DigiTech Genesis 3

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Considering how technology has evolved so rapidly over the last several years, you would expect a unit like the Digitech Genesis 3 to have broken new ground by providing a professional effects processor for relatively cheap. You expect to rip open the package and start hearing these subtle tube-like distortions and shimering chorus effects or professional reverbs that will take your music to a new level. They talk a lot about organic sounds and being able to morph your amps and a lot of other cool things. You start to develop this urgent feeling that if you're not playing through one of these units then you're falling far behind the times, like someone who hasn't learned how to use the internet yet.

In reality, this unit is anything but innovative. It reminds me of the cheap effects of the early 90's. The problem here is that the genesis and gnx products were engineered quickly to compete with the Line6 products which were rapidly controlling the marketplace. Genesis 3 (gnx) is really the result of losing out on the market share and the fear of falling stock value. In fact, Digitech has been unable to innovate anything even remotely interesting for at least 12 years. The last important product they developed for guitar was the 2101 (two space rack unit with two 12x7 tubes in the preamp section) which quickly became the 2112 with a better user interface and a nicer look. They finally ended production with the 2120 SGS artist in early 2000. It's street price was around $899 and the sound quality was only "ok".

Since then they have probably been scratching their heads wondering what to do next. So they try and follow in the steps
of line 6 amp modeling but they don't put any work into research and development. Instead they simply recycle old ideas
into smaller cheaper marketable products and pretend as though it's new. It's probably Digitech having too many uptight brainwashed employees in suits driving away the talented in favor of dull conformists who know how to do good market research. Good Utah employees who know how to push buttons! As a result, Digitech has lost all connection to music (did they actually have any to begin with?) and as a result their products sound empty and hollow.

I guess the thing that bothers me the most is that a lot of naive young guitar players will fall victim to the Digitech hype and then wonder why musical development is so hard. I really believe that badly engineered products like this actually stunt musical growth. Lets face it, most people who learn guitar do so without much instruction or help from a professional. A lot of time is spent sitting by yourself plucking away trying to figure out exactly what music is and how you create it. If you're limited to these kinds of products, you stand a good chance of giving up playing all together.

I would recommend that you save your money and buy a good used tube amp. Don't buy anything which claims to model tubes or sound like tubes. Make sure the tube amp you buy is suited to the kind of music you like. Then invest in a couple of good used effect pedals. These are easy to replace with new ones when you want to experiment with a new sound. I'd also suggest a good used rack dedicated to reverb. This is the only way to get good sound that will allow you to develop into a musician. Avoid the hype from companies like Digitech that care more about your money than your music. I learned the hard way by waisting a lot of time and money with these new digital amp emulators and I can honestly tell you that it will take you no where fast!

If you don't take my word for it, go to digitech website linked below. You can hear samples for yourself. After listening, you'll see that no one in their right mind would play one of these things. No wonder Digitech suddenly slashed the price on this thing. About 3 months ago they were close to $400 each. Now it's down to $199. Two more months it will be $139. These units are desti

Its made from cheap plastic. It's not designed for anything other than sitting on your desk top. if it doesn't leave your bedroom, you have a good chance of having it around for a while without problems. someday it will make a good door stop.

Never dealt with digitech. I owned the Digitech 2120 back in the 90's and had a lot of communication problems with them. I'm not sure if they are more up to date with customer relations these days. Check other reviews.

My final word on this is. Don't buy one. They have a horrible tone and sound terrible. Nothing musical here at all.

This is a follow-up from an earlier post. I think that it is valuable to review gear after the "I just bought the thing" stage.

I've decided that I like the warp control. It is really helpful for taking the edginess out of some of the presets, or just cleaning them up a bit.
I've been too lazy to hook it up to the computer, so I have not dumped the patches that I have set up. But I like this feature (in theory).
The tuner still sucks - it will never be my primary tuner.

I'm still quite happy with the sound quality. I have two different setups that I use it with - little PA at home with the mains as my primary monitor source, and big PA/little amp at gigs with the little amp as my primary monitor source. This has caused some problems because I set up patches based on my "PA" sound and they sound brittle through the amp. I need to figure out how to EQ the amp to more closely match the sounds from the PA.
I'm particularly happy with some of te more subtle amp sounds. I hardly ever use the Rectified patch - it is just to irritating to me.

