DigiTech DHP-33

I have owned the original Whammy WH-1, IPS-33B, DHP-33, and the DHP-55. I just purchased another DHP-55.

All 3 of the rack units have excellent intelligent pitch shifting compared to Digitech's later attempts at this without the help of IVL.

I felt I needed to clear something up that was mis-stated below by another user.

"Also, note that the DHP-55 is NOT as good as the DHP-33, although it is capable of 5-voice shifting. The difference is that the DHP-33 and the IPS33B are made by IVL, and the DHP-55 was not. This explains the less than stellar pitch effects on the DHP-55 (and, in fact, all of Digitech's subsequent offerings)."

was what he wrote.

WRONG

The DHP-55 was also made in Canada by IVL for Digitech and it states as much right on the back of the unit. The shifting works wonderfully if it is connected properly. The trick is to have the output from the guitar going into the unit for tracking purposes and then put your preamp in its loop and also make sure the effect loop button is turned on. If this is done correctly you will have stellar tracking and the EXACT same sound as the other 2 units.

I would take either DHP unit if 3 voice harmony or straight up Whammy sounds are desired but the 55 gives a little extra for about the same funds these days.

Either way any one of these units will give the exact Whammy WH-1 sound and a whole lot more for less than half the cost of the way overpriced little red pedal.

fairly easy to use. i bought it without the manual. thankfully Digitech still offers manuals (via download) on their website. the "Parameter 1 & 2" serve a myriad of functions,..and at times can be confusing when rotated the wrong direction. after awhile it becomes pretty easy. control voltage calibration is a cinch.

sure,..it ain't no mega-thousand dollar top-o-the-line Eventide,..but the sound is very good. i ALSO own the original WH-1 Whammy pedal and the DHP33 performs the Whammy functions in an IDENTICAL fashion.....meaning just what i am implying....ZERO difference in sound. of course you need a good solid voltage control pedal to couple with the unit (i use a DOD FX-17 and it works perfectly). this unit takes the Whammy effect even further with more options for the effect (i.d. doubling, delay and simultaneous up-and-down shifts AMONG OTHERS). the harmony tracking is very good on single notes and decent on chords. i have also tried the Digitech Studio 5000 and actually prefer the DHP33 (5 part harmony is a formidable challenge for a mid-priced effects unit) because the user interface is simpler and the unit (with 2 fewer harmony voices) seems to sound less "garbled" to me (plus i had NO use for all the amp/distortion modelling on the 5000). the DHP33 is lean and mean. there ARE delay, chorus and a few other goodies.....but it's mainly about the SHIFTING. i like that.

rock solid.

every time i've dealt with Digitech it has been a very pleasant experience. your mileage may vary.

this unit is very nice. it's interface is simpler and easier to navigate than its DHP55/5000 siblings. OBVIOUSLY it has a "little less" going on "under the hood" but that's okay with me. i don't need my pitch shifter/harmonizer to do amp modelling or provide a pallate of reverbs (i have other units for that). the expression (cc voltage) pedal hookup and use is very easy and QUITE useful. OH,..and another thing...when you dial in a program the program automatically LOADS ITSELF (the DHP55/5000 require and additional button push). not a big deal,..but i prefer it. i higly recommend this unit.

Great for guitar live.
Easy to program patches.
Manual is not a phone book like some other products.

Working mans H-3000.
Noisless if you set input ans output levels correctly.
David gilmore has an earlier version of this in his rig[IPS-33]
I don't think he uses an Eventide for harmony
Great choruses and some interesting delays AND OF COARSE 3 PART HARMONIZERS

I've giged for 10 years with no backup

No need for repair.
Replaced manual no problem

I play all styles of music from wedding to hard rock and anything in between.
If it were lost i would replace
Very usefull on original songs

Easy to usesome presets are good out of the box
Editing is pretty easy
Manual easier than any Roland or Eventide phome book

I use Gibson and Fender guitars Mesa Boogie Triaxis VHT-2-90 2 4-12 recto cabinets DHP-33 baby eventide 3 part harmony TC M-2000 TC-2290 THAT'S THE DEAL Covers country classic rock 80s 90s top 40 whatever
2290 Best delay & chorus around dhp aldo has great chorus and delays

No backup gigging 9 years

PROMPTLY RETURNED E-MAILS

eXPLAINED ABOVE ALL STYLES WORK

This is a pretty straightforward unit. It might help to have a manual if you're not familiar with the terminology (tracking, delay, pitch/volume modulation), but the menus guide you really well. If you're in the market for one of these, chances are you know what a lot of the individual effects do. As far as multieffects processors go, this one is not that bad. You've got plenty of hardwired presets and an equal number of user presets (so you can always easily revert back to the factory settings if you really screw things up).

