Vox ToneLab ST

Ive only had this unit for a couple of weeks but im already very impressed with the big, realistic sounds this tiny unit can produce & how easy it is to use. The manual is pretty straight forward & easy to understand.

I play a Japanese made Ibanez RG Series with reverse headstock & an Ibanez Les Paul Custom into the ST then into my ****** little 15-watt practice amp. It can get a little noisy on the high gain amp settings with the gain & volume turned up high but nothing the units noise reduction cant take care of. The amp models in this thing sound very big & organic unlike some of the boss, digitech & line6 effect processors i have used. The main reason for such high quality tones is due to the 12AX7 tube in the units power section.

This thing has a solid chassis & i think it would be reliable enough to gig without a backup.

N/A

I play mainly rock, metal & blues & the main reason i bought the Tonelab ST was for its ease of use, high quality amp sounds as well as its versatility. I absolutely love the uk high gain orange amp setting. With minimal tweaking i was able to create one of the heaviest sounding distortions i have ever heard from an effect processor.

I had been playing with a POD 2.0 modeler in front of a mid'70s solid state amp (Acoustic 154, 125w head driving 6x10 eminence speakers in a closed cabinet). I also play guitar through an all tube amp (Peavey Delta Blues 1X15). I've been playing about 40 years, and using the POD for probably the last 6-7 years before it started getting flakey on me. I tried a digitech RP250 for a while but found the amp/ cab/ effect matrix just too difficult to manage -i'm old school and knobs that I can turn - like the POD or the Tonelab- are easier for me to adjust. Creating/editing patches is as easy.. i think easier even, than with the POD 2.0 but that may be because the documentation with the Tonelab walks you through it step by step with hints along the way. the presets (50 to 99)run the gamut from clean blues to metal crunch... and 0- 50 is available for user patches ( although patches are already in those places they can be modified/erased as you wish) all in all the interface is at least as friendly as the POD wich puts it well ahead of the Digitech in my book

I blues and early r&b and have settled in with a few guitars
A semi hollow les paul style w/p90s, solidbody Peavey T60 with GFS Retrotron Memphis Alnico pickups, and a couple other early Peavey T60 with original 'toaster' style pickups. The sound quality is noticeably better than the pod it replaces... that also makes it better than the Digitech that I couldn't ever get to make musical at all. It's 24 bit processor makes for a rich natural sound and the tube in the power stage gives it a warmth and natural response that is much like my all tube amp.
I was never much for effects so the effects in the tonelab seem no more (or less) silly than those on the POD, with the exception of the gain/ distortion effects that are quite nice if used in moderation... the reverbs are nice and the delays work well and sound great
what is very nice is the concise emulation of some really outstanding amps. I've got 5 real amps and I like them all- the Tonelab does 33 and the made made very cool choices about tones they were looking to emulate, and did a good job with the tone and dynamics of those amps.

not sure

don't know

this amp modeler is as musical, dynamic and satisfying a genuine tube amp... possibly because it has a regular triode tube in it's power stage so the tube response is the real thing. flexible without being fussy, gig-able with a useful footpedal, and most of all a wide pallete of really really good tones (and effects if you use them. If it was stolen i'd buy another tomorrow. way better than the POD it replaces, way way better than the fussy artificial sounding digitech RP250

It is so easy to use. Or sometime I will say it is too easy. The pedals all have only one parameter, no matter what pedal is, dist, OD,or Octave. But for me it is good news,cause I hate tweating knobs. Tonelab ST toss all the tweating touble away. Using only one knob, you can get what you want, so why two knobs? And effects all have 3 parameter, for example, delay has Time, Mix and Feedback. That is enough for me. And still I can get good effects sound by tweating these 3 parameter(not 3 knob, actually there are only one knob and one button to do the job).
Editing patches is the pain in the *** here. When you change patches, every knob stay what they are but the inside number are already changed. So you would never know what amp is or what cab is in the patch, except that you write it down on your notebook. That really makes some trouble for me, but I get to used to it. Cause it is so easy to write down all the settings on paper. Or if the patch you made is really good, actually you can save it into one of the 50 presets slots. Tonelab ST has 100 presets but 50 of them is fixed, that means you can not change them. But I thinks 50 free slots are enough for most people.
You can download a software call Library Manager or something and connect Tonelab ST to computer by USB. But it is not very handy, for the software only can let you WATCH all the patches saved on ST, you can not edit them directly in the software. Maybe Vox will release an editing software sometime, that will be great.

