I also looked in to buying the digitech bp80 or the korg ampworks bass. Then i finally got the money and realized that the px4b was just a couple steps up from the ampworks. So i went ahead and bought it. My favorite aspects are the drum machine and effects.
Model Year: 2005
Price: $219.00 (new)
Where Obtained: www.bananas.com
This unit does not have a foot pedal. That did not bother me but it might bother you. There is an available ac adapter which costs about $10. It comes with a built in rythym trainer with 100 different rythyms. It also comes with a phrase trainer which lets you record yourself or and aux source then you can slow it down without changing the pitch. This comes with about 100 different effect patches, all customizable.
I use a ibanez rd500 with it and it sounds excellent. The amp I use is a crate bx50dlx. I play mostly rock jazz and blues, but this works well with any style. I would say some effects are better than others but they are all excellent.
This unit is programmable. It is very easy to edit or creat a patch. It also comes with preset patches that sound awsome.
It seems pretty durable to me but i haven't played a gig with it. I think it is made out of aluminum so it should be alright.
For what I use it for, this thing is awesome. Fell back in love with it last night when I discovered the key transposer.
Price: $240.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Cossas Music
Several dials and buttons, I have had it for a few years and am still discovering features that I did not know it had. Mostly I use it as a silent headphone amp, just discovered last night that it has a transpose feature for the aux input. This is HUGE! So many of the tunes, that my band does, are transposed and it was a pain to try to learn them. This feature alone makes the Pandora's Box worth the price.
I use it with a P Bass mostly through headphones but occasionally through one of my amps. Get a good set of studio headphones if you want good sound and volume out of it. Can't speak to the comparison as I haven't really used a similar product.
The effects are fun, and probably great but again, they are not what I bought it for.
Lots of dials and buttons. Maybe I should read the manual. Still discovering things that it can do.
I can't see an application for live playing. People probably do use it live, I am not likely to.
It is a KORG so it is for real.
Plenty heavy duty enough for home/studio use.
Great pice of kit this and a great price to. Tiny but packed with loads of FX. Alot of which is good for annoying your guitarist with. FX presets include Stuart Hamm style Funk, Finger, Harmony, Chord, Solo and a Cliff Burton style Metal Distortion. The 10 amp modeling settings are also great so even if your amp isn't a classic it puts it in the right direction. The drum loops on this are pure geinus. Tons and tons of differnt drum loops to jam with, each with their own temo, volume and reverb settings to adjust to get the right sound. The aux feature is also pretty cool as you can (apprently, havnt tried it myself) connect your CD player to it and use the bass cancelation so you can jam with... sum band you'd wanna jam with... Havnt said this - 3 main gripes. Firstly power - This doesnt come with a mains adaptor so unless you wanna spend 4 a week on AAA batteries, get your self a set o rechargeables and an adaptor (Always read the manual. Do not take advise from me on electric stuff). Secondly - There is no foot switch so your stuck w/ your effects until you have a good enoguh gap to change em. Talking at least 2 bar rest. Finanaly the recording feature isn't that good. Now, this may be my guitars pickups but if you want your full 16 seconds worth of recoding time your gonna get real cruddy playback with isn't worth playing along with. Maily cos it sounds bad. But these 3 grips are overshaddowed by just how great this thing is. Its Korg so naturaly its the real deal - great FX, great size, great features and amazing price.
Many thunbs and fingers and toes and extremities up for this little red box o joy
Where Obtained: stringsdirect.co.uk
An excellent Multi-FX processor. It could have been a lot worse. The only thing I would have liked to see is a pedal. Otherwise, it's great - Korg is tons better than Zoom (and anyone else offerring budget multi-FX).
Model Year: 2002
Where Obtained: Bass Cellar, London
There is every feature known to man on this unit. A great drum machine with over a hundred different styles and variable tempos is included. About 10 different amp styles are available to further shape your sound. There are a huge amount of FX, something like 120, and 50 included sound presets. The unit is tiny: it could fit in even the smallest pocket. I've never seen anything like it.
I've always held a grudge against multi-FX units, but I really like the PX4B. For the immaculate price, the sounds are realistic and useful (for the most part). I found the distortion and the compression FX to be the most effective, and I liked all most all of the (sensible) factory presets. Atmittedly, there are few wacky sounds and some FX are not good enough to record with, but it's great value for money. The amp modelling is very effective and gives you a basic range of tube and solid state amps. On the whole, a very capable unit for the price you pay.
Unlike some multi FX units, the Korg has adjustable FX. This means that some fiddling is required but you can be very well aquainted with the unit within about and hour or two.
The PX4B was apparently not intended for live use, but the sounds make you want to play with it at a jam or a concert. It is built pretty well, but if gigging I wouldn't reccomend leaving it on the floor: you could simply mount it with some tape on the amp. It isn't built like a tank but it's not going to break unless you drop it from a big height.
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