DigiTech 2120 VGS Artist

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

To all you metal heads complaining about this unit not being able to put out a decent metal sound you must be doing something wrong or have no idea about tone. i changed the tubes and started from scratch and now i have a tone to rival any Mesa/Marshall and some Engls


How about Editing patches?
Editing takes a lil patience and trial and error. What sounds good at bed room volume may not sound good at the band room so my advice is to double check your work.

How is the manual for it (if there is one)?

You can download the manual off the web and i highly recommend it.


Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?

I know i have the latest ver. and i dont think there has been a upgrade as of yet.

ok so my setup involves 2 Custom Monson guitars, one with Bill Lawrence XL500's and one with Dimarzio Evolutions. Each guitar has its own sound so naturally i am going to get a slightly different sound out of both of em. I run the unit thru a Carvin power amp (a sin i know but im broke) and i use Vader cabinets. I can get any sound i want, a nice clean acoustic sound or straight up death metal and between. The effect section is very broad so have fun. I can make any sound i please. My only complaint is the Compresser.. its a lil weak but i use a out board one. The distortion is all on how you use your gain structure.. Remember even EQ adds to your gain structure

i had the unit hickup once but it wasnt the unit after all it was a faulty power amp

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Over all i think this unit is over looked in the metal scene and i hope to see more ppl using em

if u have questions about how to get a good metal sound email me @ cradleofmine@gmail.com

I've got the latest software version(2:10, the 2:11 is identicall except it allows for computer based editing) I've seen some people complain about how hard it is to use...the thing has massive numbers of defaults if your too lazy to program it and most sound GREAT! AND once you find that perfect pre-amp(or ANY other effect) you can save it in a USER default.And I mean ANY effect; not just one for all the choruses but a bank for chorus, another for quad, yeat anothe for stereo,ect. Frankly I don't see how someone who can't quickly figure the unit out can know enough about the computer to post negetive stuff here!

I have found that the sounds are EXCELLENT. About the only thing I'd criticise is the wah, however, if you link the expression pedal to a paremeter of the parametric E.Q., you can get a really good wah.I use it through a Carvin P.A. head and speakers 'cause I'm also running a guitar synth and I need the full range for the synth so I rely heavily on the amp simulation wich I think sounds nice and warm...a real cab sound!Hint-try linking the pre and post niose gate and dist on/ off to the SAME switch on the footpedal...I prefer one for nice soft fades and the other to quite down the over driveand it's often overlooked that each switch can control multiple paremeters!Look: simply put, lots of control = great sound and this unit gives you lots of control!

I find it (so far ) to be reliable.Once the foot pedal wouldn't return to zero so I opened up the Control one foot controler NEVER,EVER DO THIS!!!!!!!!the pedal is controled with a light-emitting-diode and a reciever with a little cardboard box around it that is almost impossible to reassemble.BUT, after talking to the nice techs at Digitech, I discovered that the pedal AUTOMATICALLY re-calibrates every time you power it up! simply turn it on, pedal down... pedal up and your set!!! SWEET! And the techs are easy to get on the phone; most are guitar players themselves so are helpfull cause they love music, not because thier pay checks ride on it!

way way way way way cool and if they don't know or don't do some thing they will point you in the right direction like web-sites that they know of... all in all I have been VERY happy with all my dealings with this company

look the is a good piece; if it were stolen I might go to the 2101 but the deal is I MUST use the cab simulations and the 2101 only has them thru the xlr outs. I've been playing 33 years and this is my effects unit. period.I like it better than the boss gt9 and 8... I played them; they do alot but when I tried to get alot going all at once the chip would wierd out and clip or make some wierd noises. and the others just can't compare to a lush 8 voicechorus!

This thing has pretty much ever effect under the sun (minus an arpeggiotor.. that would have been nice)

this can be a good thing and a bad thing..

If i want chorus for example.. i gotta scroll thru chorus, dual chorus, quad chorus, chorus/delay, etc etc..

I can imagine this unit is good for cover bands since you can emulate pretty much any effect you need. You can chain them up in any order and control any parameter via the footswitch/expression pedal. This is great becuase almost every other effects unit ever made will have one parameter you can control via an expression pedal.

you can control multiple paramaters at the same time too.. (I had a wah and delay feedback set to the pedal so whn it would raise, it would do a open wah that delays till infinity). You can even hook up 2 other exp pedals for a total of 3.


I'm voting 9 since the features are plenty.. but a bit frustatating to navigate through..

2 12ax7s on this unit control tube distortion and compressor.

i was pretty happy with these tones.

sound quality was pretty adequate on this thing.. well for a multi effects unit. Never noticed noise. Its gotta gates and noise suppressors etc..

Id probably rate it the best multi-effects unit sound that I've heard.. I know theres the $2000 ones out there.. but those dont count

I play experimental rock. I used the unit for recording. For live, Id plug it straight to a fender twin reverb. Pretty straight forward. Good stuff..

Ok here's where my problems come in..

The last post below mentioned the glitchy knobs. I had to sell this unit becuase of the knob issue!!! it was becoming to hard for me to program effects on the fly since the knobs wouldnt respond properly. This killer it for me. I tryed RPedit but it never worked out for me.

I switched to a boss pedal board (7 boss pedals chained up) and Im more happy with it. WAAAAAAAAY easier for me to edit and experiment on the fly.. course I miss the infinite possibilities that the 2120 could give me but sometimes simple is better!

Never dealt with...

This unit matches well with pretty much any style id imagine.

I used it for nearly 5 years before I had to part with it.

I wouldnt have a clue about effeects if it wasnt for this unit.

If you are into multi effects.. save yourself some hassle and get this unit. Anything else is a toy. This is the real deal. Just make sure it works properly.

If you are all about doing things on the fly and randomly.. this unit isn;t the best way to go about it..

I'd give it an 8 overall

It is actually quite easy to get a good sound out of this thing, but do NOT expect the factory presets to be any help.

Random knob turning will get you nowhere, but if you know what sort of sound you're trying to get, approach things in a logical manner, and are willing to spend some time tweaking, this thing can sound amazing.

A few things are hidden in seemingly illogical places, but after you get used to where everything is, editing is not bad.

The manual is not the best, I find it inadequate in many areas, but you still need to read to get started.

All of the FACTORY distortion presets are TOTALLY USLESS GARBAGE. Really not sure what they were thinking..... They're not even good starting points for building your own sounds. I get much better results starting with a flat eq and all of the effects off.

Several of the clean factory presets are very good, and usable with little or no modification.

For distortion, the pre-amp on this thing sounds pretty bad on its own, but when used with the cab sim and parametric eq things start sounding really good. Another thing that I've noticed is that the parametric eq's always seem to sound better than graphic eq's, even when I attempt to boost or cut the same frequencies.

As far as distortion goes, I basically go for 4 sounds: A smooth lead sound with a tight bottom end (kinda 80's metal/YJM inspired). A tight snappy sort of slightly overdriven blues crunch. Heavy thrash type rhythm and a warm fat sustaining overdrive. This box nails all 4 perfectly.

The clean pre-amp is great. Everything from Jazz to funk to county to clean rock sounds. Works very well with the compressor.

The digital effects are (for the most part) really good... You can get some cool subtle chorus effects and the standard delay, reverb, flange etc.

The wammy effect has more lag than I can live with (pretty much useless). The rotary speaker sim is a bit odd... a fast flanger sounds much more convincing.

Also the wah aint no Cry-Baby, not enough boost to get that sound. I can get closer by boosting the highs using an eq, but then the slow tracking of the foot controller becomes obvious... so no shaft theme song.

That being said, this thing does everything that I actually need (or use) beautifully.

Guitars:

American series strat(with Dimarzio HS2/Virtual2/Virtual vintage solo pro)

Godin LGX (With Seymour Duncans)

Amp/Cab:

Marshall 9005 (50 watt per side all tube stereo power amp)
Marshall 1912

It has failed on me once... though I suspect this may have been due to tampering (I left it alone at a small bar gig and when I returned all of the midi settings were messed up and the foot control one was non functional, I was forced to do a factory reset and loost all of my patches)

The knobs on the font of the unit have gotten quite glitchy since I've owned this unit. Quite often the numbers on the screen go in the opposite diretion to the knobs, but I'm still gettng by... and at least there is rpedit.

