Digitech GSP1101

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I'm sure you can get it but not for $500.

My old recording setup is a DOD G7 straight into a mixer and some EQ to make it sound less like a preamp straight into a board. You know what I'm talking about.

So since I got the Boogie with the Slave Out I was thinking I'd go Slave Out to a direct box/cabinet simulator (old H&K Red Box Cabinetulator) and then into the G7 and then into the mixer. Or something like that.

(this is where the 1101 comes into the picture)

But I was thinking I could eliminate a lot of wires/complexity, get some better effects, and not have yet-another-battery-powered-device to deal with (Red Box) if I used the 1101 instead.

Newc, how good is the cabinet simulator on this? I'm really just interested in the 4x12 model which people have been doing for years, it should be pretty good? But I know you're a "tone guy" so I am very interested in your opinion.

That whole "not taking over your whole rig" marketing stuff for the 1101 sounds interesting and I'd like to NOT use the amp modeling, but use some EQ, the effects, and the cabinet simulation.

The DO on my Boogie includes the power amp tone, it's just missing cabinet simulation (because it's not a mixer feed, its a slave amp feed.)

[Bert]

But having it all in one box would take all the fun out of the perfect tone quest, Newc!

[khabibissell]

I agree you're not gonna find an all in wonder that does everything you want, or replicates a "real" amp perfectly, etc... That would make things too easy.

I think the GSP is a nice box and sounds great for the price... modeling has come a long way. I'm glad I picked one up! I'm sure the Axe-Fx is nice too, but $2K is a bit steep for what it is IMO. For that kind of scratch, it had better have some glowing bottles!

[Trypp Powell]

The fx are more like stomp boxes than the rack based equivalent. For me, that is a plus and a negative for the unit. It makes it quick and easy to dial something in, but does limit what can be done. I am still interested in the AxeFx for the effects, but having spent an hour with one today I was not impressed with the modeled preamps in it. Don't get me wrong - they sounded good. I just didn't think they were that better than what you can get with other units. With the fx and the modeled amps, the Ultra is worth the asking price. I just wish the amp sims were better. Once the controller is out and the editing software out of beta, I might bite on the AxeFx. For right now, I believe my 1101 plus a PitchFactor setup will work.

[Newc]

MAJNH - I have a Fender RocPro1000 head and Carvin VE212 cab (which are not in the 1101), so I can't say how realistic the models are. They sound good, and they sound different from each other, which is good. Being able to match up different heads with different cabs is definitely a bonus not available to the majority of the population in real life.

However, I'm having considerable trouble getting the X-Edit app to run, which means the 1101 will not interface with my PC the way it's supposed to. That's a minus in my book - granted it's not a necessary feature for me, but it's a feature of the unit that should work like it was intended without my having to do anything to my security settings (i.e. disable virus scanners or hack the registry to allow items to be installed into my System folder).

If anyone is still programming anything these days without regard for personal security, that's absolutely fucktarded.

Every time I start X-Edit, I get an error, and it doesn't unload from memory. I have to shut it down from within Taskmanager, and Windows doesn't like having things ripped out of the memory.


Bert - That's like saying that permaquipping 100% Chameleon, 100% Reflect Damage, 100% Reflect Spell, and items that max out my magic points on my Oblivion characters will take all the fun out of tha game. I've been doing it since the game came out and I have not detected any loss of any amount of fun.
So, if anyone finds fun in spending years trying to achieve "perfect tone", more power to them. Me, I want everything on the market in one box I control with one finger so I get to the end result sooner. The journey is not the goal, the destination is the goal.


Khabib - I've spent years doing just that with various layers of EQ, and I'm a nobody with no education. Surely someone who actually knows how to program has the intelligence to figure out how to stack EQs and focus frequencies so you CAN replicate the tonal aspects of anything from a human liver to whatever amps are out there. Granted there's going to be some difference in the final signal coming out of your PC monitors vs the real cab sitting next to you, but you can have the same sound coming out of your speakers as the recorded sound of the real cab coming out of your speakers. All it takes is the right EQ stack. I don't expect my PC speakers to sound like a TripleRec or 5150 or JSX or Legacy sitting in front of me, but I do expect the sound coming out of my PC speakers to be identical in every way to a miked and recorded TripleRec, 5150, JSX, and Legacy.
I think that's where a lot of people get lost with modelers - they think or hope that their headphones or PC or laptop is going to sound balls-out like the real amp/cab sitting in front of them. They want the rumble shaking the walls and they want to smell the tubes cooking dust mites and burning ozone.
That's also where the detractors come in, crying about how their computer isn't shaking the walls or burning ozone. Both sides completely ignore the fact that it's not supposed to sound like that, it's supposed to sound like MIKED versions of real amps, which all modelers do, because it's all EQ trickery.


