TC Electronic FireworX

Great sound, parameter/value knobs are too delicate.

really awesome sound quality

sat in my studio rig for about five years (bought new) and the power supply went out. I called them and was quoted a minimum of $250 for the repair. Pissed me off. I paid $1700 for this in NYC. I ended up ordering a power supply from them for $80 and installing it. It works fine so far.

very easy and smooth to edit things.the manual is ok too

The sound quality is very good for any kind of effects you need in your studio.

This is why I'm posting this review.I bought my unit as a second hand one.Had it one year functioning without problem and then..the power supply breaks.Costs about 150E to repair.This was one year ago, but today the same seems to happen again.This sucks completely,there is no way I can explain this failure.The unit is in normal use all the time and then all of a sudden it just breaks.So be aware that the reliability of the material might be not the best you can get, although for the price you pay for it, I wpould expect things to work.I'm disappointed.

Quite good.There website gives a lot of info and the staff replies quickly to ypout questions

Perfect for small home studio use, but does that matter if the unit breaks down from time to time?

Great but, was a little disappointed about not being able to use my Roland VF-1 in the S/PDIF loop (they could never lock)

Amazing for the most part and everything is very usable controls for everything. Great for creating unique sound effects.

So far so good seems reliable enough with proper handling.

Never tried there is a bit on there website and to be honest with you this is a low volume unit so not too bad

I bought this to replace my MIDI guitar stuff which I found to be to stale and I tell you what I should have bought this before as I likely would have never bothered with MIDI guita. I also play Electric Violin and this thing is great with that instrument. I will add that they are a little sluggish where Patch Changes are concerned.

Many reviews on this site indicate this piece is difficult to edit and is not for novices - totally untrue. Anyone who has even a basic knowledge of how a synthesizer works can easily manipulate this piece. Anyone who thinks this piece is difficult to edit compared to most other effects need to consider the vast abilities of the Fireworx to sync to midi clock or bpm values. You can sync nearly every applicable parameter to a bpm value ie: filter sweeps, phaser cycle rates, panning rates and of course delay times. If you have ever tried to accurately sync any of the first 3 examples with the old standard values such as 0-99 or 0-127 found in older or less advanced pieces then you know how boring, difficult, frustrating and lame it is. The unit is deep when it comes to editing ablities which is a hugh + due to the designers approach to making editable parameters truly useful is outstanding. For sure - absolute 10 on Ease of Use!

The unit is extremely quite. Some patches will have more noise than others depending on the effects being used ie: filters and phasers can go into self oscillation creating some background noise. Compared to other units in it's price range this unit shines in sound quality. Also - note - don't get fooled by the stock patches. Some of them are less than impressive at first, especially if you are not running the type of signal through the piece that the patch was designed for. However - it is extremely easy to create your own patches that sound outstanding which is the true measure of any processor, sync, drum machine, software, etc..

I am giving an 8 here only because of the knobs and buttons. The knobs have do have a delicate feel and seem as they must be handled carefully. The buttons are small and awkward to press quickly. Otherwise the unit is solid.

Another 10. Call or email them or check out thier web site if you want proof.

Bottom line - would definitely replace this piece. I have had many other effects - this one far surpasses them in all respects. Comparable piece is $500 more - Eventide Eclipse. Bang for the buck - 10. Once you have it you will probably use it on every track from here on out. How many pieces of gear can you really say that about?

OS 2.00
This unit is not for novices. The unit itself is very deep, and very capable. As a result, the unit is also very complex and sometimes very frustrating. I've found myself sitting in front of the Fireworx for hours editing a single patch. The manual is very well written and laid out so you can find a specific topic quickly. you can get very deep in this unit, but its easily to get lost if you don't know what youre doing.

The unit is relatively quiet. Delays and reverbs are very clear and dynamic. The distortions are a little weak for my tastes, but i have yet to find a single unit that can give me my 'chararistic brutal' sound. The filters are great, especially the formant filter. The Fireworx can be very visceral, and very ill-tempered, as well as very prestine and beautiful. The possibilites are virtually endless thanks to the modulation matrix. The matrix is what really makes this unit shine, in my opinion. you can link any internal parameter (i.e. pitch detection, envelope filters, ADSR) to any effect parameter. By these means, you can saturate your tone with distortion by adjusting your picking, sync panning to an LFO, ect. The only complaint that I have is that the reverbs can sometimes sound a little cold, but then again, this is a digital unit.

