Behringer GDI21

VEry simple, 4 selectors with three or two selection each, 4 mpots and a on off switch. it can be power supplied with a common boss adapter.

I 've tried it direct to the mix recording without any other eq or comp. and I had to tweak a bit to gain a sound that could be good for that occasion, but finally i got it, this means that it is possible to get the sound you are looking for, only tweaking a bit.
There are bno built in fx, so can't directly say if it is better or not than other modellers.
I also tried it last night, direct into the front of my amp. A carvin X100 B using the clean channel.
THIS WAS VERY AMAZING. IN FLAMES SOUNDS WHERE POSSIBLE. TWEAKKKK

STILL DON'T KNOW

No problem getting a good sound. It has flexibility. Just wish it had another button to switch from one effect to another effect instead of straight through. Manual shows some typical settings, they are in the ball park. This thing says it was made in may of 2004. Adjustments are made through four knobs; drive, treble, bass and level and four switches; amp, mod, mic and ground lift.

I run it from my Fender Telecaster straight to the board. It saves me having to lug my amps to practice. We use in-ear monitors so no amp is just fine. No noise other than the overdrive noise (when really cranked up), but that is to be expected. I just picked one up for the Bass player and he loves his. No lugging that big cab around. The sounds are too cool. I can get a great OD sound and the sustain is just right, just like a real amp. Plus I can move the mic placement around, which basically changes timbre of the mic sound. The clean is OK, but I wish I didn't have to use the DRIVE control to get a good clean sound, more work needs to go there. The OD sounds are fine. No phony sound. Just tight OD.

I run it on a power supply. If this thing keeps working this well, I may go with the V-Amp Pro and leave my amp at home. One group I auditioned for a few years back, used no amps at all. Everything ran through the board. They used in-ear monitors so no big deal. It worked well.
This thing is made of metal with surface mount (military style) components. Only the footswitch seems fragile. Battery compartment door fits poorly, but OK if you make sure it is shut.

Beats me. Everything we have gotten from Behringer has worked and kept working. We really like the stuff.

I have to give this thing a 9 overall. It does everything great except the clean, I wish I had more control over that. If you get one, you will not regret it. This thing is cool. PLUS, it keeps me from luuging my amps to practice. I don't think there is any thing else like this DI modeler, because it is a DI box and an amp modeler. I use the XLR out to the board. I play alternative country/ modern rock. This box allows me to practice without having any amp. If it were stolen, I would get another one, immediately. This little DI/modeler has completely changed the way we practice.

hello everybody this is the 1st time i review on harmony central and this is as good as any product to do a review on..here it goes

this little pedal preamp whatever has very good tone inside it... clean ...semi dirty or full blown lead..it is very good the player just needs to mess with it..i got very good sounds out of this pedal...its like any thing its what you leave out that makes the differance u have to pull back cuz this little puppy has chingos of gain..! amazing..messing about with the 4 knobs was quick and easy the 4 little slider switches was a little more getting use to ..if your a tone bug this can give you option anxiety ha ha ! but very cool..! the manuel was ok..but it should have stated more nuts and bolts ..its a solid state devise as for as what i have been told...not digital as some believe...!!!!..big differance....the guys at the local music store were pretty jazzed about it especially for the price !we live in south texas and gigs dont pay very much around here so low priced new gear that works is a welcome thing....

