Vox ToneLab

Price Paid: 190 (Euros) used

Ease of Use: 9
I have read the manual first and instantly I could dail up nice tones manually without any problems. It is very easy to use and this I like a lot. I have read many of the posts about PODxt, Magicstomp, Digitech and Behringer before buying this second hand. I would like to emphasise that I like the 70's and 80's rock sound. I have owned a Marshall Lead II valve amp and really liked to have the valve sound again without spending lot of money.

Sound Quality: 9
I have own just one guitar and that is a Gibson SG special and a solid state Marshall CD10 amp.

I like the modeling section but I don not know if the sound is accurate regard to the real ones.

It has all the effects I want and to me they sound good. But then again I just play some rock and blues.

I agree upon the fact that the FAT OD (proco rat) is weak. I like the rotary and tape echo effect very much and the flanger and phaser also sound great.

Reliability: N/A
I don't know I bought it recently.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 8
For me it is great device and I intend to use it for recording as well.
I have also tried the PODxt and Digitech GNX series which to my ears sound digitally, also I tried the magicstomp which has great effects.

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/17/2005 15:02

Price Paid: 200 (gbp)

Ease of Use: 10
Excellent !
Whether on the box or on the pc it is easy to tweak and save.

Sound Quality: 10
Excellent !
Im rating this product very highly, see my overall comment at bottom.

Reliability: 8
Havent had it long enough but to be fair I cannot call it 'built like a tank' because the pots do not appear to be bolted to the chassis - does not bother me because I use the pc editor for everything but it has to be mentioned and im knocking a few points off.

Customer Support: N/A
In the u.k. they are helpfull and know their stuff but cannot give a rating because I havent had any real problems to deal with.

Overall Rating: 10
Ive rated this highly for 2 reasons :

1: It really is as good as it sounds on the demos.

2: Ive recently tried all the new pods, zooms, black box (crap) etc etc and it wipes the floor with all of them for realistic amps, effects and overall feel. I never thought I could have a desktop box that gives me the dynamic response of a real amp, even when plugged into a laptop with crappy internal speakers !

Lastly, I play all styles but love to shred and although this isnt the ultimate 'shred box' it is by far the best overall for quality, realism and FEEL.

Submitted by Tonelab lover at 11/16/2005 05:01

Price Paid: 300 (euros)

Ease of Use: 10
easy! please read the other reviews. i just want to share a really good experience.

Sound Quality: 10
here we go: the sond was okay out of the box. but it had a certain harshness to it. you could not really get anything "sweet". then i took atrip to my local musicstore, and replaced the valve with one from the czechian company "JJ". and bang! now the tonelab sounds like i wish it would. cant be happier. a very good 12 euro investment. n ow the thing delivers the rare and expensive "ry Cooder"- flavours in any way i want to. plus with the excellent tremolo that is built in and the tape echo i can get any desert-slideguitar sound. very very good. i use the tonelab for recording with my mac, gearageband and drums on demand vol. 4 (very good tooo!!!). and for playing around with, checking amp and cabinet combos for fun. the sounds are breathtaking!

Reliability: N/A
looks sturdy.

Customer Support: N/A
no idea....

Overall Rating: 10
i play sort of ambient countryish music, slideguitar, roots rock and surfstyles. the tonelab is absolutely fabtastic. and since it feels like a amp in a way it is a cool thing to have around. does feel or look like a plastic playtoy at all. . i use it with studioquality k 240 akg headphones. very nice sounds. for "real" guitarplaying i use a tubeamp with a nice collection of analog stompboxes. the tonelab makes it easy to duplicate those sounds. i really like it and it widened my horizons in a big way.

Submitted by eddie wagner at 11/07/2005 05:52

Price Paid: US $300

Ease of Use: 10
I have found the unit the be quite simple to use, despite the fact that I have never owned anything more complicated than a Rockman. Once you start making adjustments, it's very easy to get any tone you are after. Read the owner's manual and it all makes perfect sense. I have not used the editing software yet, but that also seems well laid out.

