Yamaha DG80-112

Mine is the later model with chourse. For a 1-12 it's damn heavy. Every Friday night it gets a work out and it hangs fine with a 5 piece band.

Every one has described the models. I use mine with an extension 1-12 cabinet loaded with an EV of some sort. My main axe is a Parker fly Classic with Ed Roman's pickup mod, but I've used my Strat and all kinds of other guitars through the DG. I've been using mine for about 5-6 years and still love it. Well, love is a bit strong, I try to save that for living things. I sold a Fender Hot Rod 1-12 (one trick pony that wore out tubes every year), bought the Yamaha and never looked back. Having all the sounds at your toes is fantastic and the playing dynamics are so close to a tube feel that any difference is meaningless to me. Roll off the volume on the guitar and it cleans up just like an amp should, and unlike most other solid state amps I've tried. I've played other modeling amps and although the Yamaha doesn't name its emulations after other amps, it's better suited for real use (IMHO). The motorized knobs make tweaks simple and natural and the learning curve is very short. If you ever tried a Fender Cyber Twin you'll appreciate the difference. You'll walk up to this amp and dial in a tone right away and even the presets are good. I see that some complain that it won't do metal but neither does most tube amps. I use a Marshall compressor and for metal sounds I use a Metal Zone pedal. It's behaved well with any pedal I've put in front of it, the same as a tube amp does. I know that side by side with Warren Haynes rig it'll come up short but I ain't Warren Haynes.

Never a problem. It's worked flawlessly, although I've seen the E1 message, usually when I unplug my midi footboard while the amp is on. I think Yamaha says it happens when the knobs get pegged on 10.

? Haven't needed it yet.

I'm at the entry to geezerhood, ok-so I've entered the room, and have more gear than I need. I am trying to simplify though, hence the wonderfull Parker and the Yamaha.

I read the stellar reviews when the amp came out about 6 years ago.I was in Atlanta GC and my keyboard player was along. I plugged in and turned the volume to .5 with a maxed out gain preset and the pinched harmonics just sqealed like a marshall turned to 10. Unreal at that volume. My friend said "Dave I have heard all your boogies and fenders but none of them will do that at that volume." It gets plenty loud but for small gigs..bedroom or recording it will scream at ANY volume.
I bought it the day I tried it for 625 I think. It has 128 presets so that makes it a 128 channel...kinda. I play with others who are veterens of gigging mostly R B Vintage rock dance cover band. If we do a large gig I take one of the new Crate celestion open back speakers (199) for an extension cab and can stay loud if needed. We stopped miking everything a long time ago...way too much hassle...besides the clubs here have their own and the other gigs we play for the dance floor. I take just the Dg 80 most of the time and it is plenty loud and projects well.

I play an 87 PRS and a new PRS Hollowbody 2. I have been using the HB 2 because it is the most awsome guitar tone machine I have ever played and 5.2 pounds. The amp is dead quiet except for high gain and it has plenty of that. We cover a very wide range of music and at the touch of my tech 21 'midi mouse' I can get all but heavy metal. Preset 42 neck position is spot on Gary Moore and santana. It stays very clean at very loud volume. It is also very dynamic for a solid state modeling amp. The singing distortion is totally awsome..very much a Boogie emulation. You have 2 cleans..2 crunches 2 drives and 2 leads..basically that means one boogie and one marshall style for each category. I differ greatly with some of the other reviewers. The delay is labeled 'echo' because it sounds so much like an old 'echoplex'..for those not familiar with those...Digital delays that duplicates all the highs and pick attack doesn't sound like delay ...Digital is like...Ttting..ttting..ttting...tting as it fades. Echo would be more like Ting..ing..ing..ing..ng..ng. The highs and lows roll off after each repeat...just like in the real world playing in a huge echo space. The chorus beats any stomp box. The reverbs are ok for gigging. It is so important to realize that these reviews often depend on the quality of the guitar input and the players experience at tweaking. This amp is very different..I swear it sounds almost as good with my Hamer whammy Slammer as the PRS"S...amazing. There is NO OTHER MODELING AMP that even comes close. Buy one IF you can find them for sale. One caveat...the direct out is lousy..mike it. The amp takes pedals very well even though it's solid state...Ts 9..etc. VEry valuable TONE suggestion...go up to 10's on your strings and be amazed with any amp...just try it.

I have never had a problem whatsoever and have hundreds of hours on the amp. The e midi error a few times but nothing major at all. I took it to many gigs with no backup..now I have the new Crate Power Block ..150 watts in a bag the size of a purse for $199?? who wouldn't buy that as a backup for any band member.

I have no clue...

I have played for 35 years and never dreamed I'd have an amp so dependable and awsome sounding for the type music we do live. I have other amps for recording but use the DG 80 sometimes in place of very nice Boogie and rack gear...no tubes to hassle with..I love this amp.
I have never given 10's but that's the deal with this amp..from yamaha??? YEP!!!!

Not sure about the year - I do not have the amp anymore -
sold it to a friend to make room for couple of tube amps.
I bought it used - it had one owner before me.
Features are covered by other reviews - I think it had
8 amp models. I mostly used Clean and Crunch ones.
I used it at home to practice and to jam with friends.
Playing jazz standards. Had some good comments on the
sound. It had plenty of power to keep up with drummer.
Motorized knobs adjusting to presets were nice thing and
I never had any problems with them.

Used it mostly with hmucker equipped guitars - SG'61 Ressue
and semihollow Ibanes AS 120 with PAFs. It does not sound
very tube-y when you play in the living room - distorted
sounds are a bit digital. But in the context of the band it
sounds much better - cuts thru and keeps with the drummer.
It is not noisy on lower gain channels (Clean and Crunch)
but it hums on Lead channels. Nothing major. It has Reverb
- nothing special - I used Holy Grail most of the time when
playing at home. Also Chorus, Tremolo and Delay - all acceptable.
My biggest problem was that Clen channel was dirtying a bit too
quickly for jazz and there not enough variety as far as clean
sounds. So after I bought Polytone Mini Brute I sold DG.
Overdrive is better than in many solid state amps - it sounds OK
when recorded but does not feel like tube amp.

Never had a single problem with it.

No idea - never had to deal with them.
But it is nice of Yamaha to have ALL the manuals
for their product available on their website.