I have a Korean Epiphone LP with Duncan PUs. It is a good guitar.
I bought Tonelab ST for computer recording. And I dont have any amps. So I connect Tonelab ST to computer by USB, and the final sound comes out from my M-audio BX5a Deluxe.
I have used lot of pedals and multi-effects, and finally I sold them all. I never made a single good sound from those things.
But with Tonelab ST, I can easily make good sound from Blues to Metal, from clean to noise. Most sound Tonelab ST make are pure and alive. Finally I can only use one pedal to do my recording.
I can tell you that Tonelab ST is good enough compare with a real tube amp. But when I duplicate a good sound like Metallica or Radiohead, for me I dont think I really need a real tube amp. Tonelab ST already gives me what I need, especially when I mix guitar into other instruments, I can not tell how difference a real tube amp can make.
Only one problem, most sound are alike. If you are looking for a very versatile distortion pedal, Tonelab ST is not the one.
But for me 10 decent sounds are much better than 1000 lousy sounds. And Tonelab ST absolutly can make more than 10 decent sounds. I only have it for 5 days, and I already get 10.
But still nothing compares the real tube amp, so I give it a 9.

It is metal shell, I think it can last for a long time.

Not touch them, hope never do that.

I play alternative most time, play a little metal just for fun. I have been playing for 10 more years, tried lot of stuff, most of them are cheap, cause guitar is not my main axe.
If stolen? well, I will run down to store buy another one immediatly.
What I love is the sound is really alive, after having Tonelab ST, I spent more time to play guitar. What I hate is that I can not use Phaser and Delay at the same time.
I compare Tonelab ST with my friend's Line6 X3. I found that X3 makes all guitars same(distortion sound, X3 makes really good clean sound), you just cannot tell what guitar is connected. I dont want use X3 for distortion, it never makes me enjoying guitar playing.
After all, buy this one, get few decent sounds that can be really used in your music. It is cheap, if you dont like it, sell it. You maybe loss few bucks, but you should never miss the oppotunity.

Moving around the settings is easy to grasp but slightly annoying - since the unit is so small, some settings can be accessed by holding down certain buttons and it's an annoyance when you are building a patch from scratch.
Otherwise - finding great sound is not hard at all. The manual is thorough enough and the models sound kickass.

I am using it plugged directly into my PC or any Hi-Fi amp I find around me. The cab models are OK... I'm currently in the process of choosing a guitar combo to plug this in, tho.
It's not a very noisy unit at all - just the normal hiss on the high-gain models. I can't comment on the noise gate, because I never use it. I've tried it once - it removes the hiss successfully, but I didn't check what it does to the tone.
Most of the models sound fantastic from the get-go. Some amp/cab combinations need to be fiddled with to sound acceptable, tho. At least to my ear.
Most of the additional FX are fine. I am pretty much the Dry signal + Delay here and there guy, so this unit suits me well. The Reverb is great. Effects such as Phaser and Flanger sound great and help me expand my writing a bit. The delay is OK, although muffled and not crystal clear - I believe that's what they tried to model in the first place, tho. The Wah is not my favorite, but it gets the job done. I am just more a CryBaby-type of guy. I use the TubeScreamer model as a booster on some patches. It's OK at most - it warps the signal in a weird way, but can be fiddled with to get a good result. It is absolutely needed if you want to tighten up some of the models.
Also, I can't seem to get good transparency on High Gain with this - playing 3-note chords sounds muffled and muddy. I'm guessing it can be cleared up a bit if I plug it in a real amp and don't use any cab modelling. That's not abnormal for processors, tho... I'm just being picky I guess. The models sound great and very close to the real thing.

Here's a short demo(high-gain) - the unit is plugged directly into the mic input of my PC - http://www.box.net/shared/ma45t2ptkp
Models used were Rectifier and 5150, split into both channels.

I am going to give this an 8. It definitely does what I expected it to do and is probably one of the best processors in the price-range(or even above).

BUT the TubeScreamer model(and all stomp-box models, actually) lack a volume and tone control. You can only set the gain on those. And I believe that with some extra controls it would've been easier to dial-out that weird warping.

Seems sturdy. I don't have the habit to drop my processors a lot, so I hope it will last long.

