Vox Tonelab SE

No more complicated then two good tube amps and pedal board.

First I use the SE just for recording. After auditioning the Berhinger V-AMP PRO, PODxt and the SE in my studio over a weekend I found the SE the most natural sounding modeling system period. I auditioned them all playing two Fender strats one 1982 Vintage 57 reissue with SD Rail PU and a 1997 Collectors Edition with Texas Speails. All processors were run through a Tascam 2488 digital recorder,eq was set flat. From there to a Alesis M-500 power amp into a set mid field JBL 4311 monitors and a set of near field Yorkville's monitors. The Tonelab was the winner hands down. I did plug it into my old Fender Princeton Reverb and just had to laugh, it never sounded so huge!

It is never going to be moved around so I hope it last along time.

I have been playing some 20+ years mostly playing Blues, Roots Rock, R&B and a little country (when forced to):). I own 3 vintage Fender Amps and mostly use these to record, so I know what a blackface fender 2X12 sounds like. I bought this to record late at night and also for some different sounds. If it were stolen I would buy it again, it is the best. If you are looking to buy a modeling processor with a natural sound and feel buy this one and save yourself the trouble of auditioning the others. If you like brittle distortion and no feel try the others.

It's quite simple to use, but you need to read the manual to understand the basics. If you cant't get a good sound ot of this unit, you are doing something very wrong! I've had it for a week and Im totaly in love with this product.

My setup is one American Fender Standard strat, and a custom Warmoth Strat with floyd rose and EMG pickups.With these guitars I can do everything with my Tonelab SE. I own a recordingstudio in Norway and Im running the unit directly in to my recording gear. Fantastic sound, everything from Fender clean to Boogie Higain. I've had them all, Fender super reverb orginal 69mod, Marshall Plexi,JCM800,JMP-1,Mesa Boogie Studio preamp,Tremoverb,Mark4,Egnator Ie4,Elmwood,Engel Richie Blackmore.Line6 Pod2.0.
It can sound like them all, but you need to understand how to tweek the unit.
Im going to use it with a 4X12 Marshall cab. and a EL20/20 poweramp on stage, but in the studio and on small gigs I will go direct.

It's build like a tank, I think it will be. But I realy don`t know yet.

Im playing mostly Pop/rock music but in the studio I sometimes find myself playing all kinds of music. It depends on the what the custumer wants.
If you`re in need for a unit that realy can do it all, this is it.
I tryed it out at a local store with a ceep 150dolar guitar and two small Bheringer Studio monitors, after 3 min I was totaly on my knees begging the storeowner to sell it to me.If it ever gets lost/stolen I will run to the closest store and buy my a new one. Im 30 years old and I have played the guitar for 20 of them. Im a soundfanatic and I normaly hate everything digital when it comes to guitaramps but this is great! In Norway some of the best pros are using this unit live direct. They all are using Inear monitoring, so they do not need a big speaker on stage.
If I can aford a good inear system I will try it out. Good work Vox!

8
I've owned several multieffects units like this so I may be biased here, but this is really one of the more simple user interfaces i've come across. Its much easier to learn than the digitech ones i've owned and the manual explains thing ok.

9- Well, this is what really counts, and while its not perfect it definately is the best one out there, tonewise. The sounds are really warm, and the effects are lush. The distortions are pretty good, but to get a really good sound it takes some tweaking. I imagine with a bit more experience with it you can really get some beautiful tones out of it. I've had it for a week and i've already got a clean sound thats just addictive. No distortion sounds have really jumped out at me, but they are all very good, i have no doubt that with some more tweaking it be nearly perfect. One note, several reviewers aid that it lacks a bit of low end, and that very true, but negligable, and to be honest i've found that to be true of most guitar equipment. What i love about this unit is it really sounds warm, not digital at all. The downsides are that the unit is a bit noisy, but i find it depends where you use it. at band practice away from interferances i have low noise, but if i'm near a light or electrical source i get much more, it might be shielding thing. second is that you don't have full control over every aspect of it, so getting really way out effetcs patches is difficult.
Overall i think that if your looking for tone, this is the way to go. I've manages to add my other effect unit through the loop and gotten some really crazy stuff happening, so it open to more than it first appears to. I look at it like a good amp or guitar, its very important that they sound really good, cause yopu can always add crazier stuff to it after the fact. I'm tired of sacrificing tone for verasatility.

I cant realy say yet, seams very sturdy, but we'll see.

Overall all i give it a ten because its just what i was looking for. A multieffects unit, with realy good tone at a decent price. Its not perfect at everything, but its great at what it does. The truth is that trying to do everything usually results in doing nothing well. I've own the digitech rp-12 and gnx-1, Boss, and the dg-stomp, and this is by far the best one.

Let me start by saying I don't own this unit, so I won't even give ratings. I am considering buying it (Hermes music sells it for $475), but am studying the manual before purchasing. As I sit here going thru the manual, I am going to discuss specific points that no one has really touched on.

If I am incorrect, or failing to note some items, blame the manual, not me. I don't have one.

Just what can you apply the expression pedal to?
Wah position
AutoWah sensitivity
Speed of univibe
Center Frequency of phaser sweep
Ring Mod direct mix (but why not the effect mix?)
Ring mod filter cutoff
Ring mod oscillator frequency
Octafuzz drive, level and tone
Chorus speed, depth, & center frequency (& mix on bi chorus)
Flanger speed, depth, resolution and center frequency
Phaser speed, depth, resolution
Tremolo speed, depth, spread
Rotary speed, depth and acceleration
Pitch shifter fine, coarse (-24/+24), direct mix, effect mix
Delay speed, depth, feedback, time, mix
Filtron attack, depth, resolution, cutoff freq, sensitiity
Talk mod attach, depth, vocal character, sensitivity
In various delays you can generally adjust time, feedback, tone, speed and mix... ducking on a few
Reverb time, lo attenuation, hi attenuation, mix
Gate low, hi, mix

This covers most of the stuff anyone will reasonably use on an expression pedal... There are a couple of things I'd like to see, but have yet to find in any pedal I've tried..

For instance, I'd like to be able to do the actual sweep of the phaser or flanger with the pedal... but you can't. With the RP2000, you could at least stop the speed (assign LFO speed to pedal and then set it to its lowest position, 0.000Hz), but with this pedal, you cannot stop the sweep.. the LFO goes a minimum of 0.100 Hz. Why do I HAVE to use an LFO? My feet ain't broken, and there are certain sweet spots in the phase and flange that I'd like to hold.

I don't see anything in the manual regarding amp control with the expression pedals.. obviously you can assign volume to one, but can you assign gain, presence, tone, etc. to the other? I don't know... I sure would like an expression pedal for my gain. Even better would be a "dual inverted expression"... increase the gain while lowering the total volume for a smooth transition between clean and distorted without a change in volume... I'm dreaming, there..

There's mix control on most of the effects.. why can't I have it on the Wah? They put mix control on the octave effect, but can't I use the expression pedals to control the octave mixes? Does the expression pedal work on any parameters for Treble Boost, Tube OD, Super OD, Boutique, Fat OD, Orange Dist, or Fuzz? Doesn't look like it from the manual..

Dammit.. I want to fade between clean and distored, but I don't think this pedal will let me do so. The way I set my rig up now, I split my guitar signal so clean and distorted are on separate expression pedals, and I can have any amount of either (however, I don't have a button for an immediate switch between the two channels :-(

I played with it at the music store.. Sounds nice. What you put into it is what you'll get out of it. If you think it sucks, you probably need either a new guitar, a new sound system, or a new set of ears. It's an instrument. Like any instrument, you'll have to practice with it to get the sound you're looking for.

Very cool: There is an effects loop for external effects.. a definite step up from say a Digitech RP2000 (a very similar unit).

Very UNcool: It does not appear as though you can define WHERE the external loop is.. The docs put this loop at the beginning of the chain (directly after the guitar input). That's just fine if you are plugging in a compressor... good for distortion, unless you wanted your distortion after the wah... questionable for phaser/flanger/chorus (probably ok clean, but distored this won't work right... those effects want to be after distortion), completely useless for reverb/delay or any other effects that need to be near the end of the chain..

