DigiTech GNX3000

Well first a foremost this is my third and last mistake in the effects processor game I gave it a very difficult to use rating for the reason that its worthless all around I don't want to sound like Eddie Vanhallen and if wanted to there's one good preset for that.
Dialing in a good sound is easy if you want to be a half hour between songs in a live setting dialing getting parameters set by hand?
The manual says the same thing that the box has plastered on the box"Practice create perform record"?!
What this has to do with the GNX3000 is beyond me?
The manual repeatedly refers to a stomp box mode the manual speaks of this mode at least three time to me stomp box mode would be defined as a mode where you have real time effects the manual repeatedly say turn to another page for information about the stomp box mode its not until you get to the last page concerning this stomp box mode that you find out that this mode does not exist!?
The firm ware is Pro Tracks2 I believe.

I was first running this through a crappy Carven X100B tube amp then moved up to the Bugera 333XL,I use a Gibson Les Paul an Epiphone G-1275 and a Michael Kelly semi hollow body electric and on occasions a hot Telecaster.
Its not overly noisy in any of the channels I run through my effects loop volume mixes well when going out of the effects loop.
As stated I'm using a Bugera 333XL.
I really don't care to sound like my favorite music artist and here is where my problem with this unit comes in I want to sound like myself.
It really doesn't matter as all this unit has to offer is a bunch of unusable presets,and any other stand alone effects have to be created as a preset,so the best rating I can give is for on this category.

Well as far as what little performance I've used it for its never left my bedroom it is in working condition after jut a little over a year thats the best I can say about.
I would not consider gigging with this thing and the only time it will leave this house is if I'm able to pawn it off to some sucker on Ebay but being as honest as I am I'll likely opt to throw it in the trash once I've put together an all single effects pedal set up

No opinion on this subject

I play many styles of music and have been playing for over thirty years.
If this thing were stolen tomorrow I would not buy another one I on the I believe I'd feel sorry for the idiot who stole it and then would question rather or not that idiot was retarded in some way:-)
No it has not been a help in making music it is in the way and a total waste of $282.00 brand new.
As for sharing anything else I would suggest that if your like me and you want to be able to change your sound an turn an effect on,or off in real time this unit and any other effects processor is not for you.
And the reality of effects would be something like this I should have taken what I payed for the GNX3000 and added another $300.00 to that and I would have been set up with the effects I want and would have been able to have used them how I wanted.
Don't be fooled by the idea that your going to get everything in one unit because its not going to happen trust me,I looked at review after review of this unit and less that 24 hour after making the purchase I found a review that told me I'd made a big mistake and that was for sure,and now I'm stuck ordering pedals one at a time I have nothing bad to say about Digitech in general but for this musician after going through three of these processors I've learned the hard way and would warn anyone looking to use effects to go with pedals.

The layout is straightforward. If you can read, you can get used to this thing in about 15 minutes, no joke. The beauty though is when you are hooked up to a PC cause X-Edit it where it really shines. So many parameters you can hear while modifying. It really makes this pedal a must have. From different amp cabs, to stomp boxes, to any subtle to change at all, doing it in X-Edit is a breeze!!!

How can you give this unit anything less than a 9? Honestly, I have a complete pedalboard too and I really like the sound this thing puts out. It is expressive and predictable. Everything you need to get paid!!! It is a 10 if you plug it in to a tube amp, period.

I take it on the road without a backup. It has though cycled power on a couple of outdoor festivals (running on generators). It came back on in a few seconds though. Doesn't matter, it didn't quit on me. It also was knocked from the stage to the lower level in sound check. One small scuff, thats it!!! Powered on and finished the tour no problem! The housing is steel, they know what they are doing at DigiTech.....

Never had to use CS!!!

I am a touring musician, endorsed by Fender (blah, blah, blah) on the road most of the year etc. In short, I am a gear nut. I would sell my car if I had to, just to make my rig sound right. I am at a point in my life that I can play just about anything, gearwise. When this stuff first came out it was okay, now it's generations later and man WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! There is a ton of stuff out there, try as much as you can and buy the newest gear you can-used if possible. You'll save a ton of money. Find out what works for your situation.

Boutique pedals? Yeah, Robert Keeley, Analog Man, yada-yada-yada, I even modify my own pedals. For the road, I am trying to find a sound that is consistent night after night that is reliable. I play clean (59 Bassman) and with crunch (Marshall Plexi) and use all types of effects: auto-wah, tremelo, analog delays with different speeds. You name it I use it. The GNX 3000 is a very, very well-engineered piece of gear.