Been playing for 25 yrs - but only 5 yrs electric.
Have ASAT Bluesboy, Ibanez AS120, SG'61, Firebird,
PRS Custom Soapba. Rivera S120 amp, Polytone and one
"boutique" 310 35W tube amp. VG80EX guitar synth.
I am quite sure I would NOT buy that amp again - rather
seve the money and bought some 112 20-40W tube amp instead.
Sth like SonicCord Toad etc.
For what it is - somewhat tube-y modelling amp it is fine.
I did not have a chance to play thru too many modelling amps
but a friend of mine who plays professionally and who worked
in music store for a while thought it was one of better
sounding modelling amps. Comparing it with VG80EX synth - I
would say VG80 is better. DG80 as a bit on a heavy side -
construction is very very sturdy.

Bought in 2005 from a local Music store...blowout sale.

This is the newer version.

Features covered below pretty much. MIDI pre-amp based on the Yamaha DG-1000. Solid-state power amp. Servo control knobs like on most digital mixers. (Only chicken head versions here). On board fx: Delay, Reverb, Tremolo, Chorus. Fx loop with mix level. 1 Celestion classic 30 speaker in a sturdy cab.

Power is roughly 80W....volume is average. Fed through a 4x12 the volume is adequate for all situations. By itself it won't stand up to a loud drummer. Mics up quite well however.

Love the intuitive controls...the two mids I find tricky!

Great Cab and speaker. When recording I often use a Matchless Hotbox that I run into the poweramp and through the cab...Sounds fantastic with a shure sm-57.

Using a Gibson 335 Reissue or a Fender Jeff Beck with Dimarzio Evolution humbuckers and an Evans single coil, this amp does everything quite well! Cleans are varied...from compressed funk to big chords. Not spectacular, but very impressive!

Great Crunchy tones...Dynamic as hell! Much better than any other solid state modeller out there (that I've tried). Better than my Marshall Silver Jubilee!!! Could not believe it!

Liquid lead a plenty!

What I like about this amp is that it gives me the flexibility of a full rack system in one package. Don't use the onboard fx much however. Have a Rocktron Replifex for that.

Can't give it a ten in the sound department, but it's close! (Cornford and Matchless would be a ten).

Computers Suck! I'm sure there will be problems down the line. But for now everything is fine :-) Servicability however will be an issue. The battery will need changing and so on! Will try to dump the midi at some point for backup purposes.

POD or Flextone 3 as a backup. Can't rely on anything that can break!

Rating of 7 just cause of poor servicability.

I think this model is discontinued...And Yamaha is too big to care!

Been playing for 15+ years

If stolen I don't think I could find a replacement. But would buy one if available.

This amp is really good value for money! Easy to program, good sounds, not excessive in the options department. Would like a computer interface for backups and midi programming.

My flex 3 was demoted to stand at home in a corner status.

Over all it suits my needs amazingly well for a cheap amp. For gigs I'd choose this over some amps that are 10 times it's cost. Tubes rule in the studio however.

I play acoustic and other electric tunes.This amp can satisfy just about any effecy I need.The headphone jack is a great use, aswell as the double plug-in which is great for jamming. I use this at home so i don't need it to go very loud. But when i DO need it... it does NOT dissapoint. I love the way when you put it on an effect using the numbers 1-70 on the keypad, the knobs automaticaly change to that effect...AWESOME!

It really suits me and the type of music I play. But occasionally when I just want to rock out... i can hit the right effect in an instant and get what I want. With over 70 channels it is extremely versatile.

If i was in a gig...i would definetly use it without a backup thats how much I trust it. It has never broken on me and i dont think it ever will.

Never needed it so... that must mean its high quality!

I've been playing for three years and I have no plans on changing my amp.

All i can say is...GREAT AMPLIFIER, A BARGUN FOR THE BUCK!...|
i only wish it had a Phayser and a Mic plug in...but it does have head phones...and 2 channels so its not to bad...BUT THE AMP ITS SELF IS INCREDABLE TRY IT OUT AND JUST TRY TO PROVE ME WRONG!...I DARE U!

I perfer playing heavy / death / black metal music and let me tell u the gain and bass effects are overwelming...(specailly the bass)...nothing bad to say... i dont use a lot of reverb but i've found in the past that with a lot of amps u cant realy tell clearly the difference in change of reverb...its a very dramatic prounounce sound. On the down side of this amplifier, i do however have a problem with high ammounts of static(when volume is cranked) but still it doesnt deplete the overall quality of sound

I wouldent put more trust in any other amp...i can crank this semi sized half stack on full and still get exceptional quality withought risking the chance of poping a speaker...so for reliability i couldent ask for more, i take this amp on stage for live gigs all over my area and it sounds great even live.

well i've never had to call apon customer support for any help at all becasue they make there amps with quality adn value ....so that the customer support is not needed...but knowing yamaha im gooing to just take a guess that they would be realy helpful due to there renouned performance

i've been playing for only a year but im in a very sucessfull band in my area and i wouldent trust anything but my Yamaha Dg-80-112 and my -210 ...the quality is just mind blowing, and drop those heavy low bass notes with the great quality of the bass effect....it realy brings out the true quality of music... the only thing i wish this amp had was a Phayser for doing the more heavy ( Metallica/Slayer ) kinna tunz

I'm unsure of the product year of my Yamaha DG-80. I only play at home now so it has power to spare, I'm also unsure of how it would work in a live situation. I channel switch using an ART midi floor thingy. Combined with the effects and loops available it has features galore.

I've played 4 guitars through the amp. Japanese strat with single coils, Japanese Jagmaster with 2 buckers, Yamaha something with 2 buckers, Tom Anderson swamp ash classic. I really have no musical style at this time, my only desire is to noodle. This amp is very noiseless, at least in my home environment. Personally, I think all of the tones are pretty awsome and slightly dominate the tones produced by a famous competitor's amplifiers. The surprise winning combination is the Jagmaster and the DG-80, the Jag's buckers (stock neck - Duncan bridge) sound great clean and distorted through this amp. The cleans are nice and crisp but they do lack a little of that "bell" like quality only produced by tubes and single coils. The disortion is super fat and still retains some complexity usually found only with again, tubes. It seems that there is plenty of head room and the bottom end is nice and fat as well. I've only tested at low and mid level volumes.

no idea

no idea

I started on bass in 1969 as a hobby, not a career. The DG-80, Fender Jagmaster and a Pod are all I have left. Definately, I would buy this amp again, and again, and again. It's light, portable, versatile. But what I really love about the DG-80 is the fat tone. It's fat, very fat, clean and distorted. Not as complex as tubes, but in my opinion the best emulation to date. I won't bore you with the other gear I've owned. If I had any kind of talent I think I could play any musical style with this guitar amp. Awsome value.

