Legend or Mistake? The Digitech Space Station

In the 1990s, Digitech released the legendary XP Series. The wildest and weirdest of the series was the Space Station. Today, the pedal is revered and coveted, and it has been on the boards of guitarists like Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) and Bootsy Collins. When it was first released, it was a failure, but it would pave the way for all the weird pedals we now love. This pedal has all the quirky sounds you knew and didn't know you needed on guitar.
Intro - 00:00
Synth - 02:32
Warp - 03:46
Alien - 05:14
Sonic - 06:40
Paving the Way - 08:03
Credits - 09:19
www.thejhsshow.com/
www.jhspedals.info/
JHS Fresh Clips: / @jhsfreshclips7880
#jhs #thejhsshow #Digitech #jhspedals

[@bonnaroobanzai7521]

The guitar center overstock is sitting in a hole next to all the E.T. Atari cartridges.

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

🤣☠️ I had that E.T. game and it stunk!

[@13aphomet]

I could watch 100 episodes like this in a row.. Great content guys!!! 👍🏼

[@jhspedals]

thank you!!!

[@noah8464]

Yeah man, this is my favorite channel lately. I didn’t used pedals for the first 3 years of playing guitar, but I was gifted a vintage ibanez screamer and cry baby and since finding this channel a few months ago I have 10 pedals, its not a problem.

[@13aphomet]

@@noah8464 JHS have cost me too!! In a good way, of course.. hah. Honestly the greatest benefit of this channel is all the great knowledge.

[@flashpadxxx]

You dont wanna know what happens if you watch 101episodes

[@luisornelas2318]

"So, if you're a failure, you might change the world later... after you're discontinued" Nick and Josh raising my Christmas spirits

[@cpainyourass]

When I was 16 I got a space station for $25 at guitar center. I used it a ton in my first band.

[@maurobelarde8527]

25 bucks!? The Earth is a very strange place...

[@Ottophil]

Mine gave me one of those brian may signature red special pedals “brand new” unsold for too mahy years. and i threw it in the trash. The price on reverb now is making me regret that

[@jwmcmillenii]

I'm dearly hoping this is related to some announcement of a reissue.

[@PotatoGun94]

HE SAID NO. I hope he's lying though.

[@deeess6027]

Or Josh is making sure its a no so he can make a clone. One can hope

[@JayGuitars1]

@@deeess6027that’s how I read it.

[@claypoole702]

I used to own one of these. A former girlfriend gifted one to me. I didn't know what to do with it and after a breakup, I needed some money and sold it. Now. I would like to explore one of these again, especially since I have become a better player after all these years.

[@xdoctorblindx]

I hope that they are back to releasing classic episodes like this just for the history rather than promotion of some new product!

[@Pinnecks]

Nobody mentioning Nick Reinharts use of this pedal on the Tera Melos album X'ed Out or any Tera Melos live show from 2013 to like 2015 is insane. His use of the Space Station is inspiring, and what got me interested in this cool pedal in the first place.

[@austenomar2218]

Same, that and his inspiration, hella. Church gone wild has this pedal all over it

[@pukeguts]

Agreed. Not mentioning or speaking to Nick on a video about this pedal is actually a pretty big oversight. No mention of the aftermarket legacy like modding other XP pedals to be the XP300 (jetpack mod I think it was? Nick and Juan did a video about this pretty sure). C'mon JHS, cool folks, but this was straight fluff.

[@Pinnecks]

⁠@@austenomar2218dude Church Gone Wild is my favorite Hella record ever, hell yea!

[@austenomar2218]

@@pukeguts fun fact, my xp300 is actually an modded xp200

[@lesliefarlow5734]

I bought a super soda jerk Fuzz pedal that's a remake of Nick Reinharts Super Soda Meiser. He loves fucked up effects just like me

[@cinemascope53]

Don't forget folks, the XP-300's Synth Swell setting lived on in the Digitech EX-7 Expression Factory. You could control Pitch Shift, Chorus/Pitch Balance, and Swell Attack Time.

[@rocketshiptoaltair]

I have both and can confirm the EX-7 is a better option for a functional guitar synth.

[@MrJbangoy]

Yeah I got one of those for free years back on sold it for barely anything. Woops.