The build quality of the Control One FC is not good and mine is not aging very well. The buttons are made of flimsy plastic and the small plastic switces under them are prone to sticking due dust build up (a few squirts of contact cleaner helps).

Occasional glitches occur where the volume drops out. Switching between patches corrects this.

Get a backup!

Have not used them yet.

Musical styles: Rock, Metal, Blues, Funk, Pop, Reggae.

Been playing about 10 years. Had this box for about 3.

If it were lost or stolen I probably either try to find a good amp with MIDI switching and a dedicated multieffects box, or give the Rocktron stuff a try (Voodu or Prophesy).

At the moment I'm pretty dependent on the 2120.

At first this unit can seem very complex but after a day or two of fiddling you find its very logical and staight forward to set up great tones, used rpedit for a while, seeing everything layed out in order on a computer monitor kinda helps you get your head around how this thing ticks, manual is really rather good also.

my setup - Ibanez RG1570 - 2120 vgs Artist - peavey classic 50/50 - two 2x12 celestion loaded cabs - behringer FCB1010 midi foot controller. I run this setup in stereo

previous to this preamp I was using a line6 podxt which i was fairly happy with for the most part, the first time i played through the 2120 it was like the cotton wool had been pulled out of my ears, if i a/b both preamps its like there is a big thick blanket over the speakers when playing through the podxt, there is no comparison for sound quality, the 2120 is what the podxt is trying and failing to be.

Like most preamps, the factory presets are not very good, way to wet for my taste but some of them are useful as a starting point for a good tweeking session. I have used this unit for about 6 months now and i have set up 20 of my own patches ranging from beutiful glassy cleans to absolute filth and everything inbetween, I have set up the fbc1010 foot controller to turn on and off effects via control changes for each patch, the 2 expression pedals control gain and volume for each patch. Just with these 20 patches and this amount of control over parameters the range of sounds at my disposal is awesome and I'm not even scratching the surface of what this thing is capable of.

The effects for the most part are very high quality, I find the whammy doesn't work that great and the wah is not to bad on clean patches but gets completely lost on dirty ones

put 2 new JJ 12AX7's in it when I got it, only owned it six months, gigged every week, so far so good

I emailed Digitech support and asked them if there was an easy way to convert the input from US voltage to UK to avoid the need for a stepdown converter and within 12 hours this was their response -
__________________________________________________________________
Dave

Inside the 2120, there is a small circuit board near the transformer. On this circuit board is a small resister. Remove the resister, and solder it to the position with the voltage required for the UK. Along with a new power cable, that's all you need to do.

Cheers,

Digitech Support
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Excellent!!!!

I've been playing guitar for 26 years.Our band plays Metal, Rock, Blues and this preamp covers all those styles beutifully. Over the years I have owned a LOT of equipment, the 2120 vgs Artist along with the peavey classic 50/50 is without a doubt the most versitile, awsome sounding setup I have ever heard, couldn't be happier:-)

Read the manual after that it's easy. I've been gigging with mine for 8 years. I can tweak it onstage in seconds. Right out of the box assuming you get a new one or one that has had the factory presets resored. Dial down the sensitivity on the noise gate and start tweeking that 10 band tube EQ.

If you can't get this unit to sound like a million bucks after some tweeking you have it set up wrong. Never use it in front of an amp. If you do you may as well go buy some cheap ass floor unit cause rack gear is not for you.

Here's the deal...buy a stereo power amp and a good midi controller and run it in to a cab that is best suited for your power needs...stereo 50/50 watt amp run this thing into 50 to 75 watt speakers...tone for days. I can pretty much get about any sound my ears want out of this thing. I LOVE the fact it's not some piece of shit moddeling pre-amp...they all suck and lack the luster of a TUBE

It's not noisey and is just an all around dependable unit. Considering that it's evoled from the 2101 to the 2112 to the now 2120 it's been around a while they've worked out the bugs.

Never had a problem and this thing has been in some smokey nasty beer rat traps. I called them to get an Eprom upgrade and had it in 5 days and got it for FREE.

I play all types of music from METAL to JAM to Jazz to Blues and this thing delivers. Played in many bands doing covers, originals, Instamentals you name it. It does what I want the effects are good. It's not an Eventide effects unit or a super high end T.C. Electonic piece, but the effects sound pretty aweseome for what it is.

I use a Peavey Wolfgang > Digitech Whammy > Zakk Wylde Wah > Zakk overdrive > Boss-TU2 Tuner > MXR Van halen Phaser > Digitech Synth wah > Digitech 2120 > T.C. Electronic G-Major > Peavey Classic 50/50 Power amp > Ear Candy Buzzbomb 212 with a 50 watt and a 75 watt Eminance speakers
Digital Music Corp Ground Control Midi Controler

Bardzo przyjazna obsloga! Latwa i przemyslana dokladnie. Szybki dostep do wszystkich parametrow! Latwe przypisywanie kontrolerow i generatorow do DOWOLNYCH parametrow efektow!!!
System jest po prostu genialny!!

PREAMP.
Zastosowane lampy 12AX7 Sovtek daja ladne lampowe brzmienie czystej gitary. Jako przester pracuje tzw. "hybryda", czyli uklad lampowo-tranzystorowy. Wymiana lamp na modele innych marek przynosi czesto bardzo dobre efekty brzmieniowe. Jesli ktos sie zna na elektronice, to latwo moze przerobic modul przesterowujacy sygnal, co tez uczynilem.

EFEKTY.
Bardzo przydatne, zwlaszcza do homerecordingu okazuje sie dorobienie wyjscia S/PDIF! Projektanci z Digitecha chyba sobie o nim zapomnieli.. Zrobilem taki uklad i dziala wysmienicie! W takiej klasie sprzetu po prostu musi byc S/PDIF ;-)
Efekty sa bardzo wysokiej jakosci, nie wprowadzaja dodatkowych szumow, a mozliwosci ich regulacji sa ogromne! Do tego celu polecam tez edytor na PC RPedit do edycji wszelkich parametrow procesora. To swietne uzupelnienie do sprzetu! Dzieki niemu np. moglem sobie przeniesc moje wlasne presety preampow z 2112 do 2120, po wymianie EEPROM-u.
Symulator kolumn glosnikowych jest rewelacyjny!! Mozna za jego pomoca wpiac procesor bezposrednio do wejscia karty komputerowej, lub mixera. Nie ma wowczas zadnego piachu i zgrzytania w dzwieku z gitary przesterowanej.
Takim jedynym slabszym punktem procesora jest kaczka, ktora nie dorownuje kultowej Crybaby Dunlopa. Ale to nie znaczy wcale ze jest zla. Po prostu kwestia gustu...
Sterownik Control One dziala z procesorem bez zastrzezen. Latwy w obsludze i dowolnie konfigurowalny.

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Nigdy nie korzystalem z servisu Digitecha.

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This thing is extremely easy to get good sounds from. If you can't, either it or you ain't running on all cylinders! Many of the factory presets are really tasty, which seems to be a rarity with many preamps out there. Tweaking is necessary for optimum results (when is it not?). Editing patches was a little complicated at first (I had the manual in front of me for awhile, sometimes I felt like a member of "DENSA-for the rest of us") but, like most things, it gets easier with time and practice. I have a Studio Quad V2, and it is very similar, so this helped a bit to make a smoother learning curve. The manual is informative and...well...NECESSARY, especially at first. RTFM! The firmware is the latest available, I believe.

