DigiTech 2101

Use the manual! I know so many of you hate manuals. Don't expect to get anywhere with out the manual in this case.

Hear it now! www.gsp2101.noisytoyz.com
You be the judge. The sound samples here are strait out of the XLR to a sound card (Aardvark Q10)with no modifications, EQ or added effects what so ever. This is what the headphones out sounds like as well. I give it a 9 because I just don't have every amp in the world to make the best judgement. I am very happy with this unit and you would have to pry it from my cold dead fingers to get it.

Never a problem in studio or gigs. Sometime I have to power on and off when I make too many paramiter changes. Other than that its fine.
Reboot like windows. :-)

no need.

I have not found anything I would replace it with!
www.gsp2101.noisytoyz.com

for me, the presets weren't usable as is but made for a pretty good starting point-editing takes a little time,but it's not really very hard...i did not need to look at the manual,but i've had a few other of their preamp/processers and this wasn't much different.the routing/mix/foot controller settings(there are many)don't make as much sense to me and can be time consuming-that's the only real PITA about this box...

i got this to replace a stolen RP-10 that i mostly used DI for gigs and some recording-this is used the same way and sounds overall fatter than the RP(i mostly use the tube path when going DI)...the wah is no good,but i never use those anyway. thru an actual guitar amp i don't think it's at it's best(i use regular stomp pedals for that),but it would be good with a power amp/speaker cab setup,i think...

for gigs/recording,mine's been good for about 4 years-i don't always use it,but there hasn't been a problem(i'm pretty careful)...the foot controller is a different story,though-where the cable plugs in is especially flimsy and parts have broken off inside...it still works,but if this is what i always used i'd at least get another controller as a spare.

don't know...

the sounds in this will cover just about anything-it can also be used for other things than guitar,so anyone who can deal with programming/editing patches will be able to get something out of this.if you aren't into tweaking things and/or throw around your gear a bit,get something else...

Programmers heaven. Knob turners nightmare. I prefer programming and I'm still learning new tricks on this thing.

Clean 10
Crunch 8 1/2
Effects 10
In a nut shell its like Van Halen in a box.
Tested on a Dual Mono block rack mount Marshall 9100 Tube amp and 1960A cabs. I can get any sound I want out of this thing, except rectifier. Great EVH Eruption tone.(Major tweeking). The tube distortion is good up to a point, but I would like more crunch and less harshness like Koch Amps. The Solid State Dist is great and I fine my self using it more than tube. Direct outs are cool but no J-Station. The ability to have all my 100 tones/effects in one box and at a touch of a button is indespensible for covering 50 different bands live. Thats where this unit kicks butt.

I use it on gigs without a backup. The only thing I have had wrong is after changing alot of perameters it will lockup and need a power off and on.

Immediate response.

Love it. You can pick up one of these cheap off of Ebay. It also makes a great effects processor for recording vocals etc with Midi switching.

THere is a learning curve to this product. Once you get the jist of it it is pretty simple to use. It is not the most intuitive devise around.

This thing offers a huge variety of sounds! First I should state that i am a bass player. I am using a modulus Quantum 6 and a soundgear 6 fretless bass. I go from either bass into a boss syb-3 synth petal, then into the 2101, to a bbe 482 sonic maximizer, to a carver pm700 poer amp, into a Hartke 4.5 cabinet. I have the version 3.0 upgrade with 2 s-discs. This thing is designed for guitar, but I have been able to get some very cool bass tones out of it. MOst of the time just using a factory patch and killing the distortion yeilds a very usable bass sound. A little tweaking and some really good results can be found. The effects are not to shabby when tweaked. The pre-amp sucks though it is usable. It is a bit noisy even on relatively clean settings. The wah is horrible, but running two wah modules simultaneously with different settings has given me descent results. I do not really use reverb or delay so i will o t comment there. Some really cool distortion can be had although it is a bit noisy. The noise gate will quiete this thing to a dead silence when you are not playing, but I find that while a note is sounding there is a good amount of background crap. The ability to build my own sounds is pretty cool though. The choruses, flangers, and phasers are awesome. THe compressor sucks, but I do not think that it was designed for bass though. I have gotten sounds that sound like a guitar with this thing. People in the next room have been fooled into thinking I was a playing a guitar only to be shocked to find out it was a bass. The bass "sounding" presets that I have made are pretty good, but they took a lot of tweaking. Notice I said good not great. I am going to get a new preamp. I was going to hold on to the 2101 for the effects but now i do not think i will because of reliability issues.

