DigiTech DSP 128

DSP128 is simple to use, but i give it an 8 because it is tedious to scroll thru the parameters for editing using buttons. regarding battery replacement: the 9 volt battery lasts years, and takes maybe 10 minutes to replace. i have no problem loosening some allen screws every three years, but seems others consider that too much work

i process my guitar through via the effects loop on a marshall jcm-800, and the DSP128 adds ALOT of noise, and subtracts warmth. i do not think the unit sounds very good, but the thing is almost 20 years old. i would not buy one nowadays, but it is fine for a beginning or non-discerning musician i would say. i have used it for vocals in the past, and was more satisfied with that application

perfect, if you replace the battery every few years

i got this thing used in the early nineties, so i don't remember the price. in its day it was a nice piece of equipment, but i consider it obsolete now due to the sound quality

It was fine. I didn't try to mod the patches it came with. I used it primarily for vocals and there were no problems. I accessed the patches through an ADA footcontroller.

It was good enough for vocals, but soon it was surpassed by other products for the quality of its sounds. The digital delay was similar to what you might hear from Andy Summers or The Edge.

It never broke down on me. Sturdy.

N/A

My style is roots/alternative. The 128 was good for its time, but I sold it when I needed rent money. I haven't looked back.

Very easy to use but editing patches is useless because they are erased after you turn it off. The reason is that there is a battery inside that you have to change-but you have to take the whole thing apart to do so-screw that. There's only a couple effects I use anyway.

The effects aren't really that strong with this unit (come on it's really old!) but there is a nice reverb (#7) and a special effects (#123) That's all I even use. I have been using it with my Peavey triple xxx and it seems to do o.k. However, I just upgrade to a Behringer V-amp pro (a big jump). One thing I have to say here is this unit actually sounds alot better than many newer effect processors out there. alot of the newer ones seemed to have a very metallic sound to them (like I was playing in a tin can) but this unit isn't that bad at this.

Definitely dependable-it's lasted this long hasn't it!

customer support is pretty good. I e-mailed them a coupel questions regarding several digitech products and I heard back the next day. also the manual for everything is online

Like I said I only use this for a little reverb, and I might not use it much more now but I think this thing did it's purpose. If your'e looking for alot of awesome effects you might want to look elsewhere but this is nice for a little added touch of effects

I am going to download the manual from Digitech's webpage; it'll help. This DSP128 will be sent to their Sandy, Utah local for some repairs. My drummer has one as well; we've used for live vocals, and it works great. I wanted one for myself 'cause he lives 30 mi. from me, so I got this one. I'll use the manual to rig up sounds, et al...I like his and will like mine, too. I did, however, change the internal 9 volt battery. Yesterday. Was fairly simple to do, and comfirmed w/ the Digitech tech about it. Who knows how long it was last done? Just to be safe, I did it.

Even though it was issued in 1988, the sounds are still decent. In use w/ either guitar or vocals, it's good sounding. Mine will need repairing, but after the digitech technicians thumb over, replacing/repairing it, it'll be like new. So, can't complain there. It's intended use will be for live/recording applications for vocals. If I get ambitious to use it for guitars, it'll also be great.

These things remind me of Korg M1's or Yamaha DX-7's; they are built like tanks, and the metal casing is awesome in protecting the inside components. Very reliable, and well made.

I went to the Digitech website; called them, talked to several techs who approved of me shipping the unit for repair. When the company can work it up, with their original schematics at their disposal, one can safely say that upon return, the unit will be "as good as new". I think that applies here....

Bought it thru some online pawn shop who also have retail stores all over the west. "Superpawn". So, yes, getting it used has drawbacks...but after getting it repaired, it'll be fine. I recommend these as an entry level multi fx unit for guitar or live P.A. usage. It'll do fine.