My amps (I have 2 exactly alike)were probably both made after 2000. I believe that's when they started the 'a' series. They have all the extra effects, and what a great upgrade! I liked the first one so much that I bought a second one right away.

I use Modulus guitars live and a dozen others in the studio. The amp is very quiet, easy to program with the cool chicken head knobs.
I think the reason thisisn't the number one solid state modelling amp in the world, it that the presets are simply a numbered LED. Not near as sexy as the Vetta, where you get names of the amps modeled. Bottom line is the DG-80 sounds way better than any of the other solid state amps I've heard!

I've never had any problems, but I'm very careful with my equipment and I'm no longer on the road. They have held up great on the weekend gigs and the studio. Like I said, I liked the first one so much that I bought a second one right away. They are such a value that it is worth having 2 if just for a backup. Of course you can use them in stereo like Holdsworth, and get mega fat tone.

I was lucky to find a Japanese website that still had a downloadable manual. Yamaha US was worse than useless.

I've been playing 38 years. I've owned lots of good amps (all tube). This is the only solid state amp I ever liked at all, and it is the only amp I ever bought 2 of. I would definitely buy another if my 2 were stolen. I still love tube amps and solid state amps don't compare, but the DG-80 is so close, in a live situation, I can't hear the difference. It's more consistent live than a tube amp by far.

Features are well listed in the previous reviews - but the basic are here. 80 Watt solid state modeling amp. I have the 'A' model with built in term, reverb, delay, chorus. Very versatile amp that covers a wide range of styles quite well. The direct out with the speaker simulator is very nice. The volume knob could use a bit more play at the lower volumes....

Sound wise this is a very nice amp. I have used a very wide variety of guitars in this amp - but mainly a Fender American Tele and an Epiphone Les Paul. I play in a church praise band, and in various other bands on the side, so the music style is quite wide. I am using an ART X-11 midi pedal to change patches live...

First off - this amp is LOUD! I ususally use the direct out from the back to the board and point the amp towards myself. I get glares if the amp is turned up to 1. Usually it has plenty of volume at about 3/4!

Tone wise the amp delivers very nicely in a wide variety of settings. I tend towards classic rock/blues tones and the DG-80 delivers those easily. It does a nice AC30-ish mid boost nicely, and has some sweet bluesy stuff. I have found that I need to program very different settings for humbuckers and single coils pickups. Some of the preprogramed settings sound great with one, and suck with the other - and visa versa.

As far as clean tones - they are good, but not great. You can get warm clean tones, but they are not really tubish, per se. I played my DG-80 the other night next to a Fender Deluxe Reverb, and there was a huge difference in the clean tones between the two.

But overall soundwise - I realy like this amp. As long as you don't 'have' to have tube tones - this amp is great!

I've had the amp for about 5 months and other than the infamous 'E1' problem (which is easy to reset) it has been very reliable. Yamaha makes great equipment, so I have no worries along those lines.

I have had no dealings with Yamaha...

I have been playing guitar on and off for quite a long time. I have owned way too much equipment in that time, and this amp is a keeper. For a solid state amp, it kicks butt! The versatility and good sound quality, coupled with the low prices they sell for used on EBay make this amp a steal! It will stand up to any other modeling amp on the market and hold it's own easily. It is relable and sounds great. It also has more than enough volume to keep up with a band in a live situation - even with a loud drummer!


An overall '8' for an amp is pretty high from me - I'm picky about tone (one of the reasons I go through so much gear). I would not hesitate to buy another - though I am in the market for a good Fender tube amp since that is the one thing this amp does not do well - clean tube tones - and I need those for an upcoming band. No solid state amp will do those well, but the DG-80 is about as close as solid states get.

I think I bought my first DG80 new in 2000. I think this amp can do just about anything I need it for. I LOVE THIS AMP!! I bought my second used on an online auction a couple days ago. Lucky me I was the only bidder.

I play music ranging from Fusion and Jazz Standards to Classic rock, Country and Dance stuff.

I don't really use the the onboard effects. I run a Tc Electronics G-Force through the effect loop which sounds great.

My main guitar when playing rock is a Ibanez 560 with Duncan pickups or my boat paddle shaped Steinberger. When I'm playing Jazz or Fusion I use my Holdsworth model Carvin or my Ibanez 335. I wish I had a fatboy.

Since around 85 or 86 I started using Dean Markley's RM series amps which have been a long time out of production. I have three of them. They get a very warm sweet distortion that is very simililar to the way the Lab Series L5 sounded on the Holdsworth Instructional video.

I think Bill Connors and Alex Lifeson used to use Markley's.

One of the amp models on the DG80 is very close to the sound of the Markley's. Not a dead on match but close enough for me. So I can get the sound of the Markleys or a Boogie or I can also get the warm clean sustainny Schofield sound. I've found I can also get Santana, Steely Dan(Carlton, Skunk, Dias), Scott Henderson, Gilmore, Clapton, Eric Johnson, Steve Morse, Alex Lifson ect... sounds.

I love the clean sounds I can get with this amp too. Sounds great in Stereo with two!!

When I bought it I was playing in a original fusion band that did music ranging in styles from Eric Johnson and Steve Morse to Chick Corea and Allan Holdsworth to Wayne Sorter to Miles and Herbbie Hancock. Now I'm in a Variaty band doing stuff from clasic rock to Country to blues.

Sorry if I'm rambling.

I've had my first since 2000 with no major problems. I have gotten the dreaded E1 error before but I haven't seen it for quite some time. This is my main amp. As far as backup goes I used to have one of the Markleys with me but now I will have two DG at all my gigs.

I haven't called Yamaha yet.

I've been playing 25+ years. I've owned Marshalls and Boogies
and currently own three Dean Markley RM's one Dan Pearse and two DG80's.