This thing is a huge piece of crap! I am licky if i can go a hole month without having to do a factory reset and lose all of my sounds. When it works like it is supposed to it has some awesome sounds. Unfortunately for me it never does work like it is supposed to work. It has volume shanges for no reason. It crackles and clicks on every setting. This thind is very dependable about breaking down. I gave it a good score on sound based on the sound when it works, which hardley ever. I would never use this for a gig. This thing has been stuck in a rack in a home studio. It does not get jarred or dropped or smacked around in any way. It is protected from all kinds of electrical problems and still it craps out. If I could go back in time I would have just gone with a good preamp and a few pedals and been way happier.

I really have no idea at all how in the hell digitech is still in business. I have sent them my amp twice for service in two and a half years. That is very crappy. tHey kept my amp for a long time and the whole reason that it went in twice is that they sent it back unfixed the first time. I got stuck with the shipping charges. They tecnician with whom I spoke had a very limited grasp of the english language. THey have the worst customer support of anybody I have ever dealt with. I have to say that when i bought the artist upgrade that they sent me an s-disc 2 instead of an s-disc 1, so they sent me another s-disc 2 at no additional charge. That is the only thing that they have done that was nice. They keep telling me to send the unit in for repairs. At the price they charge and the work they do I feel that I am better off doing it myself. They will not milk me for any more cash. Digitech is a joke.

I play every style that I have been exposed to. I have been playing for nine years. I do a lot of original music and ussually in a two-three peice setting so I have to take up a lot of sonic space. That is why I bought it in the first place. I this unit were stolen I feel sorry for the bastard that took it. I have no love at all for this machine or digitech. I would not recomend a digitech product to anyone. A friend of mine warned me agianst getting it but i didn't listen. He has has similar problems with a digitech product, i thought that his was a fluke. NOw I see that this is just digitech in general. THey are a crappy business.

I found the Digitech 2101 somewhat easy to use only because I do have a degree in computer science and am use to writing and compiling computer programs. I understand that as far as a interface the designers did a very good job. However, for my musician friends who are not computer literate, they never get past the canned settings. This is a shame because the 2120 has so much to offer. The GUI is far to difficult for someone who is not use to working with computers.

The Digitech 2102 is the best. The sounds are unbeatable.

So far I've had mine since 1996 and have not experienced any problems.

So far I've not had to deal with the company. I hope they provide good support because musically I use the 2101 for just about everything. If it goes, I'll be dead in the water

I play rock and blues. The Digitech 2101 is a perfect match. In my 30 years of playing, I've owned numerous stomp boxes but none have provided the versatility the 2101 does. If it were stolen I would defiantly buy another. In fact I'm planning on buying a second just as a spare. The only thing I feel is a hindrance is the interface. If there were a way to have pots to hear the change in the sound as they were being turned, instead of programming the changes in, this would be a great improvement. However I understand the technology and realize the difficulty in the request.

I feel like i need a degree to program the thing

For the most part it is a pretty versitile unit if you have the patience to program it. Most of the factory settings are lame, and the few programs that are worth modifying always seem to be missing something. The few programs that i myself have created are not bad, but jusst like any fx unit the distortion is horrible. If you do happen to own, or are thinking about purchasing the unit, I suggest to invest in a quality amp (this means a Marshall, or Boggie half stack). It will save you from countless hours of adjusting levels to find that perfect sound. I use to run this unit through a Marshall JCM 900 head and a Boggie 4x12 cabinet, with either an Ibanez RG 470 with schaller golden 50's, or a PRS custom 24, until i got a lexicon G2,( which i think everyone should do). Now the unit is used by the other guitar player in my band, and he runs it through Fender 2x12, and it sounds o.k, but it really takes a full tube sound to cover up the digital fx.

it is deffinatly reliable. I've had it about four years, and never had a problem with it.

I'll put it to you staight. If my studio was on fire, there would be alot of other things i would grab first.

Stick to the presets or tweak them slightly and it's simple. To program it from scratch is a pain. If I didn't understand signal routing and have 20+ years of computer experience I'm not sure I'd bother. The manual is OK to good.

