DigiTech 2112

The Operating system has a quite good layout, having so many parameters and all that. It's pretty complex, thoug. Having 6 endless dials for parameter selection and input is cool. NOT having a real graphical display is not so cool, but I can live with that. The best idea the digitech engineers had was the library of *defaults* found in the unit - for each FX you have several preset settings, and you can define your fav reverb settings as user default, too. Very handy. What bothers me big time is the way you are forced to use certain FX routings (called "configurations"). Annoying: no guitar input on the back (how could they??), no stereo input, solo function not assignably to midi prg change message, no analog input level meter (just a clip LED).
Because of the great idea they had with the "defaults", I rate it an 8 (would be a 7 otherwise).

Now, I've had this unit for almost 3 years now, and I've really been through it. Programmed about a 150 patches for various purposes, used it live, for direct recording, as a FX-only box and so on, with different guitars and amps (including PRS Custom, Gibson, Fender Strat, Mesa/Boogie gear, Hughes&Kettner amps etc.) This thing works in the FX loop of an amp or direct into a power amp, but NOT in front of a guitar amp. It isn't intended to. It really benefits from a good tube poweramp, because that will make it sound better.

This review is based on the fact that I spent lots of time with the unit and know it by heart. Had I written this within weeks of purchasing it I'd thought it to be the holy grail of tone, too. But after all that time I had to realise that it isn't near to that. Oh, and the factory presets suck, too.
I'll go through the FX modules now:
Compressor: pretty tweakable, tuned for guitar use and usable for that, too. Quite good, but this units preamps compress anyway.
Wah: pretty weak, no comparison to the evil bark and bite of the classic crybaby.
Preamps: Tube cleans ("warm" and "bright") are usable, but lack dynamics and "shimmer". They don't sparkle and they lack the attack of a fender clean channel. Tube overdrive is pathetic for slight crunch, it's clipping to harsh and gets muddy very fast. It can't handle more "complicated" chords like a sus4 very well. It gets better when turning the gain past 50. Saturated tube is the best of the four, this unit can handle high gain ok. It packs a nice punch, too. And it has a quite ridiculous amount of gain which is way beyond usable for me. Again, complex chords are a problem. Overall, the tube preamp is disappointing compared to my mesa/boogie or hughes&ketter preamps. And this is not the fault of the tubes, I tried this. Digitech done something not quite right with the voicings in the preamp.
As for the solid state distortions, the fuzz emulation is fun to play with, the tube screamer wannabe is not very cool, with the grunge/industrial thing you can make some very cool grinding noise, and the solid state lead thingy is totally useless - sounds like a distorted telephone.

the 10band eqs... it's cool to have so many bands to customize your tone, if only the general eq quality would be better. The eq sounds a bit cold and "digital" to me (it is digital anyway). Also, they should have included some possibility for eq'ing the signal in front of the distortions, as this is the only way to change the "character" of a distortion.

The noise gate needs some customizing to work with your guitar, but you need it. The tube circuits can be pretty noisy, which you don't realise in the store because the factory presets all have the gate set to ridiculously high threshold levels.

The digital FX: some a good, some are so-so, none are really bad (except for the whammy which is just too slow tracking your guitar). The reverbs are good, not too intrusive, and can be customized nicely. The choruses lack. I don't know, but even the 8-voice chorus sounds thin and not very lush to me. Flangers are cool. The delays are ok, though I would have liked some more filtering options. The detune algorithm is great. The harmonizer is so-so, it has some problems with tracking. The fixed pitch shifters vary depending on how big a module you give them. On smaller modules they don't manage to add a correct octave down to a note, which is a shame. Overall, the quality of the digital FX is good and this unit is quite usable for digital-FX-only if you bypass the preamp section.

The speaker simulator for itself is a joke. They tell you in the manual that you have ten different programmed speaker simulator settings, but those ten settings are only different in how much high frequency rolloff they produce. You have to eq patches differently to make them sound ok while going direct. But even then the unit does not "f

It has never let me down. No problems at all, but from other people I heard different stories...

dunno, never dealt with them

I've been playing for 17 years now, and have owned my share of guitar gear. I bought the 2112 more or less by accident when my old multiFX broke down in '97 and I needed a quick replacement. I had it for some days at home before I decided, and at the time I was very pleased with its sounds - it was a step ahead for me then, and it was my main preamp for some time. Over the time I replaced the 2112 with a Hughes&Kettner Access preamp, a Mesa/Boogie studio preamp and a TC electronics G-Force (and several other gizmos, but these are the key units for my tone). This setup is more complicated, but tonewise it's much better than the 2112. My musical interests range from blues rock to industrial and electronica, and the 2112 is only useful for the latter. It's good for high gain applications, but for traditional blues and rock tones look for different gear.