I used to play in Original Prog band called Threshold which opened for Eric Johnson in the late 80's in Vegas when I was using my Markeley's and he complemented me on my tone. Comming from him, a guy who's first big album is named "Tones" meant something.

If it were lost or stolen I would most definetley find another if possible.

I love the tones and the simplicity of use. The motorized knobs are a great feature. Makes a patch adjustment very easy.

I compared a little but I have to confess that once I saw and heard Holdsworth using these at the Baked Potato I was pretty much sold on them. The value is unreal to me. I remember when I used to have a refriderator sized rack and I paid like 1000.00 for a Mesa 295 Simulclass. Just for power.

I love the warm tones I can get with this amp.

You can do alot with this amplifier. Enough to suit almost every style :D The included patches does enough for me!

It really sounds awesome! Great, warm, almost like it was a tubeamp :P I mostly play metal, progessive rock, jazz and blues and I was lucky enough to find a great distorsion sound, really thick and heavy! (I don't have the "A" model, but here it is: Patch 30, Gain: 10, Master: 10, Treble: 10, High Mid: 0, Low Mid: 0, Bass: 5, Prescene: 10, Reverb: 2-8.

I played a few gigs and it worked like I was hoping it would do! I have like most other here the E1 problem, but I don't mind at all.

I havend dealt with them. Will do next week. I gonna upgrade it to the "A" model and fix the E1 problem if it isn't too expensive!

Best amp I have owned so far :D

I personally can't ask for more features: eight preamp types, reverb, delay, chorus, tremolo.

IT took me a long time to appreciate this amp and i'm still unlocking it's possibilities. it's loud enough for any gig i've ever done. For a more dispersed sound i use an extension cab. 1 12inch speaker doesn't cover a lot of stage but for most gigs it's incredible. i mainly use the crunch 1 mode dry. i add chorus or delay via two expression pedals that are attached to my midi board. i only use three sounds really the crunch, a lead 1 and a clean1 ocassionally. the wonderful thing about the amp is that it sounds great with a lot of guitars. when i was auditioning amps i found the amps only sounded good with certain guitars. between the preamps and the powerful eq you shouldn't have a hard time finding a good sound. the cleans are not as lush as i'd like though. and i'm not into adding chorus or reverb to make it sound good.

i've had mine for over five years and the only time i've ever had a problem is when i turn on my midi board before my amp. then it goes E1 or whatever. it's a computer, i treat it like a computer. i worry about it even though it gives me no reason to. it's digital after all.

I've been justifying this purchase to myself for five years. This is after countless people telling me a have a great sound (i hope i'm not bragging) Because it's not a tube amp i would tell myself it wasn't the right amp for me. i've tried lots of tube amps. They either only sound good at certain levels or with certain guitars or sound too mushy. the dg 80 is not made anymore but they were probalby the best amp for $1000.

I believe that I got this amp in '99, before the "A" version came out. The 8 different amp models are all useful in their own way. The FX are rarely used by me, except the delay and reverb. I've never been a big FX person, so I don't mind not having flange, phaser, etc. I wish it had a headphone jack, but the mic line out is quite nice. The power of this amp is sufficient to easily play with a band in a small gig, not something I'd use without an extension cabinet and/or micing the amp for a large stage. Sure wish it came with a footswitch - I'm going to have to buy one one of these days.

This is my favorite part of the amp. The tones are great! None of them are quite as good as you'll get on real tube amps, but they're extremely close, and they respond similarly to tubes. I'm a big metalhead, and it's not entirely awesome for metal, so I may be going for one of the original Flextone HD 300W before too long, but I've kept this amp for a number of years now. It's fantastic!

I had a Gibson LP, and the cleans were great, while lead 2 gave me a very nice hard rock sound. Now, my main axe is an Ibanez RG570 with tone zone and air norton p-ups. I play neoclassical and metal mostly now, and I can get some great sounds, although at times I wish some of the distortion was a little more saturating.

Still, it allows me to do so much, and with tweaking, they all sound fantastic. At times, I do wish I had a nice row of tubes sitting infront of me for a little more saturated distortion, but all-in-all, it even suits my fancies as a metal player. Lead1 is great for soloing, while Lead2 is awesome for palm-muted riffs.

never had a problem. i've heard of needing to fix error messages with contact cleaner, but mine works fine after 5 years.

i called them and had them help me try to patch the amp to "A", and they spent a good while trying to help me out. unfortunately, something with my sound card wasn't letting it communicate with my amp, so i took it to a music shop and they upgraded it. yamaha was willing to talk to me about it, though.

I've been playing 9 years. It's my main amp, as I'm fairly poor. I enjoy a wide range of guitars, so having this one amp is perfect. From my les paul to my strat to my RGs, this amp delivers regardless of what I ask it to give me.

Already covered in the other reviews

I play jazz and fusion, and I listen to guys like Frank Gambale, Alan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson and Brett Garsed. All players known for their smooth, legato playing. I love this amp because of the warm singing overdrive it produces. To my ears, most amps I've tried are just too gritty and screechy with their overdrive. With the yamaha, I'm able to get a lovely compressed, midrangy tone that is not fatiguing to my ears at all. Kurt did a great job describing all the different channels in his review below. Everyone has different tastes, and will gravitate towards certain channels on this amp. My personal favorites are: Lead 1 for smooth overdrive - this channel will warm up any guitar if set right. When I use my tele style guitar (with strat middle PU) , I'm in tone heaven - great presence and clear rich bass, with just enough jangle to let you know it's a tele. If you listen to Brett Garsed or Mike Laundau, you know what I'm talking about. And with an LP style guitar, you're in Gambale/Holdsworth land (they both use Yamaha DG amps). And the nice thing is that when you roll off the volume on the guitar, the sound actually cleans up nicely like a tube amp, and all of the sudden, you get a John Scofield sound. On the flip side, you don't have to crank this amp to get great tone like a tube amp - great stuff. By tweaking the tone controls, you can get various sounds from this channel, including more cutting, edgy tones. Lead 2 doesn't do much for me, and I haven't found too many usable sounds from the other distorted channels yet, but there is potential there. The 2 clean channels cover all the jazz, funk and fusion tones nicely. This amp is really very versatile and powerful. It is very clean and quiet too. The only shortcomings are lack of very high gain distortion, and the effects. I don't use extremely high gain sounds, and I regularly max out the gain - shredders will need to look elsewhere, or add an overdrive or distortion box. It's nice to have the on-board effects, and they will get you by in a pinch, but I'm not very impressed by the chorus. Although its clean, it is pretty subtile, and limited - incapable of big lush, or funky flanged sounds that I sometimes want. The echo and reverb are not bad, but I can get a much better effect with my computer recording software. So I would suggest adding a good effects unit, like a TC-Electronic G-force, and/or some pedals - vintage type chorus and distortion if that's your cup of tea. The amp comes equipped with an XLR out and speaker simulator for direct recording, but I find it to be much too trebly, almost like an AM radio. Better to mike the cab. It is unfortunate that Yamaha is no longer making these, because, as others have said, they are the only ones that have really gotten the modeling amp thing right.

