DigiTech Genesis 1

Opened the box, fired it up, and started having fun immediately! Very nice. there is a manual... it is very helpful as a coaster for my beer... you don't need a manual with this box! This machine is simple to operate and just works... very very very simple and instantly good sounds.

US Strat and 2 Tele's and a danelectro (okay, and my pbass, what the heck) I bought this to use with my VS880 and so I can sit on the couch while the family goes into a tv haze and I drop into a purple haze... the only problem is now they want headphone splitters! Sounds good... it won't put Howard Dumble out of business, but, I liked the stock sounds as much as the Pod when I tried it... I don't really use the effects... I like the VOX set up the best

Seems solid enough... I already dropped it and it survived, I've had it several weeks and it seems fine.

probably would never call... I'd either pull it apart and fix myself and messing it up...I'd toss it and cruise ebay until I found another

I mostly play electric americana, home recording, jamming with friends. I've been playing 22 years, my "shoe gazer" nephew was here for thanksgiving and wants one...so, I am going to get him one... I don't really need all the effects and am now looking for a jd-10 or 20... then I could use that and give the genesis away. It is a great little box.. well worth the money.

The Genesis 1 has the advantage that all the control positions always relate to the sound being
produced, which is clearly not the case when you recall a patch on a programmable
modeler (ie. J-Station, POD, V-AMP). This is a huge advantage to be able to tweek by "looking". STONE SIMPLE.

Have owned POD 1.0, POD 2.0, Dig. 2101, Dig 2120, J-Station, RP12, Zoom 9150...wider variety of usable distortions here, than any of aforementioned processors. Models are 100% terrific! Could care less if they "sound" like something else or not. Dig. n-gates are steps ahead of others. Effects merely usable. Models sound so responsive you will not want to "color" them with effects junk.

89. bucks....I may throw it away after each gig, and start with a fresh one.

Harmon group is good, not great. Somewhat helpful in 5 yrs. w/ 2101.

Units appropriateness for my genres:
Metal : A++
Jazz : B (not incredibly lush)
Fusion: B
Reggae: A+
Country: A++
Blues: A++....Stolen? Would sell lemonade for an afternoon and buy another. Makes POD and J-Station look like uneccessary headaches....Utah guys finally got it right...unbelievable value!

The unit is straightforward right out of the box. But dont waste your time, I read the reviews for this thing before I bought it and its not worth the cardboard box it comes in.

Two words ... it sucks. It sounds ok if your goal is to use with headphones but for direct recording the sound quality is just plain ugly. DONT BUY IT - YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED.

For the few times I have used it, it reliably sounded like crap. A very dependable piece of plastic junk.

Never contacted them.

I would rate the sound quality and tone of this thing at about par with two alley cats fighting.

this is incredibly easy to use.. the descriptions of the functions are accurate.. it is incredibly intuitive with almost no learning curve.. which is pretty amazing for a digitech product.. i had the gsp 5 when it came out and you couldn't just plug that bad boy in and get usable tones.. you had to really work at it.. that is not true with the genesis 1.. the trick to the gsp 5 was to realise its limits and simplify the programs.. just chorus.. just reverb.. and the distortion sucked.. this is what i hoped for years ago when i bought the gsp 5.. pnly it cost hundreds of dollars less.. and sounds better too.

i read a couple of other reviews and they said that notes would just cut out when you were holding sustained notes.. duuuuuudddees.. that is your noise gate in action.. try a lower setting and that is no problem at all.. the compressor is excellent although the high setting is really only appropriate for lead passages.. the other two settings are very good. the chorus is excellent. i turn it on and use the lowest setting and it is instant "BRIDGE OF SIGHS." the tremello is pretty cheesy but the phaser is good.. although it isn't a phase 45 by any means.. my biggest gripe is there is no effect level.. but what really was i expecting for $90? the noise gate is totally transparent at the lower levels and although the highest setting is oppresive.. i never have to use it. that is also my complaint about the reverb.. the lowest level is still too 'wet' (although it is a nice room simulation) so i won't use it. the tap feature on the delay is nice though.. as for the placement in my chain.. i just plug it in the front on my amp rather than the effects loop and it sounds very nice.

i find it absolutely dependable.. it simplified my stage setup bigtime.. i have even dropped it.. and there has been no problem..

it is so simple that i don't anticipate ever having to call about operationl problems.. and so cheap that if i break it on tour.. i'll just buy another one.. with the gsp 5 i had lots of problems and the digitech people were more than willing to help.. so based on that:

i love this thing.. i am a very eclectic performer and it covers a lot of sonic teritory.. i dumped a lot of equipment on the resale market because of this bad boy.. i comparison shopped and checked out the POD and a johnson amp.. if you can tolerate not being midi this is the way to go.. the genesis 3 would even cover that ground.

another thing.. when bypassed.. you MUST HAVE THE PEDAL TO DO THIS.. it is very transparent.. and to me that is an important consideration and a great way to check out an effects divice.. this passes the test with flying colors.