MUY FACIL DE USAR; SI TIENES UN POQUITO DE EXPERIENCIA CON PROGRAMACION DE EFECTOS EN PEDALERAS SOBRE TODO DIGITECH SE TE HACE MUY FACIL; MAS QUE TODO ES INTUICION; LASTIMA QUE SU PANTALLA SOLO MUESTRA 4 CARACTERES

MUY BUENOS LAS REVERB'S MUY PERO MUY ESPACIOSAS; LOS FLANGERS UN BACILON PERO DEJAN MUCHO Q' DESEAR; PERO LOS DEMASD EFECTOS CHORUSDELAYS; DELAYS; MULTITAP; REVERB REVERSE Y TODO LO DEMAS SON BUENOS; YO MAS Q' TODO UTILIZO SON LAS REVERB Y DELAYS.

LA UTILIZO PARA MEZCLAR TODO YO SOY USUARIO DE UNA PEDALERA DIGITECH RP21D; UN PROCESADOR BOSS SE-50; EL DSP128 Y UN AMP FENDER SUPER TWIN REVERB; ESTA UNIDAD ES LA ULTIMA ANTES DE TODO EL PEROLERO; Y ES PARA LAS REVERB'S; LA ECUALIZACION DE LA UNIDAD MEJORA CONSIDERABLEMENTE EL SONIDO DE LA RP21D; LA HACE SONAR MUCHO MAS PROFESIONAL.

EL PROBLEMA LA BATERIA CUANDO SE ACABA PIERDES TODO TUS PRESETS PUES SON 128 DE LOS CUALES 126 SON UTILIZABLES NO HAY; LO PRESETS DE USUARIO SON LOS MISMOS DE FABRICA; ES DECIR SI MODIFICASTE UNO DE FABRICA ASI QUEDARA AL MENOS Q' RESETEES LA UNIDAD Y NO ES FAVORABLE ESO..

YO TOCO MUCHOS ESTILOS PERO SIEMPRE CON TENDENCIA AL BLUES Y AL JAZZ; LA UNIDAD PARA SOLAMENTE REVERB'S ES DECENTE PARA UN GUITARRISTA O BAJISTA; CANTANTE TECLADO; ETC... ES BUENA

Nowadays,the Menu of the DSP128 is a little bit odd.
Traced from 1988 it was a fine menu for a device of its priceclass.

Nevertheless still easy to use.You must know what you want from it,
then it is really easy to work with.
Intuitive Soundshaping needs patience.But via Midi each Parameter can
be controled in realtime.

It is a a digital device of the 80ths,so the Menu is like it used to
at these times.

Missing is a Limiter in the Inputsection.Digital distortion is really
sick.The 128 needs really fine adjustment.
But other devices of that time had also this problems.

It is a little noisy,so for Studiowork I use it only as a Sub-device.

In my live-rig,the DSP gets an own position.It has a special character
wich you can like or not.In a Mix with other devices it helped me out
a lot.

From a Studioview or from actual view of technology,the DSP is an
odd processor in Sound.Nevertheless I love it.

Not everyones darling,but still a fine device,with a special "80thsDIGital" sound.

I can trust on it.I have it now for 13 years.
Scratching Potis are normal and Electronic Spray can help.

The buffer battery is a usual 9Volt Block.GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!
I exchanged it for the first time after 9 year (!!!) of ownership.
And exchanging it is really easy.

Never needed....

The DSP is an useful device.I still use it in my rig.Not so often
anymore as when I puchased it,but it is still in use with a bunch
of sounds wich I adjusted directly to my playing.Essential sounds.
No library of 1000000 Sounds for a Virtual could do that !

I have also the MIDIVERB II of that time.A preset machine with noisegate.Also this one still works in my gear.Both were released
nearly similar.But the DSP was programmable and had Multieffects.(!)
From a Hifi Sound,the Midiverb sounds a little better,but in a live
situation the DSP128 is more in use.

A special device and a look worth.

Well,nowadays the ease of Use of the DSP 128 is a pain,if related to
the actual FX DEvices.But if you have learnt how to deal with it,its
a easy to use.
We should remember,the DSP was programmable for Multieffects.Wow,at its
time,this was great.Before that we knew only Preset Effects,like MidisdverbII or a JetSet devices like the Lexcion PCM70 !
Who of us would buy a Lexcion as poor musican ?

The manual of the DSP128 is OK,explains all what is needed to work with
this device smoothly.