So far it's been great, but I never gig with it.

If they don't come out with a replacement, I would seek out a used one if this were ever lost.

plenty of features, 8 amp types, two inputs, trim knob, global output, fx loop, speaker out, yadah yadha.

I'm using this amp with b-bender teles, and g&l asat's. I use a bunch of fx as well, boss vwah, ross and akai phasers, maxon chorus and compressor, fulltone octave fuzz and a noise gate. I also use a boomerang in the loop. I really like this amp, and I was sad to see no one has broken the amp types down and talked about each one, so I will do my best to do that.
lead one: this is a high gain sound, based off a boogie type crunch, close enough to metal for anyone. It has a great deal of mids, and is near to the allan holdsworth sound with the gain around 5. Not as usable except for that higher gain fusion sound.
lead two: This is a more marshall type channel, with less mids and a bit less gain. I can also coax a bit of bogner tone out of it by cranking the low mid control.
drive 1: my personal favorite for modern crunch. This has a matchless quality to it, as well as some vox undertones. Lots of mids, not as much low end, but it really cuts through. I use this for most of my lead sounds.
drive 2: I use this with a rackmount eq to get a scott henderson type sound for recordings. It has more of an upper mid quality, and sounds more like a blues type of crunch, but I really like it a lot. It's my other higher gain sound.
crunch 1: this is the robben ford, lary carlton channel, and with the right settings, you can get a dumble like sustain that will make your ears sing. I really dig this one, and use it a lot in my jazz stuff. With my compressor, it really shines. I can also get a close aproximation to a bogner shiva with this one.
crunch 2: this is the least flexible in my opinion, too much mids and a wierd peak at around 3 K that won't go away. It is okay for a fender type gritty gain, but not as musical as the rest.
The cleans!! clean 1, a marshallesque clean, with lots of punchy mids, and not as bright, really good for jazz stuff. I like this one a lot, and with the gain on 9 you can get a scofield type grit to your sound.
clean 2: Based around a twin, less mids, and bright. Watch the presence on this one, it can burn if you're not carefull. I like this one a lot, for funk and with the high mid cranked, I get the country tele tones I love.
There you have it, I hope you're still awake.

I had a dg100 before this one, and kept getting the E1 message, so I sold it, in a fit of foolishness andstupidity. With a little care, and not keeping any knob at exactly 10 or 0, you won't have problems.

I have a love hate relationship with digital technology, and I am back and forth about it every day. This amp is a diamond, pardon the analogy, and I think yamaha really outdid themselves this time. Nothing can replace a boogie's honk, a fender's twang, and the roar of a marshall, but, for a gig where I need all three, and some cool stuff in between, I love this amp, and with another extension cab, it really cranks. Check it out, and don't be turned away by the crap line 6 and johnson have out there. Yamaha's on to it, and I hope they keep it up.

This is an addendum to the service tip posted below, not a review.

To correct the E1 message:

1) Spray all the pots with a good contact cleaner.

2) Avoid the extreme "0" and "10" portions of the knob travel when storing presets. Turn the knob slightly to "0.1" for zero or "9.9" for ten. This will also help extend the life of the pots.

All right, I think that by now you know the features of this amp. Mine is the "a" model so I didn't have to do the effect download. A friend of mine with an older model did and tells me it was a breeze. Tremolo, Chorus and Echo, all geat sounding. It would have been great if it came with a footpedal(you'll need a midi controller to control patches,volume, you know).The 9 in features is for the lack of a footpedal.The eight amp models are very versatile and cover a lot of ground.

I have about 12 guitars, so indicating how does this amp work with each one would be too long. What I'm going to tell you is a nice trick I learned when in need of a very clean (strat) sound and all I had was my Les Paul. Turn the trim knob way lower than you normally do,(this will lower the output of your pickups) use both pickups and viola! nice clean, very LOUD sound with no distortion. By the way, if you don't get the sound you want with one of the amp models on this amp, go get a check up, you may be going deaf.

I've been using this amp for every gig for the last 3 months, and I gig about 3 times per week, so far it has given me a E3 reading (midi comunication error) once. I think it had something to do with a nasty power surge that ocurred a second before, what tells me that this amp is sensible to electricity changes.(I recomend using this amp with some sort of power protection).

I've never dealt with them it so I can't tell.

I've been playing for 15 years, and of all the digital amps I've tried this one has the most realistic sound I've heard. It's really fun to use it. If someone steals it I'd get another one for sure.(After I've tracked down and KILL the bastard).This amp SHOULD come with a footcontroller.

I got an original model made before the effects were upgraded, but the guy I bought it from had them downloaded and everything works fine. eight amp types, reverb, tremolo, tape style delay, chorus. look for the rest of the specs elsewhere...

I use this amp with a Fender Strat with Vintage noiseless pickups on it, and our band plays some R & B, some Classic Rock, some Funk, and so forth. There doesn't seem to be any bias toward one style or the other, since the eight amp types have most of the bases covered. I don't play any REALLY heavy, modern stuff, so I can't comment on it's suitability for those styles. plenty of volume for our group, although I mike it and run a little send through the monitors for fuller stage coverage. I'm happy with the sounds and really happy with the versatility,as this amp has (almost) everything I need for the gig. I tried out several other modeling amps, but found the FEEL to be lacking in a big way from the tube amps I've always played. This was the first modeler that had the feel I'm looking for, with one caveat: I run a Boss compressor in front of the amp (just a little, not a big squish) to tame the spikes. As soon as I plugged in the comp, I was real happy with the sounds. the effects could be better in terms of programmability, but that would come at the expense of ease of use, as everything can be done with knobs. A tradeoff, to be sure, but then this amp doesn't cost very much, and you can use the extra money to buy yourself the processor of your choice. When I got this amp, I also got the Floorboard that goes with it, and I'm real happy with it, too.

