Korg Ampworks Bass

I've been playing in bands for just over 30 years. I started young. I've played many styles in that time but now I've gone back to where I started and I've now gone back to playing in Blues bands.

I was looking for an old Fender Bassman head for my '62 Fender Jazz Bass when a friend told me about the Korg. He uses the guitar version. The local music shop got one in for me to try and I was impressed with the amp sounds. I think I paid around the A$100 mark for it.

The best thing is I didn't have to buy another amplifier to carry around. I've only ever used it live and I don't use the cabinet sounds but I do use a touch of reverb. I use seperate effect units anyway and I always mic my cabinets to the PA. I can get some fatastic "old" sounds from the Jazz Bass, which was the point of the excercise. For me, it's set and forget. I like the tone controls that are on the top of the unit because I can fine tune my sound.

I'm not sure I'd record with this unit because some of the settings can be a bit noisy but I haven't tried it in a studio yet. If you were going to try to make adjustments on stage you'll need to have the unit sitting on a table fairly close to you because the controls are hard to see. It wound be best to programme the presets and remember which colour light is which preset. Because I only use it for one bass and one setting, I just tape it to the top of my amp so it doesn't get stepped on and unplug it when I use another bass.

The case is made from plastic and I don't think it would take too much abuse. Don't drop it! The controls, plugs an switches are good quality. All up it's pretty easy to use. The owner's manual is pretty good as well.

Overall the Korg is doing exactly what I wanted. The sounds are fairly close to what they're supposed to be and it fits nicely into a guitar case. It's not expensive and it's good quality for the money. My best advise for anyone thinking of buying one is to question youself as to why you need one? What do want it to do and what are you going to do with it? How are you going to treat it? Remember, It can make you sound better but it won't make you play better. Once you've settled that and decide to buy one, you won't be dissapointed.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

i've been playing for 22 years, have been gigging out for about 12 years.

approx. $50 on sale at musicians' friend.

The box is small - it can fit into the pocket of a gigbag with no problem. In general, the effects sound really good. the cab models are pretty faithful to the originals...but of course, if you're looking for perfect sound, you'd need to get the real thing. Takes two AA batteries, and battery life last for a long time with this thing. I also like how you can just plug into this and go straight to the board.

Some of the amp models are kinda noisy - especially those with distortion effects on it. The octave effect is pointless...it could work as some type of detune/feedback effect, but as an octaver, you might want to look elsewhere.there's no on/off switch - once you plug into the input, it's on. there's also no footswitch or adapter (both are sold separately). playing live with this box might be tricky, especially if you're a club gigger - the dials are not easy to see in the dark, plus all the changes need to be made by hand - not good if you want to switch effects mid-song. you can program two presets, but i think they get erased once the power supply is cut off.

plastic, but still solid. as long as you don't throw it, stand on it, bathe with it or feed it to the dog, it will work just fine.

great for recording. playing out with it may be a hassle, depending on its application. i play out with it, and it works fine for my limited use. for the price and the size, it's a great box to have on hand, especially if you do a lot of home recording (like i do) or a lot of practice with a headphone amp (like i do). Musicians Friend has these on sale, so it's worth a go.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this item from SweetwaterMusic.com and read the info on the Korg site. I paid $160.00 Including shipping.

Very easy to use and very excellent sound quality from all effects and amp sounds!!! Also is small and very easy to store and is also very durible!!

Cost was a little high, but worth every penny.

Very durible and can take a beating, but wounldnt recommend throwing it accross the room!! LOL

Its a very easy, very good sounding product and is a must have for those who want to make there bass sound like a more expensive bass. It adds more sound and makes your sound fuller and you can adjust it to your liking very easily!! Must Have!!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is an inexpensive budget level bass amp simulator with user friendly knobs and dials. It simulates a wide variety of tube and transistor bass amps and speaker configurations. It contains an effects section with all the usual varieties but only one tweakable parameter for each effect. There is memory for only 2 or 3 user presets. There is a jack that allows a foot pedal to be attached that can switch between user presets. There are the usual tone controls and there is a noise gate adjustment to eliminate background noise. The unit can be used direct or in front of an amp. The unit is small and lightweight. The construction is strong enough for studio but not the road unless you take real good care.

UTILIZATION

The great thing about this simulator is that it is easy to make your sounds because its a knob design as opposed to a nightmarish multifunction button/menu design. The presets are irritating because Korg felt compelled to add obnoxious effects to many of the presets which bass players hardly ever use like long delay etc. So, many of the times when you switch to the next preset amp simulation you've got to remove the effect. The knobs can be impossible to read in dim lighting. The manual is good.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound quality of the simulations is great for recording considering the inexpensiveness of the pedal. There can be a problem with background noise which you can dial out but can still sometimes notice as your note fades etc. This is not a professional level simulator but it yields very good results for the home hobbyist or for demo making. The tube models sound tube like. The unit records easily because it naturally compresses the signal to a great extent. I also have used the unit to play bass through a PA system and it helped the sound especially with the compression on the first tube models. The effects are low quality but you don't have to use them. There is a "quack" effect I really like and have used a lot for funny funky stuff.

OVERALL OPINION

This is what I use to record bass in my hobby level home studio. I am happy with it because it is easy to use, takes up little space and sounds quite good and tube like in the mix. I believe that Korg no longer makes these. They can be gotten used for practically nothing. For a brief time I tried the Korg unit (model # ?) which replaced it because I thought I would like the expanded user presets but the newer unit turned out to be a programming nightmare due to its menu based design. It took 20 minutes to program what I can dial up in 30 seconds on this unit and I'm not exaggerating! If you want an inexpensive, easy to use, good sounding bass amp simulator with a great "quack" effect find one of these.