CortDODigitech

Cort has acquired  DigiTech / DOD. The manufacturer is well-known in the instrument circle, hope this excellence would trickle onto the effects counterpart. It would be interesting to see if they would OEM stuff for other manufacturers as well since they are doing that for guitars & basses. 

Selling: Digitech Jam Man Express

I'm making do with only one loop pedal & this one will be on my goodbye list:

• Digitech: Jam Man Express XT looper pedal
• 8/10 condition, box included
• Strictly self-collect: CCK mrt station
• No reservations/ no trades
• Queries/ confirmation: subversion.sg@gmail.com
• Price: $90 (final, non-nego)

Metal to the pedal

Throughout the years, I've discovered that the best intense distortion that does not impede playing fundamentals come from the amplifier. It makes sense because signals are processed at the amp end, not before. I started out with BOSS' Metal Zone which is still the standard to beat in terms of intensity & EQ manipulations. What puts me off when it comes to the Metal Zone is that it sounds nasal at higher volume settings. My distortion formula ever since had been to trust the amp's distortion. Currently my EVH 5150 III does the job, my Marshall JVM has that as well but with a more British flavour while the Blackstar HT Metal lets me hear something in between. The story with the pedals you see above:

• Digitech/DOD Death Metal: These pedals, to me, still tell a semi-tragic tale of an attempt which turned stale. There should be no more attempts to capture a genre defined distortion. You cannot package derivative tones into a single offering. It fails because the proponents of death metal formulate their tones through the use of several implements, not a single pedal per se. Most of the time it's a match between an amp & a drive/distortion pedal to get a slightly more embittered heavy tone; that crucial excess which defines the tone rather than bringing intensity into the next level. This pedal in its initial incarnation was strictly a niche appeal. The treble excess was excruciating & the amount of distortion on board was fixed, no less, no more, it's just there. The subsequent incarnation, the Digitech version, did not fare any better. The treble offerings were still much to be desired for but they kept it in check. In use, I had to basically turn it down to ZERO. The MID/LOW sweeps were more acute than the DOD version in that they actually let you hear the difference. 
• EHX Metal Muff: I was in fuzz territory for a while & EHX had (they still do) what I was comfortable with; a fuzz tone that did not squash the low frequencies too much. Eric Johnson is arguably one of the very few guitar-inclined individuals who managed to make fuzzy bass notes very musical. When the MM was introduced, there were no official dealer/distributor here, but someone was bringing it in & was operating online as a small time enterprise. I just went with the pedal instinctively & it proved to be a worthy risk. The MM still offers the grizzly fuzz responses but with a a different EQ consideration which facilitated intensity. To me, this was a marked difference. The top end boost added some depth in terms of clarity when it comes to solos so to me the MM was it. 
• Blackstar LT Metal: This pedal is much overlooked. At the time of its release, it's over-shadowed by its other, tube-driven sibling, the HT series. I tested the HT version but couldn't come to terms with how fuzzy & Marshall-esque everything sounded. The LT version, on the other hand, is focused on distortion intensity. It has no other details in trying to fulfil expectations (namely the tubeless technology) & it sounded good despite not having dedicated EQ knobs to oversee proceedings. The Blackstar name itself is formidable in the amplifier front so people look up to Blackstar for amps, not pedals. This one will remain insignificant until you hear it out in person

I have since stopped hunting for that elusive heavy metal pedal to out-amp an amp because they  turned out to be second best in this aspect; the amp distortion is still superior in terms of voicing if intensity is factored in. In fact, pedals were there to emulate an amp's performance to begin with. However it's all down to preference- some of us prefer amps to handle our driven tones, some prefer pedals, some prefer both. Whatever it is, do not stop experimenting what works for you. 

Beat it

Guitar dweebs, at times, need a simple accompaniment for maybe a gear demo. It might just be a simple backing rhythm section for a small venue performance as well. Digitech's SDrum seen here is a pedal format drum machine that raises the standards by being a little more intelligent. We know how limited working with a pedal-type rhythm implement could be so adding some human touch is the way to go. See if you have a use for it:

Ricochet-ing

I have to give it to the Digitech camp for not resting on their laurels & continuously re-defining their wares. The Digitech Whammy is by now the landmark whammy unit out there utilizing digital interpretations without sounding repulsively artificial. This year, the Whammy goes treadle-free. Any whammy actions coming from it is a foot switch manipulation. Good- it's down-sized to save precious pedal board space & more focused in features. Not so good- less organic, we can't do a half-way treadle effect for some out of this world moment but not quite. Digitech got that covered. Here's how:

Tools

Song-writing mode ON. It's not easy composing an instrumental, especially with limitations. That's right, I'm working with clean tones which isn't my forte but it opened up some other perspectives which, I must say, is a positive one. It's one of the reasons I bought that MP Royal Blue OD. That would be another account for another day but today it's something else.

For those of us with objectives in mind, we need tools to get some things done. That's right, tools. I am a guitar-amp person, my ideas do not require implements of the pedal kind. However, in this case, some things are necessary (one more time) to get the job done. We need to be objective under such circumstances & perhaps put our EGOs aside. 

Seen above: 

• Digitech: Jam Man express- Because I work alone, I don't have someone to play chords for me while I work something out so this was necessary. You might say the more capable among us can keep those chords going in our heads but if you do it in real time, you'd be better off in terms of efficiency & accuracy. I'm glad to have a looping unit around in times of need.
• Mad Professor: Royal Blue OD- I'm not a fan of wimpy drive pedals, I'm drive inclined (rather excessive), I invest in the hard-hitting stuff. The danger here is that the hard-hitting stuff weren't conceived to be immaculate when subtle responses are required. The RB OD is one of those that cuts both ways, intense when you dial things up, very booster like when you keep the Drive control in check. Good stuff, this one.

