DigiTech BP-200

This is my first processor but the UI made configuring the unit extremely easy. I had read the pdf version of the manual (available on the website) and that had given me a clear understanding of the kind of effects available. Also, both the guitarists in my band use digitech processor (RP250 and RP300 respectively) and so i was familiar with the UI of the unit. Bottom line: editing patches is very easy as long as you know what kind of sound you want.

I have an Indian made Java bass and a Laney 15W practice. My bass has an excellent clean sound and so had been using it for the past 2 years without effects (only a bit of compression from the AMP. I finally decided to dabble in effects. And the result was quite fantastic!

A lot of people have said that the effects are not up to par. What they are doing is tryiing to use the presets. The presets are merely guidelines which show the entire range of effects in the processor. Its upto you to tweak the patches as per your requirements.

Our band plays a lot of originals (mainly into Sufi/Hindi Rock). However, i also dabble into heavy metal. I loved the fatfuzz patch- it pretty much replicates the bassline of NIB - Sabbath... Pretty cool by any standard!

The chorus sound a lil digital, but the amp simulation and compression are excellent. Takes the bass sound to a whole new level! I have only tried it on my practice amp thus far (got the processor 2 days back) and i cant wait to try it on stage!

I am rating it a 9 because i was kind of disappointed with the chorus effect.

Its built like a tank! i know everyone says that, but it just feels so sturdy! I have major doubts about the power supply - an AC adapter will always cause problems. It did flicker a lil on the first day and keeps going into edit mode at random intervasl... kind of wierd, but as long as it doesnt effect the sound...

I would gig without a backup, but i am still a little worried about the power supply. i am planning to get a new one made complete with a built in fuse and all... Dont want this one to get fried!

I play a lot of originals -Sufi Rock... has jazz, metal and indian classical influences. This gives a lovely new dimension to my music. The ashdown amp gives the deep "bassy" sound that i need, and the hiwattgain amp gives that sharp twang that i would want. The distortions are also pretty cool, but i need to be extra careful not to go overboard with the effects. Got to keep irt simple!

I have been into music for over 20 years now. Started off with indian classical , then moved to drumming about 8 years back, then guitars and now bass. Have been playing the bass for over 2 years now and i love the instrument. allows me to wander and play my stuff (even while playing covers!) Keeping in mind the diversity of the kind of music i play, this is just what was required.

I had looked at the Bass POD XT Live and i know that the quality of that would probably be a lot better, but then at twice the price, i didnt find it worth it. After all, as i bass guitarist, i will probably use a maximum of 5-6 kinds of sounds. And i am sure this unit is more than capable of producing the kind of sound i need. Complete value for money!!!

I have 2 complaints about this- 1 is the power supply - seems a lil flimsy - can be easily fixed. 2 - is the quality of the chorus - that was something i was loking forward to using. Well, cant expect the world at this price.

I will most defenitely graduate to a stompbox setup sometime down the line, but until then, i love my BP200!

Oh, and the drum machine/head phone out make it the perfect practice unit!!! Havent been able to sleep for the past 2 days (coz i keep playing till 5 in the morning!) bloody addictive!!!

A++!

Not hard to customize your tones, editing is easy, the manual helps if you cant figure it out, I needed the manual because somehow the expression pedal got stuck (digitally, not physically) and i had to reprogram it, though as soon as I figured it out it was a breeze.

The sound quality is what you would expect from a multi-effects processor, decent at worst, ranging to pretty damned good. I like the pitchshifter effect, and the whammy effect, both have been utilized in my songwriting using the expression pedal to control them in real time.

I dont get any noise from it.

My setup is: Bass > Bass Synth Wah > Boss PH-3 > Overdrive > DigiDelay > BP-200 > EHX Pulsar > Boss RC-2 > Carvin RD100

7 - Eventually after about a year I had problems with the scroll down pedal, I thought it was the rubber piece that presses the switch, but it turned out to be the switch itself. Replaced it and havent had a problem since!

I had a faulty switch, got ahold of customer service and they sent me a new switch at no charge!

