DigiTech GNX2

the GNX-2 is alot like most multi effects units out there as far as ease of use and user interface and whatnot. it took me awhile to figure out how to edit and dave patches and stuff--but once i got it its really easy. on definately cool thing is that you can create your own custom amps and save those for later use. another thing is (under user mode) you can rename and move locations of factory settings in any order you want. really cool.

im using an epiphone les paul std. a ORIGINAL '67 Gibson 331, and an ampeg gemeni 1. live i go staight into the board. i think it sounds great both ways. obviously, its gonna need tweaked differently for going straight in though. it also sounds good w/ my acoustic for delays and mods. the wah, i must say is pretty weak...passable but no crybaby by any means. the mods are pretty good....the flanger is just like my old boss bf-2. the delays aren't to bad either. its also very quite and you can get some good, controllable feedback as well. i really like the 'stacked' preset and the 'santana(#10)' but there are some retarted ones in there too......like the riffomatic. COME ON!!!!!! STUPID!!!!!!!! i guess if your going for ultimate sound quality....and arent worried about a floor unit, get the podxt for the same price....its not miles ahead, but it is a little better in a studio situation.

cant afford a back-up its made of metal......but its no boss now is it???

never talked to them.......but the kid at guitar center was really helpfull.

im in a praise and worship band at our church but i really love every thing from blues(yeah!!!!!!!) to some hard punk( brand new) to incubus and some good jazz as well. it fits me well and i think this thing is probably the best peice of gear ove ever purchased.

For as awful and as digital as this thing sounds, it should have 3 presets and 3 presets only - Suck, Bogus, and REFUND.

I've taken dumps with better tone and robustness than this sad excuse for a cheap kids toy. The clean tones are truly pathetic, and the distortion is hilariously BAD. I cannot believe anyone could give this thing more than a two?!?! Come on people. What the hell are you comparing this to? A pod or some other garbage fake ass modeler? Please. This may be one of the worst sounding pieces of shit I have ever had the displeasure of playing licks through. It was time wasted that I will never get back, and my ears are permanently scarred from the experience.

Wouldn't know. Since I got it free, I was tempted to make an ashtray out of it. I would imagine at that point it would not be very reliable.

Dunno. All of these companies are the same.

For the price this goes for, do yourself a favor and buy a good used tube amp and a put shitty fx unit in the loop. The tone of the tube amp will be superior, and the effects are just there for "filler".

No sweat.

You might laugh, but I'm playing a Larivee accoustic with twin pickups through the unit. I've got twenty presets dedicated to various accoustic sounds I want. Does exactly what I want. Particularly effective are the octave doublers and pitch offsets; makes my playing sound very rich. I'm not playing at jet-engine volumes, so signal/noise ratio is particularly important: the sound is extremely clean. Everybody who plugs in wants one---and wants my presets. I won't give up my presets, though.

Dependable.

Company support is absolutely pathetic.

Heavy folk, jazz, and nasty blues. Yeah, I'd get a new one.

The GNX2 is fairly easy to program.....the only problem I have with the interface is the "scrolling parameter values" that are necessitated by the single-line display.....it's a pain to try to remember what knob controls what parameter on what cell of the matrix, and waiting for the parameter name to scroll by (so you can tell what's supposed to happen when you turn a given knob) is a pain if you've got band mates waiting for you to tweak a sound during a rehearsal - I wouldn't try to tweeze a patch while in front of an audience. Maybe in future versions Digitech could put in push button pots so that when you push the pot down, it would bring up the name of the parameter that knob controls. Once you know the parameter though, programming couldn't be simpler.

The manual is OK, I've seen worse and better.

I'm using firmware version 1.3 (upgraded from 1.1 which was what I received the GNX2 with). The GenEdit software (which I run on a Mac G3 laptop under MacOS 9.2.2, and drive the GNX2 with a MiniMacMan midi interface) has proven extremely useful and easy to use....I spend a lot of time editing and the software makes it easy to keep track of the numerous versions I tend to come up with. It also makes it very easy to keep different batches of user presets handy - I've made several different sets for each of the bands I play with - it only takes a couple of minutes to load a completely different set of 64 patches. Great!

I use the GNX2 in FX mode rather than the default Bank mode....there's ALWAYS a brief glitch switching between presets in Bank mode (just the nature of most multi-fx boxes, I'm afraid), but by using the FX mode you've got instant access to major tone changes WITHOUT GLITCHES - and I tend to prefer a pedalboard-type control setup rather than "one button for everything", anyway.

