GNX4 Review

The new GNX4 is a full-featured multi-modeling floor effects processor, portable digital 8-track recorder, MIDI drum machine, MP3 player, and 4 in 4 out USB audio computer interface combined into a single package.

Ease of Use:	10
Sound:	10
Reliability:	9.7
Impression:	10
Overall rating:	9.9
Users rating:	7
Comments:	26

overall: 10

Featured review by: chrisbeevor, on february 04, 2006

Purchased from: Was a gift.

Ease of Use: It is extremely easy to get a good sound out of, no effort required. Plug your guitar in and crank it up, and you have one, no doubt. Editing patches is a little difficult and some of the terminology is a lil complicated, but plug it into your USB and editing becomes seriously easy as you can download patches and edit them on screen. The manual rivals the dictionary in size but is very useful, a lot of it you can work out yourself. My unit is yet to be upgraded for firmware as it seems a bit unneccessary and I don't want to risk anything. // 10

Sound: I use it mainly with an Ibanez as it is extremely versatile. I think you could use this with anything and still get the great tone, so get this and a guitar that suits your playing and there you go. The effects always sound great, I love the variety you can use. Nailing the sound of your favourite artists will be a breeze, especially if you read Guitar World/Guitar One as you can download patches for songs transcribed in it. I love the Zakk Wylde tone, the Vai one, the Slash one, the Batio one. It goes on. The cleans are amazing as well. It emulates just about every major pedal (Crybaby, Tubescreamer it goes on), definitely worth it. // 10

Reliability & Durability: It is built like a tank. Would not need back up for a gig. I think you could take this to war. // 10

Impression: I play everything, metal to classical. It's just the pedal for guitarists. It could do anything I think. I have been playing near 2 years but have learn a hell of a lot about gear and playing. I own lots of gear due to my family all playing. If someone stole this I would eat them. I would buy it again, it's just a bloody lot of money I think. I love it, I used to have an RP80, and was telling my friend, with that you sound like the artist, with this you are the artist. Extremely convincing patches and you can record songs! Drum Machine is also very useful, helps the timing. It blows away all multi effects pedals, end of. I was shocked to see no Steve Vai setting as standard though, or a Morley Power Wah, but I can live with it. Still 10! Now go rock my pretties! // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: CkY freak, on june 23, 2005

Price paid: $ 500

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: Well let me first start off by saying this thing is freaking sweet. When I bought it, I was worried about it sound too digital, but no way, this thing sounds natural to me. If you have ever used a DigiTech processor before, you know how easy it is to edit the patches, if you have not ever used a DigiTech processor before, its still super easy to figure out. The 8 track recorder is also very very simple to use once you get the hang of it, it does take some time to set up and get used to when you first use it. The manual is rather thick, but it explains everything in and out in it, so its very very helpful, I have used it many times. // 10

Sound: My current setup is an Ibanez RG470 guitar, with an X2N in the bridge, a Fender red lace sensor in the middle and a very good clean sounding pickup in the neck. Now when I got this pedal my amp was a Peavey Rage 158, and it was loud and twangy on a few settings, but then I got a Peavey Rage Bandit 112 and it sounds so much better. This pedal already has a few artist sounds: Randy Rhodes, EVH, SRV, Angus Young, Carlos Santana, Brian May (Queen) Eric Johnson, and Pat Martino. I think all the effects are great, and always have a fantastic sound. The drum Machine is unbelievable, and the bass guitar sounds awesome. // 10

Reliability & Durability: Well, I have recorded about 12 of my own songs, full with 2 guitars, drums, and bass, but I have no band, so I have never used this thing live, or really rarely taken it out of my room. Its quite heavy, so its not going to move unless you realy put some force into it. I would use it in the gig without any other pedals, because its got everything I need in it, when I go for a solo I can slap on the harmonizer, delay and chorus pedal, and just go crazy. It's quite unbelievable. // 10

Impression: I play mainly blues, classic rock, and hardrock. This pedal will suite everything, metal, rock, blues, punk, and all you have to do is go to different patches to achieve the sounds. I have been playing for almost 3 years, and I used to own a DigiTech RP100, needless to say this was a huge upgrade. If it were stolen or lost, I would be very very angry, because it's not cheap to get one of these. It's got everthing I will ever need, and it does not sound digital. It would be hard to think of something I wish it had, because it has everything. // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on december 14, 2004

Price paid: $ 600

Purchased from: musiciansfriend

Ease of Use: This thing is amazing. The 80 presets are great. They don't sound digital and they offer a huge variety of sound. It sounds even better however when you start editing and tweaking the presets to your preference. Editing presets couldn't be easier. You don't have to read the manual but it's a good idea because there's so much you can do. The manual is easy to understand and is very thurough. The drum Machine has hundreds of possible combinations and sounds very good. I haven't gotten to use the digital recorder yet because it doesn't come with a flash card and these can be expensive. // 10