Very easy to use.. Not much editing invovled.. You pick a head, a cab combo and go to town! The manual wasn't needed really..

I've used this mostly for practicing at the aparmtent.. but have also used it thru a Peavey 30 watt Classic amp.. Thru both it sounded really good for a 100 dollar device.. I think I paid 95 bucks plus tax or something.. Right at a 100 dollars.. I guess you can get a foot switch with it to, but I don't have one.. There's only really two or three settings that I like personally..but I'm sure some folks could find more.. I love the Marshall setting I think it is and the Black face I do believe.. I give it a 7 because I personally only find about 3 of the effects to be outstanding.. That said, it's only a hundred dollar unit.. I plan on using it to drive a Tech 21 Power Amp .. which I think will be killer.. I'll also check out the Johnson J Station and the Beringer V Amp which I thought was the best of the Modeling amps I've used.. It's only a 129.00 bucks retail so I think it's probably a better deal to be honest..

Well, it's plastic and I wouldn't trust it if you going to throw it around.. Also, I wish it had a mic stand type thing like the POD does. or some type of something to secure it to something, but that's be nit picky..

Never dealt with them.. It's still working~!

Well, if you want something to record with or to practice with and your on a budget this thing might just be the ticket. If you want something to jam with and you dono't use a ton of effects, then this might be ok.. If you have to go from clean, to slightly broken, to all out distortion with multiple effects, look else where.. but you'll pay a lot more of course too! It's good for the money.. but I think it can be beat by spending another 25 to 50 bucks.. It's good for recording to the PC for me at least..

Just like everyone else, I found it extremely easy to use. Given 20 minutes, I could teach a gibbon to operate this thing. If he didn't eat it first, that is. The manual is very basic but it is so self-explanatory, I had no problem with that.

Again, I concur with most of the other reviewers. If you keep the $99 over-the-counter price in mind, the effects more than pay for it. Sure, some of the settings sound gimmicky, but if you want crunch-n-dirty, man it is THERE. If you are under 20 and want to shred, buy the damn thing! You will not be disappointed. On my end, I am basically a play-in-my-bedroom weekend warrior, a 48 year old guy with a dog, wife and kid. I use a Westone Jap SG-copy with 2 DiMarzio PAF's coil-split. Oh yeah, a little Fender solid-state Champion 110. In addition to the crunch stuff, the chorus effect is also DAMN FINE IMHO. The reverb, phaser and other stuff are just OK. But remember: 99 bucks. And you can dick with it all day and just have fun. LAST THING: that other reviewer was right: Digitech.....put a goddamn OFF SWITCH on it so I don't have jerk the power cord out of the wall to turn it off! Obviously, this is a sleazy way to make you but the FOOT SWITCH. So be forewarned, dudes.

Too early to tell re: reliability...I just bought it and still works.

Never had to deal with Digitech so far. I strongly recommend that the dealers forewarn you about the almost-certain need to but the foot switch as well(see above).

I play mainstream rock/blues, so I really don't need the heavy crunch capability. Fun after a few beers, though. Been playing sporadically for about 25 years. I wanted a toy and am very happy with this, great bang-for-the-buck. Best Feature: 5 minute learning curve, which means a well designed product. Worst: No Freakin' Off Switch so you gotta buy the foot pedal to bypass it.

No menus, no lcd screens, no hidden settings. Just twist to your settings and play away. It's even easier to use than a stompbox -- you don't even have to step on it, it's always on when it's plugged in! ;-)

In light of the fact that this puppy cost me $90 + tax, the sound quality is better than I'd even imagined. Some of the high gain amps can be noisy, but the three-level noise gate (high, med, low) helps there. Some amp models are very clean (blackface, brit combo) and you are not going to get much gain out of them. Others are very dirty (brit stack, rectifier) and you are not going to get clean sounds out of them. This is fine by me -- I don't really WANT a clean Mesa sound. And what do you want for the price of 1 stompbox? Corners must be cut somewhere. The best part about this box is that different guitars/different pickups on the same guitar sound DIFFERENT through this box. The gain really isn't controlled by the guitar volume knob like a good tube amp would be. And long sustained notes can abrubtly end towards the end of the sustain as another reviewer noted. These are nitpicky drawbacks however, I am THRILLED with this esp. for the $. The effects are ok, the chorus is good with a clean amp setting. The reverb is usuable.

