buddaman71
Active member
I just replaced a very nice boutique-filled powered pedal board with a new Digitech GSP1101 rackmount.
I know...I have been there and done that several times in the past.
This is different. I got the unit brand new from Sweetwater (Thanks Greg Baum) along with a used Behringer MIDI controller. I received the unit on Wednesday and took it to a gig on Thursday. I interfaced it via the 4-cable method with my Lone Star Classic combo.
I selected the stomp box models and ran them into the front end of the amp with the effects section in the amp's loop. I programmed the MIDI pedal to switch my amp on the LEAD presets.
Halfway through the first song the singer, bass player AND drummer were all looking at me like my hair was on fire......I actually thought something was wrong or off...Right after the song ended, they were all asking me when I learned all the new licks....??? (confusion on my part ensues...)
I was playing the songs EXACTLY the way I always had been, but the improved clarity (even on the distorted lead settings) allowed my tone to come through SO much better it was astonishing, even though I was playing at or below the volume I normally play at. They told me, "Dang, you're a lot better player than we've been giving you credit for!"
Eliminating all the signal loading from all the TRUE BYPASS and BOUTIQUE pedals I had between my guitar and amp was like cleaning a filmy, dirty windshield. (yes I tried a buffer and a Valvulator...didn't really help) The difference was TOTALLY incredible. I felt like I had put new strings on my guitar and new tubes in my Lone Star.
The AD/DA conversion and transparancy of this $400 piece of gear is ridiculous. I have owned EVERYTHING in the last 22 years of semi and pro touring and recording experience. I have two Lone Stars now, running the second simply into the effects return for stereo and it's the best tone I have ever had. The stopmbox models in the GSP1101 actually sound like pedals. (I am not kidding)
I show up to a pretty good-sized club gig with a combo amp, a 2-space rack and a MIDI pedal and the soundman looked at me like I was crazy. I hit the first chord and his jaw dropped. It's incredibly easy to edit on the fly if you need to, and the switching is almost completely instaneous, even though it has fx spillover. My bassist noticed that when I was coming out of a solo and switched back to my crunch rhythm tone, the delay was still ringing from the last note of my solo. TOTALLY makes a one-guitar band sound fuller since it's not chopping the ambience upon switching.
For once, the Digitech ads were right on: the 1101 doesn't take over your rig, it just falls right into place as you can use it exactly as you desire. (Did I mention it's SUPER intuitive to program and the presets are excellent...very little of the over-ther-top crap that usually fills these types of devices...)
I use it's fine sounding models in place of a POD for direct recording and kill the internal preamp when I am using it with my tube amps. Works great!!
Is it perfect?? Not quite. No tap tempo (yet) and no custom foot controller, but my buddy at Harmon says that both features should be available after January NAMM...(hopefully) Also, the tuner is a tiny bit slow to switch in and out, but those are very minor negs on this great unit. It's the best purchase I have mede in years, and I have owned over 150 tube amps, hundreds of pedals, and most rack devices on the market over the years.
Digitech GSP1101 is an amazing tool for any genre of guitarist.
Rock on,
Buddaman
I know...I have been there and done that several times in the past.
This is different. I got the unit brand new from Sweetwater (Thanks Greg Baum) along with a used Behringer MIDI controller. I received the unit on Wednesday and took it to a gig on Thursday. I interfaced it via the 4-cable method with my Lone Star Classic combo.
I selected the stomp box models and ran them into the front end of the amp with the effects section in the amp's loop. I programmed the MIDI pedal to switch my amp on the LEAD presets.
Halfway through the first song the singer, bass player AND drummer were all looking at me like my hair was on fire......I actually thought something was wrong or off...Right after the song ended, they were all asking me when I learned all the new licks....??? (confusion on my part ensues...)
I was playing the songs EXACTLY the way I always had been, but the improved clarity (even on the distorted lead settings) allowed my tone to come through SO much better it was astonishing, even though I was playing at or below the volume I normally play at. They told me, "Dang, you're a lot better player than we've been giving you credit for!"
Eliminating all the signal loading from all the TRUE BYPASS and BOUTIQUE pedals I had between my guitar and amp was like cleaning a filmy, dirty windshield. (yes I tried a buffer and a Valvulator...didn't really help) The difference was TOTALLY incredible. I felt like I had put new strings on my guitar and new tubes in my Lone Star.
The AD/DA conversion and transparancy of this $400 piece of gear is ridiculous. I have owned EVERYTHING in the last 22 years of semi and pro touring and recording experience. I have two Lone Stars now, running the second simply into the effects return for stereo and it's the best tone I have ever had. The stopmbox models in the GSP1101 actually sound like pedals. (I am not kidding)
I show up to a pretty good-sized club gig with a combo amp, a 2-space rack and a MIDI pedal and the soundman looked at me like I was crazy. I hit the first chord and his jaw dropped. It's incredibly easy to edit on the fly if you need to, and the switching is almost completely instaneous, even though it has fx spillover. My bassist noticed that when I was coming out of a solo and switched back to my crunch rhythm tone, the delay was still ringing from the last note of my solo. TOTALLY makes a one-guitar band sound fuller since it's not chopping the ambience upon switching.
For once, the Digitech ads were right on: the 1101 doesn't take over your rig, it just falls right into place as you can use it exactly as you desire. (Did I mention it's SUPER intuitive to program and the presets are excellent...very little of the over-ther-top crap that usually fills these types of devices...)
I use it's fine sounding models in place of a POD for direct recording and kill the internal preamp when I am using it with my tube amps. Works great!!
Is it perfect?? Not quite. No tap tempo (yet) and no custom foot controller, but my buddy at Harmon says that both features should be available after January NAMM...(hopefully) Also, the tuner is a tiny bit slow to switch in and out, but those are very minor negs on this great unit. It's the best purchase I have mede in years, and I have owned over 150 tube amps, hundreds of pedals, and most rack devices on the market over the years.
Digitech GSP1101 is an amazing tool for any genre of guitarist.
Rock on,
Buddaman