I love how nobody asked for this video, but you made a mega-deep dive demo anyway! Watched the whole thing without skipping. 8/7 with rice. 👍

What a great video of a gem from the greatest decade in rock!! Time well spent. I’d be interested in learning about your other rack gear too

My favorite thing about your videos is that you show off really cool gear in a fun way without any attempt to sell anything. It's so refreshing on guitar KZfaq.

i loved everything about this. thank you again for your investment of time and effort- it really shows in the final package. loving rack gear is something we share! and the ART stuff! how awesome is that! I used their foot controller for program changes, and artifact-filled midi parameter sweeps back in the day. super happy memories. again, thank you!!

I love rack gear so much. This was excellently explained. More please!

I'm glad I found your video, Thank you for sharing. My mom is a studio Guitarist and she gave me her 2120 That she used from when it first came out until 15 yrs later, Then it sat for a few years. In 2020 She gifted it to me and I upgrade it also but, until today I'm trying to set my sounds as well.-RODAREZ San Jose,CA

Well thought out review. You got a new sub. More rack gear reviews please! I already have a 2112, and a 2120 on the way lol. I think by this time next year I should have my rack complete....maybe :D

This was very interesting! Interesting seeing how you were able to switch out those chips to upgrade, too. I always thought it was interesting that so many artists use rack effects. I often think of Billy Corgan and a lot of rack amplifiers. Not sure that I know much about any of this stuff, but it's cool to see a video on it. In the past, I had a rack mounted Lexicon reverb. It was cool and sounded like a fleshed out version of what you may have gotten in a pedal at that time...

In 2000 I had the 2120 paired with a Marshall VS100 power amp and I had a great sound! I also had no idea about the chip and that you could do that swap. Very cool stuff! Great video, and it's nice to hear these tones again.

Very good!!! Keep it up man 🤘🏼

That sounded way better than I was expecting it to. As a card carrying sufferer of option paralysis, I could never use because I'd disappear into the menus and never return - but it looks like a really fun piece of gear. Thanks for the deep dive!

You really owned that bread! 😂 Great video! As someone who swapped a Eprom in a Digitech (XP-200 ----->XP-300 🔥) I dig your style! Keep up the great work!

this is the video I needed, been looking at these racks forever and now i know what combination I want and how good they are. Covering some X Japan songs on it will be amazing

Fantastic vid! Brings back lots of great memories. I don't quite understand all the digitech haters although I do understand those who want just a guitar, pedal(s), and an amp. Digitech was YEARS ahead of their time and had so many innovations in so many products. 20 plus years later, many pedals and modeling products today still struggle to create sounds and features that came stock in many digitech products, even entry level ones. Where else could you get lexicon verbs, and tech IP benefits from brands like dbx, crown, jbl, akg, etc., in a pedal that costed less than a single entry-level guitar and far less than a a really nice guitar on the other end of their product line?! Is it just me or does it seem like we have gone full circle (again) in our guitar rig tastes,? From simplicity in the 60s and 70s to unbelievable complexity in the 80s (racks, multiple amps, stereo, switching, etc)? Then grunge hits in the 90s and back to simplicity in rigs, music and even a player's skill (I wasn't a big fan of that Era but really appreciate how it made guitar and music in general more accessible to guitarists and would-be musicians--suddenly you didn't have to own $40k + of guitar gear nor be a prodigy-like guitarist to enjoy making music and have others enjoy it). Now, even if just using pedals and an amp, vogue rigs for many are again swinging back to incredibe sophistication (in many cases hating on the rack rigs of the past, but now much of all that complexity has just moved to the floor, a smart phone and or tablet / computer). Anyway, thx for a great vid and trip down memory lane as I owned and giggled for many years using most of the digitech rack pieces and even a couple floor models for easy practice. Oh so many firsts in a single box, tails (std just turn on/off--no funky workarounds, switching galore, Morphing, intelligent pitch shift and harmony, midi, symphonic and ambient programs, multiple signal paths with block diagrams in the display, artist programs, etc, etc (how about the learn-a-licks feature for slowing down solos without changing tuning?). Perhaps most importantly, digitech really stood behind their products and were nice people to work with. You could call with a question, issue, problem and often end up talking to the actual engineer who designed the product. If lucky enough to live near their facility, stop by unannounced and get hands on immediate assistance. Makes me wonder what they could have given the market if not dismantled.....? Thx again!