Ive had this thing practically since it came out, it was my first Effect Pedal, and i loved it. As time went on however I found myself wanting more tones and started buying individual stompboxes, though I still utilize this tool quite often!

very intuitive for a multi FX pedal. Easy to understand and get decent sounds out of it.
Stage wise is OK if you don't need a lot of stuff.
I bought this just to have a compressor, but as it turned out, the 'expression' pedal is programmable so I made it into a volume control - very handy!
The compression ain't bad either for live work. It compares well to the more dedicated pedals!
Nice and easy to program.
Programing the other FX are very easy, although some seem to be missing essential parameters, eg, there is no control for the 'sweep time'on the flanger, which makes it very limiting.
Love the tuner function for stage,and for practice it got a reasonably useful drum machine for practice, and an input for your mp3 player, very useful, and not least, a headphone socket.
This is an absolutely brilliant practice box, forget the FX!!!

This is a quality bit of gear. Those who complain about hiss and hum, must be doing something wrong. It sounds clean and pro to me.
I'm talking only live work here. I've not tried to use it in the studio. Why would I? Good studios should have racks of high quality gear anyway!
I don't use the EQ, or the 'amp modeling' part of the pedal, as all my stuff sounds hot already, and I've got my sound. So I've no solid opinion on that score, although I've played around a little with it and it seems cool enough.
I use a Stingray 5 and a 30 year old US peavey MKII amp with a 2X10 Peavey cab - amazing sound - who needs amp modeling!!??
The sound FX are great. Octavider, ADT, DDL, great reverbs. That's more than I need. All the other stuff I don't really care about, and there's a lot more. Envelope, detune, EQ, Wah Wah, distortion etc. I

Cast metal casing. very robust.
Don't like the flimsy power supply, and I don't like the idea of not being able to run it on batteries.
Don't know how easy I'm gonna find a 110v power supply when I'm in S. America as I often go there.

Dunno

I'm into all kinds of music.
I've been a pro studio musician for over 30 years, although I like to play live as much as possible.
I'm not really into FX, although I like a bit of compression, and now a volume control.
This box is great for me. I dont carry a seperate tuner anymore as this box does it.
As I said, it's a great practice machine, for either jamming with the drum box, or playing along with your ipod plugged into it.
If it late at night, plug in the headphones and blast all night to your hearts content, no one will mind!!!

I didn't really need the manual much, except to figure out how to get to the built in tuner feature, which I don't use that much. Other than that, the text under the display is pretty self-explainatory.

The presets arn't what you buy the pedal for. You buy it to custom tailor your sound, albeit the presets make for a good starting point for the sound you want, cause there are so many of them. I havn't gotten any noise from it while playing or when it's on bypass. Though I set my first preset to no effects, except the volume is controlled by the pedal. I like that more than bypass. Many of the effects are out there... you'll probably not want to use them. Though, with tweaking you can get a very nice sound for various songs. Also you can only use one of the 'effects' at once, such as phaser/envelope/chorus etc..... though you'll probably not want to use more than one at once, it's not usually needed. There are a few Amp Models that make some very good sound.

Metal chassis, never gigged with it, seems tough. the pedal squeaks a bit, but WD-40 fixes everything. pedal still works great. Only had it about 2 weeks.

Never dealt with em.

My first multieffect, and very useful! It can do many things, and if you sit down for a while with it, you can get many good sounds. For a first pedal it's well worth it IMO, and can keep you occupied for quite a while if you like playing with new sounds like I do.

I am a technical person and it took a while of reading the manual all the way through to use it effectively. However, once I learned how to use it, it was fairly intuitive and I rarely needed to consult the manual. I felt the 2 foot buttons were a bit too close together for live performances, and I could find myself easily hitting the button and it jumps 2 or didn't jump. When first using it, I documented the initial settings and made notes, because otherwise I couldn't remember all 40 of them. annoying thing was that on a hard floor, it would rock from side to side slightly and I had to put some tape on a leg bumper so it wouldn't do this.

