celui qu on aime bien !!

bon.. ca c'est le bluff total de rocktron, c'est pour ca qu on les aime : au lieu de creer un son, il mettent reellement un effet sur VOTRE son.
J'utilise mon Replifex entre un JMP1 (preampli marshall a lampe) et un ampli de puissance marshall 8008 (ouais je sais c un peu pourri, mais mesa boogie c tres tres cher qd meme)... apres ya deux cabinets marshall 1912 qui font sortir tout ca...
Les sons sont tres credibles (meme le rotary speaker, que je ne pensais pas utiliser au depart se revele plus que potable...), la qualite est au rendez vous, et on peut tres facilement grossir un son, ce qui est bien appreciable. La stereo est bien utilisee (l auto pan a basse frequence alliee a un petit delay de 240 ms, et zou : vous avez deux guitares au lieu d une :o) ) et les nombreux effets permettent a peu pres tout ce qu on peut vouloir (dans la mesure ou on a pas des ambitions a la Reeves Gabrels genre nappes de violons a la guitare). Enfin, on notera la presence du spillover pour la reverb et le delay (ces effets "debordent" alors lors du changement de preset, evitant les blancs habituels accompagnant ce changement), qui assure grave lors de session d enregistrement.

Je ne m'en suis pas encore servi en concert, mais plusieurs fois en repetition en studio, et oui, on peut lui faire confiance : la fonction "global" permet rapidement de mettre au point son son face aux inevitables problemes de table de mixage defaillante, ampli differnet de chez soi etc etc....

r a s ..
juste, avant de choisir, j leur ai envoye un mail pour connaitre la difference entre tous les intellifex differents, et ils m ont repondu dan sla journee, tres poliment. Plus tard, g decouvert que cette question faisait partie des faqs dispo sur leur site... sympa de pas m avoir jete.

bon..
je l ai eu ya pas tres longtemps, mais je pense que si on me le volait, je racheterai le meme. Je joue du rock et ce multi effet (qui porte pour une fois vraiment bien son nom : ce truc ne cree pas de son, il ajoute juste des effets) est vraiment ideal. Je ne lui met que 9, parce que je sais qu il existe mieux sur le marche (nivo qualite, genre TC Electronics G Force), mais dans sa gamme de prix, je pense que le replifex est imbattable..

voila voila....
pour entendre la bete, n hesitez pas a aller sur mon site : www.bob.fr.st

Pretty easy to use, especially for idiots like me! This is my first effects unit and I love it. I didn't really need the manual. I just experimented with it and got the sounds I liked.

I use several guitars. A strat, tele, Les Paul, Ibanez RG, three Danolectros, and every one of them sounds great with this unit with a Mesa/Boogie Studio 22. The biggest selling points to this unit was the channel switching, reverbs, and Leslie sounds. It nails the Leslie pretty well. I used to have a Leslie 147, and the Rocktron is pretty convincing. It's the most transparent processor I've ever heard.

I've had mine for almost four years and have never had a problem with it. I use it non-stop.

Never had to deal with them.

I love this thing even though I know I haven't even scratched the surface of it's full capabilities. If it were stolen, I would first scream like a little girl, find the son of a bitch who did it, and then go after his family. It's a shame they have discontinued it. I think Rocktron products have gone downhill since then. I've played around with some of there other stuff and it all pales in comparison to the Replifex. As mentioned before, it's totally transparent and doesn't mess with my tone. It enhances it.

It is not difficult to use. One knob for selecting presets, one for fx, one for parameters and one to adjust. I never read the manual, and am very capable of working with the unit, so I guess you don't need it.

