Roger Linn Design AdrenaLinn

This unit is very easy to get a good sound out of-- lots of them, actually! It comes with 99 factory presets, almost alll of which are very fun and usable. I haven't gotten into editing the thing yet because the controls are not terribly intuitive-- I haven't yet had the time or desire to fool with it. However, the preset sounds are great and I think I won't need to play with it too much until I record my album this summer.

Also, it doesn't really seem to be set up to be switched on the fly-- I usually have to stop playing to turn the preset knob. I hear it can be controlled by a MIDI footswitch, and I may need to get one.

Right now, I am using an old Airline les paul- shaped, semi hollow guitar with one weird pickup (I don't even know if it's 1 coil or 2) in the neck position. I use it with my Fender Princeton Chorus stereo amp, which is a great idea with this box, as it really enhances the stereo effects.

I had to play around with where I was going to put this effect in my chain.
First I went guitar--> Adrenalinn--> amp, which was too noisy.
Then I went guitar--> amp--> effects loop out--> Adrenalinn--> effects loop in. This took care of the noise, but I had a problem with the Adrenalinn clipping and feeding back from the input volume being too high.
Now, I go guitar--> Adrenalinn--> effects loop in, and this sounds the best. The only problem is that now I am not using my amp's reverb, and the Adrenalinn doesn't have one of its own. Uh, I'll figure it out.

One cool thing about this box is that it has settings to even plug right into the board of a pA or recording console, so that might be good too, and I could just use the reverb on my digital 8 track (Korg D8).

Now to the sounds themselves-- It has tons of great sounds in it!! It has something like 12 or 16 amp models in it, and they are all very good sounding. It also has a bunch of techno- inspired filter effects that can't be found anywhere else in a box like this. It also has chorus, flange, phase, delay, etc and they all sound great. The really cool thing about this box is that it has its own built in drum machine (with pretty good sounds)-- and all of the effects can be timed to the song tempo, allowing you to do some really REALLY coool sounding stuff.

Y'know all the techno sounding guitar that's being found on recent Radiohead albums? It's in here. Pink Floyd? Yeah. Spacey blues? Yep. 80's butt rock. Yeah, that too. Fat clean Fender tones? Check. I have been having a hard time finding things this unit can't do!

Really, playing through the presets is like tuning your radio dial from the 1960's to the 2010's and hearing all the sounds in between!!

The coolest thing about playing with this box is that the songs you start jamming on already sound like they're FINISHED, real songs which just inspires me to greater heights as a guitarist and songwriter. It's not uncommon to have the sounds of drums, your guitar, and some independent synth-y sounds all together as you noodle away. All you need is a buddy playing bass and it sounds like a finished recording!!

it seems pretty solid. I'm not sure if I'd gig with it unless I figured out a better way to control it, but that has nothing to do with the construction. I just don't wanna stop playing to jiggle the knobs.

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Overall, this is the kind of effect box I had been dreaming would come along. I play music that is a hybrid of funk, blues, hip hop, techno, classic rock, and singer/ songwriter type music, and I am always trying to get sounds that are not traditionally made by guitars. The cool synth effects, timed echoes, auto wahs, filters, vibratos, tremelos, and other goodies, as well as the many great sounding tube amps in the box, make it unbeatable as a standalone processor (watch out, Line6!!)

I have been playing for about 16 years and I own lots of other guitars, effects, amps, basses, etc. Since it makes my Airline sound so great, I wonder how it will sound with my baby, the Yamaha Pacifica 521 that's waiting for me back at home. I haven't even begun to combine it with my other obsession, the Boss PS2 pitch shifter delay pedal yet.

I love to be able to just sit down with this thing and compose scads of great musical ideas on the fly-- it just lends itself to so many great musical ideas and pushes/ frees me as a guitar player to explore beyond the sounds I can get straight into the amp. The drum loops really make me feel like I am writing comlplete songs, not just licks.

I hate the fact that I can't use it with the preamp of my amp (and the reverb it gets), but that's manageable, I guess. I also really need to check into controlling it with MIDI so I can bring it to gigs. I think it will be very useful while recording, though.

I checked into other amp modelers. The Line6 POD sounds good, but it costs A LOT and doesn't have the cool filters and tempo effects that really sets this unit apart from anything like it. I also read reviews of the other popular amp modelers and none of them even compares. Considering the fact that I got this SO CHEAP on Ebay, there really was no comparison. If I lost it, I would definitely get another one in a heartbeat. I think it is going to become essential to my sound from here on out.

It would be cool if it had reverb, though.

If you are like me and you really like some funk with your rock, this effect is ABSOLUTELY where it's at.

