DigiTech GSP1101 Rack Processor

I must say first this unit is not to being compared to a Marshall JVM1974x or a Rivera Sedona 55 ES or any other wonderful tube amps costing 4 or 5 times as much.

I have had mine for over a year now. It is plugged into a Mac Book Pro via usb2. I installed the driver, plugged it in and started recording. it has worked flawlessly from that time until now operation is completely transparent and trouble free. Would I replace it if it were lost/stolen?
Yes, without hesitation.
forgetting the presets, I will describe the fun programing my own custom patches. This is a very powerful unit . It is a breeze to program and tweak, creating everything from sweet as pie black face Fender sounds to grinding noise guitar ( I like noise it's a choice). This unit is very responsive to picking dynamics , there lots of very usable processing devices,there in an FX'S loop that can be incorporated in to each individual patch. To save time I'd recommend reading the long list of devices included and say to my dear reader they all do a fine job.

The sound that prints to tracks is hum free and pristine, yielding an exact image of what was programed into it , "garbage in, garbage out."
It sounds great with differant guitars Tele's Strats and my noise grindage machine the inexpensive Ibanez GAX 70 with a dimarzio Evolution in the bridge pick up.

I use this unit in my bedroom studio. without ever having any problems without disturbing my neighbors with noise, eliminating all the problems of getting a good "live sound".
I will confess that I heard about the unit on a video that Dweezil Zappa made discussing recreating Franks touring rigs, he said that he had two GSP 1101 units in his rack and that they were very good amp modeling. With a thirty day no questions asked return policy there was of down side to buying the unit. I bought the unit from Sweetwater Music it shipped from there to here in Annexia, it arrive with in a few days and here it sits staring at me as I type . I'm very pleased with the my experience of being a consumer with regard to Sweetwater Music,
Greet price great sevice by a knowledgeable bunch of groovy guys.
I like the GSP 1101 a lot, it's fun as home made taffy.

Somebody got it right

I dont write long reviews so I will just say this... Unreal, Easy to setup and use, USB interface works great, sturdy build, bright Leds and the sound its amazing. BUY IT

Fairly Strong Unit, Weak Software Interface

Though the software editor is lacking in many aspects, such as signal routing and placement of effects, this unit sounds pretty good. The reverbs and delays sound much better on this than on other FX units I've tried. Unfortunately, all of the frequency modulation effects are grouped together into one FX category, from which you can only use one at a time. This isn't an issue for recording, but for live sound, that does limit the amount of signal processing that can be achieved. Sadly, Digitech currently has a large list of extra presets on their website, but they do not work with the current firmware version. That doesn't detract from my review of the product itself, but I was rather unhappy with Digitech.

fantastic concept with a couple goofs

I finally bought a guitar processor to replace the Digitech RP20 that I have loved for ten years. That in itself says a lot about the GSP1101. I play acoustic and electric in the same solo concerts, and I need to uplug one, plug in the other, and go. Furthermore, I use a Lexicon JamMan in my setup, so I need a unit with thorough MIDI implementation. The GSP1101 has finally answered the call!

However, there are a couple major goofs that I wish I knew about. First (and most importantly), there is no way to change the delay time in a live situation other than switching or editing the preset. I need to set the delay time to quarter notes and prefer a tap-tempo function such as the RP20 and many other processors have. But currently (firmware version 2.0) the delay time cannot be mapped to a MIDI controller. Digitech knows they goofed and say they are in the final stages of developing an update that will fix this, but they will not even estimate a delivery date ("It will be posted when
completed").

The other goof is the XLR outputs: Basically, they make my acoustic (Taylor 414CE) sound muddy--like they always have speaker compensation even when I choose "Direct" for a cabinet model (strangely, the "Direct" model sounds exactly like the "DigiTech SpkrComp" model). The only way to get a clean sound is to use the 1/4-inch outputs and uncheck the "cabinet to amp" control (which apparently forces a bypass around speaker compensation). In my correspondence, Digitech did not acknowledge this as a problem and says, "The Direct cabinet means no cabinet model is active, but speaker compensation is a subtle eq application to the XLR outputs that is present and active all the time." Bottom line, for acoustic guitarists, the XLR outputs are useless.

I can live with the 1/4-inch outputs, and I trust Digitech to fix the delay-time issue, so I am not returning mine for a refund. Besides, I have programmed the daylights out of it and love everything else about it. So, in summary, we have a winner--I think.