Bought one of these about ten years back. Puts a smile on my face for this old guy. Lot of great sounds even today. And a 2 tube pre amp. I also found an old Jackson jx3 pre amp head, it has a shred button on it. Very 80's metal tones.

I had one of these right after they came out. I kind of miss it so figured I would search for it here. I sold it to go into my hard core pedal and tube Amp phase. Ended up with a '72 twin head and a plexi head in a rack running into a cab with pedal board.... Lol much larger rig than when I ran this thing. Thanks for taking me back.

Great breakdown! I bought my 2120 around 1998-99 and it's still part of my studio, but I don't use it exactly as intended. I use it as an outboard effect unit and run synths, guitars, drums, etc. through it. I taught myself how to program it as a H910 and use a mixer to feedback one of the outputs to the input, and add whammy and delays and it turns into an Eventide unit. I think these are well kept secrets.

Damn. This makes me miss one I sold. Nice demo!

Your joy at playing guitar is infectious.

I love old school guitar rack processors as well. I picked up a Boss GX-700 for fun and have been having a blast with it. I may pick up a GT-Pro next. Great vid. Cheers!

Great vid. When you were demo'ing pre-amp, you had both tube and distortion on at same time, in both instances. Need to set one to the "OFF" setting not the bypass option. Thats why a clean tone can be heard underneath/on top of the dirt. Great unit, had my 2120 since it came out!

Thanks great vid. I have it in my head I want to buy this again, to run with my orange. I had a 2120. I sold mine a few years ago. Apart from having fun I never used it properly, I didnt have a power amp and ran it into the front of a really old Valvestate. I sold to create an acoustic rig and miss it now. The effects were really powerful with the dual processors.

i love it i remember just to recall is fun, thanks it's almost a tie machine, and nice playing and grooves do any D.O.D FLOOR pedals board's that would be very cool!

Bravo! DigiTech products are often overlooked and laughed at. Shame as there's plenty to work with if you know what you're doing. Nothing but gold there and ahead of its time. Please keep doing vids on these wonderful units of yesteryear!!!

Great video and really enjoyable. I've had a Digitech Valve FX and Control One forever. I bought back in the mid 90's and used it for years. I bought a 2112 with the 2120 Artist chip upgrade about 3 years ago. It's a really fun effects processor and the effects hold up pretty well against new units. Like the Valve FX the preamp is it's weak point but that's pretty easy to overcome in the 2112/2120. I've run a few different tube preamps into the effects return and it's awesome used that way. I haven't tried an amp in a box pedal in the EFX loop yet. Not sure why I didn't think of that. I guess I had a little rack gear tunnel vision. 🤣 I have a few good great pedals for that so I'll definitely give that a try.

I got the base model for free. I used the artist version on a record and loved the sound for lap steel. I might be worth upgrading or finding one already maxed out. Great video

Thanks for this awesome review.

I own a 2120, and put a Schaffer replika pedal in front through a kemper using the IR's and sounds amazing , I love the fx still use it every day.

Honestly I listen to every single bit of this video and it seem like this thing was perfectly made for bass guitar the distortions the fuzz tones seem like it was just in the register for a bass guitar surprising!

I have one of these I love it. I'm probably about your age and I remember looking through musicians friend in high school dreaming of being able to buy one. But this thing is endlessly programmable + for me - for many (most?)

I haven't gotten a 2101 or is future versions yet but I do have the Legend II & Valve FX which are confirmed by guys who worked on it to be the little brothers. This stuff is great & also paved the way for Axe Fx & the like. BTW, the led sensor can crap out as it did on my Legend II controller which is the Control One with a different paint job.