For that matter, I think you can move effects around, so long as you're playing with the after both the pre and power amp.. You can't use the Tone Lab's effects before the preamp. This just doesn't sit right with me...

The way I set my rig up, I have some effects before the pre amp, some after, but none after the power amp, I don't think... On a typical amp, isn't the effect loop between the pre and power amps? Maybe I'm incorrect on this point..

There are folks who've complained about the Pitch Shifter... well, it sounded fine to me, given that I'm quite used to a Whammie pedal... but this ain't an eventide, so don't expect clean chord pitch shifts.. In my tests, the chord-based pitch shifts sound horrible, just like my Whammie (or the RP2000) pedal. Sounds ok on single notes, though there is a slight delay (just like the Whammie or RP2000).. If you want to shift entire chords, you need to apply several thousand more dollars for an eventide processor (the only device I know of that will do what you want).


This unit clearly has some Very Cool Effects:
BI Chorus - dual chorus that can be hooked either in series or in parallel, with synced or unsynched LFO

Duo Phase - 6 six stage phasers, in series or parallel, synced or unsynced LFO... wicked!

Stereo Rotary with independent speed control on left and right

Direct and Effect mix control on pitch shifter is cool.. the tracking may help deal with chord-based pitch shifting.. I'm not sure. I didn't see anything regarding specific pitches... ie. shift exactly a 4th or 5th... maybe this could be programmed, maybe not... Digitech Whammie and RP2000 could do this, but the RP2000 has way better control so you could fade in and out of anything from a minor 2nd thru Major 7th, as well as fluid control of 2 octaves up or down (the Whammie will drop 3 full octaves!).

The filtron, an envelope controlled filter, looks cool...

The echoplus looks like a cool analog delay that models something... ???the original echoplex??? but has a way longer delay than a standard analog delay (2 full seconds)

Double tap delay... Also a 2tapdelay that has a 20ms different between R&L.. cool for a nice stereo sound.

Hold delay of 8 seconds... that's pretty good, but come on.. this is digital, man... give me minutes of delay, not seconds. You've already screwed me out of hooking up my loop samplers (see "overall" below)..

Looks sturdy as hell.. You could probably use this pedal for self defense, but you might break the tube if you hit someone too hard with it.

Never dealt with Vox directly, but the manual is their first line of support.

The manual totally sucks. Vox is obviously afraid of infringing on certain copyrights so they won't necessarily tell you what is what. Anything in double quotes "" is direct from the manual:

The Tube OD effect is "based on an overdrive pedal that's housed in a garish, 'seasick green' box..." blah.. They won't tell you that it's modeling an Ibanez Tube Screamer (I presume).

The BLK/ORG Phaser.. "models three models of phaser; a wide-range four-stage phaser that was made in Denmark and packaged in a black box, a popular four-stage phaser that came in a banana colored box, and a mild-sounding ten-stage phaser that was likewise banana colored". Sad and pathetic.. Just tell me what you're talking about, already. I am unfamiliar with these units, so I don't know what they're supposed to be.. Not that it matters, but it would be nice to know.

The Boutique effect "models an overdrive unit named after a half-human half-horse creature appearing in Greek Fables". The Fat OD is "based on a pedal named after one of the most disliked rodents..." The orange dist "models a classic distortion unit manufactured in Japan and packaged in an orange box".

There's no end to this crap... "A stereo chorus in a yellow case".. Here's a good one... the Classic Flanger "a model of a truly classic analogue flanger that 'unchained' a highly influential modern guitarist who many hail as the 'godfather of two handed tapping'".

COME ON PEOPLE. If you're going to model an effect, don't tell me what color box the original came in, tell me what it is. Give me the name of the freaking guitar player you're referring to, or don't fill up your manual with mind-numbing crap.

But somewhere they do refer to the Korg Traveler pedal by name... I don't get it...

The manual indicates that effects parameters marked with a * can be applied to an expression pedal. UniVibe speed does not have such an astersik, but 3 lines later, there is a hint that says it can... Can I assign the univibe depth or mix to the expression pedal??? I don't know. Logically, you might think so, but the manual wouldn't agree with you.

The manual doesn't have any info on applying expression pedals to amp modeling or any type of distortion :(

Please don't think I'm being negative. I'm mainly trying to highlight specific shortcomings that MOST people probably won't even notice.

It's probably bad-ass! For the price, you'd be hard pressed to find a better unit. Despite my complaints, I wish I had one... I just don't think I'll part with the money to get one.

Quite frankly, the shortcomings I've described can be applied to virtually any unit of this "style". I've used the RP2000, Johnson J-Station, and a few other multi-effects units, and they all have similar problems to what I've described here.

The lack of ability to move the effects insert is the sticking point. I do a solo act using an echoplex and a boomerang sampler (the echoplex lets me record up to 198 seconds, then overdub, mix, multiply, insert etc. on the fly). If I could move that effects loop, I'd buy the ToneLab SE in an instant. Without that ability, the samplers end up in the WRONG PLACE (read my reviews on those products for further information). They pretty much have to be AFTER the distortion, but BEFORE the reverb. Ideally, pitch shift/phaser/chorus/delay/flange/univibe and other standard effects could be placed either before or after the external loop, depending on preference at the time. Would be ultra cool to be able to hit a button to switch the location of these other effects.

Very easy to use and navigate.

It has any possible sound within its thousands of parameters.
I am using it with 2 Music Man combos and it has sounded amazing.
The effects are beautiful.

The problem is... as with any box of this nature...finding sounds that work in a live situation.
This is a trial and error process and when you find your sounds you will be amazed.

The other problem is getting to your saved sounds.
The footwork is reasonable, but I wish there was a better way.

It has been very dependable for me.
The construction is very sturdy.

I think this thing has the capability for amazing sounds.
I've had a few gigs where it sounded better than anything I've ever tried.

The dual variable pedals are a really cool touch.
They are very tweakable and can do more than the average bear.

Overall, this is a very useful musical piece of gear.

If you've hacked your way around a couple of guitar processors before, then this should be no different. It's especially easy if you get it hooked up to your computer (via midi in AND out) and install the editing software. If you play to sequencer live, then the possibilities open up dramatically in terms of changing parameters through mdi control, i.e. suddenly riding your reverb up for a passage, etc...

the question of sound quality is SO subjective, everyone has different tastes... The short version of my review would be: great for live, only ok for direct recording, since the high end seems a little weird to me.

The first thing I did when I unpacked it is put as the effect loop in my rig (THD BiValve w/ KT66's into a Guytron 2x12 closed pack cab with a 80's Les Paul Custom and a '61 Fender jazzmaster) and I was surprised at how transparent the convertors were... in other words, I could make the box disappear by bypassing all the efects and amp/cab settings. Excellent. Next I tried setting it up so that I could switch to a dirty channel B, and pretty quickly I had something usable, partly thanks to the sound of the THD's overdrive coloring the the tone and keeping it inn the same ballpark as the clean tone. Other points on the live use of the SE: the revrbs are impressive, and the use of the expression pedals with their min/max functions can make for some really expressive distortion tones. The pedal FX (tube OD, fat dist etc) are a little brittle and won't do much for me unless their pushing against the Valve Reactor and/or my amp, but the insert switch is very useful, since you can turn on an entire effects chain (comp, overdrive, eq) in one stomp.

note: after trying to use Z.Vex effects in the insert position on the SE, I switched around the signal chain: Z.Vex effects 1st, the into the SE, then into the amp. I'm not sure that the impedence loading of my amp is a perfect match for the SE...

