Vox StompLab IIG Modeling Effects Pedal Reviews

The perfect learning tool for beginners if you WRITE THE SETTINGS DOWN. You can balance all voices to the SAME OUTPUT LEVEL, once you identify the limiting voice, usually a clean tone that cannot get any louder.

The Mooers and Zooms have lots of effects, but the high frequencies had a gritty, sandy quality that the Stomplab does not have. Maybe it's analog instead of digital?

You actually have MORE FREEDOM WITH LESS EFFECTS because you don't waste time trying out these exotic combinations of gizmos that offer usually a one-time recording window before you lose track of how you got that voice, or that model self-destructs and is only available Used on eBay! Time better spent on playing, writing, perfectng performanc, etc.

THE KEY: With such a limited LED screen to program with, you must take notes! Each voice has a TON of cryptic values to keep noted!

After years of trial and error, I went through all of the amp models and did a rough frequency curve, noted distortion response, tested whether the distortion was volume sensitive and "cleaned up" like fuzz pedals should, and noted the noise levels. With this limited set of amps, I selected 20 for variety, and then built the tones and added effects with the advantage that THE EXPRESSION PEDAL can change ONE parameter with each voice; wah, volume, compressor (really interesting results!), echo time or mix, reverb depth, etc.

No other pedal I've seen gives you this "on the fly" control. The ability to pedal down and max Wah treble, or distortion, or echo level, etc. really gives a lot of freedom to arranging songs dramatically without changing voices or turning on other effects which may not have the best settings for the song.
For example: If you play to loops or otherwise at a constant tempo, the voice's echo or delay rate will stay at what you set it for that voice for that song.

I've got 20 voices to program, plus some of the presets have scifi ring modulaters for otherworldly sounds which you can edit on the fly (reverb, tone, delay, etc.) but cannot save once you filled the 20 user presets.
In general, the distortions are noisy, but so are most distortions. Those songs are noisy.
It is still a bit too noisy, but you CAN adjust the volumes on 20 voices, from clean to metal, and get the same volume OUTPUT for confidently changing voice per song, or even within songs.
BIG ADVANTAGE! I set the volumes by lining into a voice recorder that has an amplitude meter on Record, and then fine tune afterwards.

Sometimes, most of the time, it is VERY TRICKY to set a range for the pedal, but it CAN be done. This is a major design flaw, and the manual tries to describe how, but there are malignant spirits in there to frustrate you for a while...

Have used it for about 11 years. It's small and has a great set of effects for playing most styles of music.
And the compressor really works, unlike other pedales I could mention...

This guitar petal is so much fun to use. I love the effects that it has. I like the fact that when I chose blues for example, there are ten more effects in the same genre. I love this guitar pedal. There is so much that you can do with it. I am very happy with my purchase.

I paired this with a Rickenbacker 325 and a Vox AC15.
Absolutely outstanding. There not an effect that cannot be reproduced. If authenticity to original sounds is what your after this is it all in one unit. Everything from blues to metal to grunge to clean crisp "Beatles" sound. I retired my pedal board.

For the price you get 99 channels and the option to create your own. It is well constructed, portable and battery powered. I can take my electric guitar anywhere without needing an outlet for an amp. I can rock out through my headphones while the kids sleep. I was so enamored, I also bought the IIB for my bass. There is plenty to love about this pedal.

Wish i had made this purchase earlier.usable effects and doesn't sound digital like the Line 6 M9

I ran my Vox Stomplab into my Marshal halfstack using my 6 string Les Paul, my 7 string guitar and my P-Bass. This pedal has all the mods and effects you need to get a killer tone. After a few minutes of learning the functions, it is very easy to use. You can adjust all the parameters of the built in delays, tremelos, chorus, etc. The tuner is quite precise and works as it should. The expression pedal is surprising sensitive and has a big range to pivot. You can assign a pitch shifter, wah, volume and other functions to the expression pedal. It's definitely worth the few extra dollars. Save yourself the headache of daisy chains and power supplies. Get this durable, versatile beauty and make the sounds you want.

Let me preface my review with a disclaimer that I have only used multi-effects processors, I have never owned any "real" pedals and I have only used solid state amps.