I use it with at least 12 different guitars. It is not noisy. The noise gate was a PITA at first, and a bloody nuisance at band practice volume levels, now it's dialed in and works fine. The effects are just about what I wanted. I have a few little niggles here and there, but it isn't worth dwelling on. Overall, I really like them, for the most part. I use it with any one of several power amps (it breathes heavily-like a woman in heat, if you'll pardon the simile-thru a Peavey 50/50 with EL84's, sounds great thru a Carvin, close enough to great thru a Valvestate 8004, where it sounds better with the "valvestate" switch off, unlike with where this particular power amp is now, very acceptable D.I.'ed, quite passable thru an older Yamaha-ha-ha-ha S-S reference monitor amp, ok with headphones thru the mixer too) and I've used it to drive two combos thru the effects return (bypassing the preamp stage) with really good results. This "Barney Box" (it's poiple! I luv it! Although I wouldn't mind punting the actual insipid Purple Dinosaur off a tall building or using him as backfill for a Title 5 septic install---j/k, I'm too nice for that---kids love him for some bizarre reason, he's just so sickeningly adorable I guess, but I digress...) contains every guitarist in the world I've ever been inspired to unabashedly pilfer licks from at my fingertips! The pitch effects don't track like an Eventide (no, I can't justify the expense just yet, but when I do...), or even the good version of the Digitech Whammy pedal, the octave is grainier than a Chinese Boss OC-2 (Japanese version BETTER!) and the wah sucks compared to the ones I use, but I will not dare to complain for the price! Dedicating the full DSP to processing pitch effects helps a bit. What I really like, along with the ability to assign different chains to each channel, is the seamless "blending" transitions using the pedal. That just plain rocks! In fact, I was previously thinking of making an A/B crossfade/pan/selectable swell type thingummy out of an old Cry Baby body-now I don't really have to!

The tube pre section sounded MUCH BETTER (Oh, Jebus, did it ever!) after ripping out the cheesy Sovtek WA's (Ptooey!) and throwing in JJ 12AX7's. Big difference! Like going from eating cardboard to your favorite meal! The layering of effects is almost as good as in my Studio Quad v2, and just about all I'd ever want in a Swiss Army knife like this! My favorite artists...oboy...got a week or two?

So far it's dependable. I gigged with it once. I use another rack setup for my main work-horse. I mostly practice and record with this thing. I would not even think about using it without a backup. That's just asking for it to break! Murphy was an optimist!

I haven't subjected this thing to much road use, and I baby the bejeezus out of it, so I won't rate it yet, but I will say "so far, so good".

Had a problem with a piece of Digitech gear once. It was repaired and returned in timely fashion, and they didn't bend me over and shag me for my wallet. Had some spare parts sent from them too. The rep I spoke with was courteous, professional, and personable. Sorry, I don't remember his name. But he was a good guy, and he took care of me. I haven't had a problem with the "Barney Box" yet. I hope I don't anytime soon. I sometimes hook it up to my computer and use RPEdit-works ok for me!

I won't give their support a 10 yet...until I have to deal with them again, then my rating will reflect my overall experience, which (fortunately-it sucks when stuff breaks!)has not been all that extensive.

I play just about anything and everything. This thing is, as I mentioned earlier, a Swiss Army knife! Please don't make me list everything else I own! I shudder to think about how long it may take, and I type PDQ! If it were stolen I think I would start drinking excessively, and I would go on a S+D mission, and inflict mortal disaster upon the soon-to-be-toast perp! If I lost it, I would lose it! Not quite completely, but if you see a fairly large and crazy blond dude with glasses walking in circles babbling in tongues outside some mid Cape Cod area local package store, chances are it's me, I lost it, and am on my way to losing it some more! I would likely rip out the rest of my hair in anguish, which has already started its progress into congenital middle-aged recession! I really like it with the JJ tubes! Bob Pletka (Eurotubes) is a really decent guy. I cannot begin to describe what a world of difference JJ tubes have made for my sound! I have other preamps, but this is my favorite. It nails practically everything I throw at it, and I don't want to be deprived of it! That's why I baby it so much.

I will say this, though: the footswitch sucks bricks thru a straw! A little more than golf balls through a garden hose, and a bit less than cinderblocks thru a capillary! I practically need pointy cockroach-in-the-corner-killer shoes or moccasins to tapdance on it, you can forget about using boots! Ain't happenin', and I'm a size ten, not a barefoot waterskiing Sasquatch! The expression pedal is..."meh", and I wish I had the Johnson Millennium foot controller instead, which is much more gig-friendly. In fact, I am dropping a point just because Digitech didn't use the Johnson pedal design across the board! I wish it had a better tuner, besides the wah (which is not all that great but still useable with tweaking). But I never use the tuner, I have a much better one already. I am a little leery of the tone knobs. I could see one good whack taking a pot shaft right out of the picture, and me getting a parts order and firing up the soldering iron. Nonetheless, they are right where I want them to be for E-Z tweezing, and the pots are detented, which I can't help but like.

If it got in the way (besides the damn footcontroller, which was probably designed in the Dark Ages of Foot-Binding), it would have been sent down the River Styx on a leaky inflatable pool float. Overall, I really am fond of this thing, especially after the tube swap.

I have had a Boss GT-3 and Yamaha DG-Stomp effects preamp/processors prior to acquiring two of these. After gaining some experience programming, the 2120 is fairly easy. Like one guy said below, you would have to actually read the manual if this is your first preamp/processor. It's not like my DG-Stomp to which you just turn knobs and push a few buttons then hit store and you're good to go.

Just to address some issues below this post, this preamp WILL suck if used between a guitar and FRONT END of an amp. If you have to use it that way, make sure that you plug the unit in to the effects return of your amp. Set the return level to 100% (if parallel). Then, turn the cabinet simulator off if you're using regular guitar speakers. If you're using full range speakers, say P.A. speakers, turn the cab sim on. Guys, most of the gears out there sound good no matter the price only if used (or misused) PROPERLY!

=> The sounds are amazing. Most presets are good right of the bat. I have my own heavy rhythm sound and lead sound that I programmed in (be prepared to tweak! it's worth it!). Everything else that I use are presets. I have a variety of guitars from a Washburn Dimebag Southern Cross to an old Yamaha RGX312. All of them work pretty well with the 2120. The only thing I don't like is the noise get is set kind of high from the factory. I have to adjust all of them down to less sensitivity. I use it with a Mesa 50/50 power amp, or sometimes I plug it in to my dual rectifier's effects return. From there it sounds really awesome.

I have not gigged with it. But it haven't crashed on me.

I don't like it not because of my 2120, but because of a whammy pedal I sent in for repairs. I had to send it back twice and it took them about half a year to finally give it back to me. They said that they changed their system and that they kind of lost track of it. They should have prepared better for that system change.

I have been playing close to 10 years now. I own enough gear to make NASA proud. I play metal most of the time. I also play blues, HipHop RnB, top 40, alternative, almost all kinds of music occasionally. This can cover almost all of them.

If you have a nice set of power amp and speakers and are looking for a nice preamp with effects at a great value, I recommend getting this preamp. They are fairly cheap in EBAY.

before i even start, im sure this unit is great. but i bought it and ran it on my marshall jcm2000, and it sounded like sonic ass.
as far as tone goes, its very easy to get a good sound out of it. editing the patches takes a little experience to learn your way around it. the manual leaves alot out, but most of the unit is self explanitory. i bought mine as a 2112 v1.02 and upgraded it to the 2120. not a huge difference but the sound quality was the problem i was having. speaking of...

this thing hisses so bad that it made me want to throw the unit at a small child. like i said i ran it into my marshall amp, not the best setup to have this thing on. perhaps if i were running it through a poweramp it would sound better, but godda**it if this thing doesnt sound like crap through a regular amp. the effects are great on it and the tone is great, but its all drined out by the hiss. first off. its gonna cut nearly half of your volume so that the unit doesnt constantly clip, then when you turn the output past 12oclock, its just gonna aggitate the hell out of you with the hissing, even moreso when you kick it in the distortion channel of your amp.
this unit sucks with a normal amp.

im about to get rid of this thing, i have my amp and it has a great tone, all i wanted the unit for was the effects, instead i got the entire preamp. the 2101 was great because it had the option to completely bypass the preamp. i wish they had put that on here.
im not about to take this thing to a gig. it looks and feels like you could throw it down a staircase so i guess its pretty reliable. but ill stick to the tried and true stompbox setup.

didnt have to deal with them.

overall, im sure this unit is great with a poweramp, but not for a traditional amp setup
i play sort of rock/jazz/metal, its an odd mix (go listen to it at http://www.myspace.com/thisnameistemporary) so all all i really needed were a few simple effects, this unit was probably overkill anyways.
if it were stolen, i would hunt the bastard down and make him pay for it so i could buy something that better suits my setup.
i love the ammount of effects and the expandability/customization of the algorithims, its pretty cool, but the effects themselves could be a little more managable.
i wish you could bypass the preamp completely, if you turn it off it cuts your sound all together.
it seems to just get in the way of the creative process. because the hissing pisses you off.
a few of my friends own this unit, and on a rack. its phenomenal, id suggest it if your looking for a PREAMP, but if your just looking for effects and your running a standard tube amp, stompboxes are the way to go...