Direct Recording:in this case I set up with my les paul straight in, a rat and a mutron biphase in the insert on the SE. and then stereo TRS out into my apogee convertors. I do wish that this box had a digital out (like the regular tonelab), but whatever. In this set up I found that it took a while to create a couple of really useable presets. Its clear that Vox focused on the 'feel' of playing with a tube amp, and they got it down pretty well: in particular amp 'sag,' and the british sound where you hear your pick ups in the amp ( I don't know how to describe it really, a certain kind of compression that comes from tube gain where you really hear your strings in the detail of the amp). That said, the overall quality of the treble is pretty poor, and the limit of cabinet models with out post EQ, mic'ing options or secondary room reflections completely limit the viability of the SE as a replacement for traditional electric guitar recording techniques, at least as far as albums go. For TV work, I can get the required sounds quickly and effectively as long as I push the engineer in the right direction regarding post eq and room reflections. So those are the cons, the pros again are the reverbs (which get pretty gigantic), the multhead delay is nice and the textrem set nice and wide will definitely spice up a track.

so far so good. Seems well built and thank you thank you for the gig bag!

Another user remarked that this pedal was not that useful for alternative rock guitar sounds, and I kind of agree. If distortion tones are your thing, then you'll still have to work with other pedals/or amps to find combinations that are unique and musical. If you need a work horse to get quick guitar sounds for gigs or session work, then this will be a totally useful tool, especially in combination with a few outside pieces. If you're using this live, then try putting it as the effect send on your amp, maybe something interesting will happen when you hit it with your post-preamp guitar signal. If you have prests you love then email them to me cause I'd love to check them out.

Also, I've set this guy up as a send for my DAW (digital Performer) and saved some CPU by sending guitars (and vocals, and drums, and keyboards etc) back out to it for some very useable colorations....

Overall, I'm glad someone is paying attention to 'feel' when it comes to amp modelling, now if we can get the tone/cabinet mic'ing together we'll be all set. This is a useful tool and for the money, its the best in its class

This Tone Lab is really nice and easy to use. The only thing I don't like is the cheesey Treble pot for the amp section. It distorts too easy. I would give this a 10 but the cheap Treble circuit in the amp section needs to be re-born with some higher quality. Pro's use this thing too.

Too much Distortion in the Treble pot , in the amp section. No excuse for this. It breaks up for no reason ,other than Cheap.

So far so good

Tonelab SE is really easy to use.

Editing is a breeze and, though you must tweak a little to get the perfect sound out of it, this will make you forget that many factory presets aren't that good.

Manual is well written and it's clear. However I feel like they had forgotten to print two or three pages since, for instance, I've got to learn the "hold delay" function (amazing function to record loops and play over them) all by myself.

I'm using Tonelab SE live along with a Fat Strat type guitar. On rehearsals I connect it to a guitar combo's power amp input and on stage directly to a mixer or PA.

This unit can be a little noisy depending on the combination of settings you choose. On the other hand, the noise supressor is quite good.

Overall, the effects are really amazing (wah, compressor, boosters & distortions, modulation effects, delays, reverbs, ...). Maybe the ones which are not that great are the pitch shifter and the octaver.
Amps are outstanding and cabinets are quite good too. Your sound can be extremely close to a Fender Twin Reverb, Marshall Plexi, Vox AC30 TB, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier or any other amp this beast has within.

This thing is definitely reliable. It's built like a tank.

Just keep in mind that you have to wait for the tube to get cold before moving it as you'd do with a real tube amp.

I you will be on a gig soon, remember to carry another tube as a spare and a suitable wrenck in case you have to replace it.

N/A

I play pop-rock-funky and metal too and this pedalboard rules!
I've been playing for 12 years.
I also own a PODxt, which I use for recording.

What I absolutely love about the Tonelab SE is the FEELING.
At the beginning I thought that Tonelab SE blew the PODxt away because of its great sound, but then I realized that the sounds from PODxt could be as good as the ones from Tonelab SE.
Finally, I saw that the secret was the feeling. As anybody else said, Tonelab SE responds like a tube amp to different guitars, pickup selections, tone control settings and pick attack... lovely pick attack!

Therefore I ended using PODxt just for recording and Tonelab SE live, though it lacks a post EQ, as many other have stated. I must also say that Tonelab SE is not upgradable by now... but I don't need to.

Tonelab SE helps me play more and tweak less and it is also really inspiring for me. I enjoy composing again!

The tonelab is very easy to use. It has not too many switches and the programming interface is not too deep, which means it doesnt't have millions off underpages which would make you loose the overview.

First off all I want to say that I am not going to compare the tonelab to the originals it trys to emulate. First I don't have the possibility, and second I don't really care for I just wanted to have a flexible soundsource.

I think the sounds overall are very good. Compared to the pod stuff I would say that overall the vox sounds "earthier" more vintage, while the pod sounds more modern.

As I don't use everything the tonelab has to offer, I will comment on some of my favourites.
With the simulated Marshalls i can get a very nice distorted tone which glides from the clean side to the distorted side while i change pickups and add little tube stomp box drive.
I can get nice thick lead sounds with vaiish character with the boutique amp.
I have built some compressed funky clean sounds with the tweed amp.

Overall you can build some great sounds which are very clear even when distorted. You can get very articulated sounds (clean and distorted) which react beautifully to your playing dynamics. And you can also create some very percussive sounds.

The effects are also good. I like the vox wah!

Hope this helped, I like it :-)

I don't have it that long, but it looks well built.

Don't know?!

Been playing for 15 years.

I mainly play progressive rock. So I need to be able to switch from one sound to a totally different one with one button. I also need a couple of different sounds, spacey cleans, plain cleans, slightly distorted, fat distorted, etc... and all with effects depending on the song.
I can do that with the tonelab and that is great!

Equipment:
Tonelab se -> Peavey 50/50 Power amp -> Marshall 4x12 with Celstions 12T75
It sounds good, BUT, in the same practicing room there's another guitarist who uses an Engl 4x12 Cabinet with Celestions V12-60 I think. I played my setup over it and it sounds soooo much better. So don't forget that there are still other components that make up your
sound, Cabinets, guitars, and last but NOT least your playing style.

Yes, if stolen, I'd probably buy it again.

Very easy to use. The manual could be better - I find it particulary annoying not to be exactly sure on how to dial for each amp model the sound I'd get from the actual amp with everything cranked all the way, and somehow they managed to be unclear about this. I guess they tried to write a cool manual (it is rather cool indeed...) and they forgot to be clear about this. Other than that, this unit is very easy to use, most probably the easiest unit in its category.

As another reviewer said, this units should not be expected to sound as good as the amps they try to imitate. I agree with that, and I never expected this thing to sound better than real tube amps. I bought it to use at rehearsals and live, through my Fender Hot Rod, mainly as an EFFECTS processor, and hoping there might be a couple of amp sims I could actually dare using. What I really needed was the effects, the amps were like a bonus really. On the other hand, I was hoping to get the best imitations on Vox amps out there, because I like Fenders and Vox, and I do have a Fender amp.

All that being said, let's go to the sound part: it does all I expected it to do, and more. I didn't expect it to:

- Have such good quality amp models. They all sound really different. I usually make this test with these units (POD, V-amp, etc): I listen to the different amp models through headphones and without the speaker emulation. You do this and you should find every amp sounds pretty much the same, but not with the Tonelab. The Vox models are really accurate, as far as accuracy goes for a modelled amp. I was also shocked to see I get more of a good feeling from my beloved Fender Hot Rod when using some of the amp models from the vox than I get just using the amp. Some might think this is because the amp I'm using is not a great tube amp... well alright, it's not a Matchless... on the other hand, if you do have a Matchless and all sorts of gear, the what are you doing reading this? Everyone on this posts say they have tons of equipment and being playing guitar for thirty years or so. I do know a couple of guys with the gear and the experience AND without the ears, so that doesn't impress me, and I don't think readers should be impressed by that kind of posts either.

- The effects are so good. I bought it mainly because I wanted one good unit to carry around. You see, I still don't have a guy to do the job for me, so I figured I'd rather have one piece of gear instead of a hundred (well, five or six stomp boxes would be more accurate). But I expected it to be not very good, as most floor multi-effects units are. For instance, I have a Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere, and it is the heaven of leslie emulation. The Tonelab doesn't actually sound that good, but it sounds good enough not to notice an important difference on a club... of course, I would not use the Tonelab for recording a leslie sound because I have the Rotosphere, but the distance in quality is not that big. This applies to mostly all the other effects: they are very very good. The delays don't sound as good as my Memory Man, the phasers don't thrill me as my Small Stone (yes, I do like Electro Harmonix effects). But I don't miss them much either when rehearsing or playing live in a gig.