I would gig with it without a backup.

Haven't dealt with VOX as of yet.

I play thrash-metal and the models on this thing suit me well. As I said - the WAH is not my favorite, but I only use it once in a while, so it's OK.
I've been playing for 9 years now. I started off with a KorgAX1G back in the day, then moved to Behringer V-AMP2, then moved to using seperate stomp-boxes, then bought a tube amp.
I wanted to get something small and portable that packs a punch for rehersals and small gigs. My choice was to either go back to stomp-boxes and carry them in a case, or buy a processor. And I'm pleased with my choice. Sure, I could probably get more transparency with a stomp-box distortion, but this little guy provides much much more flexibility and is easier to move around.
I love the high-gain models(Diezel, Soldano, 5150, Rectifier, Bogner, the JCM2000... all these models work with my riffage). The clean and bluesy-models sound good, but I'm not good at dialing such sounds in, so I can't comment.
I enjoy playing around with the FX on this thing and experiment with adding them to my music.

When you first get it, it's a little difficult to get around things without the manual. Most of the knobs have more than one purpose that depends on other settings. If you don't read the manual you will miss out on a lot of important information.

I needed something to practice with without disturbing the neighbors. I have tried just about everything from small amps, to PODs, to software like Guitar Rig/Amplitube but nothing really cut it for me.

Tonelab ST really delivers in the sound department. There's a ton of tone in this little box. I was looking for two things: a good clean tone and the Marshall sound. I got both and a lot more. For Marshall you get JTM45, JCM800, JCM2000, Plexi, JVM, and Slash models. Take the names with a grain of salt, because like with all modelers these are approximations, at best.

For reference, I created a spreadsheet of the amp models: http://bit.ly/Tonelab_ST_Models

I'm not sure if the little tube is a marketing gimmick or if it adds anything to the sound but Tonelab seems to have dynamics the other modelers lack. I did an AB test of Tonelab and Amplitube and Tonelab definitely had the edge (albeit slightly). Tonelab using Amplitube's cab sims sounds magnificent.

You can bypass the cab with the touch of a button. Using the clean amp model with presence off and the bass/mid/treble at 12:00 lets you bypass the amp model (I just made a preset for it).

All in all "33" amps and a bunch of effects plus expression pedal wrapped up in a little box for $200 is a hell of a deal. I've bought individual pedals for less.

Looks solid.

Bought this because of how simple and easy to use it was. I hate tweaking sounds & multiple EQ's. I had the Tonelab LE for a little bit and thought there was too much tweaking (and that unit is easy compared to most). If you are like me in that regard this will be perfect.

Great great great sound.... The distortions are nice. Put the Tube OD pedal feature on them for high gain every time. Just really nice. Raw, full of gain, aggressive, tight, just awesome. Sounds natural, tube-ish. The actual sound of this unit is just as good or IMO better than the Tonelab LE. Its just easier to use and has more amp models.

Effects are good, I'm happy with them. I like having all the basic effects, I don't need anything too crazy though. Noise gate works decently enough, gets the job done.

Seems good so far but I cannot really say. It seems to be built well enough.

Have not dealt with them.

I play metal stuff. King Diamond, Megadeth, Iced Earth, all that sort of right hand intensive palm mute stuff, but not all the mindless newer screamer and ---core stuff

I play this with an ESP LTD MH-400NT with Duncan Custom & Duncan Jazz. I use a Peavey Supreme 160 head (run Tonelab into effects return of this very awesome & cheap head) & a Peavey 412MS cabinet. This thing is just great. It's simple, easy to use, very inexpensive, great tones, awesome unit. I love it. Just what I needed.


I have cranked it up a bit too and it sounds good. Watch your treble when you crank as with any unit or amp. The Peavey Supreme 160 distortion sounds great when cranked up loud and has very little noise. This compares quite well.

Some gear I have owned:
Mesa Single Recto head
Marshall 6100LM head
Peavey VTM 120 head
Mesa 50/50 + Peavey Rockmaster FJA modded (Great)
Rocktron Prophesy (too much tweaking)
Rocktron Piranha
Rocktron Chameleon (too much tweaking)
Digitech 2112 (too much tweaking)
Digitech 2120 (too much tweaking)
Zoom G9.2tt (meh and too much tweaking)
Peavey XXL head (Great)
Peavey Transtube 100 EFX head (Not enough beef)
Tonelab LE (Good, lil too much tweaking for my taste)
+ some cheap crap

I am completely happy with this unit. I use it as a practice unit, and if I needed something to play live I would spend big money on a nice high gain head like a Framus Cobra. For what it is, this is a great unit.