Don't let the appearance fool you, you can get quite a variety of extremely of usable tones out of this thing. I wasn't a huge fan of most of the presets that came with it, but it is very easy and quick to make your own. To those complaining that it is not intuitive amd difficult to use, it's really not that hard if you just read the manual and pay attention to what you're doing. Anytime you get a new piece of gear, especially a multi-effects processor, there's always going to be a little bit of a learning curve as you figure out your way around navigating the menus. Bottom line, it's hard to beat for the money.

I've been using these pedals for a couple of years now and am more than pleased. I use two of these along with the bass model to run directly into a mixer for my show choir stage band. It always has the sounds I need, and you would never be able to tell it's a battery-powered modeler. I used the version without the expression pedal on my personal pedalboard for a couple of years as a pedalboard amp run clean with my separate stompboxes providing any dirt and effects.

I have always been impressed with the sound quality, build quality, and personalization of user presets on this unit. After using four units (including the bass version) for more than two years, I have not had any technical or mechanical failures, and the battery life (AA batteries) is extremely long if you choose to use batteries.

The only real complaints I have seen in some of these reviews are the size of the expression pedal and the difficulty of programming. Yes, the expression pedal is small, but I have had no problem using it even when wearing wide boots. It just hasn't been a problem for me. As for the problem with programming...read the manual. It's not that steep of a learning curve. If you are one of those guys who doesn't like to read the manual, you will not enjoy all the benefits of this pedal. If you read the manual and start making your sound from scratch, you'll find the sound you're looking for, and you can make it sound great.

Bottom line: After using many different multi-effects modeling pedals over many years, I believe this is the best bang for the buck on the market. If one of my units were to break, I would buy another the same day without hesitation.

I have only had this little device for a week and then we had to go out of town for three weeks. So I have just had a little time to play around with it and I have not read through the manual yet. But I am very impressed with what I can do with it so far. The sound quality is very good. It gives my steel string acoustic a lot of new possibilities. Very happy with the purchase so far. The device is constructed well with a smooth positive operation of all the controls.
And the customer service and ordering experience at Sweetwater is the best I have experience with any online company. Other companies should look at Sweetwater as a model to follow!

Sincerely,
John Rinehart

The main reason for this purchase is that Ineeded a simple munitions effects unit powered by batteries. I did quite a bit of research (blogs, Youtube, reviews) and in my opinion, the StompLab showed the best potential.

The first time using this I plugged it into my computer interface. I couldn"t believe the sound. I cycled thru many of the presets and found a few that were usable.

With the manual in front of me I began learning how to edit the parameters. One complaint that I have read was about the extensive amount of presets but a paltry amount of user presets. While this is true (20) this more than serves my needs.

The AMP/DRIVE Parameters give you lots to dial into n a tone. The EQ allows for Low, Mid, High and Oresence for each of the Amp models. You get quite a few selections of cabinet choices as well.

I"ll stop here but there are many more ways to tweak the box.

I am more than happy with my purchase and love the customer service that Sweetwater provides. I always feel I am dealing with a highly professional company that backs up their products.

The VOX ingenuity just does't quit. This VOX StompLab modeled amp and effects pedal is an absolutely superb (and incredibly inexpensive) addition to your rig, or for use in the studio. The modeled amps are ever so sweet and the effects are gorgeous! All programmable, 100 different amplifier setups are available. The effects pedal is an especially functional tool that was so worth the minute cost over the alternative 'bare' version. It's really smooth and accurate. I use it exclusively in the studio and mostly as a "noiseless" amp and effect input device direct into a Thunderbolt interface for recording. Overall, the thing is just plain sweet. If you like the sound of VOX... this is a no brainer. Also sounds superb just playing through it and into a set of headphones. A good-neighbor personal amp. (Looking forward to getting the Bass version when it's back in stock). Love it!

I bought this because I was really impressed with my Vox Valvetronix VT40+ and wanted to see how it would sound running through my Mini Rectifier and Mesa 2x12. The Mesa sounds great as it is, but this makes it even better. It's very flexible and can be configured to sound like anything from RHCP cleans to Metallica and Nirvana style distortion, the distortion settings are my favorite. The delay, wah, and flanger settings sound great too.

I'm still working on finding all the tons of options this has to offer so far so good.