Your TRIO

To debut at 2015 NAMM- just days away- the Digitech Trio. It's a rhythm section for you if you require a band context to spur your playing on. Many of us are simply put off by such devices because there's too much digital tinkering involved. So with the Trio, you get knobs for immediate editing.

You need a ear/ headphones access? There you go. Let's appreciate the fact that technology today ensures players get maximum support even when they play alone at times.

Digitech: Mosaic

Here's a pedal inducing some 12-string jangle. That's right, Digitech's Mosaic is a doubling pedal so the polyphonic notes give you that big chord nature of 12-string guitars. If you have one of these, chances are, you won't need another 12-string in your performance especially if you are doing so for only one song on the list.

Drop the Luxe

Digitech's Drop & Luxe pedals are now available at Swee Lee for those of us who wish for some detuned moments. Prices are to be confirmed. Some great considerations for the year-end bonus, yes?

Digitech: Jam Man Express XT

The most fundamental of Digitech's Jam Man series- the Jam Man Express XT. I like no-frills looping units, anything more intricate, it has to be on the mixing desk manned by someone else. A simple pedal like this makes the player focus more on the guitar playing, e verything else should supplement, not interfere.

Digitech is dropping it

Come Summer NAMM (2014), Digitech will have this for your consideration; a no-frills pitch-shifting pedal aptly named the 'Drop'. It's capable of dropping your standard tuning to your preferred semitones as well as a full octave. This would mean you can instantly drop-tune your instrument without ever touching your guitar's tuners. That's technology for you.

Life started with this one- the original Digitech whammy pedal much embraced by the late Dimebag Darrell. Due to its pre-histortic nature, it's rather obscure & a used unit is quite prohibitive in price.

Things took a turn for the better in terms of affordability. Digitech released the XP series, one of which specializes in whammy/ wah/ polyphonic displacements, the XP100 seen above. I bought this one but had limited use for it because I don't dwell in note squealing episodes too much. It was sold for a good price.

Then came the re-issue, keeping close to much of what the original had to offer.

Along the way, an OTT variation was offered which wasn't too popular so things went full circle as you can see. It's back to basics with the Drop pedal, one which every dweeb can probably fit into their pedal boards & one which is devoid of an expressions pedal. If you take a closer look, the Drop is actually half of what this monster had to offer.

DigiTech amp

It's ready & it's shipping out- Digitech's combos, that is. In the mean time, there're no plans to go bigger than 8" drivers in terms of size accommodations. As for me, I just want to hear how Digitech fares in the amp realm since their effects units are some of the best out there (in terms of availability & affordability).

Digi-Pad

This is what you can achieve with an iPad & Digitech's IPB-10. No issues with tone, just that the iPad's battery life could be better.

Whammy + detuner

If your guitar does not possess the ability to whammy due to its fixed bridge design, Digitech's Whammy pedal is the likely device you would employ in achieving insane raising & lowering of notes. This was one of the pedals favoured by the late Dimebag Darrell during his Pantera days.

Digitech goes further with the Whammy pedal by giving us players the ability to down-tune our guitars on the fly- just step on the detune function & the guitar's current tuning will drop to the specified pitch accordingly with true bypass to boot. Neat!

Digitech: Distortion Factory

This is the other item I bought at the last Swee Lee (Sims Drive) sale- Digitech's Distortion Factory. It is actually a modelling pedal with 7 drive/ distortion voicings ranging from a mild kick to full-on heaviness. All this while, the DF-7 was a NETT-priced item so it didn't qualify for a 50% discount on sale days but it was somehow free from this category this time round. This pedal will be placed in the office soon due to its jack-of-all-trades nature. This way I'll be able to conjure the drive/ distortion type I want & not lugging many pedals to the office...

Digitech amp

Digitech now (2011) has an amp for us- the TH-150. A tube amp. The power amp section features a set of KT88 tubes, be informed.

Digitech: Hardwire pedals

Digitech too has a series of more affordable pedals in store, the Hardwire units (but how costly are the Digitech units that they necessitate these derivatives?) but there aren't any 'Digitech' labels on the products per se. One thing's for sure- these are true bypass pedals. More updates soon...

Death Metal: The pedals...

I used to own BOSS' Metal Zone (MT-2) once, it was my first distortion pedal, I believe I was the very few to have bought it when it first debuted at Davis guitar store (back then Davis was located at the tailor unit, next to the eatery both of which are existing Peninsular Hotel basement floor shop units). I respect what the MT-2 had to offer (still does but it's not a personal favourite) but I was constantly searching for worthy rivals. It was years later that the DOD company (now owned by Digitech) introduced the Death Metal pedal; the very name would suggest the level of distortion intensity in store.

So being a fan of all things extreme, I bought this pedal for variety's sake (at that time, my amp was a Peavey Rage 108 whose default drive is of a get-by calibre at best). The pedal's intense, no doubt, but the level of intensity is uncontrollable- you can't reduce or increase the distortion; it's there, love it or move on. Everything about the pedal's ace less the bass control; at maximum level, it's still drowned by the overwhelming midrange & treble. DOD took things too invariably back then; they duly replicated the very tone of the death metal bands at that point in time which were largely propelling a bass truncated tone & shrill upper frequencies.

Thankfully, the pedal was revised by Digitech to actually feature a functional bass response without a loss in distortion ferocity, but the distortion intensity control remains unreachable to us mortals; it was not meant to be tweaked by worldly hands. Nevertheless, I like what the current Death Metal pedal has to offer but generally, this pedal would appeal to a limited camp due to its limitations & inherent voicing.