DigiTech GFX-1 TwinTube

This is a pretty easy to use piece of gear if you have the manual. It will take you longer without it. I downloaded it from Digitech - well worth the time... The manual is simple and once you get the logic, you can throw it away. Real straight forward as far as I'm concerned. It's about the simplest piece of gear I own.

I have been playing for over 20 years, but not professionally and I haven't bought tons of gear. I have a really picky ear, though. When I started learning guitar it drove me nuts because I could hear the tone difference between the pressed and open strings in cords and it was always a bit out of tune - flaw of the instrument... But I heard it and it really bugged the hell out of me. Now I do a lot of sound design with synths and you have to be a good listener. I'm usually running this into a Rocktron INtellifex LTD (a bit sterile) or into a Boss SX-700 then into my mixer. I've got a few guitars ranging from a Gibson Flying V, to a couple of guitars made by some companies afraid to put their name on them. Mostly I play the Gibson, my T-60 or a Harmony Les Paul copy with amazing pickups - don't know what they are, but great sound. When the gain is cranked there is a lot of noise unless you use the gate which works pretty well. With the gate on it's dead quiet. Use as little as possible for best results or it will chop off your notes. If you back off the level, you can get away with more gain and saturation without problems, but you have to play with it. I've not had great luck with real high gain settings, but that's not really where this excels anyway. ONe thing, though, if you get one of these and it doesn't amaze you with the tone - you need NEW tubes. I bought a pair of Ruby 12AX7a's and they sound pretty sweet to my ears. Haven't tried any others as I like the sound I've now got. I had thought people had been hyping this thing way out of proportion until I changed the tubes. Made all the difference in the world. Now I know what people are talking about - it sounds really nice, but the tubes can make or break the sound. Very versatile range of tones, too. It has a real rich warm sound - no doubt about it. The cleans are not great, though, as has been mentioned, but they are massively better now it's got new tubes. Some are OK, but I'm not in love with it for those. But, since I changed the tubes, I find myself playing a lot more because it just sounds so good. Can't give it a 10, but for the price? Excellent.

It's been very reliable so far for me, though I have it racked and it only moves when I change gear around. Once in a while it used to pop for no apparent reason, but I have been told that is probably because the tubes it came with were shot to pieces, which is probably why the guy who sold it thought it wasn't worth keeping... His mistake.

No idea

I play mostly rock. Not fond of the thrash metal sound. Bluesy stuff, sometimes. This is a very good piece of gear. It may not satisfy a purist, but is rock supposed to be for purists? Seems kind of like a contradiction to me. This box is gritty and punchy, growly and smooth, but not like a baby's bottom. I also run several different synths through this little beauty. I've got a Kawai K5000s, an AN1x, an Emu E-synth, XL-7, Morpheus, two Casio VZ-10m's and a couple of Ensoniq ESQ-m's. This is perfect for adding that little touch of nastiness to sounds. And great for guitars, clearly. For what I paid - excellent value. It sounds great through my mixer straight into a Denon DRA-25 home stereo amp. My guitar amp died on me and I've never replaced it as I don't gig and it sounds better through the stereo, at least to me. My neighbors probably wish I'd move ;)

This unit is seriously dated, it is an oldie but a goodie. Getting decent sounds out of it is extremely simple. If you can't manage, you should be in a Gary Larson cartoon! The manual is next to superfluous (everything is indeed that straightforward), but it is still available for download, which is a Good Thing for those wanting fingertip reference.