as far as my setup with this thing...i got lots of amps...i tried it out with an old very very old boogie mark one combo (blonde) 1973 by all accounts...and this pedal had a nice interaction with this amp..it was a very sweet singing sustain..i had a dan electro dan echo plugged up also.about 335 ms....very nice combination very santana sounding and also was able to get a more warren haynes ..type tone and also jimmy herring type tone ..i also like ollie halsall of patto and was able to dial in tone similar to his..! and also bill nelson type tones when he was in the band... be bop deluxe...wow nice ! really versatile pedal
the total trip was usuing my 92 fawn vox ac30 with 30 watt celestions ..had to tweak the settings a little bit but man i had some really kool sounds coming out of the vox9all tones on zero on the vox..) very strange but powerful new voices...... new i would say classic rock sounds...super singing sustain..vox ac30s can be very unforgiving on pedals ..i have played many many ac30s i own 3 of them..but this gdi21 v tone really complimented the vox ac 30 well...i have tons of guitars to chose from i have a large collection vintage etc..blah blah ...but i chose a 2001 gibson faded flying v (stock)with new strings 9 gauge and it sounded great on both amps with v tone pedal..i was set up nice and loud..
at the store i got this pedal... i messed about and compared it to a new tritone radial tone bone and the v tone kept up to about 80% ..thats why i bought the v tone..! tritone was about 250 bux ..the v tone is about 30 bux u do the math..! ill jamm the v-tone ha ha !
i used a 62 ri white strat with rosewood fretboard at the shop a mex model..and a ashdown 40 watt el 84 1x12 combo and a new vox valvetronix digital tube hybrid 1x12 steel grill combo both sounded very good with the v tone gdi21 so i bought the darn thing!while i was playing a bunch of guys were looking and commenting how good the amps sounded..fat and thick and creamy..loud but not harsh very sweet sounding the amp was on clean all overdrive was the v-tone !

and im gonna use it on our new album..look at my website in the future for details ...

well im gonna buy 1 more i think im sure it will do the job well..it has a plastic box..but for 30 bux im not a cheapo ill get another as back up..! in case i get excited and smash it while playing live..ha ha ! im gentle on my pedals though looks strong enough though...for gigging out here in texas ranch parties and south padre island beach blowouts...plus i think it can handle austin and san antonio.. juke joint.....beer stained floors...it looks tuff..even if it is ...plastic capped..housing...

i dont know about sending it back to germany if it bugged out..but hermes music the local store i got it at im sure would help me out if this thing busted on me...

i hear behringer has a good rep..who knows..?
manuel has their address in germany...laughs we will see if it comes to that...
but folks i have a very good guitar and amp...tech in austin texas he works with a very famous strat cat see my websites for detail..if this thing broke down he would fix it in a flash...
im gonna contact behringer if this thing works well on all my amps..my hunch is it will really do the overdrive thing extremely well..

folks i have been playing since 1979 classic rock, country, jamband, psycadelic jams, and freak outs new wave..and electronica.. and krautrock and spacerock.. im 40 years old this year i have a huge collection of pedals and rack stuff..i got amps up the wazoo..and a good size guitar collection..i am always buying stuff..always..and this pedal is the 1st time i have written on harmony central...i feel good about this blue little box enough to want to tell the world...yes behringer cut corners but yes its packed with good clean and better overdrive tones..! i know my tone and i know good tone this little damn thing for 30 bux is a good deal..a real good deal....i guess some people want rolls royce quality for 30 buxx u know what u can get close with this behringer gdi21...as far as live good tone is concerned...this thing makes me wanna play leads and power chord alot alot alot its a real nice pedal for the price ..
now i wonder if this little blue box.... will do old lemmy tones like when he was in hawkwind...back in the early 70's hummm...lets try...laughs....

Way easy. Every knob goes smooth, jacks have a good grip.
If you are accustomed to the gt-2 then all is reverse...
Easy to get a fairly good sound, but for nuances it is another story.
I checked this pedal for a friend, I own the original and frankly there is no match (what a surprise).
I have owned the gm110 amp from them, a trademark clone, and so far I can tell it has the same preamp as the gdi21.