It's not as easy as a stompbox with one or two knobs, but for all the features you get, it's really fairly straightforward.

I run:
Strat -> DOD BiFet preamp -> Digitech DHP-33 -> Korg A3 (set for reverb) -> Korg SDD-2000 -> Vox AC-15

It's not noisy at all...seems to have a pretty good bypass, too.

This unit has several very strong points:

1) The "shimmer" and "string pad" presets. If you're into playing U2 stuff, you know what I'm talking about...it's the ethereal background sound on songs like All I Want is You.

2) The Whammy preset. This unit was made in partnership with IVL, who designed the original Whammy WH-1 pedal. The Whammy preset on this unit is nearly identical to the WH-1 pedal. I have had friends who have A/B'd them closely and gone with the DHP-33 because the only thing more the WH-1 seems to have going for it is "mojo." Tracking is great, and the sound quality is great. You can get this unit for hundreds less, plus you get a bunch of additional effects, as well.

This is a fantastic alternative to Eventides and other expensive harmonizers out there. This one does 3-part harmonies, and lets you change tons of parameters, as well.

You can select between a number of tracking options (to allow the processor to track better based on what your signal chain is and how you want to use the unit):
* Normal
* Distorted Guitar
* Bass Guitar
* Fuzz Guitar
* Chords
* Chords (min delay)

You can also do some great pitch and volume modulation effects, which translates to some really cool vibrato and tremolo sounds. And you can also adjust delay times.

It's also got stereo outputs, so you can send the harmony to one amp and the original signal to another...or if you're running a mono setup, you can split the chain and add reverb or chorus or whatever to either the wet or dry side before you recombine them.

Finally, this unit is midi-controllable, which is totally handy. I use a Behringer FCB-1010 footswitch to control Whammy (with the expression pedal) and wet/dry mix or harmony volume.

Never had a problem.

Dunno.

Overall, this is a great bang-for-the-buck unit. The only other harmony processor even in the same league is the Digitech IPS-33B (also created with IVL). The DHP-33 is an IPS-33b with a facelift. Same presets, same functions, same controls...just easier to navigate.

Worlds cheaper than an Eventide, but it does such a great job at what it does. There's no reason to spend 3 or 4 times as much unless you've just got that kind of cash to burn. This unit will get you the harmonies you want at a price that won't break the bank.

Not as easy as a stompbox, not as difficult as some rack processors. About average. Much easier to program than Digitech's other offerings of this vintage (TSR-24, GSP2101), both of which I have owned.

Wonderful! Smooth pitch shifting with excellent tracking. Much better than the current Digitech offerings such as the Whammy Reissue. The DHP-33 can even track chords. This unit is capable of Whammy effects (+/- 2 octaves), intelligent pitch shifting, and some wonderfully wacky effects. All in all, a very musical unit. I'm using it in line with a Pod XT, so its pre-distortion. The manual suggests against this but I havent found its any better one way or the other. The unit has different tracking settings for distortion and fuzz guitar, but I've never needed anything except for normal.

Cant say. I've had it for a week. For the price, I'll get a second for gigs.

Never dealt with Digitech. Although, I'm not sure what kind of service you'd get for a 10 year old unit. However, Digitech DOES make all of their old manuals available online, which ALL manufacturers should do. I'll give them high marks for that!

