The ToneWorks AX1500G is a digital multi-effects floor processor from Korg's ToneWorks line. Vintage Guitar reviewed it in its June 2002 issue, describing it as "a digital unit that offers an outrageous number of features for the contemporary picker to drool over." Its headline numbers: 56 effects with eight running simultaneously, 96 programs split between 48 presets and 48 user slots, and a built-in expression pedal covering real-time control of 11 effects1.
What it does
As a multi-effects unit, the AX1500G puts a whole pedalboard's worth of effects in one box. Vintage Guitar's reviewer listed distortion, delay, chorus, and flanger among the array of effects inside, which maps onto the bread-and-butter sounds most players reach for first: drive from the distortion family, space from delay, and modulation from chorus and flanger territory1.
Eight effects can run at once, so a single program can chain drive, modulation, and time effects together rather than forcing you to choose one at a time. The 96 programs give you 48 factory sounds to start from and 48 user slots to keep your own edits1.
Controls and playing into it
The unit's control layout leans on what Vintage Guitar called "good ol' 'chickenhead' knobs for real-time control of effects and parameters," a physical-knob approach to editing rather than a menu-and-screen workflow1. The built-in expression pedal handles real-time moves, with control over 11 effects, so swells, sweeps, and pitch moves happen under your foot while you play1.
The reviewer plugged the test unit directly into a PA using the stereo outputs, which shows how it was meant to work in a live or recording setup: straight into a full-range system, no amp required1.
What reviewers said
Vintage Guitar's June 2002 review came down positive on the sound for the money. On the drive side, the reviewer singled out one preset by name1:
"I especially liked 'Beckola,' a good ol' fuzzface kind of squawk"
That puts the Beckola setting in fuzz territory, in the lineage of a Fuzz Face. The overall verdict was measured but favorable: "but for an affordable multi-effects processor, I liked what I heard"1.
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Questions
How many presets does the ToneWorks AX1500G have?
The AX1500G holds 96 programs, split evenly between 48 preset programs and 48 user programs. That means you can store your own edited versions of sounds in the user half while the factory presets remain untouched. Vintage Guitar's June 2002 review noted the split as one of the unit's practical strengths for players building a board around a single floor processor.
Does the AX1500G have an expression pedal?
Yes. The AX1500G has a built-in expression pedal that allows real-time control of 11 effects, according to Vintage Guitar's 2002 review. That covers the kind of moves players expect from a floor unit: swelling a volume, bending a pitch-shifted note, or sweeping a filter without taking your hands off the guitar.
Is the ToneWorks AX1500G digital or analog?
The AX1500G is a digital multi-effects processor. Vintage Guitar described it in June 2002 as "a digital unit that offers an outrageous number of features for the contemporary picker to drool over," and its effects, programs, and editing all run in the digital domain.
Does the AX1500G have stereo outputs?
Yes. Vintage Guitar's reviewer plugged the test unit directly into a PA using the stereo outputs, which makes the AX1500G usable straight into a mixing desk or full-range amp setup as well as into a conventional guitar amp.
What did the AX1500G cost when new?
Vintage Guitar's June 2002 review lists the price at $350. That placed it among the affordable multi-effects processors of its day, and the reviewer judged the sounds accordingly, writing that for an affordable multi-effects processor he liked what he heard.
Sources (1)
- ToneWorks AX1500G, Vintage Guitar magazine, 2003-07-01