Well,the sound quality is OK,it's not the best if compared with a
Lexicon PCM70 of that time.But it is OK !
Nowadays the sound quality seems to be worse.But noonne expects today
to use a DSP128 as Mastereffect.

On the other hand I ask myself,why we use all this nice 24BIT and 96kHz
devices for recording,when it will get slammed down by MP3 ?

For special routines,the DSP128 can be still used.Why not ?

In 2001 it has a rating of 3 ! That's OK !

In 1988 it had a rating of 9 !

After 13 years of usage the three knobs makes a noise.
Buttons are still OK.
Display is OK.

Pufferbattery can be exchanged quickly.It is a simple 9V Block !
Oh yeaaah,thanks to Digitech.

Well,the DSP128,eventhough an old Fart,is still a nice tool and comes
to live several times.

Never needed

Still a good device.

Traced from its age,I am wondering,that it has not left me.

I guess I qualify as one of the world's leading DSP 128 users, having owned my unit now for 12 1/2 years. I bought it new in 1988.

Like some of the previous reviews, I'll point out up front here that the RAM of this unit is battery backed, but BY A 9 VOLT BATTERY!!!!!

You have to periodically change this battery, or it will puke out your programs!!!!

Mine needs a new battery right now, the display will indicate BATT on powerup when it's time to change.

It's pretty easy to dump the contents to a computer or other midi device, I'd suggest doing this before you change out the battery.

The big thing with the original DSP 128 was it was the first low cost box to offer multi-effects. The Roland DEP-5 was the first under $1000 box to do this (around 1986/1987) but it cost around $650 street price when it came out. The Digitech listed for $399, sold for about $300 (I paid $305 for mine).

People don't remember that far back, but at the time it was a pretty big deal. I think DSP 128's sold pretty briskly the first year or so, that's why there are so many used ones on the market.

They really touted the $399 price, there was a big ad campaign, and there is even an "advertising mode" (which mercifully can be turned off), where the unit displays the fact that it can do three effects at once, and is only $399.

I sometimes cut this back on just for fun (I think it was designed for music store displays)

Obviously I've owned the thing for a while and know it well, but I don't get the reviewers that say this thing is hard to program.

You could program this thing after drinking two 40's and smoking a huge rock of crack.

ONE BIG WARNING - THERE IS NO SAVE BUTTON!!!!!

That's right, if you change a program, you just changed it, you can't go back to the previous version.

In practice, the box is so simple that this isn't a big deal, but be aware of it.

The LARGEST programs only have 14 parameters, most only have four to six parameters. There are a total of 23 possible parameters, but only fourteen are used in any given algorythym.

Some of the parameter display descriptions are a little cryptic, but hey with only fourteen of them, you'll figure it out after a while.

Like most of the older Digitech stuff, you basically push an arrow button to go through the parameters in sequential fashion, and use up or down arrows to increase or decrease the parameter.

One nice touch is that there are a series of 12 led's on the front panel, these tell you which effects are engaged in a given program, since the algorythym is the first parameter, and is stuff like A1, A2, through A12 or so, the algo parameter doesn't mean a lot until you look at the front panel and figure out which effects are part of that algorythym set.

Editing patches is a piece of cake, I really like programming this thing because it's so easy. Programming my TSR-24 is like nuclear physics in comparison.

Since there is no algorythym routing or design, you just pick the effects you want, then scroll through and setup the reverb and delay times, and chorus depth or whatever to what you want, along with the associated levels.

One gotcha is that with some of the programs, you can change the level of some of the effects, but not others. This mainly affects the multi programs that use delay.

I have a provisional manual (dated January 15th, 1988), I never bothered to get a final manual because the box is so easy to use.

The manual is pretty good though, way better than the two roland manuals I had and used back then (the DSP 128 was my third digital F/X, at the time I also owned a Roland SDE-1000 delay and an SRV-2000 reverb.

I'm not sure of the firmware version, but mine has been upgraded.

Actually mine has been upgraded to "DSP 128 Plus" specs. I'll cover this a bit later (and actually with a separate review), but the update was a user installable chip that added a few new parameters, including an "Ultimate

Hmm this is a hard question - sound quality.