Absolutely love it! Can dial in any tone imaginable and love the headphone jack for private practice. Have been using a mustang 1 for a couple of years but the tones on the stomplab are much clearer and more numerous. Takes a little practice to learn the functions as the perameters are at the end of the manual but other than that I couldn't have asked for more for the price.

I have only had this pedal 2 days now and can't brag about it enough. It may be small in size but puts out big tone and plenty of volume. I have been able to create my own user presets but it is a little tricky for me to get my volume adjusted correctly so that it doesn't blow you away when switching from one user preset to another. Other than that, you can't beat this pedal. I used to have a zoom 505 with exp pedal and this thing blows it out of the water and was less money than the 505. I think it was $149. I'm 45 yrs old so it was a little bit of a learning curve for me but once you understand how it works, you are guaranteed to be rewarded. I hope this review has helped others. VOX ROCKS! You can't go wrong.

I have got say this pedal gives all of the best sounds Vox has to offer! The Pedal works perfectivly! You will NOT be disappointed a must have! This pedal rocks!

I've had this pedal for a year now and I've used it quite a bit for both jamming and playing small gigs. It's really convenient, both in terms of price and size. All the effects, amps, overdrives, and distortions I've used on it can be made to sound fantastic, although I admit I've spent several hours learning how to program it in depth. It's so convenient to carry anywhere and can even fit in my guitar case with my guitar (it is a large case). It produces reasonably low amounts of hum, but there definitely is a little there if you listen hard enough on most of the distortion or fuzz settings. The expression pedal has practically no bounds; you could even set it to your delay rate if you wanted to. The variety on it is amazing, and while I never use the presets anymore, there were definitely some useful ones when I started working with it. Also, you can copy the presets and put them in the user slots if you want to mess around with them to see how they made the sounds. The tuner is great and super convenient too. The pedal is built very solidly and I haven't had any structural issues with it so far. I do think a lot of issues people have mentioned with programming are probably user error or the people just didn't understand the manual; I actually enjoy programming this one.
The fuzzes are definitely not the best, and the expression pedal takes a while to really learn how to program. Some of the amps and drives are super electronic sounding, which may be great if you like that, but the acoustic simulator especially is really painful to listen to. In general, don't expect this pedal to sound like a tube amp or like analog effects, despite its great modeling abilities and range of options.
Compared to any top-of-the-line multi-effects processor, I think it really holds its ground considering what it can do at its price and without being able to download patches. If you're a beginning guitarist this is definitely the pedal I would recommend highest, just make sure you read at least most of the manual very carefully. Also keep the manual on hand and refer to it for amp models. I would highly recommend this product to just about anyone!

Love the pedal so far. Gobs of options and not hard to use. Like the size, not too big. Seems well constructed.

I am primarily a keyboard player. I am using this pedal to turn my powered speaker which is part of my keyboard rig into a pretty authentic sounding guitar amp, using amp modeling and the spring reverb. I also like the expression pedal that I have set to be a volume pedal. The Stomplab gets me oyt of having to bring 2 rigs to a gig when I only play guitar on a couple of songs. It is perfect for my purposes and so easy to set up.

Let me start out by saying that my main pedal is a POD HD500X. I needed a small pedal for travelling, and this one fits the bill nicely. The wah pedal is surprisingly functional. It is not nearly as easy to program as the POD but that is too be expected given the size and features. The did put good quality sounds into the box and kept the signal path quiet. Also you can control a lot of parameters with the pedal and use it as a boost which is very handy (I am used to being able to turn effects on and off *within* a patch. I ended up with 4 pairs of sounds - a pair being a base amp model with no effects, and a matching version with effects). So for what I bought it for it works great - I have gigged with it - and it will drive headphones. One caveat - it does not like 1-Spot power supplies, seem happy with any number of others, but not 1-spot.

VOX makes some awesome products and this is just one of them.
There is so much you can get from the StompLab.
It takes awhile to figure it out because the manual to me is useless.
It does not tell you in details how to do anything but
after a few hours I had everything going my way and the sounds you can get from this pedal is awesome.
There is a few effects that are useless in my opinion but others may like them.
Forget a pedal board because this pedal can replace about 20 single pedals with this having better sounds.
Why pay $100 for one pedal when you can get 20 or more pedals from the StompLab for $90
Grab up on one, You'll like it.