I wont give it a 10 because I'm sure an Eventide is a better pitch shifter. But I can see it getting much better than this. For smooth, versatile pitch shifting, at a GREAT price, you can't beat the DHP-33. One note and one caveat: the DHP-33 is the same as the IPS-33B, just with a different face. Either unit will give great results. Also, note that the DHP-55 is NOT as good as the DHP-33, although it is capable of 5-voice shifting. The difference is that the DHP-33 and the IPS33B are made by IVL, and the DHP-55 was not. This explains the less than stellar pitch effects on the DHP-55 (and, in fact, all of Digitech's subsequent offerings).

Man, it could'nt get much harder. I wonder. Is there a single engineer designing for the music world that does'nt have his head up his ass? On this piece of crap there is no way to tune your instument to it without listening to a harmony. And the Easy Tuner? Yeah, right! I suppose editing patches is'nt that hard. But it only has 3 part hardonies to edit. What the hell good are 3 part harmonies. Probabaly good for asswipes that like to listen to crap.

Totally Blows. Ok. Sure, some of the effects don't sound all that bad. But I really don't give a crap. I bought the thing because I wanted a harmonizer. Not some piece of garbage that does'nt know the meaning of tracking.

Whatever.

You can get help off of their website. But I sincerely doubt anyone giving support there now has a clue about equipment this old.

It's just unbelievable to me that people can design equipment like this. Maybe it is'nt Digitech's fault. It's looks this this is really an IVL effects device with Digitech's name slapped on it. I doubt that they did any consumer testing with any of these things. I see players like Steve Vai that use a DHP-55 which I also own and I just can't believe it. But I suppose they get the kind of customer service that ordinary people can only dream of. If you buy one, you may have better luck than I. You're going to need it.

This was made in the days when Digitech gear cost more and was well designed and built (probably before they started employing non-english speaking folk from accross-the-border <only kidding!>). It was very flexible and configurable but also intuitive, and if you know how modes and scales work it's a sinch once your in tune with it.

I have to say it's not an H3000 equivalent but it's bloody close. I've owned many effects boxes over the years, and the cleanliness of the box was great, but so many colour your sound or are noisy (or both - like YAMAHA fx units...). When you are using the right pitch tracking setting it is fairly flawless. It's not meant to harmonize 16th notes at 200BPS but for a tasteful lead or melody it is fast enough and accurate. I play a lot of heavy stuff, fast and slow, and it kept up most of the time.

Never had a problem. Unfortunately I didn't have it very long.

I wish they had all the user manuals for the older stuff on their web site. They don't have much in this way at all, and it's a shame. It seems to me that since Digitech brought out the TSR-12 (which was absolute crap) that their product quality has gone right down hill and their web site seems to have deliberately left out the remnants of the good old days when the DigiTech gear was the best you could buy here.

As I've said, I think this is an amazing quality unit for the cost, especially if comparing to the much more expensive harmony processors out their. I only had this unit for 18 months, and I had to sell it to buy a @#$!!* wedding dress. Needless to say that marriage didn't last and I have forever regretted that decision (well.....both decisions really).

I got it without the manual, and I have not had a problem with modifying existing patches or making new ones that sound great.

Think of it as Digitech's attempt to make an H3000. It is very very flexible, sounds really good for the most part, and is fairly powerful. The pitch shifting (the main feature) is great. You have alot of options for tracking modes for example- you can select clean, rhythm (a little distortion), distorted guitar, bass, and chords. Each one makes the harmonizer work quicker and smoother. There is every type of scale imaginable, plus you can create custom settings (like when I play an E it plays an E, but when I play a C, it plays an F.) The chorus and flange are very good quality, the delay is clean, the only thing I don't like is the detune. Instead of doing a small pitch change like an Eventide (think Eddie Van Halen tone), it still modulates, which basically just sounds like a chorus, which is reduntant. I wish you could get a small pitch change (it only lets you adjust pitch shift in musical intervals). Otherwise, it is a quiet clean unit.

It was old when I got it, it was very beat up, but it works flawlessly time after time.

Never dealt with Digitech.

I never thought that I would purchase a Digitech, but I actually enjoy this unit alot. It is powerful, it sounds really good, it can make usable sounds as well as quirky wierd sounds, you can make your instrument sound like an orchestra, and it has a ton of features. Can't get an Eventide? As long as you don't need that huge thick stereo spread sound AKA Van Halen, go for a DHP-33.