I have now been gigging with this for a while. I had initial plans to buy a midi pedalboard, but I haven't done that. I just set the thing on a stool with te left channel going to PA and the right going to amp. No problems. I don't spill on it and I don't yank it off the stool, so I am not too worried about it breaking. I DO hate those stupid little power supplies, though.

Never needed them. Their web site sucks.

The stuff I play changes nearly every gig, and so do the patches. Thus, usability is a big factor for me. Bottom line: it has been a benefit as a creative tool and not a detractor. It is a keeper.

A good thing about the Genesis3 is that it sounds great right out of the box. The factory patches contain pretty much everything from squeaky clean to dirty as hell! Playing with the amp and cab models is very easy when you start to understand that you've got 2 amps and you can switch back and forth. The effects are a little more difficult to get to with the small buttons. Personally, my Genesis3 is rigged up to a computer so I can use the GenEdit software, it makes editing patches a whole lot easier.

Before buying the Genesis3, I had tried the Line 6 POD Pro and the Behringer V-Amp 2. The sound quality of the Genesis3 was far superior than the V-Amp, I would say it was equal to the POD Pro.
I'm using the noise gate a lot in the heavier patches to reduce noise when I'm not playing. The cabinet tuning great for getting excatly the tone you're after.

I've only had it for a few days, but it looks like something that would need to be handled with care. If I was to gig extensively with it, I would probably buy a backup unit.

Didn't have to deal with customer support, but I did go download a new firmware version and everything went very smoothly.

This device is perfect for me. I use it for PC recording in conjunction with Cubase SX and Reason 2.0. It gives me excellent guitar tone without having to mike any amps. I use it mostly for it's Mesa-Boogie Rectifier sound. I was using a Boss Metal Zone and this thing is even more versatile and powerful distortion-wise.
To me, this device is just as good as the POD Pro except it's 1/3 the price. Great Value! Highly recommended!

Once you get the hang of it, it's easy to get around. However, it takes a few hours (at least!) to get there. I was intimidated at first - and not to mention confused! Don't throw away the manual! I found myself referencing it a lot in the beginning.

I play a Gibson Explorer and BC Rich Mockingbird through a Mesa Rectoverb and Marshall TSL60. I quickly found hard-rockin' sounds I was happy with through the G3 (which I run through my PC speakers when using Cakewalk, or plug my headphones straight into). I think the effects are all top-notch as well - the flanger especially. I've read users complain about the G3 being "muddy" or "distant". If you don't re-adjust the equalization and presence knobs each time you change models, this happens (which is a minor pain). So, just re-adjust the knobs and you'll find your sound.

It seems reliable and durable, but it just stays in my apartment - so I haven't really put it to the test. I don't gig with it, or even travel with it for that matter.

I play original music heavily influenced by lots of rock - from Aerosmith to Motley Crue to Fu-Manchu to Dynamite Hack. I've been playing for about ten years. Although I gig with a "real" rig (Marshall and Mesa amps), the G3 is a great way for me to experiment with new song ideas and record them onto my PC (using Cakewalk's Gutiar Track Pro). Between all the amp models, speaker cabs, and effects, I often times can't put this thing away (even though I have to get up for work in only a few hours). The "morphing" feature is really cool. It's already been described in other reviews, so I'll just spare the description of what it is and say its "awesome." I'm not familiar enough with Line 6 to really give a fair comparison, but I know I was drawn to the G3 because it was significanly cheaper. All in all, for the money, this is one of the best toys a guitarist can buy!

It's easy to use and very logical. The instructions are right on. The only difficulty I've had is being able to match sounds I hear on my CDs exactly, but I think that's because I haven't spent enough time with it. When I get the patch editing software from digitech, it should be easier. I managed to get very, very close to the effects from Rush-Roll the Bones, so it seems like the sounds are there to be found.

Everything is quite good, good, not great. Like others have said, this unit kills similar priced practice amps. I have a Crate GFX-120, I think that's the correct prefix, and the Gen 3 is much better. It's a great practicing tool and it highly useable for live performance, but I want better. So I got the Digitech 2120. There's no substitute for tubes.

Very Good. No problems.