Some minor quibbles I have with the GNX2:
I wish that the Reverb had a dedicated switch for FX mode like Delay does - as it is, you're "stuck" with a reverb that's either "on" or "off" as part of the patch structure. But at this price point it's something I can live with.

The V-Switch sensitivity can be a tad tricky to set, at least for me - too high and you can inadvertently switch on your Wah while using the Whammy effect, too low and you can't get the Wah to reliably engage when you want it.

Matching levels between patches can be tedious, as the best way I've found to adjust output volume is through the Gain settings for the Amp Models (I set levels using the mixing console meters to assure that everything is within a nominal operating range).....I try to send the sound guy as consistent a volume level as possible and let him do his job, which is to mix the sound.....but the upside is, once the levels have been set, they're ALWAYS gonna be right - another advantage of digital gear. I also use the Amp switch for solos - I make a duplicate of the Amp Model with a different Gain setting so that I can always punch thru the rest of the band when playing single-note lines.

There are times I wish I could use more effects processors at a time, or could change the order of the effects, but nothing that I can't live without - especially considering the price point of this unit.

Currently I use the GNX2 with a 1976 Univox "Lawsuit" Les Paul copy outfitted with DiMarzio humbuckers and a 1985 Bently Series 10 project guitar that's been kitted out with Schecters. I used to use a 1972 Marshall Super Lead 100 thru a custom-built 4x10 open-back cab and a custom 6X10 closed cab - but nowadays I just send the GNX2 signal directly to the PA, after splitting the 1/4" outputs to feed a power amp driving a pair of slant cab monitors so I can hear myself. Much nice to hear your sound from in front of you than from behind....and you get a "clean stage" look to boot.

As long as I set the Target System Setup to "Direct", everything sounds great. Not so happy with the "tailored for combo amp" settings, they just don't sound quite right to my ears - plus I prefer not having to haul my vintage Marshall around anyway.....

While on the subject of Marshalls - the GNX does an EXCELLENT job of replicating the sound of my old setup and can do it more reliably than the "real thing"....maybe I'm just picky, but it always seemed to me that the Marshall's sound can vary from night to night, depending on temperature, humidity, phases of the moon or alignment of the planets, my girlfriends' mood, WHATEVER.
But the GNX2 is dead-on every time.

I've got a couple of noisy presets, but these are presets I've built with INSANE amounts of gain. On the whole the unit is very very quiet.

I'm a big fan of the Rotary effect - the only way it could be better is for it to be modeled after the Korg G4 Rotary Speaker Simulator which has user-adjustable parameters for horn acceleration/deceleration and mic placement. Between the Rotary and Detune settings I can pretty much nail ANY Leslie sounds I've heard on records.

I've been able to replicate any artists' sound I've cared to go after, so far....particularly David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, even though he uses single-coil Strats and all my guitars have humbuckers. The humbucker>single-coil Pickup Simulator is simply outstanding - I now have access to more tonal variations than I've ever had in my life!

Also - using the GNX2's Whammy/IPS functions together allow me to do something I've not been able to do since my old Electro-Harmonix Micro-Synthesizer died - I can set up a patch that has an octave above, and octave below and the straight pitch simultaneously! Three pitches from one note! Really wakes up everybody when I kick it in for a solo......heeHEEEEEEE.....

The ambience effects (delay & reverb) are good and usable but not particularly outstanding...that said, I've done a fair amount of recording in ProTools and I rarely (if ever) find it necessary to use any FX plug-ins (or outboard gera, for that matter) to do something the GNX can't do on its own.

I had high hopes for the Talker effect - I had a Heil Talkbox in the past and was eager to get that function without rattling my molars around in my skull, but sadly, it just ain't quite the same....close enough for rock 'n' roll in performance situations, but just doesn't quite cut it for recording. Oh well...at least it'll keep my dentist in business ; )

The Ya Ya and SynthTalk effects are interesting novelties but not particularly usable for me. Same with the Envelope Filter.

The Chorus/Mod effects are good. I use the Phaser quite a bit. Not quite as good as my old MXR Phase 100 but definitely musical.

The Tremolo and Vibrato effects are good for all those old surf-guitar and rockabilly tunes, too. The Tremolo does a particularly good job of replicating the sound of my '66 Fender Deluxe.

The stompbox models are OK, but I get most of my sound from the Amp Models.