Just noticed the Entertainment 720 shirt. 🙌 Going around the world twice, to give you those tonezz 👍🏽

Great video! I'm not sure why the preamps get so much hate/meh though - they need a bit of programming, sure - but I think the cab sim (which is basically an EQ) is mainly to blame - play this thing through an amp or a modern (IR based) cab sim and it sounds great!

the best Review - pro - about a great Digitech rack system unit ! wish there are more to cover Digitech great era products from Racks and the RP series from RP1 and so on (please don't include the entry mini effects ) that would be a pro documentary for musicians . Thank you for the great covering for Digitech

Great video thank you! I was wondering if you would consider doing a video for the GSP 1101?

great demo. digital and comp as hell!!

How do you turn on and off the effects loop for various patches during a performance? can you do it with midi CC # value change modifier messages with ( for instance a midi expression pedal)? I am looking at the manual now on line it talks about a programable effects loop but says nothing about it's programing possibilities.

Hey, great review. Very interesting. I'm kind of in the same boat here... I glimpsed this rack in guitar magazines in the 90s and couldn't dream of having one, I couldn't afford it. And now, I see several relatively cheap ones, so I wanted to know your verdict, "Is it still worth buying one? "... and now, maybe the most stupid question of all because I'll talk about two different beasts, from different ages and mostly different price tags... so, just for effects, ignoring the preamp, would you buy this or save a little(or lot) more money and invest in something like an Axe FX 2 for instance. Thanks, and again, great job... really enjoy to watch your demo

Totally awesome preamp.. I ran one through an ADA tube power amp into a Marshall 4x12 and had a lot of people saying it was the best I'd sounded at that time.. i remeber spending about 200 hours tho programming all the presets and things that I wanted lol..

BOSS Digital Metalizer!!.....VCR.....haha...I love old gear and how surprisingly well it holds up today. They managed to make music with it before. Why not now....And yes, those refridgerator sized ravks with the blinking lights were an awesome sight....Unfortunately that led me to get rid of 5 BOSS pedals (Digital Metaliser and the very rare Digital Delay PITCH SHIFTER)...limited Edition glow in the dark RAT, and a TubeScreamer......AND a Marshall Silver Jubilee 50 Watt 2--12 combo....AND CA$H ON TOP.....Just so I could have a rack system......OUCH! I know, but they were the "future"....Now it's nice to see someone resurect them and give them some love. For me it's love.....but also a valuable lesson. Kids, remember, there are people paid to convince you whatever you presently have is outdated crap, and what they have to sell you is the solution. I learned the hard way. Buyer beware! .....That said, if you see a rack used for cheap, in good condition. give it a whirl. Have fun. Cheers. Subscribed.

I remember it! Local music-store, felt as if I was in space playing some of the presets, plate reverbs, digital delay, pitch shifter!

thanks for this video - it makes me want to take my 2120 out of the corner where it was long time asleep. But still in function. After getting this item I got a GSP 2102 and I got infectet. I wrote my own algorhytms (not easy) and createt my own sounds - in technical issues I got help from the "Guru Dieter Waechter" from him I got all the upgrades for the 2101 and for the 2120. Did the upgrades and the 2120 got to sleep for another many years - it´s a shame!

Your t shirt game is always on point.

This is the best 2112 video I’ve seen. The manual sucks and I wish there was a video like this back in the day. I had (still have) a 2112 that I bought in 1998. I paired it with a Rocktron Velocity 250 power amp and put it through a Marshall 1960A cab. That was my rig for almost 20 years. It did cleans and metal amazingly. The front screen died on the 2112 in 2016 and found out that it was irreplaceable. I finally replaced the 2112 with a Line 6 Helix and set it up exactly like my 2112 with a “morphing” pedal and all (the 2112’s best feature IMO). I’ve played through a “real” amp and pedal board for about 2-3 years in the last 31 years of playing and then sold them all. I find them to be heavy, noisy, and limiting. I’m definitely a 21st Century Digital Boy when it comes to guitar gear. My only wish was that they put 4 tubes in it. One set for each channel.

