DigiTech Control 8 MIDI Controller

Very easy to use.
There are 5 footswitches to send program changes, 2 (up/down) footswitches to change banks and 1 expression pedal.

This pedalboard, as most MIDI pedalboards, works in banks of 10 program changes, so the up/down footswitches are also used to move from 0-4 to 5-9 in each bank (a LED will tell you in which half you are at any time).
It can also send control changes, which I find useful to get to the tuner mode in my multifx.
The expression pedal control change number is editable, so you can use it, for example, to control your volume or to set a tap tempo delay.
Instead, you cannot MIDI map the program changes, i.e. footswitch 2 in bank 3, for example, will always send "32" as program change. To me this isn't a problem, because I can do the MIDI mapping in my other gear, when necessary.
You cannot use it to switch channels in non-MIDI amps (some higher level MIDI pedalboards have relays to give you that extra feature).

What I love about this pedalboard is the compact size, which is the main reason why I bought it, and the built in expression pedal.
The footswitches have a good feel, I never miss a sound change. That was a major problem with my previous pedalboard.
Although there isn't any LED next to each footswitch (the program change shows in the display), I surprisingly never had problems reaching the right footswitch playing in the dark.
On the opposite, the display becomes unreadable under the direct sunlight, so it is a major problem to move through banks in those situations. Fortunately, I always play gigs at night.

I had a problem as soon as I got the pedalboard: it often froze, showing error numbers in the display. Then I realized it was only a matter of dirt in the power plug, which caused intermittent contact. Cleaning with alcohol was the solution.
Therefore I have nothing to complain in this category.

Before discovering the dirt problem I contacted the customer service. They replied in the same day, suggesting an alimentation problem (which it was, somehow) and providing me a schematic of the circuit (I had written I wanted to solve the problem by myself).
Very good!

I'm taking off one point just because of the sunlight use difficulty.

What can I say? Yet another MIDI controller. Compact enough to avoid being a burden, flexible enough to be usable. If you can press a few switches with your feet, you'll be ready.

Manual says almost nothing, but then again there's not much to say.

No revisions, no upgrades. Yet another MIDI controller.

Of course, no sounds...

The Control 8 from DigiTech is an average MIDI foot controller (similar to its predecessor, the Control 7), with the addition of one fully assignable expression pedal. 7 foot switches to recall MIDI program on all 16 MIDI channel. The built-in expression pedal can be assigned to any MIDI continuous controller (CC) number for real time control of parameters (e.g. volume, depth, distortion level). Foot Switch Toggle CC mode changes the 5 program switches to send CC on/off (0/127) messages on different CC numbers to parameters, which is very useful for toggling between 2 mapped parameter values or for toggling the On/Off parameters of effects in multi effects boxes and creating a stomp box mode. A large four-segment LCD display is easy to read, and the overall array is logical. The real plus of this effective controller might probably be its dependability and compactness in size delivered by a relatively cheap product. Beyond that, nothing special?

Rugged metal chassis with 7 plastic footswitches, compact and easy to transport, seems pretty solid under modern standards. The expression pedal on this can stand abuse, so this looks as dependable as it gets. All zinc would be better, but the price would be higher, so no complaints at this regard.

No idea, which is good, since is an indication that nothing broke so far.

With your permission, I will skip the de facto questions here (playing style, years playing... etc) since I believe that have a little connection (if any) with the product under review. The only thing I would like to stress is that if you're after a MIDI controller, this one is cheap and reliable. A good catch.

This doesn't make sound, it controls other MIDI gear. It is very simple to use and offers a good set of features for the price. The manual is brief but adequite.

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It is built pretty well. Metal construction with plasic footswitches. Doesn't look like you want to drag it behind a truck, but should hold up to normal use.

Haven't dealt with them, but the web site is good.

This doesn't have as many switches as the ART X-15 or the YAMAHA controller, but costs half as much and does the job well. The ability to do both program changes and Continuous controllers is nice. That means you can it in a stomp box kind of mode as well as a patch change mode. I'm using it with a TC Electronic G-Major and it is working well.