DigiTech 2112

Some people said that it was hard to program this thing but I thought it was rather easy. Within and hour I am creating all sorts of patches. The manual is very helpful and plentiful. I use version 1.03 and so far I haven't come across any bugs or anything. Plus, the interface is really cool looking!

I use this with a Marshall 6100LM 100watt tube head, Crate 412 cabinet with celestion speakers, and Jackson KingV guitar with EMG 81's. I used this on a solid state Crate amp and it sounded great as well. I used to own various pedals but as soon as I got this, I sold them. I play mostly Metal. Even when I have gain at a very high level, this thing is dead silent. Before I was worried that the distortion was going to be too weak when I read the other reviews, but I was wrong. I was able to get Rammstein, Fear Factory, Megadeth, you name it distortions from this thing. The factory presents aren't very good so you will need to do alot of tweaking. I found that the effects are VERY good. I especially like the phasers when used with distortion. The EQ is very useful for getting a variety of sounds. The only thing thats not so great is the wah as everyone else said. I thought it was decent though. The synth patches are really neat! Something different for a change.

I haven't had it for very long so I can't comment.

Never dealt with them.

Bottom line is, this thing will work for ANY style. If it were stolen, somebody would be gettng hurt. I would buy another instantly. I probably wouldn't get the 2120 either because it's the same thing and costs more. I have owned tons of pedals and a few multi boards like the ART Xtreme plus and have played stuff like the Boss ME-30, RP-12, and a few others. Those aren't even in the 2112's class so of course the 2112 blows them away in every perspective. Like I said earlier, this sounds great in solid state amps as well. I don't notice much difference when playing through tube and solid state anyway. I don't know why there is such a big deal over tubes. And trust me, I have one of the best tube amps ever built. If anyone wants to exchange patches let me know but I have to warn you, I don't really know how so you will have to help me out.

Its the most annoying piece i've worked with. I've had it for about a month now and i know it pretty well, but in the first week of programming (don't even think of using the factory presets) there were many times when i felt like throwing it out the window, fortunately my rack ways 100+ lbs so i was deterred. The only other proccessors i've used before were a dod fx7 and a boss me8 so this was quite a step. I didn't understand all routing and configuring your fx level as opposed to dry level. I had lots of problems assigning what i wanted because the pedal i chose to say turn of the delay would also turn of the reverb because of fx level settings, i also could find some parameters i wanted to assign such as solo on/off or preamp pan. The manual is a load. It's got a lot about fairly obvious parameters but doesn't tell you how to do things. I got it all figured out now, once you know there are features to make programming go fast its just hard to learn. My biggest gripe (i suppose i'll put it here) is the constraint of the effects skeletons. You get to choose from 24 skeletons with spaces for certain sizes (not effects, they're not really algorithms). Unfortunately i think that too many skeletons have parrallel effects chains, not series, so putting in a whammy, even with the dry level all the way down, will leave you with pitches, or adding a tremolo to a parrallel chain won't do much. There are seamless (patch change) chains which only use half the effects proccessing, but i never use them because i like to use all the power. Speaking of patch changes, there's a noticable delay between when you push the button and when it changes. In seamless mode theres the delay but the sound continues and reverbs/delays trail off. Without the seamless all output is muted briefly during a patch change. So there are my biggest gripes (the only i can think of besides it being so hard to use at first), to many constraints by preset effects skeletons and delay time during patch changes. Oh yeah, i think mine is ver 1.2, when powering up the 2112 says 1.2 but the control one says 1.3, i think i'm going to upgrade to artist specs anyway.