The Compressor and EQ on the unit are nothing short of outstanding, and are the real key to getting great sounds from the GNX2. Anyone who says they can't get usable sounds from it just hasn't mastered the use of these modules.

The GNX is built like a tank. But rock 'n' roll is rock 'n' roll, so I keep my old Korg AX30G processor handy just in case something truly drastic occurs....like a lightning strike.

I don't worry about the GNX2 going down on its own accord - but I do worry about "the unexpected", like getting beer spilled into it or a power surge/low-voltage condition. Most clubs simply aren't properly wired for AC, so that's ALWAYS a variable. (Hey, I know I'm paranoid - the question is: Am I paranoid ENOUGH? LOL)

The only contact I've had is to make a couple of suggestions for the next-generation GNX boxes, and I got a quick reply from them on that. Don't know about how they deal with problems though so I'll keep comment in reserve.....

I play a wide variety of styles and the GNX has been able to handle almost everything I've thrown at it....there are a couple of patches on my Korg AX30G that I haven't been able to replicate on the GNX2, so I can't quite give it Digitech 10 for that reason.

I've been playing for 35 years, and have gone through a long long list of gear - Marshall, Fender, Traynor, SG Systems, Peavey, Crate and Randall amps and Fender, Gibson, Kramer, Ovation ans Travis Bean guitars...along with stompboxes of every make and description - so I feel pretty qualified about commenting on the GNX2 after having owned and used it for 7 months now.

If it were stolen or lost, I'd HAVE to replace it...but I'd probably go with a GNX4 for the improvements it's made on the GNX line in regard to USB connectivity. Most of the things I'd want on the GNX2 have been added to the GNX3 and GNX4. I love the compactness and quality of the unit. The only thing I truly hate about it is the power supply, but I guess that having that transformer outside the box is what keeps it quiet and inexpensive.

I've used the Digitech RP200, the Korg AX30G and have tried several other multi-effect boxes (ART & Boss among them) and the GNX is the best bang-for-the-buck as far as my sound is concerned.

It definitely helps me make music....I can't imagine doing without it, now.

With a bit of tweaking, you can really get some amazing sounds out of this unit. Editing patches is as simple as configuring your amp/cabinet combination, going through the effects menus and configuring them with a few knobs and clicking the "Store" button three times. I especially enjoy how easy this is, because I am a blind guitar player. Since I can't read the menus, saving amp combos and patches with the knobs is a big plus. There were a few typoes in the manual, and it probably needs to be updated to reflect a few of the minor changes to the unit's firmware, but otherwise it was very informative. I believe I'm running firmware 1.3, but since I'm not able to read the display, I can't confirm this.

I mainly use this unit with a couple of Ibanez firestars I picked up a few years back along with a Mesa Boogy combo amplifier. I'm still tweaking the GNX2 to get the right sound for Metallica, Randy Rhoads, 38 Special, ACDC, and other classic rock bands. I do know that it's possible to get these sounds because other presets have been made and posted to the Digitech member area for the GNX2. The only effect that I don't like is the Ya-ya when used with the expression pedal. Everything else really sounds great, and in quite a few cases better than the Line 6 Pod.

I haven't gone gigging with this unit yet, but it's built nice and rugged. If you've ever seen the old RP1, this machine is just as solidly built. I don't think I'd need a backup unit, though if I could afford it I'd have another GNX2 ready in case something unexpected happened to this one.

I mainly play classic rock/metal, and this unit does all I need it to. I upgraded from the RP300, and damn! I keep being impressed with how much better this unit sounds in comparison. I've been playing for around six years, and the acquisition of new gear is not that often. Thus I own a Fendor Strat along with two Ibanez firestars and a Mesa Boogy combo. I love the fact that although this is a digital processor, the majority of the settings are altered using analog-style knobs. As I said above, it's great for those who can't see the display, and the added bonus of having the effects and amp models being affected in real time let you hear exactly what you're doing. Though I have perfect pitch, I wish there were some sort of audible tuner on the thing for those times when I'm in a really loud club and need to tune up really quickly... maybe something that only came out the headphone jack? If my GNX2 got stolen, I'd sure as hell replace it with another one. As for other possibilities, I checked out the Johnson J-Station and the Line 6 Pod. I was pretty impressed with both, but as we all know Johnson has gone bankrupt, and the Pod is a little more pricy. The Pod Pro 2.0 cost the same as the GNX2, but the GNX2 has so much more to offer like stomp-button presets for gigging, distortion stomp-box modeling, and more variety of things you can do with your sound that it was clearly a better bang for the buck. Granted, I could probably achieve the same with the Pod along with their $200 foot controller, but honestly! I'm a college student, and $500 is a bit much just to get a good effects unit and a floor controller.
For those skeptics out there, go demo this thing yourself at Guitar Center or a similar music store. There are also some great demos at the Digitech GNX2 Member Music area, so definitely go check that place out as well. Anyone who says you can't use this is full of it, because the manual is very straight-forward and to the point. Furthermore, a blind man can program the machine, so you don't even have to see the display to get what you want from it. This is an awesome machine, and my only regret is that I wasted my money on the RP300 when I could have gotten this instead. Ah well, that mistake has finally been corrected. BTW, I'm selling my RP300, anyone want it?