Don't know yet. I'll be contacting them soon.

At $199 on musiciansfriend.com, similiar modelers (line 6, VMP 2, Johnson Amp) aren't as good. You might try out the Yamaha Stomp. I never tried that one. Also, there are many digital rack units that I've never heard that might be better. If it were stolen I wouldn't replace it. I'm moving on to tube preamps and tube amplifiers. Sometimes the wave of the future is the past.

This is my first Digitech product, and I have heard mixed reviews, but it has been very easy to use. It is easy to spend lots of time piddling around with it, just because it can do alot. I like the way you edit patches on here better than on the POD (I have a bass POD). When you turn the knobs on this thing, you can see the value that you are starting from. I find that helpful. The manual is fine, but not very interesting (I think Line6 does a better job here talking about the original sources and what the patches are intended to be). Complaints: the tuner sucks - too jittery.

I use this unit with a Schecter PT-elite and have been getting very nice results. There is always the "this doesn't sound exactly like my tube amp" comment, but it sounds pretty darn good. The presets are a little over the top, but once you tone them down I realy like the sound. Most of the effects are pretty good. Unlike the POD, you can access all of the parameters without heading for the software (with only very few exceptions). This is, in my opinion, well done. The amp models are fine. I can get a nice, crunchy, drunk Joe Walsh sound. I also like the blackface. It can be very clean, but you have to be careful not to overdrive it.
I plug directly into the Genesis and send the stereo outs to the mixer. I have a Laney LC50 and a Fender Deluxe Reverb (mid 70's) that are both collecting dust while I noodle with this thing. I have to turn the Fender up too loud to get the sounds I want. The Laney is very nice at reasonable volumes, but not very versatile. I play in settings where I need to be able to produce a very wide variety of tones, this is fitting the bill quite nicely.
I should mention that I am stomp-box challenged, which is why I was looking for something with decent effects. I like the unit.

So far I am pretty happy with the reliability, but I have yet top really press it. It mostly sits in my little studio/rehearsal room. I really like the portability. I will be getting a MIDI foot controller, so I don't expect that it will get kicked around much.

Sorry, no experience with them. Passable web site. I've seen much better.

I'm all over the board stylistically, from fingerpicking acoustic to jock-rattling rock. I have to say that I hate the acoustic sound, but I'm REALLY picky about acoustics.
If I lost it (or my wife found it and threw it out ;-) ) I would hem and haw about a POD then come to my senses and buy another one of these. I looked at PODs, J-Station (same thing really), Korg stuff, even pedal boards (Korg, Zoom, Digitech, Boss). I guess I just like the sounds and the format. I like being able to have it on my desk, or on a stand-shelf. I like the MIDI interface. I like pretending I'm a rock star playing a screaming solo (at night, in the basement, without waking the kids!). I'm happy.

Sounds great! This unit was not as easy to operate "on the fly" as the POD or V-Amp but once I read the manual I found the learning process went smoothly without much frustration. I'm glad I was patient because during "side by side" comparison testing with the POD and V-amp I was at first leaning towards purchasing the V-amp because I found it easier to navigate and it sounded great (I still a fan of the the V-AMP and I have recomended the V-AMP2 to many friends) but I ultimatly decided the sound and effects quality superior on the Genesis 3. This unit is "cool" folks. Especially if you like to play around with presets and experiment with new or vintage sounds. I seem to find a new sound or application everyday. Need to get out of a sound or style rut? Just plug into the Genesis 3(just be prepared to spend WAY to much time on this machine-and remember to get at least a few hours sleep each night!).