If this were your first preamp/effects unit your in for a steep learning curve but once you give up trying to figure it out by pushing random buttons and you actually READ the manual, it's a piece of cake. As for editing effects it's as easy or hard as you make it. The presets aren't all practical but theres a few nice ones there that you can just tweak to your tastes then copy them to where you want them, or just turn everything off and build your sounds from scratch. It's great to be able to assign each effect to a pedal aswell so you can have your ideal sound and then add mod,delays,pitchshifts and all sorts while you are performing.

I've had this unit for ages...it's been used with Patrick Eggle ProV, Ibanez rt650, Ibanez s470dxqm, Jackson Dinky,Charvel 375dx and a few i've forgotten. For some time I was lucky enough to own a top end Laney 100w head going through twin 140w cabs and during that time it was only used for the effects section as the preamping on the head was better but these days it's running stereo through the return jacks of a couple of Laney 50 combo's. The only stick bits in terms of the units effects are in my opinion the wah and noise gate. Extenious noise simply doesn't exist and the output is crystal clear. I haven't found a unit that really lets the tonality of the guitar come through (regardless of how many effects) like this. The guitar's "voice" still comes through. It gets really interesting when you start assembling effect chains so that you get one chain to the left and one to the right.

7 years ago....my dog got caught up in my cables and puled the unit from the top of a 5ft stack of gear. The rack mount on one side is bent about 1.5cm back but the unit STILL lives! It has never let me down....
Verdict:
WELL SOLID

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I've had this thing longer than i can remember and now i'm thinking about changing....but in all honesty I can't find anything like the quality and versatility. Others, including so called "cutting edge" floor mounted flagship units sound muddy and synthetic by comparison.
It's versatility is endless and this is both a blessing and a curse....beware...you may find yourself spending more time mucking about with finding the illusive "perfect sound" that we all crave than actually playing your guitar.

I'll begin by stating that I've no newcomer when it comes to preamps. I've owned the 2112 since it originally came out and I've just recently updated the units firmware to the 2120's. I've played out of just about every preamp out there including the MesaBoogie Triaxis, and for all the flexability the 2120 allows, it's going to take time with the unit to fully understand what it's capabale of.

The 2120's preset patches are not to my liking, but they give the user a framework to begin from. The 2120 is capabale of MUCH better sounds than what is preprogammed.

I'm going to rate ease of use an 8 because although it's not instantly gratifying, you can't expect a unit that is capable of so much to be extremely easy to get what you want from it instantly. It's worth the time invested because if you take your time, this unit is capable of just about any sound.

I currently use an Ibanez UV777 Jem 7 string and an Ibanez S-series Prestige 6 string. I run the 2120 through a MesaBoogie 20/20 tube poweramp, BBE sonic maximizer, out to a 4X12 CRATE cabinet.

PREAMP:

I've struggled with this unit for years because I've been on the verge of the tone I wanted but I always felt the unit's preamp section was simply lacking the gain I expected. I'm writing this review because I want anyone reading this to learn from my mistake. For years, I've replaced the tubes in the preamp with 12AX7 Groove Tubes from my local music store. I'm usually lucky if they even have them. After purchasing the MesaBoogie poweramp, I looked into replacing the tubes with some of the best quality tubes I could find. I ended up purchasing JJ/TESLA 12ax7 tubes for both the 2120 and the Mesa Boogie poweramp. Now learn from my mistake...

THE SOUND IS COMPLETLY RELIANT ON THE TYPE OF TUBE YOU USE!!!

Needless to say, I have all the gain and tone I could ever want now! And I did not think it was possible for the 2120 to achieve THAT much gain! I had patches that rivaled Mesa Dual Rectifiers before the tube change and now I think I'll need to back it off. Pateniently tweaking the compressor, gain, and tube EQ, you can attain just about any tube distortion sound imaginable.

EFFECTS:

As for the effects in the 2120, they are top notch. I have NO complaints with the digital effects whatsoever. I owned an Eventide H3000 and sold it because I ended up using the 2120's effects instead since everything is integrated. Just make sure to use the full S disk/s and appropriate effect whenever possible. The flexability of the digital effects is amazing because you can choose to use more or less processing power for a more complex effect or keep it simple to allow more effects. I have a difficult time deciding to use a detue, dual detune, quad detune, flanger, dual flanger, quad flanger, chorus, dual chorus, octal chorus to achieve the desired chorus effect! Getting the idea here? THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!!!

For you harmony guys, here's a hint. If you're running stereo, you'll want to use a full S disk with the harmony effect, and send your dry signal panned to 1 speaker and the digital effect to the opposite speaker. Normally I need to reduce the harmonized note's volume A LOT! If tweaked correclty, you'll be amazed at the sound the harmonizer can attain. Always shift down unless you're from mars.

Get yourself a Crybaby because you won't be using the internal wah, but I very rarely use my Crybaby anyway, and how many units include a wha?

I've had the unit for a really long time and I've had the unit freak out on me and I've had to reset the unit. Since that one time, the unit's been perfect. I've traveled to from NY to Florida and back with it in an SKB case and the unit was perfect when it got home.

The only time I've needed help was when the unit freaked out on me. I called technical support and they walked me through the factory recall and everything was great again!

PERFECT!

Comparitively, this unit is easier to use than the previous 2101 model, but in many ways, the 2101 could do more (e.g., you could have more than two parallel paths) but those added options probably made people complain to the company of the complexity. Ease of use is not my main concern for this reason, as I prefer to have the extra options. One could say, the easier something like this is to use, the less one can experiment in making new sounds. The manual is decently written, and I haven't had any major problems doing anything as described in the manual. Therefore, for all the complexity this unit still does have, it is pretty darned easy to use.

I'm running this as a preamp into the power amp section of my Fender Twin combo. I have not used this direct, as I prefer to mike the amp. The main guitars I use this with are a Gretsch Duo Jet, an Epiphone WildKat with P90s and a Danelectro U2 with lipstick pickups. Overall, I would list most of the effects on this unit as excellent. The weaker ones would be the analog wah (which is still far better than the digital one on the 2101) which has been corrected to be in front of the distortion, and the phaser, which is not as good as an analog one. The main problems with the wah, are: 1) the lack of dramatic sweep (making the "wah" sound) as the band pass goes from the low mids to high, which is somewhat satisfactorily remedied by a wide and high midrange eq boost (but still no Crybaby), and 2) that when the digital controls are customized, the pedal does not work within the range set for the whole sweep of the pedal, but is only engaged to change when the pedal itself moves through the customized range. The preamp section is pretty good, and I do have some complaints/suggestions that will follow. First, I've read a lot of stupid comments from goth and thrash players that this unit is fine for "Fender players," but not heavy enough for their kind of music. First, I do find that the "saturated" tube setting does have a lot of gain, perhaps not quite as much as a rectifier, but probably as much as most tube amps, including Marshalls. The solid state "grunge" setting actually has more gain, if one does not demand a tube setting. The solid state gain may actually be better for the quick stops in thrash because of the mechanical resonance that tubes have. Then again, thrash players usually use so much noise gating, that it probably wouldn't be an issue. Usually, these goth/thrash whiners use so much gain and just scoop out the mids so much that one can no longer hear the sound of the guitar, per se, as the sound has been so saturated with effects (gain). This sound of course, has its uses, but is it really criteria that should be used to judge a unit? Anyway, my problems with the preamp section are these: 1) there are three (4 if you include the bypass setting, which still uses the tubes, but gives you no distortion) tube settings, for different degrees of distortion. This, I imagine is to maintain a decent amount of volume through all the disparate amounts of gain, but there seems to be a gap of missing gain levels between the three main distortion settings that one would normally find on an amp as one would raise the gain knob from 1 to 10; almost as if the first distortion setting would be 1-3, then 4 is missing, 5-7 would be the second, 8 would be missing and 9-10 would be the last distortion option. Second, I wish there was the option (as on the 2101) to have a dry analog signal stay analog, to be mixed with a wet/digital. Everything on this unit goes through the A/D and D/A converters, which is a shame, though the tone is pretty good for digital on this unit. Third, I wish the parametric EQ was before the gain circuit like a real amp's as EQ does sound different when before the gain. Also, it would be better if that parametric EQ could have the Q and frequency center changed so one could model different,real amps. Or, to be even more realistic (like the Fender Cyber series), have the parametric EQs' zero settings have no output like a real amp, rather than start with a flat signal. My last complaint about the unit is that the output is kind of low compared to a regular amp's preamp section. My volume is much lower with this unit than using the combo amp's own preamp. One has to keep in mind that the volume is controlled in so many places on this unit, in order to maintain a decent level (trim, preamp analog section, digital section, master, digital pedal volume and at least one level control in each effect module). The best effects in the unit are the reverbs (one

