Yamaha DG Stomp

(my earlier submitted review has not appeared, must have been a glitch, so I'm trying again, with this improved version...)
At least as a concept, this is a very good product. It has a much better user interface than POD, its main competitor, in that it can be used live or in the studio, holds more presets, doesn't require a midi pedal board to control it, etc. It has a nice "retro" look and feel, the knobs are great, the small buttons that are used to turn various effects on/off are very nice... I like how they light up and turn off based on whether the effect is being used. The navigation through patches is really easy, actually. I don't know why people have problems with this. There are ten "groups." Each group has 3 "banks." Most people think spatially about navigating through the patches and that's actually the best way: think of the Groups as up/down, think of the Banks as left/center/right. As soon as I caught that concept, navigation was a breeze. Dunno if there are different ways to do it, but I used the two up/down buttons in the upper righthand corner to move between groups. To navigate between Banks, you just hit the far right pedal until you see the LED's light up, take your foot off, and choose your bank, which I think of as 1/left, 2/center, 3/right. from there you tap once more for patch 1,2,or 3 within the bank.
Another great thing about owning a modeling device like this is you're covered if you have no backup amp. If your amp dies, you just turn on the amp/speaker simulator and patch into the P/A. Apparently Weezer did a whole tour using PODs patched directly into the P/A system, so using modelers that way seems a viable alternative.

While the unit DOES power up and I practiced navigating between patches, I have never heard the DG-Stomp's sounds, more on that below in RELIABILITY

My eventual plan for how I will use this device if I ever find a working model? Strat--DG Stomp--Tube Works Tube Preamp--Roland jc-120. Obviously my philosophy is get the sound just how you like it before it gets to the amp, and then keep it the same sound regardless of amp volume. I don't like everything getting all mushy and indistinct just because I have to keep up with the guy using a Marshall cranked to 10. (Or to be more accurate, if I want it mushy and indistinct, I'll make it that way on purpose, not because my amp simply can't make any other loud sound.) And yep, I'm planning on following the digital tube amp modeler with a tube preamp. Call me crazy.

I have bought and returned 4 DG-stomp units:
#1. made a low buzzing noise
#2. clicked like a geiger counter
#3. made a high squealing noise
#4. clicked much like #2.
it wasn't merely that there was unwanted sound mixed into the output, it's that there simply was no other output. After 4 tries I'm starting to think that if I crack open the DG-stomp casing I will find someone's rubber-band collection or something. (I've done some sound engineering, so yes, I know enough to check every point in the signal chain. I double-checked the cables, instrument, amplifier, etc. and as a final test, substituted a different processor in the signal chain for the DG, and that worked fine.)

Yes, the thing is built like a tank on the outside. But compare the two scenarios:
1. sitting inside a very strong metal box and being pushed off the top of a 3-story building.
2. sitting inside a very strong metal box while people pummel the outside with sledge hammers.
My point being, there are obviously fragile things inside the tough exterior of the DG-Stomp. Once I get it on the floor, I'm confident the outer casing will transmit the shock of any impact into the floor rather than into the components, but I would not trust the thing to surviving being dropped ANY distance. If I ever get a working model I will be transporting it inside a foam-lined case. I think the deceptively rugged exterior is causing more problems than it solves. People are banging it around with a little too MUCH confidence.

I called an official Yamaha service center. They said that I could drop it off and they might have it fixed in about 3 weeks. I asked if I could do an exchange and they said no. I also sent a message to their support at the yamaha website, but all I have recieved back from them is an automated email thanking me for visiting the site.
I also had some interaction with some vendors. Although I am not factoring that into my "1" rating, I'll desrcibe my experience:
---Zzounds: The package arrived on time, which was great, but they packed it in a cardboard box with a small sheet of bubble wrap thrown on top. The box that it is sold in has NO padding, ie there was nothing between my new purchase and the ravages of UPS but a thin layer of cardboard on 5 sides. Zzounds WAS very helpful in arranging for a return of the defective unit, very prompt AND helpful in their communications with me. They asked if I wanted them to send another one, I said I would if they could guarantee 2-3 inches of padding on all sides. They said they couldn't guarantee that that would happen, so I've elected to just return the defective unit. Although dealing with their customer service reps has actually been pleasant, I will probably not order anything from them again. What's the point if it arrives broken. (I also ordered a Roland jc-120 from them. It's a solid-state amp known for being able to take abuse. It arrived damaged. Again, not enough padding.)
---Guitar Center: Bought a DG, brought it home, didn't work, went back to the store and we did an exchange... turned around right before walking out the door and asked to test it before I left... that's when we heard the high squealing sound. Finding that they had one at another Guitar Center across town, they gave me a reciept, called ahead, and told me they'd be holding it for me, all I had to do was present my ticket and walk out. I was assured they had tested out the unit. When I got there they made me wait about an hour and a half while they "worked out the paperwork." They also said they couldn't find the power supply. Eventually I took it home, tested it using the power supply still with me from the defective DG from zzounds, and it did not work. So they lied and suckered me into driving all over town. I should have caught it at the store. How can you test the @$#&@!!! thing out without a power supply!?!? I swear I am NEVER going back to Guitar Center.

