Vox Tonelab SE

I found it generally to be quite intuitive,once you get your head `round the basics,it really depends on how technically oriented you are.I`d say it`s fairly uncomplicated,considering the large amount of functions.If you have access to a computer,you can connect the tonelab to it via the pair of midi connections in which case programming/getting sounds becomes a lot easier.

Let me get this straight:you won`t get the exact sound of your favourite Twin/Recto/Marshall or whathaveyou thousands dollars worth of sound,what you get is the ?? 330.00 worth simulation of it.
If you are a purist you may not be interested in this kind of pedal anyway.If you are interested in having a wide range of sounds at your disposal at the touch of a few buttons,then this might be what you need.
Personally I find some of the amp and effect simulation less useable than others:in my opinion the best sounds in the amp simulations are on the crunchy settings,you get some decent and pleasant sounds.Next best are the clean sounds,although except for the twin rev. every other amp is set to start distorting quite early on in the gain stage and so you have to decide for either cleanliness OR volume.Also i can hear some unpleasant digital overtones when I let a chord ring out.
The distorted sounds I`m having the most problems with:
onedimensional and a bit on the muddy side,whatever the eq I use.
I have to say that the manual comes in handy when you decide what model amp simulation you use,as the settings aren`t always used in the same way:for instance,a real VOX AC30 doesn`t have a middle control,so on the tonelab the middle pot is an extra that`s neutralized on 5.A real fender deluxe reverb only has tone control,whereas on the Deluxe rev simulation you have to use the treble and the bass pots to simulate that single tone,but to neutralize the middle pot it has,strangely,to be positioned on 2 (9 o`clock).So although it`s usually strightforward,reading the manual as you go along can really help.
Much of it applies to the various effects,some are better than others, I`m generally not too impressed with some modulations,particularly the phaser,which I find complicated to use and onedimentional.
the delays are fine,you`ll certainly find lots of useful sounds there,I`d just would have liked at least one DECENT multitap.
Thumbs up for the reverse delay,great for those psychedelic Floyd moments.
Reverbs are useable,but I don`t use them anyway,so can`t really give an informed opinion.
The distortion pedals I`m happy with,there`s enough to get a good variety of sounds,from a bit of boost to mild overdrive to full distortion,again,the more the distortion the more unnatural digital muddiness you get.
grouped together with the distortions are the whas,the comp,and some more modulations.This means unfortunately that you CANNOT use a distortion pedal AND wha at the same time,or dist/comp and I find this very limiting.
Generally speaking I`m happy with the variety of sounds I`m getting out of this pedal,considering the cost of it.
I play it through various valve amps,a carvin belair 212,a laney lc50 and a laney lc30:what I found the best is to use the LINE output rather than the AMP output.
The LINE output sounds more transparent,although the trebles need to be attenuated quite a lot.
The AMP output to me sounded a bit too boomy and less clear,so I suggest to take the time to experiment with both.
As for the sounds that I`m not too happy about:
if you listen to it in the quiet of your home you might find all sort of defects,but this pedal is meant to be used live:
I played quite a few gigs with it and I have to say that mixed with all the other instruments,it sounds great,all the possible muddines/fizziness/digitalness will be masked in the mix.

Never had a problem,I`m quite careful though.
Substituting the valve is a pain,in case you want to.I changed three or four different ones but didn`t notice any significant difference in sound.
I use it regularly without backup,if it breaks I`ll do without,that`s how versatile I am!

never needed them.

I`ve been playing for the last thirthy odd years,non professionally but very actively.I`m into vintage more than modern.Couple of Ibanez semiacustics,fender strat,fender tele,tokai sg and tokai 12 string ricky style.I play blues/country /soul/vintage rock and also some r`n`r and jazzy styles when required.I gig regularly in small clubs and pubs and I`m not too fond of big stages where the sound of the musician is in the hands of someone else.I like to be in control of my sound.
I went to buy a boss gt6 and left the shop with the tonelab instead:
never looked back.If lost I would replace immeadiately.there are some things that i would like a bit different but that would be the same with any of these types of effect pedals.possibly the best alternative would be to buy all single pedals separately,which probably have a much better sound,but it would be ten times as expensive and much more complicated to put to work.
VERY NICE,I LIKE.

This is my second attempt at owning an S.E. the first one was a dud and went back, I then moved on to L6 gear xt-live to go with my variax's.After increasing frustration with the all digi-sound, I bought another one,changed the valve for a top-grade one and YES! it is the dogs'danglies.Editing that stevie wonder could do(sorry stevie),sound that pee's on the pod' he-he.