- I definitely didn't expect the wah to sound as good as it does. Actually at first I didn't even wanted to try the wah in the Tonelab, I was convinced it would sound like crap. But it doesn't: it sounds great. I don't miss my cry baby at all right now (I've been using it for years!).

- I really didn't expect the distortion stomp box models to sound as good as they do. You can actually use them. I've been avoiding distortion pedals for ages, they allways sounded like crap to me. Not anymore!

In general, I'd give it a 10 in sound quality. There are, though, a couple of things you should know:

1 - It doesn't sound that great for direct recording. I guess, somehow, the heartless (to my ears anyway) sound of the line 6 products is better at this, for some reason I don't quite understand. If you want it for direct recording exclusively, I think you should go that way. I can't see why you would be thinking on getting a floor multi-effects unit to use on a desktop for direct recording anyway.

2 - I agree with a previous reviewer: why didn't they put an overall eq? why there isn't a main volume for every program? I don't mean the volume of and the eq of the amp model, because I don't always use the

Boy, it shure is heavy! I don't have an opinion on this, it just seems well built.

Let's hope it doesn't break and I'll never have to find out about this.

Best in its category, only exceeded by the actual things it emulates, and not by far in some cases. If you are a metal head, anyway, perhaps you should go for Boss or Digitech or even Zoom products, I just don't know. OR you could start making music. It's never too late!

Now, seriosly, I just gave it a very good and long and proper review. But, let's go again on this: why didn't I get a volume and EQ? was it THAT expensive to include it? It'd really come in handy I think. Wasn't it even an idea while you, people at Vox, where designing this thing? I really like the Tonelab, and feel bad about having to point out a flaw in it. If it had an EQ and a Volume as an independent part in each program it would probably be a 10 in all categories.

I really hope people at Vox are reading this: keep up the good work! don't forget the EQ next time! Bye bye.

There are a ton of controls that you can shape your tone with however you want. It'll take you some time to dial all this stuff in the way you want it. The controls are perplexing at first. Each numerical bank has 4 banks each, selected by the switches. This could be useful if you have a couple of effects that you'd like to patch through in a hurry, say if you're doing one song on top of another. However, when you first sit down with it, it can be confusing. You also have to change the modes on the processor by tapping the FX On/Off switch that enables you to either turn off the effects directly, or enables you to select your patches. Isn't there an easier way to do this?

The knob based adjustment is really nice, but your patches won't correspond to your knob settings when you've changed patches. At the price this thing costs, I'd like to see motorized knobs like the Fender CyberTwin amp. Then, you'll know where you are before you change the setting.

The feel of this board is very nice. It uses the very same expression pedals as on the Vox wahs. Also, the switches to turn on/off the effects are nice switches just like you'd find on any MXR or boutique stopbox. It just screams quality.

As far as the general sound, it's about as organic sounding as it gets for digital modeling. I compared this side by side to a Pod XT Live board and it blew the Pod away in sound quality - except for one. The "Uni-V" setting does NOT sound like a Univibe. It has this double studder that doesn't sound anything like the real deal. It becomes very apparent the slower you set the speed. The POD got it right, though it sounded digital somewhat.

The POD also had far more patches, and good ones at that. The patches on the Vox could use some work and lots more of them to boot.

I've yet to see a modeling processor, yet, that gives me the total Hendrix sound. You cannot combine a fuzz distortion, Univibe, and wah. You can have the fuzz and wah, the Univibe and wah, but the fuzz and Univibe cannot be combined at the same time. This it totally obsured. This is the most well known effects combination on planet earth, and you can't have it.

However, the other sounds are pretty impressive. I liked the phaser, the tremelo, the chorus, and the reverb.

I was also a little disappointed that the volume swings with the gain settings. Getting a Recto setting produces ungodly gain and the volume increase to correspond. I'd rather see the volume be the same across the patches.

Can't vouch for reliability, but this thing looks and feels like it'll hold up very well. However, the electronics may be something else altogether.

I'm giving it a 9 because it seems built well, but you never know.

There is no such thing as the perfect effects processor, yet. Digital has come a long way, and is getting more and more impressive, esspecially when combined with a tube. However, this thing is awfully pricey. I was really disappointed in the Univibe setting, and the fact that the fuzz and Univibe cannot be combined. However, if these are not concerns of yours, this thing sounds absolutely great for a digital processor.

This thing is expensive, but like I said, it's built very well and most sounds are pretty nice. I haven't found a more organic sounding digital processor yet. Also, if you add up all of its capabilities and bought them in individual stompboxes, you'd spend a lot more.

Like many others have mentioned, sometimes you gotta check back with the manual for 'x' reason, but overall it's relatively easy, especially compared with many other amp modellers and tubepreamp racks I have owned in the past.

Overall great sound quality, blows the pods, vamps and others out of the water... it doesn't have that 'digital nasality' especially when playing solos or other one note passages. I'm usually using it with a PRS standard 24 in dropped B or an epiphone les paul custom with emg81 and emg60 pickups (of course, decent to badass guitars are really gonna help it sound better, I'd recommend more tone tweaking and practice to those who can't make it sound half decent) and this unit CAN most definitely can DO metal... I don't mean moderate crunch, either. I have easily dialed in zakk wyldes (of course it sounds more authentic on the epi custom but hey... what great guitarrist ever played an aria anyways? ahaha aJK :), I can get the nu-metal stuff quite easily too, linkin park/limp bizkit, classic and current van halen sounds were a little trickier (i also have and ibanez jem) the pitch shifter isn't great but the octafuzz rocks!!! I got that plexifuzz hendrix tone goin even without a strat... or that kenny wayne shepard sound from the blue on black solo for instance... ok I'm just rambling, great cleans, great crunches, really nice effects , can't do the dist. pedal and wah at the same time which is dissapointing so I can't get the zakk wylde w/wah and push the jcm800 into squealie zone at the same time... foiled again! does anyone know if you can edit this via midi perhaps?

I've been gigging with it, way more reliable than my pod ever was... or the floorboard at least... I paid more for my floorboard than I did the pod and it was always crapping out... not a fluke mind you about 5 other friends in various bands had the same problem, one friend just stuck to an old boss midi pedal to remedy this. the tube runs at 1 volt so I'm not too worried about it blowing out but I still would like to get a spare to keep in my guitar case cuz hey it doesn't work at all withouta the tube.

no no and no... I'm sure they're lovely blokes though!

nu-metal/hard hard rock and lots of other stuff.
been playing 11 years or so. Pod 2.0, vamp2, peaveytubefx, digitech2001, ibanez sz, ibanez jem, epi custom emgs, prs standard 24
I've played through a lot of amps, actually even did an A/B test with through a JCM2000 ... bypassed and compared the model of the same ... I really could hardly tell the difference, probably only because of the eq in my preset.
definitely gets the creative juices flowing, I've already done a lot of recording with it, direct in fact, at first wasn't quite convinced but it was really just a board eq tweaking matter although I still wanna try it amped and mic'd. wish it had at least DUAL pedal capabliaties, I think the everyones biggest complaint would have to be the no wah+dist. am I right? I just gotsta have my tubescreamer or overdrive pedal WITH the wahwah man!

I found the Vox very easy to use, the manual was a bit wordy - but I plugged the board into my computer via midi access, plugged my guitar into the board, plugged the board into my amp (peavey 50/50 classic into an avatar 2x12 cabinet) and using the computer interface I dialed in four banks for awesome tone in a couple of hours. Assigning the effects and adjusting the parameters on the pedals is simple. The board has more effects and settings than I will ever use - and here's the big secret for those who couldn't get a decent sound - you gotta spend some time with the board to dial in what your looking for, don't rely on the factory settings, if your favorite amp showed up at your door with all the dials turned all over the place wouldn't you tweek some to get what you want??? Anyhow, I find this board to be very easy to set up and use.