It seems to be hard at the beginning,but after spending 30 minutes with the manual you can become a master.

I am using this pedal with an Ibanez RG370DX nd Marshall MG15CDR.I had DOD fx86 Death Metal before this.I was happy with my tone but it was very noisy.After buying GNX2,which includes a noise gate,I was extremely happy with the silence(until i hit a string of course :)).I don't use effects so much but they are great,like distortion,wah and everything else in this processor.I had managed to get very close to the tone of In Flames,Dream Theater and Death.You can find Death and Dream Theater from Digitech's sound community but I had created In Flames tome myself.Here it is:

Amp:Rectified
Cabinet:British 4x12
Bass:-2
Mid:3
Mid Frequency:1100 hz
Treble:6
Treble Frequency:6950 hz
Gain:80

Set the reverb,etc. as you wish.

My favourite feature in this processor is the whammy/ips.I don't have to change my tuning again because i can set it from standard to B with it!.Just select whammy,4th down and set the whammy pedal to 82 for C,99 for B,62 for C#.For D,select rev2down and set the whammy pedal to 0.Great if you are playing Death,In Flames,Opeth,Dark Tranquillity etc. with a guitar with tremolo system.

Check the official site for details about other great features.

It is extremely reliable..but!I had a problem once.I had played it about 7-8 hours at my friend's house and had a break about 1 hours,then continued playing at another friend's house.First,the wah effect started switching on/off by itself(i think there is a problem with the v switch).Then GNX2 had started shutting down and opening again by itself!I had closed it and waited for it to cool down.It hadn't done that thing again yet,but wah switches on rarely.

I haven't dealt with Digitech yet.

I have been playing electric guitar for 4 months(2 years of classical guitar experience before that)and I have improved a lot since the day I had started electric guitar.My music style is mainly melodic death metal,but sometimes i play death and progressive.I love this one so much because it has everything in it,and it is extremely useful.I would recommend this processor to anyone.

NOTE:This price is normal for Turkey :)

This is an update to my previous post. After investing in a compatible USB MIDI interface, I have begun to discover the wide array of control options available with this unit.

I finally got my GNX2 working again and was able to experiment with some clean tones. Simply put, I was amazed. They were crystal clear and resonated much better than on other devices I have auditioned and/or owned. Aside from some "deadness" produced by the 1/4" outs, I am throughly impressed by the sounds that can be produced by this unit. It can easily emulate most of my favorite tones form other amp modellers I have owned ... and may end up replacing the ones I have now.

Refer to my past post for details here. I am still hesitant to ever upgrade the firmware.

This rating is mainly the Digitech customer support division, not the GNX2 forum. The GNX2 forum continues to be a useful resource. As for the company's official customer support crew, the response time was decent, but one of them suggested that I use a different USB MIDI interface instead of actually considering how to get their crappy software to work with the one I used to own (?!). I definitely have to thank the GNX2 forum more than Digitech's customer service for getting my unit running again.

Now that my GNX2 is working properly, I am having a great time developing tones and practicing with the onboard rhythm trainer. Though there are obvious software instabilites, I have to retract my previous statement about possibly never wanting to invest in Digitech merchandise again. Aside from the obvious software issues and limited customer service from Digitech, the GNX2 holds its own against the competition in my book.

when i was buy a digitech gnx2, i had a zoom 505...zoom is small processor but is not easy to use beacuse nothing i understan easly its bad and i bought a digitech gnx2 people said that gnx2 easy to use yes it's correct :)))))))))))

When i bought gnx2 people said that why are you bought a gnx2 and i was unhappy because in turkey this processors are very expensive...
2 months later when i solve the have to use gnx2, i am Joe Anil SAtriani :)) Because i have sound and tones of forgotten part 2, surfing with the alien, always with me always with you :)) and again i speak the people they said that " gnx2 is realy really good"...
Y think this good example how is really good processor....
Y love digitech whammy pedals boss and others never made good whammy like digitech whammy.....