Ok heres what im playing it with: an epiphone sg with a gibson p94 and a 500t-crybaby wah-2112-ramsa stereo poweramp-2 yamaha 1x12 speakers (woofer and horn). The first impression of sound is absolutely horrible. But if you learn to work with it, its an amazing piece of guitar equipment. the 2112 works for two purposes, preamp (tone shaping/distorting) and digitally effecting Preamp: There are two preamps, one tube, one solid state, which you can use only in parralell. Each preamp has four modes (tube: warm clean, bright clean, dirty, and saturated; ss: grunge, fuzz, overdrive, and heavy sustain) and its own 10 band eq. Also theres a 3 band eq in the front which you edit in program not edit mode and you can add lots of eqs. You can get many sounds obviously with all the eqs. The tube preamp is terrific works great as the stand alone. The solid state is not so good i only add it the tube when it needs something more, but never use it alone. Believe or not the distorted sounds from classic blues to high gain rock to hard core are extremely believable, the trick is to set it right and turn the input up about three fourths, no matter how much it clips, that gives it a good mesa boogie living saturated sound. The cleans are sweet and pristine (i've gotten some great fendery sounds out of it). the problem arises then that with the input way up for the dirty sounds it dirties up the cleans, so just don't turn your guitars volume all the way up. The compressor is here, its good, adds sustain and still allows expression. the wah is the only bad effect in the 2112, the worst wah i've ever heard. Noise gate: good, doesn't cut off your sound if set right. Digital effects: Its all good basically but here are most of the catagories Delay: the regular digital delays sound bad for distortion, ok for clean i suppose, but thats where the analog delay comes to save the day, they have tone controls and smear the sound so its very warm, great sounds. Reverb: Great, So much better than the me8. I use the dual reverbs all the time because they have low pass filters (extremely important) and i can get great stereo sounds. Eqs: very versatile, helps with the preamp. Chorus: what do you expect, its the best, many options. Flanger: haven't done much with it, i think i liked the me8's better but i don't use flangers that much so i don't care. Phaser: good and versatile, what a phaser shoud be. Rotary speaker: oh i love it, its my most used effect next to delay and reverb, it envokes the prettiness of a chorus but the modulation of a phasor. Tremolo: good i suppose, but doesn't have a great effect on parralel effects chains, same as autopan. Detuner: very good for fattening sounds, adds spice to a bassy neck pickup tone, also includes a delay control for getting doubled or tripled sound such as randy roads would have liked. Pitch: i never thought a pitch shifter could sound so good. I had even borrowed a digitech isp33b from a neighbor and thought it sucked, but this pitch is good sounds almost like a real guitar, unfortunately i don't use pitch shifters much. Whammy: it sounds great but it cause a small delay between when you play and when it comes, when my friend played with it i couldn't hear the delay but when i play with it, its annoying, but it does sound like a real whammy bar, also if the whammys in the chain and you turn it off, whith fx level off the delay still occurs, so make whammy patches strictly for whammy. Autowah: unlike the normal wah this is nice, good funky sounds. I think thats just about it for the effects. I play in a jazz/funk/hardcore band and like to use effects, the preamp allows me real versatile tones and the effects allow me greater sound variation. Oh yeah you can assign any parameter to an lfo (modulates the paremeter automatically) a dynamic control (depends on how hard you play) or (with the control 1) 5 control buttons (perfect for turning effects on or off within a patch) or the c1 expression pedal, and you can assign

I've heard horror stories about this unit, but nothing has happened to me yet, i put it in a rack and the c1 is built like a rock (tougher than i expected) i'd gig with it.

About the price, guitar center was getting in the 2120s and selling these real cheap, the shipped it in from somewhere else, so it would be hard to get it a this price i imagine. I've only been playing for four years, and i got it with luck and selling everything else i own, i love it, you might to. My friend can't figure how to program it, he loves hardcore and would prefer a simple tube halfstack, but he admits it sounds great. If you can figure it out you'll be in tone heaven, if you can't then i don't know what to say just don't expect to sound it's best in the store. There are other features like morphing which i haven't touched yet but maybe i'll review again (if it ever screws up on me). I give it an 8 because its hard to get it to sound good even though when it does its amazing. To me its a solid 10, but for someone without the time or patience to mess with it so much an 8.

Getting a good sound out of the 2112 is really easy, 2112 just sounds great! (you can get a bad sound if you want too) The 2112 is the most easy to use device i've ever had. The manual sucks, that's why i'm giving it a 9. I've no problem getting any sound. I've the 1.01 firmware, and i've read about a lot of bugs on it (i haven't found none yet), so i'm thinking on upgrade to 2120.