For studio use, I have never had a problem. I've heard of people's Fireworx units locking up after upgrading the OS to 2.00, but I didn't have a problem. Can't comment for live use, though. The knobs and buttons are plastic, and have a delicate feel to them.

Once i purchased this piece, I had a few questions regarding the editing matrix, the internal monosynth, and MIDI, and Filip at TC Electronics was very helpful. I had a response via e-mail within 3 days, and they answered all of my queries efficiently.

Overall, i feel that the Fireworx is worth the price, especially now since prices for secondhand units are around $750. Ive used this unit to add those special touches to my mixes, and you can achieve outrageous and sometimes frightening results. I do wish there would be a wet/dry knob on the front panel.

JUST BOUGHT THIS UNIT. I GOT IT USED ON EBAY FOR $750. IT SEEMED A LITTLE OVEDRWHELMING AT FIRST. ESPECIALLY SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST EFFECTS UNIT I HAVE EVER BOUGHT. BUT AFTER A LITTLE READING IN THE MANUAL I WAS SOON NAVAGATING THE REVERB WHICH I WAS REALLY ENTERESTED IN FOR MY VOICE. IN THE SECTION ON REVERB THERE IS A PART FOR SIMPLE OR ADVANCED. AND WHAT WAS NICE IS I COULD HOLD THE MICROPHONE AND EVERY TIME I CHANGED SOMETHING ON THE REVERB I COULD IMMEDIATELY HEAR THE RESPONSE. THIS WAS VERY GOOD FOR ME. I AM SURE THERE ARE MANY MORE THINGS FOR ME TO LEARN ON THIS UNIT BUT I HAVE ONLY HAD IT 1 DAY.

I GAVE THIS UNIT A 9 ON THE SOUND ONLY FOR THE VOCALS. THIS BABY WILL OF COURSE DO EFFECTS ON ALMOST ANYTHING IN YOUR WILDEST MIND BUT THIS REVIEW IS ONLY FOR THE VOCAL. I HAVE A FENDER ACOUSTASONICS PRO WHICH I SING THROUGH WITH MY ACOUSTIC FENDER GUITAR WITH ITS FISHMAN PRE AMP. IT REALY SOUNDS GREAT BUT MAYBE NOT AS REAL AS I WANTED. I ALSO HAVE A PEAVEY KBA 300 AMP. AND IT HAS REVERB ALSO BUT IT SOUNDS TERRIBLE. SO I TOOK MY BRAND NEW USED FIREWORKS AND DID NOT HAVE IT PUT THROUGH THE EFFECTS PATCH BUT HOOKED A MIKE DIRECTLY TO THE INPT ON THE FIREWORKS AND THEN FROM THE OUT ON THE FIREWORX INTO THE MIKE INPUT ON MY PEAVEY KBA 300. WELL AFTER SPENDING FUR STRAIGHT HOURS LISTENING TO ALL THE FACTORY PRESETS I FOUND OUT RIGHT AWAY THIS WAS NOT SPECIFICALLY MENT FOR VOCALS. BUT WHEN I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO MANIPULATE THE REVERB ONLY I WAS ABLE TO GET A REALISTIC GOOD SOUNDING REVERB OUT OF IT. SO I AM ONLY REATING THE REVERB TODAY. THE FACT I CAN MANIPULATE ALL ASPECTS OF IT I WAS REALY IMPRESSED.

CANNOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT RELIABILITY BECAUSE I HAVE ONLY HAD IT FOR 1 DAY

N/A

I PLAY CLASSIC COUNTRY AND GOLDIE MOLDIES ON MY FENDER ACOUSTASONICS PRO AND AM SO HAPPY WITH IT THERE IS NOT ENOUGH WORDS I CAN SAY ABOUT THE FENDER. BUT I ALSO RECENTLY PURCHASED A LES PAUL GUITAR AND WANT TO START PLAYING A DIFFERENT TYPE OF MUSIC AND SINCE I SING I WANTED A GOOD EFFECTS UNIT FOR MY VOICE. NOW I THINK I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT SOMETHING SPECIFICALLY FOR MY VOICE BUT ONCE I BEGAN TO GO OVER THIS UNIT I HAVE FOUND OUT IT REALLY IS AWSOME BUT WILL REQUIRE SOME WORK ON MY PART TO GET THE REAL BEAUTY OUT OF THIS FINE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT

Naturally, the more capabilities and features something has, the more user-intensive it'll get. There are plenty of menus, but this box is designed beautifully; three knobs, plenty of buttons, and a generous backlit lcd screen. Editing is such a pleasure. I love the Fireworx manual: concise, detailed explanations of every effect, neat diagrams, etc.