Sound Quality: 10
I use an all maple guitar that has a bridge X2N direct wired to the jack, so I expected the Tonelab to be trebly from reading previous reviews. Not so, I was amazed with the sounds I got. On high-gain settings I did need to utilize the noise-reduction(gate) feature, but other than that, no unwanted noise. I have tried it with my Peavey Bandit 112 and found that my Koss Pro4AAA phones sounded far better. I then run it through a pair of Klipsch Promedia 2.0 speakers and that made all the difference, perfect tone. My main influence is Yngwie Malmsteen, so I was very interested in getting his tone. The effects are certainly adaquate, but their range of adjustment could use improvement. I have to say that this really has the feel and dynamics of an actual tube-amp.

Reliability: 7
I like the fact that it's not plastic, the housing seems like it should last. I'm not happy with the way the knobs wiggle, it's pots aren't mounted as solidly as they should be. Compared to other amp-modellers, it's very sturdy.

Customer Support: 1
Here is where I had problems, I tried to register the warranty online and the form kept rejecting it. I emailed and no reply, I called and still got nowhere. I may not buy another Vox product if I feel that they only care up to the point of purchase.

Overall Rating: 8
I play neoclassical shred and I'm very happy with the sound I'm getting. After playing for 20 years and owning amps from Fender, Marshall and Peavey, I'm still very impressed. I would get another if it were stolen (after hunting down whomever dared). I did compare this to everything else out there and found it to be the only one with a "real" amp feel. I think that it's inane that Vox considers changing the tube a void of warranty. I have heard the difference between the various tubes, and there IS a difference. After using this I have actually decided to keep my eye on future amp-modelling breakthroughs and abandon my previous intentions of getting a large tube-amp. I play at bedroom levels and this solves my needs.

Submitted by Stan at 10/21/2005 18:41

Price Paid: 3500 (NOK)

Ease of Use: 7
The ToneLab is easy to use in the way that the knobs are all there and give pretty logical responses. However... it's still hard to get the right sound. More about that later, but I recommend to read the manual before you start working with it and then re-read the manual when you've been playing with it for a few months.

Sound Quality: 7
I run a Progressive Black Metal band and have released four CDs now (www.emanceronline.com if you're curious). The last three albums were recorded in my home studio with direct recording Line POD 2.0 for guitars, so I wanted to try something new and hopefully get a more 'believable' guitar sound without the "blanket over cabinet" sound of the POD.

For the first 6 months I was pretty frustrated with the ToneLab. After trying the software for editing things went a little better and I've now almost managed to replicate the guitar sound of Opeth's last album with the Recto simulator. It took a LOT of time though... and I had to record songs over and over again just to find what I wanted. Main problems are that in order to make the sound have edge and brightness it also sounds fizzy. To get growl and punch it quickly gets muddy. And it's impossible to get just the right mid-tone overdrive. The mid-tone is just a bit boring.

Still, the sound is way more hi-fi and has more of a 'quality feel' than the POD (I haven't tried POD XT, though). As for clean and semi-clean sounds, I haven't worked that much with them yet but it sounds very good so far.

Reliability: 9
It's been good so far. Feels reliable. I haven't thrown it in the wall or dropped it on the floor yet, but I have been travelling with it a bit.

Customer Support: N/A
No idea. Downloaded the software from the website, that's all...

Overall Rating: 8
I will use it for my next album as a direct recording device and I'm pretty sure people will agree that the sound quality has moved up a notch since when I used POD. I'm going to try it out live as well now, since I can control it with a pedal board through midi (a Digitech RP-12 actually).

At first I was disappointed in this unit. Now, I'm pretty satisfied with it. I wish there were some updates to it, because I'm pretty sure it's capable of even better distortion. I think it's suitable for most kinds of Metal, maybe not tight and fast Death Metal (Engl Powerball lovers) or traditional Black Metal, but anyone who likes Mesa Boogie sound or Marshall-like thrash metal distortion should be pretty happy about it.

Submitted by Ole Hartvigsen at 10/18/2005 04:28

Price Paid: 169.99 (UK Pounds)

Ease of Use: 9
This is as simple to use as any multi-effect/amp modeller. It's got knobs on the front and when you find the sound you like you just press store twice.

The available software download couldn't be much simpler either.