I am using this as a direct recording box through a SB Live SoundCard (TIP - make sure to use the LINE IN input, not the mic input as the SB preamp will add extra noise!!!). I also am using it as a stompbox in my pedal chain at home through the front of my Peavy Classic 20 (with 12AT7's instead of 12AX7's for a clean, transparent preamp -- I love the poweramp sound - EL34's - but didn't like the preamp distortion of my amp). Also using this as a headphone amp. Guitars are strats with hot single coils and a Hamer Std Import with Duncan Design humbuckers (that will be replaced). For the price category? I give it a 10. But on balance with all others out there ... 7.

Well, it is 2 lbs of plastic. I wouldn't use it to drive nails and I wouldn't throw it around, but it works fine for what it is. I wouldn't gig with this unless it was in a rack drawer though.

What a value for rock/pop sounds. I was saving up for a more professional level amp sim, but this thing rocks. I think it kills POD soundwise. It has enough variety of sounds that I can get my ideas into Cakewalk and have them sound professional. It also, surprisingly, works in my pedal chain (just make sure to use the DIRECT setting and not a cab sim).

The one main drawback is that you can't save sounds. So buy the Genesis 3 if you need that for another 2 benjamins.

I was not a Digitech user before trying this unit, but I am now and will make sure to give their stuff a try in the future. Good job.

If someone stole it, I would forgive them and pray for their soul. OK, not really. But after beating them silly for touching my gear, I'd definitely buy this again in a heartbeat.

The ease of use is at least half of the coolness here. You don't have to search through numeric menus or remember why patch 34A is different from 34B. You turn the amp knob, you turn the cab knob you rock the party. The effects are simple to use but not overly useful.

The sound is the most important virtue of any guitar device, right? Well, this little guy delivers. All of the amp models are distinct. There are no two models making the same sounds. Best of all, the Marshall sounds like a marshall and the Vox sounds like a Vox! I have actually priced some Mesa Boogie Mark II's just because if the actual amp sounds as cool as this modeled one, how could I go wrong?!! It is great to be able to Play a Rectifier on one song and then a vintage Fender twin on the next. It's best played through a PA system, the sound is more authentic. It sounds good through my Fender Blues DeVille it just takes a little longer to get amp settings and Genesis settings to sound right. The effects are kind of an afterthought bonus. They are cool but not very useful.

This thing weighs about 2 pounds, tops. It is plastic and I wouldn't drop it if I were you. It was not designed to be a hard-hitting stage device. It is supposed to sit on a desktop and make sweet-sweet music in relative safety. I have found that the knobs stick a little and sometimes I am on the Blackface amp but the sound is definitely the Rectifier. Nothing major.

I have never worked with them, I only know that they have a good reputation.

I like to play blues, classic rock, metal, Beatle-face power pop and this little guy can do it all. It's great to be able to spin the amp know and play a nice hard E, get the feel for the sound and play whatever comes to mind. It is a great alternative to buying a new amp. Plus it works well through my computer for recording. It sure is nice to be able to go to a gig and carry a few cable and a two pound Genesis with dozens of tones as opposed to a 70 lb amp with two.

This unit is extremely easy to use. Everything is right at you finger tips. You can't ask for easier.

I love this unit. The amp and cabinet models sound great. I use this for professional recordings in the studio. I really love this thing. I have also plugged it into my amp and really liked it. Since it has no midi in/out it really would not do me any good to run it through my amp. I use it to direct record.

I have owned many effects units made out of plastic and I have never had a problem w/any of them. It is very light, but I think it is sturdy enough.

I have never dealt w/Digitech.

I have been playing for over 10 years and I really love the genesis 1. I would buy another one if it was lost or stolen. This is a great sounding processor.Trust me!

easy-to plug it in. can't get good tones out of it. It has no editing of patches.

Terrible. Has lots of distortions. THey are all terrible, just sounds like a fuzz box. It has reverb, which is noisy, and delay, which is just ok. BUt the guitar distortions are plain awful. I used headphones for it. Can't get any good sounds copied like the artists I listen to.

Had it one day, then returned it.

Haven't dealt with them

1. Don't waste your time even if you're a beginner, it'll make you want to hang up your guitar. Not inspiring at all. Especially for a brand new processor on the market.