I use one output from my Marshall JMP-1 to the mono-in from the replifex and from there on stereo out.
It's not noisy, that is, not noticeable to my ears (which already have been through a lot!). But I never heard other people comment on that, so I guess my ears are still o.k.
The delay is not perfect. The delayed signal does not sound the same as the original although you have to pay very close attention to observe this. I think the reverb-section is a little 'under-parametered' but for live or jamming at home it's good enough.
The pitch-shift is crap, as it is on virtually all FX-devices, unless you own an eventide. You can only use detunes, 5ths and octaves, and only on a low volume, cause the edited signal sound real crap. I only use it to add a slight detune (-9) to my clean sound, which I must say makes it sound very nice. The pitch-shift is only single voice, which I think is too limiting for any FX-processor.
The flanger sound very good. I'm also satisfied with the panner. I don't use it's chorus. Once you heard and 8-voice on an Eventide or even an intellifex, you would not like to use this one (2-voice).
I don't use the compressor, noise gate or anything, because you CAN'T.
If you want to use this stuff, you'll have to swith the Replifex in the post-hush setting, in which case you'll hear DROPOUTS between switching. In the pre-hush setting, the incoming signal is guided directly through the unit, so when switching this masks the dropouts.
So you can only ADD effects and NOT CHANGE the signal. OR you'll have to assign several buttons on your midi-controller to the individual effects, and only switch presets between songs. But then why switch from pedalFX to a unit. For the same money you'll have several good BOSS units, here in Holland about 8 or 9 for one replifex.
even if I could use all the FX at once, I probably wouldn't. Think about it.
If you have a good pre-amp, you don't need an E.Q.
If you need a comressor, buy a quality one (dbx 166 or so) don't limit yourself to one from an all-in-one box. Same goes for the noisegate.
If you're serious about your sound, do NEVER buy a unit with even a pre-amp built in. I NEVER heard one that sounded good-enough. Not even the GTR-4000 from eventide (which is very very very much more expensive than any rocktron/roland/boss/digitech or whatever product)

I'd have to give the FX a 7 for overall performance.
But considering the pricerange (eventide GTR4000 = 6 or 7 replifex's, Lex PCM-81 = 3 or 4 replifex's, TC - 2290 or G-force = 2 to 3 replifex's)
I'd have to give it a 9 as it is one of the best I heard in it's pricerange.

I used it live extensively for over two years now, never had a problem. So to me it is flawless.

I'm not real happy with the guys at rocktron. They advertised for this unit with big words: You've asked for no drop-outs, you got it!!
So when I got the unit and noticed the dropouts between presets, I thought my unit's electronics were somehow defective, and send an e-mail to rocktron. They mailed me back saying that it was quite normal for the replifex. So I guess they F*@k with you there.
I noticed they discontinued the thing very soon after it's release. (one or two years after). I can imagine that lying to your customers is bad for sales, so I realy have to give them a failing grade on this one.

I play in a Thrash-Metal band, but at home I also do a lot of rush, older Kings-X and the like, So I use the FX extensively and in various styles of music. On the replifex I mainly use delay and reverb for solos and backing, flanger on some rhythms, and delay, reverb, pan and detune on clean, all in several different parameter settings. I guess I use about 10-15 presets in all on it.

It is a great unit for live. It's not too expensive to be afraid it will be stolen or damaged. And if you're in a band that is not drawing 10.000+ audiences, the P.A. systems are usually not that good to justify buying more very expensive and higher quality equipment.
If it got damaged beyond repair or stolen, I would want a new one. But I'd probably would go for the new intellifex online, as it is cheaper, but has the software of the superior old intellifex (which was more expensive!!, but in time has it's R&D payed) and use a BOSS-flanger.

This was my first multi-effects processor and I was able to use it and create my own effects right off the bat. I didn't even have a manual for the first few weeks!

Editing patches is cake, dial in til' it sounds like you want and hit "store".

The manual was helpful. I was able to figure most of it out without the manual, although with the manual I was able to make some of my presets sound even better.

I don't believe the firmware can be upgraded in this unit. The Replifex is also out of production (or so I was told).

Most of the effects are awesome. As with any processor that does everything, some of the effects are always weaker than others. I use the Replifex in my guitar rack, with a Marshall JMP-1 preamp, I also use a Marshall JFX-1 for delay and reverb.

On the Replifex, the phaser, flanger (one of the best I've heard), tremolo are all awesome. Delay works ok, but it always seems to be really weak (i.e. it fades into the background really easily). The chorus is OK, I wish it was a little more lush (I got the Marshall JFX-1 for this reason). The auto panning on the Replifex is pretty cool as well, I just wish it were a tad stronger, a little more obvious when it's turned on.