This is a great compact device - travels easy, battery powered and has the expected quality effects that you'd expect from Vox.

Lots of good tones from this baby. Well built and looks much better than others I have seen. I would give it a 5 if the pedal was a little bigger, but overall you can't beat it. Great service from Sweetwater too!

Never had a multi effects unit before and wanted one that would be compact to use with my pedals. The StompLab 2G is perfect for that. Also the ease of use was great. Within my first hour I had already programmed 3 presets that were easy to tweak. The expression pedal is a bit small but space was an issue so my size 13 Doc Marten may not like it but my pedal board does an it gets the job done. Effects are really good and I run 2 Vox AC15's and the modulation effects really shine in a stereo set up. Also dig some of the high gain sounds this makes even though I dont use them that much. Along with my pedals and the 2G my effects pallet has been expanded. I really like the option to plug in headphones for private playing so I can sit on my couch and play and not bother anybody. .

I bought this pedal, but I felt the manual was lacking. I came across this spreadsheet on the Seymour Duncan website forum.It is downloadable in several different formats for different spreadsheets. It gives you a list of what amp model is modeled, the cabinets and effects for all the presets. it definite helped me.

I don't think this was in the manual, but you can turn off the different amps/cabinets and effect by pressing the 2 buttons you use to save your user presets. Choose what ever you amp/cab or effect you are on, then press the 2 buttons simultaneously and oF will appear, telling you it is off. It works on everything, but Lo and Hi tone. You can bypass the models and cabinets and use only the effects this way.

Probably the lowest cost ME modeling pedal available, but it works. Manual lacking. Watching YouTube videos will help getting you started.

Great Box!!! I hooked up a Crybaby Wa Wa and it made high pitch noise. Probably a ground problem,
but have other boxes hooked to Wa Wa and had no extra noise.

This pedal is an awesome addition to any pedalboard. Tiny but has a clean big sound. Make sure you have the global output set to the right kind of input for the great sound. Laughable size but very cool. I bought it for the amp modelers to plug into my PA for gigs. Works amazing but shocked me as to the vast array of sounds offered.

Useable presets right out of the box. I thought the EQ was on the treble side for my single coils and I changed guitars to a Humbucker style and it really changed the sound. I have not tweaked anything so I cannot review the setting. It is small-compact-runs on batteries and AC with I like because I travel overseas with it and I can carry it in my backpack. I am not crazy about taking the entire back plate off to change the batteries and it looks like you would have to be careful you did not pull and wires loose as well as the fact it is just inconvenient to take the feet off and the cover. But, for what it is, the cost, and what I use it for, I am happy.

Initially I was quite disappointed by the presets.After all,how many ring modules and tremolos;let alone delays can one use? There basically "fillers'taking up presets that could have been better suited as something else.And theres 100 of 'em! Only 20 user where you make your own..Id rather seen a 50/50 split !Back to the reason of this review..Read your manual,select your amp(out of 36).select your cabinet(or not depending on your amp your plugging into)and turn off all pedals.Then...systematically pair your amp-cabs....then lo-hi-vol....then...overdrive/dist....then compressor...then reverb..etc etc..you get the picture! Build your own sounds piece by piece.Hit write..save to U0 or uo .Presto..user #1.Repeat for clean/distorted/delay/solo leads etc.You can also turn off anything on any preset by pressing both up/down arrows same time=of...Theres a TON of great useable sounds from clean to blues to nasty dirt but you must methodically choose every component.Its worth the labor..so for all you GEARHEADS,TWEEKERS and TONESNOBS this is heaven in a box.I was surprised how good and affordable this pedal is once you delved into how a sound(patch )is created...its this creative assembling of personal choices that make it so much fun and IMHO worth more than its meager price tag.This is a "GEM"..just take the time to build your sound..you got 20 slots of personal choices to tailor this pedal to make it totally sound just the way you want.Im "digging it"..Money well spent.

