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Digitech GSP 2101

15K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  eviltwin 
#1 ·
Does anyone here have one of these? I have the Studio Tube version with the Control One pedal board. I bought this thing like 10 years ago, and lost the book. I always just used the presets, but now I am wanting to start writing some effects of my own. Can anyone here help me? I downloaded the manual as a PDF file, but it is very vague and looks harder than chinese math. Supposedly you can create a program, putting each effect anywhere you want in the chain, adjusting every parameter of each one, etc, but I'll be damned if I can figure it out. Thanks Jemmers...
 
#3 ·
Jesus, I just typed you a whole freaking' manual, and accidentally deleted my post before I posted it!

I have some pretty good experience. Let me try to remember what I just typed and sum it up:

I have a 2112, but I haven't used it in a few years. I really liked it, though.

To edit or create your own effects, this is what I suggest. You can go to the end of the presets and select a module to use, or grab a preset you like and hit the edit button. Use the scroll to select the type of effect you want to tweak. You can even take the effects in a preset you like and change them very easily. Just remember, there are different effects banks for different module sizes. For instance, some of the parametric eqs and stereo quad reverbs will be reserved for a full module.

To create a preset, this is what I suggest:

The 2112 has a dual s-disk processor, so you can actually link larger module banks together.

Select a module you want to use. If you are going to use an elaborate effects scheme, you might want to use a H-H-H-H or F-F.

Select a distortion type. This doesn't have to necessarily be a high gain distortion. Don't adjust the eq for it just yet. Then select a few effects you want to use. Scroll to the module spot, then turn the selection button (I think it might be number 3, I'm not sure, because I don't have it in front of me to look at).

You can then adjust all of the parameters of the effect. Take note of the pages that effect has, and then scroll through all of them to see what you can do with that particular type of effect. Some effects will have MANY more pages than others, hence more tweaking.

I then usually reserve the last module space for a 6 band stereo parametric eq. I bump the lower and upper frequencies just a few dB to give a somewhat v-config to tighten everything up.

I then go back to the distortion eq and adjust the eq there as well. Remember, you still have a global eq to fine tune the whole signal even after this step.

Store this preset and name it whatever you want! You can still mess around with it more later.

Also, access the global features function. This is kind of funny. I had this unit running through a power amp and 2 - 2 x 12 cabinets for years. I had the global signal on mono! Just a few years ago I was messing with it and I changed the global signal to stereo and just about fell out of my chair. What a difference it made! So if you are running stereo, this is a must, but it's kinda buried in there a little bit.

I could be a whole lot more help if I had this thing in front of me, but I don't. But I have used this thing and tweaked it pretty extensively, so if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them.

I think it was really fun and easy to use, and I agree, the manual didn't do me any good, either.
 
#4 ·
Adam, thanks a lot dude, so if I go to the end I can make up a completely new effect? I have just been adjusting the presets so far. I would like to try some kind of an eventide harmonizer a la ballerina 12/24 type of thing. I will start tinkering with it some more. I am running it mono into a half stack but was thinking of getting rid of it for (2) 2X12 cabinets to use the stereo feature. That sounds nice as hell. Thanks again man.
 
#5 ·
Ha... I think the first preset I built on my old 2101 was for Ballerina 12/24. It nails it pretty well for 1/4 the price of an Eventide.

The 2101 can be a pretty complex beast... I used it for a couple years, and barely scratched the surface. Later units 2112/2120 weren't quite as flexible in terms of routing, but were significantly easier to program.

My suggestion is to find presets you sorta-like as a starting point and tweak them... building 'em from scratch can be pretty rough.

--B
 
#6 · (Edited)
I got one about a month after they had been released. I still use it almost every day. With a good guitar (decent pickups) moderate use of EQ, and a decent power amp (preferably tubes & stereo) it is still an almost unbeatable combination for tone as well as flexibility. I recently looked at some new stuff like the Boss GT pro and some Line6 products, but IMHO these don't come close to the 2101. The preamp section is quite straightforward:

compression into distortion: 3 Tube setting (using the two 12AX7 tubes) and 3 Solid State setting based around the Digitech pedals of the time (IE 'grunge', OD) + 7band EQ.

Each with indiviual parameters. The good thing about the preamp is that each preset stores different volume settings for clean, distorted and saturated, so within one preset you can always switch without dropping or rising too much in overall volume.

@jaxadam
The programming you describe for the 2112 is different from the 2101, the 2101 has total flexibility over 'modules'.

You can put the FX in any order, any amount (until the memory runs out) The 2101 has presets (orig.200) each preset uses one of 30 algorithms. Each algorithm is a combination of several of about 50 FX modules. The modules are grouped: Reverb,Delay,Cho/Flanger, Pitch,Gate,More. Each module has up to about 20 parameters.