As I mentioned earlier I'm using a Peavey classic 50 /50 tube amp, Avatar 2x12 cabinet (V30 and G12H30), I also use an Atomic Reactor 1x12 modeler amp. For guitars I'm using a Fender Clapton Strat and a Heritage H535 (similar to a gibson 335). The board is dead quiet, some of the effects (phase and flange) will throw in some hiss when used but that's the way the vintage pedals the emulate sounded. The effects are awesome, I love the univibe, wah, phase, flange, reverb, octave and chorus effects - the board offers more effects than I'll ever use. Some people have knocked the wah pedal - again, you need to adjust the parameters of the wah (sweet spot, amount of sweep) to get what you really like, I get the best wah sound I've ever had, my teese rmc3 is gone. You can get pretty much whatever your looking for out of this board - it may not do metal as some of the others have mentioned but then why would anyone buy something like this to play something like that??? Stick to crates and boss super distortions.... Another thing, if you buy this board and play it into an amp you better tweek and remove the cabinet simulators - those getting excessive highs and lack of lows are experiencing the cabinet simulator not working with set up your using. Simple stuff, read the directions and use your ears to dial in (key words here) the sounds your looking for, I'm getting some great tones with my setup, wouldn't trade it for the world.

This board is built like a brick shithouse, nothing plastic on top, the switches are all metal and the pedals are the same as those found on a vox wah. I have complete faith this board will last a long long time, I don't take a backup on gigs.

Can't comment on this, I haven't had to use any customer support.

I play rock, rock/blues, blues - and some acoustic sets - the amp nails all the tones and sounds I need. I've been playing for awhile, I'm tired of lugging big heads and tons of pedals around - the tonelabse does it all, there isn't anything I don't like about the board, there's a bunch of stuff I'll probably never use but that's okay - I think I got a great deal for what it does, I've invested three times what I paid for the board in pedals over the years and now I have one board that covers all those areas - the pedals were sold and that's how I bought the tonelabse. I've heard pods and gt's - the tonelabe is the only amp simulator I found that can create authentic amp tones in a live rig - the pod and gt6 couldn't do it.

Easy at first, then difficult, then I read the manual, then easy. You need to read the manual to get the best results because it's not like other effects units out there.
Editing is simple, just turn knobs until you get what you want, then hit one button twice to save.
The manual is the key to getting the best sound. This unit has a hot pre-amp, which I wasn't used to from a multi-effects unit. You can't really crank up the volumn on the unit itself if you're running into the front of an amp.

I'm playing a Hammer through the TonelabSE into a 130 watt Peavey Special. At first I played directly into the power amp, bipassing the pre-amp on the amp itself, with the out on the Tonelab set to Line, then I tried going through the front(Amp out setting), getting a lot of unwanted distortion on clean settings. Not being used to a multi-effects unit that you didn't have to turn up at least halfway, I didn't realize what was causing the distortion. The output is hotter than anything I've played through before. You have to keep the unit turned down pretty low. Other than that the effects sound great, you can adjust them to sound like just about whatever you want.
I like the echo effects as I play a lot of 50's and 60's rockabilly to surf. This is the first unit I've found that you can get a decent echoplex sound out of. I play a lot of 70's rock and bluesy type stuff, and you can definately get the distortion need to play Skynard. I never played much metal, but it's oboious that those heavey tones can be achieved as well. The flange, phase, and chorus effects sound good too. They are easier to control than in other units I've owned, Digitech and ART. This unit you can tweek existing programs or start from scratch. Oh, the auto wah is easy to use and responds well, I don't use the wah pedal much, but it seems to work well, you just have to set the tone where you want it.

Have owned for 6 months, no problems, outside my own ignorance. I'm going to get an extra tube to pack along, but I don't think it's anything to worry about. I carry and old unit just for a back up, but I would do that with anything.

N/A

Classic Rock & Roll Oldies/Country/Blues. Been playing for 25 years. Would purchase again.
The best thing I like is that it's easy to program. Other units I've owned I was stuck with the preset and what they had in them pretty much. In the Tonelab you can add or take away any effect. Of course there are certain effects that you can't put together, for instance, you can use the wah pedal and the acoustic setting at the same time, or the distortion and wah, which is kind of strange.

I rarely read manuals for anything, and you certainly don't need to with this one. It is so easy to operate much thanks to the lack of options but also the nicely laid out interface.
It doesn't have the tons of options that many other multi-fx units have which is good for usability. I wish that they had made more options available via the MIDI interface though.
The only thing that can be a hassle is that there's no way to instantly see the current setting of a patch. You need to turn the knobs to find which the original setting is.

Something I really miss from my old Digitech RP-1 floorboard is the ability to switch back to the previous patch by pushing the stomp of the current patch. But I guess I will get used to it.

If you can operate a guitar amp, then you can operate a tonelab.

This is where I'm split. It doesn't work as well as a direct recording unit as I had hoped it would. It sounds OK through a PA system. It sounds great through an amp.

It does sound and responds a lot more like a real amp than what the Pod and V-Amp does, but it fails to emulate the acoustics of an amp cabinet and speaker in a room. When I turn up the gain on the tonelab not much happens with the sound other than more distortion. It sounds more like a lined FX-unit than a miced amp. So it's not really ideal for direct recording, especially not with high gain sounds. And this was a huge dissapointment for me since it was one of the reasons I bought this unit. A bit of room reverb can help but it still doesn't sound natural.
But coupled with a software amp modeller I guess it could work out I have to experiment a bit with that. But on it's own, it just doesn't cut it. It's just such a shame that they didn't bother to make it better in this area. They have had some time to do research. They could even have licenced a chip from another company.

Most of the effects in this unit are excellent, I especially like the reverbs. The pitch shifter was a bit dissapointing and the hold delay wasn't really what I was expecting (one of the reasons I choose this unit). Some of the distortion pedals sounds really sweet through an amp if you bypass the amp modeller on the tonelab.

The signal is noiseless. There is the normal noise you get when using high gain models, but that's all part of the show. The fact is that the signal itself is very clean.

This unit works best for jazz, blues, classic rock, and some kinds of hard rock. I play mostly alternative rock with distorted grungy open chords and the tonelab is certainly not ideal for that kind of music, it doesn't deliver the full tonal range as I would expect from a real amp. But with some tweaking, I can get OK sounds for my kind of music. Not great, but OK.
If you are into monster distorted nu-metal then the tonelab won't cut it. Even with heavy tweaking. The Pod will suite you much better.

The tonelab excels at lead sounds. I have never heard a modeller delivering such beautifully singing leads. If you are playing jazz, blues and metal leads, this is the unit for you.
Personally I only play lead guitars for fun. And while it is fun to play leads with the tonelab, it's not my primary use for it.

One thing that really bugs me about the Tonelab is the lack of a post EQ. Why, oh why didn't they bother to put one into it? I mean, even my old Digitech RP-1 has a post EQ.
It would be OK if the sound that came out of the tonelab was ideal out of the box. But fact is that it isn't. It has way too much activity in the high freqs and it lacks some bass. This unit really needs equalizing to sound good. So be prepared to shell out with $200 for an equalizer.

But after all, for the money you pay, this unit sounds really good. Ten years ago you would have to pay at least four times as much for something like this.
The only thing the Pod has over this unit is the cab modeller and post EQ. Something I really hope that Korg thinks hard about for the next version.

It isn't the be all end all, but it's very good.

It certainly looks like it's going to survive a nuclear blast, but then again you can't depend on looks. I haven't abused the unit enough to say that it's reliable. Even though the casing is metal there's a lot of knobs, leds and displays on it that can break. And I have never opened it up to check out the soldering of the electronics. I just have to pray that it's well made.

I don't have the budget to buy a backup so the Tonelab just better hang in there with me. I think it would take some serious abuse to break this thing though. It seems very well built.
I feel that I can trust it.

I bought the Tonelab SE because I wanted something that I could use for direct recording, rehearsals and gigs without having to carry around a big amp. It works well for rehearsals and hopefully for gigs(don't know yet) but it fails for direct recording compared to the Pod. I really miss some good cab modelling in this unit.
The lack of a post EQ is another downer as it is really needed for the Tonelab.