I guess my biggest gripe is that for many effects, the signal tends to diminish. In other words even though you apply an effect, it tends to slightly fizzle out, because there is little or no amping of the signal. You take a weak signal and then transform it, and the result is something a bit weaker. There is a wide range of effects. The different amps seem to be very influential in the sound. The delay effect was quite good. This was my first effects pedal, so I can't really compare it to others. The rhythm machine was pretty good, but not something you would play live. It's got a lot of features that I like. I didn't heavily use the expression pedal.

I would rate the metal case a 9, because it does a good job protecting everything. I bought this new and after less than 2 years the Master Level knob didn't rotate through the whole range and the store button stopped working as intended. That store buttom problem was quite weird, because I very infrequently used that button and it probably didn't get bumped. The quality of that knob and button is in question. Besides that I don't recall any other problems. The I/O pots worked as intended. Anything I stored was always saved.

Got an email response in under 5 minutes. Superior support. Gave options and I ordered replacement parts within minutes of visiting their web site. That level of service was practically unprecendented for any company.

I play a Warwick bass. When I play with a Behringer Ultrabass pre-amp and cabinet, some of the phaser effect and other effect like chorus and flange was literally lost in the thick heavy bass tone until I turned up treble on the EQ. When I tried this with a 20 year old Carvin cabinet, I got a much more desirable tone for the phaser and buzzy type treble effects, including reverb. Overall I was pretty happy with the choice of options, but I still felt that what was lacking was clarity of tone sometimes. Good to almost very good, but it just wasn't crystal clear for some effects.

It's pretty easy to use - I figured most of it out without the manual.

Most of the effects sound ok. The compressor was fair, the delay was excellent (as it should be). Distortion was pretty good. This was what I used most of the time. The downside is the unit itself was noisey. It makes a pretty audible hiss when I crank up the amp it was connected to - even with the output level turned all the way down. Because of this, I did eventually replace it.

The foot switches both gave out a little over a year after I bought it and I had some problems with the expression pedal. And the transformer mount broke inside the wall wart. I ended up cleaning the expression pedal and getting it to work, replaced the factory switches with my own heavy-duty ones, and put the transformer in a new box to keep it running. Though I have finally replaced the pedal now.

Never contacted Digitech since it was out of warranty.

Effects sounded ok, but the hiss is bad and the reliability issues make me rate this item low.

This is one easy to use pedal. "Fool-Proof" definitely. Boss stompboxes are the only other pedals I can think of that are this easy to use. Editing patches with the BP-200 is surprisingly fun. There are tons of great sounds that are completely practical. Then there are some sounds and effects that are just a little ridiculous sounding but funny nonetheless. I've had no need to use the manual at all. It's too simple a product. Plug in and play. Incredibly user friendly.

I use a Music Man 5-String and Jackson Custom 5-String through the BP-200, an Ampeg 4x12 cab, B2R Ampeg Head, QSC Power Amp, and Digitech GSP 2101 Pre Amp. I bought the BP-200 before the power amp and preamp. Now the bp-200 is pretty much a cheap backup in case anything happens to the rest of my setup (God4bid...). When I was still using the pedal through the ampeg head and cab, it sounded great. No complaints about the sound quality and tone. My only complaints were with the distortions. They were either too weak or just completely overwhelming. Way too much distortion and the noise gate at its highest threshold only cut the notes off. If the gate wasn't high enough there would be constant feedback from the gain and if it was too high, the notes would be cut short. Other than that the effects sound great. Top notch. The only way to regulate that was by using the weakest distortion with the gate threshold very low. It can get pretty noisy with certain effects in the loop, certain amp and cab models, and how much gain there is...obviously. Overall its a pretty quiet unit. There are about 15 different amp models to choose from and they all sound great. Again, some of the effects, sounds, delays, amp models, and whatnot tend to go a little overboard.

For about a year I thought I could completely depend on having it in perfect working order. Until it just stopped working...:/ I maintained it very well from the day it was purchased to the day it died. heh. I recorded with it - no problems at all - sounded great. It sounded much better than I thought it would in the studio. http://www.myspace.com/mindsoulmythos - thats me on bass using the bp-200 in the studio. Music Man 5-String - BP-200 straight into the computer. Definitely great sound. I was really upset when this thing just stopped working out of nowhere for no reason. Pissed me off like crazy. Maybe I just got a crap one? I dunno. But overall it really is a great piece of equipment.