If you have good ears and a bit of common'you can't fail to get great sounds out of these,don't try to make it sound exactly like ???,because all amps sound individual,I have owned lots of marshalls,vox's,mesa's each one different from similar model's. The effects on this are super ,far better than the pod,the chorus is spacy and nice,the wah spot-on,I got this to go into a bose L1 pa and it WORKS.

Generally it seems built for war, got a switch that needs replacing(sticks) also I over-wrote some patches by mistake on a gig,but found others that got me through ok. generally don't need back-up but keep the pod on stand-by.

Have dealt with them in the past,I think they regard e-mails as old-tech and try to communicate by telepathy, pity most of us are not as developed as they are and can't recieve thought transmission.

I am a gig-to-earn pro who play's what I am paid to play at the time so need gear that wil cope with anything , after a 40+year carreer I have played most things guitar/amp wise,and after buying the latest great new thing and fiddling with it and tweaking it ,I end up sounding like ME' oh well, thats life.But I LUV this puppy.Although you need a bike to go from end to end of it (it is long).

This one explains itself. I like the dials. It's a drag having to go through layers of menues before you can do what you want to. Once you've got started, it's more or less trial and error + learning by doing. The manuel is rather amusing, with lots of information concerning the amps, cabinets and FX the unit simulates.

The best sounding model I've had yet. I experimented with the AX Tube that sounded a little brittle, and settled for a Groove Tube. The Vox models are great. The Fenders can be a little compressed in the midd-range when you turn up he gain. I don't like the Marschalls. They have to much bass and lack presence for my taste. The cabinets are very good for recording. The FX are good value for the money. The Wah is great. Of course - This is not the real thing. Don't expect a Twin-Reverb, Marschall full stack and Vox AC30 at the press of a button. This is a good illusion, no more. Like most digital signals, the proof of the pudding is in the natural decay of the tone. The Tone-Lab SE does a good job here, but in the end the fadeing tone falls apart at the seams and vanishe into thin air. I don't use it live. There's not enough dynamics in it to compeate with a band that is rockin'. The closest I got to finding a fitting amp is the Atomic Reactor. But mine has 18 watts. Most bands I play with smother me .

No problems.

I'LL give VOX a good 8 here. They've presented the best modeller for vintage sounds out yet. It's a real little helper in the studio. It's a good help if you are flying and want to take some sounds with you. It's OK for live if you send it through the PA, but I'm used to having my cabinets behind me and hate having to depend on a monitor tech. Together with a Atomic Reactor amp you can get a great illusion going if your band isn't to loud. It's reliable and very easy to handle.

Very easy to program,kind of like a stomp box feel.No endless menus to page through.Manual is pretty complete. The software editor available at the vox site is very good.Highly reccommend getting it.(its free too!)

I use this for my studio and live situations.In the studio,I have been able to dial in pretty much any sound I need.The best part about this unit is the "feel" of the models.I couldn't tell you if they sound exactly like the amps that are modeled,but the overall flavor is there.It responds to playing attack in the way an amp does.I owned a POD 2.0 previously.It recorded ok,but always felt 2 dimensional.The tonelab is more inspiring to me.

Using it live has been more of a challenge to me.I have tried a tech 21 power amp with it,but sent it back.I've tried it direct,but I don't always play into the same PA system,so it has been inconsistent.(can't blame the tonelab for that).I've been running it into the power amp inputs of an Ampeg head and 4x12 cab in stereo,and has been the best solution for me so far.The amp and speakers do color it somewhat,but it's acceptable until I find something else.

The effects are pretty good also.Sure,there are better multi effects and stand alone reverb units out there,but overall,having all this in one pedal board more than makes up for any percieved quality loss.The fact that you can only have one stomp pedal effect "in front" of the amp model seemed limitng at first,but has not been an issue for me.

Had it a year with no problems.The amp I use doubles as my back up,if I need it.Don't reccommend doing any gig without some sort of "plan B".....

It is built really solid.Could be useful if a bar brawl develops at your show.

Never dealt with them.

I play rock pop original music,and I'm in a classic rock cover band.It suits both nicely in my opinion,but that is highly subjective at best.I would definately consider buying another if it were lost,but I think I would go for the amp version (ad60vtx,ad120vtx) and solve my live situation issues.