Well.. Just got me one of these and I must say. Bravo Vox for making better modeling FX than any other. Read the manual a few times and turn the knobs ann welcome to Modeling heaven :-) There is this one thing that kind of annoys me -the lack of editing options when you use the Tonelab ST Sound Librarian (V1.0) I hope Vox's next release of the software adds this. You can however view, copy compare the settings stored on the device and its pretty easy to dialing in on device. There is one other thing that annoys me that Vox has been doing to all of their modeling devices, what models are they modeling?? I kind of figured that this has something to do with copy wright and that it could make the price of the unit to be more. So I will not complain too much. Seached the web and found this (dont know if it's completly correct but...)
SILK STD : GREEN
CLEAN Dumble Clean
CALI CLEAN Fender Brown Pro
US BLUES Fender Tweed Bassman
US 2x12 Blackface Twin
VOX AC15 1960's AC15 (12AX7 Top Boost)
VOX AC30 AC30TB
UK ROCK UK Blues JTM45
UK METAL JCM2000
US HIGH GAIN Bogner Ecstasy
US METAL Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
BOUTIQUE METAL Dumble Overdrive Special

SPL : ORANGE
Roland JC
57Twin
Bruno Cowtipper
Matchless DC30H
1950's AC15 (EF86)
AC30HH
JCM800
Marshall JVM
Soldano Slo
VHT Pittbull
Diezel VH4

CST : RED
3Band EQ(Pure Clean)
Dumble Modded Fender Showman
Trainwreck Express
Original Crunch
Original BritishRockAMP
AC30BM
Marshall 50W Plexi
2555 Slash
Original HI_Gain
Peavey 6505
Original BOUTIQUE Metal

PEDAL MODELS
COMP MXR RED COMPRESSOR
ACOUSTIC ORIGINAL
VOX WAH VOX WAH
U-VIBE UniVox Uni-Vibe
OCTAVE ORIGINAL
TREBLE BOOST VOX TREBLE BOOSTER
TUBE OD Ibanez Tube Screamer
BOUTIQUE KLON CENTAUR KENTAUROS
ORANGE DIST BOSS DS-1
METAL DIST BOSS HM-1
FUZZ DALAS Fuzz Face

MOD/DELAY
CLASSIC CHORUS MXR CHORUS
MULTI TAP CHORUS ORIGINAL
CLASSIC FLANGER MXR FLANGER
PHASER MXR Phase90
TEXTREM Tremoro on Fender Combo Amp
ROTARY Rotary Speaker
PITCH SHIFTER ORIGINAL
FILTRON Mu-TRON Filter
ECHO PLUS Echo Plex
DELAY ORIGINAL 70's Analog BBD Like Delay
CHORUS+DELAY ORIGINAL COMBI FX

This is my second Vox modeling unit. Have still got my Tonelab LE but i'm seriously thinking about selling it. Had a Line 6 POD XT Live before that and you simply cant compare the sound -Vox's tonelab series is in a different league when it comes to tubeamp modulation.
My favorite ampmodulation on this unit is US HIGH GAIN Bogner Ecstasy (Green) Very musical. Having tried the Bogner Alchemist witch I also like very mutch I think they have captured the essence of it.. So for a modelig amp its great! I use Echo Plus and a touch of Reverb on most of my stored presets. Expression pedal is usen to mix Delay as I got a Ernie Ball volume pedal and a Wah pedal in front of the signal chain:
Guitar-> Volume Pedal-> Wah-> BB Preamp-> Tonlab ST-> Atomic Reactor.

Gitars:
Ibanez AT300 Andy Timmons Signature.
Fender Stratocaster 1973 with Duncan PU's
Tom Anderson Hollow Classic T
Fender KOA strat with Dimarzio Cruiser in Neck, SSL Middle, Duncan JB bridge.

Amp used: Atomic Reactor 112 18 W.

Seems solid....

Havent needed any.

I play mostly Blues and Rock. As I have stated the tonelab st is a very good match for me. Been playin for nearly 20 years.