I picked this device up to let me play my electric guitar on the street, so for me the key features were battery powered and amp emulations. Sound-wise, I was quite happy with the sounds going through my ear-phones. When I plugged it into our Roland BA330 amp, many of the more overdrive presets sounded pretty nasty, but since that's not my style of music that is not a problem. The more mellow crunch sounds are perfectly serviceable. The interface is a bit tricky I thought, especially with only a 2 character display. However, I could work it out with manual in hand. Battery life seems very good, with rechargeable Eneloops, I got 5 hours of play time before I got nervous and changed them, although my battery charger told me those batteries still had tons of life left, so I am very pleased with that. The expression pedal is so small that it's hard to use accurately, but it is still useful and I am pleased I bought the model with the pedal rather than the one without. I've not used this device lots and lots yet, but so far I am very pleased with my purchase. I can't see it replacing my POD HD500 for bigger gigs, but I will be able to use this thing for lots of other stuff I do and not have to carry round heavier gear so much

For the money I can't imagine a better pedal. Still working through all the possible sounds. I use it with my bass as well and makes some really interesting sounds

I wanted something for open mics / vacations etc that I can stuff anywhere. This fits the bill, so far I have managed to get a few usable sound saved (usually I use a POD XT Live). Pretty straight forwards to use - the only time I looked at the manual was to read up on assigning the wah parameters and range. Very versatile sounds, and flexible pedal assignment. I am still wrestling with the amps / overdrive settings - seem a bit harsh, but I have a lot of models and combinations to try out.. It will certainly do what I bought it to do and at a very good price. Another plus is that I can use batteries - again really useful for open mic setups and travelling abroad.

I bought this unit thinking it would've be a more versatile pedal over my joyo cab box. The amp and cab modeling are decent but have a distinct digital tone when going for a clean style. The stomp lab shines in high gain distortions, but is not a live solution when going into a PA system on a quiet stage. The Vox stomp lab tends to not play well with my higher quality delay and reverb units getting a very muddy tone. I have a Keeley hydra and EHX Canyon after the Vox stomp lab in the chain and a boss sd1 overdrive. None of these pedals are shining with the stomp lab as a stack. For players wanting lot of versatility and a stand alone practice unit, it's great and cheap experimental pedal, but can't be a core part of your tone if you're wanting to apply it in a live performance setting.

The tuner and customizable save banks are awesome, but took me 3-4 hours to learn. Grey for the beginner with little to no gear, more of a toy in other applications. I have had hours of fun in my practice time, but can't use the thing for anything other than novelty.

I'm not a professional guitar player, but I want to record it like one. This means that I need all the sound effects right in my hands with no worries about expensive pedals set up. This is what the Stomplab IIG is all about. But also, I can create new configurations by my own with the user feature, so this pedal is a step forward for music creation.

Has many options and I've locked in what I've been looking for a high gain. If it wasn't for that I would have returned it.

It's an okay pedal and there are a few things that doesn't make this pedal "WOW" for me.

-The manual isn't all the greatest on in depth programming.
-Would be nice for a description of the amps or imply what they are based on.
-All the fuzz settings are horrible. Very bright and thin. Not sure how to have a fuzz with a certain amp as there isn't any instructions to tell you if you can use the fuzz drive on all amps settings or the Fuzz settings is all you get.
-Effects are pretty basic and very limited on adjustments.
-Not sure if you enable WAH and another expression pedal setting which one has the priority or are they both enabled. They sound both enabled to me.
-I would like to see a separate a foot switch to turn the pedal on or off instead of the push button. In the off position it should true bypass. The way it is now you have to hit both foot switches and that makes it bypass, but also put it in the tuner mode.
-Location of the on/off switch

What I like about it
-It's build
-A lot different options
-expression pedal

Some of my dislikes might be user error, but with a very basic manual it's hard to tell.

I bought this unit on a whim as something to use to practice at night.
The tiny expression pedal is pretty cute and actually more usable than expected. The metal chassis is not tank like, but sturdy enough. The tuner is easy to use, hook ups are easy. Drawbacks; the power button is tiny and requires you hold it in until the unit fully powers up, which isn't major, but more fussy than it should be.
I found the sounds more limited than most and the editing scheme makes the unit almost unusable for me. True it's reasonably priced, and if you like the stock sounds it may be a good investment.