For the year 2000/2001 when most people will be reading this - I'd give it a 3 or 4.

For 1988 when it was produced, I'd say a 7 or 8.

I have always used the unit in conjunction with an F/X send from a mixing console. Currently I use it as an "extra" effect, a 2nd reverb on vocals, or on acoustic guitars.

The return signal is a little noisy, but much better than my Quadraverb 2, which came out 6 years later and cost twice as much.

I think the effects, for a cheap 1988 box are outstanding. Does it sound as good as a Lexicon MPX100, no way.

But I'll tell you what, I think the thing has way more balls and sounds better than the S series digitech stuff. My keyboard player bought an S-200 a while back and we took it back because it sounded so bad.

I don't really try to emulate anybody with this thing, it's pretty good for basic reverb (in the background, not on a snare drum) and as a 2nd effect on a given source. The multitap delays are pretty cool and spacey, but not a lot of control.

I would characterize the overall sound of the unit as kind of dark and muffly, but in a pleasant sort of way.

Unlike many cheap reverbs of the late 80's/early 90's by Alesis, ART, Zoom, etc. it does not sound fizzy or metallic.

I think some of this was the fact that the designers did not attempt to get full 20 Hz to 20 Khz frequency response from the thing, it tops out at 12 Khz.

Like I said this makes the unit sound a bit dark and muffly, but for many sources I actually find this a plus.

If you get too many bright and fizzy reverbs in your mix, it all just sounds like harsh, this unit does not sound like most cheap F/X or reverbs.

If you are looking for the best sub $100 used F/X box for use on vocals and acoustic guitar, I think the DSP 128 deserves a listen.

I actually like it a bit more on most things than my ART Multiverb Alpha 2.0, which I bought in 1992 for $100 more.

Like I said, this is now a sub $100 box, take it for what it's worth.

I think it has more balls, beef, and a smoother sound than any of the new $120 verbs that are out there now.

One other thing that I need to talk about here is how great the midi implementation of this box is.

I guess the average DSP 128 user has never ventured this far, and maybe won't but for a 1988 vintage box the DSP 128 has a great midi implementation.

"Modern" effects can use midi continuous controller messages (called midi cc messages) to change the effects setting for a given program.

Examples of cc messages would be the pitch and mod wheels on a synth, or the foot controller on a pedal board.

The idea is that you can change say the delay mix, or the reverb time by using such a cc message. Really cool for live applications, and if you are using a computer while recording, you can record the cc messages into that and it automates your effects.

I've been doing this since around 1988 (before I got a computer, which was 1993).

Anyway, some effects, like Yamaha and the newer Alesis stuff, limit you to two controllers per patch, most other effects allow you to use 8 at once.

The DSP 128, even though it was made in 1988 lets you use 8 at once, and actually because of the way that Digitech implements this, you can assign every parameter in the unit to a different midi cc message to control all the parameters in real time via midi.

Unlike other companies, that force you to program these settings per patch, Digitech lets you do this globally. The only restriction is that the unit will only accept and act on 8 at once.

The reality is that 8 is plenty, it is very doubtbul that you'll need more than 8 controllers going at once.

Even then, as long as you don't send more than 8 at a given time, the DSP 128 will respond to all of them that you have programmed, up to all 17 parameters.

Then the other REALLY Cool feature is that if you scroll the display to show a given parame

Very reliable, except for the battery thing, I've never had a problem with it, and I've used it all the time for over 12 years.

The first four years, it got gigged pretty heavily, and never had a problem.

Sometimes it wigs out with a thick midi data stream, and it's the first unit to reset with a power brownout, but all in all it's a very solid piece.

The panels are thick metal, and the graphics are pretty thick, other than some rack rash on the top and bottom, mine still looks pretty new.

The company has been great, they responded really well to me, they even put in the chip socket for the update free of charge, well after the warranty period.

I've not dealt with them in several years, and I do know that they've farmed out some of the repair work, but the place I had to deal with to get my TSR-24 fixed was pretty good.

The company seems to stand behind their legacy products, unlike Roland who likes to act like they never made the thing...

