DigiTech GNX2

Simply put......simple.

Amazing,
The wammy pedal is awesome!

Brand new....so hence, no problems

I'm pissed at the customer support.
They didn't address a single thing I asked about in my email to them.
I haven't been able to use the patch editor on a Mac.
The MIDI connection software for the Mac was written for mac that are 5 years old.
They did respond fast so I won't give them a zero.

I have to give it only a 9 instead of a 10 based on their shit support.
The sound is awesome but I am really looking forward to using the patch editor when the OS X version is released.

this unit is very easy to setup, everything makes sense in terms of editing and the footswitches and knobs and stuff if you justlook at the manual or think about it for a second. The problem is getting a good sound out of it. by all means I have only been playing guitar for 6 years, and haven't played through that many amps, but I definetely have an idea of how I want to sound and this unit has helped me get probably as close as I have come to getting that sound. I think I upgraded it once since I got it..it says 1.1 on start up, but I'm not sure of the differences. but anyway if you have some time and want more control of sounds in one unit this is good

I originally had a fender mexican strat with kinman pickup in the bridge but I recently got a epiphone joe pass, which is my main guitar right now. I had a zoom505 which I gave to someone because I got this which I got a good sound out of, I can get a good sound out of this, it just takes a lot longer. I play throught a fender princeton chorus (which is solid state) and I can get a sound that I am really satisfied with throught this pedal. just as a point of reference, probably the best sound I've heard my guitar get is when I played my guitar straight through a marshall jcm2000 I believe is the model,and it was just fucking awesome. This isn't exactly that, but what can you do...I used it in a band and the sound is really good its just a matter of tweaking. the things that seem to make or break this pedal are what kind of cabinet it's set to go to (2x12,direct, etc) and the cabinet tuning. for some reason after I change the cabinet tuning I get right where I want it to be. I play/like screamo/emo, but the band I was in was more punkish. I don't use too many effects especially in the band, but I get ideas sometimes and I can easily get the sound/effect I want (there's no ring modulation, but if you set the delay to under 100 ms you get a weird more ring modish sound). I have also used it to effect the output from loops I made with an RC-20 (i'm starting to do some idmish stuff by myself which is why I was interested in effects) and it's really cool for that. I think all the effects you can get with it are good, you just have so much control that sometimes it may be difficult to get a sound that certain effects are known to have. The pitch shifter is good (i'm a tom morello fan) and i'm pretty sure the whammy pedal doesn't have the ips feature which is awesome as well (I've used it in a "metal" song and it's really cool) since you can set it to whatever scale/key you are in. i'm not saying this to sound like an asshole, but I don't really care if I sound like my favorite artists, but I like braid and atthedrivein/ the mars volta and I can get sound in that mode. If you are worried with modeling I usually don't use it to play clean and have a switch for distortion. What I do is take a bassy sound and a trebly sound and "warp" them together and then work from there. It usually ends up better for me personally since it is hard to get a good distorted sound when you use the stompbox over a clean sound..that's just me though. I usually use the stompbox for a louder sound during solos. some people have complained about a "delay" which I don't really hear. I'm guessing this was in earlier versions. the only place I really notice any delay is with ips...and that is a little..as in trying really hard to notice. there is a little lage when switching presets I think..but if you are really concerned about this you could just get a switch box or use the volume knob or the pedal that this unit already has. (i'm giving it a nine for tweaking time basically). it may be just a wee bit noisy, but the gate will fix it (just..as usual with noise gates be careful you don't cut off too much of the sound fading out)...but if you have a good guitar (I have humbuckers not singe coils now, although the single coil from kinman was very quiet) then you don't really have to worry about noise especially if you are playing live.

the unit itself is really reliable you could drop it of your roof and it would probably still be fine since it's metal. The only problem is the adapter...the one it comes with is apparently the only one it works with...which is fucking annoying since if you try any other adapter it is just slightly too big. I had to spend forty bucks to get the same weird adapter model...which kind of sucked but that's just my fault for being disorganized with the adapter. I would suggest getting a pedal board assuming you are going to gig with it. (i'm giving an 8 based ont he adapter problem).

