Korg Multi-Effects for Electric Guitar

i paid £119 at my local music shop in dunstable,OCTAVE MUSIC.after reading various reviews of this and many other pedals,i decided to go for it... the amp simulations are pretty cool,as well as the vast array of effects.etc....hey man,i sound like a rock'n'roll star in the space of about 10 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!its compact,and well constructed,sounds great and comes in at a reasonable price,me thinks.. the manual is a bit complicated at times ....also the ringman patch,wot purpose does it serve? i think this unit is of good quality construction for the price tag.some sort of plastic,by the feel of it,it would take a lot of pounding to break .tonal quality is outstanding .... on the whole a brilliant bit of kit,go get one and launch yourself into musical infinity... This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This corker was a present! But had I shelled out for it myself I would probably of expected to pay around £160 for it at the time. This particular model is most likely going for alot less than that now though. First of all it's solid! It must be built using tank armour or something (or more likely die cast metal!) but in either case it takes a heck of alot of abuse. It has a clear backlit display with up to 8 black characters sitting atop a rather attractive tangerine screen, as opposed to that nasty red-on-black 'Casio watch' business you would find on the Zoom pedals. All the controls are rotary, so editing a patch is simply a matter of bending down and twiddling a knob. No sub menus and fiddly buttons here. The sounds themselves are superb. 11 Cabinets are on offer to you, (courtesy of Korg's REMS technology) ranging from small 1x8 open back practice amps, all the way up to closed back 4x12 monsters. The effects are of equally high quality: Flanger, 2 types of Phaser, 2 types of Chorus - mono and stereo, Octaver, Pitch Shifter, Modulation Delay, Autowah, Auto-filtron, Tremolo, Sample-n-Play, UniVibe, Filtron, Wah, Talkbox, Ringmod...and I'm sure I missed a few out but you get the idea. Plus the reverbs are some of the highest quality I have heard from ANY multi FX pedal, and even show up some dedicated digital reverb units out there! Yes there are a few gripes. The expression pedal cannot be manually assigned to an effect parameter. The 'gumph' for this box states that there are 22 types of effect, when actually, around half of these are just the regular bunch of effects, but duplicated and assigned to the expression pedal block. It would of been nice, for example, to set the pedal to control drive amount, or reverb mix for example. So you are a little limited in this sense. The preset banks are okay...I guess. But I would rather they had just given me an additional 40 blank patch slots, rather than throw me 40 average sounding presets which I'm never likely to use. There is a rather noticeable delay when switching patches. Thankfully you can get around this by using the 'individual' mode to turn specific effect blocks on and off, as opposed to switching patches entirely. And I'm aware that this is a problem which plagues many effects units. But still it would of been nice had they fixed this little problem. It also rears it's ugly head when returning the expression pedal to full-back on the RingMod. Again, nothing major but it is noticeable. The EQ is also a little simplistic, offering only rather crude 'bass/middle/treble' controls. Although I'm sure this is the case on alot of similarly priced units, it does leave alot to be desired. As said earlier, the quality of the unit is fantastic. The actual body/chassis is made of metal, and could probably take a good stamp or two before it showed signs of giving. Whether or not the flush-plastic display would fare so well is another matter, but then why would you want to stamp on it anyway?! The rotary controls are made of a rubber/plastic compound so you can always get a good grip on them even towards the end of a gruelling performance, and safely make all nessacary changes with your sweat soaked mits. Similarly the expression pedal offers plenty of traction by means of a rubber grip plate. All in all a great piece of kit. It has served me well both in live performances, and more importantly, in the studio. I have access to some of the finest amp/cab modelling software out there but I always end up going back to the Korg simply because it's so quick and easy to use, and you'd have to try pretty hard to make a bad sound come out of it. The range of tones on offer is limitless, so whether you intend on playing some Benson-esque licks, or chugging away in a palm muted nu-metal frenzy, it's all there at your fingertips. Sure it's not perfect, but heck if you wanted perfection, you'd probably be shopping around for studio level rack mounts right? For £160 - scratch that, UNDER £160 you can't go wrong. It's durable, versatile and intuitive. Do yourself a favour and check one out now!! **Note: The Korg AX1000G has been re-launched as the AX1500G. The features are the same, but with the addition of 2 channels per-preset, solving the patch switching problem, as well as additional storage space for your patches! Sadly...I do not own one. Yet. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this locally at Keepers Music for $199. I mainly wanted a personal headphone amp for my Steinberger, but once I heard the effects, I had to have this box! The box has a ton of effects for its size. The noise gate is much better than my Korg AX1G effects pedal. The multitude of knobs and switches allow you to change things without scrolling through a menu. The small size allows packing it, plus extra batteries, cables, adapters and bud headphones in my gigbag storage pocket. I'm still on my first set of batteries, probably because I haven't used the backlight very much. That backlight is a nice touch as my AX1G pedal I use at church is difficult to see. The PX4 comes with a clip that hangs itself upside down on your guitar strap, so moving through the house under battery power while jammin' is possible. The clip would also allow you to hang the PX4 on the top edge of a solid music stand. The rythm and bass lines are fun to practice with to get your lead riffs fine tuned. Thirty seconds of recording built in to loop and jam along. Or plug in your CD player, record, and learn to play along at a slower pace. For something different, try the E-L-P or SYNTH setting. I'm not sure you could gig with it as easily as a pedal board. When it hangs from the guitar strap, you can't see the display unless you twist the unit more horizontal. Could be a cool design in the PX5 to provide a swivel display! ALso, gigging possibilities would be improved if a footswitch input was provided to allow hands-off capabilities. It's a plastic case contining electronics so it's not meant to be thrown, dropped, stomped on, or have something spilled on it! But the metallic blue facing looks sharp and works well for my needs. Many people have commented to me on how such a tiny box can have so many sound variations! I thought about just a headphone on mini amp when looking to suppliment my Steinberger. After trying the PX4, I have found new opportunities for expanding my level of playing. A few design changes in the future could make this a perfect unit. But if it was stolen or broken, I'd buy another...or maybe wait for the next generation (with footswitch???). I give it a 4 for size, usability, and design. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I acquired this unit from Musician's Friend a while back for about $99 because I had just built my last guitar for that year and I needed a small processor to last me for a while. I knew this thing had spunk when I took it out of the box. A cousin of mine had played Korg effects for a while and I fell in love with them through him. It has so many different combinations of effects and speaking of which, the reverbs & choruses in this li'l box simply melt you and your amp. It sounds even better going straight through the mixer or house PA. The distortions are right on the money! The only thing I don't like is the display isn't backlit so you can't see what effect you're using when you're on a dark stage, but when you use it for a while you begin to memorize what you use the most with the color & number combinations it shows beside the expression pedal. So all in all thats the only bad thing about it, but like I said, all it takes is a little memorizing. The unit has a small & unique construction to it which is great for me since I've played many different places. Easy to pack up and take with you in a suitcase or whatever case you may use for transporting effects pedals. Great quality all in all and I would reccommend to ANY style of player from beginner to advanced. in summation....if you don't have one...GET ONE! haha! Every musician without one of these babies isn't a whole person, lol This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Purchased at Guitar Center, purchased it because of the flexibility of the effects, and the quality of both the effects and the construction of the unit. Paid $299.99. This multi-effects pedal is an all-around great pedal. The construction is solid metal unlike the flimsy plastic BOSS ME-33, and the cosmetic appearance (as unimportant as that is in the long run) is far better as well, in my opinion. Having never owned an REAL amp, I can't give an educated opinion on the amp modeling characteristics, except to say that I can't complain about how it sounds. The Vintage 4x12 cabinet is my favorite sound. The drive effects are somewhat satisfactory for me, but only in terms of the overdrive effect. It has a nice warm but still crunchy overdrive. The distortion effect doesn't really have a "mellow" option on it. It's either very distorted, or it's off. Maybe that has something to do with my Nashville Power Tele (hot-rod pickups), and that's my guess. I ended up buying a BOSS CS-3 compression pedal, because although the Korg pedal has a compression effect in the drive slot, you have to choose between that OR one of the OD/DS effects. I like to have compression WITH the OD effects, and this caused me to need to buy another pedal. The chorus effects are very nice in my opinion. I love the classic chorus, as well as the flange. I don't really care for the phaser as it seems to sound too "fake" to me. The wah leaves a little to be desired, I think. Although it's modeled after the Vox wah, it just sounds like a cheap imitation. I'll probably end up buying the actual Vox, or maybe a Crybaby sometime in the future. The reverb effects are great. My favorite thing about the pedal however, is the fact that you can choose between two difference channels for each effect preset. This is great in that channel "A" can be a more mellow rhythm in the verse of a song and channel "B" can be louder and give you that boost you need in the chorus. My only dislikes are the fact that you can't choose compression along with a distortion or overdrive effect and then the quality of the distortion effects. Also, the acoustic simulator sounds incredibly pathetic to me. I've tried using all of the pickup combinations on my Fender Power Tele (three pickup with five switcheable positions - AND a Fishman Power Bridge - tele bridge with piezo pickups on the saddles that gives the guitar it's own acoustic tone) and nothing can make it sound even remotely like a real acoustic to me. The pedals are a little on the small side and I've had several instances where I hit the wrong one because they're small and placed close together. That's not a REAL big issue to me, but if I had designed the pedal, I would have tried to remedy the problem. The construction is great. It's a solid metal chassis and I think would be very hard to damage. Overall, it's a very quality pedal and a great buy for someone who can't afford to buy individual stomp boxes. If buying individual stomp boxes isn't a problem for your budget, then go that route instead. It'll be worth it. If you have a 2 or 3 channel amp, then definitely buy individual stomp boxes. Otherwise, this pedal is a great purchase (especially for someone who runs the signal straight to the sound board and doesn't use an amp. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

- Multi effects pedalboard including compression/exciter, 3-band EQ, flanger/chorus, reverb/delay, noise reduction. - Effects can be shaped at will, with different, but classic, settings for each effect: volume, depth, rate, attack, delay, duration, etc. - Sounds can be edited, they are very easy to create and recall once saved. no possibility to export to pc/mac. - Connections: Input, output (stereo or mono), volume, headphone and, obviously, mains. USE You'll get rapidly used to it. You play, listen to the effects used, modify the speed of the chorus, add a bit of compression, boost the highs a bit, and record. Simple as that. You can save 30 recordings. I don't have the user's manual because I bought it secondhand. SOUND QUALITY - Very effective effects, I always find something that matches what I have in my head. - I use it with guitars (fender tele us, semi-hollow ibanez, acoustic-electric), but also with a bass (fender precision) and vocals. - If you tweak the settings to extremes you can get weird effects that resemble drops of water, a helicopter, etc. OVERALL OPINION I've been using it for at least 4 or 5 years. Someone offered it to me secondhand, I had never heard it before, but it's perfect for me. It's undoubtedly a bit outdated, but I think it's a good value for money.