[@patrickfields677]

I have both pedals. I got an EX-7 hoping it would sound like an XP-300, and found the EX-7's space station mode just gives a bit of a taste of what the XP-300 can sound like. Still, I too have found that the EX-7 is more "functional" as it is easier to fit in my gig bag and has great wah and distortion sounds. I rarely use it in space station mode. @@rocketshiptoaltair

[@THEAMYGDALA]

Exactly! I had a lot of fun with EX7

[@taronb1992]

The Space Station is hands down my favorite pedal of my collection. I purchased mine in 98' or 99' from my local guitar store for 50% off the retail price. They were very happy for me to take it. The synth patches were the precursor to shimmer verbs. The reverse warp is shoegaze magic. I have recorded with it on hip hop records, shoegaze, electronic, and post rock. I feel very honored to have one as it has provided many opportunities for me to work with all kinds of artists due to its unique sound pallet. Digitech should make a small form factor version like the Ricochet with an expression pedal input jack. I feel like the Meris ENZO is an ode to the Space Station. Over 20 years with this thing and I still have not exhausted its possibilities.

[@codaevents8255]

I bought mine around the same time, same story, my local store had it at a massive discount.

[@brysimm404]

If JHS ever makes a “Synth Station” pedal based solely on the Synth effects from the Space Station, I’ll buy it for sure!

[@matthewmorter7803]

@@xebio6yes! I own it and can say the synth part is worth the price alone.

[@jeffb5798]

+1 to a JHS Space Station Synth clone!

[@chopped8134]

GIMME!!!!!

[@afterstars]

I’m buying too!

[@CantTellYou]

You should get MIDI pickup or even just the MIDI guitar software. With a good enough PC & interface you can make any sound you’ll ever want without having to degrade your signal with yet another fx pedal

[@joermnyc]

Saw the Space Station on a video about Tom Morello’s live rig. The thing has to run on a separate mixer channel because it’s too NOISY compared to the rest of his board (Digitech Whammy and a bunch of Boss Pedals) Edit: I picked up a Digitech Nautila, it’s a chorus/flanger (there’s a switch on top that I wish was a footswitch) with a ridiculous amount of selectable stages for both. It also has concentric knobs, so one knob can be two knobs.

[@renegadechic]

One of my favourite bands My Vitriol used this pedal a lot on their album Finelines, and probably elsewhere. Iconic

[@concretebadger]

I came into the comments section to say exactly this! Back in the early 2000s, when "alternative" music consisted mostly of rap metal, Finelines was a breath of fresh air. I recall reading that they used this pedal a lot, but I didn't have the finances or internet savviness to seek one out. Listening to this vid, I can see where so many of those cool effects from the guitar parts on that record came from.

[@renegadechic]

@@concretebadger glad to find another fan! I joined their bandcamp subscription. They're sticking a bunch of live stuff on there which is nice. Hoping they might also do tabs some day, Som mentioned it as a possibility on instagram

[@mikesalmo]

This channel has made me learn about and love Tom Cram. That guy seems like he is genuine every second of his life.

[@MatthewDavidMontgomery]

Was just thinking how much I missed this type of content from y’all. I know it’s a ton of work, but it’s much appreciated!

[@jeremysamuelson9059]

I have two of these (one still in the plastic). I’m pretty sure Billy Corgan and James Iha used the Space Station on a few tracks from the Adore record. Still one of the coolest pedals in my collection.

[@Lovetone1983]

One of the best pedals ever conceived, years ahead of its time. Wrote and recorded numerous songs with this pedal (patch 8), in my youth to mid 20s was my signature sound. People would always ask me "how do you get that sound" at shows. Thanks for hopefully hailing a reissue in with the hype train, or worst case increasing the value of the originals even more.

[@lewisratford2908]

I still have mine. Picked it up on first release .

[@Lovetone1983]

​@@lewisratford2908 yeah I got mine Nov 2000. Not immediately as released, but still, some time ago. I gigged the shit outta it. In more recent years I acquired LNIB XP200 and performed the XP-all mods to it, so I have all the series (inc the Space Station again) in a beautiful package.

