DigiTech Crossroads Eric Clapton Artist Series

very easy

You can sit with this pedal for as long as you want, and I doubt you will find a good, useable sound. And if you can get it to sound good or want it to sound good, your going to have to buy an EQ pedal, fiddle around with the knobs on the pedal, then the EQ, and then possible your amp. Just like the other reviewer said, I can't believe I bought this pedal, I also can say I haven't come across anything as bad as it, and I hope I never do!

could last a few years

I play almost anything... pop punk to rock to metal and everything inbetween. ive been playing for a little over 2 years and ive used a couple pedal here and there but i seriouly wouldnt recommend this to anyone if it were lost or stolen i would probably care less about it only cuz i used it a total of 5 times and put it back in the back to be returned.

Very simple to use, manual needs to be read to understand different parameters for a couple of models. Remote footswiching between models would have been a nice option if u dont like bending down between songs.

Can be quite bright, and used through an amp, the treble on the pedal may need to be backed off in certain models. Also synchronise the output of the pedal to the same or slightly above that of your amp, or you will find it noisy again on certain models. I am using it with a Mesa Rectoverb and custom shop strat with noiseless pickups. This is an overdrive pedal, not distortion or full on shred. Emulates certain Clapton tones closely but not perfectly, and because of that, is not tonally flexible.

Excellent build quality, no problems so far.

not used

I play sixties rock, and have for over 25 years. If you do Clapton or are a Clapton fan, this is the pedal for you. However with the right playing technique and good gear I you can get all the overdrives and tones contained in this pedal(with the exception of the acoustic model which isn't in my opinion really that usable)yourself. I am enjoying its novelty value, but if I take it back to the shop, I'll buy a Boss OS-2, so my overdrive sound isnt pigeonholed!

Easy to use - a couple of knobs and on/off pedal.
Manual is good but worth noting as a couple of other guys have that it doesn't make clear that the "natural" model - ie the one like the record - is at the 12 o clock position on the knobs.

Really good but you have to work with it if you want sounds like Clapton's from it. I have the luxury of having both a Strat and a Les Paul, and if you use the appropriate guitar for the model you are using they are spot on - i.e Strat for "Layla", "Lay Down Sally" etc, Les Paul for "Crossroads", "Sunshine..."
If you use the wrong type of pick up for the model they aren't as convincing but are still really good useable rock/blues tones for original work. If you're not a Clapton fan the pedal still delivers really high quality tones that can be tailored to be distinctive easily.
The acoustic simulator..... well, if you use a guitar with humbuckers forget it, a Strat sounds pretty good on the neck or neck + middle pickups BUT!!! If you use it with an acoustic with a pick up it's great!! It really makes your acoustic sound natural like a mic'ed acoustic. It's a little noisy this way but does act as a great pre-amp for an electro.

Solid as a rock, and great battery access. Comes with it's own padded gigbag!

Never had to deal with them.

I play mostly acoustic live these days so the pedal was to get some great tones in a bedroom situation - which it does with avengence.
The hidden bonus of the acoustic tones in conjunction with a real acoustic was a real find.
I play this through a Marshall combo which I only use the clean stting on now - the pedal is that good!!
It's not cheap by a long shot but it does deliver. If it were lost or stolen I'd definitely save for another.

Very straight forward Digitech product. Easy editing of patches and adjustments are as easy as turning the knobs. No editing then saving.
The manual is very straight forward also. I had it up and running to my recorder in 10 minutes. It is a heavy stomp box although compared to a Boss or even an Ibanez pedal, about twice the weight. But the cute little gig bag is nice so to protect it from dings and scratches.

I used the pedal straight from my '62 reissue Strat into a Yamaha AW16G. The tone was very good and the level was strong and noiseless.
So far I have played around with running it thru my Fender Twin but I will need to tweak the pedal for live playing. It seems setup for recording and not to be used thru an amp out of the box.
It does sound like EC's recording's,close as we will ever get to that tone that is. The Layla and the Badge tones are my favorites right now.

I have never had a problem with a Digitech product in the past and from what I have read Digitech's new line of pedals are built like tanks. I would think after tweaking it no backup would be necessary. But for collectings sake I probably will purchase the second one.