You should expect professional results from a $1,000+ unit. The effects are absolutely phenomenal; high quality, or low quality... if you're that kind. My favorites are the more rare, sound-obliterating effects, like the variety of distortion, feedback, and noise algorithms...quite tasty indeed. The reverbs are very crisp and digital - perfect for cold ambient soundscapes. The only effect I haven't gotten a chance to use yet is the vocoder, but I can't imagine that it could even remotely suck.

This unit is built solid all around: metal and solid plastic. The power supply is internal (!) so there are no worries with the heavy-duty three-prong connector. The buttons could be more intact, as they're a bit loose, though the three knobs are very solid. I would gig without a backup.

I've sent an e-mail to TC Electronic and gave them a call. With the e-mail, they took about five days to respond, but the response was helpful. The phone call was also satisfying. The guy knew the product and was pretty friendly. Nothing fell apart, it was only a question I had which the manual didn't answer.

I create industrial/ambient noise/whateveryouwannacallit. The Fireworx is wonderful with it's generous pallate of sound-mangling capabilities and absolutely murders all those boring-as-hell meat-and-potato boxes. This is my never-dissapointing all-in-one unit. That's cool how there's no numerical limit on the number of simultaneous effects...dsp dependent, but it is sort of annoying that you can't chain five delays together, for example. I think it only allows up to two of the same effect, regardless of dsp power. The synth algorithm rocks, which allows for designing some sick monophonic synth sounds. Of course it's limited (square and triangle waves only?), but hey, it's not a synth. The built-in mini sequencer and slew of modifiers are awesome. Worthy of mention is the expresssion pedal input (!) to control not just one, but many different effects at once with the pedal (I use a Roland EV-5, works great). By the way, some of the presets are self-sufficient and require no input to be heard; 200 factory, 200 user... more than enough. Switching/scrolling between user and factory could be better. If you only have three users, let's say, and try to scroll past them to the fourth onto the factories, the Fireworx won't allow you. The lcd is very informative and the exterior is beautiful black! The Fireworx is a gem. I have few complaints about this monster. Should anything ever happen to mine, I'd buy another in an instant... assuming I could find another, that is.

This is was my first "pro" quality fx unit... and it was not difficult at all to use or modify (it is much more difficult, for me at least, to capture the sound in my head starting from scratch. I'll attribute that fault to me rather than the FireworX, though). The unit gets a 9 merely for the difficulty in adjusting the wet-dry mix and the levels across patches.

As other posters have mentioned, scrolling through the presets can be a pain in the arse. They've provided filtering capabilities, but sometimes you cannot remember which preset used which fx you are trying to reach (was it phaser or a filter?) which decreases the utility.

My recommendation: get rid of that near useless alpha wheel and put some wet-dry/level/pez-dispensing controls over on the right side. Oh and some differently-colored buttons so we can switch fx in the dark better.

My setup is: a variety of guitars (single coil and humbucker, solid and semi-hollow, etc.) and a couple Basses (Warwick Vette PL5 and MIJ J-bass) into either a Fender Blues Deville 410, Fender Ultra Chorus, Marshall Valvestate, or a Holmes... sometimes with any of a variety of fx in the loop, or in the fx loop, or sometimes direct in to the board using either the Mackie as a pre-amp or a (Bass) Pod Pro as a pre. At any rate all of that goes into the FireworX (either direct or as an aux loop) which then goes into the RNC compressor and out to the recorder (Tascam 788).

The unit is quiet as death. I have absolutely no complaints there. Most of the effects are very very good, I particularly enjoy the phaser-esque fx, the delay, and, well, most everything. My complaints are that the 'verb is a bit ... thin and I can never seem to get quite the reverb for which I am looking. Again, I attribute this more to my lack of skill than the unit, although to a leser extent than the Use category above. The one effect that I really feal it does not do well at all is distortion. Let me rephrase that: it does distortion about as well as any high-end digital distortion can sound... which is a backhanded compliment to say the least.

Overall, I think it is fantastic for my needs; I already have the distortion I'm looking for (TS9/808 and Captain Coconut 2, mainly) so the fireworx one glaring weakness is not so important in my book.

I give it a 10 because, well, it's a rack-mount digital fx unit. If it breaks down, I'll be both surprised and quite upset. There is no fear that it will break down, malfunction, or attitude.

