Do Digitech's employees all live in a cave without the internet?

chrispy108

http://www.digitech.com/en-US/news/digitech-introduces-its-element-xp-and-element-guitar-multi-effects-pedals

Why would they think this competes with what Zoom have out with the G3 and Multistomp?

And I've just seen the iStomp has been reduced to £50 and all the models made free, so I guess that's been discontinued.

It's a shame, because I've always been happy with the sounds of the digitech stuff I've used, but it's just bizarrely packaged/priced.

Drew_TNBD

It's an entry level pair of pedals. You can't expect too much. Then again there is this as the next tier:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RP360XP/

A few of us are waiting to see what the upper tiers bring us. I am hoping for something along the lines of the old GNX units, but with modern day features (basically everything I've been banging on about in my multi-fx threads recently!)

hugbot

That design is so gloriously ugly

I think its funny that no one besides the G3 have really taken a stab at being an M9 killer.

Drew_TNBD

hugbot said:

I think its funny that no one besides the G3 have really taken a stab at being an M9 killer.

I think a lot of guitar companies are trapped in giant-multi-national-hell where they'd like to do things, but cannot because the higher ups and bean counters don't want to take a risk.

hugbot

I can see that happening, in a large degree because of the nature of a digital pedal means its not something some guy in his basement can start knocking out to fill the demand.

chrispy108

That's my point really, instead of actually producing something innovative and game-changing, like they clearly could, they just produce bits of shiny plastic shit, that are basically the same as last years.

Look at how the AxeFX appeared from basically nowhere, and has continued to progress, compared to what Digitech have done in the same time-frame?

Drew_TNBD

Digitech, Boss, Zoom, and Line 6, (with TC Electronic to a slightly lesser degree) are all essentially chasing the same market - the aspirational bedroom hobbyist market, with a slight consideration to the gigging musician. This profile is the type of person with a high gear turnover, with a relatively low amount of requirements and/or considerations. These days it is more important to have USB recording and some sort of software editor, than it is to have ultra high sound quality.

They're not in the business of making the absolute best thing for a job, they're in the business of ticking off enough boxes to appeal to a wide range of guitarists from that single idealized profile. They might throw in a few features for some other folk, but it's really about capturing the expendable cash market - another reason why single pedals have seen such a massive resurgence, they don't cost as much to make in raw materials nor R&D.

PolarityMan

Drew_fx said:

It's an entry level pair of pedals. You can't expect too much. Then again there is this as the next tier:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RP360XP/

A few of us are waiting to see what the upper tiers bring us. I am hoping for something along the lines of the old GNX units, but with modern day features (basically everything I've been banging on about in my multi-fx threads recently!)

Yeah but I bet what you'll get is the same as the generation before except that it can twitter your patch changes

Drew_TNBD

)

fretmeister

IStomp for £50 with all the models?

Ordered!

guitarfishbay

PolarityMan said:

Drew_fx said:

It's an entry level pair of pedals. You can't expect too much. Then again there is this as the next tier:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RP360XP/

A few of us are waiting to see what the upper tiers bring us. I am hoping for something along the lines of the old GNX units, but with modern day features (basically everything I've been banging on about in my multi-fx threads recently!)

Yeah but I bet what you'll get is the same as the generation before except that it can twitter your patch changes

How about a trending hashtag mode, where the tone interprets whatever is topical at the moment in patch form to facilitate writing songs.

Apparently trending worldwide this moment is #JustinBieberIsHuman ..

digitalscream

Drew_fx said:

A few of us are waiting to see what the upper tiers bring us. I am hoping for something along the lines of the old GNX units, but with modern day features (basically everything I've been banging on about in my multi-fx threads recently!)

This. In fact, if they can bring the features of a GSP1101 to a pedal format *and* include relay switching, I'm absolutely sold on it.

The GSP1101 is basically the closest to a unit designed for the gigging musician as I've found thus far, short of the G-System. It even has a specific operating mode for 4CM, including switching the I/O to line level. It's also a fraction of the cost. 

PolarityMan

Im not sure I buy this distinction between bedroom and giggning boards. I've seen loads of the bigger pods and boss GT's being used by signed bands.

Cirrus

PolarityMan said:

Im not sure I buy this distinction between bedroom and giggning boards. I've seen loads of the bigger pods and boss GT's being used by signed bands.