For the money, this is a good-to-great package. The problem is, they sold it at a price where they had to make too many compromises. This is good, but it's not high-end. I definitely won't buy it (or its successor, the 2120) again (I've kind of grown out of it), but I can recommend it if this is the price range you can afford. After all, it is a quality unit. I still have it around for the odd recording job that needs to be done quickly. Because of its good bang-for-the-buck-value, it gets an 8.

The unit is fairly easy to use...it takes a while to learn how to use it efficiently and effectively...editing patches is pretty easy, however scrolling through 2-15 pages for different effects and parameters takes forever...the user interface could use a big-time revision...i've always thought that Digitech should release an official computer patch editor, like RPEdit...the manual sucks ass, it is important to read, but it is poorly laid out (actually i have the 2120 manual printed out from the digitech website)...the learning curve for this product is probably a month...the best way to get started with it is studying the factory presets, and then tweaking from there....i'm using v1.03 and about to upgrade to 2120 v2.10

I use the 2112 in a rack which includes a BBE Sonic Maximizer 462 which then goes into a Marshall JCM900 and a 1960B 4x12 cabinet...i basically use the Marshall head because it serves as an automatic backup when gigging...my main guitar (for now) is an Epiphone SG with aftermarket tuners and pickups...maybe someday i'll switch to a rackmount power amp....i would say that the effects are pretty good...they're not excellent or unbelievable, but you get so many that you can come up with some interesting tones...i usually dont try to emulate any other tones, i just search for cool dirty, clean, and wacky sounds...i love the dual distortion paths because this lets me fatten up clean sounds with solid-state fuzz and tube clean settings...it sounds just like a fender into a marshall...whatever

aiyee...i've never had a single problem with this or the Control One foot controller....however, many people on the digitech mailing list have come up with some serious and some not-so-serious problems...i gig with everything backed up...i would bring a backup of myself if i could....i use my marshall head as a backup...i lose effects, but its still a backup...i give it an 8 only for other people's problems

i've never dealt with em...i will soon when i get my 2120 upgrade chip

our style of music is pretty strange...its basically a combination of folk, jazz, blues, rock, and metal into one loud package, but would probably be filed under "hard rock"...this is why the 2112 is perfect...it certainly offers an extremely wide range of tones...for the money, it can't be beat...however, if it got stolen, i'd probably go with a Triaxis from Mesa Boogie and some rackmount effects unit...it would much more pricey, buts it what i really want...for now, i cant complain with the 2112...i get great high-gain sounds out of it (thanks to the 31-band EQ!) and cool clean sounds and tons of funky sound effects...it is a great creative source for writing songs...i give it a 9, and the Mesa would get a 10...thats all for now

Kind of difficult to get used to at first. Once you learn the layout its OK. Terrible Owners manual.

Very Good. the setup I am using is: multiple Jackson USA soloists with Bill Lawrence pickups connected to the 2112, then the 2112 feeds into a Marshall EL 34 50/50 Tube Power amp powering 2 cabinets, 1 Marshall 4 x12 and a Laney 4x12. The Sound is unmatached. The Tone is pure Marshall. Coupled with the versatility and programability of the digitech effect processor. whenever you want a sound press a button and it is there.

have had it 2.5 years with No Problems. I don't gig so I can't say whether or not I would use a backup.

never used the support

I play Classic rock,pop and metal from the 80's. You can play ANY style of music with this. this setup is the "Holy Grail" of guitar tone.I have been playing for 13 years. You cant compare this to any other product. It has no equal.

Takes a little getting used to, if you already understand the Digitech architecture in their other products than you shouldn't have too much problems with the 2112. The manual helps but it really doesn't cover everything, how can it, this thing has so mant tweekable perameters. The manual would have to be thicker than an encyclopedia. My unit is installed with ver.1.03 firmware,that's what it came with. You shouldn't have too much trouble upgrading any loxer versions, check with your local music store for details.