I'm still undecided on keeping or ditching the 1101. The pitch effect tracks perfectly - way better than the TSR-12, 2101, or even running into an IPS33. Plus, being able to switch the effect between Pre-amp and Post-amp is great as it changes the dynamics of many effects without having to manually swap wires back and forth or fuss over routing several units through a mixer's fx bus.

The Pros and Cons are about even - it's too limiting to keep but too well-featured to ditch.

[DHardmanJr]

I don't expect my PC speakers to sound like a TripleRec or 5150 or JSX or Legacy sitting in front of me, but I do expect the sound coming out of my PC speakers to be identical in every way to a miked and recorded TripleRec, 5150, JSX, and Legacy.
I think that's where a lot of people get lost with modelers - they think or hope that their headphones or PC or laptop is going to sound balls-out like the real amp/cab sitting in front of them. They want the rumble shaking the walls and they want to smell the tubes cooking dust mites and burning ozone.
That's also where the detractors come in, crying about how their computer isn't shaking the walls or burning ozone. Both sides completely ignore the fact that it's not supposed to sound like that, it's supposed to sound like MIKED versions of real amps, which all modelers do, because it's all EQ trickery.

Well said.

On X-Edit ... you mentioned your 1101 came with C48 already on it. Did you download the corresponding X-Edit beta version for C48 from mustbebeta.com? The X-Edit from the Digitech site or from the CD won't work with the beta versions.

There's a zip file with the right X-Edit beta version for firmware C46-C48 here at this link: http://mustbebeta.com/Gsp1101_Users.html

[Newc]

Ah. Thanks. What about the USB drivers? Do I use the latest ones from Digitech or are there special ones included in the XE beta zip?

[Newc]

Got it. Needed the drivers from Digitech and it works fine now.

Which brings up another issue - the Wah pedal action is too hard. It "jumps" into and out of the effect at 0, which my Crybaby doesn't do. I've tried adjusting the low limit above 0 so it's not as harsh, but even on 5 it doesn't go down low enough.

The ART X-15 pedal linked to the Wah in the 2101 had the same issue.


So it seems they've got a long way to go before they get that right. I figured after 10 years or more (whenever the 2101 came out?) they'd have figured it out.

[DHardmanJr]

The wah is something I haven't quite figured out. I am used to a Dunlop 535Q which allows selection of the wah freq range and so far I can't get the GSP1101 to even be in the ballpark for what I want.

[Newc]

Agreed. I use the regular GCB-95 and after I put a knob on it to control the range, it was great. Otherwise it was way too harsh.

The 1101 gives you a whopping 3 wahs to choose from - crybaby, clyde, and full range - whatever that's supposed to be - Hendrix?

They shoulda put an Envelope Filter instead.

The YaYa is ok, though.

I'm using a Line6 expression pedal through the Exp Ped jack on the 1101 and it takes a minute for the unit to recognize the pedal, though it may be because I had X-Edit open at the same time.

[Newc]

Found another cool thing about the 1101 - it handles volume knobs very nicely.

Rolling back the guitar's volume knob on a distorted patch sounds more amp-like to me than doing it on my MP-1.

Which leads me to the notion that the world needs a rack preamp that has a stereo input jack with the ring tied to the MIDI CC functions. Imagine being able to select whether your guitar's volume pot controls the guitar's overall output or preamp gain drive, or the operating freq of a notch filter.

You'd need a stereo jack on your guitar though. Not a big issue there except for EMG users, but they'll just have to upgrade to passives

[toxikdeth]

Wow you want alot does the axe fx even meets your need

[Newc]

Probably not

Then again, that's how racks came to be in the first place - people wanted an easier way to carry and set up their pedals, and they wanted all their pedals in one housing. Stuff the boards in a Radio Shack project enclosure and mount it in an old amp head cab. You got one cable going in from the guitar and one coming out to the amp.

[Newc]

And more fun with the 1101 - I ran my guitar into an ART Studio V3 Tube Mic Preamp then into the 1101 and it really glasses up the cleans.

Tried it through the XLR outs of the 1101 and it doesn't sound bad either.

I need a way to A/B them though.

[khabibissell]

And more fun with the 1101 - I ran my guitar into an ART Studio V3 Tube Mic Preamp then into the 1101 and it really glasses up the cleans.

Tried it through the XLR outs of the 1101 and it doesn't sound bad either.

I need a way to A/B them though.

I've also read that people are putting tube preamps in the GSP's effects loop helping it in the tube responsiveness department.