Regarding the Control One Foot Controller, you can actually use a J12 Foot Controller that was made for the Johnson Millennium amps that came out around the same time as the 2112 and 2120 and the effects display and SDisc processing is identical on all the units. The J12 is a more rugged version of the Control One with an extra expression pedal and metal switches instead of the plastic buttons on the Control One. They are a bit pricey but worth tracking down.

Man So thankful someone went through this trouble to make a great video..This gear is still new to many of us. It's great but ??? I got the studio 2101 and i have the foot controller one. I could use some help. I'm trying to turn off and on modulation without changing the entire patch...seems all I can do is change patches?? any tips please??

There's just something about these units. The 2112 and the 2120 are absolutely timeless, and they still hold their value to this day in 2023. Amazing. If you get one that's been taken care of it is hands down one of the best fx units you can have. If you known you know and thats it...

Fantastic.

I still have my 2112 and a 2120. I used it for years with various power amps and a 4x12 Marshall cab. Those units were way ahead of they’re time and could sound pretty decent if tweaked properly. I gave up using them when I got a Triaxis preamp , Mesa 2:90 amp and TC Electronics G-Major2. The Mesa sounded worlds better, but I still missed the power and flexibility of the all-in-one Digitech 2112 and 2120. Thanks for the nostalgia!

Dope Jamz and Nice Johnson ? I think this was Digitech utilizing there acquisition of the Johnson guitar amp line. The band I grew up with used 2101’s and I had an RP-20 for awhile which is like a lesser 2112/20 in pedal form and about 10 years ago picked up a 2112 for no good reason other than nostalgia and I wanted the foot controller for when I find the real gem (2101) but why ? I could add $800 more and get a Fractal 😆. At least I may drag the 2112 out and run some synth’s through it I guess. I’ve never quite gelled with the distortions too much but I have never tried swapping out the tubes for 12au7 or anything lower gain which could change that some. I don’t like noise gates and I don’t like noise on guitar so??? 🥳 Honestly the 2101 wins from that era unless you could afford the Eventide. 2101 allows for all kinds of odd routing where the 2112 is more straight forward for traditional effects chains. Unfortunately my bro had both 2101’s stolen and we have since moved on to pedals and Line6 which I used to turn my nose up at. Oh yeah I have the H9 and it’s probably also why the 2112 sits on a shelf in storage🙃

это мой первый гитарный процессор! играл на нем в 2010 году, когда мне было 14 лет. Затем перешел на POD HD 300, но сейчас хочу опять себе его купить, так много воспоминаний

And yes to rack gear videos!

I have the cousin to your 2112 the 20 valve with 1 tube sounds really nice modded i put a Chinese tube in it wow. Woke it up asap. Now it roars.

I have one of these and a j 12 foot controller thru a mesa 50/50 ,and rewired 4x12 to be stereo ...there is a program rpediit I believe, you could edit sounds with a computer via midi cable a lot easier to edit eq and such..too bad its all collecting dust since Logic Pro and not in a band anymore,,,, but combining tube and solid state still sounds awesome

I have a 2120 with V2.03. The RPEdit V2.2 on a WIN 8.1 laptop with a FORE MIDI to USB Interface MIDI Cable Adapter (Amazon) works as advertised. Only problem I have encountered with it so far are some of the patches have no output. Could be a bad tube or such but other patches seem to work just fine. For example one of the Satriani patches has no output but the other two or so work fine.

I had one of these in the 00’s. It had some great spacey effects but I could never get a good overdrive..dont know what I was doing wrong

Great video! I have a couple questions.. can you please share where you got the upgraded chip? I bought one on eBay and it didn't work, I contacted the guy (in Germany) and he sent me another one, it didn't work either. when I told him that.. he told me that he couldn't do anything for me. Also, could you tell me how to set-up the footswitch to pull up patches on command, please? A friend recently me his, and I have no idea how to set it up. There doesn't seem to be any instructional videos either. Thanks.

