Behringer GDI21

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.

Basically this unit is very easy, 3 amp types, three gain types and 3 microphone placing positions. For tone there are treble and bass pots and ofcourse you have gain and volume controls.

Sounds nice for the brit and california positions and medium to high gain. When you have too much gain it gets muddy. The tweed sounds real bad when I use it through my Fender super 60 amp. Direct out it sounds a little better, but still not natural.

My main use was to get a sort of marshall lead sound out of it, because my amp did not have such a sound. With the settings on clean and rather a lot of gain the sound is acceptable, but still not very convincing modelling.

And the worst problem is the humm, it hums more than all my other pedals and my amps distortion channel together. For recording the noise is unbearable. This makes the unit again less usable. Especially when I used it with my Ibanez Blazer guiter with single coils the noise was more than unacceptable (even standing in front of my computer monitor produces less noise!)

Now here's the thing, I had it for three days and then I noticed I had no signal when the unit was disengaged. So I put it on and noticed the sound had gone real bad.

So that's for it, I brought it back and am not concidering another one, Behringer once more prove they make cheap shit that goes down very easily. Too bad because it sounded okay for the time it worked...

Haven't had contact with them, just brought it back to the dealer.

Overall the sound is nice for the price, but the noice and the bad reliability make this a unit that is only good for using at home or to smash on stage. I suggest you people don't buy this thing unless you just want to play around with some sounds at home.

This is a unit with some controls... It's not easy catch a definitive sound, not if you don't have spent a lot of time to experiment!
It's an amplifier in a stomp box dimension: Gain, Bass, Treble, Level for tone control; after that the kind of distortion: Tweed (combo), British (Marshall stacks), Californian (Mesa Boogie lead sound); there are three gain stages (Clean, Hi Gain, Hot), there are also three way of "microphone" the amp: Off-Axis, Central, Classic, this is about a frequency cut... There is a "GND avoider" but I don't know how much it influences.

This is a very great toy... I lllllllove it!!! It's like getting anything you want in front of your amp... Gain works great, equalization is a bit trebly but efficent (there are too much bottom end and no mids in some combinations).

I use a black Fender Stratocaster American Standard 1999 and a black Gibson Les Paul Studio 2004; my distortion/overdrive units are Ibanez TS-9, Behringer GDI21, Electro Harmonix Big Muff (Sovtek)... My genre is rock, from Pink Floyd to Queen, from Blink 182 to the Offspring... and when I got to palm mute (as punk rock rhythm will...) this work great. It answer well to your playing style.

My definitive combination (it was painful to catch it!) is gain, bass, treble approximately to 5, level to the volume to balance with my guitar output, so I use a Californian, Clean, Off-Axis combination. Don't worry, nothing real metters if you set the clean gain stage... If you turn up the gain control you also can catch a brutal distortion.

My amp is a Marshall Plexi 100 1959SLP Reissue 2003.

Cool toy!!!

Well, I give 6 because plastic is not my favourite material to build a pedal... but I'm sure it's very difficult to break it. Maybe the switch is too much fragile... But... I've not problem to handle it carefully.

I've nothing to say about that...
Never repaired because... never broken!

I would say that this is a cool toy! I've paid it 36 euros new. When I tried it for the first time I supposed I was dreaming... It was impossible to buy one thing like this for only 36?.

I suggest it to everyone who need a pure hard distortion or a cranked amp emulation.

Behringer's new SansAmp clone. Four knobs/four switches, with models for Tweed(Fender),Brit(Marshall)and Calif(Boogie). 3 gain levels, Clean,Hi-Gain and Hot. 3 mic-position simulators and a ground lift switch. On the back are 1/4 jacks for in and out and an XLR connector.

The manual gives some suggested settings, but I didn't find them all that useful. Tweaking is required.

The unit also takes a 9V adapter. I used a 1-spot with it with no problems.

As someone else has already posted, the unit has some background hiss when engaged. It's noticeable, but liveable. It's worse on the hi-gain models.

I took the unit to band practice last night, and ran thru a number of classic-rock and metal tunes. I ran it thru my amps (Roland JC-60,Behringer Blue Devil) and was not that impressed. I could be heard, but no-ones going to mistake this thing for a Fender Twin. It got mushier on the hi-gain models. I've only tried this on SS amps, but then, who'd want to pollute a good tube sound with a cheap modeller anyway? The guitars used were a Tele with Lace Sensors, a MIA Strat, a Squier Fat Tele and a Schecter C1+.

However, when I switched to direct into the PA, I was much happier with the unit. I could get several acceptable tones from Fender OD to Marshall crunch, and even an acceptable hi-gain Boogie sound (not that I'm much of a metal guy). Fed back thru the monitors, I could hear myself, and kept up with the band quite nicely.