As a concept it is marvelous. I plan to try to buy a functioning DG Stomp ONE more time for that very reason. As I cannot seem to get a working unit and yamaha has expressed no concern on the issue, I can't imagine why I would rate it higher than 2. Maybe it should be 1.
From the other reviews here, I'm holding out a faint hope that there really ISN'T just a bundle of used rubber bands inside the thing. If I get one that works I may end up coming back and writing a glowing review. Until then....

8 channel preamp with effects and amp sim, stereo output, headphone out, spdif out and midi connectivity. It has a high/low impendance switch to match the output of the guitar with the stomp.
Programming the unit is easy and you can always switch to manual mode by pressing one knob.
I use a Roland FC200 midi pedal for switching patches and the buttons on the stomp to switch the effects.

I use a Gibson Explorer with EMG 89 and 60 PU's and a few acoustic guitars with piezo's.
I do not or have owned any real tube amps so I have little to compare with but the stomp can produce warm and 3 dimensional sounds. It sounds better in my opinion than any other digital preamp I have tried.

With 2 clean, 2 crunch, 2 drive and 2 lead channels there is plenty variety in possible sounds but the drive channels have not enough gain and the lead channels are a bit muddy for palm muted riffing. With a Tube screamer as boost I solved the gain issue for the drive channels.

This unit really shines for crisp clean to medium distorted sounds but I would not suggest it to metal guitarists (I play plenty of Metallica riffs with the help of the tube screamer but it is not what most metal guitarist want to hear).
With the lead channels the unit can be pretty noisy but a good noise gate can really help (why they didn't put one in?).
The effects sound good except for the compressor, I like the phaser, tape echo and hall reverb most.
The amp/speaker simulations makes the difference for this thing, it can make a patch sound good or very bad depending on the setting.

I own the stomp for 1.5 year and it never failed . I gigged with it a few times (through the PA) and use it for practising and home recording (the spdif out comes out really handy here). I never use a backup.

never dealt with them

I have been playing for 10 years. I used a few solid state amps and a zoom 9000 for years but this unit sounds way better than any of them.
Before I bought the stomp I tried several other al in one boxes like the POD and J-station but the stomp had the best sound.

I love the sounds of the Stomp but there are a few things that could have been better:
- the absense of a noise gate and the weak compressor
- when the wah is switched on there is a noticable drop in volume
- there is no patch editor for PC, most other digital units have one.
- It does not read the position of the expression pedal when switched on or changing patches.

If the unit was stolen or broke I would try the new VOX valvetronic amps first but they are much more expensive. Overall I think the DG-stomp has good value for the money.

Many brilliant features. You can use the DGstomp as a preamp with or without speakersimulation or as an stopbox without preamp. You can use the three of the four buttons to switch between patches (2 * 90) or to switch the three effect-sections on/off. Also, a very good tuner are included. There are many more features, too many to mention.

I'm using Les Pauls with either PAF-humbucking or P-100. I'm playing through a Yamaha DG60 digital amplifier. I'm still thinking it over, whether the DGstomp are sounding best direct to the amplifier or to the preamplifier - which containing many of the features included in the DGstomp - so it will doubling them. Next time I'm going to the rehearselroom, I'll leave the heavy DG60 at home, and will only bring the DGstomp and connect it to the PA. What I like in the DGstomp: The 8 ampsimulation are great, especially Lead1, Crunch1 and Clean2 - these are also great on the DG60. I like the compressor, the chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo and the three reverbs. I like the speakersimulation, although there aren't any big difference between the 16 different simulations. The two delays are also good, but maybe my DanEcho are better sounding, so I'm still using that. I'm also using a DanElectro 7 eq, for better controlling the tonesettings, and I'm still using my Boss NoiseGate. The DGstomp are exellent using headphones. I'm thinking, that the P-100 Les Paul are the best choice, as it will cut better through with sharp tones. All in all, the DGstomp are very, very good - whether used as preamp or as a set of stompboxes.