It is very easy to get usable sounds out of this processor. Editing patching is a breeze if you have any experience whatsoever using a multi-effects processor. I takes a bit of tweaking to get the sound you want but there is definitely enough variety to get you going.

I am running a fender stratocaster through this processor and I am very pleased with the results no matter what amp I am running into. There are different line settings that make a world of difference and I suggest using one of the amp settings. This pedal can produce pretty believeable acoustics sounds and can absolutely rock out with the distortions available.

I would absolutelely use this on stage in a second, the unit is very durable unless you are jumping on it like a reject.

Never needed customer support. Not for any digitech product I have ever owned.

I would buy this again in a second. There is an online community of user to download and upload sounds to and from, and the sound overall makes me happy. No processor in the world is ever going to produce the sounds of the product it models so judge it on what is sounds like itself...which in my opinion is very good.

Very easy to program, just figure out how to use the programming matrix the rest is on display. The manual is "how to" based, so you have to read it all trough to know what knobs to turn. Unlike many other amp mods it has 2 cab simulation stages, you have to turn the right ones on/of depending if you're using it for direct recording/PA or in the front of a guitar amp, it will sound wrong otherwise. The firmware is still 1.0

I've been using Jackson Dinky, Ibanez RG and a Cort Action Bass with it for direct recording. It sounds very close to the real thing. Effects are good but not as good as DigiTech X series stompboxes. It sounds great despite of the patch editing bug.

It messes up on editing presets. Either one of the channels would drop out, or it'll sound totally messed up as soon as you start turning the amp/cab selection knobs. I sent it back to the shop, and got replaced by a new one which came with the same flaw. The factory presets work flawless though.

I'll wait for a firmware update, if this is not going to fix the preset editing problem, I'll have lots of fun using a sledgehammer on it. I contacted DigiTech per email on this issue, still no reply.

I've been playing for like 10 years mostly rock. I own behringer V-Amp Pro and a Zoom (don't remember the name) amp modelers. It's the only digital amp that I know which combines guitar and bass amps in one unit, and also sounds descent. I'm back to real amp micing right now.

Easy to use the major functions, but you do need to read the complete manual and keep it handy for the first few hours so you can take advantage of the special functions. There are three major sections to the unit, and understanding how to float between each is critical in getting what you want out of this unit.
It CAN take the place of a lot of pedals.
For everyday use, it IS pretty to use once set up, and makes a handy place to put your microphone, also.
All that being said, it looks to be discontinued as of about 10/2008. It is off the big three on the net, GC, Music123, MusFriend.
So for that, I am glad I bought a B-stock from Music 123 for $179.95. It came through like a new unit.
That's sad about the discontinued status, because although the GNX4 has more "stuff", it also has lots more little buttons that will live on your floor, wherever that is, and the readouts on the GNX4 are worse than the GNX3000 on some issues.
So for the main usage, as an "effects workstation", I give it pretty high marks.

I made the hard decision to try and run this through a little Line 6 Spyder III 15 watter. So in the beginning, all my sounds had way too much distortion, sounded shallow, and overall, pretty lousy. One night I just spent a while fiddling with my setup on the Line 6, (Gain-Bass-Mid-High-Drive-Chorus/Phaser-Reverb/Echo), and after about 30 minutes of trying out various settings, I managed to find an incredible sweet spot that made practice at home sparkle. The various sounds provided by the GNX3000 actually took on the depth and measure that they were supposed to in almost all cases. I also found that turning off the Compressor function in a lot of sounds enhanced the output of sound through my little amp.
So if you find one of these for a really reduced price for a practice unit at home, grab it, as long as you don't need that recording function that rides on the GNX4.
One caveat - I think the Wah function sucks. Too high pitched to start out, and not in the same ball park as my Spyder Jam Wah, and not even close to a tube amp Wah sound. Other than that, great guitar sounds...after the adjustments.
It just takes patience. Almost stopped me from looking for a tube amp...almost...still looking.

As other have stated - built like a tank.
Some buttons too little.
Pedals are metal and frame is metal - thing is HEAVY. A little over ten pounds, I think.

Never called them. Signed onto the web forum, lots of great stuff there and lots of people who will gladly help you with your questions if you post. Upgrades, etc.