I've had it for over a year and never had a single problem with it.
I would definately gig without a backup. I never even consider this breaking down on me.

Rocktron is very cool. I bought this unit used and I called them to ask if I could buy a manual for it. THEY SENT ME ONE FOR FREE! Now, that's nice.

If you are familiar with other MIDI devices, this unit is pretty easy to use. The presets are not very good, but with some tweaking they can be adjusted nicely.

I use the Replifex with a Rocktron Pro Gap preamp, Intellifex, and a Mosvalve power amp. For guitars, I have a '79 Fender Strat, A Fernandes strat w/ DiMarzio HS-2 pu's, G&L Commanche, and a G&L ASAT. This unit sounds wonderful. It has just what any guitarist would need for the vintage stomp boxes in one unit and with the built in HUSH, none of the irritating noise associated with these boxes. If you are a serious guitarist, get serious with your effects and try this unit. You won't be sorry

I have used this in live shows for about a year and a half now playing every weekend. No trouble whatsoever.

Never used it.

I have been playing guitar for 25 years and this unit is a dream. I would definitely buy this unit again should something ever happen to it.

The menus and scrolling order are mostly intuitive. Turn the wrong knob by mistake, however, and it takes a little work to get back to where you you wanted to be in a particular menu. I appreciate parameters being given in physical units like dB or mS wherever applicable, instead of abstracts like 0 to 127, or 1 to 99. Memory managment with Store, Compare, Copy, Title Edit, and the like is well-done. Input and output level controls are real knobs - that's nice. I'm controlling patch changes with a Tech21 MIDI Mouse. Works just fine. Rocktron was nice enough to provide phantom power on extra MIDI pins 6 and 7. But Tech21 wasn't so nice, and put their phantom power reception on 'no connect' pins 1 and 5. Making a custom cable was necessary. I can't change any parameters on the fly with this set-up, but that doesn't matter much. As long as I don't saturate the thing with EQ boosts from instrument or amp I'm all set.

I'm playing a Pedulla Thunderbolt-5 bass through an SWR Bass 350 head. That combination means an exceptionally clean and solid bass sound. I was looking for a rack effects unit that would package that sound up for me, not destroy it. I was interested primarily in compression, EQ, and chorus, to replace the Boss pedals that I was using. The selling feature on the Rocktron unit to me was the transpar- ency of the effects. Time-based effects like chorus, flange, and phase-shift are warm and clear. They add the spatial ambiance or lushness to the sound that you're looking for, without making your instrument sound plastic or two-dimensional. There's also the possi- bility of some way-out stuff using heavier combinations of effects. The rotary speaker simulation is impressive. It generates some noise, especially at high compressor duty, or with treble boosts. The noise is comparable to that of pedals, but the Hush cuts it dead silent when you're not playing. And bypass is as quiet as can be. It gets a big thumbs-down for recording - additional noise-reduction gear is a must. Work this one out with your engineer, or go in armed with a dbx or other in your rack. I've got the unit in my amp's effects loop. Both the Pedulla bass and the 350's pre-amp are fairly hot outputs. I've had to reduce the pre-amp gain level that I was used to playing with, in order to keep from saturating the Replifex. Adding a separate compressor before the unit's input would cure the saturation problem and improve the S/N, but that's unnecessary for gigging, and again something to be worked out with your engineer in the studio.

My idea of 'backup' is 'bypass.' If anything goes wrong with the unit, I'll just turn the effects blend knob on my amp to full dry. Problem solved...
Anyway, no problems yet.

Most of the effects in here are fun, but unnessary for bass. I bought it for the flexibility of the sound, and to get away from the hassle and unreliability of a number of pedal connections. (The pedals, while a hassle, still sounded great - Boss Bass Limiter, Bass Chorus, and a pair of Bass EQ's.) If I had to do it all over again, would I choose Replifex? Probably. There's not a lot else out there with the clarity that bass demands, at this price. We'll see what the next few years may bring.