Would buy it again in a heartbeat. Love the siplicity of this unit, does exsactly what i want it too. It's very small. A fiend of mine has the desktop version and its even smaller then that one. It would been even better if there where more Delay options (stereo exc..) But having tried it Live it's no biggy.. Sounds Great

The Line 6 POD XT Live is loong gone... Im Keeping the Tonelab LE for now as a backup. The NEW Tonelab ST has taken its place as my main modeling unit.

Very easy to use and dial in presets, just set the parameters you want, hit write button, and hit it again. Some effects, such as compressor, are one button only, so you will not get a lot of tweaking here. Three types of reverb, more than I'll ever use. 33 amp models and 11 cabinet models that match the amp model when selected. There is a switch on the back for Fender, Vox, and Marshall amps, but mine doesn't work, not sure why. There is an acoustic sim, but only one adjustable parameter, tone. It would be nice to have it's own EQ. Switching banks means holding down a button while pressing one of footswithces, which would be very hard to do on a stage.

The noise gate really tames my Peavey 5150's clean channel hiss/whitenoise/hum. I use the CST setting on the California Clean which acts as an EQ only amp for a pristine clean on the Peavey's rythm channel. The Califonia clean is a new model for Vox, since I own a new VT30, and it isn't on the VT series that just came out, niether is the AC sim. I tried the 50 presets, and didn't like most of em, too loud and too much gain, too many effects at once. The pitch shifter tracks ok, but not great, so no 12 string chords here. Overall, The clean tones are rather plasticy sounding, especially through the effects loop as a preamp. It sounds a lot better in front of the amp, and can really boost the highs and lows. I use a pair of EVM 12L's in the cab, sounds more like a 4x12 that way. I also ran this through the tube-driven effects loop of my Genz Benz, with a 12" Alnico speaker, and it sounded too processed. I did not test it with my 67 blackface, because luesthat amp needs no help. Distortions on this box are amazing, and I don't even play metal. Effects are average at best, but the spring reverb really shines. It takes some time to test all the amp models, but odly enough I don't like the Vox AC15/AC30 models. They did not include the AC50 tone, which is my favorite british tone. There are about 9 metal amp models, but also 9 clean models, and everything in between for the blues and classic rock crunch.

No way I would use a digital pedal live, it sits on my 5150 combo amp, and is the perfect match to tame that beast, and I don't gig anyway. It is very small and light, so I would love to jam with this, or just use my VT30, which has about 75% of the function of thisn unit. Drop it once, and..... Some of knobs do not function unless you are editing, which is very annoying if it is designed that way.

I have no idea. I never keep my stuff long enough to use the warrenty

I aslo own a Boss ME-70 which just came out recently. The Boss cost $100 more, is huge compared to this, does not have an AC sim, does not come with a power supply, has no on/off switch, and has only 5 amps to choose from. The tube in the Tonelab ST may or may not help, it is an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7 which I will change to a Mullard or Amperex very soon. Overall, this is easier to edit, but the Boss has 3 parameters per effect, the Vox only 1 on most effects. I like them both, but if you like distortion or metal, the Vox is the Box. If you like delay/Modulation and more tweakability, the Boss is better suited, also $100 more.

I also have the Desktop version of this Tonelab and two Valvetronix Amps (AD and VT series), and yes I love their products.

This is the easiest to use among all since the effect parameters are less, but unfortunately the hardest to get a good sound. Maybe because this has the highest number of amp models (total 33) so there are too many options for me.

The less effect parameters for modulation effect is a drawback for me in term of tweakability. I wish I could control the flanger's regeneration parameter. The simplistic tweak makes it harder to get the sound that I want.

The USB is good, but the Librarian software cannot maximize the usage since there is still no editor software. Maybe with an editor software there can be more effect parameters to be tweaked.

The ASIO USB and its driver work well with some softwares (Amplitube 2, Guitar Rig, etc) but so far it was detected but does not work for Sequencer/Audio Software like Sonar and Cubase LE. Could it be because my Windows XP is not in SP3 yet?

Unfortunately the MIDI-USB does not send real time controller message of the pedal or switch. I tried to use it to control the Wah in Amplitube X-Gear but does not work. Looks like Korg/VOX does not maximize the usage of this USB-MIDI port.