I am currently playing a Dean EVO FT (solid mahogony body w/maple top) with 2 Humbuckers. The bridge pickup has a coil splitter tap. One thing that impressed me was I could hear a clear difference in sound when I split the coil(I had not previously noticed this during my in store testing so I can't compare this with the other units). Excess noise was not a problem and the built in noise gate seems to work fine with plenty of range. I found the amp simulations as good or better than the POD or V-amp. I love the vintage Marshall,Mesa Boogie and Matchless sounds but of course that's always a personal thing. I find that with some "tweeking" any amp simulation can be changed to accuratly copy a vintage tone or more impressivly get at least close to a particular artists tone. For instance a more unique Brian May or Tom Sholz type sound is achievable with a little knowledge of their amp set up and original effects use. I'm currenty working on both these sounds-both seem to require use octave/harminizor effect offered on this unit. I am also working on recreating the Peter Frampton Marshall/Leslie speaker sound by using the rotary speaker effect. I mention these 3 examples to illustrate once again the fun to be had with this unit if you are patient and enjoy the challenge. The effects offered on this unit are by themselves impressive enough to have been offered as a stand alone unit. While of course each effect probably has a more impressive "stomp box" version on the market (some of which are made by Digitech by the way) keep in mind that you could never buy this many effects for the price of this one unit. That coupled with the fact that you can combine multiple effects and store them as part of a preset makes this a dream come true for someone like me who as a kid owned a few effect pedals but had a "wish list" of effects pedals a mile long! The genesis 3 even lets you combine 2 amps sound into 1 new "warped" amp sound (even amps presets you have customized or created yourself). Visit the Digitech web site or visit your local music store to see/hear the various effects offered - To many to list hear but I will mention I found the basic effects work fine and the delay and pitch shift effects were more usefull that I first imagined they would be. I recomend using headphones the majority of the time. The CD input "play along" feature works great. It's very easy to balance and blend levels. If you do use with an amplifier you MUST change the signal output. This unit has multiple settings for various amp/speaker combinations ( I recomend reading the manual for this one). I have not yet direct recorded anything with this unit but I imagine the digital out feature will make for great sounds. The supplied software appears basic but usable. It is possible this is a strong feature of this unit but I have yet to try it (still stuck in an "analog" state of mind I guess)

No problems after 4 months. I play for many hours straight and this unit has shown no problems at all. I recomend checking this catagory under the 'Johnson J-Station' as the Genesis 3 is basically an upraded version of the same product. The plastic case and the fact that it is basically just a circuit board wrapped in plastic will keep this unit at home and away from the kids! If guarded closely it could probably work at live gigs. I don't personally think they were designed for that application. I might be tempted to use the effects section only (no dedicated bypass channel but can be done from what I have read).

I have had no direct contact with Digitech. The Digitech web site is nice and the user group section is starting to offer more and more user submitted downloads. User discussion forum seems usable although I would have liked to see more interaction from a Digitech rep. (may questions appear left unanswered).

Overall rating...lets just say that for me, a 40 year old father of 2 who decided to revive a favorite part of his past -guitar playing- and who wanted to get the most out of his now rare leisure time, the Genesis 3 has provided me with hours of fun, challenge and inspiration. Inspiration? A strong word but probably the one word that describes the feeling I get each time I plug into this unit. I can not recomend strongly enough how usefull a creative tool these amp simulators are and so easy to use! Their great for casual playing, recording, songwriting and all at arms reach in the comfort of your home! Can you get the same feeling with other units like the POD or Vamp? Yes, I'm sure you can. I personally feel the Genesis 3 is the best desktop unit available at the moment but if money is an issue(it should always be a consideration) then I recomend the Vamp2. It sounds great and offers many of the same features at less than half the price of the Genesis 3. The Genesis 1 (also from Digitech) also seems to be a great deat at under $100.00. Do these units sound like a real tube amp? That was once a concern of mine and I have now realized that unless I'm recording direct I really don't think I need 100% accuracy. Ideally I will own a tube amp of choice
but I will also always own a machine like this one.

This product was definitely quite easy to use right out of the box. The only thing that wasnt easy out of the box was the ability to create your own amp models.For that you need the manual , but this is to be expected.Starting with a factory preset , it was quite easy to adjust the different effects and settings.

I plugged into the Genesis with an entry level Ibanez guitar... not sure of the model though.What I can say that is the sounds this unit provide sound more "real" and organic than the POD.When deciding on whether I should purchase the Genesis or the POD , I was almost swayed by the POD having more amp models... upon listening to both , in my opinion the Genesis blows away the POD

Cant commment on this so far as I just bought the unit.My only concern would be that the case is plastic rather than metal.