I play mainly rock, hard rock, and progressive rock. This box works well for that.

Other than some of the flanges and the spacey multi-taps, it's not good for psychotic sounds, just meat and potatoes verb and delay.

I've been playing for a long time, my first F/X unit was an original MXR "Green Meanie" analog delay stomp box, so that should tell you something right there. I don't understand why those things have gotten so sought after these days (MXR Green analog delays), I thought it sounded like crap.

My next F/X was a rackmount Ibanez analog delay, which I later sold after I bought the Roland SDE-1000.

For a while I also had an Electrovoice Spring reverb (single space rack mount) because at the time (mid 1980's, digital reverbs were well over $1000).

My first "Really good" F/X was a Roland SRV-2000, a great unit which I still own, but does not work anymore (repair part alone is $275, about what the unit is worth).

I bought the DSP 128 in early 1988, to go along with the two Roland units.

Since then I've bought and sold several units, but the ones that are still sticking around are:

1. Quadraverb 2 - Used for Snare reverbs mainly

2. ART Multiverb Alpha 2.0 - Used for delay and reverb on guitars
and backup vocals

3. Digitech TSR-24 - mainly used on lead vocals

4. Digitech DSP-128 - mainly used on backup vocals, some on guitar
(mainly acoustic guitar)

5. Lexicon Vortex - A really special box, I call it my "secret
weapon". not a "do all" box, but for what it
does, nothing can compare, I'll never sell the
Vortex, it's just too weird to part with...

6. Alesis Quadraverb - over in the keyboard rack, used for verb,
delay, and leslie effects on keyboards

7. Digitech DSP -256 - The successor to the DSP 128, this is also
a really good, low priced box readily
available on the used market. Currently this
one is the main vocal F/X on a rehearsal PA
at my keyboard player's house.

I also have a Boss ME-30 multi-effects that I run a Big Briar Theremin through.

I would rank the DSP 128 pretty much at the bottom of my effects, but then again it's the oldest and was the cheapest (except for the Vortex, which I got as a blowout/closeout deal).

If my DSP 128 were lost or stolen, I don't think I'd replace it. I'm ready to move upmarket now.

In fact as part of my move to replace all my cheese effects with Lexicon and TC electronic stuff, I'm probably going to sell it.

I hope to fetch $75 to $80 for it, which would win up being about $18 a year in depreciation, not too bad.

Like I've said, it's not a great box by comtemporary standards, but for the band just starting out that needs a basic F/X unit to hook up to their Mackie 1202, I think the DSP 128 is a great value at under $100 used.

WHAT I LOVE

The ease of use, how good it sounds for how cheap it was and how long ago that was. I also really like the LED display on the front that makes the unit real easy to use.

I also think the midi implementation for the time (1988) was outstanding. Digitech has always done this (midi CC controller implementation really well, I wish the other guys were as good with this).

WHAT I HATE

The non-detachable power cord, the cryptic display (an LCD, like on the DSP-256 which came out the following year for a little more $$ would have been nice).

I mean the thing was cheap and reliable, and never purported to be a lexicon, so what's not to like?

I sort of compared it to a DEP- 5, but at twice the price I went with the DSP-128.

At the time and at it's price point there really was no competition.

A little later, the Quadraverb came out, which was far better, but it also

I just got it from a pawn shop with no book and can already get around on it ok.

I have a Fender acoustasonic amp with a stereo effects loop and
after buying 40$ worth of cables get a really nice sound. I'm really
impressed with it.

So far so good, I think it's an 88 maybe, and don't know if the batterys been replaced yet.

I play original folkabilly comedy tunes, and I think it's gonna make a huge difference in my show. If I can find a pedal, that would be great.

sounds are not limited;however, without the manual it can be
frustrating. Good for 3 member band as far as fill-ins. I would like
to know if it is possible to load midi effects from other units into
the dsp128. If You have any info or manual download sites, pls email
me andcka@aol.com
thanks

very dependable if you know what you want as far as effects.

digitech is hard to reach for manuals without them trying to rip you
off for something that should be free to us digi-fans.

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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