If you've used a digital multieffects unit before, then the Replifex will be relatively easy to use. I switched over from a Digitech DSP-128 and had no problem programming it. This unit DOES have a lot of features, though, and in that respect you should plan to take some time learning how to use it. It's not as easy to program as the Boss GX-700, but it's good enough. Once you've stored your patches, it's very easy to switch in live performance situations. The MIDI mapping works well so you can use even the most basic MIDI footpedal to send program changes. Additionally, the Replifex allows you to channel switch two other processors, so you can control everything from a central pedal rather than doing the effect dance in the middle of a show. For the program changes I make, there's not even a noticable drop between patches, and the delay and reverb spillovers are very nice. I've programmed one preset into bypass mode, so whenever I select that preset through MIDI, the unit can be switched off. It's also got a tap-delay feature that allows you to set the delay or modulation speed by tapping your foot on a momentary footswitch. I haven't tried it in a band situation, but it means you can play your tunes at whatever speed you like AND have the delay keeping the right time. With all the programmability, there ARE a few tricks that you'll have to learn through experience: my most recent is that you can't have two presets in bypass mode and shift between them -- it turns the second one on. No big deal, but you'd never know without trying it out. The main thing to remember is that this unit takes some time to program, but how often do you program your multieffects? Once you have it down, it's a very playable unit.

Raves: I bought this unit for a bass, and it's by far the best multieffects unit I've heard on a bass for under $1000. The Boss GX-700, the Art Nightbass, and the Digitech and Zoom processors I've tried all pale I comparison. Although the Replifex is marketed to guitarists, don't be fooled: this unit is so transparent and prgrammable that it will blow away other bass multieffect alternatives. All of the modulation sounds are absolutely wonderful, and the EQ goes all the way down to 16hz, so there's not going to be any problem about this unit cutting off low end, even on my boomy 5-string. In bypass mode, it has no effect at all on tone. With the effects on, the low end comes through beautifully and it perserves the tone of my bass perfectly. The flanger has a beautiful low, grinding quality to it (especially on the B string), and the phasing and leslie emulation also sound exceptionally good. The tremolos are lovely and haunting, especially with a little boost on the low end of the EQ. And of course all the usual effects (chorus, delay, reverb) are crystal clear and very sharp, unless you don't want them to be (the high frequency damping on the delay is a nice touch). The pitch shifting tracks well and can do a nice octaver or harmonizer imitation when called upon. In general, the nice thing about the Replifex is that it provides the bassist with exceptionally good sounding versions of effects not normally available to bassists. I used to cruise used effects dealers and the 'net compulsively looking for the right vintage pedals that would let my low end through (the Ross Phaser is a good bet to preserve your low end and still get good phasing, by the way), but the Replifex has happily ended my searches: it's got everything I need (except wah and distortion, which are best taken care of elsewhere, anyway) and almost every effect it offers sounds as good or better than any you'll find in stompbox or rackmount form. Plus, with the Hush, the unit is very quiet. In deference to those with more discerning ear than my own, I give it a 9, but I really think it's a 10.
Cautions: 1) I found it took a little experimentation to get the right levels once I was using it with the band, but the amount of effect to clean ratio is extremely flexible, so you can have a little or a lot of effect as you need it. 2) If you set the HUSH settings a little too high, you'll get some digital distortion, especially on the low notes. Easing off the hush will solve the problem. 3) The compression sounds good as an effect, but if you're a serious slap player (I'm not, and rarely use compression), you'll want a separate compressor. 4) You can approximate a wah sound with a continuous controller and the right EQ settings, but it's no substitute for an auto-wah. 5) Another writer complained about the lack of flexibility with reverbs. I suspect this has to do with keeping a market around for the Intellifex; for bass, the reverb is just fine. I kept my Digitech DSP-128 around at home in case I ever want some tripped out reverse-reverb effects in the studio, but it's more than enough live. 6) If you're seriously into vintage effects, buy vintage effects -- this unit sounds wonderful in its own right, but it isn't an MXR phaser or a Tremolux. In fact, the guy I bought it from was going back to vintage pedals for just that reason.

Yes I'd gig without a backup. I can't imagine what would go wrong with the unit. When I bought it, it had a knob missing, but other than that nothing's gone wrong with the unit at all.

