From M-Audio & Roger Linn Design: BLACK BOX RELOADED

In June of 2005, M-Audio released BLACK BOX, designed in collaboration with Roger Linn Design. Black Box is a combination of many of the older AdrenaLinn II's best features with an integrated USB audio interface and a big, blue LCD. In July 2006, the Black Box software was improved and the product re-released as Black Box RELOADED.

How is Black Box RELOADED different from AdrenaLinn III?

In summary, Black Box Reloaded is an "AdrenaLinn III Lite + USB audio interface", delivering the most popular of AdrenaLinn III's effects with limited control, while adding a big LCD display, more panel buttons and knobs, a USB audio interface, a mic preamp, and inputs for 2 foot switches and an expression pedal.

Compared to AdrenaLinn III, Both products have 40 amp models, reverb, delay, compression tuner and gate, through AdrenaLinn III provides improved amp model quality and greater parameter control. AdrenaLinn III provides far greater variety and control of its unique beat-synced modulation/filter/sequencing/delay effects and the amp modeling has improved tube simulation.

So if you're looking for a low-cost box combining USB audio interface, amp modeling and a great introduction to AdrenaLinn-style effects, Black Box Reloaded is a great choice. If you're more interested in AdrenaLinn III's unique beat-synced modulation/filter/sequencing/delay effects and amp models, AdrenaLinn III is a better choice.

Here's more detail about the differences:

Presets:
Black Box has 100 User (editable) and 100 Factory (not editable) presets. AdrenaLinn III has 200 editable presets.

Modulation effects :
Black Box will produce the most popular of the older AdrenaLinn II's unique beat-synched effects but with far less control over the details of the sound. Black Box only has controls for Effect selection, Filter Frequency or Modulation Speed (depending on select effect), Modulation Depth and Effect/Dry Mix. AdrenaLinn III has controls for Effect Type selection, Effect Type Variation, Effects/Dry Mix, Stereo Modulation Width, Modulation Speed (or Envelope Generator Attack & Decay Time), Modulation Depth, Filter Frequency, Filter Resonance, Filter Type (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch, flanger, inverted flanger, volume), Modulation Source, LFO Waveform and Output Volume. AdrenaLinn III provides user-editable Filter Sequences, Tremolo Sequences and Arpeggiator Sequences whereas Black Box does not. AdrenaLinn III provides variable attack & decay times for the envelope generator during Random Filter and Random Tremolo effects.

Amp models and controls:
Both products have the same 40 amp models with improvements on the AdrenaLinn III, specifically better tube simulation, particularly noticeable in the transition between clear and distorted tones and the dynamic compression imparted by tubes. AdrenaLinn III also adds a post-distortion variable-frequency lowpass filter.

Delay:
The beat-synched delay is nearly to AdrenaLinn III, with maximum 2.75 seconds on AdrenaLinn II and 2.5 seconds on Black Box. The only other difference is that the dry and delayed signals cannot be split between the left and right outputs on Black Box as they can on AdrenaLinn III, and AdrenaLinn III adds a variable-frequency lowpass filter for the delay signal.

Drums:
Unlike AdrenaLinn III, Black Box's drumbeats are not user-programmable and the drum mix, swing timing, and drum sound assignments cannot be changed. AdrenaLinn III adds a separate simple guitar amp distortion for the drums, as well as a varable-frequency lowpass filter. AdrenaLinn III has 200 editable drumbeats vs. the Black Box's 100 non-editable drumbeats. Finally, the AdrenaLinn III has new and much improved drum sounds and drumbeats.

MIDI Pedalboard Control:
AdrenaLinn III has significantly enhanced capabillities for MIDI foot pedalboard control. Up to 10 MIDI Footswitches can control nearly all internal actions or on/off states, and up to 2 MIDI expression pedals can be assigned per-preset as a wah, volume or talk box pedal or to control nearly all internal variable parameters.

Reverb, Compression, Tuner
Same on both products.

Ins and outs:
In additional to AdrenaLinn III's guitar input, stereo outputs, headphone outputs and MIDI in/out, Black Box has a mic preamp with XLR jack, S/PDIF out, USB audio port and jacks for 2 optional foot switches and an optional expression pedal. (Though AdrenaLinn III can accept MIDI controllers for remote control of a wah, volume and a variety of effect parameters, Black Box accepts a standard expression pedal with 1/4" jack for foot control). Black Box has no MIDI in or out but can send and receive MIDI data over USB.

Panel controls:
Black box has a big custom LCD display with 6-character preset names and icons to show one of four sets of functions for the 4 "soft controls" (endless rotary encoders). It also has more dedicated buttons for fast operation as shown in the photo above. AdrenaLinn III has a 3-digit numeric display that is also used to display simple 7-segment representations of alpha characters, plus 19 individual LED indicators. AdrenaLinn III contains 2 foot switches on the panel whereas Black Box does not.

Note: If you have a Black Box, you might be interested in the SoundTower editor for Black Box, available at www.soundtower.com.