I don't think it's a distinction so much in the sense that you put gear in one category or the other, it's just a question of how you see pieces of gear and how you approach them in actual useage. For example, I give top marks to pedals that give me the impression they'll never break no matter what happens - beer spills, over enthusiastic stomping, poor power, and I also don't think anything sounds good until I've used it successfully in a band context - ie it can be clearly heard and compliment the drum and bass sounds in my band. Extra marks if I don't have to spend long working out how to make it sound good.

guitarfishbay

I think the problem is that what you can do in a studio recording with a DAW eclipses what most FX units can do, with the possible exception of live pitch shifting effects.  In theory you could write a piece of music that relies on complex effects chains (multiple delays/modulations etc) and then when it comes to live pulling it off becomes very difficult because of the limitations of the units.

That and some people will compromise on some things and some won't.  My main issue with most multi FX is I hate menu systems and lose patience with them.  I need to try a G3 because it looks the easiest thing to use.  Maybe next NAMM we'll get a 4CM Zoom unit with a similar workflow philosophy, we can only hope.

Drew_TNBD

PolarityMan;76956" said:

Im not sure I buy this distinction between bedroom and giggning boards. I've seen loads of the bigger pods and boss GT's being used by signed bands.

Not a distinction really, more of a focal point. At FX we don't distinguish between electronic musicians and non-electronic musicians, but our products are certainly aimed more towards one. Doesn't mean both cannot use it, but the focus is usually on one or the other.

Maxi

Drew_fx said:

Digitech, Boss, Zoom, and Line 6, (with TC Electronic to a slightly lesser degree) are all essentially chasing the same market - the aspirational bedroom hobbyist market, with a slight consideration to the gigging musician. This profile is the type of person with a high gear turnover, with a relatively low amount of requirements and/or considerations. These days it is more important to have USB recording and some sort of software editor, than it is to have ultra high sound quality.

They're not in the business of making the absolute best thing for a job, they're in the business of ticking off enough boxes to appeal to a wide range of guitarists from that single idealized profile. They might throw in a few features for some other folk, but it's really about capturing the expendable cash market - another reason why single pedals have seen such a massive resurgence, they don't cost as much to make in raw materials nor R&D.

This ^

Packaging does look dated tho but how does it sound is the main concern ...

PolarityMan

Drew_fx said:

PolarityMan;76956" said:

Im not sure I buy this distinction between bedroom and giggning boards. I've seen loads of the bigger pods and boss GT's being used by signed bands.

Not a distinction really, more of a focal point. At FX we don't distinguish between electronic musicians and non-electronic musicians, but our products are certainly aimed more towards one. Doesn't mean both cannot use it, but the focus is usually on one or the other.

I think there is a distinction its just not between professionals and non-professionals. Rather I think the intended use case of most of the pedals is to get your entire sound going into the front of a clean amp and the minority use case you're talking about is 4CM.

Im actually thinking of ditching 4CM and goin to amp dirt but all fx in the front because of this, no matter what i do with levels etc, removing the GT-10 from the loop just sounds better on my amp. Probably because i have to use the preamp / power amp insert point as a serial loop rather than having a proper serial loop but Im kinda tempted to abandon 4cm for a bit and see how it goes.

I don't think using all out front and modelling is necessarily a comment on the professional vs bedroom players, I mean I saw opeth using GT-8's into clean laneys before and they're pretty big.

thecolourbox

I like XP but personally since using Windows 7 I've found it to be far superior

octatonic

Drew_fx said:

Digitech, Boss, Zoom, and Line 6, (with TC Electronic to a slightly lesser degree) are all essentially chasing the same market - the aspirational bedroom hobbyist market, with a slight consideration to the gigging musician. This profile is the type of person with a high gear turnover, with a relatively low amount of requirements and/or considerations. These days it is more important to have USB recording and some sort of software editor, than it is to have ultra high sound quality.

They're not in the business of making the absolute best thing for a job, they're in the business of ticking off enough boxes to appeal to a wide range of guitarists from that single idealized profile. They might throw in a few features for some other folk, but it's really about capturing the expendable cash market - another reason why single pedals have seen such a massive resurgence, they don't cost as much to make in raw materials nor R&D.

IMHO they are interested in profit and virtually nothing else.

Harman which own Lexicon, Digitech, JBL, DBX and AKG brands are particularly odious.

They bought good brands and started producing utter shit under those brands.

Look at Lexicon- they used to make great products- class leading products.

Now, not so much.

ChrisMusic

Amen to that.

I used to be part of the complex Harman web.

Oh so true.