[@lewisratford2908]

@@Lovetone1983 amazing ! So cool to hear. I used to use the synth sounds with drive and it filled the room. Still got all my XP gear. Even got the Hendrix pedal with the purple sock. Such a great brand and way a head .. sadly people didn’t know it. Will never sell any of them

[@jaknunas]

I've just started watching this episode and I hope it's a good review. I bought a Space Station when they first came out and practically made my musical career with that puppy. I still love it's weirdness. Crazy expensive, back in the day, too.

[@MrKenward777]

I remember getting a space station for Christmas when I was 14 , I absolutely loved it especially the string sounds. Pure fun! If only I could find that old thing.

[@joshuamays4066]

That number 8 synth setting is honestly how I want my guitar to sound all the time.

[@arcamprojects]

If you can track down Cooper FX Arcades pedal (unfortunately also discontinued) there is a Space Station card for this. Several other of the cards feature sounds from the Space Station too. Amazing pedal from the guy who now does all the complex DSP work for Chase Bliss. Unlike the original Space Station, the Arcades version also allows for fairly deep editing. A sleeper.

[@shaneharrington3655]

The warp function is incredible.

[@JonathanDiNamesMusic]

Pretty sure a sizeable portion of your audience would love nothing more than to hear you talk for an hour about pedals like the spacestation (ideally in the same format as the Lamb series vid). Never change

[@gregrandallbtsr03]

Great format and wonderful content as always. And Belle's expressions during the Alien section was hilarious! Peace

[@deztruct0823]

Glad to see content like this from you all at JHS again, and awesome playing so many talented musicians at JHS

[@waynetowers5046]

I bought one of these, and the XP-400 Reverberator pre-owned for £30 each back in 1999, also a Sunn Model T for £350 because nobody liked them & even secondhand music shops couldn't get rid of them - plus I was a teenager on a budget. All of that gear along with huge sounding Fuzz pedals, delays and reverbs etc. got me to play Blade Runner inspired very heavy, dropped tuned Doom and Drone. Having that stuff blast through a 4x12 or two is insane & it's thanks to gear like this that nobody wanted and mocked to the heavens when they did try it. The trick is... Play it all how it's not to be played, think outside of the box. I would bet on the people who mocked these FX pedals went on to praise and purchase gear from the likes of EQD et al.

[@PedalChainsAddiction]

Really enjoyed this video format. I never played this pedal, but I do enjoy all of the sounds in the Cooper FX Satellite card. Thank you for continuing to highlight amazing gear and pedals. Sidenote: I love my 3 Series Oil Can Delay.

[@totemstomp]

Great stuff guys! Fun. That "please dont" reaction right off the start was hilarious😂

[@JayGuitars1]

I bought an ex7 back in 2007, had a taste of the xp300 in it, and I’ve wanted one ever since. Heard a lot of the xp300’s broke originally.

[@zailkhalsa5261]

I'm happy to say I've finally found a mint Space Station that was lost in a pile of boxes in my garage.

[@ajgarceau9448]

Alien 26 sounds amazing! Laughed out loud when they cut to him standing on the desk.

[@ianhodges1145]

love this, you are killing it. So much fun!

[@grizelda4526]

Cooper FX came out with a pedal called Arcades. It takes cartridges to change its functions (delay, reverb, pitch shift ect.) One of the cartridges is called Satellite and it's meant to be a faithful recreation of the space station. It's super fun. Might be able to find one used as it's been discontinued.

[@matthewmorter7803]

I have the Digitech Expression Factory, it is a sort of multi effects pedal but it has the space station synth swell as one of its options! It doesn’t have the other modes from the space station pedal though. But I LOVE IT. I actually got it as a bassist and the synth swell stuff sounds heavenly on a bass. The ONLY thing I wish I could change about it would be to have a wider sweep of the foot rocker for when using the wah mode, maybe that could be modded? I’m not sure but it’s great. I recommend it, it does have a non standard power supply though, but my pedal power has an outlet on it, so that makes it work.

[@steveort2105]

Aw man I wish this was an old school Josh/Nick/Addison video, just for the jams. But this was awesome.

[@kylewarner7817]

Don’t aim to succeed, Aim to be Discontinued

[@OfficialDroidRevenge]

Does anybody else remember like in 2004 somebody was selling EPROMs flashed with Space Station settings? You could turn any XP into one with an EPROM swap. And so any XP pedal started going for $150 just so you could drop $50 in mods into it to avoid buying a $300 pedal. I always thought unmolested XP units not the Space Station would be rare because of that.