I recently bought the original adrenalinn and find it fairly easy to use i wish it had more dedicated knobs and buttons. The manual is very well written. I'm not sure of the o.s I think it's 1.5 or 1.6. This machine has alot of features to navigate through so it can piss you off a bit

I'm primarily a guitar player but I have ran a bass through the unit as well this unit sounds great through both. I have a vintage ibanez musician guitar with humbuckers and a ibanez roadstar2 series active pickup bass. This unit sounds better for direct recording and sampling in my opinion though I have used it as a pedal in front of an amp and still think it sounds great. The best thing about this thing is the warm filters and time synced modulation. I've programed some dope-ass filtre swept patches for the bass, world class type shit. The delays are great also everything else is just good.

so far, so good, so what. (i might purchase a second unit for live use)

I hear good things. I am going to upgrade to a adrenalinn 2, so i'll know then.

I've been playing guitar for 15 years but about 5 years ago I got more into sampling, synthesis, and beatmaking so I really respect Roger Linn and it still took me a couple years to buy this thing but I have been putting more time into my song writing lately. This is going to help me out alot cuz i'm all about crafting unique tones. I've read some bad reviews from people who probably forgot what they paid for this unit or just expected too much from it. (though I was dissapointed by its lack of a true bypass) This is a ground breaking concept that only Roger Linn could have came up with. I hope this is just the genesis of the adrenalinn line and that they produce some full on pro units. The drum machine is a great feature a lot of fun great for coming up with ideas.

Holy crap. This thing is intense. It look me two hours to figure out how to operate it to about 25%. Supposedly the II is more user friendly.

I bought this to use for the effects. I thought that if it did what the Robotalk pedal does and then some I'd get my moneys worth. Unfortunately it doesn't. It sounds very fake in front of an amp (I used the clean channel of my Hot Cat 30). I guess is you're doing straight to board recordings maybe it sounds better, I don't know. All I know is it sounded fake and processed.

The first one I got powered off by the time I plugged the guitar cables in and never worked after. I had to return it and get another one. Kind of scary.

They answered me email.

I paid $219 at Guitar Center. I was going to upgrade to the II version, but I decided to just return it. I don't see how it was going to make it sound much better. It sucks, I really wanted to love this.

After reading the manual and several days of hands on trial, the system is very logical and easy both with getting good sounds and patch editing. This unit is the 1.6 version w/head phone jack.
The manual is straight forward once you realize the system layout.

Overall sound qualities are in my opinion much better than the POD. I sold my POD after obtaining this unit because the amp sounds are more pleasant, plus there is more effects and better variations. Changing/tweaking the presets is easy.

At this time reliability has not been an issue. Starts up every time, not glitches.

No reasons thus far for customer support, although they are very prompt in shipping the upgrade kit, shipped the same day ordered.
It would be nice to see more tips, such as utilization of Midi. Some of us guitar players are not that techincally gifted.

So far I've been very happy with this unit. I find myself getting lost for hours just tweaking and playing along with the drum modual.
I think my wife and kids hate this unit.

(Adenalinn I Upgraded to Adrenalinn II)
Using builtin Preset is a no brainer!
Editing patches requires a little light reading and some effort on your part but, the effort is well worth it.
The upgrade adds more controls to the unit via sub menus and the basic layout is better. Tools required smaller phillips head screw driver.

I suppose it depends on how you use it I use it in direct mode to a mixer board and then to my SWR Strawberry Blonde (Sometimes described as a HIFi or baby PA type system) this beast sounds great.

So far not a hitch looks well constructed within and without as I upgraded I have seen the gut its bullit proof.

Can't say haven't had a problem

Electric Violin player Blues, Rock, Fusion some Techno
35 years as a guitar player 3 years as a Violinist.
TC Electronics G-Major, Gibson Echoplex Pro other sundries.
SWR Strawberry Blonde, Marshall Club Country Amps.
They need to prvide access for MIDI Expression pedals and maybe make a rack version.
I would buy it again only the newer model or the next model?

I have version 1.6 with ear phones jack. It isn't easy to get deep in tweaking the parameters. I even don't understand how some parameters work, after reading the manual many times. The manual is a bit complex and ambiguous in some parts(especially explaining mod. source). I have used other effects and also a synth. In many ways, this box does what standard boss or other brand multieffects or pedals cannot do, that's why it's more complex. It's relatively easier to program standard wah, auto filter, phaser, flanger, chorus, delay, distortion, amp type effects. The new version (AdrenalinnII), which I will upgrade soon, will probably be easier to use, as they promise on their website.