Havent had to deal with customer support yet

This is very tweakable unit with some great sounds in it. I haven't got into editing the patches yet but looking over the manual it seems very straight forward. I had troubles getting the software installed on my system and have yet to get it to run correctly. The manual was well written and easy to understand. Firmware version #1.0

Steinberger, Fender Strat and Tele etc.. sounds better with humbuckers but thats my own taste. Low noise and effects sound good. I just sold my Marshall JCM 900 Highgain head and this unit can match that and MANY other amp combinations! DEAD ON!
I wish Digitech would have put in a better screen. With todays technology why do I have to abbreviate a few words and decifer it later because the screen is chinsy?

I would depend on it. Would gig without a backup

Never needed it.

JAZZ-BLUES-POP-ROCK-ALTERNATIVE ETC>>>It will do it all!
I would replace it if lost or stolen. I have had other Digitech products ala GSP21 Pro and this is by far better unit with little to no noise and FAST program changes. Would like to see it come with the optional X Control MIDI foot pedal!

I use the Genesis 3 with the Control X pedal board, usually live. I put the desktop unit on an accessory tray that mounts on a microphone stand (usually sold in the drum section). I much prefer this setup to the previous pedalboards, multi-effect units, rack mounts, and stomp boxes that I have used before. When I need to change a parameter on the fly, like the warp feature, I just reach out and spin the knob(s). For this reason I prefer the Genesis3 to the other Genesis versions that are totally on the floor.

I do not like to spend what little free time I have re-programming the outrageous garbage that a lot of these types of units use as standard presets (Digitech included). This unit has presets that are actually useable! And I have experience with thousands of dollars of disappointments that did not sound as good or were as user friendly.

The manual is OK, but really needs to describe the presets; what the name is supposed to imply and what the parameter values are.

The tuner is very nervous. Much prefer the Boss TU-12(?). You can even see it in the daylight, unlike the Genesis display.

I go direct to the snake, into the mixer and out to some Mackie 1530s. The output can be tweaked for specific interfaces which is an improvement long overdue. This thing is Quiet when set up correctly. Through the Mackies this thing can move a lot of air. But I know what some of the other reviewers mean when they say it isn't totally the same. There is nothing like standing by a big Boogie amp and feeling your pant legs wave in the breeze. But a Boogie head in a road case weighs about 100 pounds and this thing weighs maybe ten with the cables, direct boxes, pedal board and everything. Something to consider when you are playing a couple hundred gigs a year like I do.

I use minimal effects so I cannot really comment on them. I play lead in a band that does R&B, Country, Southern Rock, whatever. I get very good Santana-like sounds from a couple of the presets.

Only time the sound really sucked was when I went into the wrong channel on the board which had some funny EQing on it.

I am nervous about the plastic case. I asked Digitech if they were going to make a padded gig bag for it, and they have not responded in a couple of months now. I do use it without backups. I feel sorry for my wife if she has to lug one of my Mark IVs to a gig because this thing got toasted.

Outdoors, direct sunlight or not, the displays on the desktop unit and pedal board are impossible to see.

Had a problem at one gig where the voltage was probably low (108VAC at the power conditioner) because of the line loss. The unit would just quit and then come back online. Tube amps are a little more tolerant of voltage variations in my experience.

Customer support seems OK. They got back to me on the voltage problem, but did not have a definite diagnosis or advise me what the voltage limits were for this unit. Still waiting to hear about that gig bag.....

I play lead and rhythm in a band that does R&B, oldies, Southern Rock, old and new style Country, and anything else that strikes our fancy. Venues range from back yards to stadiums and hotels.

I have been playing for over twenty years. I own a Les Paul, ES335, Heritage 555 (don't remember their model number), G&L ASAT and S-500, Ovation nylon job, Taylor 614CE, and some other stuff. I have a couple Mark IV Boogies, a 65 Twin Reverb, a small acoustic/PA amp, Fender Blues Deluxe, and some other stuff. Lots of pedals, multi-effect units, boards, etc. I don't buy or keep junk.

I love this unit. If something happened to it, I would get another. I am thinking about buying a backup unit anyway. I really love being able to access channels with my feet and parameters with my hands. Being able to tailor the output to the target amplification system is very very nice!

I wish it had a better tuner and a display that can be seen during the day. Would feel more confident if I knew it had been ruggedized a little bit. XLR outs would be nice too, but it is getting a little crowded on the back panel already.