This thing is Incredable! There are soo many tweekable perameters. My setup is as follows Fender American Strat>>Digitech 2112>>Rocktron Taboo Twin>>Left out goes into Presonus compressor then into my Fostex VM8TL hard disk recorder. The right output from Rocktron goes in directly to my recorder. I also use an SM 57 and Audio Technica 4033 to mic the taboo into the overall mix (I know I need a good mixer). a Boss also fits into this chane at the insert level in my Fostex recorder. The Rocktron/Digitech mixture is an awsome combination they relly complement each other. I can setup my rig to sound like almost any artist, and most of all my rig inspires me to sound like ME! Choruses and all modulation effects are fantastic. The distortions are incredable, if tweeked properly.

No Problems! (2 years)I would gig without backup.

Never had to deal with them.

My musical style and tonal expectations fall in line with that of Creed, Steve Vai, and various others. This unit delivers! I wish that there where toslink outs on this thing, but I think you can modify it to have a digital out, I can't bother though, I am very happy with the 2112 as is, why fix something that ain't broke! If you are in need of a processor that will do alot of things very well this is for you. They have been discontinued, taken over by 2120, so if you can find a used one for any price grab it! you will never look back, I promise!

Very, very easy, the best.

Excelent, the tone of god.

I use this very usefull, is great

Bad, Digitech does not have any idea about it!!!!!!!

the only problem is the control one, it can put an error in your foot. is not the wonder that every one say, i like the midi foot control again.....

pretty easy but you have to put a lot of time to edit sounds because there is so much choice of effects and e-q's...(the 1.03)

at first, I used the 2112 as a preamp and a effect unit plugged into a marshall 9200 rack power amp and, for metal, the preamp's sound didn't cut it at all so I kept it for the effects. I bought a mesa tri-axis and tried pluggin the 2112 every wich way with it but it was like the 2112 was putting a glue on my preamp's sound... I had to sell it. The effects were cool though.

I didn't keep it long enough...

It's not for me
The preamp section was really weak and lifeless.

this thang is pretty easy to operate IF (i repeat if)you know your way around it logically please forget about the manual its so shite the presets are mostly bad except for the queen patch and my favourite is BIG BLUES SOLO but taking your time in playing around with this unit will make you throw all your other stuff in the bin or rather lock them up except of course for the gsp21 which for me is an all time great effect unit especialy if you are not good inprogramming your own patch i will give it two ratings 10 for the unit 5 for the presets and i almost forget ther is an awefull noise with the distortion and programming it with care will solve your problems I use this unit in my home studio only and the gsp21 for live gigs but it is always there for my back up This baby is really good in the studio since im sure a lot of tricks can be better done in the studio.

i would not use this unit on a gig without a back up I am actually using it AS A BACK UP in case my gsp 21 let me down
THE REASON is sometimes it locks up and i have to power it down and back on again

I don't want to even think about calling customer support you can guess the rest....

The unit is very easy to operate. I'm not much of the "technical" person when it comes to heavy stuff but this is easy to use. I was dailing in effects and storing new presets the first night. The big dial face is very user friendly.

I run the 2112 into my Marshall 4x12 and JCM 900 head. All the effects are good and are easy to dial in. The effects are not limited either. Different types of delay, chorus, distortion, compression. The presets are also fun to play around with. In particular, the Queen preset is cool. Some nice textures to choose from with a wide range of selection. (100 presets)

So far I have no complaints (3 weeks so far). Works great. Sounds great.

Well I haven't called customer support yet. I did request some information on their website about the 2112 and the control pedal and some helpful brochures were promptly sent to my house within 2 weeks.

I play just about everything. Blues, rock, classic rock, harder stuff. The 2112 can handle it all. I've been playing for 7 years and own 6 guitars. I used to mainly rely on 6 BOSS pedals to do everything for me effects wise including DS-1 distortion, phaser, chorus, blues driver, flanger, and delay (DD-5?). But now I'm using only the 2112 but may try to reencorporate the DD-5 a little later. If it were stolen, I would definitley buy a new one. I love it!

It took some fidleing around with it manuel was dirt some recycled paper!thats the 90s for you!