*******HEAR THE DEVICE INSTUCTIONS IN OVERALL RATING*******It's very easy to handle this unit not only at home while making new sounds but in real time in the studio or live. One movement and you have every type of reverb, delay or modulation you want in the same preset without changing your amp or cabinet...The manual if you read it....is good and have everything in detail..

Look... my favorite artists have spent millions for their sound in amps, effects, sound engineers and guitars' technicians. THIS sound is impossible to be taken by any multiFX... BUT I can assure you that you can take sounds from jazz to black metal with tweaking. And of course with the apropriate guitars...The amps are very good and real esspecially the voxes.... I am a proffessional guitarist and I go straight to PA. Nothing more... NO amps NO cabinets. I make me sound home with my studio monitors and I just have the same sound everywhere I play.It's noisy when you have the rectifier or the marshalls full drive full output...But not as noisy as a line6 or digitech. I think the most noiseless device is the ROLAND VG-88V2 but it's a digital shit....

It's a tank.... I have it 2 years and once someone stepped on the reverb button during a show and it's pressed in. Later at home I pulled it out and everything fine...No buckup..

The only dissanvantage of vox is that they don't have an answer center through the internet... they say go to the shop you bought it... But I haven't needed them yet.

I play EVERYTHING. Funk, blues, classic rock, hard rock, progressive metal. You can hear this device in ****WWW.MUSICWAVE.GR**** by find my name wich is ****AXS**** from the members area. There are 3 songs there.I hope you enjoy. Welcome to the world of tonelab SE. The only thing I wish it had is a compressor in a different place from the distortion pedals. Just this. But if you really play there is no need for compressor in high gain amps.

Well..I,ve just gone twelve rounds with the tonelab se, and i,m
aching all over.I just spent ten days with a Blade RH4 and a pair of sennheiser headphones,tweaking parameters and patches to see what all
the "company stocks and shares hype was about".Why does every newly
tweaked patch sound like a slightly different version of a acoustic
simulator effect pedal,spiced up with any degree you fancy,of
the same old metallic sounding digital FIZZ.Why not buy an acoustic
effects pedal, or any multi-effects pedal and plug it into a tube
pre-amp direct recording device, run at more traditional tube
voltages?In many of the other reviews,I noticed that those lavishing
praise on this device, had it hooked up to other "gizmo fantasticos",
like several pedals and a dirty great big amplifier.Vox could at least
sell it with the warning "not recommended for use with headphones or home recording without substantial investment in ??!#??%&?.God when will
this plage of digital hype end.It,s becoming a global cult on par with
football or something.You know...years ago, i had a digitech gnx1
which should be considered ancient technology by todays standards,but
all though in many ways just as digital as the tonelab, it had a massiveness and vastness to it,s sound that I cant locate in the Vox,and it even had a pretty good drum machine as well.Before that I had a Boss gx700,and both these museum pieces sound supprisingly
good if you wanted to record "rock concert in Albert Hall"None of
them had (valve-tubes).Does it have better responsiveness to volume change and pick attack in comparison to my museum pieces?YUP
I reckon it does.And does it as others also claim allow more of the individual personality of your guitar to come through?YUP.But surely any acoustic effects pedal (plugged or not plugged)into a HINT...HINT..(ANALOG)distortion stomp box,would,nt blanket the sound of your guitar in digitality either.Oh! and the manual..well..
considering the gap between hype and performance, i,d say the manual was a bit to PALY...or CHUMMY as it,s called on the other side of the Atlantic.YUP..it is very fast and easy to tweak patches.

No.After 80 hours of morning to night tweaking i have,nt accidentally
fallen over any half tolerable,Knopler,Rea,Beatles,Stones shimmmering
sparkeling..er whats the other guitar mag review expression,OH yes
glassy tones.Ok..OK you guessed it.I,m a tone frustrated 55 year old
ex-hippy whose hoping to cheat the system,by getting lush tones
"on the cheap".Don,t look at me that way.Thats what they make these
God forsaken contraptions are for,no?The stomp box simulations are
digital fizz.Amp simulations,mostly cleanish, not quite Shadows
Hank Marvin.High gain on amp sims..digital muddy sludge,

If you,ve still got your tonelab by next Christmas,and you turn
the lights off, you cant depend on all those flashing coulored lights
on the tonelab making a damn fine Christmas tree.YUP,it looks robust.
No, i don,t gig.

Never dealt with them,but the best cutomer support would be a
Tonelab SE,that sounded at least one generation better than the
old stuff,even if it,s through a pair of head phones or while recording straight in to a multi-track recorder.