I use this in a SKB 8-space rack with the following equipment, from top to bottom: Furman PL8 power module, Korg DTR-2 rack tuner, TwinTube, Digitech Vocalist VR harmonizer in the effects loop (works MUCH BETTER as a vocal harmonizer, but I can get "Highway Star" and "Detroit Rock City" etc. out of it without much trouble), Alesis Quadraverb w/upgrade after the TwinTube in stereo, a very beat-up Rocktron RX-20 exciter/imager/Hush, then into a Peavey Classic 50/50 tube power amp. This whole heavy-assed mess runs stereo into any one of several cabs I own. The one I use it most with is an old Marshall 8x10 bass cab someone gave me that I refinished, reloaded, and wired for stereo (and slapped a metal Peavey emblem on to confuse folks). It does not sound nearly as good overall with a 1960A cab. I think this has something to do with the "sweet spot" (focus) of the 4x12" cab being farther in front of it than where I usually stand in practice and at gigs, but the 1960A cab sounds best with a Marshall head. Go figure! I think what I will do for S+G's is swap the Quadraverb and harmonizer into the main PA FX rack for the Studio Quad V2 and do some tinkering and MIDI-mapping. The compression, preamp, and cab simulation sections are very useful IMHO. You can get a lot of different amp tones out of this box, but you will need the built-in noise gate for the "dirty tube" or higher gain "clean tube" settings because this thing is typically noisy. The EQ is ok for starters, but people looking for more flexibility should throw a single 31-band unit before the input (or a programmable MIDI switchable unit, but that's a little overkill for some...) The time-domain effects on the TwinTube are pretty useless: you get one at a time, they're ok but not great, there's no reverb, and a stereo in+out dedicated processor after the TwinTube works much better. I can't quite get Triple Recto nu-metal tones out of this (working on it, it just doesn't have the low-end cojones), but it nails Motown, blues, jazz, vintage rock, prog, and hair-metal tones with aplomb! The clean tones are ok, but somewhat nondescript. I have a Marshall JCM-900 halfstack, a MusicMan Sixty-Five 2x10" combo, and another rack beast with a 2120 Artist preamp, and the clean tones out of any of these (and I could list dozens more amps I've played thru) are definitely more to my liking. But this thing works just fine for my main workhorse, and until it is found one day lying with plus signs for eyes and arms and legs in the ol' rigor mortis kata stance, I'll happily use it to butcher tunes unmercifully!

It has been pretty dependable, and I have used it with numerous gigs without a backup (lifts hat, knocks...) though I am not in the habit of doing so. You know how Murphy's Law works: if you always bring backup, nothing ever fails, but the ONE TIME you forget your backup and you REALLY NEED the damn thing...you know the rest! And Murphy was an optimist! This unit has been thru hell and back. It may have been the one I bought as a demo many moons ago and sold in a fit of winter cash deficit. Then the person I sold it to dropped it and offed it, then someone hacked it trying to fix it and burnt some traces to the pots, cracked the mounting tabs for the faceplate (a stressed member, uhh huh huh...) and I got it (back?) for a Very Good Price?. A local tech fixed the PCB hack and replaced the pots; I repaired and reinforced the chassis (have MIG welder, will travel!) and threw 'er all back together, now she's in my main rack. I have some JJ ECC83S on the way to replace the tubes that are in there now...
I'm harsh with my ratings. I do not give 10s easily. I'd give it a 10 for reliability, but once in a blue moon, it glitches. It happens extremely infrequently and I use it often, and it always works properly afterward if switched off and back on, so I can't complain too loudly, given this thing's history.

Had a problem with another piece of Digitech gear once, it was repaired and returned within reasonable time. Never had a problem with their service department. But I will refrain from rating due to what I feel is not enough experience.

For what I do with this thing, it works pretty well. So far, I haven't wanted to rip it out of the rack and pitch it in front of a moving steamroller, so I guess this is a Good Sign! I have been playing for A Very Long Time?, I am a Compleat Hack?, and Experienced Amalgam of Stolen Licks?, and have covered a wide range of styles, and have done originals too. I own far too much gear. I have a bad case of GAS. It is now time to reduce my inventory of the non-essentials, ahh, decisions, decisions! This thing DOES NOT fall into this category! Nope. Uh-uh. If it were lost I'd get over it and go buy a single rack space preamp to replace it, either another one, or one that I like better. If someone stole it, they'd better go somewhere where I'll never find them. I'm good at finding those who don't want to be found. I would track them down and beat them over the head until I felt they knew "who they daddy is"! Not for much other reason than principle, mind you. I wish it had either a set of lips or a vacation to the Bahamas somewhere in its preset menu, but I'm not complaining. Not me!

Not especially easy to use, but not the most complicated piece of gear either. You could tweek this little sucker to your hearts content and get many great tones. Manual is still posted on Digitech's website and is very helpful, although a snooze of a read.

I just acquired this piece of G.A.S., so it hasn't made it into my live rig yet. I'm still in the tweaking stage and using for a practice amp, hooked up to a TubeWorks 1160 amp (a very good piece) and a Mesa Boogie 1x12 cab. The more I tweak it, the more I like it! This preamp also seems to work very well on bass...BONUS! The key to getting a killer high gain sound is to totally ignore the owner manual level setting instructions and crank the input gain to where the headroom meter is pinned and the overflow LED is lit constantly. Simply amazing tone this way, and not very noisy at all. I don't imagine this would hurt anything, but who cares...it sounds great! It's a very natural feeling preamp, if you don't use the compressor. All my technique comes through with finesse. The onboard effects are a bonus as this is really just a preamp. I leave a little delay on my lead patches and some chorus on a clean patch. Compressor and noise gate work well but like all, kill your tone. I leave them off. I've amassed many amps over the years, Marshall, Laney, Boogie, Lee Jackson, Peavey, Hafler T-3 (excellent!), ADA, Line6, Fender etc, and this is as good or better than many. The speaker sim is great in that it's fully adjustable. Most speaker sims are just preset EQ curves, this one let's you have 5 user patches so you can globally boost low end, etc. Great idea! I play very high gain, prog rock, shred, funk and fusion. This preamp seems to handle them all well. Highly recommended!