  • so 200 presets * 45 algorithms * 50 modules * 20 parameters, that could mean a lot of tweaking ;)

The 2112/2120 also adds some stuff (like putting FX in front of the preamp section, good for wah, whammy etc.) and using two pre-amps (tube+solid state) simultaneously. Without the second CPU switching programs can be too abrupt. The second CPU board also comes with added memory.

@Gilk420
If you feel the programming is too tough, starting from the preset algorithms is good advice, but if you really want to take advantage of the power and flexibility, I suggest you spend an afternoon with the manual and the machine.

It may look complex, but it is the simplest way to have this kind of processing power. The presets are not necessarily meant to be useful, they are meant to show-off the abilities of the machine, on the original about 20% are ok, 20% can be adjusted, the rest is there to sell the thing, showing off (remember it's an early 90s thing) I guess the 'artist' models fare a bit better on the presets.

The main thing you have to realise, is that you can stack FX, in series and/or parallel. How they are stacked is determined by linking. After adding them to your 'FX path' you need to link them to create you own algorithm. Think about what sounds you want to replicate, modify some presets, play around a bit, perhaps build a simple algorithm, you will come up with new ideas to link and combine modules. The 2112 is much more simple and limited in this respect.

Remember: You don't *need* to build algorithms, but the 30 that come standard are limited. Many users of the GSP2101 have never gone as far as building their own algorithms. But then again many guitarists just want a set of stomp boxes :p

If you startup the 2101 after initialising it will display the last preset you had selected, click the NEXT-button (below the display) and it will show an algorithm (F 1-F30 or U 1 - U15)

The first 30 are standard signal paths, IE


  • F25 = Wha -> 2Tap -> Reverb

The first line is a name for the algorithm, below that he actual modules the algorithm contains.

this 'path' includes the pre-amp section (always like this):
  • Compression -> Distortion -> EQ -> MVol -> FXloop -> Stereo Noise gate

and an FX section:
  • TWah -> 2Tap Delay -> 3x1 mixer -> BigVerb -> 5x2 mixer (-> Master Mix)

After the 30 built-in algorithms there is room for user algorithms (IIRC 15).
If you had previously build User-algorithms, these will show up after F30.

Tip: Scroll though these, and note if you have any marked 'U' (IE U 1, U 2, U##) If you have, this means you, or any previous user has made an algorithm, modding them could affect (many) other presets.

If you wanted to build this yourself you would start with a clean User-algorithm, first you need to add the above 5(+1) FX modules and subsequently link them. In this case the path is relatively simple. It could just as well be a series of stomp-boxes. Linking is probably a bit tedious, but not harder. You need to link every output to an input (a Stereo module has 2ins/2outs, a 5x2 mixer has 5ins/2outs, you can link one out to multiple ins but not vice versa) In this case the pre-amp-out goes into TWah, 2Tap and the last input of the 3x1mixer. The TWah-out goes into the 1st 3x1 input, the 2Tap-out into the 2nd. Etc.

When you want to build your own algorithm, think about the signal path, modulation effects usually come first, use several in parallel for a fat sound (IE Detune + Chorus) putting effects in an illogical order can generate out of this world sounds (flanger after reverb?) but it may also hinder functionality (pitch shifter tracking)

The 2101 allows much more complex algorithms than the presets, this is a path I made for a 'metal' tremelo effect (Preamp as above):

  • Tone ref-> Tremelo -> Ducker -> 3x2 mixer -> Stereo Delay -> 4x2 mixer_A -> 2x1 mixer -> MultiVerb -> 4x2 mixer_B -> MasterMixer

Tone ref through Tremelo generates a square puls, which is fed in to the 'Ducker' to modulate the guitar sound into any shape pulse (Ducker allows fade-in/out, ramp shapes, etc) The rest is just ambience (Delay+Reverb)

  • Note #1: The standard tremelo algorithm is F 6, it includes a Delay and Chorus but no Reverb, without using the Tone ref + ducker trick, you are stuck with a simple boring square tremelo.

  • Note #2: the Tremelo, Ducker and Delay take up more memory than the TWah -> 2Tap Delay of F15, so I can't use the BigVerb algorithm, I need to use the smaller MultiVerb module. If you have the second cpu this is less of a problem.

Here is another example:
  • Dual Chorus-> 3x2 mixer-> StereoBigverb -> 4x2mixer-> MasterMixer.
    Again with only the standard memory this is the biggest reverb module you can combine with chorus, a dual CPU would allow GigaVerb to be combined with much more chorus modules.

lastly, listening to Jimi Hendrix made me realise I needed an algorithm to replicate the pulsing chorus of the UniVibe:

  • Trem-> Chorus->2x2 mixer->Multiverb-> 2Tap delay -> Stereo Ducker ->5x2 mixer-> MasterMixer

I have the chorus and tremelo speed hooked up to one Continuous Controller signal, so they are always synchronous.

EDIT:

a lot more info and utilities here:
http://home.arcor.de/pirat28/sites/gsp2101main.htm
and here:
http://members.liwest.at/groovingarts/
 
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