Only had a return back 8 years ago with a Tuna tuner and it was replaced within 4 weeks. It took one phone call and everything was settled then and the rep was very nice and called back the day it was shipped to me.

I play Classic Rock and Blues. This pedal of course fits that bill.
I have been playing for over 30 years. I use Fender Tele's and Strat's and a Gibson LP. My amps are many but for recording I use a Vox Valvetronics and a Line 6 Flextone II and for gigs I use a Fender Twin and a Soldano SLO w/EV12L Mesa 2x12 loaded cabinet.
I bought this pedal mainly due to the Limited Edition because I collect effects pedals of all brands. I was surprized at it's tone though.
One thing I did discover is if you add the reverb of the Twin to a couple of the tones and turn the level down and use the amps master ('The Twin, a two channel version w/ master volume) you can get the Duane sound from Layla also. It surprized me a bit especially when playing the slide outro's. Overall I am exited to own one and can't wait until I can spend some time tweaking it for live work. Now I am waiting on the Hendrix version, I hope it lives up to the test as the Clapton pedal has......This isn't the best of the best as far as effects stomp boxes but it is the closes to EC I will ever get in my lifetime.............

Simple, it's not a digital computer effect.

It captures some good clapton tones. The acoustic simulator is just that... a simulation. If you want acoustic buy one! I can get the cocaine songs sound out of this with a EQ. This is only noisy on a crappy powersupply or amp. Don't forget that single coils are noise ridden too! I like the fact that Dimebag used the one effect on his last record during a chorus. Also, Metallica also used this live.

Built like a rock.

excellent! they answer all questions in 24 hours

Controls are easy to use. As mentioned by a previous reviewer, there is no "click" when switching between models.

Used Les Pauls and Strats with this unit. I found the only model I really liked (of the seven models available) was the "Layla" model in position 4. However, when connected to an amp, I found this model (and the other models) to be quite noisy. A noise gate would be the only solution, which I think is too much trouble.

Only kept it for five days.

Didn't contact DigiTech.

I returned it to Guitar Center. I recommend getting a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 instead of this unit. For only $50 more than this pedal, you get a much better overdrive sound. Clapton is my favorite guitarist of all time, but I don't think this pedal delivers his sounds.

If you use the mixer out its pretty straightforward but once you run it into an amp you will have to use the clean channel or you will lose the clapton tones.Not that thats bad since the amp out into a hi gain channel of a marshall deals out some wicked tones . This pedal can even dish out "master of reality tone"!It would ve been better if they described how to set up the guitar and amp to get the signature sounds.

THis pedal sounds great if your after the siganture sounds or if you want to dial in your own stuff.THis could be tricky to use in a pedal board if you want the studio sounds. It does work great in the place of other distortion pedals tho if you arent concerned with a clone sound.The 4th setting is great for hard rock or metal leads into a hi-gain amp and can even get "master of puppets"rhythm sound.The acoustic sound was better than most simulators.The "crossroads" tone was really nice blues tone ( Buddy Guy should get one of these!)

This pedal is very well built.

I think this pedal get used for a lot more than just clapton stuff(after all so many players tried to emulate his tone that theres a ton of stuff out there).It could become a collectors item as well.I didnt like the feel however when I went into a board.Maybe I didnt use the right settings on the guitar.Perhaps a compressor in front of the pedal wouldve helped the "feel"

It is pretty easy to use. The owners manuals states that control knobs 1 and 2 should be set to the 12 o'clock position and then adjusted to suit whatever guitar and/or amp being used. This information is kind of in the small print. Could be bigger print. I decided to play a Fender strat with Holy Grails into a solid state amp with the neck pick up selected. Dialed up a clean tone and turned off the reverb and chorus. Here is a little tip to getting the signature tones out of this pedal. First, select the Unplugged Layla setting, which I think is setting 6. Play with the Level, and Control knobs until you get a tone that comes close to the recording. The other tone or model settings then fall into line.

The sound quality is pretty good. If you follow my little Unplugged Layla tip, I think you will be fairly pleased. Just remember that the pedal is designed to capture the sound of the recordings. The Unplugged Layla setting is not supposed to sound like an accoustic guitar that is being played live in the room with you. This pedal was meant to capture the sound of the recording, which was an accoustic guitar that was miked, EQ'd and subjected to added reverb.