Who would ever play a gig without backup? I have a Boss GX-700 in the PA rack that I use for acoustic and electric with the duo I play with normally, and the 7 or 8 times a year that we do a full band, I bring out the Yamaha. The amp hasn't given me any trouble except for the E1 message everyone seems to get becasuse of dirty pots. I try to keep 'em clean, and haven't had any big problems. I've had the amp for about a year and a half. It hasn't let me down.

I haven't dealt with them. No idea...

I've been playing for 35 years for a living. I've owned tons of gear of all brands, Fender, Boogie, Vox, Marshall, Orange (hey, I said I'd been around a while) you name it, and I think they're makin amps that pretty much kick ass nowadays. If this were stolen I'd definetly get another one. I tried out most of the other modelers before deciding on this one. I still love Tube amps, but hate not knowing when I pull the amp out of the bedroom to go to the gig whether or not I'm gonna have a tube related problem. IF your only experience with modeling amps is the first generation of Line 6 stuff, I'd suggest a trip to your local superstore for a listen. Highly recommended.

I have owned my DG80-112 (now 'A') since 1999, when it was introduced. That makes me potentially one of the longest term users of the amp in this review section. The best unique features are: Parallel fx loop with blend knob, hot (+4) XLR line out with level knob, dual midrange controls, and excellent bass response/volume for its size. Also, a versatile input section with two jacks and a trim knob really helps optimize signal level at the A/D stage. The rating gets debited due to a couple of things. MIDI control. Only volume, reverb level, delay level, trem depth, and chorus level are controllable. I have no issue with the first two. However, while delay level is helpful to control, I miss the ability to control tempo - much more musically useful. Trem depth - I would have much preferred speed, since I stick with a standard depth setting. Chorus level is marginally useful. Keep in mind that the unit does not set these parameters to 'absolute' control change values. For example, if your patch has reverb level set to zero (0), sending control change 127 is not going to crank it up - it will have NO effect. The level must first be set to something positive on the amp, then the MIDI pedal will modulate it only from zero to the maximum it is set on the amp. Annoying if you frequently use the amp without MIDI control, as all patches must effectively be saved with reverb, chorus, and trem at the maximum and then reduced by a pedal.

I use the amp with several guitars, ranging from single coils to humbuckers to a neck-mounted jazz archtop pickup. It is fantastic. The amp selections are diverse as a set and each has its own wide range of useful sounds. I bought this amp for its Fenderesque clean sounds, as it was IMHO far and away superior to all the other modeling amps in that area. I have not heard anything since that has caused my impression to change, including Fender's own Cyber amps. For comparison, I own a 1965 BF Twin Reverb (vintage) and a 1992 Super Amp 4x10" that have their own clean nirvana to offer. The DG80 can be coaxed to approximate either one, and certainly offers more in versatility. In addition to clean, the Lead 1 amp setting offers very smooth, sustainy distortion. The Crunch and Drive settings have a great range among them, from slight grit to modern rock rhythm sounds.

The limited effects are, to me, extremely rich and perfect for what i need (minus the lack of realtime control as noted above). The reverb is just killer. The chorus is chimey and can be made subtle. The trem has no weird artifacts, and the tape delay is very spacious. I have numerous other toys (GT-5, Pod, DG Stomp) but the basic effects in the DG are superior to my ears. I only wish they were better-controlled in a performance setting.

I could have added this review for this category alone, because I just discovered an interesting tip that I've never read about before. As noted, the DG amps have motorized knobs. Several have expressed concern about their longevity, and even a couple of people have discussed dealing with the dreaded "E1" error (when a pot doesn't return to its designated position within 20 seconds). For these people, cleaning the pots apparently helped.

I started getting those errors at least a year ago, but not consistently. Some patches did it, some did not. I couldn't figure out the pattern, if there was one. It was especially annoying when controlling patch changes via MIDI, because once the E1 flashed on the display, the amp would have to be manually reset (by pushing any button) before it would again respond to MIDI input. A huge PITA when playing in a live context. So I cleaned the pots, but nothing changed.

Well, I finally figured out what was happening. Due to the fit of the knobs on the pots, it would sometimes occur that a knob set to an extreme of either 10 or zero would cause the error. By tweaking that knob to just slightly short of the extreme (9.9 or 0.1), it would not materially affect the sound, but it would stop the E1 error from occurring. By going back to my patches and rectifying these settings, I no longer get the E1 error. I give the amp an 8 because this shouldn't have happened in the first place, but at least it is easily fixed.

My Yamaha contact experience has been with Gary (can't remember his last name), the US rep for DG products - at one time anyway. We exchanged a few substantive emails on some technical subjects. He was very cordial and helpful.

As noted in previous sections, I have a decent amount of gear - 3 Fender amps and about a dozen guitars, as well as other FX and modelling products. This amp has remained and will continue to do so because it just shines for me. It is heavy for its size (55 lbs), but I plan to put casters on it like its big brother, the DG100. At least it weighs less than my Twin Reverb. No amp is everything, but the DG80 is a great value that does all the right things sonically, and most of the right things in its other features.

Lots of cool features. it's like getting 8 amps in one. It's basically 6 types of distortion (2 leads, 2 drives, 2 crunch) and 2 types of clean. i'm a big fan of having individual knobs for the settings. this really does make it a lot like a non-digital amp. the line out is great for recording and the 80 watts is great for playing out. also, a big plus, using the output knob, you can turn down the volume when at home, but the most of the tone is still there. this feature makes alone makes the amp extremely versatile. you can use it quietly at home, and retain the tone, but you can also crank it when playing out. The only feature i don't like is, when you select a different amp, all the knobs return to 5. i typically like to keep my settings the same, but like to change the amp type so this is frustrating to me. does anyone know how to change this? i have programmed in 8 settings, one for each amp, but it can be a pain scrolling through the numbers to find the setting i'm looking for.

I'm using an ESP MH-201 with 2 duncan design HB-102 set humbuckers.