it hasn't stopped working. but just be careful if you update it or use the genedit thing it comes with, because I was stupid and I accidentally erased the first few settings I made when I tried to update the soft or firmware or whatever the hell it is.

once again i'm into harder emo stuff and am getting into doing some weird dubbish/idm kind of stuff. it's a better match for the latter since I wouldn't really use too many effects for the band I was in. I've been playing since almost six years ago. and I don't really own too much other stuff except for recording (an akai s2800, an ardvarkq10...blah blah..no one really cares). If it were stolen or lost I would probably buy it again...but I would be pissed of because I lost all my settings (I'm pretty sure you can save them with the genedit to your computer though). If I had more money I might just get a bunch of boss pedals for the fun of it...but they don't have the same control in terms of the pedal and midi options. I love the ability to use midi with it (I haven't yet, but with a behringer midi foot controller you could have to more foot pedals), I was planning on using say logic to control effects..delay I had in mind but if you switch the delay time with midi it just clicks, which is really annoying.. I'm planning on getting a line6 dl4 because of this. I wish you could turn the modeling off and just use it as an effects pedal, but I think the whole "morph" deal is there big selling point. I like the control (pedal/switches) and the metalness which is why I chose this over the desktop unit (which also cost more at the time to get the desktop and the control unit). I chose this one for the control with midi, the ips, the foot pedal, and the larger amount of presets and stompboxes (I think the gnx1 doesn't have these). I think I was going to get maybe a pod, a v-amp, or some korg pedal that was out at the time, i don't know if it is still out there, but I chose this one since it had more effects especially the whammy stuff. everyone says to get boss/roland pedals (well my dad and a teacher at my school, and they are both middleaged...but that just seems like a coincidence), but the boss pitch shifter pedal is nowhere near the control of the digitech whammy since there is no footpedal, and boss' stuff doesn't usually come with a foot pedal option (I like to be in control of things while i'm playing if it is possible). and it would cost a lot to get all the stuff that this pedal has in it. there's also the lfo to control certain features which is useful for example if you want to have phaser and vibrato at the same time (set the lfo to control volume) or set two of them to pitch and make weird little melodies like the "riffomattic" setting. I wish, but these are a little much that you could change the chain of the effects so you could say change the pitch of the audio coming out of the delay or I wish that you could set when you push down the pedal to turn on the wah you could switch it to something else...It helps me make music in the sense that once you tweak it how you like then you can easily change the effects or turn on a wah pedal without wondering what it would sound like if you did this or this...or having to waste computer processing power (if you are recording digitally) to an effect you don't have. I want to try it with a tube power amp/tube amp to see if it will sound better...but then I may just end up using it as an effects pedal and setting all the modeling crap to direct (not that it is crap, but you know what I mean)...I want to get a low wattage (less than 10) for recording and maybe one for gigging (20/30), so I can use tube distortion rather than a facsimile.

This unit is relatively easy to use, however I've been using Digitech products since the RP-1. The GenEdit software is what makes this unit shine. It is much easier to edit on the desktop. Every effect can be edited, tweaked and saved on the PC. Connecting to the PC is very simple, install the software, connect two MIDI cables and you're done. The fist thing I did was update the firmware to v1.3. My GNX2 did not come with the manual or the software as I bought it used off ebay, but I downloaded these from Digitech without a problem. The manual is very comprehensive, but I like tweaking the unit myself, so I didn't have to referr to the manual very often.

I run this unit through the S/PDIF optical out to the optical in on my Echo MIA. I use Samson Resolv 65a monitors. The sound quality is unbelievable! The Whammy effects alone are worth the price of admission, all the other effects are excellent. I love the stompbox modelling. Like I said there are over 600+ presets available for this unit on the Digitech website, getting the right sound takes a little time tweaking or searching, but I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I've tried many of the artist presets available, some are better than others. I wish Digitech would implement some type of review/voting scheme for their patches, so that users could vote on their favorite/best patches. I've had no noise problems with the unit with my setup. I can't really compare the modelling on the GNX2 to the real amps, but I'm very happy with the sound I get out of this unit. I use software modelling and effects as well, so the possibilites are endless.