Seems OK.

Didn't have dealing with Digitech. I did make the mistake of ordering the pedal from Sweetwater Sound after I resolved years ago not to do business with them anymore. They had the pedal backordered. What upset me was they lied to me by saying they "pulled some strings to bump me up on the wait list." When I asked if they were sending me a returned pedal, they denied it. When the pedal arrived, the packaging and accompanying materials were a mess. The dead give away was when I found a battery already installed in the pedal.

Setup is very easy. Run this pedal into the front end of a clean amp with a transparent tone for best results. Most modeling devices work best with a solid state amplifier that doesn't add color to your tone. Even direct to a PA or mixer is great for purity of what the modeling effect is supposed to do. If you read the fine print, it mentions to start out with contols 1 and 2 in the 12:00 position to hear the exact model as it was intended. Set level accordingly. From that point, adjust Controls 1 and 2 slightly to fine tune to your gear setup. Each of the seven tones will require this for best results. For models using reverb, turn your amp reverb off to hear the reverb from Eric's amp. For best results, use the appropriate pickup type and position (if available to you) to most accurately reproduce the intended sound. This is not a typical stompbox. I'm going to direct record with it. Live performance would require adjustments if you need to use more than one of its models. I think it will be better used for recording purposes. Clapton either plugs straight in or uses a wah, Leslie, or chorus pedal. I would be surprised if we see him using this pedal live. Its more of a tribute to him, and a colector's item for us.

I'm using a PRS McCarty (great because it has humbuckers with a coil tap for single coil tones), Peterson Strobo Stomp Tuner, Digitech Crossroads, into a MESA Boogie Lonestar. This pedal is quite. A low level of noise can be heard from models of a cranked up tube amp. Nice effects. I bet its better with a stereo setup for the Leslie and Acoustic models. Very nice authentic tones. I don't use any other effects with this pedal in line. It's not a typical stompbox, and most likely wouldn't work too well with other effects added to the mix. I haven't tried though, and don't intend on doing so.

Excellent build quality. No need for a backup. Nice accessories!

N/A I like their website.

I play blues, rock, and dabble in other styles. I've been playing for 25 years and university trained (M.M.). This pedal is a great addition to my collection and a nice tribute to one of my heros. I like the variety of tones and currently don't own a acoustic, so this pedal will be a nice tone shaping tool. I compared this pedal to the GNX4, Line6 XT Live, and various overdrives. The mentioned modeling floorboards were overkill for me. I'm a tone purest, but wanted a simple box for direct recording. I didn't want to spend $400 or $500 on a product that will soon be an antique. Plus, I'm just not convinced of the tone of modeling devices for live performance. In the studio, they are super, but live fall short. I previously owned two modeling amplifiers and will never buy one ever again. They are a lateral investment at best, and decrease in value every year. Plus, software upgrades and repair can be a nightmare. For $150, this pedal is fun and may hold some value if production is indeed limited. It may be fun to collect these if they continue to pay tribute to true musical icons. Next, is Hendrix. Enjoy!

I have a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster with a Cyber Twin amp. The pedal was easy to hook up and use. The manual is your typical effect pedal instructions. A whole bunch of precautions and a very brief description of the effect. Too general. I prefer the Line 6 manuals which give suggested settings.

The effects deliver what they claim. I especially like the "Crossroads" and "Layla Electric" distortion. I agree with the previous post that the "Layla acoustic" is not very good.

I have always liked the Digitech quality in construction (I have a Hot Rod, Screamin Blues and Bad Monkey pedal) I have used it on two gigs with no problem. Nice feature that they include a Digitech power supply. The only possible problem might be with the "Effect Selection" knob. You can't always hear the click when you manually switch to another effect.

Never called

I play classic rock, blues and garage rock (White Stripes, Black Keys)
Also Eric Clapton, SRV and Kenny Wayne Shepperd. This pedal is the best for all the above. Minimal hum on the distortion settings (don't have to use a noise gate)
A bit pricey for a stompbox style pedal, but I would buy another if stolen.
Gig bag and pick a nice touch!
The reptile and badge settings are not that close to the original recording, but I have used them live.