Digitech DSP128 Plus - Best Bang for Your Buck Schmoooo

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Also checkout Leon Todd's DSP128 vid: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opO8lKaHrLtohJo

[@false9604]

I love the rolodex of cool 80’s songs you have in your head that you can play at a moments notice depending on the tone you land on. Very impressive!

[@tomlewis2477]

You make that 128 sound great! I bought one in 1991. Still have it.

[@zombiemosher1139]

I love the old Digitech stuff. I run the GFX-1 & Valve FX in my live rig. Also have the GSP-21 Pro, Legend & Legend II. All have great sounds.

[@TeleCarlitos]

Cool riff/song choice! I recently come to the conclusion that that era Bryan Adams has some really cool amazing Strat tones!

[@EddieVanAidan]

Some of the Vox tones they have between ‘84-‘91 are killer! I can’t seem to get close. Really crystal clear yet plenty of bark and sustain

[@GibsonHeavy]

I had a 128+ back in the day. AWESOME It sounded great with the ADA MP-1 that I had.

[@bingefeller]

Sounds really 80s and 90s - I absolutely love it!!

[@MoreMeRecording]

That is a gorgeous sounding (and of course looking!) Strat. I'd never expect to have heard Keith Scott stuff. I've met him once way back in the day - when he was even playing the ill-fated, short run, Larivee electrics. The were actually pretty cheap and fantastic value when I look back. Keith is an Underrated player who has a deeper reach than what we've heard for decades when you hear him do his own thing. He can do prog pretty well too I'm told.

[@felipejuniordiaz]

😀Excelente!! tengo uno Digitech DSP128 Plus, hace poco lo compre por $80 us...no me arrepiento, excelente sonido vintage.

[@bluwng]

That Strat looks as good as it sounds. I love it.

[@SteveOuimette]

It's funny, I had a DSP 128 back in the day running through a '73 Marshall SuperLead (modified by Mike Soldano) and man, I obviously had no idea how to work it because it was the worst tone-sucking POS ever. Of course in the end it came down to operator error as brilliantly shown in this video, where it sound very 80's in the best way. $128??? I might just revisit one of these again, thanks Michael! Keep up the killer videos, and the intro Brian Adams was pure ear candy.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Thanks Steve. I wonder if it was an FX loop problem. The Soldano FX loop was not beloved. But who knows!?! I'm sure the amp sounded amazing!

[@SteveOuimette]

@@BigHairyGuitars You're probably right, Michael. The FX loop was terrible and to be honest, the amp never sounded great. All of the low end was filtered out and it was overly saturated. In the T-Ride studio with Eric Valentine I remember going head-to-head with his brother's late 70's 2203 and that thing at the Soldano-modded Superlead all day long. I had Todd Langner of ADA work on it and he brought back some body to it, but the amp never was stellar. Go figure...cost a fortune to do all the work. I ended up selling it for a JCM900 Dual Reverb. GOD, that was even worse, lol!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

@@SteveOuimette WOW! I guess there's certain amps have 'got it' and others don't. Because you certainly took it to all of the right guys! Awesome story... sorry about the amp ;)

[@SteveOuimette]

@@BigHairyGuitars Yeah, lol, I guess this one was sort of in the "meh" category. Certainly wasn't for lack of trying and some of the best in the business! The good news is I've gone on to many a fantastic Marshall over the years and am currently enjoying my '72 Superlead very much

[@JoaquinGonzalez2014]

Had one in the 90s. Used it to play gigs and record with a Fender Preamp for years. Regret selling it. Very flexible for programming your own presets. The thing was a beauty.

[@edised71]

I gave mine away... it was great as far are reverb are concerned, the chorus and flanger were so so... but that Hall reverb was great... The ping pong delay was great too

[@fabinho.kisuco]

What a tone on 15:40!!! Gzusssss... Great video!

[@tjmaclean]

I'm immediately on Reverb after all your videos! LOL Thanks for all the great gear ideas!

[@itsjohnnymillion]

No one else does videos this clever and accessible… essentially with the way you can play!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Thanks Johnny! :)

[@troyjenkins578]

Bought a used one from Guitar Center for $40.00 back in 96' or 97'. Awesome deal. Got a lot of great use out of it while learning how to build a good rack.

[@taz3672]

Digitech made some really nice gear back then. The GFX-1 Twin Tube, Rp-1, GSP 2 Legend, GSP 2101 and the RP-20. I still have my 1992 RP-1 and it still kicks ass!