I bought this unit off ebay. It is used, but in mint condition. Looks very solid and well built. I would never gig without some kind of backup unit.

Never had to use them, but I'll give Digitech a '10' based on the support of their website (i.e. patch downloads, message board, manuals, demos etc.), this is excellent.

I play mostly blues, rock, metal and some acoustic stuff. I have been playing for about 18 years. This unit is capable of handling any style you play, it is extremley versatile. If it was lost or stolen, I would probably buy it again or move up to the GNX3 or GNX4. I have tried the Boss GT-6, and although that is a good unit too, it is pricey, and what really sold me on the GNX2 is the ease of editing, Digitech website support, message board and patches available. The GNX2 is also a great value for the $$$. I also tried the Behringer V-Amp2, but that unit is had very limited effects but good modelling.

This pedal has a lot of capability; however, it really isn't as easy to use as some say. That depends on what type of sound you're after. If you are doing modern rock, or a style with super-heavy distortions.....fine...no real nuances that a pro guitarist would seek to derive out of it, it's not that big 'a deal. But if you are after some really sweet sounds and try gain some real edge on a nice tone, it can be absolutely frustrating and time consuming because the board is designed with EQ over EQ. When I would go to the cab settings, I would proceed with extreme caution because it could totally screw up all the tone I had. You have the EQ level, stompbox EQ, cab EQ, amp EQ....so I would try starting with different ones in hope to find a way to achieve the settings I could fine-tune without having to start over again. One guy I know says it's great, but I know his taste too, he's nowhere near the tone zone that I play in. There's high gain and low gain stomp boxes that you can adjust. What about stomp box selections that don't put you into some way-off tone when all you want to do is select gain boost that will push you over the top? In selecting the parameters that you need, you should be able to get selected levels of gain without having to change the tone you've created. My old Digitech RP-1 has the feature that once you tap across two patches, it will jump back to the previous patch if you step on the last used one a second time. I loved that feature because it's common to go back and forth between the two because of the way songs are arranged. The GNX2 does not do this, and I had to pay more attention to my pedal stomping which distracts me from my guitar playing. I used it for about 8 months and found it to be a rather difficult change. I never really got the sounds I needed from this board.

I use a Kramer guitar and Marshall valvestate. This board could get some hot sounds, but then it was noisier, so I never recorded with it. If I used the noise reduction, but I would lose to much natural sustain and lacked decent rolloff that I hoped would offset that. I originally bought this board because it had a more natural tone than most of the other ones I tried. Hey, if you can manage all the settings, and your sound isn't too hard to achieve, go for it.

It is dependable. I have found that to be the case with Digitech.

If you contact them by e-mail, they sometimes don't perceive the nature of some problems you're asking about so you have to make your description as clear as possible to get your point across or you'll get a stock answer.

In play rock, hard rock, pop, and variants of it. Been playing for 40 yrs. I like things to be relatively simple to use. The simpler, the better. That's why Line 6 came out with the Duoverb; they knew that acheiving different sounds without alot of tweaking was what gigging pros wanted. I agree with that philosophy to an extent. What I really disliked about the GNX2 features was the knobs that had memory settings. These were used on the green and red amps. I would have to fully rotate the knob until it locked in on the current setting and then would adjust it. The second issue was having to wait for that blasted little light to move to that knob before I could see what the setting was without having to tweak it, cause I didn't wanted have to reset the parameter in the process. These things add to the time it takes to create or edit. I sold my GNX2 because I stopped using it.

Not bad for a unit that does this much. The software editor is obviously a much easier interface to make big changes to a patch.