I've used it straight to mixing boards, PA, combos and power amps (in fact, to whatever gets to my hands), and always souns great. Of course, you have always to do some adjustment (nothing is transparent), but i've set my cab emulator to global, and no problem. I have no problem getting sound such The edge's Mofo (U2 - Pop)or Gustavo Cerati's "Luna Roja" (Gustavo is Soda Stereo's guitar player and singer). The distortions are the best i've ever heard. I don't like the pitch shifter, but i don't use it anyway.

I would use it without a backup, but i've one already, so why should i do that?

I've mailed digitech support many times asking about upgrades, accesories, replacement parts (tubes!!!), and i've always got answared within 24 hours!!!

The best of the best!!! (10 would be ok too, but nothing is perfect), and once again, the manual sucks!!

As usual the factory presets are way overblown. A few sound killer just as they are. Editing seems pretty simple especially since it has such a huge display. Very well laid out but as with any new unit it has a learning curve. The manual is just so-so, but it will get you past most road-blocks. I usually approach a new piece of gear by mostly turning knobs until I figure it out anyway so as to put it permanently in my noodle. Mine is ver 1.03

I am running mine with a Boogie Triaxis and A 2:90 poweramp. I run the Triaxis in the effects loop of the 2112 and it absolutely SMOKES! This combination is Stunning! Really!....I have 6 guitars of various sorts Tele's, Strats, Humbuckers, Singles Etc. It is no more noisy than any of the other combinations I have used in the past. The effects are great but the distortions don't sound like the Triaxis......What does?!, but the are very, very good. They have character the Triaxis doesn't which is nice. Boogies don't really do the Country Chicken Pickin Thing well but the 2112 just nails it! The Triaxis is the king of all else though.

I have had it only a few weeks but it seems very stable thus far. I do not carry a backup. I do have a Line 6 if it dies and has to go in.

I wish I had some good to say about Digitech's Customer support. I can always get through to a really un-interested, un-informed, "I should be a rock star by now, I hate workin here" customer support person every time I call though!

I play all styles and this is the coolest rig I've owned thus far, and in 26 years of playing I had a bunch of them. From a silvertone amp all the way up to a 185lb refrigerator full of black boxes and enough wire and switchcraft ends to outfit a high school. I also own a MK3 Simul-class head, A Line6 Axsys 2X12, 66 Bandmaster, Original Crate CR-1, and a SWR Basic Black.
I compared this to the new Lexicon and found it to be too limited. The lexicon Sounds great but Who cares about 16 megs of reverb anyway.
One really cool thing about The 2112 is that it is designed for guitarist not engineers and since it is all in one box my rack is lighter, more versatile, and has ver little cabeling in the back. It is what I have always wanted in a unit of this type. If I have one criticism, it's that it has no guitar input in the rear.....HELLO!.........

Aside from the massive improvement over the 2101's controls, this still is not intuitive from the software standpoint. Even when you bypass modules, their parameters affect the overall sound, especially dry signals passing through reverb units. The manual reads as though it was written by surfers, rather than engineers, meaning its good or bad depending on your personal taste (I found it really bogus, dudes). Patch editing, on the whole, is a definite improvement.
Digitech still needs to make a divisible S-DISC, so you don't have to use pre-divided configurations. If you want to use a 1/2 module and a 3/4 module, you should be able to, in whatever configuration, and not worry about how the effects are going to lay out.
Regarding the firmware, see my comments, below.

I don't need another preamp or another effects module. A good power amp is all you need. The sound on this unit is incredible ... it sounds better than the JMP-1/HushIICX/TSR-24 combination I used before. This was used for a majority of work on my album in the studio, including all effects-driven guitar tracks.
It's reliability is another story. See below.

I'm on my third unit. The firmware on the first one crashed within a week. The second developed a short in the outputs within another week. Third had to be repaired at the factory, but since it returned, no problems. (It did take 2 months for it to return, rendering my rig useless). Incidentally, when the third unit went back to DigiTech, they put in new software (1.03), and this took care of the MASSIVE glitch between the tuner function and the control one.