I recently bought this amp to replace my Laney GC-50. my biggest complaint about that amp is that it sounds too loose. the low sounds can be quite muddy, especially when distorted. the clean channel was ok but overall, it always sounded like i was playing in a tube. my yamaha on the other hand, is the complete opposite. all the tones on it are very tight and clear; even when distorted. playing regular chords with heavy distortion still sound like chords, rather than all the sounds being muffled together. i don't have a lot of experience with different amps, but i defiantly like this one. and as i mentioned earlier, being able to turn down the volume and retaining the tone is awesome.

this part makes me nervous. i haven't had the amp long, so i can't really sayanything about the reliability. so far everything has been fine with it. but when something has a computer in it, i tend to wonder how long it will last.

i haven't had to use customer support

overall, it is a great amp. great for playing at home and using for gigs. i consider myself very lucky that i found such a good amp and such a great price.

I am not sure what year my amp was made - I bought it used. I play pop/rock/blues/country and it covers what I need. With a midi controller, I have access to more patches than I would ever need live. The only thing I wish it had would be a built in phaser. I use an MXR Phase 90 and love it, but it would be nice to have that built in - not a big deal. This amp is rated 80 watts and it feels like a true 80 tube watts. Its very very loud and punchy. My Flextone is 60 watts and isnt anywhere near the volume of the DG80. It has the staple effects most players need and they sound very good. It really does everything I need it to do and has way more features than any highend tube amp, but a digital amp probably should come with more effects, so I have to give it a 9.

I use an American Standard Stratocaster with a Duncan JB in the bridge position, a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage in the middle and a Kinman in the neck. This amp doesnt have as many tones to choose from as my Flextone, but I like it better. The DG has fewer choices, but they all sound better to me than the Flextone. The tones are very very tubelike, very warm and puchy and compress when cranked. The amp responds better to the guitar volume too. The distortion is wonderful for what I play. I dont think this is a metalhead amp - thats fine with me - I dont need scooped mids metal stuff. You can get great tube clean to overdrive sounds with this amp. Actually, I find I dont really use that many different patches because you have so much variation just by using your guitar controls (pickup selection and volume control).

I have owned a Boogie, a Rivera, a Flextone and other assorted amps and this one really is my favorite. I wont say the "best" because best is relative, but it really does sound great.

I always have a GT-3 with me as a backup but have never had to go that route (thank God). I havent had this amp too long but so far so good. It is built very well. Its quite heavy and seems very solid.

I got it for $300 used. Its worth much more than that and I would certainly buy another. These amps are going pretty cheap on Ebay and they are a steal. I have been playing 24 years and have gone through a lot of gear. I compared this amp to my Flextone which I really did think was a great amp, but the DG is just better. Its built better and sounds better. My Rivera was a wonderful amp and I sometimes regret selling it, but the reality is my DG gets those tones and more without the tubes plus it has chorus, reverb and delay built in and as many presets as you need.

I got this amp for my son, who play lead guitar in a church praise band every Sunday. Harvey Whitehead's review seems pretty much on target. The features that made this amp attractive to us are:
1. It is solid state. We're not gearheads, and the low maintenance associated with SS is a real plus for us. In addition, the flexibility of being able to turn the volume down in small rooms and still have the desired sound profile was important. When we need the power for a larger room, the 80 Watts into a 12-inch speaker delivers nicely. For outdoors, it gets patched into the mixer and fed through the sound system anyway.
2. The band plays a wide variety of musical styles, and James also plays Rock, Jazz, and Blues in other contexts, so he needs a lot of versatility in the sounds that the amp can deliver. As a modelling amp, this puppy is versatile.
3. The controls on the amp are easy to figure out. Some amps give the impression that you're piloting a jet fighter. The controls on the DG80 do pretty much what you would expect. Since the amp is so flexible, this last point means a lot. There's no value in having great flexibility if you don't know how to use it to set the tone you're looking for.

James plays an Epi LP. Even discounting for the humbuckers, the amp is quiet. The clean sound of this amp is to die for. Likewise, the lead sounds are bell-like and pure. In these modes, the amp is at least the equal of any amp, tube or SS, at any price to my way of thinking. When the amp gets crunchy, it is a bit less appealing, though. While you can get an acceptable overdrive out ot it, my goal would be to get a Cream-era Eric Clapton highly compressed but still fat sound, and I haven't found that in the amp yet. It may be there, but I can't get quite what I would want from it. The crunchy sounds aren't bad, but they don't have the blow-your-socks-off beauty of the clean modes.
One thing worth mentioning is that the controls for the tremulo, chorus, and tape echo need to be downloaded from a DOS floppy disk (your music store may have alrtady done that, but when the battery dies, you'll need to do it again). This is a MIDI device. I was new to MIDI, and Yamaha sells a $400 computer to do this. You don't need that. I have a SoundBlaster card in my PC. Creative (the SoundBlaster mfr) sells a $20 cable that allows the joystick port on the SoundBlaster to be used as a MIDI In/Out port. I have heard that there are similar cables for use with USB ports. You can download the disk contents using that. The MIDI port on the computer will probably have a couple of MIDI drivers for it -- some kind of synthesizer support and a plain vanilla MIDI I/O utility. Use the latter one. The Yamaha program on the floppy will tell you if the MIDI port is set up right on the computer (it will take some fiddling), and then download to the amp for you. It's relatively easy, takes about 10 minutes, and won't have to be done again until the battery needs replacing ont he amp.
Another point worth knowing -- Yamaha makes a very expensive MIDI foot pedal (~$300). It is easy to use for the basic controls -- switching between the 128 preset amp programs and a foot control for volume. The presets are MIDI Program Changes, and the volume is a MIDI Control Change. There are a few other controls possible, but I haven't learned how to do them yet. If you want to get a different MIDI foot controller, make sure it will support both Program Changes and Control Changes. I think that this amp needs to be used (at least by a lead guitarist) with the foot control, so this is a big "hidden" cost of this amp.

This is a very well-made amp. We haven't had any problems yet. The controls are motorized, which looks like a repair bill in waiting, but so far the amp has been a tank. And it weighs about as much as a tank, too.