Customer support was great. They offered to fix it and if they weren't able to they would send em a new one for free. I thought that was great. Definitely surprised the hell outta me. I just haven't sent it back yet. Gotta get on that...

Been playing for about 10 years now. I play everything from jazz to fusion - rock to hip hop(for my friend in his studio-only reason I play it is because I get paid =D) - but mostly Metal. I probably would buy the bp200 again. It's a great product for a great price. It's pretty durable. Travel friendly - very unlike my huge and ridiculously heavy ampeg cabinets. Overall, the BP-200 is a great buy, especially for the price. It def helped me in the studio. Live, it's extremely helpful - 5-string to BP-200 to amp. EASY. The only thing that I dislike about it is the noise gate and distortions. It's kind of annoying to have the notes cut out as with most noise gates I've used. Also, the amp models sound sort of flat. not very bright. Mess around a bit and you can def fix that though. I would recommend this to any bassist that needs great sound for a decent price. If you have the money...go for the Line 6 POD rack mount pre amp and get yourself a VHT 2902 Power amp. That'll do ya. Wihtout a doubt.

The BP200 is easy to use. I think Digitech sort of made the unit "dummy proof". I have some other rack effect processors which give you much more tonal control but they also require much more time to program.

The unit is a bit noisy...but remember high gain effects like compressors and distortions are noisy...that's the point. I use 3 basses with this unit. I've created 15 patches with varying tones. I planned out each program to allow a quick sound change during perfomrance. I use a 1986 G&L L2000, a Hohner Acoustic, and a Palantino Electric Upright. My amp is a Hartke Kickback 12. I like slap...and the EQ and compressor in the unit sound great. I can get that warm compressed crunch. And the amp simulators are great. Let me justify...there is a reason they are called amp "simulators". Don't expect to play through a 100 watt amp and get a wall of sound. The main effects that I use are amp sim, EQ, compressor and chorus.

OK. The BP200 is made of metal which I think is a really nice feature. But I don't care what the unit is made. I used to work at a music part-time and I saw all sorts of equipment come into the store. And let me tell you..it comes in completely beaten up. They could make these units out of Titanium and they would still be destroyed by the user. So when I hear stories about the knobs being "cheap" becuase they "fell off" or the footswitch "broke"...chances are the unit was destroyed by a user who has no idea how to properly maintain gear. For me plastic or metal...if you take care of the unit it will last.

I purchased mine used. It looked like some idiot jabbed a key into the LED. I ordered a replacement cover which was under 10 dollars...that included shipping. They were quick to respond. Plus their sound community web site is a great resource for users.

I play rock and fusion. I've been playing for about 20 years. I like the unit becuase it is compact. I like the fact that it is easy to program. I wish the 3 knobs were user programmable so I could choose which parameters to adjust live. I'd like to have control of chorus levels and EQ settings. I'd like to see a bass proceessor in the same price range that could mount on a mic. stand or music stand with a few more knobs and still have external control with my feet. It's a pain to bend over and adjust the unit while playing live. I'm probably just getting old. If you plan ahead it's great for playing live. I use a Peavey Transtube FEX unit for recording in my home project studio, it's sound is absolutley pristine. I also use the BP80 which is a little quieter and the OS is newer.

Straight out of the box, this unit makes for a very good multi-effects pedal. Editing and tweaking patches hasn't been easier. The 3 control knobs allow you to easily scan through different parameters and effects. This pedal is very straight forward and anyone can operate it without the manual. I myself don't have to use the manual and was editing and playing within 10 minutes!!