Totally reliable. No plastic.

I've been playing for 25 years. The DGstomp are the best thing happened to my musically improvement since I purchased my first Gibson Les Paul many years ago! You will play better with the DGstomp, because you will get a whole new universe of sounds!

oh it has features

if u want a mean deep distorted sound that can really express all of thos fucked up feelings we keep hidden... then keep away from this product.. oh it can produse the sound, but with it comes the loudest hissing and cliking ever... no noisgate will stop it

its a tank

its really REALLY an awsome product if u hapen to have normal emotions to bring out... it'll never do for me... i want the deepest..

It's kinda odd that this product is listed under amps. I mean, it's a pre-amp/amp sim. Anyway, as far as pre-amps/amp sims goes, the Stomp could well have had more parameters available for each of the supplied f/x. Still, the parameters you get are well chosen and quite adequate.

It's not all that easy to change banks via the foot switches though.

As opposed to most reviewers, I use the Stomp exclusively to record directly to disk (using Cubase VST/32 and a Yamaha DS2416 sound card).
And in this environment, I LOVE what the Stomp does to my sound!

In real life, I prefer a Strat and a Fender Super Reverb with 4x10" Jensens and the gain set mid-high, maybe with a box like a Boss Super Overdrive too. I'm not sure I'd have liked the Stomp if I were, say, a Marshall JCM800 at 11 kinda guy...

The Stomp may not be a Super Reverb, but it get's closer than any other amp sim I've tried (including the Korg Pandora series, the Pod, the new Behringer and the cheaper Roland VS stuff).

Basically, the Stomp is transparent and allows my guitar's and playing's characteristics to come through in a dynamic and natural, 'tubey' sort of way.

Not the real thing obviously, but way better than I thought possible for a digital box.

As I've never used it on stage, I really don't know. But it's *very* sturdy and should be able to take quite some abuse. I'm a bit worried about the tiny programming knobs though, they seem a bit flimpsy.

I've been playing guitar since '78, both live and in the studio. I'm a die hard Strat/single coil kinda guy, but otherwise, I've gone through a lot of different sonic ideals. I've used and owned several amps, including 60's and 70's Marshalls, Fenders, Crates, Rolands, Peavyes, Laneys et al.

The last ten years or so, I've prefered Fender Super Reverbs (4x10") and similar amps.

When I bought the Stomp, I was looking for something that would give me a clean, yet dirty sound, in a dynamic and responsive manner. I wanted both warmth and sparkle direct to disk, so that I wouldn't upset the neighbours! :-)

I tried everything I found in like five or six shops. I liked the Line 6 stuff, as well as some Roland gizmos and the Behringer VAmp (great value for money!). But when I tried the Stomp, it only took minutes to realize my search was over.

It's not the most versatile pre-amp/amp sim around, but given my preferences, it's the *only* one that delivers.

It is easy to get SOMETHING out of the DG Stomp, not necessarily the sound you want at the precise moment you need it. There are 90 non-programmable patches, most useless and and equal number of programmable patches. They must be set by you in an order convenient to your playing style and set list. Changing patches within a bank of three is easy - any more than that gets dicey. All the information you need is in the manual - finding it in a logical manner, that's something else. It's obvious it was translated into English. One CAN bypass the whole patch thing and set effects such as reverb, chorus an delay to be switched by the stomp buttons - but not distorion! I am supremely disappointed in the ergonomics of this device.

The chorus has a very flangy sound to it that is difficult to erase. There is also a low-mid wolf tone that is likewise difficult to kill. The cleanest setting is very brittle sounding, also difficult to fix with the tone controls. If you can work around these problems, the unit is very quiet. I usually run direct from my effects box to the board and take a line to my amp, a small SWR combo. The Stomp is a pre-amp so you can plug directly into the power amp section of your amp if you want.

It is well constructed, but it has frozen when I used the tuner. I have to switch it off and on. You must plug it in via supplied wall wart, it is not battery powered. There is a battery inside that saves your progammed settings for about 3 years. The manual says you must have it changed by a repairman. If it dies you're left with the factory pre-sets. I'm not likely to still be using this device in 3 years, so I'm not worried about it.