They've been very helpful with basic questions, even though they know I got the unit used. They sent me a free knob when I asked about getting a replacement, and they even have a bassist on staff who has actual gigging experience with a Replifex. Absolutely first rate, especially in comparison to the usual level of customer support for these kinds of products from other companies.

Like I said, I'm a bassist who uses effects and who enjoys treating my SOUND as a place to be creative, and this is THE modulation unit to get. It was a little pricey for my budget, but compared to the money I would need to invest to even get SOME of these effects in usable versions for bass, it was totally worth it. The unit can be very subtle, or it can be completely over the top -- the choice is yours. This unit seems to play well with my other toys, and most importantly, it's got tons of programmability. I'm sure I'll be playing with it and coming up with new sounds for years to come. It sounds good in a rock setting (I play in an all-originals band that's somewhere between grungy alternarock and pop), but it's subtle enough that it could be used for jazz, fusion, country or whatever you play. Lastly, if you're another bassist who uses a Replifex, I'd love to trade tips and stories with you.

The unit is easy to use. I used to own a Digitech TSR 24 and that was a bitch to program but the Replifex is far easier to understand. Programming can b a pain though - you often have to scroll through several screens to get to the parameter you want to adjust, you can only adjust one parameter at a time and flicking back and forth through various screens/menus can sometimes be dis-orientating. It is, however, very easy to understand how the parameters work and how to get the sounds you want out of the unit.

I use the unit with a Rocktron Piranha pre-amp and a Mesa/Boogie 50/50 power amp and I'm very happy with the setup. The Replifex is essentially a proxy for a heap of vintage stomp boxes. It doesn't pretend to offer space age effects offered by other manufacturers (no guitar synths, wammys or such like here!). The effects are very natural, warm and open sounding. They can range from subtle to "in-your-face" if that's your desire. The Replifex keeps your uneffected signal ANALOGUE, so there's none of that rademark digital "honk" or "buzz". This is the only unit I've ever tried where if you hit bypass, your tone stays EXACTLY THE SAME, except the effects disappear. The unit doest not screw with you natural tone at all! ...And this is brilliant!!! They delays sound great, and with HF damping you can get a nice analogue sound, only with up to 1 sec of delay. The reverbs just do the job. The unit offers very little control or versatility with reverbs but the sound quality is fine. For studio applications, yuo will need something better for reverbs. Chorus, flanging, phasing all sound fantastic and the rotary speaker simulators are the best I've ever heard! It's easy to re-create the sound of vintage pedals (Phase 90, Electric Mistress, Dimension C etc) and there are plety of presets along these lines. Speaker simulation offered is quite versatile and does as good a job as any other unit I've heard. I believe my Piranha through the Replifex (in series) with speaker simulation on provides a better sound to tape than a SansAmp.
The unit is also exceptionally quiet.
The unit is great for live use (not really flexible enough for all studio applications), sounds brilliant, is easy to use and DOESN'T SCREW WITH YOUR TONE!

I bought the unit used 6 months ago and haven't had a problem.

N/A

This unit sounds great and offers pretty much all of the effects I require (I play hard rock & industrial styles). What it lacks in fexibility in some areas is made up for by its great tone and ease of use. The only thing I would change on the unit is the Midi mapping - you can only alter the send map and not the receive map. Just means I can't arrange my patches exactly the way I like - a very minor gripe! Like I said, modern, space-age effects are not what this unit is about. But if quiet, warm, analog sounding effects are your vibe this unit is definately worth checking out!

It is very easy to use, but sort of annoying. You can only edit one paramater at at time, and so it could be timely. Other than that, everything else is pretty much straight forward. The manual gives you a fairly good description of each parameter for each effect, but the explanations here at Harmony Central are much more in detail. If you use any effects, you should read its explanation in the effect explanation page.

Because of the HUSH, this unit can be very quiet. All the effects sound great, but the chorus and pitch-shifter aren't as good as the Intellifex. That's because it is only one voice, as oppose to eight and four voice on the Intellifex. It has a rotary effect, unlike many other multi-effect units. The flanger and phaser add a lot of variety to my music playing, and the compressor is an added bonus for any guitar player. Don't expect the best quality of something like a Lexicon, but it is good enough, and the differences are very very very subtle.