I've had my unit for about 4 years and the LCD went out on my once and the parametric EQ knobs' pots had to be replaced, but so far, that has been the only issue. For 4 years of use, perhaps this is acceptable for any complicated electronic equipment. Have you had any computers go 4 years without any work needed?

Only support I ever needed was locating an authorized repair shop which was easily done online.

I play all styles of music (even stupid Goth and Thrash) and I can use this unit for all of those styles, except acoustic classical, obviously. I have been playing for 20 years. I would buy an improved similar unit from Digitech, if they made improvements (hopefully mine) but in the current market, everything appears to be digital modeling and footpedals, so it is not likely. I've tried the VOX Valvestate emulators and I think the Fender sounds are not quite right (esp. the Bassman), though they've modeled their own sounds quite well. But VOXes don't have that wonderful Fender 2.5kHz ring, do they? The Fender Cyber Twin sounds pretty good, but the effects are not as good as on this unit. Anyway, this unit is overall, as good as anything else out there, and better than most, if you learn about effects and learn how to use the thing.

This is an update of my previous review, just to show one of 2120 hidden features.
I found one interesting feature which I believe worth enough to share with 2120 owners.
I really don?t like to push another footswitch just to activate the wah pedal, which means I have to move my foot twice, first the dedicated footswitch and then to the pedal. What a pain in the ****, especialy if I want to go from non wah licks to wah licks seamlessly. I?ve tried to find some information on the net about this, but no luck. The information I found is only about assigning a dedicated footswitch to activate the wah pedal.
After doing some experiments I found a way to solve this problem. Now I can turn on the wah just by rocking the pedal, no need to push dedicated footswitch, of course I still need a dedicated footswitch to turn it off but it?s ok for me.
Wow, this is very helpful, I can quickly turn on the wah pedal without having to find the dedicated footswitch first and then push it, just rock the pedal, so I can concentrate on my licks, instead of looking for a footswitch.
Here is how :
1. Activate the patch you want to add wah fx,
2. If the pedal on that patch is assigned to function(s) other than wah (if it?s already assigned as wah go to step 4), disable it by pushing assign button twice and then with page knob scroll until the display show pedal function and turn the 1st knob to deactivate the pedal.
3. push the preamp button, scroll to wah menu, and put the cursor on wah position parameter by turning the 2nd knob, then push the assign button once, the display should read select a contrl footswitch. Rock the pedal until the display change.
4. Push the ?Preamp? button, and scroll to wah menu, and put the cursor on ?byp/on? parameter.
5. Push the ?Assign? button once and rock the pedal, then on the 2120 display change the ?min? parameter to ?on? (by turning the 3rd knob) so both min and max parameter have ?on? value. And then go to the next page by turning the page knob, the display should read ?available link for wah?.
6. Push a footswitch on controll one where you want to assign the on/off function for wah. And on the 2120 display make sure the min parameter is ?byp? and max parameter is ?on?. Push the footswitch again to bypass the wah and then save your patch.
7. That?s it, every time you call the patch, the wah status is bypassed, and when you rock the pedal the wah will be activated automatically. If you want to turn it off just push the dedicated footswitch.

Mine is not new, 2.10 version software. yes, it's very easy to get good sounds, i can get good sound just from the default preamp. editing patches is very easy, and the RPEdit make it easier. I'm using the RPedit to back up all my settings, just in case the program crashed. Once you understand how the program works you will rarely use the RPEdit.
no manual included, download it from digitech website. the manual is not very helpful, but can prevent you from getting lost.

My setup : Ibanez Jem7vwh---shure wireless--2120 with JMP1 and G Major in the fx Loop---return in jack of two solid state heads---two 4x12 celestion cabs.
noisy? it has very versatile noise gate, you can put it before or after the preamp section. I prefer after preamp, because that way I can still produce smooth volume swell.
First class fx, but g major has better tracking for pitch shifting and whammy fx.
I can get any kind of sound I can think of. petrucci, satriani, vai, eric johnson, brian may, and of course my sound. but for marshall sound I use the JMP1.
imagine this, with my setup I can closed the loop, activate the tube preamp, tube Eq, and delay, shut the chorus off just by pushing one button. so i can go from marshall clean from my jmp with some chorus from 2120 to saturated tube sound from 2120 with delay and without chorus.
you know what.. you can use 8 pitch fx in a row if you want to....

it only crashed when I edit it with RPEdit, especialy when making patch with config 16. dont have enough money to buy back up equipment.

I once emailed them asking how to change the voltage, they replied my email in a second, and now I can use mine without a stepdown.

overall this is the best gear I've ever owned, this is a dream come true. no regret at all. don't like the preamp? bypass them and put it on the loop of your favourite amp, or put your favorite preamp rack in 2120 loop and you'll be in heaven.

Being a complete gear freak, I found that this unit is pretty easy to program. However, as extensive as the editing capabilities are -- there are a huge amount of parameters to access. With that said, it can be pretty sticky when trying to quickly dial up a sound.

My rig consists of: US custom Strats, DBX compressor, BBE, Shure wireless, Mesa Boogie V-Twin rack tube preamp, and a handful of external f/x rack units (Yamaha SPX-90, Korg A3, TC Electronics 2290 Delay) -- powered by a MesaBoogie 2:90 Tube Power Amp, into a stereo Marshall 4x12.
First off -- the noise gate is set to "crapola" iin all the factory settings, but with some tweaking is manageable if only slightly applied. The Wah is unusable (in my opinion) -- I prefer my modified Vox Wah. The compressor is usable, however, I prefer my DBX. The distortions are decent emulations, but that's exactly what they are --> Emulations. I prefer a true tube amp.
As for the palette of sounds this unit is capable, I'm still stunned. I actually bought this unit to use a particular sound (The volume swell, keyboard-ish pad) -- but quickly found myself in a sea of aural colors. This unit is incredible. With only a few days with the unit, I bypassed my SPX-90 and A3 and use the 2120 exclusively for my effects (sans compression). This unit is extremely quiet and powerful.
Two things I like the most about the unit are: 1) The ability to use my Boogie Preamp by inputting it in the F/X loop in fron to of the signal processing -- allowing me to control my Boogie Pre with the 2120. This allows me to mute for tuning, use the volume pedal on the Control One, and 2) Utilize the "SOLO" function! This absolutely makes the investment completely worthwhile.

I've had several small issues, but nothing severe enough to have it repaired ... yet. But it does seem a bit more fragile than my other rack gear. I've had it reset during shows -- but that was, in the end, due to the cadmium battery getting low.

N/A -- haven't dealt with them yet.

Even with my minor complaints, I'd highly recommend this unit to any musician who wants Grade-A signal processing. I agree with others listed here about changes that could be made -- and sincerely hope that Digitech continues to upgrage this model.

The First day i got this unit I started dialing in sounds.. and as a gear and tweaking fanatic.. it was pretty easy to me.
the possibilities are really endless, but the basic interface and tweaking system can be easily figured out after a few hours of use for expirienced digital FX users, or for sound engineers (as myself).
though it will be hell for stomp-box users who buys their first rack.