The major disadvantage to this unit would be for those who need to go from rhythm-type distortion to leads. I don't play lead, so its not an issue for me. The unit goes only from clean(bypass) to a single model sound. If you want to model a different sound, you have to reach down and flip switches. This usually requires knob-tweaking as well, as the model gain levels are all different. Not that convenient in a live setting.

I also found that only the "Classic" mic position was useable - the other 2 settings just muddied the sound up.

Lastly, there's a very "fake" edge to the distortion as the sound decays on held chords. They didn't get this part right at all.

The main housing is thick plastic, with a metal base. The unit is heavier(and smaller)than I was expecting. The stomp switch is plastic also, so if you perform in Doc Martens, you could have a problem. The jacks are not screwed to the chassis (well, the XLR is) but they don't wiggle around either.

One kind of aggravating "feature" is the battery slot in the bottom. I made the mistake of trying to insert the battery directly into the unit, instead of putting it into the battery cover(the cover has plastic "fingers" designed to grip the sides of the battery.)As soon as I dropped the battery into the unit, it promptly turned sideways and became almost impossible to remove. I ended up using 2 needle-nose pliers to rotate the battery so I could get it back out again.

Never dealt with them. I have a V-amp 2, a Blue Devil and now this from Behringer, all of which have worked fine for me. But I'm pretty easy on my equipment and don't gig that much. Your mileage may vary.

This unit will not replace your amp, and will not fool anyone into thinking you just inherited a vintage Marshall stack from a long-lost relative. I bought it for one purpose: to use as an "emergency" backup at gigs and jams. Assuming you can beg,borrow or steal a channel of the PA, you could get thru a classic-rock set (or maybe metal, but that's pushing it) if your main amp eats it. At least I could, bearing in mind that I don't need it to do leads. At this price, sticking this and an XLR cable in the gig bag seems like cheap insurance to me, and means I don't need to lug 2 amps around. ( in a pinch, on the Tweed/Clean setting, this thing will also handle bass.)

If you don't expect this to replace a $1000 tube amp (or any amp above practice level,really) you can't go far wrong for the price. If you're obsessive about your tone, this ain't for you. But, for the weekend bar-gig set, as a quick fix for a dead amp, this thing will have its uses.

Pretty straight forward instruction manual. Sliders easy to use. Notches rotary knobs for gain, EQ, level are difficult to see. Behringer should have painted the notches white so you can see where your settings are. Otherwise, pretty decent layout and design.

One of the best stomp boxes out there. I am using a Behringer GX210 (bought it before Behringer introduced its GMX Modeling Amps). This amp has a beautifully voluptuous clean channel (can easily dial in '65 Fender Deluxe, original Vox AC-30 (not top-boost model)tones; but the distortion channel on this Behringer Amp sucks, big time!!!!! THIS LITTLE BOX FROM BEHRINGER NOW GIVES ME ANY OVERDRIVE I WANT.
Also sounds good through my Fender Silverface Tube Pro-Reverb.

Tweed Clean and California Clean are exceptional settings. Adjusting the gain on Tweed Clean will give you SRV, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, and other strat "fat" tones you are looking for. Tweed high gain is OK, but won't give you Buddy Guy or SRV vibe (more suitable for early 70's crunch, if you like that sound). California Clean will give you good Keith Richards and CCR vibes if you twiddle with the gain. California Hot and High gain are good for ZZ Top, Mountain, George Thorogood, recent Carlos Santana vibes, even with single coil p'ups. California Hot will also provide a great "Pignose Squeal" for those looking for that original, Made in the USA Pignose sound.

British settings are too shrill (typical ice-pick through the ears sound) for any strats or tele's. Period! Better save these settings for Humbuckers.

A special note for those players who can't afford real Fenders, and play Squiers instead: The California Clean setting with the gain turned all the way down, treble turned up about 1/4, bass turned up about 1/3 will give you that classic strat "THWUMP" and warmth that you are so desperately seeking w/ pickup upgrades. Save your money. Don't buy new p'ups; buy this stomp box instead.

As noted by other reviewers, there is a slight volume drop on the Hot Gain settings. Oh, well, nothing's perfect. But this little box outshines Boss, Digitech, Korg, Line 6 and the others out there.

Would give this a 10 if it weren't for the Hot Gain volume drop.

Made of Plastic, but still fairly heavy duty. I do use it without a backup, because I don't try to stomp it like I'm killing cockroaches. Any guitarist w/ common sense and stage experience can avoid damaging this unit.