The downside is the same as the abovementionned gm110 amp: far too much gain and bass, except on the fender twin clean which is much enjoyable.
It's simple, with a humbucker guitar you can't have intermediate sounds, it's all or nothing very fast on the knob.
It also has this processed sound you don't get with the gt2, but funnily you can't have the gt2's dryness, crispness on heavy gain settings.
Now stop comparing!
For what it is the gdi21 delivers some usable sounds, has a nice overall compression (too much) and mates better with weak pickups.
The drive dpt is overall enjoyable, the color is always the same but nevertheless quite pleasing.
I noticed something disturbing: when picking hard the strings on a humbucker guitar the unit clearly makes loud plops. I checked with two other HH guitars, same result. With single coils no plops.
I find this unacceptable at any price of course, hence 5 points.

Not sure, if you stomp. Since it is a preamp, better have it always on in a safe place.
I gave a look inside, neatly done job. As is the acoustic version I own ADi21.
Due to the plops I wouldn't use it at all.

My acoustic version adi21 has a problem with input levels, clips too easily ( I have to turn down on the guitar almost to a third).
This Gdi21 has a problem with input levels, too much gain overall and loud plops when picking the strings hard.

Be very picky when checking out, take your axe or a powerful demo axe (p-u^'s wise).
I have to state that the adi21 is better than this one.
I wouldn't buy it, for sure because I'm a humbuckers'man.
In my experience there are very powerful telecasters as well so beware!

Simple to use, the 4 knobs are similar in controls to the sansamp gt2, really simple, just dial the settings, and your good to go

I was running my yamaha YG 521M through a marshall MG15CDR, the cleans are similar to zoom's fender modelling(thats on the tweed), the other 2 were utter crap.

distortion wise, can give an overdrive and a nice distortion, nothing really heavy though, just like the sansamp gt2

chassis made of solid metal, only downside is that the footswitch is made of plastic

hell cheaper than the gt2, and no much difference in quality, at that low low price, its definitely a better buy than a boss ds1 or similar pedals

Very easy to get a good sound once you figure out what the secret to getting a good sound on this thing is. I'll tell you below what that is. No patches nor do I want any. Manual is good. No firmware, all analog.

This thing has given me the best recorded guitar tone I have ever gotten. The key is you can't use it alone. You have to buy the Behringer Ultra-G speaker emulator and run it into that to get a truly realistic guitar tone. Once you do that this thing really sounds like you took a nice amp and miked it up to record with. Works well with all my stompboxes which is nice. Reacts in a very similar manner to my amp when I am on stage. This plus the Ultra-G is the perfect recorded guitar tone and it's very portable (both run on batteries). I was using two different digital amp modelers before, the Yamaha DG Stomp and the Digitech GNX4. I could not get a recording quality tone out of the GNX4 but I used it for demos a lot. The DG Stomp sounded very good, recording quality, but the GDI21 plus Ultra-G just sounds better. It is warmer and the top end is smoother somehow.

So far so good for everything I have bought from Behringer. If and when it breaks I will come back and put a one in this category to offset the 10, but if it never breaks it will stay a 10.

I have never delt with them but I like the info they have on their website, quite helpful.

This thing can give you that analog tone you are after but allow you to record easily with your computer. Its the best of the old and then new. After using digital modelers for a while I wanted something that would bring me closer to the tone and feel of the real amp I use onstage and this has done that admirably well, and for the price you can't beat it!

It takes a while to find the setting you want if its into the front end of a guitar amp.

Its noisy yes, but so is everything! i play single coil stratocasters.
Im driving a solid state fender and Im happy now.
the cali -clean is great. i like to keep the drive very low and boost the amp input. very nice!
the hi gain stuff sounds fake thru my amp. probably would be great as a DI tho.

I dunno. the switch is plastic. . .

dunno

playin 20+ years.Old school Punk, post-punk skronk, etc
fave is using its a a booster clean. it rocks the clean channel of my fender! so overall less noise i dont need the drive channel now. Im using a DS_1 for leads.
well i owned a sansamp GT-2 and this "copy" is no where as good. but i found the setting that works for me and its an improvement over thge cheap chinese compressor that i was using as a pre boost.
for the money its great. you get a DI, a backup if you breakdown, and a unit to put in fx loop of a mixer for home recording. its worth it.