I use a US Fender Strat with EMG bridge humbucker and Roland GK-2A, Korean Fender Jazz Bass with DiMArzio pickups, Boss WP-20G, Boss GX-700 with expression pedal, and Fender HOT amp. The Boss GX-700 clean Fender amp modelling, which I use, is better than the Adrenalinn Fender model. The effects are much more tweakable than on a standard effects unit. I can get extremely insane effect with the Adrenalinn. One drawback is that there's no expression pedal input. Some parameters can be controled with midi control messages, but I don't have a midi controller when I'm laying the guitar:( For instance, I can't sweep the filter with an expression pedal, what a shame.. They need to find a way to fit in an expression pedal in this box. Boss GX-700 has the ability to control every parameter with an expression pedal, but Adrenalinn has the ability to control some (very few in fact)parameters with guitar's envelope and midi control/pitch bend/modulation messages. It maybe better complements a synth with onboard midi controllers and midi. I use it for non-standard sounds cause for compressor->distortion->amp->delay->chorus->reverb I use the boss GX-700. It isn't a general effects unit. It does not have a compressor. In the effect chain, together with delay and amp sim., only one extra effect can be used. I use it in the effect chain in GX-700. It complements the Boss WP-20G synth pedal and GX-700 nicely.

My unit has a power up problem. I have to plug off/on for many times before it powers up. Except for this, it is and it will be fine, I hope.

I live far and can only get support via email. Their email support is fast but brief. Maybe they don't like typing a lot.. But I can't make oversees phone calls to get support. And the problem I have with powering it up, thet can't solve it online.. I want to upgrade to Adrenalinn II when they post the information on this.

Not too much experimental, but not very standard music either. Alternative rock, 60's-70's pschedelic/progressive/hard rock, jazz fusion, acid jazz, trip hop, ethnical music, metal(lica), etc. Play for 14 years. If it were stolen, I might sell GX-700 and WP-20G and buy a VG-8 or VG-88 for even more synth sound options. I hate not being able to control parameters with an expression pedal.

When I bought it I was somewhat new to filters and sequenced effects(most guitar players probably are inexperienced) so there was that hump to get over. However, I can't knock the product for that. The manual does a decent job of explaining things. The interface for editing is fairly efficient. One thing I don't like is that from filter to filter parameters change names, become invalid, etc...but this is not reflected in the interface. I'm a fan of explicit naming. I guess that would have required more space though, or an LCD interface. After getting to know this thing better I'm unhappy that more parameters are not tweakable via midi control. For example, there are many patches where it would be great to control delay feedback with the expression pedal on my midi foot controller.

If you want to edit patches, definitely take a look at the free editor that an adrenalinn user wrote for it. It works well on pc. I can't speak for mac users, but the emagic software seemed like a piece of crap for pc. It repeatedly crashed when I tried to use it.

I use the adrenalinn in the effects loop of my mixer (Behringer UB1204-PRO) which has worked out fairly well. I just send it a direct guitar signal. With a switching system, I can take it in and out of the signal path. My amp is a mesa/boogie studio cal dc-2 but I don't send adrenalinn output to it. First of all, sound quality isn't good enough for that, but also many of the adrenalinn effects I like are in stereo. The effects just go to the pa.

I have a piece of advice for those experiencing problems with adrenalinn's lack of input headroom. Use compression! The guitar has a pretty big dynamic range and trimming that range a bit will help your woes. I use an RNC1773 (really nice compressor) from FMR audio. It is a great compressor for the money.

You get some really unique sounds out of this thing. The beat synced effects are what it is all about. Amp sims are noisy if you apply any gain to them. You can get some chorus sounds but they could be better. The sequenced flange and filter sounds are pretty good though.

I'd say that some of the presets are actually pretty useful...unlike any other effects processor I've worked with thus far.

Tremolo is solid. Volume swells sound good. There are a lot of possibilities with this thing. BTW, I took a look at the new version on the website the other day. I'm somewhat disappointed with the path the development is heading. Instead of adding features to make this a pro tool they are making the interface better. I'd have preferred true bypass, better midi expression control. Nonetheless, I like this thing and would get another one if I lost it.

It seems pretty reliable. Not totally heavy duty though. If I were doing a very serious gig and relied heavily on the sounds coming out of this thing I'd probably have a back up.

No experience to date.

A cool product at a reasonable price. Some unique sounds. Could be a little bit more oriented towards a pro user needing to integrate into a live setup. I guess that wasn't their target market based on the price point though. Nevertheless, a little creativity can make it work in my set up...though not perfectly to my liking. I wish that more people out there would share patches. There is a group on yahoo for doing but not a single patch is posted. Maybe I'll start posting. I have a feeling that many guitarists who have purchased this thing are newbies (I was) with filters and sequences so haven't tweaked it that much.

There are a few design decisions that make this harder to use than it needs to be.For instance,to decide how much of the drums feeds into the filter or delay,it starts with d00 which means zero sent to the delay,then you have to turn through d99 to next get to F00 (none to the filter) and so on.If they had made dry "in the middle" and send to the delay counterclockwise,send to the filter clockwise,it would require less knob spinning,and when you pass d99 trying to get to the filter send setting,those drums are LOUD.

