DigiTech DSP 128

Editing the patches is a huge pain without MIDI! You get 4 buttons, and 3 knobs (input level, output level, output mix) If this unit didn't have MIDI I wouldn't have bought it.

I've been using guitar and bass with this unit and it sounds great. I like the reverbs and delays. Don't use the chorus or flange much. I've had it for quite some time but I really haven't played with the stereo effects.

It's a rock.

Never had to.

I use it for all styles of music and it does the job well. If something were to happen to this one, I'd probably get something newer with lots of knobs. I like knobs.

A significant pain to program. Single 3 digit LED numerical display for selecting parameters and setting values. At least it has a 3 X 4 array of LED's for the effects used in each effects chain, so you can scan through your presets and select one with the desired effects before tweaking away. You can select a single parameter to change real-time via MIDI CC, changes are global (change in all presets using that parameter). Manual is average. Can't remember the firmware number, even though I just cracked it open to change the 9V battery inside (thanks, whoever posted that it was a regular battery!) Changing it involves removing the 6 screws on the top panel (the silkscreened parameter listing side), the top two screws on the back panel, and a single Torx #15 screw on the front panel, directly above the LED display. Luckily, the factory presets are in ROM, and can be recalled at any time (individually or all at once.)

Noise floor isn't too bad, but some of the deep reverbs completely blank your sounds (i.e. you have to crank the output to be able to hear them). Delays are reasonable, and add some nice depth to my keyboards. However, even though it is 16-bit A/D and D/A, the frequency response is only up to 12kHz, so that is probably the main reason why it's less effective for crystalline reverbs and more suited for reproducing that muddy Fender Rhodes sound.

I haven't had any problems with it (except the Energizer 9V going dead after 5 years) but it seems as stable as any rack effects box. Better than what I've heard of ART gear, at least.

Never dealt with the company. Tried to contact them regarding the battery specs (before I knew about the 9V), and the phone # printed in the manual was no longer in service.

Overall, it's certainly not the best box I could find, but it's workable, and cheap, and worth keeping even after I replace it with something new. I think that this was one of the first multiEFX boxes with MIDI that was "affordable". It is geared more towards studio use than guitar (try the GSP-5, my friend has it and it has some nasty digital distortions and amp voicings). I long for something with a reasonable Leslie simulation, though.

Just want to point out that although the manual says "no user servicable parts inside" there is a standard 9 volt battery that can and needs to be replaced when the unit starts acting funny (mine quit after 8 years).

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