My current setup is an Ibanez PGM300 Prototype, and a Fender USA Standart Stratocaster >>> Nady 201VHF True Diversity Wireless system >>> 2120 (FX loop send to DOD YJM308 to Marshall JCM800 Halfstack) >>>> Peavey EQ31 Graphic Equalizer Rack >>>> BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer >>>> Alto BK2.0 Comp/limiter/gate >>>> Another 2 Marshall JCM800 Halfstacks.
The unit Sounds AMAZING! The Dual Distortion Path Routing is the best feature in the preamp section, switched the stock tubes with JJ Teslas - sounds much better with them (recommended!), The compressor is quite good - though I use an external one too, The Noise gate is great, very versatile, giving you a complete control with all it's parameters, the wah is so-so, but I'm not a heavy Wah user so it doesn't bother me much, The digital effects sounds awesome!
20Hz-20Khz range.. just great.. if you haven't tried it in stereo you don't know what you are missing..

I was using a Boss GT-5 before the 2120 and it sounds like someone have removed the earplugs that have been stuck in my ears from all the years of using the Boss.

The very first distortion patch that I jhave programmed sounds JUST like the Rhythm sound in Megadeth's Youthanasia! which is a difficullt sound to get.
The Korn Patch is also awesome if you tweak it right - but great as basis.

assigning parameters to the control1 is very easy and useful - working very good.
Clear LED displays in both 2120 and It's Control Board - it also enables the feature of real-time effects morphing which is really really cool. the harmonizer sounds pretty good when on full disc - It's not an Eventide but really does the job for that price range.

I play mostly Metal in the neoclassic. power and progressive vein - and it delivers the goods just Perfectly for me.

I am actually running 2 preamps in serial - the 2120 to the low input of the Marshalls - sounds fantastic if configured propertly.

The noise factor of the unit is quite low compared to the others i have used. the sonic maximizer complements the 2120 tone even more! I highly recommend getting one

no problems so far.

haven't dealt with them yet.

Great for Metal, and for everything else too I guess..
you can get about any sound you want if you try hard enough.
I have been playing for 6 years now.
Currently I own a Boss GT-5 too, but It's for sale now.
the other active gear is listed above.
If it was stolen i would definately get one again if i'd find one (here in Israel this kind of stuff is pretty hard to find)
as stated in other reviews, It's very musical and i have found it very inspiring for me.

if you had hesistants and you're out for a pro-level tool - go get one!

pre sets arent usable other than a few although they are great foundations to build on and in a few mins you can have some fantastic sounds

using either my limited fender squire, the original not the cheessy mexican strat look alikes, this oen is all custom with emg's and schallers lockers etc.. or my 93 les paul studio.
i run a mesa 2:90 stereo power amo, a furman power conditioner, a 482 i think, sonic maximizer and two 1960 b 300 watt 4x12 marshall cabs, the sound is awesome!
my buddy brought his 2112 and his mesa stack over which he powers with a cheaper power amp and there wast much difference, in deep shunk he had me a little bit, but still even he admitted my setup sounds unreal.

had one issue turned out to be a cable, i want to get another one for backup in case the worst ever happens, but so far i dont even take a backup to the gigs and ive been ok.

simply the best ive ever seen.

i bought my unit on ebay used for 500$ with the control one.
i had a bad midi foot controller cable but to be safe i sent the whole unit and foot board into digitech for a once over, they advised me of the flat rate to look at and or fix the 2120 artist and the foot controller so i sent them the approriate amount of money for updating, and servicing both units.

my concern was the turn around becasue it was 7 days to get it there, (Utah) and if they kept it more than 5 days i would not get it back in time for a performance.
well i stressed this point with Rick on the phone from harmony music group digitech service section.
they recieved my unit on a monday, i was told originaly that they would have it for 7 days before sending it out.

on tuesday i got a pone call from there tech, told me he replaced a footswitch, a jack updated the unit and tested everything, saved all my presets and told me that i sent to much money.

they do not do refunds and i made out money orders to them, so i said well then apply the money to the return shipping and get it here asap then.
the next day, weds, it arrived at my house, this was a 350$ shipping rate when i checked 3 times, they got it all back, included a new cable, and a digitech t-shirt!!
having it back and knowing it was up to date and running properly were my concerns and digitech treated me like i was a famous rock star without ever thinking twice about it, simply awesome, i would do a commercial for them after this.

i love it, i compared it to many other pre amps and combos and nothing sounds as good to me as this set up, i have been playing for 20 years and currently i am the guitarist in an original/cover modern metal style band.

It's hard to believe I've had this for 5 years now. This is the first multi-fx/pre-amp unit I ever owned, so I was lost for a long time. It was very much like going from a Yugo to a Mercedes for me. A LOT of trial and error for the first 6 months or so. I'm not an idiot, but with 2 babies in diapers, 60 hour work weeks and a busy church schedule (where the unit is used), it was hard to find time for experimentation. Internet user group through Digitech website was very helpful. The book was useless, and still pretty much is, even after understanding the workings. RPEdit totally helped me, especially with backing everything up. It's pretty easy to edit, make, and save programs now. I got the upgrade chip free from Digitech 3 years ago and put it in myself. SAVE YOUR STUFF BEFORE YOU DO THIS! I saved everything to RPEdit first. That is a beautiful thing. Whoever created that software should be knighted.
The unit is not friendly, however, with volume levels. I've seen other comments similar to this, especially with the volume pedal on the control one tied to the program. Frequently, switching between programs the volume would drop off severely or even totally go away! And if I switched back and forth, it would come back! Gave up on that right away. I disconnected the volume assignment for all programs. I just use a boss stereo vol pedal now. It is still not easy to set equal volume levels for all programs. You set the volume, save the program, go to another program and come back, and it's not the same! So it's a lot of fooling around with a db meter and all the different instruments I use. Overall, it's better than having a bunch of stomp boxes and all that mess and setup. One box that does it all.

I play in a church worship setting. Large sanctuary, small group of musicians, like 6 on a good day, which means VERSATILITY. I have 2 JEMs, a 7D black, and the 7VBSL (for me the greatest instrument ever made). I frequently play an older Yamaha nylon with an LR baggs pickup, an Ovation 6751 12 string, a mid-grade Fender acoustic/electric, and a Fender FM-62 mando. I sometimes play a Fender fretless jazz bass with EMG pickups, but I haven't made a program for that yet (next on the list of things to do). I also blow the didgeridoo but that doesn't go through the unit. This one box really does it all.
I used to put the unit through a GK 2100SEL, and was satisfied with it. Well, that went up in smoke 2 years ago and I got a Peavey Classic 50/50 all tube head. Had to change everything! But I was blown away by the difference. I hadn't had a tube head before, just the 12ax7s in the 2120. AWESOME! I wish I had gone to tubes long ago. Now (past 6 months) we've gone to ear-monitors and no on-stage volume except drums behind a shield, so goodbye power amp, hello direct box. In-ear sound is great, but doesn't come close to reflecting what's going on in the room, so I have had to re-eq everything again and work with the sound tech real close.
As well documented, the wah is not good. I use a Crybaby and a Bad Horsie 2 (not a crybaby at all, but I love it). I run them through the FX loop and I'm satisfied. I also don't use the tuner. It's not easy to turn on and, more importantly, I get volume changes when I use it and go back to the program. I just keep a Boss TU-12 in my chain; after the 2120 but before my Boss FV-50 vol pedal. The stock noise reduction settings are also garbage, also well documented. They all got changed right away. After that however, it's beautiful. I've not had a lot of amps in the past but I am completely satisfied with what this unit does.

I currently play 3 and sometimes 4 times per week. It's never failed catastrophically. It's only locked up once that I remember, when I was MIDI connected and did something wrong or too fast. Just the issues with volume and tuner and I just avoid them. I keep saying that I should get another 2120 used, or a cheap POD or multi-pedal, but the funds and time aren't there now. Hope I don't eat my words.

They were good. Quick response to emails, like the same afternoon, but not always able to answer a question. The sponsered user group was much more helpful for simple stuff and operating questions. I got the upgrade chip free about 3 years ago. Did it myself, easy. It's never had to see warranty work, or any work.