I called. I faxed. My units spent months in the shop. DigiTech NEVER ONCE returned my calls or faxes. If it weren't for the dealer bitching to DigiTech, I think I'd have been out one guitar rig and $800. DigiTech's customer support, in my experience, is the worst, and it keeps me from wanting to buy another product from them ever again.

The unit is good when it works. When it doesn't, it justifies spending the heavy dough for Mesa and Lexicon.

It is pretty easy to use. Has dedicated buttons for each type of effects so you can edit them quickly and it has the eq nad gain knobs on the front if you use it as a preamp which is cool. The manual sucks. It needs more examples and more of everything for that matter. It doesnt really tell you what all the unit can do. It left me feeling like there is a lot more I can learn about the unit. I just got it so it has the latest software.

The sound quality is great. It beats anything else out there in its price range although it will color your original tone slightly. It is very quiet which I like a lot. I use it with an egnater preamp and power amp and then into 2 egnater 4-12 cabinets. The distortions are very good but second rate to the egnater, but then everything is compared to the egnater stuff. if I wasnt using the egnater as a preamp I would be happy with the 2112 as my main preamp also.

I use it at gigs all the time and I have no worries about it breaking down. the software seems very stabile also. It hasnt crashed on me yet unlike the boss gx700 I used to own which crashed all the time.

I havent had to deal with them on this product yet.

I play heavy pop rock and hard core instrumental stuff and the 2112 is perfect for these styles. I have been playing for about 17 years and use the egnater ie4 preamp and 2x80 power amp and 2 egnater 4-12 cabinets and the rocktron all access foot controller. I would buy the 2112 again. I compared it to every other product up to and including the price range of the 2112 and there is no competition. There is nothing else that sounds as good as the 2112 for a all in one combination preamp effects unit. I do wish they would help out in the manual when using other footswitches than there own. Their attitude seems to be either use their footswitch or you get no support. I bought mine from KTJMUSIC for $699 and I see everyone else paid way more. I definitely recomend them, their prices are the lowest in the country. I used to do the mail order thing like american music and music emporium etc... but even they werent as cheap.

price included a control1 foot pedal
the manual stinks is the reason I give it a 7. if you are familur with effect untis and digitech, you can work this one.

I use it linked to a DHP-55 (mostly for chorus and a few harms) thru a stereo amp into 2-4X12's. i have only had it for 2 months and have not done a lot of editing i will shoot for raising this to 10, but i am happy overall

no probelms yet

n/a

I think I will be very happy as long as no problems develope. I like to get good early Rush tones and all the way to trebely,brown,vh sounds. I have played for 15 years, and could not find a tube sound i was happy with or a soilid state sound. someone finally put both in one box for me.

This unit can be very easy to use. You can just plug in a play around with the presets, and instantly get great sounds. However, editing is a little more complicated. You wind up scrolling through millions of menus and all of the usual crap that goes with rack gear. The manual doesn't help much at all. It barely mentions some of the most important features, like the cabinet simulator, and doesn't explain editing very clearly. The manual is garbage, basically.

The 2112 sounds amazing. You can get any sound on earth with it. You can record direct for clean tones, solos, and varius special effects with great results!! But, raw, distorted rhythm tones have to go through a loud amp (a tube amp) to sound convincing. But through a loud amp, it does sound fantasic!! It has no limits. The effects are all of the highest quality, except the wah, which sucks. But, I'd rather use my Cry Baby anyway.

I have had no problems. Just switch in on and play.

N/A

It great. You can do anything, but the manual doesn't tell you how. Only one other problem, recording direct only works well for solos, and clean stuff. You still need a good tube power stage for chunky rhythm tracks. But as a preamp and processor, the 2112 is simply the best thing God ever created.

I've had it for about a month now and it's pathetically easy to use. The manual is not as good as it could be, but I'd rather be figuring it out for myself than screwing with some manual. Editing is easy and very user friendly. It is pretty much plug and play.