I will be honest. I got this for live gigs playing country. Chicken pickin compression with some overdrive patches. I am having major difficulty getting all the tone patches with even volume. When I bring one up they all come up. It's difficult to get the info I need from the manual. It has a lot of potential I guess but damned if I can figure it out. Think I'll go back to the pedal board and give this one to my 13 yo son to play with.

got the stomplab 2g. tested and right away didn't like the design. expression pedal is too small. you will overshoot position parameter you want with just a nudge or pulling you foot off the pedal. if it is used on carpet when you push or pull the expression pedal the whole unit moves with your foot, making using the expression pedal useless. has a variety of distortions, that was ok. reverbs did not sound good to me. hooked up in front of amp and through effects loop. just sounded under par to me. filters sounded good, but you cant accurately control them with the pedal. same with the wha. I would not recommend this pedal. there are much better ones out there.

So mine arrived a couple of days ago, and so far I have mixed feelings about it.
I guess the first thing to remember is that it's cheap, and as all things in life, you get what you pay for.
The presets aren't too bad, I've certainly heard a lot worse on more expensive pedals. Depending on your rig, I'm sure most of us would be looking to set up our own sounds pretty quickly.
There's very little unwanted noise too, which is a definite bonus compared to some of the stuff that Digitech or Behringer churn out.
Once again, I know it's cheap, but man this thing is small! The expression pedal is smaller than most mobile phones! In a live situation with limited stage space it might be handy, but anyone with adult size feet would need the grace of a ballerina to operate this.
It does not come with a power pack, once again a cost saving exercise I guess. And to put batteries in, you have to remove the back plate exposing all the inner workings, I certainly wouldn't want to be caught low on power during a live performance.
So, to summarise: Sounds pretty good and very inexpensive, but ergonomically impractical.

IDK, maybe I have an inherent distaste for these multiFX pedals. I was hoping the Vox Stomplab was an exception but boy, I was mistaken. First off, the manual is horrible. It took me half a day to realize the the main "chicken head" knob was the selector for the effect you're editing, after entering EDIT mode. The 2 digit LED display shows a vague and confounding reference to the effect, with NO REFERENCE IN THE MANUAL to what the 2 digits actually ARE. In the era of cheap LCD displays, a small 5x5 cm or so screen would be a nice touch. Just way too confusing and difficult and lemme tell ya, I'm a computer programmer (I'm not kidding!) All I wanted was a little delay and reverb and some occasional phase/flange and wah without carrying around an arsenal of pedals. I can't really say how good the effects are. I THINK I got the delay working and it sounded decent, but really difficult to "tweak" with all the knobs, buttons, flashing lights, levers and pulleys going on. I'm not even sure you can bypass the wah (if you can get it working) without programming an entirely different "slot" in the user memory locations. I will say, the pedal is solidly built and it should be for those like me who would've liked to throw it across the room. If you have a good sounding amp and just want a few FX, get yourself a few pedals. Pedals are fun. Pedals generally have a "on" and an "off" and some clearly marked controls. IDK - maybe it's me. Vox makes some good stuff but these multi-FX pedals are just too over the top to make them practical. If you're gigging live and have to bend down on a dark stage to tweak a pedal instead of playing your guitar, don't bother with any of these.

I never could get the pedal adjusted in the 20 user presets. After 6 months, it started crashing and I had to unplug - replug and then restart it. StompLab had potential but it sucks. Would have been great for busking on the street if it worked right

I've used this at a church setting for several months now. And I've grown to dislike just about all the distortion and high gain effects. They sound very fuzzy and uncontrolled. They don't sound crisp. I'm shopping for something else

save your money, noisy device and if you like spending all your time tinkering with a piece of lab equipment than actually playing guitar then this is exactly what you need

Ive been programming effects pedals for decades, Boss, Digitech, Roland and the vox is by far the worst, Ive ever seen. They have alphanumeric abbreviations for all the effects and no list of what they mean in the manual. The Rosetta stone is easier.
Sending this one back, dont waste your money

Very confusing to program. Was hoping to consolidate my board into one pedal, just looking for 4 tones- clean, blues, rock and metal and wanted to have 4 presets……I'm sure the pedal could do it, but after a few hours it's not worth the effort to me.

First off the battery box failed. Now I have to use the cord. I have a modeling amp that is easy like
a preset on a car stereo. Why this had to be a nightmare pain... to operate is 1980s VCR... If
you liked doing timed recordings on your old VCR you are gonna love this joke. 21 pages worth of miss a step and start over. Maybe it will save it maybe it won't. Read the directions before you buy it so you know
what kind of a headache you are getting in to.