Very Easy to use. Settings are very easy to dial in because it only has 2 EQ options TREBLE AND BASS at fixed points.

Don't be fooled by bad reviews THING SOUNDS GREAT!!! I am a full-time musician(always have been ). In 1995 I started recording and composing music for commercials. In 1998 I started producing/recording music for viedo games for PC and PLayStation 2...I WISH I HAD THIS BEHRINGER DI FOR THESE SESSIONS.

I just recorded a band here this year and half of the tracks were done with amps, the other half with this Behringer DI...the GDI21 sounds just as good (or better sometimes) than the amps. RECORDING WISE I GIVE THIS THING A 10.

LIVE I just started using the Behringer GDI21 in place of my Boogie V tWin. My Boogie power supply went out and I had to either buy the power supply for $50 or use the $28 Behringer...so I took the Beringer DI out on the road.

I play on a different amp most night because our band travels a lot and does "production provided" gigs. THe MANUAL for the Behringer stateds that it has VERY HIGH IMPEDANCE---I think this is good for recording, but into an amp it leaves the pedal a little too bright sounding.

LIVE , again, what I started doing was running the XLR out to the main board as well as the 1/4 " out to the amp I am playing on.
LIVE , I GIVE THE SOUND An 8.

At $28 who cares if it is reliable or not--so far I've had no trouble.

DOn't even think about it, just buy one. Especially if you record. They sound GREAT...anybody not getting a good sound is probably running it live with their amp set too bright.

My favorite sound if the BRIT(marshall) with the Hi G or the CLN and the mic setting set to the song. I run the TREBLE and BASS straight up and the gain at 10 o'clock.

Based of the great sound of this guitar DI, I bought the bass version as well...it too sounds great.

easier than this is impossible.

same sound as the original sansamp gt2.a little more hiss and not true bypass like the original.but better than my mxr phase 90 pedal.
gives a really real distortion and sustains like a bitch.
sorry folks but this 30 dollar can kicks the shit outa the POD 2?s distortions.much more real.
dont like the tweed,but never liked fender overdriven amps as well.
can go from eric clapton bluesbraker to kirk hammet rectifier to slash...close but no cigar.never the less a great backup.

never gigged with it,thow seems very sturdy shit does happen and i would always take a backup pedal.

non existent in Brazil

i play jazz,clean. for overdriven sounds id pick a tubescreamer.for really higain blast the walls this one.hated the pod 2.gave an OK for the vamp2 and decided to try this one.sounds the same as my old sansamp gt2.and very close to a dual rectifier full blown.
buy it if you want to,before sansamp closes down their factory for compromising there sales.

Very easy to use

72 Gold Top (gibson),78 Standard(gibson)/Schecter omen 6( My sons )
Delta 1010lt,Mid level recording gear(most people think any thing rackmount is professional,wrong!!!)Tube pre,tube compressor,tube parmetric EQ etc. OK enough of that. THIS UNIT IS A TOY AT BEST!!! I am no gear snob and do own other Behringer pieces that work well.(V-Amp Pro, Studio Denoiser,Ultrafex Pro) If you are a experienced musician or have done any real recording , post work or even have a clue, Do Not Waste Your Money !!!! This is not even close to the GT-2,it is only a very ,very crappy knock-off!! I recorded,jammed,EQ'd,recorded more,played more and guess what? It still sucked.

I hope its tough. If you play live with it someone is gonna smash it.You'll probably get your ass kicked too.

I have called service center in past and always been able to reach someone.

I personally lean towards metal old or nu. I began playing in '82 I am farelly well versed in modal theory and play. I have recorded every thing from elementary school choirs to full on contemporary jazz projects.I have also worked several post projects and millions of demos (figuratively) Please do not buy this unit it is a price point scam. I would also like to say I'm sick of the bullshit reviews given on this site. Do your home work, have some ears. You'll find the gear that suites you. Don't trust reviews given by kids,morons and def people. Im out.