Very Good considering its tiny size. As good as the other valvetronix as long as it is connected to a good amp with flat response...well it actually depends on the type of connection that you choose in the back of the unit...Some presets are nice, some are not, but you have some usable sounds to start with. The sound is much better than other lifeless digital effect like BOSS and Line6 (I also own GT-8 and POD XT just as collector items, never use them in Live situation, the sounds are thin).

I have had for 3 days only but it looks like it can stand abuse. The build quality does not look as good as the Desktop Tonelab though.

Never had to use them. All my Valvetronix Gear still work until now.

I play mainly rock and blues withsome jazzy stuff sometimes. If this is stolen, I'll definitely buy another one considering the price and the size. I did not buy the SE version because of its size (and because I already have the desktop version with VC4 foot controller). I have been playing for more than 20 years, not necessarily make me an excellent player but I have good ears for the guitar sound. I also have a Marshal JCM TSL122, so I know how advance the digital modelling with powerful DSP nowadays. Eventually I foresee in the future the digital modelling will replace the bulky tube amps.

I only wish it has more modulation effect parameters to tweak, at least as many as the VT30 I have. Hopefully VOX will release the editor software soon instead of only patch management using librarian. And software real time control with USB-MIDI for the pedal would be a nice addition.

Very easy, compare to the Line6 POD X3, manual is cool, not too sure about firmware but so far sounds decent.

I brought this baby and sold my full amp rig, it is that good.
I play brutal death metal and other agressive types of stuff, gain on this baby is more alive compare to Line6's processed tone. Not bash Line6 here, but Line6 X3 wont makes me get rid of my full tube rig. But this baby did. Very agressive yet tight.

Direct recording, nice and easy as Line6 product.

Live, sounds great with PA

Practice, brillian with my headset, what else do I need?

Not too sure yet, but seems very reliable.

Haven't experience yet

Like I said before, I play hi-gain brutal stuff only, this baby sounds just perfect. After 15 years of playing and recording and owned everything from Mesa MarkIIC+ to Dual Recto, to numbers of Marshall, Engl and Framus amp, this baby delivers just what I need, It's not a real amp so don't compare it with 2K+ tube amp head, it does what it designed for and dose it much better than anything under 1k, and I actually sold all my full tube amp rig to fee up some room and cash, because this baby put a big smile on my face. Don't worry about the preset or small size, sounds decent is more important I reckon. may be I will get a AXE-Fx in the future to keep my rig small and portable, but we will see.

Buy it if you don't care about going up on stage with no backline/super boutique hi-gain mosters behind you. just close your eyes and riff on!~~It can deliver the gold to you and your audiances if you take 5 mins to dail your tone.

Not bad if you are up to speed with the SE & LE versions...just less to adjust

Sounds really nice...lots of up to date amp mods here so it's a bit easier to do newer covers...

don't know yet...mt old SE is still chugging along after 6 years...

don't know

First off, I want to say I was a bit shocked when I opened the box...this ToneLab is LITTLE! I mean it looks like a toy...I have been using the ToneLab SE for the past 5 years and it's really big so I guess Vox got the word....anyway, after I got over that I progressed into the presets from 50 to 99. I must admit most of them are far better than the presets on the SE when I got it new....still, I am a pioneer when it comes to all things tonal, so I waded into the amp models full throttle! I'm not much of a classic amp buff (even tho I'm half a century old) so the Vox AC 15/30 & Fenders don't do a lot for me so I passed them up for now. I like the newer amp models like the UK ROCK, UK METAL, US HIGHGAIN (my fav on the ToneLab SE), US METAL, & BOUTIQUE METAL. Seems Vox has really stepped up to the plate and answered the calls to modernize it's mods. This ST version, built on the same platform as the older ToneLabs, is a move in the right direction. I've had the ST only 2 weeks now so my experience is going to change a bit with time, but my first impression is a good on. My new fav on the ST is the UK METAL CST Marshall Slash Edition. I own a coveted Marshall Silver Jubilee, so I am familiar with the tone aspects of the amps Slash used on Appetite for Destruction. This model on the ToneLab ST is about as close as any amp moding device I've heard so far. The key is when you back off the volume on the guitar, the amp mod acts just like the real amp and cleans up very nicely. Don't get me wrong, the ToneLab in no way is as good as the MSJ, but it is a great substitute for playing the crap holes I venture into now and then...