Sound Quality: 8
To me this unit does a very convincing job of sounding like a real amp. The in-between tones esepcially are really good and the clean settings can really sparkle. If you want saturated overdrive, your options are a bit more limited. Yes, you can get good tones but I never felt I was spoilt for choice like you are with some of the software amp modellers (Guitar Rig for example) and some settings compress in a very unattractive way when you run out of headroom.

The effects are solid, although I don't tend to use them much as I use other gear for FX.

The unit does tend to be quite noisy on high gain settings and the noise gate is ineffectual. A gate before is a definite benefit.

If you use a lot of high gain sounds this unit may not be for you.

Reliability: 9
Very solid construction, gave no signs of ever proving unreliable. You have to remember that it's got a real valve in the power stage, so if you are gigging with it carry a spare.

Customer Support: N/A
No opinion - not used

Overall Rating: 8
I've recorded some lovely tones with this unit, but the noise levels on high gain are beginning to get me down. As I only really use it for recording, I'm now using more software solutions as they're more flexible and you can re-amp.

For practice with a pair of 'phones, though, this is as good as it gets.

Submitted by Cheeser at 09/28/2005 07:11

Price Paid: US $299.99

Ease of Use: 8
Fairly easy to use AFTER you read the manual. I need to make this clear: You must read the manual to truly understand how to work with the ToneLab. Once you get up to speed it's fairly easy to use.

Sound Quality: 9
What people need to understand going into the ToneLab is that it's not so much a all-purpose modeler like the PODxt. It's a very specialized instrument that can be used to get you great tone if you know how to use it, sort of like a super-stompbox. Where with the PODxt you sift through menus for hours tweaking tones to death, with the ToneLab you basically dial up tones with the knobs like a real amp. Once you figure out how to work the gain and VR gains controls properly, you can pretty much dial up any sound you want.

Overall you will get a great tone with the ToneLab. The amp models are spectacular and as accurate as you are currently going to get with a modeler. The cab models could be better, but do the job. The pedal effects are mostly good, with the exception of the Rat and Fuzz models which I find lacking. There's plenty to play with and you can have it for months and still manage to dial up new sounds the more you play with it. The money shot is that you'll get natural overdrive/distortion out of it thanks to the Valve Reactor technology which creates a mini tube power amp inside the box. Honestly, the PODxt can't hold a candle to it for most tones.

For recording everyone up to the most trained ear would be hard pressed to differentiate it from a real amp. For live sound, you may be better off with a real tube amp but it's still pretty damn good.

Reliability: 8
It's built pretty solid. I wouldn't want to drop it or anything. Having a real 12AX7 tube makes it a bit fragile I suppose and the tube is not easy to swap out, nor do I recommend doing so.

Customer Support: N/A
Thankfully, I never had to contact support.

Overall Rating: 10
Great value overall if you understand you are not getting a total of 47 real world amps, cabs, pedals, and effects for the price of the ToneLab. It's an excellent tool in the right hands and tremendous value overall.

Submitted by Chris at 09/02/2005 07:10

Price Paid: 420 (austalian)

Ease of Use: 9
Quite easy to use, the manual is well written and easy to understand

Sound Quality: 9
The tube for all its hype gives it a better "feel" than regualar emulations ie pods and the like. Not as "digitally" either.

Reliability: N/A
Had it a couple of months now without dramas so i can't really comment, though seems like it won't break

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to deal with them

Overall Rating: 9
I play mainly rock/blues. Play with a strat and a tele through this thing. It appears to like the tele a little bit more. Once you get used to tweaking it this unit will keep you inspired. Because of the range of amps/cabinets/effects i've found myself playing heavier stuff than i would have through my "real" amps, so its helping my break new ground musically and creatively as well.

Submitted by Dylan at 08/22/2005 20:23

Price Paid: N/A used

Ease of Use: 8
The Tonelab is very easy to use but it¿s best to dig into the manual because different controls do different things depend on the Amp type, I had mine about six months before I finally got around to reading the manual and suddenly I could improve virtually all my patches simply by knowing who the various controls respond on each amp sim. Basic editing in fine but you can go a lot deeper with the excellent computer based editor, especially in terms of effects. And surprisingly the manual is well written and very easy to understand as it¿s been written for musicians rather then computer programmers.