I mostly use Yamaha Pac1412 SSH with Duncan HotRails, Dim HS2 and Dim Evolution. Also play my Gibson ES350T, Yam CPX15W ac/el, Washburn RS10, Charvel 650XL. I play through some different amps; Ampeg V4/412, Ampeg VL503 112 combo, Laney AOR ProTube 30, and direct thru PA and home Dolbly 5.1 Surround system. As for the people who bitch about not getting good sounds with this unit they are either just trying to bad mouth Digitech or don't know how to use the unit with all of the different output options. The best feature of the GNX2 and 3 IMO is the output TARGET selection - direct, 112combo inp, 412 stack eff ret, etc. Makes it much easier to use this in a host of different amplifications/recording setups. For user who complained about the modelling sounds I have no idea what they are comparing it to - I've A/B everything out there against the GNX2/3 and I would not say that the GNX2/3 is best at everything I find most of the models I use to be as good if not better than everything else with the exception of the Line6 Vetta series and the H&K Zentera/Zenamp series. But since niether of those offers a lowers cost pedal option I am a complete devotee of the GNX2 pedal. I will say the the pedal is complex enough to handle a tremendous range of guitars and output amps, etc. But some seem to be easier to get great sounds with less tweaking. I would say to someone who has never experienced what a fully tweaked GNX2 can do please hook this thing up to a 5.1 system with a decent Rec/Amp and real speakers/subwoofer. The sound is absolutely astounding - and I have been playing for 38 years and owned too much gear to list - but playing through a GNX2 with a Boutique(G35) warped with Tweed (G70) and adding some studio rev + light rotary is something you can only explain if you can hear it and play through it while actively changing the warp mix. As for the dude who said the stompbox modelling was crap - I have no idea what he was comparing to - but I have an arsenal of great distortion boxes to choose from and the TS, SparkDrv, Rat, and MetalZone all work better and quieter with the GNX2 although the drive range they span while sounding great is a bit more limited IMO - but I prefer to build complex tones incorporating base distortion from my amp model and just adding a smaller solid state component + small boost with the stompbox and that works beautifully for me. I am not going to try and bullsh*t anyone to get that killer tone from any amp or guitar setup I needed to work with the unit for a while to figure out it's nuances - and there are quite a few, i.e. using compression output level is essential when I am working with very high gain sounds esp. if I am incorporating dist+hi gain amp model... being an engineer I don't find it that difficult to understand how the modeling chain is working and how to create models that "work" well given the GNX2 architecture. But since I am an engineer I am pretty picky when it comes to control and sound quality and this unit is as good as it gets IMO for a sub $300 (street) pedal.

Flawless - never any problems, only nit was on one gig I was at the end of the really (really) long ext cord w/ a hefty volt drop so the pedal would power up/dwn when there was a power surge on the PA. Next time I'll bring a little UPS for long ext cords ;-)

Dealt with them a couple of times to answer questions. Got through no problem and support people knew there stuff.

Been playing for 38 yrs (started at 7) and have owned and played through tons of great stuff as well as tons of crappy stuff ;-) .
This definitely goes in the category with some of the all-time great stuff! Compared it to the POD's, Boss GT3/5, Toneworks AX1500G as well as the Line6, H&K, Vox and Marshall AVT modelling amps. This is a serious pedal for those who are willing to invest a little time in getting a very high quality sound in lots of different settings. The strenghts of the pedal IMO are the excellent models, warping feature, layered distortion and performance mode (pedalboard) style switching. The addition of V-Switch, cab tuning and output target are also really neat and useful features! It's not hands down the best at every single model, effect or cab sound - BUT it does everything that I need very well and offers a compact and inexpensive enough unit that works equally well in the studio or on the stage and can be reconfigured for different usages better than any other modelling box or amp that I tried. I will always own one of these pedals!

It's really no more difficult to use than this web form. That being said, I have a Genesis 3 which shares many characteristics with this unit. Setting up presets is easy. The manual is boring, but reasonably complete. It would be nice to find a manual that concentrated on the larger objectives in addition to "this button does this" kind of info.
I scrapped most of the factory presets - not my thing. Some were very nice, though, and I use them occaisionally. I bought it because I play a very wide variety of music and I need something versatile without lugging 1200lbs of equipment everywhere I go.