What does changing the jumper do at 6:15? I've been using a 2112/2120 for over 2 decades and even run a FB group for them and never knew about this.

Hi again, the Boss metalizer is super awesome as an double tracker. Sadly there isnt many pedals can do that, and the Metalizer is Mono in. But i've achieved double tracker with the parallel preamps on a Line6 POD X3. It seems to be possible double tracking with Joyo Vision and Source audio Ultrawave as well. At least those are my favorite pedals on the doublers world

Hi! I've was listening demos from the 2120 some months ago, looking for glitch and granular stuff and it is possible! There is somewhat hidden potential. I've heard similar results in the Digitech RP360. There is an assign LFO tool, that in the case of the 2120 you select 2 delay modules at the same time and they start to crash doing some awesome glitch pads.

Digitech made some really nice rackmount stuff. I've had some of it. The most useful for todays expectations would be the Digitech Studio S200 or S100. It outshines the rest of the rack gear by any of them I've tried. The multi floor units they made were just on the good side of OK. The venerated GNX-3 and the newer RP360 are high water marks for the many Digitech floor units I've owned. Always swap the battery on the old gear. Sometimes buy it cheap and broke and it only needs a 3 dollar battery. DOD and Digitech are coming back, and made in USA as expected. - hell yea. Maybe make more rack gear.? Maybe shoot that 2112 against an RP-360. Both are pretty good... Peace.

Does the upgrade kid come with the 256 jumper?

Which band did you see when you were a teen whose guitarist had the black box of guitar racks?

Oh and I remember picking this up after reading that Alex Lifeson was running one.

Ahh the memories, I had one of these. I loved it, but i could never get it to play loud enough with my Mosvalve solid state amplifier.

it is tricky to get organic sounds with this unit but is possible mostly eq and all... if u have windows rpedit might still work if you have a midi interface

PS a big upgrade to the Control 1 happened by accident when a plastic end cap popped off and went missing. Replace with hardwood and it stiffened up the unit.

First of all: I have to compliment you again for the great, detailed and entertaining way you make and present your episodes! You really should get more views faster - and I hope this will happen soon. You shure always "catch me on the next one". My own 2120 with the 2112 face plate sits right here, next to me, all the time. I don´t turn it on too often, but it can "save the life", here & there, as it maybe isn´t the best knife in the world, but still a musical "swiss army knife" for guitar - or even for keyboard. Yes, the preamp is slightly bland. Yes, many presets are cheesy and we have a hard time to dial in something better than "just decent". But I have to say: You even made a couple of these "overdone" presets here look quite good, with your examples. Back in the days, when I still (s)trolled music shops, I had some glances on the ART SGX "2000" and "Nightbass" etc. and I found them to be quite hissy. I lost interest and didn´t consider in buying. So, maybe, if you found out, what´s interesting in them and do an episode, please, I might understand, like and appreciate those units better... 🙂

The only problem with the 2112/2120 was that the encoders would degrade over time and make parameter changes nearly impossible. You can find people selling replacements, which I did, but it ruins the experience if you can't do the fix.

What kind of monitors are you playing through? Do you have "pot" problems with your updated 2112? I ask because I have to constantly open and spray mine with cleaner. Oh....is it really noisy, or is it usually clean like what you demonstrated? Thinking about an 1101 or what you have. Those 'pot' issues affect my decision because I have numerous items that I never have to apply cleaner to.

The preset at 0:40 sounds nearly identical to Dean Ween's solo sound on A Tear For Eddie! (specifically around 3:25 in that track)

When are you doing the ART SGX2000?

i still did most multi fx pedals I still use a zoom g1xon and my first pedal was a boss me-5 there's a lot of multi fx that sound terrible like the dod ones and I got the boss me-6B and it's not nearly as good as the me-5 and I love the effects on the gt-3 but programming it is a nightmare I just don't have the patience to learn another complex machine if I did I'd probably like the source audio c4 synth alot more I remember the digitech multi fx we're always really good and I did the same thing as you when I was younger I'd see people with there bad ass rack mount systems and all the cool processers at the music store made me want one instead of just a pedal that did one thing

29:48 I had the same issue with my 2120. I was able to send it off and get them repaired.