As some other people have mentioned, the manual is very hard to red and not very informative. The amp is well-designed, so you don't need to refer to it very often. But when you're trying to establish a MIDI connection, you will hate the manual. This is by far the weakest part of the product. The Yamaha web site is easy to navigate, but pretty limited (you can download the MIDI patch if you lost the diskette, or the manual if you think that it will be less foul in electonic form). Other than that, I haven't used their support.

For $500 or less, this is a terrific bargain, a 10. I got ours when Mars stopped carrying the amp, so it was a good deal. At the ususal $700 discounted price, it's still a good amp, but awfully pricey. This is especially true when you keep in mind that you're going to have to cough up another $275 or so for the foot pedal.
If the gear were stolen, I would replace it because it is such a good amp. But if I had to pay the ususal discounted price, I'd be a very unhappy customer. The DG60 appears to be an attempt by Yamaha to bring the price down into the >$500 sweet spot, but that amp appears to make too many compromises on the controls, so I'd complain and pay for the DG80.

I bought the amp from mars in Dec.01. I play quite often at church as I am in a praise band. This is NOT the church music that may have put you to sleep when you were a kid. We rock the house with many different styles of music which is exactly why this amp fits the bill so perfectly. The band leader owns a '62 twin in mint condition. This amp can come so close to the sounds of the twin you'd be scratchin' yer head trying to figure out which one was being played. As far as power goes it will make your ears bleed. Like the other reveiws, IT NEEDS A HEADPHONE JACK!!!!!

I use a epi sheraton II with gibson pick-ups and coil taps. The sound is better when the hums are engaged. I wish I could get alittle more saturation in the overdrive tones but what I get is ok. I do plug in a Dean accoustic into the amp and it sounds go

I've not had a problem with it and it is in use all the time. I do not like the idea of battery replacement and loading all my saved info back into this amp when the battery goes. I hope it gives me some warning as it would be embarrassing if it quit during praise!

The manual SUX!!!!!! I was on the phone alot with Yamaha. They did stay with me until all questions were answered. The guy that wrote the manual must never give anyone traveling directions, who knows where they will end up! The 7 is because of the manual

I've been playing for 35 years and have played most everything. This is the most satisfied i have ever been with new gear. I would buy another if stolen but still worry 'bout the battery. I also bought the pedal board that goes with it but will never be able to fully figure it out. the manual on the pedal is worse the the amp. I almost bought the hotrod deville or the tech 21 but I fell in love wth the tone of the Yamaha. If anyone has the amp and pedal, and knows how to use it please help me out. I would like to get the full potential out of this amp and pedal combo. The pedal should have been included with this amp.

its been a while, but i wanted to add to my previous review.
i just love this amp. I sold the amp after buying a Tech 21 (because i get in my amp change'n moods).
i really didn't need two amps. anyway, the DG got damaged during shipping (top board of cabinet), thus i ended up getting it back. when i got it, the case had been damaged, but the amp was still running great. so, comparing my Tech 21 to this DG, i realized how WARM sounding this amp is. it sounds so good. thus, the TECH 21 is gone. i reset the pre-programmed settings back to yamahas initial settings. I must say, they did a extremely fine job with their sounds. most amps/effect companies do a lousy job. And i must add, this amp does the best job of maintaining its sound when a "line out" is sent to a mixing board and to my recorder.
its just a top quality amp. By the way, i think i'll sell this amp if anyone is interested, $300. why ??? i think i want to try the DG 2x12 amp. BIG BUCKS though....... hmmmmmmmm O-O
^
O

HANG'n in there after being dropped by UPS !!!
the impact broke the top board of the cabinet
everything else looks new

I bought the amp new at Mars at a blow out price, they discontinued stocking these amps. Since I have been using a DG1000 preamp for some time in my rack (I hardly ever use my expensive Soldano X88R preamp anymore), I was quite familiar with the features and functions of the DG amps. The DG80 also has reverbs, delays, trem, chorus that are not in the DG1000. It doesn't have as many built in FX as some of the other modeling amps, but I am not much of an FX guy anyways. I think there should have been a headphone jack, just because of the nature of the amp. The manual is not the greatest, but the amp is really fairly straightforward to operate.

I use a variety of guitars, vintage Gibsons and Fenders, plus some hotrod superStrat guitars for more hard rock stuff.
The first time I heard the DG1000 preamp, I was amazed! I could not believe the sounds were digital. The DG80 is no exception. The trade off here is that there are no 'specific' amp models, but since most of the modeling amps really don't sound like the amps they are supposed to model anyways, it doesn't really bother me. I usually try to go for the sounds I hear in my musical imagination, and the DG amps can achieve 'that' sound for me. I do like the attack and touch sensitivity the DG series of amps have. The DG amps have a good 'feel' to them, which is very important to me. I feel that some of the more popular modeling amps do not have the 'tube feel'. The DG amps just seem to have a more 'dynamic' feel to them, the notes seem to 'bloom' better than some other modeling amps. The DG has quite a lot of gain, but does not have super saturated mega gain as some modeling amps do, so if that is your bag this may not be the amp for you. If good tone and response is your thing, then take a closer look at the DG amps. I use my DG for recording, and people are usually surprised when I tell them I use a Yamaha DG for recording. I have recieved many compliments about the tones I have generated with DG amps. I especially like the smooth, woody overdrive tones I can get from this amp, reminiscent of EJ or Allan Holdsworth. Awesome for fluid toned soloing. I find it easy to nail the sounds I hear in my head with this amp.

Reliable so far. I did get an error message, cleaning the offending pot with some cleaner fixed that problem. These units also seem much heavier and robust in construction than some of the modeling amp competitors. Take apart a Line 6 Spider and see what I mean!

Never had to use customer support, no opinion.

I've been playing 20 years, and have owned a LOT of modern and vintage gear. I'd sure consider buying another one if it disappeared, since I have tried all the other modeling amps (Line 6, Johnson, Fender, Crate, Behringer) and did not care for them. I do like the ease of use this amp provides, the motorized knobs make life a lot easier! It may not have as many bells and whistles as the competitors, but maybe that is why the DG amps sound better? Less is more? Who knows! A heaphone jack would have been nice for silent jamming. The manual sucks big time, but the amp is pretty easy to figure out.
Yamaha has done a really piss-poor job promoting these amps, nobody knows about them, and the major chains are not carrying them anymore. A shame, really. Listen with your ears, and not the marketing hype and maybe you will come to the same conclusion I did...