This sucker will sound like anyone from ac/dc to metallica to steve vai to satch,van halen it takes ot of messing around grant you ive made a decent wah sound very agressive to alien noises to rubber band noises man you name it this is a very well made processor for the money ive had alot of affects from boss pedals rocktron voodoo valve art sgx-2000 express yamaha theyve all been deported the possibilites are endless!!!!!!

havnt had any problems 2years old!

i have a screwy comunication problem between the foot controller and the 2112 they didnt e-mail back second time guess they had no idea ~..~

ive been playing for about 15 long years i mostly concentrate on my music now and this unit does it for men i run this in conjuction with a slew of rockmoduals rocktron hush bbe 482 mackie mixer samson power amp crate half stack on one side peavy on the other guitars i use wolfgang ,fender strat,gibson les paul studio,charvel,danelectos im a damn guitar junkie!!!!!!my final word if you see one used grab it 2 recently sold o e-bay for 400 to 500 dollars.

The only thing you need to do on this box when you buy it
is curb back some of the effects on some of the patches to hear
what wonderful true tube-amp tone it has. I love the 2112,
if the 2112 was a girl it would be Cameron Diaz.

Rather than bore you with redundant info others have probably
stated, I'm gonna quote a memo that sums up the all-important
"COMPARO" between the 2112 and it's rival the GP-100. Since both
products are discontinued, if you're reading this you're probably
looking to buy either product used, so a comparo seems the best
way I can help buyers.

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I STILL LOVE THE 2112 MORE THAN ANYTHING ON THEPLANET FOR GUITAR!!

It eliminates the need for an amplifier for both
recording and live which means no mic'ing, no
lugging of a heavy combo, etc., etc., ad infinitum...
I've bought other gear such as the Yamaha DTX drum
system and refer to that as "the 2112 of drums",
and refer similarly to various stuff I find that
is such a wonderful all-in-one box for me.
The only thing I ever add to my 2112 is my crybaby,that's it, nothing else.

So... what I wanted to say tonight is, since I like
a variety of sounds, and since I'm such a used-gear-
bargain-hunting maniac, I have now acquired both
a Boss GX-700 and the Roland GP-100; both often
compared to the 2112 and Digitech's related products
such as the 2101 and ValveFX.As much as I love Roland, I am sorry there is NO
COMPARISON, the 2112 wins HANDS DOWN!! No close-tie
Pepsi and Coke challenge, this is a STOMP-BOOTANG win.

I think the GX-700 is very cool, the amp simulations
are really fun, and some of the presets they thought
up I definitely will be using; and about the same
comments go for the GP-100; but for simple basic
good guitar tone that TRULY emuluates the sounds
I hear through a real amp with a few high quality
effects units, the Digitech 2112 does it.It does it! It does it! It does it!

Please know, I love many Roland products, own a
ton of their stuff, and am very grateful to their
many GREAT developments in music gear, but...
The GP-100 still sounds to me like NOT a tube amp.
It sounds like a nice JC-120 Chorus amp with some
very high-quality rack effects, but it does NOT
sound 100% like a tube amp; it only seems to
emulate a tube amp about 80 or 90 % close.
The 2112? it sounds 100% like a tube amp to me,
and I play the thing straight into my mixer usingcabinet emulation globally.

The best part to me of both the GX and GP units
is their amp emulations, which are very fun and
pretty darn close. The 2112 does not have that,
but I think the Johnson amps do....I wish that was
available for the 2112 in an upgrade (hear me Digitech?).

owned 2 for over 2 years and nary a prob.
BUT...unlike most electronic equipment that I tend to leave
turned on for the entire weekend, this thing has real tubes, so
remember to turn it off when not in use or you'll bake your tubes
like I did. But ya know....I baked the tubes in one (they're black),
but I STILL haven't even had to replace those tubes! they still sound
fine.

Not sure; I think they're cool but I've heard mixed reviews,
but then again the people who are the most pissed off tend
to speak the loudest...
I've only had minimal dealings with Digitech and they've been
very cool to me.

Oh man.... this dang box does EVERY style I play and the ONLY thing
I DON'T play is Jazz and Reggae. I like every d*** thing else on the planet, music-wise. ...I know, I know, as Silverchair says "I'm a freak...I'm a freak...".

HEY! for buying the box see www.ktjmusic.com who has been selling the 2120 WITH FOOT CONTROLLER NEW FOR $749 as long as it's been in existence!!! I'm aghast at how many netizens still don't know this and are paying too much for the unit!! GO KTJ!! YEAH, KICK BUTT!! WOOHOOO!!!