True late 80's closet guitarist wet dream 🤩

the gapless program changes also let delays repeat after program change

Any love/ shout out for the Digitech RP20 valve ?

Great! The 2101 sounded great at its time, like you've been fully produced - but it was a real pain in the ass to program that thing................................. The 2112 and 2120 i played and Gigged extensively, either through a Stereo Power Amp (Marshall, Engl, Peavey...... you name it) or many many times Direct to Desk - for its time it has a great Speaker Emulation. Later i played a Johnson 150 Amp which was essentially the 2120 in a Stereo Amp Chassis - very very expensive at that time with the Footboard and the fitting Johnson 4x12 Cabinet (the best Cabinet i've ever played btw). Until today i could just bite my own ass that i've ever sold that (due to -i think only me noticing- getting quieter over time and even a full pro repair and overhaul couldn't fix that for my ears).

Nice video ! Do you happen to know the latest version of the 2120? I have one with ver 2.30. It stopped working. It boots up and the display says 2120 Artist Ver 2.30. It is froze/locked. SO, like an idiot, I was going to reseat the 2.30 chip and I broke off pin# 16. I have emailed Digitech about ordering a new chip but haven't heard back. I think the reason it stopped working is probably because the battery died while the machine was in storage. Any advice you can offer me would be great ! Thanks for the tip on re-setting the unit with the buttons

I think that the geek in me wants one of these, but the practical musician hears "Not as capable as an H9" and "I'm not a fan of the preamp section". So - As I like the dirt and preamps I already have, and I have an H9max, I'd be better spending the money on an H9 core and run 2 H9's. It was a great watch - thanks.

The 2112 and 2120 are basically johnson millennium jm150 amplifiers made into rack units.Johnson amplifiers was purchased by digitech and the rest is history.

I always wanted one because of the model number 🎸🍁

If it still works after 25 years, that should get it three out of five stars for durability alone!

I have a 2112 and a control one...I want to find a second one to upgrade the chip. You win some and lose some on the upgrade in regard to presets...

Bought a Johnson Millennium JM150 before it was cool (spoiler: it was never cool which is why it’s not a going concern) and I had no idea that the interface came from the 2112. After 24 years, encoders with a mind of their own is no joke. But it still mostly works.

I was a Digitech fan early on and still have a TSR-12 sitting next to me in my mix room. I have two of them but one finally died. In all reality, these fx sound dated today no matter how you swing it. For the most part, these boxes were best used by dialing back the mix levels to about 20% wet. Run full wet, they are gimmicky and sound like a twelve year old guitar student banging away on a guitar store Epiphone. (Those days were fun for sure!) Not that that is terrible but in comparison to even the worst of the free fx available today, the old Digitech stuff has a very limited place in current production processes. As for maintenance, that is a never-ending process for sure.

Well, ART review next? I collect rack gear, i have 3 racks atm, and my main rack consists of ART

Had one but although it had some cool sounds, the annoying menu system and the lack of stereo just didn't cut it to keep it around.

Still have my 2120

I bought a Legend II brand new back in the day.

The Axe FX's grandfather sure is decent.

the best pedal show in the net...

What no editor for the 2112? My GNX3000 has that to program your presets. Plus I purchased the Supper Models which really makes your tone better!

Why Digitech has not developed more Preamps like this?

Thumbs up once you said VCR

Digitech has to get back to the game... It had so many great products/

As with all these older models from that era, the so called speaker simulation / compensation is just plain crap, I assume its nothing more then an EQ. If the 2112 / 2120 is hooked up to a modern day analog, or IR based digital speaker simulator, the whole sound of the device makes much more sense! Leonn Todd did a demo on this, and because of the use of IR, that sounds so much more. So in one sentence, this device can sound seven better!

2120 is gotta be the best credit unit ever

I had the 2101 gigged with it😅

bought 3, one by mistake shortens, I am about to repair it.