With this BP200, I'm using a 1986 Fernandes 4-string. On certain patches this pedal can be a tad noisy (especially on distortion and fuzz) but nothing a littly editing can get around. The different patches sound great especially the wah-wah. I've come accross finding Marcus Miller's sound. The whammy effect on here is ok and the distortions sound very digital and noisy. I don't bother using the distortions. There's nothing worse than ruining your bass tone with some fuzzy grungy distiortion crap. The chorus is very clean and rich sounding. If the whammy and wah-wah were better i'd give this a 10 but it stands a very good 9.

This BP200 is built like a tank!! With a solid metal casing, you could throw this at someone and knock them out hard.. I wouldn't use the effects all the way through a gig although if it did break during a gig, I could do without.

I play a lot of funk, soul and fusion. A little effects here and there adds a little spice to my music. This unit isn't perfect although I would definately replace it if it were ever stolen. My favorite feature about this pedal is it's one of the few compact bass multi-effects with an expression pedal. Feels great to rock that thing back and fourth. Very smooth. I had worked with Zoom multi-effects pedals and found them VERY NOISIY and were made of VERY CHEAP PLASTIC. I wish this pedal had a better quality wah-wah and whammy patch. Overall, this DigiTech BP200 was worth purchasing. Very great product and I reccomend it to bass players who are beginning to look into effects. A+!!

This pedal comes out of the box with some great-sounding patches and the rest are pretty stright-forward and easy to tweak. I usd to own a Johnson J-Station, and the BP200 is far easier to adjust thanks to the front panel matrix and large 7-character LED display (the Johnson only had a two-digit display). There are units out there that have a much more informative LED display, but they cost a lot more and are often more complicated to set up. The manual is pretty helpful and explains each parameter, though a chart would have been a nice inclusion.

I have an Ibanez BTB 6 tring bass and a Dean Edge 4 string fretless, both with active electronics. My amps are a Behringer Ultrabass BX1200 120W combo and Thunderbird 108 15W practice amp. I do find that I have to turn my amps down very low to keep the BP200's own preamp noise from being amplified, but the BP200 also puts out a lot of volume, causing my amps to still sound loud enough. I'll have to try it in the effects loop of my BX1200 eventually. I play in my church and at home for leasure and my rigs cut through just fine. I like the tone I get from the BP200. It makes my amps come alive and I can get a real nice deep bottom with the Ash Down amp simulation. The chorus sounds real nice and warm, but it can also come on too strong and warbly for the church music, so I just back off the amount and it fits right in adding that slight bit of extra dimension to my sound. At home, I can play around with pitch harmonies and Whammy effects that track pretty good (of course not like an Eventide, but the price...) and the wah can be quite fun due to having a rocker pedal onboard. You can also reset the pedal to produce a reverse-action wah or any amount in between, but I find the wah sound doesn't go quite far enough down on the bottom end to compete with a Crybaby. I still give this at least a 9 though because the sounds and effects you would actually use live are very good and even enhance a basic setup to have a fuller and livlier tone.

The metal case is definitely reliable and I think the rocker pedal and even the plastic knobs and footswitches would survive most standard gigs. The 5-foot AC adapter is short, but an extension chord resolves that. No on/off button, but unplugging the adapter does the same function. As for the issue of no battery operation, the trade-off benefit is better headroom and processing power due to solid AC power. No MIDI connections or computer ports to screw up the processor by some data error. Of course this means the user patches on the DigiTech site are only able to be updated by manually editing each parameter. The tuner works well for me and I have to tune a 6-string with low B and high C. Drum machine is very basic, but sounds nice and helps to practice with at home. Also has a jam-along input for CD players, etc. Nice all-around unit that is actually useable!

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At this price ($150.00 on average), nothing beats it for value. I doubt a touring pro will hve one on stage, but beginner thru semi-pro could find a lot to enjoy about the BP200. I would buy it again if I had to. I don't think you get much more by paying more until you are paying a LOT more for a high-dollar pro rack-mount device. If you got money to burn, then go for it. For the rest of us, either build a basic pedalboard with a few effects that do just what you need, or get the BP200 to feed what you need AND feed your experimental/fun side as well! I have to say that afterr buying this unit, it has helped my music and the sound inspires me to play more, while the drums help me to practice better! Another hit for DigiTech!