Mine seems to work perfectly. It was built in 91. I've read the horror stories below, so my fingers are crossed.

Good support via the website, since they have manuals for discontinued products. I've called Digitech in the past. They respond quickly and try their best to help.

Been playing 28 years, owned everything at one point, I'd probably buy another if it were lost, since it's so convenient with a very good distortion, built in FX and sounds better than Line6 gear. I wish the parameters were easier to get to. great that it has a built in power supply, since I detest wall warts! I give it high marks since I paid nearly nothing for it and it's a very usuable piece of gear.

The GFX-1 is really easy to use - ich had programmed the first 5 patches after one hour, but also the factory presets sound really good, although some knobs in the Front for Gain or something like this would have been nice.
But without a foot controller it's no fun to use the GFX-1
The manual is also good, but i never had to use it.

I use the GFX on a Peavey "Strat", a noname Telecaster and an Epiphone Les Paul. The sound output goes directly into a mixer and a JBL monitor system.
The Noise Gate is very useful, but sometimes it's also annoying and i just switch it off (when i use humbuckers), because witout compression the notes won't sustain very long.
The tube effects are really cool, you can get a good sound from jazz to hardrock. i've searched for an 80's sound, and i found it ;)
the digital effects are not the best, i think, but as is do not have any fx pedals, i can't compare those effekts.

I would never use the GFX without no backup, because when powering up it often fails and no sound comes out of it....that's not good ;)
So switch it on and never switch it off :p
There were also some Problems with the LCD, but i could fix that, because i've got the service manual.

I've worked for a short time in a service center (not only for digitech - it was for all professional audio equipment), and that's where i got the gfx-1 from. the customer didn't want it back, because he got a replacement (very good service :p) and so i got the gfx1 after i repaired it. the software was already up-to-date and if i need to get it repaired they'll do that ;)

I play rock and metal (but no nu-metal at all ;) ) and the gfx1 is perfect ;)
- if stolen or lost: i'd buy a digitech gsp-2112 artist or a johnson millenium combo (both are from the DOD company, so there's no difference in the support and also in the effects - i already tested both ;) )
compared to the korg ax1500g the gfx1 is professional gear, and with the tubes it sounds even better, although the 1500's digital effects are a little bit better.

Very easy to program. I used it for years with no documentation.

I found the digital effects of this unit lacking but the tube distortion was very good. If buying one of these for the preamp distortions- the GFX-1 is very good. The effects work but are limited at best. I used the GFX-1 in the 90s (bought it used) and utilized it in combination with a Peavey ProFex. The ProFex gave me the effects I wanted and the GFX-1 gave me the distortions. I used a Fender American Strat or a Guild S-300 into the GFX-1 with the ProFex in the loop, then into the bottom-end of a Peavey Heritage (a tube power section) through the Heritage's scorpions and/or Celestion extensions. It was a decent set-up at the time, but I've moved on (now use Mesa rack gear). I give it a nine because for the money- this was a great buy (although it cannot compare to high-end stuff). I found it a usable piece for very little money.

The digital side died on me but the analog side kept working (good thing I had the ProFex).

It was old when it died and I was moving on to other equipment. I therefore gave it to a friend and haven't seen it since.

If I found another out there for cheap, I'd buy it just to recapture some of those old sounds. While I wouldn't gig with it anymore, I did do so for many years. It really was nice for the price.

A good programmable preamp for someone picking one up for the first time. Its operation is not completly obvious to a beginner, but it is much simpler than most boxes with little LCDs. There is a gate, compressor, tube stage, EQ and one of three modulation effects to choose from, in that order. Not too much to get lost in except for maybe the MIDI utilities. As with most boxes with little LCDs, they could use a few more knobs

I ran a hollowbody guitar through the GFX-1 to a Fender PA and it sounded pretty good. It was quiet (except for occasional glitches, explained below), the three effects it had (chorus, flange, and delay) were great. I usually play in a bluesy/jazz tone that requires tubes that are mildly overdriven. At other times I need a big, chainsaw yer gramma cock-rock sound. The double 12AXTs were perfect for getting a whole array of tones, because the gain is adjustable on each one. I ended up trading in for an ART GFX-2000, because I wanted more knobs and digital effects. I ended up missing the Twin Tube within a month. The ART box just didn't compare to the Twin Tube's jiucy tone.