[@TheOligoclonalBand]

Sounds great! I like your taste and the sounds you are getting with your gear. I got a Boss IR-200 a few days ago and it's mindblowing how far I can get with the IR-200 and my H9 compared to what was en vogue back in the day. Just today I set up a basic sound to play early 90s Lukather stuff and the next preset was a fake bass sound I got from a H9 pitch algorithm and a bass cab IR (which is good enough to lay down surprisingly good sounding bass scratch tracks). But these old units still have their appeal.

[@westernperf]

Good stuff as always Michael 👍

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

I remember lusting on the GSP5 back in the day … I eventually ended-up with a GSP-21 Legend after working a whole summer. While the presets were cool and you could do the 4 cables hook-up thing, it had the worst converters in the world and totally ruined the sound of any amp going through it: dark, sluggish, muddy. I am impressed by the tones you get out of the DSP128. I can’t imagine the converters are any better.

[@deHelli]

What for a nice Guitar! Great Sound!

[@nickh1933]

Love that Brian Adams tune!

[@BaconFire]

You stumbled onto something at the 11:14 mark of the video when you turned on the Octron/COB pedals. Very cinematic. That was a gem right there!

[@mfergel]

Had one in my rack ears ago. Great processor. Even better is the TSR-24. Not sure why that processor doesn't get more love.

[@officialpoa3171]

*That thing sound AWESOME!*

[@RavenMadd9]

thank you Micheal....

[@yamitanomura]

Sounds amazing !

[@nahnotsomuch2292]

Ohhhh, lookit that. I caught sight of an Axe FX III back there. Not that I didn't have faith in you before, but now it's solidified. Bueno.

[@rabbleinarms5742]

love the Mr. Big tease!

[@pcbullets8726]

Nice intro! I got to play thru one of these years ago. May just have to grab one of these....

[@msh6865]

I had the original DSP 128 and then sent in a postcard for the updated eprom to bring it up to "+" level. It was very 80's sounding, a bit too much for my tastes so, I ended up with a Lexicon instead. The 128's were great for getting that late 80's/early 90's Def Leppard or Journey sound.

[@michaeltoren]

Great videos always start and end with Bryan Adams riffs.

[@RyansCustomShopandGearOutlet]

Nothing says 1980s better than a good flanger on EVERYTHING! Lol! I loved the '80s!

[@JonBingham]

Sounds great!!

[@officialpoa3171]

*My Man that brian Adams joint was crazy good! and I hear you with that Skidrow joint - what are the chords????!*

[@georgeallison6228]

I got one. Love it. Very versatile. Picked it up 4O bucks the DSP Plus. Didn't come w the pedals...but setting it manually...plus the price? Can't beat em.

[@coalfacechris1336]

Great Vid MN. Any chance you could do the IPS33b? Poor mans H3000. Digitech stuff from the era is badly underrated imo

[@dominicgibson9529]

Very King's X-ish...Silent Planet/Gretchen era...nice👍

[@Twobarpsi]

Great video 🤘!!

[@funkyfoe12]

Ha! The Predator bit...very astute.

[@alexmbrenner]

I had that!!! It was really cool!

[@jamujesperandersen8699]

Hi Michael. Great video and great playing. Have you ever tested the Digitech GSP 2101 studio tube preamp processor? Mine is still running after 25 years and can outrun most modern gear if you tweak it right.

[@jafethuerta]

I have one and love that thing !

[@BigHairyGuitars]

No I haven't. I'm sure I'd love it!

[@playAgainMe]

Love this

[@TheSavage1969]

Dude, this reminded me I have my old rack from the 90's that has a 2112 in it that I replaced the chip in it to a 2120 chip "back in the day". I got excited and went to fire it up (I know damn well it worked just fine before) and nothing.....kaput. Check the fuse, nothing. Checked the AC input and it's hot... but nothing. Ugh!!!! I put tons of hours into this unit when I bought it new whatever year that was, even creating a sysex software editor that I posted on the old BBS boards (when the internet was just beginning to be a thing). Oh, the memories.

[@kjetilalexandersaltnes8643]

This reminds me of my ART SGX 2000 days..😆😅 Sounds great, Mike!!! Those Bryan Adams tones were killer. Definitely bang for buck. Hi 5's!

[@gregparker1012]

I think mine's swimmin' with the fishes. It drove me to a 10foot lead and dry on the amp ever since.