Sound: This thing works for guitar and bass and has a wide variety of sounds and effects for each. The bass amp models sound a lot better than I expected them too. I'm using a Jackson Dinky guitar and Fender 57 P-Bass and they sound amazing played through this. The only effect I have a problem with is the wah-wah. It's the only effect that sounds kind of weak and digital. If I had some extra cash I would consider purchasing a seperate wah pedal. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have yet to use it in a live situation or knock it around very much but this thing is solid. I have dropped it once and nothing happened, it didn't even turn off and there wasn't a mark on it. It weighs 17 pounds so it's not going anywhere once you put it down. // 10

Impression: I play mostly rock style music and some harder music such as "Taking Back Sunday" and "Story Of The Year." I've been playing for 4 years and this is the best effects pedal I have owned/used/borrowed. The only thing I wish I had looked into before buying this was making sure it came with a flash card. I love everything about this and my favorite feature is having the choice of ten distortion stompboxes. I compared this to the Vox Tonelab, the Pod Live, and the GNX3 but this one tops all. If it were stolen I would deffinitly buy another one. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Vginaguru, on january 27, 2006

Price paid: $ 500

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: When I bought the DigiTech GNX4 in December of 2005, I immediatly took it home and got it out of the box. At first it was a little overwhelming. There were so many features and different patches. After 1 month I have learned a lot about it and I'm able to get an excellent sound out of it. I really don't edit the patches much because there are so many with so many different sounds that are so perfect. If I want to I can get on DigiTech. com and download tones for endless songs. The manual (or bible) is essiential for this piece of equipment. It can be wordy at times but is easy to understand. I've only had it for about a month, so I've not been able to update the software but I understand it is pretty easy. // 10

Sound: I run it trough my 72' Fender Telecaster Custom and my 230 watt Marshall amp. It sounds best on the clean channel. I have only tested it once at band practice. It responds well at high volumes. The acoustic guitar modeling is not very good, but it has 10 classic distortion stomboxes including (but not limited to), Grunge, Fuzz Face, Big Muff, Sparkle Drive. It also has endless amp modeling. You would think it sounds digital, but it doesn't. And one of my favorite features is the 8 track built in recorder. I absolutely love it. I can also go on the internet and download songs from my favorite artist (Led Zeppelin, Ten Years After). // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have not had any probelms so far. I cannot aford another one so I have to use it without a backup. // 10

Impression: I play many different types of music, mostly blues and rock, and this device is perfect for it. I've been playing for 5 years and this is my favorite piece of equipment. If it were stolen (I wouldn't lose it) I would work my but off 'till I got enough money to buy a new one. My favorite feature is probably the 8 track recorder. I would highly recomend you get one. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: WOLFMAN JOE, on february 19, 2007

Price paid: $ 500

Purchased from: musiciansfriend

Ease of Use: It is kind of commplicated at first, unless you are used to using multi-FX units, but it got really easy after a week. The manual is pretty thick, but very simple and easy to read. I don't really make my own tones, even though you could; I just download tones off the internet and if they sound a little off I tweak them a bit. Yes you can update the firmware. // 10

Sound: I have a limited edition Fender speed shop strat and a Marshall amp. Ir can be really noisy, once you turn the volume all of the way up. No the units itself makes no noise. The fx always sound great, unless you use an amp that has no fx return input, then it alters the effects, but still sounds pretty sweet. I can get almost perfect sound from the artists, whose effects are posted on the internet, but if you mess with the tones yourself, you can get almost replicas of the artists tone. In my opinion, all of the effects are great. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I can definitley depend on it. It is very durable. I personally don't jump on it or stomp hard on the peadals, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt it. It has a metal case surrounding the internal components. Yep I would use this at a gig without a backup. Although I don't think I could even afford another one to have as a backup. But I would have a memory card with all of my presets as a backup in case I accidently reset it. // 10

Impression: I play mostly rock, whether it be classic, hardcore, grundge, emo, acoustic, you name it it is great all around. I have been playing going on 3 years. I would have to buy it again if it were stolen, but it would take awhile to get that kind of money. I love everything about it, but my favorite features are either the acoustic tones or the facte that I can get a high quality recording out of it. I was thinking about getting a Boss, but after looking at the specs, this one was better by far. I wish it had a good quality wireless system built right into it, but I think that is asking for too much. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: EmeraldICE, on july 07, 2006

Price paid: $ 299.99

Purchased from: Ken Stanton

Ease of Use: When I first tried it out at Ken Stanton, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to figure this device out, but I bought it anyways because it had sounded so awesome while I was trying it out. For the first few days I played around with it and was very suprised at the ease of use of this thing. It's pretty easy to create different sounds and patches with the GNX4, and it's even easier if you can plug it up into the computer with the DigiTech X-Edit program. While the GNX4 is pluged into my computer, I use Sonar 5 to record and let me tell you, it has cut down the hastle of recording by a long shot. If you're using the optional CF card to record, you'll have no problem with the 8 track recorder because it's pretty easy to use. The manual is pretty thick, but it explains a lot of stuff and it's easy to read. Actually, I read the entire manual while I was in ISS one day (inside school suspension). // 10