Yts digitech who said is not good but i think its good

Yn internet you can use other digitech users patch and its is really really good properties of this product....

i said everything and examples :))))))))))))))))))))))
Before gnx2 i am a guitarist after gnx2 i am Joe anil SAtriani ;
Nice to meet you :))))

I have owned a number of modelers over the years (ART ECC, V-AMP2, PODxt, J-Station, POD 2.0) and this was the second most challenging to decipher. The instructions were o.k., but did not seem to provide details regarding how to recalibrate after a factory reset or firmware upgrade. The reason my rating is so low has more to do with the fact that firmware updates under Windows XP with a Yamaha UX-16 MIDI interface seemed impossible with the unit I purchased and fried my unit ... during the first 12 hours I owned it. Also, I was unable to ever configure the PC editor to function properly with the aforementioned OS/MIDI interface combination.

I ran the unit into headphones and using s Schecter C-1 Elite guitar. The distortion section was incredibly versitile with the Warp function, post EQ, compression, cabinet tuning, and stompboxes available to tweak my tones. Because my unit died so soon, I was unable to explore the possibilities with clean tones. Some of the presets had very interesting effects combos, but the tones were kind of lacking. The one sound I was able to program before my GNX quit almost rivaled some of the other units I have enjoyed using.

The word that would best describe the quality of the GNX2 I purchased would be "dong". As I mentioend before, it died the first day after it arrived during a firmware upgrade and, even after reverting to a former version, unloading/reloading the updater software several times, and following all instructions on the GNX forum, I was unable to revive my unit. The process robbed me of several hours of precious guitar playing. I should have been more hesitant to purchase a GNX processor after experiencing similar firmware upgrade issues with a J-Station. Digitech really needs to demonstrate some improvement in the software department. Oh well ... at least it can still be returned to AMS.

They were not avialable when I needed them and the forum was somewhat helpful, but did not provide me with adequate assistance.

My unit may have been defective. However, this experience was enough of a pain to discourage me from ever investing in Digitech products again ... at least until their software improves.

This is a great box, and I found it easy to get good sounds from the presets from the start. I am not generally patient with editing patches, but the on screen thing makes it a breeze( just looks like a rack of gear) The mauanl is excellent and you WILL need it. Mine is running v1.3 firmwrae and have has no probs.

I use mainly a Fender Tele deluxe but also have a Gibson'69 SG, an Ibanez PM120 , Ibanez RG470. I can find great tones in here for all of them. I recently upgraded the rest of my gear from a Mesa Boogie Mark 4 to a Mesa 2:90 Power amp and Marshall stereo 1960A stock quad box. Like everone I am on my quest for tone, and I was considering looking at Koch, Soldano and Guytron heads/preamps etc, until I went back and plugged the GNX2 into the new setup..Huge!...I am selling the Boogie and may not even bother with another preamp. I like everything from Holdsworth to Vai and on to Methany with some old clever rock and funk thrown in..this box covers it all well enough for the serious part time muso and many of the pros..I find the stereo effects paticularly good and controllable, and enough distortions to keep a man happy...

Had it for a year, no probs ..would proabaly keep my old RAT distortion box in the bag just in case..can plug straight into the 2:90

No reason to call them , but the web site and user community sound patches (500+!) are easy to access and terrific

I have been playing for 30 years and I am fussy about my sound, especially as I get older and have a few dollars to spend..but I think the point has come where this technology is working! You do have to spend time tweaking, but I usually start with a preset that is close and go from there..but you can start from scratch easily. I know of one guy who ditched his tube screamer after using the modelled one here. If you want perfect output stage purist overdrive then go spend 5-10 grand and go for it..for the rest of the world there is the GNX2..anywho have a look at the gear pages of the big name players..almost all use a distortion box (or two, three, four)of some sort. Finally I love the 8 sec recorder section..many of the tunes I am trying to learn are fast and tricky and the ability to recors a passage and then wind down the speed to one-eighth while retaining correct pitch is a blast! The whammy and picth shifters work great too. If I lost it, I would get another one as I have many of my fave patches stored now on PC and it is built like a tank..Happy to answer queries..