PLAY;blues,pop,rock
PLAYED:on and off all combined...about ten years.
IF:it were stolen,(I would not, like most off the other reviews
on harmony central)"hunt the bastard down to the ends of the earth
and while teetering on the edge of the Victoria Falls in Tanzania,
blugeon and stab him to death with the pointy end of a Ibanez
Revenger 4xtriple humbucker with abelone skull inlays.But i would ask the judge to sentence the villain to be my butler for six months,and
his first job would be to dump the tonelab in the trash.

im a Guitar Player not a rocket scientist
You better be a rocket scientist. When I finally did program some patches, they suddenly would change and dissapear in a instant. Theres simply to much junk on this thing. Probebly better for recording then performing in my opinion. Its to big for small stage set ups. Im a hands on tone freak, if I have to read a complex manuel, its not for me, thats why I turned to pedals. Plus it sounds digital. If your ok with that?, youll like the tonality of this sound device

I dont try to sound like anybody so I cant say exacticly if you can get this thing to sound like a particular player. Doesent touch and technique have something to do with that?. The distortions and overdrives suck. my hot rod devilles dirty channels sound better then this and thats not saying much. some of the digital effects are decent like chorus delay, but any digital device should at the least do that, not really to noisy. No, they never sound great, there ok at the best

side metal plates came loose and i had to find mini phillips head screws to re-attach them. i wouldent drop this thing, it would probebly mess up settings and hardware, maybe the tube in it. The carrying case is pretty flimsy, im sure it wouldent protect it if by mistake, you did drop it

i guess you have to decide what your sound goals are?. if your a Guitar hobbyist or your really great at editing in the digital domain, it may be for you. you get what you pay for. I have about 2,000 dollars invested into all my botigue pedals and pedalboard, but I play music for a living and I need to sound Great every time I perform a gig or big show. This thing is ok if you have the time to edit it. Becouse of this thing, I re discovered pedals and bought stuff like the Zen O/D, Eternity Love Pedal O/D, Skreddy Mayo, Keeley modded Rat, Ledgendary Tones Time Machine Boost, Xotic R/C Booster, Keeley Modded DD-3 Digital Delay, Line 6 Verbzilla, Keeley modded tr-2 Tremolo, Tone Factor Nebula Phaser, Sweetsound Mojo Vibe Vibe, Rmc Teese Pictue wah, Peterson Stobostomp tuner, Keeley modded Boss CE-2 speedyrate chorus. and Fender Deluxe Ht Rod Deville and Mesa Boogie Stilito ace amp. So you have to decide what you want and need and go from there. For me, the Tonelab is fancy looking with the little tube glowing up at you, but the bottom line is it doesent sound warm and fuzzy like my pedals and amps. So go ahead and buy into the marketing if you prefer, but for me, no thank you sir.It sold real fast on e-bay, man o man what does that say?. lol

Very easy to use. Hit the button for your target, and use the matrix to edit the parameters. Truely on the fly editing, Right on stage while your playing if necessary.

As far as amp "modelling"...very very good. It has a distinct basic tone, reminds me of vintage Marshall from plexi to hotrod. Although you won't find Eventide quality FX, it's very serviceable for stage and most studio guitar work. Cab sims are so-so....CAN help cut the fizz of amp sims...but don;t be afraid to try it without. The global "amp/PA' setting is VERY important to achieve the sound you are looking for, depending on what you plug into. Experiment with that...rememeber it WILL effect how you EQ.

As was mentioned, the nice studio clean is impossible. Trust me. The "clean" is just too colored. They did really miss the boat on this. I have to use my Rocktron Voodu Valve when I want a clean sound like The Fixx or some Police. Only other complaint is "recto model" doesn't sound anywhere NEAR like a rec. All others are really pretty good, especially if you just use them to achieve a sound, and not to precisely emulate an amp.

I've been using it three years, and only recently took it apart to tighten up a controller. Nice sturdy metal with stomp-box style buttons. Other manufacturers...TAKE NOTICE!

NEver dealt with them.

I've been trying other amps...like the Mesa Single Rec, H&K Switchblade, VHT, and they just don't offer up the diversity I need. I use an old 64 Fender Twin, and it really adds that great tube tone and feel, not that it doesn't have SOME all on it's own. I've used it straight in to PA, but sounds best right in the front of a nice single channel NMV tube amp.

