Korg Toneworks AX100G Reviews 
5 / 5 based on 2 reviewsI purchased this item at www.musiciansfriend.com for $119.99 and spent about $20 on the AC adapter.
I was a little pessimistic when purchasing this item. I thought that a $119.99 processor wouldn't be nearly as good as the $200 RP300 I was looking at. I couldn't have been more wrong though. The KORG ToneWorks AX100G Effects Processor was the best purchase of guitar equipment I have made yet. Needing the pedal 2 days after the purchase for an important gig, I decided I should get to work as quickly as possible learning the tricks or the equipment. I spent about an hour just toying around with it and I had already figured out how to use it well enough for the concert. I later went on to read the manual and found the interface to be very simple yet effective to the extreme. I really enjoy the KIDROCK preset and the METAL preset distortions, I also am very fond of the acoustic simulator. There is always a very wide variety of drum beats to use for private jam sessions.
I haven't owned this product long enough to find any flaws. The only things I question about it is the RINGMAN preset. It is a very unique effect but I can't seem to find a use for it.
It seems like a very nice, sturdy piece of equipment. I wonder why they didn't use metal knobs and footswitches but the rest of the product is extremely durable.
I absolutely love this product and for around $140 (including the AC Adapter)I find it a very smart buy. If you are looking for an efficient processor I would highly recommend the KORG ToneWorks AX100G.
Eric G. Flint rated this unit
on
2003-12-04.
Picked up for $199.99 at Musiciansfriend.com (another $17.95 for the AC adapter...spend 5 bucks for a 9 volt multi-adapter at a hardware store or Radio Shack to save you a few more dollars).
I was intially stuck on whether to get this or the Digitech RP300, but went with this because of Korg's good name and longevity in the industry.
No disappointments here! Out of the box, the 40 preset programs are very usable, and with the ability to program another 40 exactly as I wish, there are no limits to what can be done.
The "standard" effects like Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Wah, Auto-wah are all very professional sounding and multi-parameter adjustable. You can set them to run via the Modulation footswitch or the expression pedal.
Effects like Ringman and the "Intelligent Pitch Shifter" are a nice addition, although not nearly as useful as I had anticipated. I do, however, like that I can manually set the pitch shift to run from the modulation switch, and it works nicely for my purpose when set for a 5 half-step or full octave harmony (it can go 2 octaves in either direction).
The Feedback effect is a very nice simulation that alows you to grab a note with the expression pedal and make it feedback (either the same note, or an octave higher). It sounds EXACTLY like a cranked up amp resonating the frequency of the note you just played.
The amp models are all great, from an acoustic sound to classic compressor, to the "hostile" metal and deep fuzz sounds. The brittish stack sounds like an old Hiwatt setup with Pete Townsend bashing away. Couple this with cabinet modeling, and you have a semi-truck load of amps at your disposal.
There's "environmental" simulators, such as "Garage," "Concert Hall" and "Arena" which give a nice sense of mic placement and reverb. Again, these can be set to run via the MOD/AMP Footswitch or expression pedal.
The delay is up to a full 2 seconds (in 1 millisecond increments), and adjustable for depth as well as feedback (repeat). I can layer some very nice textures with this. You can also sample up to 6 seconds of playing and loop it to give yourself some backup, or sample 8 seconds from the AUX jack (CD or whatnot) and slow what you've recorded up to 25% without altering the pitch. Very nice :)
You can also lock an effect or banks of effects (there's 10 banks of 4 preset and 10 banks of 4 programmable) so that you cannot accidently switch out of the bank or effect you're currently using (well, you could, but you'd really have to try hard to screw up that bad). This is a nice professional touch for those of us who have been hung out to dry on stage by other band members busy feet.
I've only scraped the surface here with what the pedal is capable of. There's 63 effects with amp channel switching, modulation and ambience switching, expression pedal, and up to 7 simultanious effects. I'm still green with this thing after playing with it non-stop for a few days because it is capable of so much.
The can find little to be disappointed with in the AX100G. The manual isn't the greatest, but it's not the most complicated pedal you'll ever use either. It just takes playing with it a bit and accidently altering your own user programs to figure out what does what.
As stated before, the Intelligent Pitch Shifter isn't as useful as I thought it would be, and as for the Ringman, I have only to ask: WHY? For me it's a useless effect on any pedal, and it's equally as useless on the AX100G.
Construction is very solid. I think it's made of Kevlar or something....it's not metal, but I think it could easily support all 240lbs of me were I so inclined to torture it. The LEDS allow you to easily tell which amp channel you are currently running, as well as whether or not there's a modulation, ambience or pedal effect currently in use.
For the quality and quanity of what you get, the AX100G is easily worth a $499-$699 price tag. At $199.99, it's a no-brainer!
Larry Oster rated this unit
on
2001-06-26.
