Grace Design ROXi Mic/Instrument Preamp Review
Our Verdict and Review Summary
The Grace Design ROXi is a microphone preamp channel strip in guitar pedal form, which doubles as an instrument preamp as well. It sounds absolutely fantastic with acoustic guitars and bass, giving you some extended use cases beyond vocals.
I'm coming at my Grace Design ROXi review from the perspective of a guitar player, but keep in mind its primary function is that of a microphone preamp that can easily handle instruments while interfacing with other pedals and effects.
That said, this pedal sounds incredibly good with acoustic guitars and bass. For electric guitars, I'd recommend treating it as a preliminary EQ and then using the amp out to a proper guitar amp. In other words, don't use it as an electric guitar amp replacement.
But for vocals and acoustic guitars - and even for bass - this preamp sounds amazingly clean and full.
Comparison Table
We've added a few similar preamp pedals to this comparison table so you can see how the ROXi stacks up in terms of price and basic specs.
Editor's Choice
Preamp | Model | Rate | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grace Design ROXi | 92.8 | |
 | JHS Colour Box V2 | n/a | |
 | Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre | n/a | |
 | TC-Helicon VoiceLive Play Acoustic | n/a |
Compare More Pedals and Preamps
This pedal category is a little bit unique (mic preamp in pedal form), but if you want to compare more gear, you can search for it here and add it to the comparison table at the bottom of this page.
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A mic preamp strip in guitar pedal form, that can also handle acoustics and bass. Very unique device.
Review Card
IDEAL FOR: Vocals, acoustic guitars, bass, recording, performing, effects and pedalboard integration.
TONE
97
CONTROL
99
VERSATILITY
94
PRICE/VALUE
81
- Clean tone is phenomenal
- Interfaces easily with a pedalboard (FX loop)
- Can handle acoustic and bass in addition to vocals
- Amp level control
- Granular tone control
- Hi-pass filter
- Wet/dry effects loop mix
- Cost is definitely prohibitive
Grace Design ROXi Price Guide
Prices updated Mon, September 25th, 2023.
Sweetwater Pricing
Price Alert
Price History
Price History for Grace Design ROXi Mic/Instrument Preamp Pedal with Boost and FX Loop
Statistics
| Current Price | $895.00 | September 21, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $895.00 | September 14, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $895.00 | September 14, 2023 |
Last price changes
| $895.00 | September 14, 2023 |
The Grace Design ROXi looks simple at first glance, but the control scheme happens to check all my boxes.
Sound/tone and use cases
The most prevalent feature of this pedal is how clean it sounds. Even with a lot of low-end, I got excellent clarity out of my acoustic guitar (a Taylor 214ce) and the sweepable midrange let me dial in my sound at a more granular level. It reminded me a lot of the BBE Acoustimax preamp.
Remember those?
I also love having the high pass filter available for an instrument, especially for bass.
I'm not sure if there's a huge difference, but I always liked how a hi-pass filter shifts better than a treble knob.
Maybe that's just placebo. Audio pros feel free to chime in on that one.
And while I'm clearly biased towards instruments, as opposed to vocals, I can't say enough about how efficient and effective this is at EQ'ing a guitar and bass.
The ROXi sounds fantastic with mics, acoustic and bass guitars.
If you're using instruments, you may or may not want to go out to an actual amp, depending on your signal's final destination. But the ROXi has absolutely earned its marker as a studio-quality solution, so you probably won't need any additional amplification.
For vocals you definitely won't need anything more, but even for acoustic and bass you're probably okay to let the ROXi handle everything.
Just send it straight to your preamp or audio interface.
Sweepable mids will help you refine an already full and warm tone profile. Calling it studio-quality isn't just blowing smoke. It sounds very clear and polished.
Controls, functionality, and flexibility
You have a gain and boost, where the boost is engaged by the bypass switch on the left of the front panel. I don't typically use boost with acoustics or bass, but it works as expected.
On the top left there's a wet/dry mix for the effects loop (awesome feature) and a level control for what you're sending to your amp, if it's connected.
As I've already touched on, the four-band EQ with sweepable mids gives you all the flexibility you could need.
The hi-pass filter is the cherry on top.
The wet/dry mix for an entire effects loop is awesome. I love a good wet/dry mix (totally not an inuendo).
I think this has got to be my favorite control arrangement for a preamp and/or effects pedal.
- Gain/boost
- Wet/dry mix
- Four-band EQ with sweepable mids
- Hi-pass filter instead of treble knob
In a perfect world I would want every single pedal I own to have these features. Again, this is not technically an effects pedal, and even its status as an instrument preamp is secondary.
But I just love the control scheme. It leaves nothing that I can even come close to complaining about.
Price and Value
The not-so-fun part is that this preamp is expensive.
Though it's not overpriced, for a couple of reasons: First, it's in-line with a lot of other comparable "strip" microphone preamps, which are in rackmount and not pedal form.
And second, it's definitely studio-quality sound. You're getting what you pay for, so the price isn't necessarily a problem here.
It's just going to be cost-prohibitive to a lot of people, so there are specific situations where I'd recommend it.
As I often say, it's a great product, but that doesn't mean it's ideal for everyone.
Ideal buyer
The ideal buyer is someone who would use this preamp for vocals, an instrument (acoustic or bass), and to interface with a pedalboard through the effects loop.
If you'll use all three of those capabilities, you'll get your money's worth.
Those in a pro or semi-pro recording or gigging situation are probably the best candidates here. This could be a singer/songwriter, worship leader, or even someone who is purely an instrumentalist.
It's expensive, but if you're using it for most of what it's capable of, the value is clearly there.
Wrap Up and Questions
Note that I tested this preamp in my office before writing this review. As often as possible we try to get our hands on gear before writing about it. If not, we get reliable, secondhand information, and do a lot of research.
While we make mistakes, all of the content on Guitar Chalk is written by real guitar players and musicians.
If you have questions about my Grace Design ROXi review, you can leave them in the comments section below.
I'll help out as much as possible.
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