[@nochtanseenspecht]

yes the bin files where online, and you could even put all of them on one eprom and switch between them, that's what i did on my whammy and most the time it is set on space station :-) . Also an easy mod is to give the pedal cv control, as it is optical controlled, you just need a led inside connected to a minijack input.

[@ewilliams5837]

I always wanted one of these for my acoustic but Ill never be able to afford it. Luckily I get to watch this and see how wonderful this piece of art sounds. Thanks for giving this the attention it deserves

[@Eric_DP]

So awesome, I truly don't think I would have stuck with guitar if not for my trusty DigiTech RP50 back in the day! I was finally able to add distortion and play with effects. I remember thinking "who the hell needs pedals and amps when you have this thing!?"

[@lewisratford2908]

I have one . Bought it as new. Came with me all over london. It still works :) I used the synth with drive . Huge sound

[@telecastersRthebest]

Man, your videos are always top notch in terms of production value.

[@willmoreschi2686]

LOVE this kind of content! Well done!

[@jhellert1]

I remember seeing those all the time in the old Musician's Fiend catalog when I was younger but never encountered one at a store.

[@jasonmelstad]

ln 2011 i bought an "xp-1000" which had all 4 of the xp series in one. i assume it's a bootleg of the algorithms in the same chassis, with a rotary for the different pedals. they were all cool, but the space station was the one i used the most. i lost it in a fire in 2014. i still cry about it while I dream of a reissue with parameter knobs, an envelope/lfo section, and assignable expression,

[@TheRealcdawg22]

I always wanted one of those. I was a teenager. All of my money went towards rent, car, and motorcycle. I would've had to order it through the mail where I lived at the time. We did not have a Guitar Center back then. I had DOD Overdrive, Flanger, and Wah/Volume pedals at the time.

[@jamesalfano5740]

My friend used one of these on electric violin. Still has it. Sounded great! Still does.

[@briteboy6131]

I saw a post rock band use one of these things around 2006 or 2007, and I've been obsessed ever since. Someone should bring it back if DigiTech/DOD dont want to!

[@OoohGreasyBacon]

I had all 4 of the XPs, I miss those systems dearly. They were SO unique and capable. I would be all over reissues.

[@FuriousMess]

cool video of a wacked out pedal. Reminded me of my GR-33 synth. Really enjoyed the different format as well, well done!

[@djay6651]

Tom Cram himself said this pedal ain't coming back. The String Swell Strings is 100% retrowave. It sounded fantastic.

[@illegal_space_alien]

There's quite a bit of retro in that pedal. That warp setting was giving my Dan The Automator vibes.

[@twobarsfourstars]

Great videos, great demoes!!!

[@cisemokram]

Loving this video format!!!

[@OneOfThem]

Great video! I love the format and production quality on it! I have a digitech Hyper Phase on my board, and it sounds very reminiscent of some of the effects from the "alien" mode.

[@lorenzosada7950]

Loved this pedal! We used to own one with my first band (never knew who really owned it), and we used it for vocal effects, it really helped us experiment with some weird sounds, even if we basically didn't know what we were doing. But very very funny

[@al271987]

Great episode, thank you!

[@dcwwwcp]

I was in a band all through the 90s and worked in a local little music store. Midwestern Musical Company. I saw lots of digitech stuff come in. People were not ready for a lot of it. I bought quite a few digitech pedals. One of my favorites being the PDS8000. I never bought a space station, but I was buying digitech before it was cool to buy digitech...lol

[@luigimeloni74]

I have one since I fell in love with David Torn’s music. Now I keep it in the box and I use it when I need some weird sound inspiration, along with some effects in my Korg A1 that I haven’t been able to replicate with my other multi effects.

[@maximillious932]

I was fortunate enough to pick one of these up at a kind of pawn shop/trading post for $45 around 2015. Guy didn't know what he had. Couldn't find a use for it so I ended up selling it for 150 to a different pawn shop

[@Kuztomshop]

Tom Cram is a Living Pedal Treasure.