Behringer customer support is very good. I've had problems w/ 2 Behringer Amps that I bought on-line (solder joints were cold-soldered at factory in China) . Got my Return Authorization #'s quickly, problem fixed on one amp promptly, got replacement amp for the other. Behringer has since improved it's quality control at the factory (have talked with numerous Behringer owners).

Have had no problems with the GDI21. Do not anticipate any.

I play New Orleans R&B, New Orleans Funk (Meters, Eddie Bo, Roger & The Gypsies), Blues, Stax/Volt R&B, 60;s Rock'n'Roll (Creedence, Hendrix, Stones).


Would buy it again in a heartbeat. Best distortion box out there, for the price.

There is drive, treble, bas and level: easy enough
Then there are the threeway switches: AMP(lifier type)[Tweed, British and cCalif], MOD(e)[Clean, Hi gain and Hot] and MIC(rophone placement) [Classic, center and offaxis]plus a forth, ground lift swich.
This gives 27 different combinations so you'll just have to trust your ears.

It might be a little early to judge yet since I haven't tried to record with it but I played around some at home ( peawey rage 158) and rehearsed ( roland JC120 ) using a Dearmond m77-t ( singlecoils more like p90's)
The main reason why I bought it was to give the roland a different character and i found what I wanted with the tweed + hi gain + center setting and the drive just barely above min. It gave me a almost clean slightly compresed sound that crunched up a bit when playng harder.
There is a slight hiss that get more pronounced if i crank the treble up or goes to the "hot" setting . That is no problem for me when playing live but it might be when recording.
Other settings are more destorted/overdrive and im not going to comment on them since i propably only going to use the clean or hi gainn tweed setting.
An 8 because that i really liked the sound (a guess is that it is rather close to a fender or vox but i never played one so i don't know for sure) but the hiss is a little disapointing

It's hard to tell yet....
Its plastic with a plastic foot switch. I'm not gonna stomp on it, I will keep it on top of the amp an just let it be on all the time. Using a 9V converter..
And because of that I would use it at a gig without a backup.

n/a

I play gothicpostdronshogazerpop and It is a good mach if you wan't a nice clean sound and use your other stomp boxs as your distortion. It is propaby just as god as your main overdrive but that's not my buissnes.s
Been playing for 7 years but if you hear me you might guess one. And finaly I get to stat my gears;
Guitars:fender bullet (us made), DeArmond M77-T one & epiphone 335d dot + a ibanez aucoustic
Effex: half keeley moded Boss blues driver, modded boss ds-1 , Locobox Tubemaniax, locobox Mysto-dysto, Boss flanger, Ibanez digital delay, danelectro PB&J, Arion phaser, Nobels tremolo
Amp:Peavey rage 158 & Roland Jazz Chorus 120

I would buy a new one since i like it and it is cheep

I would really like to compare with the Sansamp but I can never afford to do that i guess.

I hope it will sound good when i record direct with it, if not it was still worth the money since i really loved the sound last rehersal.
I think its good that I desided to leave it ontop of the amp since I have enough to stomp on allready (ha,ha, It's never enough!)
Nine becuse the rate joy/prize is high. Not 10 because of the hissing sound (and because its not cool to own a behringer box) (..should be though)

Easy to use. Follow the directions.

Just got the Behringer GDI21 sansamp clone from music123.com

I have only tried using it into the front of my roland bluescube30 2x10 combo amp.

The GDI21 is pretty heavy. I will have to open it and see what's inside. The baseplate is metal but the body is plastic. The knobs are kinda hard to see where they are set at, the notch is not easy to see on the knob. The footswitch is cheap plastic! Real cheap. I would not use it live unless it was on a pedalboard with some protection. Home and studio use should be fine.

The jacks are not mounted to the plastic enclosure, I will try out the XLR send into a mixing console this weekend.

How's it sound?

The amp models are pretty good. I only like the CLN setting for the mode. When you switch to "HI G", there is a volume drop and seems like more compression, the "HOT" is about the same volume drop as "HI G". Both "HI G" and "HOT" offer more gain and compression but they don't sound as natural to me. I prefer the "CLN" mode which is more organic and feels more amplike. I can get some good crunch on the BRIT and CALI models. I actually like the CALI model the best! The MIC setting offers more tone shaping. The CLSIC setting has a low end rolloff, OFF X has a high end rolloff and the CNTR seems to be full range, might have a mid boost to it. The bass and treble tone controls are active with boost/cut.

Overall for $30 it's a nice tone toy. No where as tough as my Zinky True Grit. I bought it to toy around with and have something I could plug into a mixer and run direct with for practice so i don't have to lug gear around.

Will not stand up under live conditions. Should work well in studio/home environment.