I use a Yamaha Acoustic FG-180 w/ a Furman Matrix Pickup (awsome sound!!!), along with a Epiphone Les Paul (Trans Red...Limited Edition) Studio, and a Fender Strat. They all sound I was surprised how nice the acoustic sounded through this processor. The reverbs are nice considering all of the other bells and whistles that also come along with it. I read that some people thought the distortions were great, and others thought that they were not so great, but I have found them to be decent. I'm sure with a little tweeking here and there, anything from a light overdrive to a heavy fuzz is in reaching distance. I currently am not able to let the processor shine through mainly because I am using only one amp, so I only get mono sound (which is still great), but having this sucker hooked up into a stereo amp, or two seperate amps really lets loose the stereo effects built in. I currently am using a Roland BluesCube ( 3 x 10 ) at 90 watts. I plan to get another in the future to get stereo from the 2112. This thing is quiet as well. If there is a noise problem, the noise gate is set up in a way that it can be inserted before or after the tubes (another plus!!), or elsewhere in your effects loop. I use a Digital Music Corp. Ground Control for this, w/ an expression pedal.

Dependability would not be something I would even question. I've had no problems at all, and from what I've heard, it's only the old firmware verssions that caused crashes and/or program losses. I plan to use it on a gig w/o a backup......that's the true test.

Haven't encounter anything requiring customer support.

I play many different types of music. Heavy Metal to Jazz, and that's the main reason I purchased this processor. It does so much for a reasonable price (I got a good deal on it as well) that you'd be crazy to pass it up. I compared it to alot of things. The Roland GR-30 (no distortions....but amazing sound), Boss GX-700, Rocktron Pirhanna (also great, but not as user friendly), and a couple others, but this one delivered in a big way. I wish it had a headphone jack, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. The tuner is very nice, and the overall editing capabilities are the greatest thing about this unit, not to mention the two 12AX7s available to run distortions, overdrives, wahs, etc. If I had the option to buy it again I certainly would.

Found it easy to use. Ready to go right out of the box. I have a Zoom 9002 so when it comes to programming, I was familar with the methodology. I have 1.03 firmware. The manual is ok if you are familar with computers. I think it was written by the programmers, and I know they can't write manuals! I found the best way to get into programming was to think about what you want to do, then use the manual and the machine to do it. You can't get through the manual in one sitting and get a grasp on all that the 2112 can do.

I'm using it with a Marshall 8008 into two old (1976) Ampeg 4x12 cabinets. For guitars I have a PRS Custom and Artist III, A Les Paul Classic Plus, A 1975 Strat and a Ovation Elite. I've only used it with the PRS' and the Les Paul so far. I think it sounds great. I can get the same "punch" that I got with my Ampeg V4 head. The distortions are great and the digital effects are excellent. I own a Digitech Chorus/Flange, PD20/20 delay and a PD1550 distortion pedals. The sound from the 2112 is right on with them as you would expect. The stereo effects are great. I think you do have to tweek some of the presets though, but not a lot. The overall sound is excellent. I use the 8008 in valvestate mode. The 2112 is very quiet. If you fool with the gate, you'll get some noise. Some presets have the gate set to high so they cut out too early, but this is easily rectified.

Got it Christmas day (much thanks to my lovely wife). No problems so far.

Haven't had to use them yet. Hopefully I won't ever have to.

I play mostly rock, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd. Also some blues. I think this is the machine to have. I checked out the Roland GP100 and the Boss GX700. This unit blows away the GP100. The GX700 is very good if you don't want to spend a lot of cash. The 2112 does sound much better than the GX700 but it's an apples/oranges comparison. I also checked out the Johnson Millenium. It's based on the 2112. It sounds very good as you would expect but again it's apples/oranges. I love the 2112. I think my guitar processing life is complete. I don't play in a band unfortunately so I won't be taking it out, but it was mail ordered and survived a UPS trip from Oregon to Connecticut so I think there is some ruggedness there. I'll be getting the Digitech Control One to use with it. I think to maximize the possiblities of the 2112, you need the Control One. I think this is the best pre-amp/processor out there. Nothing else can compare to it. I think you can set yourself up for an enire gig via it's programming. Also, you can get into programming as deep as you want to. The default settings that are provided for all of the effects are more than enough for most applications. With these you don't have to go tweek effect parameters. The default pre-amp setings are excellent. They model most of the amps out there. With these, you can save a lot of programming time beacuse they take care of the entire pre-amp chain. I am very impressed with this unit and would by it again.