[@Syntox]

I knew how special the Space Station was when it first arrived, I'd go to Guitar Center JUST to play it. Amazing and sad this was a commercial failure...and of course they're worth HUNDREDS now because of course

[@Pizzadoboz]

I need more Legend or Mistake

[@AAr0nM]

Great video! Very fun and infromative! 🤟🔥🤟

[@MrShooter72]

So cool to hear one of my favorite nineties bands and guitarists, Collective Soul and Ross Childress, mentioned in relation to this pedal!

[@TheRealcdawg22]

I hate it when people overuse the "U" word when talking about guitarists, but it definitely would apply to Ross Childress.

[@drumsNstuff79]

@@TheRealcdawg22 I know! He was so cool and great player. But he was let go from the band and almost forgotten about. At the time they said it was "musical differences". But rumors persisted to a certain unspeakable reason and at a 2015 show Ed Roland had a very very angry outburst at a fan and in his tirade against Ross, confirmed the awful rumor to be totally true. It was at a show where they were debuting another new lead guitar player, Jesse Triplett, after Joel Kosche was let go from the band acrimoniously as well. Someone in the crowd shouted "Where's Ross?" Or "Bring back Ross!" and Ed just lost his cool and blurted out exactly why Ross will never be returning again ever. Great guitar player, but a horrible person and band mate.

[@TheRealcdawg22]

@@drumsNstuff79 I am definitely not privy to the rumors or reasons.

[@drumsNstuff79]

@@TheRealcdawg22 You might not want to be to be honest! Not to spread the awfulness, or hate on Ross Childress, but here goes.. He had an affair and slept with Ed Roland's wife causing the breakup of their marriage and some serious mental baggage for Ed. Ed and his wife also had a child together at the time too. At the 2015 show he shouted right out in his anti Ross rant "He slept with my wife!!!!" so emotionally I could not believe it. (A clip of the outburst was on KZbin, I doubt it's still around to watch. I got the link from a poster in a the comments of a Collective Soul video I think..) I hate to even share it. but that was the rumor and Ed's outburst confirmed it, sadly.

[@TheRealcdawg22]

@@drumsNstuff79 Oh, I don't need to see that. My opinion has taken a nosedive.

[@DeathMayBeYourSantaClausz]

Loving the format of this

[@LM-uk5fo]

Love the editing in the JHS show, especially on the last videos.

[@ianwedegartner3920]

E-bowed guitar into Digitech Space Station into Lexicon Vortex into Alesis Wedge.

[@cactustactics]

I'm here for the family jams! That reverse warp one sounds super modern in a lofi jazzy beats kinda way

[@coconutgroove1]

Holy shit, Warp #10 is amazing. When is JHS gonna make just that as a stand alone? Does anyone make that as a stand alone?

[@nylertickel2]

Always wanted one of these things, great quick Lil video

[@d3w4yn3]

I can see the bitcrushing residue on the tip of that shoe... epic man.

[@2beJT]

My buddy had one but everyone dogged it saying Digitechs sucked. He got it on clearance and thought it had a lot of cool sounds. I agreed. Seemed neat to me. I forgot all about that until seeing this video. Thanks for making this one! :)

[@Varmint260]

Digitech's RP360XP was my gateway into experimenting with effects; bought it new around 2015, I think, and it still has a permanent place in my amp's effects loop. Was very sad when Harman "consolidated" Digitech/DOD into oblivion, and super thrilled to hear them come back under Cort.

[@vilaintrolltrollinsky8007]

I love this sound. It is a true space robotic unicorn.

[@joesatchton212]

Don't care what others with memory and history-rewriting proclivities might say - the Digitech stuff from back in the day like these and then the RP-6, RP7 were pretty frickin' great for its time and some still hold up to this day. Pedals and gear don't change - we do, our perceptions, expectations, and for sure, human memory is highly fallible and subject to external manipulation.

[@omnomnom504]

Really great production quality attention to detail and tight scripting! Josh's geeky rants and passion got me into pedals for the first time, but this is a whole new beast. The interview quality and placement of the quotes? Chef's kiss. Are you guys going to do less of just Josh talking about lines of pedals? Those were what got me watching in the first place, but I get it. I don't like change, but you guys are obviously working hard.