There was a rebate on this device, and I received it in short order, so that's a good sign.

If it were lost or stolen, I'd take my old Zoom 505 out of the bag and play the gig. I would not replace the DG. One of the deciding factors in my purchasing this unit was the Guitar Player Magazine Editors Pick Award displayed in the catalog. I'll be looking for THAT seal of approval again real soon.

See below

I'm using a 335 and a Blade Strat, and the DG Stomp is definetely able to get very close to most tube amp sounds. Tweaking is required to reduce the harshness in distorted sounds. Also, it is not as dynamic as a good tube amp, but versatility outweighs these differences. Don't have any noise problems. All in all, very usable, but don't expect a 1:1 tube emulation.

Very reliable, seems sturdy.

don't know

Been playing for 10 years, mostly clean and blues stuff. My setup is simple and includes a blues deville 410, a mesa v-twin and volume pedal. i'll use the dg for some fx and for practicing at home, and probably also on stage, because nowadays so many obscure tone-guys are putting shitty mics in strange positions on stage that I may be better of going directly into the PA. After all, live and in the mix the dg's sound is as good as any other quality amp.

Very versatile but not easy to switch presets.
Great effects and overall potential if you know how to use it!

I would give it 9.5 onthe 'digital scale' on which Roland
VG-88 is the best = 10: that is still inferior to my very best
analogy and tube gear that is then rated 11-12 on that scale.
If you have ever heard Buddy Guy live, that's 13 :-)

Many reports were misleading, so here I explain how
to use and get good sounds from this versatile box:
To test the sounds I connected an excellent full range PA
system (lB Technologies 2 X 160 W) ...

I chose the preset 133 Traditional Clean as (presumably) it's Fender Twin or similar ... well, I had to bring the bass
down and again I pushed the gain to 10, middle to 9, reduced presence to 2-3, added compression to 3-4 just as I would have done it on my real Fender Twin ... this was all with my Les Paul
(modified with RMC piezo-synth bridge... )

Then I reduced the treble tone on my Les Paul neck pick-up and WOW: it was the lovely BLUES TONE ... sure, I could hear this
minute digitalness in the background, but with any band you would not hear the difference in the mix.

Finally, I switched to Clean 1 setting (as this was Clean 2) and it was EVEN BETTER sounding!
Here I added the $190 Baby Blue overdrive (the sweetest OD from Sweden) and the reaction ws just as it is with the Twin - nice singing tone.

CONCLUSION:

All anyone should do to have the best sound from DG-stomp is this:

i) First try the PA system and INDIVIDUALLY find a good one that reproduces WELL the preset 133 (as the Fendr Twin is
THE REFERENCE combo amp & sound anywhere in the world).

If any one of you people can just tell me the reference preset for Soldano, British Marshall double stack and the Mesa Boogie
and above all Vox AC 30TBX - then we are all in the business !

ii) Once when you have the reference clean sound of your favorite clean amp, then you CORRECT the EQ, and you can begin working with the GAIN and compression.

iii) Only when all this is OK, you add the desired (great) effects and you can even add best pedals up front (and wah :-) as on the true tube amplifier. The final result is very close the a real thing and in a dense mix or within the lively band nobody will hear the difference (except for Buddy Guy, BB King, EC and me :-)

Finally, although the $1k VG-88 is even better and more versatile for most people the DG-stomp can provide portable near-paradise sonic solution BUT:

.. we have to agree and exchange references on top reference amps. Vox AC30, Bassman '59, Marshall stack, Mesa Rectifier ...

No problem.

As I said, in digital world the VG-88 is even better but costs
3-4 times more. The POD is different and I use it too.

This is never better than the best tube(analog gear that
I use for my jazz and blues band yet you can get sounds
that are fabulous: I explained how to do it - above.

As others said, but not easy to use live and quickly switch
patches. However, nice and compact.

I did very serious testing of the basic sounds of this unit.

i) I used the stock Fender Strat Plus and Sennheiser HD 480 II headphones.

ii) I always used the natural cabinet i.e. 4 X 12"
for singing guitar lead sound or 2 X 12" for the
Twin jazz clean to blues emulation.

I evaluated two KEY situations:

Can I get clean to blues crossover (Bassman)
Can I get blues to singing crossover
(like Mesa Triamp or Marshall stack)

ii) Beyond that I behaved like any guitarist and
placed all EQ initially the middle (12 o'clock)
and just played with the GAIN knob as any normal
guitarist would do.

iv) All effects OFF - just bare basic sounds of the pre-amp.