I'm using this with a Strat, a Tele Deluxe, and a Martin D28. I am running it mono. The left feed goes to the PA, the right to a small amp on stage for my monitor (eq'd to approximate the sound from the PA). I have found it to be quiet, depending on the power condition and proximity to other interference (PC monitor). I like the sounds alot. As I mentioned before, the presets were a little much, but after spending ome time thinking/planning I have set up banks of presets that let me group families of sounds. The rectifier sound is a bit annoying, but mixed in with a more sane amp im, it sounds nice and adds a little singing sustain.
I actually like the TS9 sim. I don't think it sounds just like a TS9, but I like the way it sounds anyway. That, in reality, sums up my philosophy with this type of gear. I'm not trying to perfectly imitate a sound obtained with my tube gear. I'm trying to find good sounds, and I have found plenty.
For an acoustic, well, not exactly my favorite - but the sound guy actually appreciates only having one signal from me to worry about.

I really don't have the money to burn to keep a backup, so, yes, I depend on it. So far, so good - but I don't spill stuff on it and I am generally pretty careful with my gear. I wish the power supply was internal, but I can get over that.

I have never had to deal with them, but their web site is weak.

As mentioned, I have to handle a wide variety of styles and sounds, often within a single gig. The range is from folksy acoustic (old Cockburn, etc) to country to pop to rock to near-metal. I am impressed with the range of this unit. I have been playing for many years (20+), some professional (though not currently), and I think for the money and size that I am happy with my decision to buy it. I've had it long enough for the honeymoon to wear off, but I have not had to ask for a divorce.
I DO wish that the outputs could be separately assigned - that is, left is set for direct and right is set for 1x12 combo. Then I would not have to torture my poor little stage amp to get full range out of it. The tuner drives me nuts, too. I try not to use it.

It's easy to use. Menu is understandable. Patches are good and easy-to-make. Manual is quite understandable too. I got firmware version 1.3 right now.

Good sound. I am using an ESP H-100 guitar now, and it's good with it. But the bad thing is, when I make effects at my house and I go to my band amp, then it sounds like egg frying :) The I must switch some things there and it's OK.

I can depend on it of course. I AM using it on a gigs without backup.

boo

I play Heavy Metal and etc. I have been playing years. If it were stolen or lost... I think I would try something else for exchange. If someone wants to change patches, I'd love to! Mail me if there is something you want to talk about!

It's a pretty simple little machine. If you read the manual (which is very well explained, I might add), then you can have your own sound in no time. Of course, it does take a little time, so you have to be patient, but it will definately pay off after a couple of days of just sitting down and playing around with it.

My basic amp setup includes a Peavey Transtube Supreme head and a Peavey 4x12 cab (Sheffield speakers). My 4 main guitars are a customized Ibanez GRX-40z w/ an Invader pickup, an Ibanez RG-570, an Ibanez Artcore semi-hollow body, and an Epiphone Explorer. The GNX-2 is probably the most versitile effects/modeling processor that I have ever used. I can tell the difference between each guitar, unlike most processors that mask the true tone and sound of the instument. The good thing about it is that the noise gate is very tight, so when you stop playing, there is no hum or buzz, even if you stay on a distorted setting. I can plug in my GRX and get a very modern, nu-metal-like sound, or plug in my Epiphone and get a sound that is comparable to Nuno Bettancour or Joe Satriani. All of the effects come through very strong, and you can adjust the depth and volume of each one seperately within seconds. I'm a freak for chorus, flange, and phasers; all of which are exceptional on this processor. The presets cover all genre's from rock to jazz, and of course, you can customize your own sounds and save them and delete them at your own will. When I first got it, I found that some of the presets and amplifier models sounded a little muffled on my amp, but after setting the "input" settings to match with my amplifier, it fixed the problem. That makes this machine perfect for anyone who likes to record direct. The assignable "V-switch" expression pedal has endless possiblities including Wah, Volume, Amp-Switching, Warping, Reverb Volume, and some of which I am still not familiar with. The built in "Talk box" is also great for those of you looking for that Joe Walsh or Peter Frampton sound. The footswitches are layed out perfectly and have green/red indicator lights which are perfect on dark stages. The stereo and MIDI output capability also allow alot of versatility if you use more than one amplifier or record via your computer. Basically, you can do anything your heart desires with this thing and still sound great.

