Alto Professional

The Alto Alphaverb a digital reverb and other effects processor, best suited for use in a home studio setting. It's an 18 bit processor, although now they have a newer version of this which is 40 bits. I haven't used the newer one, so I won't be able to compare the two here. As far as connections go, it's got 1/4" jacks for inputs and outputs on each of the two channels and isn't rack mountable as it only takes up about a third the size of a single rack space. UTILIZATION You don't need to know all that much in order to use the Alto Alphaverb, as it's pretty simple piece of gear, which I don't think is an accident at all. It's got sixteen different preset effects to choose from, the majority of which are for different types of reverbs. It's also got parameters for setting the input, output, and mix levels. A manual shouldn't be necessary considering how simple a make up this is. SOUND QUALITY While not awful, the general sound of the Alto Alphaverb isn't anything to write home about. I definitely wouldn't use it in a professional studio environment, but in a home studio setting you can probably get away with it. Even so, I've heard many reverb and other effects plug-ins out there that sound better than this that I would rather use for both convenience and quality. I will say that the reverbs are probably the most realistic on here, along with the chorus, flanger, and rotary effects. While this is a quick and easy way to get some effects, it's still easier to use a plug-in. However, if you're in a live sound setting, this is a good way to get some simple digital effects for a cheap price. OVERALL OPINION If you're looking for a multi effects hardware processor, the Alto Alphaverb will do the job more times than not, but there are definitely better options out there. If you're looking for a something for your home studio, this will work, but I'd highly encourage you to go the plug-in route as it's easier in the end and will give you much more flexibility. You can definitely get a decent multi effects plug-in for this same price...