If you're not comfortable with programming then avoid this unit and consider a 2120 instead. If you're comfortable with programming and want to try lots of crazy combinations of FX and routing then this unit is for you.

I've never seen a better example of the trade-off between power/configurability and ease of use.

I have two 2101s - both upgraded with a second processor and memory board (PPC-210) and version 3.0 software. One unit handles my guitar and bass and the other handles vocal effects for my band.

The 2101 fills both roles very well. The digital effects unit is the same as used in the TSR24 - which was a good mid-range multi-FX box. I feed vocal signals to the 2101 from my mixer mic preamps and compressor. My patches are combinations of reverb, delay, and EQ. The sound is clean, clear, and crisp.

The digital FX unit is definitely the 2101s strong point. There are plenty of good to great effects and a zillion parameters for each. The effects can be chained in any order (even duplicated) and with the second processor you can build some very complex routing configurations. The wah and pitch shifting effects are the only weak spots.

For guitar and bass, there's an analog preamp section with compression, analog EQ, and tube or solid state distortion. The solid state distortions are top notch. The tube distortions are fair to good for guitar, depending on how much time you want to play with the gain and EQ settings.

When the tubes are heavily overdriven there's a tendency for the tone to get harsh and brittle. Careful attention to EQ and exact gain settings can improve things quite a bit but it takes some patience and exact settings vary widely from guitar to guitar. I've tried a couple of different tube combinations but I've never achieved a truly great tube distortion sound. My guess is that weakness lies in the conversion from analog to digital or in the speaker emulation.

For bass, I use single tube distortion with a high gain. Since there's little high end signal being fed to the unit there's no brittle or harsh edge to the tone. The 2101 is a great bass preamp.

For bass and guitar I run the 2101 XLR outputs straight to the mixer with the speaker emulator engaged. I play an old Guild jazz bass and an Alvarez rock 'n roll bass, both with passive pickups. For guitars, I play a Peavey Falcon Custom (strat clone) with Fender Texas Special pickups and a Gibson Les Paul Standard. I've programmed many good sounds for both guitars. I have a few of my patches duplicated for both guitars, with different EQ and tube gain settings. I play mostly 60-80s rock 'n roll.

I bought one unit new in 1989 and the other used in 1996. By '96 I decided that I liked the 2101 enough to play it forever so I bought the second one as a backup. But after several years with no problems I decided I didn't really need a backup and that's when I started using the second unit for vocal FX.

I've had the covers off both units to install the second processor board. I know computer and electronic hardware, and there's nothing inside the case that makes me doubt long term reliability.

There's a web site but it has relatively little to offer for the 2101. The web site does host an email-based user group that's active and has many knowledgeable users. I give Digitech a few points for hosting the user group but no points for the rest of it's on-line support.

From the user group, I've heard many excellent reports on the Digitech service department for 2101 repairs and upgrades.

If my rig was lost or stolen I'd definitely be looking for a used 2101 for guitar/bass

If you're a guitar player considering a unit like this, you must first decide if you're a guitar player that cares about amplifiers and "ultimate" tone. Gearheads who crave ultimate vintage tube sounds will not be happy with this or any other rack mount unit. In the end, they'll always wind up with what they consider to be the "best ever" classic guitar amp miked to the mixer. That's fine as long as you don't mind being stuck with one or two groups of tonal possibilities and lugging heavy gear from gig to gig.

I much prefer getting all of my tone from a portable box that I can plug into anything with minimal tone variation. The 2101 fills that role better than any other box I've tried. With at most a minor tweak to the 2101's global EQ or the EQ on the mixer channel, the tone is the same through a live P.A. as through a studio mixer.

In addition, the 2101 gives you lots of tools and tonal possibilities. What it may lack in achieving some particular utlimate tone it makes up for by being good to great with many different tones and playing styles. That, combined with two rack space portability and solid reliability, has made me a very satisfied customer.