I've even tried totally replacing it with the Rocktron Voodu Valve, which I love dearly. But I ALWAYS come back to the ToneLab SE for it's features and ease of use. It's got everything you'll need and then some. Plop it down, plug in and go. A really great unit. Important to find the right amp for it. Not saying it didnt; sound good with the VHT/Mesa?etc...but sounded best with the old Twin.

May not be for EVERYONE....but if you want SOME options for tone and effects, and want a quick set up , rugged build, and a real close tube tone and feel, this is it.

(PS, I've been using preamps for 25 years, since the early DOD Heavy Metal Pedal. This is the best real amp... NON-DIGITAL... sound and feel I have had.)

Hardest thing to do on this puppy is to try out a variety of tubes....very difficult to get in and out. Here's a how to make it easier.

Definitely try a Tesla JJ and it will give you a much sweeter tone. I've trie Rubr's, Grooves, AT7, AU7, AY7, and RCA's and Phillips, and Sovtecs, and Chinese. The only one with a noticable difference is the JJ or the Ruby A (avariation of a JJ).

So...

Open plexi window with Allen wrench.

Face the unit from the operating position.

Push tube side to side then down to expose the tube pins. Using a small flat screw driver with the tip wrapped a couple of times with electrical tape, push between the exposed AX7 pins and gently pry out by rocking and turning screw driver.

When it pops out, and is losse in the bottom of the tube cavity, use a small set of needle nose pliars to grab a pin and remove from the tube cavity.

To install a new tube, really easy: you need about an 8 inch piece of insulated wire. Fold the wire in half making a 1cm loop that will fit around the top of your new 12AX7 tube.

Using needle nose pliars, grab the new 12AX7 pin on either side of the gap. Gap should be facing up. The tip of the pliars should be on the pins base right up to the tubes glass. A piece of that pin should be exposed. The pliars should be at a 90 degree angle of the pin.

Tilt bulb into Tonelab cavity, diving the top in first then position pins to their corresponding holes and gently pull tube into socket as much as gently possible with the pliars.

Keeping all pins in the socket, loosen grip on the pliars while using your finger of your free hand to tilt tube down so the top-bottom-side of the tube rests on the cavity floor. The tube should now be at an angle with the bottom pins deeper in the socket than the top pins. Keep finger on tube. Put pliars aside.

With finger still pushing lightly down on tube, now insert the looped wire around the top head of the tube so it rests justs under the glass point at the tubes top.

Pull the wire up and towards you at a gentle angle while keeping pressure on the finger that holds the tube down. Allow the tube to rise horizontal. By pulling the wire towards you and applying downward pressure with your finger, the tube will remain horizontal and can be wriggled (by moving the wire side to side and towards you), and slid with significant force into the socket.

Do it a couple of times and it's easy.

Using this method I can swap tubes in less than 30 seconds.

With bare fingers, about half an hour....most of time cussing the designers....by the time you install the tube a mano, you can't even remember what the previous tube sounded like.

Hope this helps...I wish someone told me how to do it like this...so voila.

JJ Tesla will make it a 10.

It's very easy to get a good sound from this, patches are easy to edit and create, best pedal I've had in 30 years far for overall usability

It can be very noisy if you use high gain settings & amps, but the Noise Reduction helps ease this down. I alaso use a JMP1 and without NR it can be very noisy at so good for vox adding NR. You do need to be careful if your using different guitars at high settings the NR can cut the signal, but the manual warns you about this.

Ah, sorry vox here we go. I'm currently getting the pedal replaced. It has a faulty footswich and behaves moodily. I have no problem with this and the excellant dealer Merchant City Music, Glasgow, where I bought it from.

But to Vox, I also complained about the pedal and : The Power Brick, its very very susceptible to noise pickup from other mains units. The din power connector doesn't help either if it ever gets broken.

But I accept I may have been unlucky hence the fair score.

Ah, again it's a Korg helpdesk that deals with enquires in the UK and there response was basically ''Sorry mate, never heard of this happening before, oh and Merry Christmas'' So 2 for for at least replying!

I play all sort from Rock, Blues to mercenary pop, but my 1st musical love is Blues/Rock. So I use this along with a JMP1 and with both units there's not much left soundwise that you can't achieve. And you can also switch the JMP1 with the midi programme out from the Vox so a midi controller foot switch thrown in.
I've played with other units such as Boss, Line6 & Korg and there all much the same and very unreal digital sounding, OK for recording but dull live. Marshall & Vox have my type of sound, and I believe that valve untits are the the best option to cut through live mixes.
Despite the reliability problems I coud'nt live without it, and I will keep at vox for a more professional answer to my reliability problems.