Now, push the gain to 10 and keep
the compression at say 3 just to vaguely emulate
tubes, keep presence at 2-3 minimum
as you do not need too much in headphones to cut through ...

Change the clean 1 to 2 to crunch to ... to lead 1, 2
and what do you hear ... you hear that it is still
not giving you that dramatic difference in sound, as it should !

On a true tube amp, when you use neutral EQ
in clean channel and place the gain close to 10 then
the cleans will always get somewhat dirty but you
will be able to reduce the guitar volume and still
play even staccato clean, while by raising the guitar volume
you will get this bluesy crossover; on the other hand
when you go to lead 2 it should SING forever,
or even scream as your gain is at 10 !!!
and that even with the Strat on a good
overdrive channel of any modern 2 channel amp.

None of this really happens. Yet it happens with any
of my analog and tube amps.

Try for yourselves and you will see that you all get your best sounds only artificially by add ing tonns of effects or more compression or whatever
BUT not directly from the pre-amp
section that should DEFINE the BASIC tonal range
and character ...

If you place the gain at 9 o'clock oreven less things
are even worse and the box sounds really clinically
digitalishhh ... far too clean and thin with the Strat.

OK, in the above description I do exaggerate deliberately
to make the point clear but
from now on if you want to convince ME
when you will all have to get firstly BASIC sound
correct and then tell me it is tube-like sounding
and then add as much delay or whatever you want.

NOTE: I am NOT against reviewers here nor the DG-stomp !
I have $20k in gear and I bought this box as Geetar Player
gave it 5 star rating that it doesn't really deserve ...

Moreover, if there IS a TRICK that I missed
you guys and gals will be able to tell me as
there are NO EFFECTS involved, just basics ...
please do not tell me about nice effects; I agree ....

All I am trying to do is to get your ears and fingers in ACTION so that we ALL get the BEST BASIC sounds out of this box, so that maybe I do not have to sell it ... hey, it is easier to keep it
so I want to make damned sure - we have
tested all posibilities of BASIC DISTO sounds ...
not the post-pre-amp effects that are indeed very good .

Thanks for your help and understanding:
it is best for all of us, I hope.

I guess top - 9

See the review of the basic sounds; I can give there only
6 at best yet post pre-amp effects are 9 so overall is 8
as I can hear too much digitalishness ... more than
in my VG-88 or even POD.

I play since 1960s ... all styles ... so can probably tell
a few disagreeable things about DG sound :-)

I have had this unit less than a week, which is exactly why I'm reviewing it now, despite the guidelines. This unit is not easy to fathom, and once edited, the patches are not easy to access via foot switch unless one actually practices doing this as you would practice a new riff. The patches are grouped in stacked sets of three, making it extremely easy to arive not only at the wrong patch, but much further away than you want to be. The device is not intuitive, it is not even logical, as all devices of this sort should be. The manual has the feel of something that wasn't written originally in English, and one must jump around it's pages to follow one line of thought and get a complete picture. One thing that is rather simple is patch editting and storing. The DG Stomp can be run from patches or one can turn effects on and off, but curiously not the distorion parameter. I would have traded the reverb switching for distortion switching.

I bought this unit based on the reviews of the AG Stomp, and it's sound certainly lives up to expectations. It is dead quiet, even with my Zoom expression pedal, which was noisy with the Zoom unit. The effects are all they should be and the eq allows you to roar or sparkle. I run the output to a DI box, then to the house and to my amp, which is an SWR Workingman's 110T. My guitar is a Parker, and I use the acoustic sound a lot. It sounds gorgeous through the DG Stomp.

One of the features I was looking for was rugged construction. I wanted metal, no plastic in the case, no plastic jacks. The DG Stomp appears to be what I need. There is no provision for battery power, and the power cord is a detachable wall wart to a small guage wire. I think I'll buy a spare.

I like a company that posts the user's manual on their website. I knew a good deal about the device before it arrived.

I don't like to carry a lot of stuff, and I like to set up/tear down quickly. Sometimes, (opening for national acts, for example) it is a must. Many people don't like multi-effects, but they do the job for me, as I am now sure the DG Stomp will. I seriously like the sound this produces but I have more to learn to operate it smoothly. My chief gripe is that Yamaha didn't make that task easy.