This is not the easiest effects device/preamp to use. A fair number of the presets are great sounding right out of the box, and doing minor tweaks is not that difficult. For me, the problem comes when you want to switch effects within a given patch. The problem is: you can't. You have to select an entirely different algorithm or create one just to change one of the of the digital effects in the chain. Further, there are a lot of menus to scroll through in order to modify stuff. As I work solely in a home studio, the time is not a factor, but the complexity of this unit does make it quite a task to create new sounds, which can be a drag if the muse is hitting you right at that moment. I suppose in a unit with this much flexibility and variety that complexity is unavoidable. As far as the manual goes, it's not that bad, although there are some confusing issues, such as how to set up the Control One pedal board to work with the 2101, that are not well addressed by the manual. I have seen much worse in the way of manuals, however.

I've never heard a better guitar preamp/effects unit. I record direct from the 2101 into the board and I think the sound is quite good that way. Obviously, it doesn't sound exactly like a miked cabinet would, but it makes my life much easier not to have to deal with mics and room acoustics. My recorder is an Akai DPS-12 that does not have XLR inputs (unfortunately), so I record using the headphone output on the 2101, which is hi-fi enough for my purposes--the 1/4" outputs on the 2101 do not include the cabinet emulator, as they are meant to feed a power amp and real cabinets. My sonic ideal is a combination of the guitar sounds of John Petrucci and Frank Zappa--and I can get a pretty decent approximation even direct into the board. I purchased this unit about 7-8 years ago and tried a number of options before that. The 2101 is the first one I ever used that didn't sound sterile and cheezoid going into the board. I will say that the tube sounds don't work as well into the board on high-gain settings as the solid-state distortion section does. But the tube-gain works very well on minimal gain to provide some body and warmth for clean sounds, which tend to be very thin and clinical going direct into the board no matter what sort of preamp is used. The only effect I find weak on the unit is the wah effect. Every other effect is absolutely top-notch. The reverbs and choruses are so good that you could use them as general studio effects for other instruments or entire mixes. Further, the signal path is 100% modifiable--you can program the chain in any order you want, even to inserting multiple versions of the same effect (two choruses, phasers, etc), up to the limits of the 2101's memory capacity. The combinations are mind-boggling and overwhelming, to tell the truth, but any potential Robert Fripps out there would be well advised to seek out one of these units. The variety of sounds this box can create are limited only by the imagination of the user.

I have found the 2101 to be quite reliable over the years. I don't gig, but I have moved several times, and the unit has never let me down. I do wonder if the tubes need replacing after this amount of time (8 years), because I have begun to notice a bit more noise and feedback emanating from the sounds that use the tubes. Obviously, all tubes eventually wear out. As far as gigging without a backup, I suppose an overly careful musician would lug around a backup amp to gigs, but a rack setup would make that difficult, since I doubt the 2101 is any more likely to fail than any other part of the rack setup

Never dealt with the company regarding the 2101. However, their web site doesn't contain any of the software upgrades that I believe were released for the unit over the years. I did contact them once regarding the GSP-5 that I owned before the 2101, and they were helpful regarding that box. Obviously the 2101 is out of production now, so Digitech doesn't have the same incentive to work as hard to satisfy 2101 users in this way than with current or more recent products, but this is expensive, professional quality gear, and I would like to think that Digitech would support its customers with downloads and such more readily. They do have a 2101 user group e-mail list, however, so that helps a bit. Good after-purchase service creates repeat customers, no matter what the product.

I play instrumental jazz/metal fusion. I've been playing for 20 years and currently use Carvin DC127 and Charvel Model 5 guitars, along with an old Fender Squier Stratocaster. In my style of music, I prefer a heavily saturated, but very crisp distorted sound, along with a wide variety of clean sounds. The 2101 is absolutely the perfect box for what I do. There is simply nothing else like it, maybe apart from the successor products that Digitech has made--the 2112 and 2120. I have played a 2101 through a power amp/stereo cabinet setup, and was awed by the sound. I am considering going that route to record better sounding guitar, but I would never willingly part with my 2101--it's the heart of my studio. If it were stolen or broken, I would probably save my $$ to upgrade to the 2120, since that is the current version of the product, although some reviews here indicate that these later incarnations are not as good as the 2101. I can't personally attest to that, though. One thing I really do like about the design of the 2112 and 2120 is the use of multiple knobs to provide quick modification of certain parameters--something the 2101 doesn't have. It's a fiddly thing, for sure.

Ugh... Stick with the presets...your better off, unless you are feeling brave. really, once you get the ball rolling, It's not that difficult, the only thing that I found challenging was the settings for the mixing and delay. I recommend using the manual.