This is a multi-effects pedal made by Korg. It was a brand new type of pedal when it first came out, and was highly sought-after for a while. It has a lot of features and not a lot of different buttons in comparison, so it's in a way more easy to use on the fly than a lot of the later multi-effects units. This pedal contains overdrive and distortion as well as flanger, chorus, tremolo, rotary speaker effect, different speeds of delay, and reverb. There is a 1/4" input, stereo 1/4" output (mono is an option too), a tuner output, volume pedal input, a headphone jack output, and a dc power adapter input. UTILIZATION Using this pedal is certainly not the most intuitive process. In fact, getting to use a lot of the effects is downright impossible without the manual. I have been able to locate the manuals online, which is incredibly convenient for somebody who bought the pedal second-hand with no manual! The effects are all located on the same knobs. For instance, one knob will give a flanger, chorus, or rotary speaker effect depending on what number value you select. This makes it tough at first, but easier after getting used to it. It's also convenient in that you can save three banks (clean, overdrive, and distortion), giving you quick switching options via the footswitches. I give it a "very good" because it's tough at first but eventually becomes one of the easiest multi-effects pedals to adjust on the fly. SOUND QUALITY For all the convenience of using this pedal, it's a shame that the pedal doesn't sound all that great. If you like old-school digital effects, you're in luck. Just don't expect a good distortion or overdrive. I'm really disappointed in how awful the distortion sounds. The other effects work ok, but I've honestly heard better with different, individual pedals, which makes this sort of a waste of time. I didn't really get a tone that I'd like to record with, or even gig with. I find that this makes this sort of a waste of time for me. OVERALL OPINION I liked the ease of use of this pedal. But I didn't like any of the tones. I really couldn't believe that people were raving about this the way that they did. I found nothing I liked about it at all. It may have been hot technology at the time, and since it has been discontinued and replaced by newer models, it may hold a certain appeal for people. But I really don't see it. If you tend to like digital, thin-sounding effects, and don't have much need to pick and choose what sounds you have, then you will like this. Otherwise don't go on a wild goose chase looking for one!

Korg Pandora PX3 is a multi-effects box that I have used with electric guitar and electric bass. The unit is a digital one, and can be used with any electronic instrument since it has standard 1/4 inch connections for input and output. The PX3 has a variety of features including effects, recording, and drum patterns. It isn't rackable as it is in a simple box form. UTILIZATION While I really have only used Korg Pandora PX3 for effects, I've always found this little box easy to use. Pulling up the presets and scrolling through them is quite basic and easy to do, as is playing the rhythmic tracks. Beyond this, I haven't used the box for anything else, so I can't say how easy to use the other features are. This being said, from what I can tell everything is pretty user friendly, but I would suggest having a manual around if you are planning on using everything that the PX3 has to offer. SOUND QUALITY The sound quality of the effects of the Korg Pandora PX3 are pretty good overall. There are definitely some interesting presets, but I can't say that I've been blown away by any of the effects. All of the presets have the ability to be edited, and I believe that you can save them as well. I've used the box in a variety of different set ups, but mostly with a Gibson SG and a '76 Fender Twin Reverb. While I wouldn't use the box for recording, if you're looking for a multi-effects unit for shows or just to mess around with, the PX3 will do the job. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Korg Pandora PX3 for a number of years, as it was one of the first effects boxes of this type that I used. The PX3 is no longer being made, but you can find them used at a pretty cheap price. I would generally shy away from using multi-effects boxes as they don't share the same quality of individual effects, but if you're looking for an effects box that can give you a number of different basic effects at the push of a button, I'd recommend checking out the PX3 and the later models in this line of effects boxes.