Customer Reviews

M-Audio Black Box Amps, Effects, and Recording

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've had the Black Box for a while. I find it pretty easy to use, and the range of effects is really impressive. There was no problem doing the update on Mac OS X. It works fine with GarageBand and Logic, as well as many other programs. It is true, I found that it does inspire creativity and inspiration, I never knew a box could get that many sounds out of my guitars. Very nice.

On the other hand, my AC adapter broke. Usually this is not a big deal, but M-Audio has you on this one - they are virtually the only place to get a replacement that you can be sure will work, and the replacement will set you back $24.99. I have the pedal, and it works, but the functionality is far less than I expected. There's very little ability to switch between a wide range of sounds. I would have paid more for a pedal with more functions. Maybe next time they can even offer a FireWire version that gets its power from the computer, so the AC Adapter is no longer an issue in those circumstances, and then I would not have to wait for a part that is on backorder.

So in summary, while they did a rocking great job on the guitar sounds and effects and amps, with works fine with my Mac, I would recommend that their next version use a regular power adapter so I don't have to go searching all over the internet if mine breaks, and put in a pedal with a lot more features. I searched for a pedal that might have what I want, but did not find anything.

Russ Conte, Forest Park, Illinois

For me the black box did not have as steep a learning curve as indicated in the previous review -> but agreed it is a nerdy device. Of course there is the disadvantage that M-audio decided to offer many more amp models and loops -> by a _free_ firmware update. This reduces the user-friendliness since getting to the added functionality requires some tricks. However, if a problem one can go back to the original functionality set that matches the black box layout.

So getting to the box itself. It has amazing build quality, sound, and functionality. Good starting point. The knobs, buttons, and jacks seem solid enough and the display is easily readable and clear. It offers lots of distinctly different amplifier models and effects you can apply to your guitar. Great fun, great sound quality on ear-phones right out of the box, and great PC/MAC recording support via the USB interface.

M-audio offers great driver support for their products and Vista is supported already via beta drivers from the web-page. No problems with PC/Vista and Sonar Home Studio.

The Black Box offers a drum machine for jamming on the guitar. While many different sets and patterns are offered it would have been nice with a bit more functionality. However, this is clearly not a drum machine. This is the main point why I choose to give it "only" 4/5 stars.

There is a tuner there for the guitar and recording via microphone is also supported (mix and stand-alone). I did not test the quality of that mode so cannot review. Recording of the guitar offers great performance on the PC although some tweaking was done to avoid dropout (not issue of Black Box or drivers though).

This is a great and compact device for jamming and light recording. With the minimum-functionality drum support, it is very useful and inspiring for guitar players. It offers many great amp models and effects at very limited cost. M-audio supports their devices with drivers to Vista. How can you go wrong? It is not a master of user-friendlieness but learning curve is acceptable. A bit more drum-customization would have been needed for a pure 5/5 -> it is close.

I am still surprised how few people are using these. The most significant feature of the BB is that you can sync your MIDI drum beats with your timed effects, and thus you can choose which beat to trigger the delay repetitions. It might sound trivial, especially if you've never done this or heard this, but if you think about how so many effects have a "tap" to time your effects, you are still at the mercy of your drum beat. Once you hear it, you get it.

But I think a lot of people misunderstand the device because of its name and its feature list makes you wonder if it's really a PC desktop device, or a stage-oriented performance tool? Guess what? It really is ideal for both! This is one reason why it isn't bus-powered, and it also does not depend on the PC to process anything. It can sync with your MIDI on the PC, and I bought an amazing library tool sound editor, so I have all of the benefits of the PC interface, but am not dependent on the PC for any functions. You get the bet of both worlds, even being able to write as many backups for the patches as you'd expect.

In terms of recording options on the PC, you have a guitar and in XLR input for your mic. You don't get phantom power, but you don't find many folks who'd need that, but if you do use a condenser, you can get a power supply module for $20 from Nady. So you have those inputs, and you can choose which to run through the effects. You can't run both through the effects at the same time, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to do that. I only mention it because if you are new this class of device you might get the idea that you can program it like a PC. But what you do get is both dry tracks are recorded, so you get mic and guitar or whatever you put through those inputs, and you choose which to pass through the effects, which are recorded in stereo, and if you use the MIDI drums, they are blended with the post effect tracks. Not ideal, but you can always take the dry tracks and process them any way you want. You can also configure it to trigger the drums on another device, but I think you get the idea. If you are an advanced MIDI user, you might want to check out the user manual.