I would not, however, even dream of using this on a gig. This probably has more to do with my proclivities to be, shall we say, rough on equipment live than anything else; put it in one of those SKB racks and I'm sure you'll be fine.

The real show-stopper for me re: gigging witht he fireworx is that it can take a second or two to switch between patches, which is simply unacceptable for a live guitar performance... unless you're one of those who stick to one sound.

If I actually had a dedicated vocal rack, then the fireworx wouldn't be a bad choice for gigging at all.

Absolutely friggin incredible. When I was trying to decide if I was going to get a tc electronic product, I requested a demo cd of the gforce and gmajor off of their website (yeah, I downloaded the mp3s already, but what the heck). About a week after I had the demo cd, I received an email inquiry making sure I had all the info I needed. When I asked about my concerns with the ROM memory on the fireworx being too little, those were addressed quickly and to my satisfaction. Right up there with Analogman in terms of support. Go tc d00ds!

The fireworx is, to me, a fantastic piece of equipment. It meets every need I have currently, and every one of which I can conceive for future use. The styles I play range from jazz to punk to blues to funk on all instruments and with my voice (such as it is) through amps and DI's. This unit is among the top 3 in price/performance I have ever used. I have no reservations about giving this unit a 10.

Anyone familiar wit TC Electronic knows about their sound quality, and this box is no exception. Turn it on , and run something through one of the presets, might not be what you want, but it sounds good. The REverbs are lush, and the unit on a while is quiet (unless it's not supposed to be- i.e. nasty digitial distortion) This is a very complex box, and I think TC has done a wonderful job of arragning and tiling the menus. There are a lot, but they're intuitive. If you want to get everything out of this box. the manual is a must. The manual is, however, very well written and very detailed. You can teach yourself the theory of the unit fairly quickly.

Incidentally, you can hook up a midi controller, send on chan 1, and program this baby to be a monophonic synth. and if you don't like the synth tone you're getting, you can even change that!

Like I said, sound quality is top notch. Noisy when it needs to be, quiet all the other times, and of those who want to use some of the noisey effects without the noise, they even have a gate for you. . . Every effect sounds top notch. But would you really expect much less form TC?

I've heard this called the Nine Inch Nails box, and yeah trent used 5 (count the five) on The Fragile. The nice thing is though that you can just as easily get those kinds of sounds out of is as you could trance, trip hop, experimental, or just totally complely wierd.

Reliability is great, it's never crashed on me and I've never had it conk out on me. However, When programming this little box wiht that sound in your head sometimes you'll overload the DSP, then the unit mutes itself until you fix that. It's usually *not* that big of a deal for me since I have others units that I can patch into it as an insert. If I took this on a gig, I would most defiantely not need a backup.

Very helpful. Luckily I've never had to deal with their customer support much, but the few times I've called, they were very nice and helpful. Seems to be a small office in CA. they get to know their customers. E-mail customer support is equally as good, however, I think it goes to denmark, so considering the amount of e-mail they get and the time difference it might take a day or two to get a response. I actaully bought my unit as a floor model from a Guitar Center and it came fully upgraded with 400 Presets. love it. . .

I play a lot of Industrial, dark, ambient, Trip-hop. This box seemed to be made for me. I've been doing this for 7 years, and it really shines with my M1, M2000, waldorf Q, korg Z1, NL2, etc. . . I run everything I do through this. Everything. It's my first choice for both bread and butter type reverbs and the craziest stuff I've ever heard. If this thing got stolen, I would cry, but through my tears I'd pull out the plastic and order another one and have it overnighted to me. The only thing I wish it has was another DSP so I could keep punching in effects, but maybe someday. I'd pay for the upgrade in a heartbeat. I can't stress how great this box is. After you figure out a few little tricks with it you can take those dull, boring, annoying presents in any of your synths, run them through this machine and you have something cool. If you have the money, buy one, if you have more buy as many as you can.

A very intuitive and visually-interesting interface. Actually, this is prolly the best looking UI I've seen in a hardware effects box.

No noise whatsoever (except for the digital distortion patches which are intentionally noisy)...

One of the buttons broke off during shipment... And buttons feel like they could become unresponsive over time. But on the whole, it seems solid.

No comment

I was looking for a unique processor to add low-fi textures to my songs--and I found it. Compared to the GTR-4000 (which I later sold), the Fireworx seems to offer cleaner more interesting effects. The Eventide may have more potential under the hood--but the programming interface is ridiculous and non-musicial to the extreme.