It is definately the perfect unit for me. With all that I have to do, it does it with me.
I have been playing since '86. Power metal and thrash back then. In a worship/church setting since about '94.
I got this new at guitar center with the control one in early '99. I would certainly buy another one used if this one were to go away. At the time, the only comparable units were the ART SGE which went away, and the G force, too expensive, so this was the logical choice.
I absolutely love the versatility in this unit. There is nothing I've asked the unit to do for sounds that it cannot do. I can learn to play a song, and nail down the sound perfectly. That helps a lot when people recognize certain sounds from certain songs that get radio play and we play them in the church. It sounds like what they know and remember and they can enjoy the music and not be distracted. Ultimately, making spontaneous musical perfect moments in worship is the highest for me personally, and I can do that without worrying or even really thinking about equipment.

The day I plug it in and fired it up, I found it to be pretty easy to get the sound I needed but without a control pedal you kind have to maually turn the knob change sounds.
Editing patches are easy and clear to use but if your not into scrolling through menus or such you will have a frustrating experience. I bought mine used so i actually modified some of the previous owners sounds just to get me started. The factory presents suck big time! after you have your working patches edited and saved you will find the more time you spend tweaking with tube saturations, eq's and effects the more satisfied you will be.
You can go to the digitech website and down load the manual but to be honest, just taking the time going through menus, parameters and such will help more. The good thing about having the manual is that you can almost any possible output chains on your effects, otherwise this may confuse a person. The manual may also be helpful to those who need to program an expression pedal or midi programming. I don't know if my unit has been upgraded I have only had it for a couple of months.

I use a Gibson ES137 with a 500T pick up in the treble position and 535q wah before the 2120, I did briefly use a strat prior to the Gibson but it did not sound as rich, with a strat it was more of a softer tone-good maybe for blues or funk/R&B. I use a Peavey 50/50 tube power amp, I have found that the peavey is a good combo with 2120. the resonance knobs add to the bottom end.I output my amp into a stereo 4x12 cab with celestion 90 speakers, the crunch and bottom end is pretty good. I have used Mesa, Marshall,Fender, and Line 6 amps, the versatility of the 2120 is pretty good and I think this has a very good range of sounds and tones.It has the Marshall, Fender, Line 6 sounds down pat and it can pretty closely replicate a Mesa (but not a rectifier). My favorite sound is the old school punk sound-Sex Pistols, Ramones,GenX Etc.. but I do also enjoy Much of the etheral effected laced guitar sounds found in bands like :(shoegazer styles of the mid 90's) Slowdive, Cockteau twins Etc.. but also enjoy much of the detuned bottom end guitar sounds such as bands like: perfect circle,system of a down, Korn Etc..
Most the effects included are pretty decent: Chorus,Delay,Reverb,phaser,reverse and sampler are really good but the really sucky ones are Tremelo,Leslie, gate and compressor. I usally use a line 6 mod for tremelo and leslie and very carefully use the sucky compressor on the 2120.

I have zero problems with this unit going from rehearsal to gigs and have no issues. At this point and time this is my main amp and do have a vox just in case.

No contact with customer service at this time

I play mostly harder edge style in Bands but also do play in a Worship team at church. So i need super big time versatility switching from clean to dirty to solo sounds, to effects and this preamp is an excellent match. I had the opportunity to buy one of these new a few years ago but waited too long and it became discontinued. I have been playing guitar for 16 years and have had a lot of amps good and bad along with various effects but I really like this unit. My favorite thing about the 2120 is the versatile authentic tube sounds and choices of effects.What I really don't like is the lack of effect upgrade to the Leslie and tremelo portion and that it is discountinued- it would be nice to see an upgrade model from digitech(i hope you digitech R&D dept. are reading this). I came really close to buying a line 6 amp but it just was missing some thing in the distortion/overdrive section. I have a friend who had an upgrade chip in his line6 amp and found my 2120 with the peavey tube power amp sounded better and had an authentic overdrive tone. As for standard guitar amps like Mesa, marshall and fender, this reproduces 90% of those sounds. I think if I had a Mesa Rectifier/tube power amp would my life would be complete, along with an effects upgrade.This really helps me to find the right sound in a quick flash and dial in the exact sound that is in my head. I bought this unit( on ebay of course) based on Harmony Central reviews and every one's input was valuable. Even the guys complaing about the programming and that the sound was bad, made me think that they really like the unit and are just trying to keep this unit a secret. I believe this is undiscovered gem and affordable, perfect for the guitarist who does not want to haul around a huge rack and amps.I was very skeptical about this unit ability to deliver "real tube" tone but I really enjoy it.As long you have a good tube power amp this will satisfy the "tube tone" people. To this very date, still finding very interesting tones and sounds to experiment with.

If you know other DIGITECH products like GSP 2101, VALVE FX, STUDIO QUAD a.s.o. - you know how to use it without learning.

No comments! The quality of the sounds is extremly high.

Reliability is much better than VALVE FX (hanging like hell!)

I asked DIGITECH factory some questins about their offer but when I asked them to explain me the reasons for some stupid mistakes they made in this 2120 and they did not give me the answers.

Taking into consideration that it is the highest model of DIGITECH rack mounted processors it is for sure not perfect one! It has some general mistakes.

First of all the fundamental mistake is inserting the loop for external effects before distortion section!!! What a genius brain did think it out?!!! Can you imagine that you insert some other processor which has a noise gate programed in a swell mode, than the pitch shifter adding a little strings sound, then some phaser adding a space sound and some smooth delay and then after these effects you switch on the distotion section of GSP 2120. All those swell, harmonics and delayed and repeated sounds are distorting the preamp!!! It must be fantastic. It is not acceptable and not logical! In GSP 21 and in GSP 2101 the loop is inserted AFTER the preamp!!! It is so easy to make it again! What for "to improve" something what is working properly?

Another big mistake is mono fx return in fx loop! Who is still using mono processors? Obviously mono loop is better than lack of the loop (like in VALVE FX) but one more jack socket would not ruin DIGITECH factory.

Another mistake - only jack outputs! In GSP 2101 there were two alternative outputs, so why not in this one?

Another mistake - lack of ARPPEGIATOR. Big mistake - it is very usefull effect and it was inclued in the previous version of GSP 2101 and in VALVE FX, so why not in GSP 2120?

Another mistake - the digital section does not include the effect TIME WARP which is included in STUDIO QUAD4. Why not in this one?

So, if DIGITECH made so good - as concerns the quality of sounds - processor, why they made so stupid mistakes? Without these mistakes it would be a prefect processor.

I have lot of DIGITECH products (3 GSP 21, 3 STUDIO QUAD, 2 STUDIO QUAD4, 2 FALVE FX, 1 GSP 2101, 2 SPACE STATIONS). I play modern jazz with some space and industrial sounds generated from GSPs. I hope one day DIGITECH mill make a GSP which will include:

- tube preamp
- stereo loop inserted AFTER the distortion section
- digital section including ARPEGIATORS and TIME WARP
- at least two stereo outputs

OK so this is not easy enogh for a child to program. So what! Have you ever tried working with an Eventide Harmonizer. Professional studio quality sound gear is hard to set up period. That is why professional sound personel can make a career out of it. The most important thing to remember is read the freakin manual and understand what the settings of the desired effect would be before you set it. In other words start subtle and then build from there.

As far as the sound goes I have never heard a rig yet as good as mine. I'm not meaning to sound like an egomaniac but I've had more amps and processors than you can imagine. I've owned Marshall DSL & TSL amps in both Head & Combo form. I've owned a Mesa Mark IV head & currently own a Rectoverb combo. I've owned a Boss GT-3 & GT-6, also a Digitech Legend, GeNetx2, and some older rack mount RP unit. Plus too many solid state combos to mention along with some cheaper tube amps. The key to the sound quality is what its running through. This is basically a computer designed for guitar processing. As with any computer garbage in = garbage out. I run the 2120 stereo to a Mesa Boogie 50/50 stereo power amp, and then stereo into a Mesa Boogie 4x12 Recto Cab (the shorter recto cab) loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. Everybody who has heard this set up just about goes nuts over the sound quality. There is no noise period just set the gate to your desired setting. The only problem is for various guitars you need to set different patches with various amounts of noise gate, for example single coils need the gate opened up or else the gate will cut all of your signal after the initial pick attack. But this is normal operation for noise gates. From twangy to death metal this preamp/signal processor will cover it.