There are two problems with the machine. When you turn it on, the power-on preset is set at what you wanted, but it is by passed. To get around it, just switch to the next preset, and then go back to the original. Also I heard that there is a small problem with the midi interface. I haven't had any other problems, and I think those two are just it. Rocktron products are known for their excellent reliability, unlike Alesis with their Quadraverb.

I called up Rocktron and asked them about the two problems, and they said they had to make the product shipping date, so they decided not to work on these two. He also said they weren't going to fix it because they wanted to concentrate on new products. That's bunch bull, and they're all bastards for not fixing it, but what can you do? It is still a great product.

I would definately buy it again. It has only the essential effects, and all of them are great quality. This product is the only effects unit you really need for your non-distortion needs. I great feature of this product is that you can use all the effects at the same time, except for the rotary. With the rotary, you can only use reverb, delay, compression, and eq. I was thinking about buying the Intellifex and the Quadraverb. The Intellifex only has a few effects, and their all more than two voice, making edit complicated unless you know what you're doing The Quadraverb I have heard had many problems with it, but it does have a 5 second delay which I really liked. One really cool feature on the Replifex, which is a standard of all Roctron rach units, is the ability to trade presents for either fellow musicians or through the Roctron homepage using a midi interface. All you really need is a sound card and a midi cable. One think disappointing is that there are only 128 presets. In order to make your own presets, you have to replace the factory presets. You can always restore the factory presets with a feature on the Replifex, and so it really isn't a problem. I bought if for $540, and so it was a steal. There isn't any other product that compares for only $540 that has greater quality. Flanger, phaser, rotary, what more do you need? Excellent product.

The Replifex is not much more complicated to use than other multi-effects processors such as those by Alesis (Quadraverb, etc). However, it's not nearly as easy to use as for example the Boss GX-700. There are lots of parameters to play around with and there are only a few dials on the front panel to access them. Thus, you have to be prepared to do some scrolling through menus to get the sounds you want.

This is the best effects unit for guitar I have ever heard. The chorus/flanging/delay/rotary effects sound full and are crystal clear with very little noise. The compressor and Hush noise reduction are the best I've heard on a digital processor. The reverb sounds more like a spring reverb than the digital reverbs found on most processors, which is great for guitarists. The EQ is extremely useful--you can get just about any sound you're looking if you know what you're doing. The tremolo, autopan, harmonizer, and phaser are icing on the cake. Other great features: a 7-pin MIDI jack for providing phantom power to your MIDI switcher; a MIDI programmable channel-switching jack to switch the channels on your amplifier; delay and reverb spillover from one preset to the next so you never have to worry about dropouts when you change presets. You won't find all these features together on any other processor that lists for under a grand. The Replifex is the ONLY FX unit you will need for your rack or amplifier. The only thing it doesn't have is distortion, so you'd better be happy with the distortion you get from your amp if you plan on buying the Replifex.

I've only had it for a day, but it seems to be working fine. Rocktron offers a 3-year warranty on this unit, which is much better than the competition.

If you are serious about your tone, you owe it to yourself to check out the Replifex. I use it with a Marshall JMP1 midi preamp. I've always noticed a difference in the sound quality when I plug straight into the amp vs.running effects (from Quadraverbs to Boss stomp boxes, I've tried alot of different processors) through the FX loop of the JMP1. The sound always loses something with the FX patched in. Not so with Replifex. It's not cheap, but if you want great-sounding effects that won't wreck your tone, then this is it!

Sonic quality RULES....... Effects RULE..............

No noise at all. Very clean and warm effects

Only had it for about three weeks, so cannot say anything about it

Same as above

I definatelly would buy it again.

There are basically four controller - one to choose the program number (there are 128 available), one to choose the function (effects like delay, reverb,... or midi program function, copy function and so on), one to choose the specific value to alter (i.g. delay time, delay level, ...) and the last one to alter this value in a given range. The handling is easy to understand, but sometimes a little bit uncomfortable to manage - because you have to turn the controller often. The manual is quite good - not too detailed, only the most important is mentioned. Many beginners would probably regret the lack of hints for good settings - the standard settings are for the most part exaggerated examples of individual effects.