I have depended on the GNX-2 for 2 years now and it has not failed me nor gave me any problems. It is durable enough to withstand the tortures of the road, which I love because I play shows all the time. In fact, I have become so dependent on it, I don't even practice without it. The only problem that I have found is that the external power source is a little inconvieniant on a crowded stage, since the transformer sits in the middle. It also kinks out after a while (I've fixed mine with a little duct tape). In cases like this, you can purchase them off of the Digitech website, but they are fairly expensive ($50 for the GNX-2 power supply, if I'm not mistaken). Still, I would gladly buy one for another 2 years of great dependability.

I haven't dealt with the customer support at Digitech, nor had it updated. Haven't ever needed to.

If you are one of those musician's who are constantly looking for new sounds, this is your type of machine. All you need is a little time to mess with the settings and you can get any sound imaginable. I can say that if my GNX-2 were stolen or lost, I would HAVE to buy another one, bar none. It helps me come up with new ideas for my compositions and saves me time and money in the studio, because all of the effects that I need are right there, so they don't have to be added during mixing. ALL of my sound comes from this baby...it is my amplifier as far as I'm concerned. The only reason I use the Peavey Transtube is to drive my cab! Its a low-cost way of sounding great. I'm a Mesa/Boogie fan who's on a budget most of the time, and when I got this, it was like getting that rectifier sound without spending $1500. I would definately recommend this machine to anyone who wants to customize their sound, regardless of what type of music they play. If you would like to hear what the GNX-2 has done for my sound, go to www.2mwband.com and listen to some of the MP3's. Its all done by this baby. Also, I have some instrumental material available that I have composed using only the GNX-2. I highly recommend.

Not bad, familiarity with the RP2000 or other Digitech stuff helps. I had NO trouble getting the most fascinating variations of distortions (my middle name, I'm a distortion connoiseur of 27 yrs. of playing) ever. EVER. AND: you CAN save a warped amp to each and every patch, not just the 9 you can save in the "user" new amp memory. Awesome.

I use Ibanez, Fender, but mostly use a 1979 Westbury Standard (Univox) with DiMarzio SD in the bridge and PAF hum in the saddle. This unit is QUIET, probably the quietest of all my multieffects, including GT3, RP2000, AX1500G, etc.: it's the noise suppressor, called SILENCER. Now, the distortions: AWESOME. You play with them to your little demon's content and cream in your jeans. I just love the variations possible. It has the BEST fuzz I've ever heard, rich, textured and sound just as good by note or chord!! Instant retro Sabbathy sounds, tweaked into practically a mondo bass guitar sound, especially with a little eq'ing, but the cabinets (tunable!) truly layer your content like icing on your cake. The reverbs are the weakest I've heard also, however, not like the juicy ones on my GT3 or AX1500G. The wahs are quite decent, all three are nice, even better than on the RP2000. I always play direct into a digital recorder (Akai DPS16) or TASCAM 4 track.

I don't know, I just never thought I'd get to truly manipulate distortion textures like this, and as you can tell I'm ecstatic. Of course the expression pedal is fully programmable, but I had some trouble getting my loop thing right, it was better on the RP2000, where I could freeze it and play over it by controlling with the control footswitch. Then you also have the stompbox OD's, which are nice alone, but with the amps give you ridiculously seething distortions and endless textures ad infinitum..

NA

NA

I play only original electronic/experimental stuff, and also use synths. I am glad I got this, the amps rule. Inspiring.

The pedals are very small. The knobs are easy to use.

Being aware that this is "modeling" it's OK. But wah and distortion could be better.

Doesn't look reliable at all. Cheap plastic pedals etc. On the software side, very unstable operating system. Unexpected reboots frequently. How can I rely on a processor which reboots unexpectedly like a Win 95? What if it's on stage in the middle of a song?

I was recommended to upgrade firmware (OS) for the reboot problems.

This was my first modeling multi-efffect processor. I'm somewhat disappointed with the gnx2, both in terms of sound and reliability. I think it doesn't deserve more than a 4 (failed).