I love this box! I play it through a Fender Roc-Pro 1000 stack and that pile of shit that I call an amp has never sound better! It has an arsenal of effects as well as solid state/Tube distortions. It is highly recommended to pick up the foot controller with it. Great sound, very crunchy distortions, excellent modulation and pitch shifting.

Lets just say it was built in 94' and I bought it used. It still works!

They want 5 freakin' bucks for a manual. For a processor that was around $700 new, they better cough one up.

I play a wide variety of music. I totally dig this box. The only thing that was missing is a tuner, however, Digitech corrected this with the 2120 version. I would definately recommend this product to anyone who wants diversity in their sound! ( IF ANYONE HAS A MANUAL FOR THIS THING, CAN I GET A COPY? Thanks!)

It's not very hard to use. Editing a preset is relatively easy and chances are, if you just want a basic rhythm/lead tone, there is probably a close match already in there. As for creating a patch from scratch ( aka Building Algorithms ) You need the manual and a real good understanding of signal path routing and the effect it has on the sound. You can do literally anything with this thing if you have the imagination and the comprehension. It's not a great unit for beginners to program, but once you figure t out, it's nothing less than amazing...

I use a Music Man Silhouette with EMG pickups, the 2101 ( duh ), a Mesa/Boogie SimulClass 2:Ninety and a Mesa 1x12" cab with a 90 Watt Celestion. First off, I replaced the stock tubes ( Penta ) with Mesa/Boogie 12AX7A's. This made a remarkable difference! Instantly I had double the gain... If you ever heard the 'Death Metal Grind' preset and thought.. "I wish I could get that sound with a nice dynamic tube preamp"...I did! The sounds I get out of this are absolutely great. I have no desire to replace the 2101 and I have had it for nearly 10 years! My rig is absolutely silent. Once you have the Noise Gate settings tweaked, which isn't hard, it's a done deal. The effects are really good. The Choruses and Reverbs are 100% studio quality. The rest of the effects, with the exception of the Pitch Shifter, are very good too, but I rarely use them. The Pitch Shifter sounds like any other... bad. One of the things I like the most is that even the Noise Gate has several parameters to tweak. You can tweak all day if you want. As for diversity, this unit IS a one-size-fits-all. I can get anything from the most brutal Death Metal distortions to the most ambient David Gilmour Clean sounds... even if that means using 2 EQ's, 2 Reverbs, 4 Tap Delays, 4 voice Chorus, Dual Flangers, Phasing, Stereo Auto-panning, Duckers and more all at once!! If you can think to try it, this unit will do any combination of any effects. Overall, the 2101 is a Tone Machine. I get regular comments on my sound...

I have used my 2101 live for a few years and had no problems at all. Used with the Control One, it's as reliable and convenient as anything could get! Occasionally during long periods of experimenting with writting whacky algorithms it has locked up on me, but all I had to do was turn it off and back on. It's probably for the better, since I may have never left the room....

I never had to use thier service dept, but of all the other 2101 owners I know, they have all had good experiences. Apparently the techs at Digitech love these things as much as any 2101 owner loves his 2101. From what I hear they love the chance to work on them.

This thing is great for any kind/style of music. I play mainly Thrash/Death Metal, but I know an accomplished Jazz who loves his too. Just check out the names of the presets and you'll see that it has one for virtually ever conceiveable kind of music. I have been playing for 12 years or more now and i have only heard one preamp that sounded better than the 2101...The Mesa/Boogie Triaxis of course. Of all the other 'All-in-one' boxes from ART, Roland, Boss, Rocktron, Yamaha, etc... none match the 2101 in capability or tone. If it were stolen or destroyed, I would definitely replace it with another. The only thing I would want different would be maybe to get the Chrome faceplate version with the Artist upgrade. The only thing I don't like about it is that in a live situation, it's kind of hard to make quick adjustments. There are no knobs for EQ or anything. It has 3 Quick Keys, which are just shortcuts to any parameter you want, but knobs would be nice for Lows/Mids/Treble/Presence. Oh well it had to have one flaw, right? I checked out litereally everything I could find from $3000 to $30 and nothing really compares. The ART SGX 2000 is close, but it's noisier and has real shitty distortions IMHO. Playing with parameters can be rather addictive, but the inspiration it incites to play usually overpowers this...