Sound Quality: 8
I¿m using the Tonelab for recording only, so it¿s hooked up to a mixer, but the sound quality is where the Tonelab really scores, because it behaves like a real valve amp and you can use your guitars volume and tone controls to coax out a huge amount of sounds. For example I usually start off by finding a good rock tone then drop the volume with my guitar volume control to clean it up, I use a lot of guitars and with the Tonelab their individual sounds/character come though and isn¿t lost in the modeling process like with POD¿s etc. I¿m also impressed with the effects at a quick glace they may seem basic compared to some units but the sound quality is excellent, in general as good as stomp boxes. The highpoints in terms of sounds is just about anything to do with electric guitars from Clean Jazz to high voltage rock tones, crunch tones being especially good compared to other units, however the units is not great for clean bass or acoustic guitars.

Reliability: 9
The unit seems solid enough, but I only use this sort of thing in the studio I keep my live rig as simple as possible with a real amp and a couple of stomp boxes. If you goig to use something like this live you want the SE version.

Customer Support: 9
Vox are wonderful people always very helpful, and quick to respond to emails.

Overall Rating: 8
I do a lot of session work and so use the Tonelab for a lots of different styles, I¿ve been playing for around 20 years professionally, I have a huge amount of guitars pretty much all customized with different pick-ups etc, I also use a transplanted variax. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another as they are so cheap at the moment but I have a feeling VOX are about to hit us with something new quite soon. I¿ve been using amp sims since the days of the Rockman & Nobels units, so here is a quick rundown on the major units: PODS 1 & 2 quite good but muffled sounding, not great for clean sounds and your guitars character is lost in the modeling process, you really notice this is you try various brands of the pick-ups in the same guitar¿ they all sound the same. PODXT better but the sound has gone a bit digital and again the guitars character is lost but quite an improvement over previous units. V-amp2: surprisingly good for the price it has a very Hi-Fi processed sound that sits well in the mix, good for very clean or very high gain tones, not so good for classic 70¿s rock sounds, and these units tend to fail after 6 months. Boss GS10 the amp modeling is very digital and the rock sounds remind me of the Marshall AV digital amps in that they sound fizzy to my ears, but the effects and EQ are great, and it¿s brilliant for bass & acoustic instruments, it is very much an effect units and doesn¿t behave in any way like a valve amp, it reminds me very much of solid state amps. The Tonelab is about the best amp sim I¿ve ever used for real valve amp sounds straight to the desk.

Submitted by DK at 08/22/2005 01:27

Price Paid: US $300.00

Ease of Use: 10
Very simple to use. Haven't saved or edited any patches yet. I have only had it two months and use it at home.

Sound Quality: 5
I Use a Les Paul and USA strat with Duncans. It is only noisy on high-gain amps, as you would expect on the real amp. I have a "Modern Marshall" JCM 2000 tube amp, and with a huge amount of tweaking it comes close, using a Fender tube amp. I also have a blackface twin, and the model for that is way to sterile. The chorus works, but is weak. The rotary speaker is the best of the modulation effects. The reverbs do not sound very good to me. I can not get a good acoustic sound. The best it can do is using the Botique Clean, 2x10 speakers, presence on 10. The octive pedal is horrible. Most of the pedals are.
I got a much cleaner sound using the return loop of my effects loops than I did going through my amp's input. The speaker simulation is almost worthless. I only use three amp models. Botique clean, Twin (blk2x12), and Some of Marshalls 1968 Plexi, JCM 800, JCM 900, JCM 2000. The rest are blah.. I tried changing the tube using several NOS tubes, not worth the effort. Lacks bass response.

Reliability: 8
It seems relaiable, but it is computer chips on PCBs inside, so don't drop it. I would not use this at a gig, to expensive for that.

Customer Support: 1
Korg? Are you kidding?

Overall Rating: 7
I would not recommend this unit for live performance. Use pedals. Might be good in the studio, but as a multi-effects box, it sucks. As an amp modeler, you must use a good amp to begin with. It will not improve a crappy amp's sound quality.

Submitted by Tune Dawg at 08/07/2005 19:59