Members WRGKMC Posted July 11, 2014 Members Share Posted July 11, 2014 I bought one of these the other day for $50 used on EBay the other day. I'm thinking it might be cool for recording purposes, but it may also be good for live performances.Its an all in one unit that has all kinds of amp modeling, and effects, it has a built in interface for recording and even has a drum machine built in. One neat thing is it can be synced to midi track or the drum machine so things like echo and chorus can be timed to the beat which is something that's very cool. Its also got tap tempo to time any of the effects or the drum tempo which can be a big time saver. I have no idea of how good the sound quality is. I'm not a huge fan of multi effects units but if there's something in there that's worthwhile for recording I'll find it. I' may use this unit on my second daw. I really don't need it in the studio but I may get used there as well, but I plan to use this on the DAW I keep in the living room. I have one next to my easy chair where I practice guitar and this may be a simple solution to throwing down tracks when I come up with an idea. The current interface and Mixer I'm using is just too cumbersome and takes up too much space. If this thing works well enough it may be just what I needed. I'm hoping these amp emulations work half way decent. If they are anywhere close I can usually do some magic mixing to make them sound right.The one review said the sounded a bit bright but on a recording that may actually be beneficial. When you track actual amps with mics you often have to roll the bottom off anyway so it may target recording tones the way they should. In any case I should know in a couple of days. 1. BASMAN Fender Bassman2. DLXREV Fender Deluxe Reverb3. TWNREV Fender Twin Reverb4. DELUXE Fender Deluxe5. CHAMP Fender Champ6. MAR 45 Marshall JTM457. PLEXI Marshall Super Lead Plexi8. MAR800 Marshall JCM8009. MAR2K Marshall JCM200010. VOKS30 VoxAC3011. VOKS15 VoxAC1512. JAZZ Roland Jazz Chorus13. HIWHAT Hiwatt DR10314. STU70S ( Studio 1970s) Mesa Boogie Mark IIc15. BIG90S (Big 1990s) Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier16. SOLDON Soldano SLO 10017. UBER Bogner Uberschall18. DIESEL Diezel VH419. ANGLE ENGL Powerball20. EDDIEV Peavey 5150 MkII21. XTACY Bogner Ecstasy22. BUDDHA Budda Twinmaster23. CHIEF Matchless Chieftain24. INTENS Custom model with an intense high-gain solo tone25. BIGMID Custom model with strong high-gain mid tone26. SIZZLE Custom model with a present high-end sizzle27. PLEXIS Custom model based on Marshall Super Lead Plexi with EQ28. SCOOP Custom high gain model with scooped mid29. CRISP Custom model with a ‘60s twangy tone30. HOLLOW Custom model with a hollow tone31. BITE Custom model with biting high notes32. NECKPU Custom model, great with a Strat neck pickup33. SOLID Custom model with a solid tone34. ACO360 Bass amp: Acoustic 36035. AMPSVT Bass amp: Ampeg SVT36. GK 800 Bass amp: Gallien-Krueger 800RB37. SWR500 Bass amp: SWR SM50038. FUZZ Fuzz tone39. OCTAVE Octave fuzz40. MICPRE Clean mic preamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Trick Fall Posted July 12, 2014 Members Share Posted July 12, 2014 I've never used one, but I thought they were interesting when they were out and tempo synched effects are definitely cool. I've also had good luck with other M-Audio gear in the past. I always thought it was decent value for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 14, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 14, 2014 I use three M- Audio 1010LT cards in my studio for a total of 24 audio tracks. I also use a pair of M-Audio BX5 studio monitors which are very good 75W biamped speakers. M-Audio isn't top of the line stuff nor is it the bargain basement stuff. It mediocre at best. Its fine for the stuff I do and since I know its limitations I can make up for any shortcomings with my skills. I'm hoping the Black Box will have the same kind of quality. I use allot of rack preamps and effects for adding tracks and doing solo stuff. It saves me time from having to crank amps up every time I want to record a guitar or bass part. If this new box has some good tones it will be a nice break If only for creativity's sake. I do prefer having knobs instead of menus. Guess that's because many of the boxes I've used with menus either sucked or were such a pain in the ass to make changes. When I go into a studio I don't want to waste session time tweaking settings and navigating menus. When I do get motivated to record, I want to play, not tweak. If this box does have good tones, then I don't mind spending time learning to find its strengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thedudebro Posted July 17, 2014 Members Share Posted July 17, 2014 It's not ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! like an Axe Fx ll But it's pretty damn good! In fact some legendary dude designed the amp models/effects and I gotta say they were really nice, not a perfect emulation by any means, but man they sounded great. I sold it because times were tough and I had enough interfaces/pedals, but the thing was an ultra solid piece of gear. It did have one problem though, it only sent out in mono, you could select stereo but it would only send out in mono,and so I never got to hear how the stereo effects really sounded. I sold it for 80 bucks, so ya, you actually got a righteous deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 18, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 18, 2014 Well it showed up yesterday and I got it all pugged up, and booted. All the screens came up, plugged my guitar in and nothing. Reinitialized the unit, nothing. If I cranked my amp all the way up and turned up the drums I could barely hear them. Same with guitar then the thing started making loud howls when I tweaked the volume knobs. I'm an electronic tech by trade so I figured I'd open it up and check the connectors. The issue was definitely in the preamp section. I actually took that board out and used some flux cleaner to clean up the solder connections. But it back together, same thing. I took a whiff inside I could smell the stale odor of burn semiconductor. The smell is unmistakable and it wasn't fresh, It had happened awhile back. I knew what the story was and why the guy sold it cheap with free shipping. He blew the thing up and was selling it as a functional unit. I contacted him with basically what I just posted here, except a bit more business like and asked him for a refund and an address to send it back to. He replied back this morning and said he's refund the purchase and told me not to bother sending the unit back. He believed me it was bad. Unfortunately, even though I am an electronic tech with 40+ years experience, you really cant repair these boards with micro components on them. Its not like you can lift a component and test it, you'd destroy those microchips. About the only option I's have for it is to send it to M-Audio for repair but they'd likely charge what you'd pay for one new so the units pretty useless. I may be able to find where the drum signal goes into the preamp and use an external preamp to boost them but the beats are pretty lame sounding so even that isn't worth my time. I may go in and use a magnifying glass to search for bad solder joints and reheat some of the contacts. If that fails, its dumpster material. I'll save the knobs and give it a heave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mister natural Posted July 23, 2014 Members Share Posted July 23, 2014 I have one and love it for several reasons WR :1. Roger Linn designed tempo-synched modulation that sound otherworldly2. backup USB interface for my guitars3. the delay sounds fantastic4. amp-sims - check out the CHIEF setting with light gain - totally sexy cleans5. amp-sim - check the SVT setting with a bass guitar - huge tone6. http://www.soundtower.com/blackbox/bb_files/bb_page.htm - great software editor also love that this thing sits on a mic-stand - super convenient best of luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 It's not ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! like an Axe Fx ll But it's pretty damn good! In fact some legendary dude designed the amp models/effects and I gotta say they were really nice, not a perfect emulation by any means, but man they sounded great. Roger Linn is the man behind the programming, and he knows his stuff. I was honestly a bit surprised the Black Box didn't take off and become more popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mister natural Posted July 24, 2014 Members Share Posted July 24, 2014 Fundamentally, it's a Linn Adrennalinn II pedal with a USB interface built in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Fundamentally, it's a Linn Adrennalinn II pedal with a USB interface built in Yup. And an easier user interface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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