[@tomaselke3670]

This was the first DSP I ever owned ( I think it was the late 80's or early 90's). I ended up selling it and buying some kind of Zoom floor based DSP, because of the lack of overdrive/distortions and the fact that I couldn't afford any kind of floor controller for it.

[@DaveDurango]

That sounded good.

[@gunslinger80sguitars]

Hi Great demo of the effects thanks, guessing no distortion on there just the effects? Having a hard time finding a rack unit multi effects with distortion

[@lukather1]

No cap 🧢 !!

[@Greg-rd8qr]

Cool piece of gear for sure, I'd like to find 1!

[@brpadington]

Five minutes after this video was posted prices have now tripled.

[@Sonicblue1922]

that guitar sounds amazing! What pickups are in it? Always enjoy your videos too!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Thanks! I love it. They're custom wound Lollars for Shabat

[@GeeWillikersMan]

14:26 It was at this point I hit eBay. Got mine for $40 usd. Score!

[@Andy1x]

Michael, can you go into rear panel and how you have the DSP128 connected to your rig? Also since you’ve been using it, have you encountered any unexpected periodic distortion? Thanks.

[@Yupppi]

In a sense it's like all the other best bang for buck stuff. You go "oh, it does things pretty well and I don't feel a thing".

[@ian2lorimer]

Great stuff always. Do you ever do any content on the Axe Fx 3? I use one myself and would love to see how you use it in your workflow.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Hi Ian, thanks! I haven't used the Axe3 at alllll yet. I turned it on 1x. But been so busy with other stuff that I haven't had a chance. :(

[@ian2lorimer]

@@BigHairyGuitars no worries mate. Love ur channel and been digging the GFTPM stuff recently. Still got a lot of them myself. Keep up the good work bro.

[@jonathanmoran3512]

Great stuff per usual, like a time warp back to the beloved 80s/90s.. which BHG IR is it exactly? I've been on a buying frenzy and picked up the 86/87/93 recently.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Hi Jonathan, thanks! I was using a combination of TwoNotes Alien White and the British V. So it was both V30 IR's. The Alien White (Vai cab) IR had a R121 at a volume of -5. The British V (the Marshall cab Dave Friedman gave me) had a SM57. Both mics were dead center.

[@jonathanmoran3512]

@@BigHairyGuitars Thanks a lot! This was most helpful!

[@AngusClarkGTR]

I’m feeling like you could remake the first King’s X record with this thing

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Yes, it has the cheap chorus sound that he got from the Midiverb. It's a cool sound that I like.

[@LeonTodd]

THIS

[@AngusClarkGTR]

@@BigHairyGuitars I had an IPS33B - the intelligent pitch shifter. Amazing capability at the price point but there were some disqualifying design limitations that ruined it for me. I was using it for a live rig in the loop of a Boogie MkIII with an ADA midi footswitch. Like ‘93-‘94.

[@beargonefission6160]

Do I remember right that a DSP-128 was Vernon Reid’s only processor on the first Living Colour album?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I didn't know that. But I believe it. Skid row had a SPX90 and a DSP128 in their racks. Plenty to get the job done.

[@texasred4213]

had to start the video over because I was so distracted by the incredible neck on that guitar, I wasn't even listening to what you were saying!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

HAHA It's a beaut!

[@scottpeters4401]

Breaking out the Mr Big riff!!…

[@Josh-gq5jd]

hey what was the preset or setting on that opening tune??? was that just algorithm A1???

[@JohnWick-vb2es]

Hey Micheal, can you do a video on the two-notes Le Preamp pedals. I know you love rack mount gear preamps but you haven’t done a video in these preamp pedals. I actually just got the le crunch preamp “Marshall preamp” and the jcm800 style preamp channel sounds insanely close to the actual jcm800. I would like to see how the le crunch compares to a real 800, plexi, and maybe a metaltronix. I compared the pedal to my axe fx II jcm800, it sounds really close but the two notes has that “lively” feel and sound and sounds more high definition

[@nitromeda]

Sounds cool! Great playing as always! I will try to get one here in Germany. From what year are these units? Around 1989? Cheers Michael!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Exactly

[@Dustiehippo]

What’s the best tip to keep it from sucking tone and cutting volume?

[@ScrewDJ_McDuck]

maybe some good old roland gp100 can be next?

