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Published on 03/15/11 at 05:00The Rocktron Intellifex doesn't have many effects and features compared to today's rack units. However, the effects it does have, it absolutely excels at. Housed in a compact 1U rackmounted chassis, the original Intellifex has 8 voice chorus, delay, reverb, pitch and a noise gate. The unit also has full MIDI integration compete with IN, OUT/THRU inputs. A phantom power jack is conveniently located on the unit to power whatever MIDI board you'd like. One feature not usually mentioned about the original Intellifex is that it actually has a jack for bypassing the unit via a footswitch. The Intellifex Online does not have this feature.
UTILIZATION
The ease of use of the Intellifex is one of its high points. Not only is every menu clearly laid out with logical menu scrolling, but you have physical knobs you can turn for various values. You don't need to be fiddling with one scroll wheel the entire time, nor do you have to go through an elaborate process to edit presets. The original Intellifex manual is actually not available for download. However, the Intellifex Online's manual is. Besides the 1/4'' footswitch bypass jacks in the back, there is no difference between the two in terms of functionality. The manual is clearly written so that anybody who skims it would be able to delve into the unit with no problems at all. In fact, even without reading the menu, the unit is so easy to use that anybody should be able to master it within about 15 minutes of usage. Although it uses set algorithms for presets, the algorithms are clearly laid out and easy to see at the touch of a button.
SOUND QUALITY
The Intellifex was mainly meant for guitar effects. What's amazing is that the AD/DA converters are extremely transparent. Set to Pre-HUSH, you'll have almost no coloration of your tone. Keep in mind that the Intellifex was meant to be used in a serial loop. In a parallel loop, you might experience some phasing issues due to no kill-dry function, but it'll still be more than usable. If I had to find some real faults with the unit, it would be that the pitch is not intelligent and the noise gate is a bit dated. In the day, the HUSH noise gate was famous for its quality. However, compared to today's gates, when it's activated, the tone degrades a little bit. You can test this yourself by simply pressing the "Bypass" button on front of the unit. Given the price point, the unit does a stellar job.
OVERALL OPINION
The Rocktron Intellifex is one of the oldschool rack effects units that has withstood the test of time in terms of reliability, ease of use and quality of sound effects. Not only do they go for a great price on the used market (which, unfortunately is the only way you can buy them at the moment), but they effects are of high quality. The 8 voice chorus and reverb are pure 80s goodness. The ducked delays, while not 2290 delays, are superb. Pitch is a bit lack luster, but it delivers that awesome old school unintelligent pitch for those Jason Becker style riffs. The biggest issue would be the tone suckage when the gate is active, but if you set the unit to Pre-HUSH, everything will sound great. I highly recommend this unit to anybody who is looking for a reliable, tour worthy effects unit.
UTILIZATION
The ease of use of the Intellifex is one of its high points. Not only is every menu clearly laid out with logical menu scrolling, but you have physical knobs you can turn for various values. You don't need to be fiddling with one scroll wheel the entire time, nor do you have to go through an elaborate process to edit presets. The original Intellifex manual is actually not available for download. However, the Intellifex Online's manual is. Besides the 1/4'' footswitch bypass jacks in the back, there is no difference between the two in terms of functionality. The manual is clearly written so that anybody who skims it would be able to delve into the unit with no problems at all. In fact, even without reading the menu, the unit is so easy to use that anybody should be able to master it within about 15 minutes of usage. Although it uses set algorithms for presets, the algorithms are clearly laid out and easy to see at the touch of a button.
SOUND QUALITY
The Intellifex was mainly meant for guitar effects. What's amazing is that the AD/DA converters are extremely transparent. Set to Pre-HUSH, you'll have almost no coloration of your tone. Keep in mind that the Intellifex was meant to be used in a serial loop. In a parallel loop, you might experience some phasing issues due to no kill-dry function, but it'll still be more than usable. If I had to find some real faults with the unit, it would be that the pitch is not intelligent and the noise gate is a bit dated. In the day, the HUSH noise gate was famous for its quality. However, compared to today's gates, when it's activated, the tone degrades a little bit. You can test this yourself by simply pressing the "Bypass" button on front of the unit. Given the price point, the unit does a stellar job.
OVERALL OPINION
The Rocktron Intellifex is one of the oldschool rack effects units that has withstood the test of time in terms of reliability, ease of use and quality of sound effects. Not only do they go for a great price on the used market (which, unfortunately is the only way you can buy them at the moment), but they effects are of high quality. The 8 voice chorus and reverb are pure 80s goodness. The ducked delays, while not 2290 delays, are superb. Pitch is a bit lack luster, but it delivers that awesome old school unintelligent pitch for those Jason Becker style riffs. The biggest issue would be the tone suckage when the gate is active, but if you set the unit to Pre-HUSH, everything will sound great. I highly recommend this unit to anybody who is looking for a reliable, tour worthy effects unit.