I play a lot of classic rock and blues. But when you want that light distortion that maybe comes in and out in some songs, or that bright sparkle, that is where this thing shines. With multiple available pedals, you set it up with various sounds and change at will. That is how this thing is great. The sound tracks are very digital - I like the Spyder Jam tracks much better. But the Angus sounds like Angus, and a lot of others come very close. Mr.Chet is cheesy, but you can't hit em all.
I bought it on price after looking at a number of pedals. If I had to pay full price I might have bought something else more compatible to my Line 6 gear, like a Line 6 Mod, but in the end, this does me well and allows me to sound like people I will never be.
My favorite feature is the multible sounds and the fact you can modify each to your taste in a variety of ways. Also, pretty to easy to use for most functions.
I don't care for the tuner, hard to use, and the Wah sucks. Also, the sound level for your input from your guitar is a teeny knob on the backside right next to the output plug, a bad place to try and reach.
Still, if you find one for under $200, take it. Support should be there on the web for a long time.

Personally I???d like to see one set of tone controls for the amp models and a separate set for the effects and tweaking this unit can be a bit fiddly as you have toggle backwards and forwards. That said the manual is clear and Digitech have a least tried to keep controls to a minimum so once you get used to it???s fairly intuitive.

The X-Edit software makes things much, much easier. I???d give them 10/10 for this as it makes all the settings, including complex expression pedal assignment, very simple.

Amp Modelling: I???ve had a chance to try this through several different amps and I have noticed that what you play through makes a huge difference to the tonal quality. However, should you put it through the right amp (in my case a Marshall MG series) and this thing can really sound amazing.

Admittedly I haven???t played through all of the originals that this thing simulates but I have played through some of them (JCM800, JCM2000 and Vox AC30) and, to my ears, these are very convincing. For the amps that I haven???t had the chance to play through, well I???ve heard them on the records and again I???m convinced (yes you really can get that punchy Vai lead sound???..)

I???ve got to hand it to Digitech because the simulations really capture the attack and that ???breathing??? sound that good valves amps have and I don???t think I???ll ever buy one of those hefty, expensive beasts again as this mimics them so very well.

I???m also going to mention the stompbox models here because they are spot-on too. The Boss DS1 and Big Muff really do sound like the real thing. Incredible.

Effects: are generally of a good quality, useable and logically organised, although I suspect that some competitiors (e.g Boss) would have the edge on quality. Until fairly recently a Whammy pedal on it???s own cost more than this entire unit does and when I think about it like that, I can???t really complain!

I???ve played 6 gigs with this and it seems pretty solid despite a few knocks

I suppose this is section to express a couple of gripes that properly do affect ???reliability??? a bit.

Firstly, there a brief but noticeable lag in the switching patches causing the sound to dip momentarily. This would only hinder if you were doing some really tight patch changes and isn???t as bad as some have claimed (at least not on mine). I???ve bypassed the problem by using it stompbox mode where there???s no lag changing channels or switching effects on or off. It???s a shame Digitech didn???t address this though, because I???m sure if their competitors can avoid this they can too!

A couple of other minor gripes: the wah pedal was difficult to toggle on and off but I???ve since made some adjustments to the pedal stops to remedy this. Finally I???ve twice managed to toggle the learn-a-lick function in rehearsal by hitting pedals 1 & 2 at the same time. OK, my fault but I wouldn???t mind a way to disable this!

I???ve not had any direct dealings with Digitech but the forum and online pages aren???t too bad and I???ve found some useful info on there plus some good patches.

Despite the minor gripes above I think that this is incredible device. We???ve all got rather spoiled now with the number of multi-effects/amp modelling pedals on the market now because we can now get a whole range of tones at home that we could???ve only dreamed about 10 years ago. I couldn???t say whether this better than a Line 6 X3 or Vox LE and I think it churlish to make comments like unless one has spent some serious time with each of the products. What I do know is that there are some really excellent and authentic amp sounds produced by this thing plus a whole raft of useable effects.

I know this is an end-of-line product now but now is the time to buy as it offers excellent value for money. This can be bought for about GBP150 at the moment (about US$350), and that barely buys a couple of decent standalone effects pedals. When I think of the shear number of pro-tones I can get out of this thing it represents incredible value for money.

Usability for live sound is good and the system is easy to navigate while in use as a live effects processor. 3 banks with 65 programs in each bank. Of the 3 banks only one can be programed by the user. A real bummer from my point of view as I use this as a MIDI controller for my rack gear and Marshall JVM410H (yes the JVM is MIDI controllable). I would have preferred to have at least 128 user programmable locations.

Editing patches from the board itself is a bit involved and can be frustrating to those who are not technically inclined. However using X-Edit 2 (downloadable from the Digitech website as the unit ships with the X-Edit 1.0) hte process of updating and modifying the user programmable presets is much easier and more intuitive.

