Digitech returns?

[Winston Psmith]

I was talking with one of my buddies at my FLMS, and they've just started getting in some new Digitech gear. He specifically mentioned the Freqout, which is a personal favorite.

 

Not sure if this is the last of some NOS items being shipped, of the first batch of Digitech gear coming from Cort, but it's a hopeful sign, either way. I'll be back up there this coming week, so I'll find out more.

[CEB]

The old DOD in Utah gave great support.  They would stand behind and fix anything.  I miss those guys.  They were great.

[desertbluesman]

I have had several items from Digitech, a RP 2000, a GNX2, and a RP 155, all of them amp and efx modelers the first two were great items the RP 155 lacked the tone the other two had. The GNX 2 still works after all these years. so does the RP155. I actually use the GNX 2 from time to time.

[Sharkman]

Sweetwater has eight Digitech pedals listed on their website right now, but no multi effect pedals, such as my RP1000.  I'm interested in seeing if Digitech is back, or merely clearing out old inventory.

[Winston Psmith]

5 hours ago, CEB said:

The old DOD in Utah gave great support.  They would stand behind and fix anything.  I miss those guys.  They were great.

 

Same goes for the Digitech team, whenever I had to contact them.

[CEB]

I think I told the story before.  But I had a DOD RDS900 digital delay in a 2 space rack that was on a pickup truck toolbox and didn't get put in the trailer.  We are going down the highway and see it in the side mirror flying off the truck.  Destroyed the rack and the delay wasn't working.  We just sent it back to Utah with a note saying the unit was currently defective with our contact info for repair terms.  They just fixed it and sent it back no questions asked.

[desertbluesman]

I also have 2 reverb stomps from DigiTech; caled DigiTech, DigiVerb Reverb Pedals. That is what I use in both my pedal-boards. I use the onboard verb in my Super Champ X2, but for my other pedal board setups, the Digiverb is my go to pedal for reverb.

[Larryz]

Very happy with my DitiTech looper. It has served me well for decades!  No repairs needed and I hope they make a comeback...  😎

[Bluesape]

A guy I know has a Freqout, which he swears by. It has a permanent home in his pedalboard. I noticed an E-bow effect when he hit it. It now is on my radar.

[KuruPrionz]

5 minutes ago, Bluesape said:

A guy I know has a Freqout, which he swears by. It has a permanent home in his pedalboard. I noticed an E-bow effect when he hit it. It now is on my radar.

That's one I'd like to have too. 

I had their dual pitch shifter pedal, that was sweet as well. Don't remember the name, pretty sure they discontinued it. I should have kept mine.

I used it for micro pitch modulation, sweet sound. 

[Caevan O’Shite]

4 hours ago, Bluesape said:

A guy I know has a Freqout, which he swears by. It has a permanent home in his pedalboard. I noticed an E-bow effect when he hit it.
It now is on my radar.

Mine, too.

Now, on the one hand, I have a mad scientist feedback-inducing gizmo, the Sustainiac Model C from Maniac Music (you got to try it at my place years ago, right, Reif/@Bluesape?); it does anything I'd want from the DigiTech FreqOut, and even does it better.

On the other hand, the Sustainiac Model C is a BIG HONKIN' HERKIN' dual-footswitch floorbox connected to a cable that will be dangling from your guitars headstock, with a vibrating transducer clamped on there. Cumbersome, unwieldly, geeky, taking up a lot of real-estate on ones pedalboard...

At the very least, the FreqOut would be an excellent back-up and alternative for me. Certainly more 'gig-friendly', and I did gig with the Sustainiac Model C a number of times.

(The reason I'm persistent in repeatedly referring to it specifically as the "Sustainiac Model C" is that there are also magnetic/pickup style Sustainers that Maniac Music has put out with the Sustainiac name.)
       

[Winston Psmith]

One VERY COOL trick with the Freqout is to turn off the DRY signal - the sound it produces reminds me of some of the early demos of the MOOG Guitar.

 

Sadly, the little Digitech JamMan Xpress XT is the one Digitech device that failed. The one big Loop Level knob froze and sheared right off in my hand when I tried to turn it. I'm pretty strong, but I'm nowhere near strong enough to tear a metal shaft in two? The cost of fixing it is about what a used replacement would cost me, so . . .

[Caevan O’Shite]

2 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

One VERY COOL trick with the Freqout is to turn off the DRY signal - the sound it produces reminds me of some of the early demos of the MOOG Guitar.

Very cool.

I'm not sure how I would manage something like that with the Sustainiac Model C- there is no 'dry signal' different from the actual signal; the device physically affects the guitar and strings. To approximate what you're describing, I'd have to use an envelope-triggered auto volume-swell unit such as my VFE BumbleBee, or a volume pedal; and to heighten the effect, perhaps with a reverb pedal set 100% wet, with zero dry signal. Or perhaps ONLY the 100% wet reverb, without the volume-swells. 
 

 

2 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

Sadly, the little Digitech JamMan Xpress XT is the one Digitech device that failed. The one big Loop Level knob froze and sheared right off in my hand when I tried to turn it. I'm pretty strong, but I'm nowhere near strong enough to tear a metal shaft in two? The cost of fixing it is about what a used replacement would cost me, so . . .

I'm sorry to read that, my friend!
     
 

[Winston Psmith]

@Caevan O’Shite- Thanks for that. Not a big loss, I have Loopers & Delays to spare, but it was very compact and convenient.

 

The Controlled Feedback effect is one of my favorites, which is why I love the Freqout. Add a Volume Pedal and a good Delay, especially one with a Reverse Delay, and you might lose a whole weekend.

[Caevan O’Shite]

11 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

The Controlled Feedback effect is one of my favorites, which is why I love the Freqout. Add a Volume Pedal and a good Delay, especially one with a Reverse Delay, and you might lose a whole weekend.

I'm with ya there! I'm sure I would love a FreqOut; early on, what I heard in demo videos made me think otherwise. Fortunately, that Sustainiac (Model C  ) already has me in feedback by the truckload, should a FreqOut prove difficult to obtain. But I'd love to have both.

As for reverse, other than reversing a looper track, I prefer using a volume pedal, my BumbleBee, or a guitars volume-knob to fake a backwards envelope. Partly as a point of pride, it's something I latched onto in the '80s and always enjoyed the "how are you doing that?!" responses I'd get...