I don't know if they still make these, but I think they are amazing. I'm tempted to buy another to have one for visitors to use, or for using one each for vocals and guitar. The pedal is available and fairly programmable, and if you add up all of the program-ability of this thing, you know why I highly advise getting the 3rd party software. Here's the URL: [...] I think I paid $30, but it might have been $50. If that sounds too steep, maybe you'll prefer to get your BB going to see how much use you get, and then you'll have a better idea how much the software is worth to you. The bundled software is not that big a deal. If you buy it used, don't count on getting much. I think you get Sonar LE, and something else, maybe Ableton Live? I was running Windows 7 64-bit and whatever it was, I had trouble loading it, so to make a long story short, I got Cakewalk to let me download the Sonar X1 LE, since I had registered the original software bundled, whatever it was.

One last bit of advice; I use tube amps, and the amp models do sound pretty good, but the gain is way too high on the patches as shipped. What I do is turn down the gain to the point that it only starts to break up when really attacking the strings, so that you get a lot of the character from the amp model, but most of the distortion is produced by the tubes. I use all tube amps, and I also have a Valvetronix combo, and it sounds really fantastic if you set it up like I suggested. You get all of the feel, touch dynamics that is, that you expect from tubes. The only way for amp models to ruin that for you is when you try to use them straight to a mixer. I guess you have to have at least one tube stage in the preamp and the power amp to get all of the feel we expect from tube amps, and using modeling will only ruin it if you don't set it up correctly.

I've been using digital modelers and multi-effects since they first became available. I had high expectations for this unit, but have been disappointed.

In its favor, this device easily takes the "Reloaded" firmware upgrade from M-Audio that provides many new features, models and effects, but I was astonished to discover that this device does not come with editing software.

Most naive users are unaware that the presets that come with modelers are just somewhat overstated "demo" settings that the user can use as points of departure in editing his own presets that work for his purposes with his equipment. Because of the complexity of these settings, almost all serious modelers come with computer preset editing software that allows accessing these settings in a clear, organized and simplified manner. The quality of this software is make-or-break for a modeler's usefulness to a serious user -- it has to not only work, but be well-organized and visually ergonomic. Without it, one has to access the editing by very obscure and complicated levels of coded button manipulation in the unit. This is all but impossible on most modelers.

Incredibly, the Black Box has NO editing software. To make matters worse, the documentation concerning programming is very disorganized and incomplete.

This lack of programming support robs the unit of at least 80% of its potential usefulness to serious users and is responsible for the Black Box's failure in the marketplace. It is now discontinued, but large numbers of back inventory are still being sold at deep discount.

Alright, I wanted to get things straight here. This thing is really a well thought out piece. The quality is a bit of an issue but think it is minimal in the overall ownership of the product. I.E. the pedal broke very easily, not for the aggresive player, but was replaced and actually have two pedals cause I fixed the old one. Other quality issues would be that I am not sure they spent enough time programming the volumes of effects between the different settings. This is why it "appears" to be not user friendly. Once you get over that and just really start playing with it it becomes incredibly versatile. Keep in mind here that I have not even hooked this thing to my computer. I feel it is a really good thing to jam with since it gives you soooo much flex with your effects options. It is totally a digital sound but the way Linn has developed its sound, it is really smooth to play with. It gives the average player a great platform to create sounds by giving 100 presets and 100 user storage banks. I have tailored sound to different songs, bands, etc. and stored them for easy access through the use of the external pedal. Highly recommended to someone on a budget, who wants a tool that will work for a long time. Great for solo jamming with the drum machine, take it with to jam with friends as you can store and literally pak it in a lunchbox (with all your settings), can easly be adapted for great stage performance, and has a whole world of usb recording options that I have still to discover. Highly recommended product due to the fact that there is so much packed into this little black box!!.

It is a nice piece of electronic. It has a lot of effect and functions but it is really really difficult to use. Also following the manual it is really difficult. Better get something else. I actually sold it on ebay one week later.

Disappointed.