The manual though, thick is a bit incomplete and leaves some things up for assumption or user trial and error. I specifically mention this as the manual only briefly states that the unit is capable of sending MIDI program change codes. It says it can be controlled using and external MIDI source for command and control codes. And if you are not familiar with MIDI this information is absolutely useless to the novice. Additionally the information regarding programability is good but not great. And in some instances the manual states that the user will just have to play with it to see what they will get for sound and tone.

The current firmware is version 1.0. And I am using the driver set for Windows Vista 32 bit. When using this as a recording interface it leaves a bit to be desired. The driver notes specifically state that ASIO is not supported in Windows Vista. This isn't a good situation as the recommended drivers are WDM which increase overall latency when recording to a DAW package. I don't use the Pro Tracks that is supplied with the unit. I use Cakewalk Sonar 7 Producer Edition and the drivers cause the program to crash. This is something my Line 6 TonePorts won't do. So in effect to use this for recording on a Vista platform you're out a luck. If you're on XP you should be good.

So at this point the unit is going to be used for live performance only. A bit of a waste of money as I paid for these features, though I have three other recording interfaces. It would have been nice to use this for recording my live performances for later review.

The unit is First in the effects loop on my stage rig. Audio routes as follows:

Guitar (3 Ibanez RGs (all moded with DiMarzio D-Activators, Jackson RR5, Dean Razorback V, Warmoth Custom Soloist) >Marshall JVM410H Out via parallel effects loop >Digitech GNX3000 >Dunlop Slash Wah > MXR Variphase > DSP128+ > back into the Marshall.

Noise isn't a problem as long as you use the Noise gate within the processor. This is a great tool when using the JVM in the high gain settings.

However one of the things I didn't need was the Amp modeling. The amp models as they come out of the box are horrible. My Line 6 gear has better tonality, at least from the recording point of view. They seem thin with no bottom. The models of Marshalls have no "bark" and the the Model of the Carvin Legacy is way off. Thankfully you can tune the amp settings for the filter cutoffs and knees using the X-Edit 2.0 otherwise as an amp modeler the thing would be useless.

The effects though are good. I am not looking to model specific stomp boxes or reverbs so it all works well for me. I just dial in the sound I want to hear and I'm ready to go. As far as the sounds of favorite artists. I don't go down that road. I've defined my own sound and the Digitech equipment has been a part of that for 20 years +, going back to the original DSP-128.

I have had Digitech equipment for well over 20 years and never had a problem with the quality of build or operability. I expect this unit will serve well on stage and allow me to accomplish what I want. The thing that really sold me on the product is that the unit is in an all metal case. and the pedal mount is made out of metal as well.

I can't say the same about some of the other units I looked at. But this was one of the primary decisions with going with the Digitech unit over say the Line 6 POD XT Live. I don't feel I would need to have a back up for this processor.

The unit I bought was a demo unit from Guitar Center and was missing the USB cable and the program CD. A quick call and a fax to Harmon Music and they sent me the stuff that was missing. I received it 2 days later by US Mail.

So overall the customer support is excellent. Any time in the past when I have had a technical issue with a Digitech product I have gotten prompt and quick resolutions.

I play everything from Blues Rock to Metal and the GNX3000 works well for me. I've been playing for nearly nearly 32 years and out of that I spent '84 thru '90 playing live and have just recently returned to playing live again. I bought this unit specifically for that type of playing situation and expect it to hold up for what I am using it for.

Would I replace it if it were stolen? probably would get another unit simply because it would keep my rig in a plug and play type situation. I wouldn't have to go out and learn a completely new system.

I think the thing I like about this unit is the programmability of multiple effects and the integration of the expression pedal. The amp modeling I can do without as my Line 6 gear is better in this respect thought the Digitech is more flexible when using the X-Edit 2.0 software.

I compared this against a Line 6 PODxt Live, and a Boss unit I just can't remember the model. As I mentioned I had purchased this because of it's build quality.

The one thing that really bothers me about this unit is I would have preferred to have 3 banks of 128 programs each with one of those banks being user programmable. This would have kept things a bit more tidy when trying to match up program settings with other MIDI capable devices.

As a recording interface well I am a bit disappointed. You would think that Digitech would have gotten ASIO drivers written and tested for Windows Vista as in this day and age you have to special order a PC or Laptop with XP to even get it. I have other Harmon music products that have ASIO Vista Drivers so why can't the Digitech Division get them written?

This is my first DIGITECH pedal.. Well I must say that even though it looks intimidating, its easy to program. I have never seen so much control over sound.. Manual is very well put.
At first I though that I can program it hands down but didn't work out that way. Finally I had to go through the manual to understand the true potential.