However, it does sound really good especially with clean and dirty sounds. Most of the amp models are nice, even though I could have wished for some more modern sounding amps. The effects are really great for the money you pay.

This is not a modern hi-tech effects unit like the ones Boss/Roland makes, it just doesn't have those kind of options and abilities. The tonelab is very back to basics and oldschool just like an amp with a bunch of stomp boxes. Easy to use but limited to trippy people.

What I like most about this unit is the ease of use and great looks. It is a bit too big and heavy to carry around but I can live with that since I don't need an amp anymore.

Even though I am a bit dissapointed in this unit I will stick to it. Taking everything in consideration I just think that I can't find a better unit for my needs and budget out there.

If it was stolen, I would check to see if there was a better unit out there. Hopefully a new improved Tonelab with better cab sims and post eq.

Prior to purchasing the ToneLab SE, I was a Line 6 user. In contrast to Line 6?s Flextone II (had a POD 2.0 brain) and the PODxt 2.x, the ToneLab SE is a "walkup and use" unit. No buried parameters only editable via a computer. No "press and hold" buttons and no scrolling through endless menus. Each ToneLab SE model category has a dedicated "chicken head" knob (cool choice). Just spin this knob to select the model, and then use ToneLab SE's 6 value knobs to teak the model's parameters. A LED provides a visual cue as to which row of labeled parameters corresponds to the six value knobs. Alternatively, if the model's "chicken head" knob already points to your target model, just press the button below this knob. The button will blink and you can then use ToneLab SE's value knobs to adjust its parameters. With VOX?s free downloadable SoundEditor software and a midi connection, you also can adjust the unit using the software?s highly usable visual interface. I often use this software to create new patches while at home between gigs.

With my PODxt 2.x, I grew tired of endlessly tweaking its dizzying array of parameters to get a good sound...too many variables to take into consideration. I just want to play guitar and not tweak! Like a tube amp, with the ToneLab SE you can quickly dial in awesome tones! One caveat?you need to understand its Valve Reactor technology and how it fits into the overall signal chain (see myth 2 below).

After thirty years of playing guitar, I?ve grown weary of lugging around amps and cabs to rehearsals and gigs. The ToneLab SE (Stage Edition) is obviously optimized for live use. It even has a readable display (take note Line 6)! Now I just walk into a rehearsal or gig with my ToneLab SE in its gig bag (included with purchase), plug it in to the house PA and play! My current gigging environment provides me with a consistent PA setup?highly recommended for modelers given a PA?s flat tonal response!

My current guitars are a Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite and a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Designer Edition (equipped with a quilted maple top). The ToneLab SE allows the unique qualities of both guitars to shine and be clearly heard! The ToneLab SE has the best response and feel of any modeling device?period. Kudos to VOX for getting it right the first time! They?ve figured out that the secret to good modeling is the tube power amp section. This baby responds like a tube amp to different guitars, pickup selections, tone control settings and pick attack.

PODxt 2.x has 36 amp models while the ToneLab SE has 16. However, the PODxt 2.x just does not have the feel of a tube amp. This also can validated by the latest trend of using buffers such as the Valvulator to make up for the POD?s lack of feel. I currently own both units. At first I waited until the 2.0 release before selling the PODxt. Now that I?m spoiled by the ToneLab SE, every time I switch back to the PODxt I?m reminded of its sterile feel and response. While this may be suitable for recording, it does not work for live rehearsals and gigs. Therefore given the ToneLab SE?s stunning feel and response, you really have a tonal palate that offers more variability than its 16 amp models indicate. I?ll choose quality over quantity any time!

The ToneLab SE is built like a tank! Its size and weight allows the unit to stay put on stage. I currently gig without a backup.

After purchasing my ToneLab SE, I contacted VOX?s customer service and received both a prompt and professional reply.

Currently there are no software upgrades in the works for the ToneLab SE. However with the PODxt I found that software upgrades can be a blessing and a curse. Significant upgrades usually require you to redo all of your patches. Additionally, key amp models can be drastically altered as part of an upgrade (a stock Marshall was ?upgraded? to a hot-rodded Marshall for example). Again I want to play guitar and not tweak a modeler! With Line 6 products, I?ve found that the desirable upgrades usually require you to purchase another unit (POD 2.0 to PODxt for example). I prefer to skip the upgrades and save my tweaking time for the next ToneLab SE product release!

Lastly I?d like to dispel some myths relative to the ToneLab and specifically the ToneLab SE:

Myth 1 ? The tube is only cosmetic:
Try to play while the ToneLab SE is powering up and you find that you will not be heard until a few seconds later. Why? Because the tube needs to warm up first. Secondly, some ToneLab owners have been experimenting by swapping the stock 12AX7 with other tubes to determine the differences sonically and in feel. While sometimes subtle, sonic differences do clearly exist (see myth 2).

Myth 2 ? The tube is contained within the preamp section:
Given that the tube is a 12AX7, most guitarists assume that swapping the tube or adjusting the Valve Reactor (VR) gain will result in an expected preamp sonic change. However VOX?s Valve Reactor circuit uses the 12AX7 as a power amp tube running at 1 watt of power. Given that the tube operates at only 1 watt, it would not glow as one would typically expect. So to ?calm? us all, VOX simulates the glow via an amber LED placed below the tube. The use of an LED has obviously contributed to myth 1 above. Given that the tube is a dual-triode device (2 tubes in one), VOX uses the tube as 2 power amp tubes in the Valve Reactor Circuit allowing them to create a 100% analog power amp stage that accurately models the amp?s power amp characteristics (Class A/Class AB operation, negative feedback, presence and resonance). Therefore, when adjusting the ToneLab SE?s VR gain control, you?re either adjusting the amp?s volume (amps without master volume control) or the amp?s master volume (amps with master volume control).

Myth 3 ? The ToneLab has less effect controls than the PODxt:
While this may be true for the desktop ToneLab, it is untrue for the ToneLab SE. The SE added the following models to the desktop ToneLab model categories:
- Pedal: 2 phase shifters, ring modulator, super OD, boutique OD, orange dist and octave fuzz
- Cabinet: 1 cabinet model (1x8)
- Modulation: 2 choruses, phase shifter, pitch shifter, mod delay, filtron and talk mod (talk box)
- Delay: Analog delay, mod delay, sweep delay, cross delay, tap delay, rhythm delay, hold delay and reverse delay
- Reverb: 1 spring, 1 room, 1 plate, 2 chamber, 2 hall and gate reverb

Additionally, the ToneLab SE ups the ante to the following number of effect controls per model category:
- Pedal: 3-6 controls
- Modulation: 3-6 controls
- Delay: 4-6 controls
- Reverb: 5-6 controls

Myth 4 ? The ToneLab cannot bypass the amp models:
While this is true for the desktop ToneLab, the ToneLab SE can indeed bypass the amp models.

Myth 5 ? The ToneLab doesn?t do high gain tones:
I?d say that first you?d have to define ?high gain?. IMHO, the ToneLab SE also excels at what I define as high gain tones. Additionally, given the ToneLab SE?s excellent response to outboard overdrive and distortion pedals, you can add even more gain than the ToneLab SE?s stock amp models provide.

Myth 6 ? The ToneLab SE is an expensive alternative: The ToneLab SE?s average street price is 599 USD (including gig bag). Given that I?d have to add a buffer (e.g. Valvulator) to the PODxt to make up for its deficiencies in response and feel, I?d currently have the following Line 6 alternatives:

- PODxt 2.x (bean): Bean ($299) + shortboard ($269) + Valvulator ($199) + L6 gig bag ($69) = 836 USD
- PODxt Live (XTL): $399 + Valvulator ($199) + L6 gig bag ($69) = 667 USD

I rest my case. Besides, now that I?ve been spoiled by the ToneLab SE?s response and feel, I cannot justify shelling out another $199 for a Valvulator?the PODxt is headed for the auction block!

Easy to get good sounds out of. Easy to edit. The interface design gets a 10+. No pages to scroll through (no horrible Lexicon PCM-70 experience). Push an effect or amp category, it lights up green, and the knobs control the parameters. I felt like I was turning the dials on an amp or an effect. The manual is ok.