[@apkhazavagiorgi]

Hello ! Is it possible to edit algorithms / presets ?For example in preset with reverb + flanger totally remove flanger and keep only reverb ?

[@AndreAmeli]

bryan adams rules

[@208414]

I see you've got an Axe-FX III racked up back there on your desk.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Haven't messed with it much yet.

[@208414]

@@BigHairyGuitars I'm sure Leon Todd will get you up and running in no time.

[@aristocaster]

I bet that the other units are not so clean and pristine looking 😀

[@techniqueswithtodd]

I had one of these :) Unlike the ART stuff, these are still cheap to buy!

[@Iskaral_Pust]

Hey Michael. How do you feel that Shabbat Lynx compares to other boutique strats from Fender CS, Xotic, LSL, etc? I play left-handed so there's no real chance of trying before buying with any of these.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

100%. I've had a few very expensive custom shop and Master Built Strats. This is the first one that I have bonded with. The neck feels amazing, and it sounds fantastic. I was worried about ordering one, because I fell in love with one in their shop, but this one is as good as the one I fell in love with. I feel like it's the Martin D28 of guitars. It's not like an Anderson that's SO easy to play, but those guitars don't sound "classic" to me. They sound modern. The Shabat sounds classic, but big and powerful (like a Martin D28).

[@Iskaral_Pust]

@@BigHairyGuitars Thanks for the response and I love the analogy to the D-28. That's another one I've yet to play, but I totally get it. I had a feeling that Shabat had set themselves apart from the rest of the boutique strat makers and your opinion cements it for me. Time to get my custom order in!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

@@Iskaral_Pust I'm sure you'll love it. I've played 5-7 of his guitars. They're all wonderful. And he's a great guy.

[@Widdy5150]

Are your irs available in wav? I have a helix & would love to try them 👍🏻

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Not yet. I'm working on it.

[@bigdavedave9865]

Ain’t nothing wrong with that! (for a few schmoos) 😎

[@marshallmel]

You’ve earned 100 internets for playing Quicksand Jesus.

[@greghalleron8194]

Seriously couldn’t agree more!! Great song

[@BigHairyGuitars]

They also used DSP128's in their rigs

[@jasonsapp792]

Micheal as much as you always have background info on gear used....I thought I remember Brian Adams guitarist saying he used a Peavey Falcon Custom

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Interesting. I don't know about the Peavey. He definitely is a modified Strat guy for most of my favorite tones from him. I'm sure he didn't use a Digitech, he's used higher end rack gear, but now is a Boss pedal kinda guy.

[@jasonsapp792]

@@BigHairyGuitars I would have to go dig but I remember a piece GW did on his collection and he had the same white Peavey Falcon Custom I have ...thought it was cool...maybe it was Vintage Guitar Magazine?

[@Dejoblue]

Awesome demo! Damn these are cheap. Midiverb IV is another inexpensive box you might check out :) Cheers!

[@mrhyde2250]

Skid Row!!!!!

[@newrosesartworx4662]

how to make a killer rig sound like a rockman :)

[@cap217cap217]

Is this mono or are you getting stereo?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I'm coming out of the Power Station mono, then hitting the Digitech. It comes out stereo, and I'm applying stereo / dual Mono IR's to the stereo signal.

[@chrismello1915]

Was that a little Quicksand Jesus in there??

[@BigHairyGuitars]

yep! Great chords!

[@FlipGuitarist80]

Now do the digitech gsp5

[@yellokrab]

Dude get an ilitch noise cancelling system, same as sscii or anderson v-quiet.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

There's a illitch in there already!!! Imagine if there wasn't! 😳

[@yellokrab]

@@BigHairyGuitars The only solution is to add more EMI emitting gear!

[@BradRocker]

Sounds great, isn't that the Shabat Lynx?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Yes!

[@fixpedalboards1969]

Shazam!

[@georgeallison6228]

And the WINNER IS. MADE IN USA

[@slowblack3947]

Oh man… The problem is that you are a great producer when it comes to guitars! You can make any piece of equipment sound great. But man oh man those 1980s Digitech effects are miles away from good. Actually they are pretty bad IMO. Great video as usual though!

[@Im-sure]

20 seconds in and the tubes aren’t as good as the record

[@MrRoderickkohn]

I had one in the late 80's and i have to say............It Was Terrible!!!!!!

[@divebomb99]

Yes and yes! I remember there being just too much line type noise and what I call white processing noise. Yuck.