I am giving it an 8 here bcoz it I had to read the manual otherwise it deserves a 10

I use a vintage Ibanez whose name I don't know.(it looks like a strat with sunburst colours and 21 frets, polished fretboard. if anyone has the name for it, please let me know :) ) for practice I use a small Marshall MG10CD and a custom old set of speakers which i use as a cabinet. It really gives a big big sound. With the pedal connected, it was the most superb sound I have ever heard. The sound is so clear and crisp that its just perfect. On tweaking for a couple of hours I finally got the distortion I was looking for. The factory preset distortions sounded little too trebly to me. I want a deep heavy sound because I play mostly heavy and death metal. The thing that pleased me most is the noisegate function. The guitar I am using now is a bit on the noisy side because its become old and pickups are weak. With the noise gate on my guitar feels new again. When i put on the humbucker pickup simulation AAHHH!!! I was blown away. It was perfect.
There is ultimate control on the sound coming out. I have never seen so many options to tune and fine tune my sound.
All I got to say is that, for a $300 equipment it is more than I had bargained for.

This thing is built like a tank. I got this through a cousin of mine who bought it in the US and brought to India on one of his trips. I had never seen the pedal before because no one around here has this one. I bought it after doing extensive research and reading a lot of reviews. After seeing and using it I would surely gig without a backup. This pedal is meant to last and I totally depend on it.

Outside the US the warranty does not hold... Hmmmm thats not very nice is it?

So far no problems

I play more of heavy/death metal music.. main influences Iron maiden, metallica, megadeth, lamb of god, children of bodom etc... this pedal suits my needs. I have playing for a little over 6 years now and now I have enough music taste to realise a good sound. Before I use to practice with what ever distortion i used to get.
If it were stolen then I would buy it again if I have the same budget. If I can extend my budget then I would probably go for the BOSS GT10.
Features I really liked is the noisegate, drum machine and the superb connectivity, I compared it to many pedals before settling for this one. some of them would be line6 pods and Boss GT8. seeing the feature for the price paid, digitech wins hands down.
One thing i wish it had is a screen like the Pods and GT8. Makes reading easier as all the abbreviations can be avoided and would surely make it look better.
I have no regrets buying it..

Seems easy to use, except for programming sounds* see entry

The preset sound are OK, I would have liked to have loaded some presets though

Hmmm well I cannot edit any sounds, as when I do one or other of the channels drops out all the time. Unfortunately I purchased it from USA and the warranty is not valid overseas, so I am stuck with just the preset sounds, so I am not impressed with reliability (I have had it now just over a week!)

Can't find any firmware upgrade, don't know if that would fix my problem anyway. I think it is a hardwasre issue.
Customer sup8port have been in touch, but no help.

This is the first..... Digitech product I have bought.... You do the maths!

Very Easy to program if you use the software

I have had this unit for about 4 months. I really do enjoy playing through this thing. It can be a little limiting if you are in a cover band and need to emulate 20 different sounds in a single set, and even though I am not, I still wished they had went with a 10 switch pedal board, but it would have been much more expensive I suppose.
I play a Strat into a Morley Wah, into The GNX3000, then into a Basic power amp (Nady XA300) into a home-made 1-12 cab loaded with an Eminence Texas Heat speaker. The patches I use I created myself.
I think it sounds very good. If you take the unit for what it is, and take the time to dig into it you can get some great sounds from this sucker. And do yourself a favor right from the start...use the X-Edit program, it make life much easier.
Now, for those who whine when their $300.00 unit don???t sound like a $10,000.00 wall of vintage Marshals. All I can say is...you???re exactly right! It don???t. And if you really though it was going too, I have some swamp land to sell you at a great price(for me)!
Every digital piece of crap out there claims to "sound like the real thing!" They all claim it, but none do!
That is to say 0% sound real. It is a 100% failure rate!
So digitally speaking...NONE OF THEM SOUND AND FEEL REAL!
"...But they said it would sound like a Fender, and a VOX, and a Marshall..." I know they did, but they lied.
They have to say that because everyone else is saying that. You wouldn???t buy it if they told you up front "This unit WILL NOT sound or feel like the real thing."
Marshall and VOX and Fender, etc... Are just Buzz Words they use to make you mouth water like a trained monkey.
So laying all that aside, and making no comparison to "the real thing" this unit sounds great for what it is.
It has some great potential in it. I have programmed a great Clean sound, a great Dirty sound, a great Distortion sound, a great Lead sound and a great acoustic sound???what more could I want (except more switches ;-).
...Now don???t we all feel better...HUH? DON???T WE!!...peace???;-)

So far so Good!

Never Used

Pretty Solid Performer!