[@caleblavake9831]

Great episode, I didn’t know about that pedal! Super sweet history

[@nigeldaddyo]

Adrian Belew made good use of the Warp settings via his Johnson Millennium amps he used in the early 2000's

[@theGIGINIband]

In a past life, in a dreamy atmospheric band I was in I used a space station, it really worked so well in that sound world. I believe Unwed Sailor still uses one on guitar

[@user-ii5mh9li6l]

This is a good one. Please do more videos like this.

[@sl3102]

I had the XP-100 for many years and it had some cool sounds. The latency made it very hard to play though.

[@slimman437]

Tom Morello uses one live and I believe it was used in a few songs he recorded.

[@5thPROJEKT]

This was our guitarist’s dream fx pedal, but it was no longer in production when he learned about it. So, now he has 2 huge boards of pedals (including a 1st gen Digitech RP2K) to do what this one pedal did! Haha!

[@greggerosky3788]

Have always loved mine. Definitely and odd one. But damn you guys make it sound even better!

[@MrTimsfilms]

I own one and have had it since the early 2000’s. It’s pretty noisy, and gain setting was always tough to dial in for me. It also messed with the signal when bypassed. So of course I kept it and just used a loop pedal to remove it entirely when not in use.

[@adrianlikins1314]

#10 is my absolute favorite. Anything into #10 sounds amazing when used interactively. Instant weird ambient. Just add a folding table and you are prepared to play in the corner of any art gallery opening.

[@Dork2099]

I remember seeing ads for this in Guitar World which was my favorite of several guitar magazines I read every month DAMN the 90s were a wild time.

[@patsplat]

One of my favorite pedals

[@TheArtisanRBenjamin]

I bought this pedal for $175 in 1998 and loved it for many years.... Pretty sure I fried the input with a theremin It was so great with my theremin. Lost it in a storage unit 20 years ago when I could afford being an adult

[@danriley5848]

Digitech made some great units and even up to 2007 I was using an old Digitech rp7 with the tube preamp which sounded great with my Marshalls. I remember stocking up on them from either Ebay or pawnshops just to have backup units.

[@alastaircollins1145]

The Warp section jam got real Groove Armada and I love it

[@Tinmar_Isation]

Used the red XP 100 for decades... the weird Digitech 90s digital aliasing noises is engraved in my brain forever

[@jaknunas]

#8 YES!! Mine lives on that setting. Love it.

[@BuefordWilson]

I bought one of these used in the original box off of someone on Craigslist over 15 years ago for $200. Used it for a while and it was fun, but there were two issues for me that made me decide to sell it. 1: I was lazy and didn't want to build a bypass box for it to resolve the awful high end tone suck it had. 2: There were only a few usable settings for anything I played for the amount of pedal board space it took up. That said, it was a fun pedal to have and a joy to play through for fun. At the end of the day, I made a solid profit from selling it and now I have the sounds I was loving from pedals that benefited from all of the hard work and engineering that went into this oddball effects pedal.

[@flamencoprof]

Nice presentation. Very interesting. Never heard of it, but it seems to do everything you could ever want in an effects pedal. It's like a whole synth, but with a guitar as one of the oscillators.

[@digiwaves]

Darn, wish I had bought one when they were piled up in the warehouse! 🎸😎

[@nickolasecker9596]

Reminds me of the Alexander pedals marshmallow and the EQD rainbow machine.

[@michaelsnydermusic]

In the late 90’s (and still to this day) I was experimenting with ambient spacey music. I had a choice to get either the Whammy/Wah or the Space Station. Since I knew what I’d get with the whammy I got that and it changed everything for me. It was the first expressive effect I ever had. Watching this however, I wonder where I would have gone had I chosen the Space Station. Luckily, I discovered the Line6 DL4 & MM4 a few years later. But man, had I know what this sounded like back then I’d have gotten it instead. But a purchase before KZbin was all guesswork. It was so ahead of if’s time.

[@ericunderwoodmusic]

So awesome!

[@smashallpots1428]

is this a tease for the jhs space station all in a standard two button stomp box with a exp jack

[@christopherfettes390]

I’m curious about Collective Soul using it. I was a fanatic for the first four records. Have to go back and listen for it now.

[@musicenjoyer4203]

This video rocks, both hosts are killing it

[@mattewmackes]

LOVE THIS VIDEO! Wes Anderson meets some of the better parts of Pulp Fiction.