It did come with a glitch or two. There was a big scratchy pop that happened sometimes, with certain presets. Never did get to the bottom of that. It also locked up on me twice. Recyling the power switch would free it up, however.

Never had to deal with Digitech.

I did get some awsome recorded tones out of this box, and I suppose that's what it is great for. As for playing live, it doesnt quite float. I found the lack of realtime control to be very frustrating in live circumstances. Also, the "dead air time" that occures when shifting between different patches is kind of a niusance, especially if you play in a 3-piece as I do. Most "programmable" preamps of that era are the same way, though. I now use a rig with a much simpler analog preamp, and a much more complicated digital processor. -Go figure. In summery, in the studio, this box is loaded with sweet tones and the price is right. This box delivers way better tone than any other "low budget" preamp I've used from ART or Zoom. I would not recommend using this or any similar box live. For instance if for some reason you cranked up the compressor too far while practicing in your living room and it starts to scream on stage, all you can do is avoid that preset for the rest of the show.

Its pretty wasy to figure out..... i have no manual so its kinda weird at first because this is my first unit!

I use my Fender Stratocaster with this unit.... Fender Frontman 15 watt amp... Some stock effects are good... but i cant get my midi to work!!!

so far yeah!!! The LCD monitor wiggs out alot and freezes?!!

STILL WAITING!!!!!

i play all kinds of music... metal...rock...punk... ! i like this unit and i might have to get another unit from didgitach in the near future!I WISH IT HAD REVERB!!!
Ive been playing for 7-8 years and i use alot of boss pedals and THE WHAMMY!!!!! i like digitech and i will always use digitech I NEED A NEW WHAMMY!

Came without a manual, no problem. Although I'm frequently too dim to figure out lots of music-related technical stuff even WITH a manual, I was up and running with the GFX1 in mere minutes, and tweaking to my heart's content. Has a good backlit two-line LCD readout with adjustable contrast that nicely represents all the parameters you can tweak.

I'm using the GFX1 as an effects/tube distortion unit between a Fender Stratocaster and a Danelectro Nifty Seventy practice amp; and occasionally as a DI box-cum-preamp between the guitar or a Jazz Bass and my Behringer mixer or my Digi001 (for recording into ProTools). Good results all around. The noise gate works very well. This unit is ridiculously quiet; although even at the gate's lowest setting (1), it sometimes cuts off the sound a little too early; with low volume on the guitar, it tends to completely mute some softly played notes. May not be the ideal unit for guitarists with a wide dynamic range -- unless they switch off the gate function. Anyway, EQ, flange, chorus, and delay are all good to very good. Granted, this thing has too many outdated metalhead presets that would stoke the guys from Spinal Tap but that fail to charm me (though I'll admit they are amusing). However, some blues, R&B, and funk presets are right on the money, and there are a couple of REALLY nice flange presets, too. Try patch 59, which inspired me enough to end up with a promising embryonic song. Regardless, whatever factory sounds you don't like can be easily altered (down to the names of the presets) with relatively little fuss.

Don't know, I just got it recently, second-hand, from an eBay seller. But according to the manufacturer's label on the side of the unit, it was made exactly eleven years ago. It looks like it's had some rough treatment along the way, but it still performs like a champ.

E-mailed Digitech a question via its website and had a useful reply in a matter of hours.

A little odd it doesn't have a simple reverb on board, but then, my Lexicon MPX500 (or, in a pinch, my Alesis Microverb) does nicely. And the GFX1 is not primarily an effects unit anyway, but a tubed preamp. As a sweet-distortion unit, it easily outperforms the SansAmp GT2 that I'd been using. That unit is now being auctioned on eBay...

It is quite easy to use this machine, though I must say that turning knobs would be nicer. The patches are easy to edit and the editing functions all function logically. The only reason why I don't give it 10, is the fact that I have never liked push-buttons.

I play a VERY modified Squier (an older model from the seventies)with a Tele-pickup (neck, a vintage Lipstick Pickup (middle) and A Gibson PAF (Bridge) > Cry Baby (GCB95)> GFX 1 /TwinTube > Marshall JTM60 with an extra 12" cab. Additionally I place a VooDoo Lab Tremolo in the effect loop of my Amp, and sometimes I add an Electro Harmonics Eccho/Vibrato/Chorus.