Before I bought this unit, I tried it out for 1.5 hours at Guitar Center through a cheap epiphone through a crate 10" speaker practice amp (solid state too). It sounded great - the house system was playing Allmans, so I punched up a 100 watt Marshall plexi, set the gain, and was off. Repeated the same experience at Sam Ash (this time with a strat and a solid State Marshall through a 4 x 12). Played an hour and a half. Bought the unit on Harmony Central classifieds, unpacked it and played it through studio speakers w/ backing tracks - this unit is great. One month later, it's still great.

I am using Gibson 335 w/ duncan pearly gates pickups, Custom Shop Strat w/ stock pickups, 70's tele w/ duncan humbucker in neck, Tone Lab Se, into a PA. I hear my guitar in the monitors. Get great clapton tones (british blues - a 20 watt Marshall), great tube screamer too - it's just like owning one. Dire Straits stuff with the strat is cool w/ the tweed settings and a strat. The univibe is good - it sounded just a tad weaker then the fulltone univibe. Using the univibe with the Leslie simulation was very "chewy". The wah was exceptional, and the treble booster was pretty good too. Delays and flanges are ok - it's not an eventide. Noise was pretty low - a lot better than my previous pedal board was. The best part of the Tone Lab Se was the great "just overdriven" sound. Hit a note soft and its clean, pluck two notes and bend and it overdrives real sweet.

Built like a tank. I'd hate to go to any gig without plan B, but I guess that would be going in straight o the board.

Never dealt with Vox, but at least you can get the manual from the website and read it before you buy the unit.

I play blues, rock, funk, country, soul. This unit is perfect for me - it sounds great, and I can get the sounds of a cranked amp without blowing everyone's brains out - and then switch to a high head room amp for rhythm.

Been playing 30+ years, and I teach as well. I've owned and played 50's tweed deluxes and champs, 60's black face deluxes (twice) and bassmans, 70's silver bassmans and bassmasters, Victoria and Powertone custom deluxes, zeeta maven peal, THD Univalve, etc. And all the pedals I sold on E-bay after I got this unit. The guitars were listed above.

If it were lost or stolen I'd get another in a heartbeat.

The best part about the unit is I like the way my guitars sound through it. I can get lost in the sound and just play.

I guess one complaint is the proprietary power supply - I'd rather just a removable cord.

This unit was so much better than anything I've heard from Line 6, that I don't like to mention Pod in the same sentence as Tone Lab. I've owned the Pod 2.0 and tried the XT out - what a phony sounding processed sound and feel - sort of like a glorified Scholtz Rockman. The Tone Lab SE feels like the amp and effect you've chosen. I've been buying devices like this (sansamp PSA-1)for ever, and they were all a disappointment. Not anymore. I don't think I'll ever want to use a tube amp anymore (I cant believe I just said that).


As you could gather, I don't play much heavy metal, so I have nothing to say about high gain sounds.

It's very easy to use, editing is quite simple and the controls are layed out as per a normal amp. It's logically thought out and presented and you don't have to worry about adjusting the wrong things by mistake, ie no searching through sub menus, holdswitches etc. There aren't any complicated things to perform, even the tougher thnigs are quite easy to do, the manual is pretty clear, although experience with amps and pedals means you won't really need it much. A really cool thing is that you can assign any parameter to the expression pedals which gives scope for all kinds of experimentation. You can also adjust the order of the modulation, delay and reverb effects quite easily.

I play Tele's and Strat's mainly and you get the usual single coil hum, but there is a noise suppressor to take care of that. The amp sims are as good as any other models I've ever heard, in fact I think they're better, especially if you like clean and driven amp sounds. The 4x10 Tweed is modeled on a Fender '59 Bassman (my amp) and the controls on the Vox react in the same way and the nature of the tone is closer than anything else I've heard, it's not exact, but you wouldn't wisely try to separate them when playing with a group and for practice at home through a stereo or headphones you do get a nice sound in the ballpark you're after which makes playing more fun. I really like the Wah pedals and you can specify the range ie adjust the open and closed sounds to get the type of Wah you want. The volume pedal works fine too and they are solid. This isn't a direct replacement for your fav amp, but the sound quality is very good and for recording and playing live it takes care of a lot problems and you'll easily get into the vibe you're looking for. The rest is in your fingers. The effects are pretty good, the spring reverbs seem a bit hard, but the others are good and I like the tremolo, things can get very chilled with this unit which can be either mono or stereo with various connection options. I'm not a high gain Recto player at heart, I think the cleaner end is very well done with this kit, but the Recto sounds are heavy enough to get a serious thump going, they do sound a bit processed, but then in truth, those bands use a lot processors, so that's obviously what they want anyway, despite the purist illusion folk are under.
You won't be embarrassed by a thin fizzy sound or poor tone using this unit and you can get heavy or chilled very easily, the sounds are really very good and it does make playing lots of fun, especially if your alternative (and if you want effects it is) an amp followed by a trail of boxes and cables all needing plugged in.

I doubt it'll break without some serious abuse, the pedals and casing are rock solid and built to last, it's steel and aluminium and even the screen is recessed so I'm not worried at all. It's built like a boss if you like.

Don't know.

I like jazz, blues and country mainly and getting a bit heavy or funky from time to time is made a lot easier now. The sounds are top for this and after 15 years of dreaming of the perfect rig and lugging gear around etc I decided that actually for the most part I want to go straight into my Bassman or if using effects I don't want have the boss catalogue on my floor. I've had various amps of different sizes to use for things and this elimanates the need. I'm stripping down my gear to make things more practical and this lets me do so while giving me a huge range of options as well. Into a PA, or recording desk this does the job just fine, frankly if you're concerned about the tone of your energizer battery you need help, just play the thing.
I'd say it's more natural than the POD stuff and better than anything else for cleaner stuff. I love the layout and possibility factor, there isn't anything I dislike, the A/B amp channel option is a good idea and I'd say Vox have thought long and hard about doing thngs well and in a user friendly way. Maybe the fact you can't have several pedals (before the amp) at once, but then the switching requirements for that would be impractical anyway and it's not something you're really going to miss, in most cases.

I would buy it again, or an upgraded version if that's what was out at the time. It definately helps the music making side of things.

It comes with a carry case and power supply and does what it says very well. It's got practical and experimental written on the design brief I'm sure and for the classic tone end it's pretty close, close enough when scurtinised, perfect when you're playing and hearing your band mates.

...Y'gotta be pretty dumb not to get this!..it's all very logical, which is partly why it's fun to use. No hold/press shit, as with pod,
no smackin' y'geetar into things while y'use both hands to change stuff!..Simple edit process, basically, plug 'n' play!..

i'm usin' a big old Epiphone Emporer(semi), jagmaster, de armond(jet star, de-tuned)...a couple of Vox supreme's, custom built 2x10 & a bunch of pedals, Arion sc-1(this rools), boss super od, flanger, phaser!..Basically, i bought this to record at home & i needed to approximate my 'very particular' sound(the supreme's are untouchable imho) i tried the pod & it didn't even get close, even afta loads more processin'!..i don't go for tube sounds, my vox is transistor!..
...But i figured vox would get a better Vox sound than pod, it did, even with the built in tube!..The sound 'stands up' to be counted, if y'knowarramean, no slouchy, slushy tube dirge, unless thats what you want, 'cos y'can have that too!..The fx work just fine & y'can string a few 2getha, also the NR does a great job on anythin' that's hi-gain & can get a bit noisy, without compromise!..Generally, i'd say it's pretty true to the fx it has on board!..

...So far so good on this count!..It's solidly built, i reckon it'll bounce a few times b4 it breaks, free gig bag too(i got the SE)!..The pedals are tuff as fuk also & proper metal stomp switches!..

...The only contact, so far, is to download the midi stuff from the web-site: it worx perfectly, unlike the problems i had with the pod download!..