3 digit LED precludes naming presets,so you may have to make yourself a card to remind yourself the difference between U01 and U99.

On the whole,editing is pretty easy from the front panel,given the small number of knobs and the large number of parameters.There are a fair number of usefull presets,or at least enough to get you started in the right direction.

The manual is clear,complete,and well written.

My unit is one of the older ones.It was not upgradable by MIDI,so I had to pay 20$ (?) for the two new chips.

I use this with a PRS CE22 and various synthesizers,going into a Roland KC500 keyboard amp.The amp models are sufficient to get a great tone out of my guitar through the keyboard amp.I'm not that impressed with the flanger and phaser type of sounds,but the filters are pretty good.

Occaisionally I try to save a patch and I can't get it to work-don't get the little "beep" that confirms a save.Other than that it's been completely reliable.

They were nice on the phone,and got my upgrade kit out to me very fast.On the other hand,my emails were misunderstood or never returned.

This is a fairly unique product.The drum machine part of it,though it sounds nice,is pretty much a fancy metronome as far as I'm concerned-you cant get that far with 2 measures.The rest of it is surprisingly deep,and there are many subtle (and unsubtle) facets to it.

If it was lost or stolen,I'd *probably* replace it.I play through my laptop,and there are definitely amp simulator software that beat it.

I have a great time using it,though usually with the same handfull of presets I've saved.

ver 1.6 with headphone jack. If you're willing to read the helpful 60 page manual, ease of use is a 9. If you won't or can't read the manual, ease of use 5.

Strat copy with single coils to Adrenalinn to '65 Deluxe Reverb re-issue (guitar) and Peavey Pacer (drums). Originally had Adrenalinn
on top of Deluxe Reverb. Some patches were horribly noisy when I was
standing right next to the amp. Moved the Adrenalinn (and myself and guitar) 5 feet away from the amp, and voila, no noise at all on any patches. Doh! Amp sims disappointing...wished they had put in a sequencer or something else in place of the amp sims. For that matter, I wish they had put in a global amp sim kill switch, so I wouldn't have to manually turn the amp sim off every time I change patches. The rest of the effects are killer, and the drums sounds
are good.
I don't go after the sounds of my favorite artists.

Played through the presets when I first brought it home. Second time
I used it, I broke the start switch - using my thumb. Tad too fragile. I'll exchange it at GC, and if the second Adrenalinn breaks
down, I'll probably take my money, or switch to a different processor. Which would be a shame, because I really like the sound of the filters, modulation, and delay in this box. I would use it on a gig without a backup, because I wouldn't be willing to spend another $300 for a second unit.

Never dealt with the company.

Rock, roots, blues, r&b, jazz...American Music. The Adrenalinn is an excellent match. Playing over
30 years. Own a '72 Tele thinline re-issue and a Proco Rat. If stolen or lost, don't know. Love the filters, modulation, delay and
the ability to tweak the parms to get your own sound. Hate the amp
sims and the fragility of the unit. Favorite features...see above.
Didn't compare it with any other products...just read the reviews on
Harmony Central and elsewhere. Wish it DIDN'T have the amp sims.
Helps make music.

It's not easy to use but the editor makes it better.
There are so many parameters and option so it takes some time to learn it. The manual isn't so good, okay it explains how to work whit it but i would like more info about getting some effects like wahwah etc. I have the version without the headphone out but with the right plugs you can connect a headphone.
I control the adrenalinn with a Behringer fcb1010 and it works fine, i can control every effect with the controlpedal and can switches between all the user presets, almost no respons time.

Sound quality is very good (for the money) I read some reviews here where people sad it wasn't good thoose people are deaf or stuppid.
The presets are not so good but have you ever had a effectbox that has good presets ??????
So it takes some tweaking.
I have also tried the V-amp 2/ the johnson J-station/ the pod 2 and the digitech genesis but the Adrenalinn beats them all.
The amps don't sound just like the real thing but most of them sounds really good. I like the fuzz and the 2 fenders.
I have the thing for 2 weeks now so it will only get better, the more I know this unit the better it gets.
The drumsounds are also very good.

I only have it for 2 weeks now so can't say anything about it.
Have upgraded the software but when tweaking presets it still clicks, but thats only when you tweak. It looks very sollid metal box, good pedalknobs, only the knobs for tweaking are a little small but again thats only for tweaking.

Website could be better, need more info and explaination about the unit.

this thing has some effect that jyou can't get anywhere else.
Most amp sound very good (don't compare it with the real thing).
I would like to see some extra's if they build a next version:
On/off switch/true bypass/more detailed manual/digital out/ 19 inch version.