I've owned mine for a few years now and it is by far the best most reliable equipment I've ever owned. I've also owned several used processors from Digitech stuff thats like 15 years old and it works like new. I'm giving it a 9 just because digital units are tempermental and you cannot abuse the crap out of them. For example if you have the Control One midi controller that Digitech used to sell with this DO NOT DISCONNECT from the 2120 while it is turned on. This will erase all of your settings. I have gigged with this but I primarily play for my own enjoyment at home.

Never had to deal with any support issues. But I would highly recommend to Digitech they start making this unit again because their GeNet series sucks compared to this. This is professional quality and every thing they make now is geared to a much lower end market. I have never used my GeNetx2 through my Rectoverb combo as I've just acquired it but I'm going to give it a try. Still though nothing else I've tried in any modeling amp or floor effects processor even comes close. PLEASE DIGITECH BRING THE 2120 VALVE GUITAR SYSTEM BACK!!!

Overall rating is a 9 because nothing is perfect even though this is as close as you will ever get. Remember I was so impressed with this sound I gave up my Mesa Boogie Mark IV head to go solo with the 2120 VGS as my preamp and I've never regretted that decision. My Mark IV at the time and still today is probably the nicest amp I'd ever owned. But when I hooked this up through it I was blown away.

Out of the box the gate threshold is set too high on nearly every patch, so it cuts off the sound. Even Digitech customer support told me this! Editing patches is not difficult, however there are so many settings that you can spend all day at it. I probably spent over a week getting all my favorite sounds. Get rpedit software. Use it to back up your patches in case you get a system crash, then you fix the unit by doing a system reset, which erases all your patches. Also, any midi sequencer can record all your patches via sysex.

The manual was ok but the system is so deep it can crush you. There are still sections in the manual where I couldn't give you a clue what they are talking about.

Over time, you can get quite fast at improving your patches. Eventually I go for MONTHS not touching the unit. The only real thing to be aware of is that for live playing, it needs to be set up extensively prior to the gig, playing THOSE TUNES, with THAT BAND. Minimally, set up the Solo button and volume pedal on EVERY patch, or you will be running to your amp without the right range of volume available. (EVERY GUITAR AMP NEEDS A SOLO BUTTON ON A FOOTSWITCH LIKE THE 2120!). Also one must understand that, for example, if you want chorus on a patch, or even reverb, you have to add it to the configuration for every single patch you plan to use, or it ain't there. Not like a boss chorus pedal where you just hit the same button every time and get chorus. On the other hand, the digitech chorus has about 2000 possible sounds...

I like to open up rpedit and play with some patches now and then to see what I come up with, as tastes change. For fast tweaks the front panel is fine. However, this unit is not for the faint of heart, it will take time to learn what it does.

I had the unit for 2 years before I realized there were more factory patch numbers (and patches) available from turning the big front panel knob, than there are available from the foot switch! Hidden joys.

So, ease of use, PRIOR to setup, is a 1, since it is completely useless out of the box. AFTER setup, it is a 9.

The sound quality is superb. I like taking it into studios where the engineers suspiciously hook it up to see how noisy it is... THERE IS NONE. (after the gate shuts...). The unit used direct is possibly the best guitar sound you can get, some would argue a speaker miked is better in some situations.

I use it with a gibson es347, which is sort of an odd guitar, I get a lot of great tones with it. I think it works better with "standard" guitars like ibanez, fender and gibson, when I let others use it. I also set up a patch for my Yamaha nylon and Carvin steel string acoustics and it is AWESOME for direct recording, none of my guitar friends can believe my direct acoustic sounds.

THE EFX ARE AWESOME. Too many to list. Especially the stereo effects and choruses are cool.

I go direct, I've never used it with an amp. Usually I am listening to it on studio monitors. Even live I just feed it to the board and listen out the vocal monitors, I don't use an amp any more.

If you can't get the sound you want from this unit, you haven't spent enough time on it, period. It's there, waiting for you.

The effect that sucks the most is the wah wah, it is utterly useless. The amp simulations are pretty useless as well. It took me a long time to get distortions I liked, that's me. REPLACE THE TUBES, THE STOCK ONES ARE JUNK. I liked the unit much more after I did this.

I have heard people play this unit plugged into a power amp, then into 4X12 cabinet, and it blew away any guitar setup I have ever heard. And you can just scroll through awesome setting after awesome setting, once it is set up.

Every one who has ever heard me demo my setup is completely amazed.

I had a few seizeups early on... this was due to my clumsy editing with the pedal, which will let you program things that will then crash the system. A quick reboot would normally solve any problem a person had, but I haven't had any for a long time.

I have a strange bug with mine; after the unit is powered on, in about 2 minutes it will produce no volume. This is caused by the volume pedal somehow, and working the pedal once cures it until you shut it off. Customer support couldn't do anything with this problem, I had to figure it out the fix by trial and error. It still does it though.

There also is nothing in the manual about how to get the looping functions to work, and customer support promised to send me something on it and never did. I don't think it was actually finished. Otherwise they were very helpful.

No problem with needing a backup. I actually have had years of useful service out of this unit and can rely on it to produce awesome tone at will now. Also realize that ONCE YOU FIND YOUR DREAM TONE, IT IS SAVED FOREVER. Think about this. So this is much more reliable and useful than pedal boxes and guitar amps.

I play smooth jazz, fusion, new age, occasionally classic rock. I get what I want from the unit. I have been playing for over 30 years. I have a lot of equipment, I mainly play in my own studio these days. I would replace it immediately. It doesn't have amp modeling, but 95% of all amp models sound like crap to me, I can nearly always tell if a sound is modeled, it sounds flanged and is not accurately responsive to touch. I think modeling will eventually improve and overtake the features of this unit, but it hasn't happened yet. The tc electronic g force is probably a slightly better unit but also costs $1450. I notice Frank Gambale, who helped develop the 2120 and used it on at least one Chick Corea album, uses the g force live, however he told me he thought the 2120 was a really great unit.

I wish the wah wah and the looping worked.

Once you actually take some time to familiarize yourself with everything and mess around with all the controls, everything becomes pretty easy to use without even thinking about it.

guitars: St. Louis Music (SLM) 60th Anniv. guitar, Jackson KE3, Jackson DX7, Jackson Warrior, all with DiMarzio pickups.
This unit has never been noisy. The effects are top quality, except maybe the wah, but I don't remember DigiTech being praised for their wah effects. I use this primarily for clean channel as it's clean presets are excellent, but I use my own settings. I run it stereo through a QSC power amp and a Genz-Benz 212 enclosure and it's crystal clear and beautiful. The distortions aren't the greatest, but if you tweak around with the tube distortion, it can be pretty ballsy. I use distortion sparingly.

The compressor and limiter are both excellent as they do what they're supposed to. It does have an FX loop but I don't ever use it because I personally don't think it's all that great.

Running this unit through a power amp or just the FX return on a head will have the unit sounding exactly like it's supposed to, running through the instrument input on ANYTHING will make it sound like sh**
Other than that, the sound quality is EXCELLENT.

Never had any problems because I've taken very good care of it. When I first got it, used, the sound dropped out but I had the tubes replaced and it hasn't screwed up on me since.

never had to deal with them

Overall I think this unit is very versatile with whatever you want.

This thing can really make you crazy,innumerable and useless parameters,useless because the sound really sucks even if you are a sound techician and you know how to use them all.The manual is totally useless,it misses all important things and makes you know just bullshit or things that you already know.I've got 2.10 version,i hope they will never upgrade such a piece of shit.

I've got 6 guitars,all of them are professional instruments.2120 kills them all.The preamp section is awful,almost all effects' quality is very bad,lots of senseless parameters and effects.In particular wahs,whammy are totally unusable.

The first 2120 i owned lasted 1 night,i had to replace it with another one,thanks to warranty.The control one original pedalboard lasted two months:all the most important and utilized parts are in cheap plastic.

I will never deal with Digitech any more

The biggest mistake i did as guitarist.