...I play what i call Heavy irony or Jazz/punk, it works 4 me & i'm a picky bastard when it comes to geet sounds. i only use certain stuff, 'cos it does the job, i don't get hung up on labels, in fact, i cover the labels up, i ain't advertizin' till they pay me, which says a lot about me writin' this glowin' report!..If it busted i'd defo buy another, it does what it says on the tin, don't know if there's anythin' i don't like about it yet!..i got rid of the pod2 for this, i tried podXT, didn't like it, sounded the same as 2, tried some other pod stuff-errr!..Boss-too tinny, mesa boogie vtwin-too limited!..This had everythin' i needed: great sounds, fx, usabilty, connectabilty( don't care about usb, i got a mixer etc.)...The only thing i would want outta Vox would be for them to model my own Vox Supreme & cab, then i'd fuk my gear off & i wouldn't have to carry loads of shit to gigs!..Please model a SUPREME(transistor amp) Mr. Vox!..& i'll buy this machine agen!..

Not bad, but read the manual so you don't blame the pedal for any short comings you think the unit has.

I rated it a 10 for the value. I own a Marshal JMP Preamp and TC Electronics guitar processor. I sent it through a Marshall Valve State 100w Amp/4x12 cabinet. I spent roughly 1200 bucks for those units. I love that sound, but I hate lugging it around. SBK Case, Ultrafoot MIDI Foot pedal, etc.. This unit, for the price mind you, is great. I love it! It's not the end of tone or sound but for playing small gigs or just jamming out with friends, the portability married with the sound is definetely worth it. But don't expect to take it out of the box, plug it in and expect some studio tone quality. Tweaking gets you close, however.

Good Unit. I also own a GT-3 and the Tonelab SE blows that unit away.

For someone with experience with multi fx units, this is a breeze.

My main guitar is a Jackson Dinky with the Sustainiac pickup. When I got the TL SE home, I hooked it up to my old Fender Princeton Reverb amp (all tube) and it sounded like shit! Very tinny. Then, I hooked it up to my Vox Valvetronix 60 ( the high input) and it sounded awesome. Just goes to show you that one's sound is a combination of several variables.
The factory presets are not the greatest, but after many hours of tweaking I got a bunch of great distorted, semi-distorted, clean and outright spacious sounds. The pitch shifter is amazing - you can play chords with it if you adjust the tracking high enough. There is a slight delay if you just use the pitch shifted sound with no direct signal, but most units are like this (the Zoom GFX8 is a little better in this regard, but it sounds lo-fi compared to the TL).
The only effect that my plethora of stompboxes beat out is the phase. Nothing quite compares to my ancient Electro Harmonix Polyphase. Outside of that, I'm actually thinking of selling some of my pedals, as I hate having stuff that I don't use and the TL has everything covered (and then some).
I can't comment on the noise because I haven't really cranked it yet, but the noise gate seems smoother than others I've used. The highs can be strident, but with some judicious use of eq and the cabinet models, they can be tamed.

I haven't played in a band in a few years (it's kinda like being married to several dysfunctional people, isn't it?) but it seems very sturdy. You could easily bludgeon somebody to death with this baby - just one good whack!!!!

Haven't had to deal with them yet, but they couldn't be any worse than Zoom! I e-mailed those suckers 4 times over the past few years and they have never e-mailed me back. Maybe if I learned Japanese....

I've been playing for about 30 years and love most styles of music, although I'm still partial to 70's progressive rock. I teach guitar part-time and work for Child Welfare during the day (I should have become a farmer!). Anyway, I would definitely buy this unit again if stolen, although I'd be willing to check out new stuff on the market. Still, I can't imagine needing much more in the way of sounds. Ninety six presets may be a drop in the bucket for dedicated tweakers, but it's enough for me! Now for my wish list:
1) I wish this thing had more footswitches per bank, like 10 perhaps. Of course, if you're willing to spend about $700, you could get the Rocktron All Access MIDI foot controller which gives you 15 sounds per bank.
2) I wish the pitch shifted signal didn't have a slight delay (it's seems to be a little better on higher pitched signals).
3) I wish it came in purple!!!
I must re-empahsize - it sounded like shit through my old Fender amp, and great through my Vox Valvetronix 60. If it sounds good or bad to you in the store, it may not mean anything. You really have to try it with your own stuff, and try different combinations of guitars, amps, connections, etc. E.g., a few months ago I tried the Boss GT6 at Guitar Center and thought it sucked! Recently, I jammed with a guy who used the GT6 through a Marshall DSL and it sounded killer!
I'm quite the happy camper now, although my downstairs neighbor may not be!!!!

note to Gryphon: quote " If there is a transistor involved; it is DIGITAL. Period. Transistors only operate in 1's and 0's. You can't ever get analog when your original input is 1's and 0's."
1:
a Transistor is as analoge as a tube, there is three diffrent states of a transistor Closed (digitaly 0: no current flow) variable area (in siganl varies output current analoge) and open (digitaly 1: noe resistanse in the transistor).

2: there is dirfent types of transistors so you cant just take a small transistor used as a gate, and make it work as well inn a power stage circuit as a power transistor (in your post it sounded like you thought that

This is one of the main reasons I purchased the tonelab. I love the fact that everyhting is laid out nice and it is soooooo easy to use.

I must first note that I run this through two yamaha ds60 amps. These are similar to the tech 21 power engines. This setup sounds freakin' awesome! It only makes sense. You run an amp model through another guitar amp and.......you get the picture. On the other hand run it through an amp meant to amplify with no additional color and voila! I can not get over how awesome this rig sounds. All of the amps are nailed quite well and the effects are killer. I have been using the yamaha dg ud and ag set-ups for years. I love those, but this thing smokes them. It is laid out very nicely and it also is set-up with live performance in mind. Great job VOX for a killer product.

Things built like a tank. Plus you get a killer gig bag.

Great product. I fell like I have been waiting for this for years. Try it for yourself.

getting a good sound is rudimentary. all you really gotta do to get a good tone is to plug it in and twist some knobs.
as to editing patches, i found it to be fun. the knobs made it fun instaed of holding down a button.
the manual is pretty well thought out for the most part. i think it could be explained a little more clearly for the technical morons like myself.
as to being upgraded, not yet since this is the upgraded version of the original tonelab.

im using this with a peavey 120 vtm and when i went direct with it, it didnt work quite like i planned. i thought it was gonna sound doubly cool going through a tube pre & post, but found that it was a real squealer, puttin out some screechy shit that i didnt like at all, nor would anyone else, but then i went in through the effects loop 'in' and it sounded like butter, but i wound up bypassing either the pre or post (am i correct in assumng this?)but like i said, it sounded really NICE.
as t5o the effects, i dont think theres an effect that i dont like the sound of, but not bein able to combind 2 different modulation fx or delay or reverb fx is kinda a drag.

yes, i can depend on this unit without much worry. as to gigging without a backup, i dont think id ever gig without a backup to make the sounds i need.

i havent had to deal with em yet, but rest assured that youll know about it if i do.

i play bluesy hard rock to seruious metal for 25 years. this rig is tight. if it was ripped off, i cant say that i wouldnt shop around now that i know what the se has to offer. i love the ruggedness and ease of use to the se. i cant say i HATE anything about it, but i dont dig the lack of more options as to the out/in's of the unit.
making music is a real pleasure with this unit. its already helped me write 7 full songs just from the sounds i get from it.
i guess you could put me down as a definite "YES" on the voting list.

The Tonelab SE is very easy to use and the manual is really good. I was able to get great tones from the unit with ease.

I play a Carvin AE 185 thru tonelab to effects return on a Fender Utimate Chorus and I also use it thru a PA at church. The unit sounds great. I have had no problem with lack of bass as mentioned by others. It is important to read the manual to learn what controls are used in the amp model and how to adjust them. The effects are very good too.

I gig without a backup. No problems so far. Unit is very well built and come with a good case.

I play all styles of music Rock,Blues,Christian etc.. The tonelab can cover them all. I really like having everything I need in one unit. This makes it extremly easy to take to a gig and set up. I also like having two pedals to control the effects and volume. I have used all kinds of gear RP2000, Line 6 POD SANS AMP etc. This unit has the best sounds features etc. I won't lose it and if stolen I would get another one.