The unit itself is not very noisy and the effects are almost completely silent when the Noise Reduction is on. Otherwise the effects "hiss" a bit - especially if the overdrive/distortion is on. But that is - which some people refuse to accept - a natural part of overdriven tubes!

I wouldn't give this unit a 9 or 10 for it's sound quality, since it is not the best thing on the market (and it is quite old). It suffers from a lack of warmth in the slightly overdriven situations, though some warmth can be added by using the equalizer - which is pretty good, I'd say!

I've had this unit for about 10 years now, and I think that I'll keep until it goes down. But I'll definitely buy other units which will slowly take over the GFX1's place in my chain.

It is important to say that this unit is a PREAMP - NOT AN EFFECTS MACHINE!. I say this because the important parts of this preamp are the tubes. The Chorus, Flanger and Delay are only add-ons which can be used to Collor your sound and tone. Though the work fairly anyways.

The compressor in this unit is not the most versatile compressor I've ever used (and I have used quite a lot!), though it is nice and useful to Collor the sound.

VERY RELIABLE. I have to use it without a backup, since I have got only one of these (I have other kinds of preamps to use instead, though).
I'm not afraid that this unit will break down on me, and I'm not afraid to transport it around - though I wouldn't dare jumping on it...

Very dependable! - always boots up correctly - no problems.

Never dealt with them.

I mostly play Blues, Rock and retro rock. This unit fits quite well, though I think that it was originally designed for 80's hard rock.

I've been playing fore some 10 years, and I've been searching my sound for all of those ten years - and I'll never stop. I wouldn't say that I have found MY sound in this unit, though it is a great step on the road...But I'll honestly say, that if this unit where lost or stole I wouldn't buy exactly the same unit once again - but I'd truly miss it.

I have other units, such as an
ADA (forgot the model number, but it is one of their first models - rack preamp),
Boss Blues Driver BD-2,
Vox Valvetone Overdrive,
Boss Metal Zone - MT-2 (Yuck!),
Boss Super Distortion - DS-1(Yuck!),
Boss Turbo Overdrive - OD-2 (got three of them - yuckyuckyuck!!!),
Ibanez TS-808,
Jim Dunlop Crybaby - GCB95,
VooDoo Lab Tremolo,
Electro Harmonix Eccho/Chorus/Vibrato (really old-school),
TC Electronics G-Major,
TC Electronics D-Two,
Squier, modified (the only original thing from the squier is the bridge and the neck),
Marshall JTM-60 Combo with an extra cab.(1x12").

That is basically my rig (I missed somethings, but I didn't find it interesting to list it here.

Overall the unit is great. I like it. But it's getting old (old-fashioned) and might need a replacement soon. Though it is sill quite Alright, so I give it an 8.

I'd like to add: I'd wish that the "Clean Tubes" could be tweaked even further - it is much better than the "Dirty Tube".

Easy to use if you've ever edited any rack-mount midi gear before. MANUAL!? You don't NEED no stinking manual! Seriously, it's not too tough to tweak and find a sound you like.

I'm using this to record direct with. When combined with an ADA microcab, the sound combinations are almost limitless! I run a carvin dc 127 straight into the front panel of the twin tube, which has its' outputs connected to the microcab. If you need reverb, you'll need outboard processing because the twin tube doesn't have built-in 'verb.
It does have useable delay, chorus, and flangeing, and a really good noisegate. It's dead quiet.
I run it straight into my Akai dps 16 inputs and can replicate all but the hardest "death" distortion. Where this preamp really shines is doing hard rock "crunch" and overdrive sounds. The clean sounds are pretty happening too.
Don't bother with a pod or v-amp or some type of modeler. I know they will probably continue to get better, but for now, you just cannot duplicate the sounds of warm glowing glass!

It's utterly dependable and built like a brick ****house. Check the other guy that had his fall off of his car onto the highway...that's how tough it is!
I don't have a backup and probably won't ever need one

I've never needed a repair or had to deal with digitech before.

I play anything that sounds good on any given day. Variety, variety! Been jamming now for about 25 years.
I would get another if it were ripped off, destroyed, impaled, etc.
For recording direct, I've found this to provide the most bang-for-the-buck of any processor I've ever used. That list includes a roland gx-700(too cold and digital sounding) an ada mp2(sold to pay the rent once) a digitech gsp 2101 (tooo hard to figure out) a pod(version 1, but I thought the sounds had no "life" in them)
It is an older processor, but it is still viable. If it had reverb it would be nice, but I still highly recommend it.