Sound: At first, I thought that it might sound digital, but doesn't sound that way at all. I have a Crate GLX65 and I just plug this thing up through the Effects Return slot which sounds amazing. I absolutely love the fact that the GNX4 has a headphone slot. A headphone slot is something that my amp is missing and it's something that I really can't live without. Within the next few months, I will be buying a set of Studio Monitors for my GNX4 which I've heard makes this device sound incredible. The patches for other artists sound almost exactly like the songs that they are from. I recently did a cover of Steve Vai's "For The Love Of God" and when I listened back to it, the tone sounded nearly exactly like his. Not to mention Guitar World and other magazines have presets in the tab section for the GNX devices that you can use which have so far been amazing. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I used to have Guitar Port, which, to tell you the truth, I couldn't really always rely on. I never realized this until I used the GNX4 but the Guitar Port made it sort of a hastle to record stuff. First of all, I couldn't plug in a mic while I was using it so I had to do those things completely seperate and a lot of times my computer just wouldn't recognize it. I used to have to have all of these seperate devices just so I could record one song. But now that I have my GNX4, everything is pretty much built into one. I can record Bass and Guitar. I can plug in a mic and record Drums and Vocals. I can also plug in my Midi Keyboard (Yeah, this thing is a Midi interface too) and open up Reason 3.0 to record some beats. It's just amazing. I would definately use it on as gig because it's got everything I would ever need built into one. Practically all the pedals you could think of are in this thing. Wah, Distortion, Delay, Phaser, Reverb, and some others. // 10

Impression: I mostly play metal, hard rock, and some blues every now and then. This device has presets for everything: metal, rock, blues, country, and a lot more. You just have to get different patches to get the different sounds. Or, you could just create your own patch and create your own sound, which is something that every musician wants to have. If this thing was stolen or lost, I would be pretty mad, but I would probably end up buying it again eventually, unless there was a new GNX Model out; in that case I would just upgrade. Something that I really love about this device is the built in drum Machine which is always fun to jam with. In fact, it's the thing that has sparked a lot of the ideas in my songs. I'm really happy that I decided to go out and buy this device, because I really can't imagine having anything other than my GNX4. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: human leg, on october 22, 2005

Price paid: $ 550

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Ease of Use: This is a great product and you can easily figure it out after reading the manual. It has a ton of great features especially the built in 8 track recorder. Anyone can operate this and it proves to be a life saver. Then the software it came with is also a piece of cake. // 10

Sound: The sound is also great especially for being digital. I was really surprised for the sound because I am playing with a crappy strat that I have modified a bit through a 120 watt Behringer amp. You can produce virtually any sound you want. The magazine Guitar World and Guitar One also have settings that produce the same sound as the actual artists and it has a few settings of other artists, but you can also make your own setting and modify other settings. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This is pretty much an indestructible pedal. The only problem that I ran into so far is that one of the cycling buttons is busted and this isn’t covered by a warranty, but this is probably because something fell on it when I was away. I carry it around and frequently move it without problems. It isn't one of the crappy pedals made out of plastic that you can barely but a weight on it. // 8

Impression: I play anything from blues to Death Metal and it can match my needs. This pedal pretty much has everything you can play a full band out of this pedal from an octave feature that changes a guitar to bass to a built in drum Machine. If it was stolen I would not have enough money to buy another one, but if I did have the money there is no doubt I would buy another one. One of my favorite features is that is has an interphase that plugs into the computer and it is also small mixer. I have compared it to Boss and Vox pedals, but I got this pedal because of the interphase. // 10

Comments

[sooperskamaster]

boss or digitech?

[fcuk]

digitech all the way its better and it has more of a variety

[fcuk]

[raghuram334]

DIGI TECH !!! AND BOSS I SAY !!!

[nunolonzanida]

for multi effects, use digitech...for stompboxes, boss!!!

[metallicmonster]

i noticed it has a whammy effect.does it have all the features of digitechs whammy pedal,or just the standard whammy effect?

[seek_&_destroy]

... how would this compare with the GT-8? i mean obviously the GT-8 has more effects, but i mean quality-wise

[-HeretiC-]

Digitch GNX4 Cleans up a Boss GT-8. I would know, trust me on this!

[SOMETHINGSOAD]

I've played this at my neighbors house. It was pure awsome. I wish i had more time to fiddle with it though

[bropark08]

actually seek & destroy, the GNX4 has more effects than anything else because you can make any possible effect ever. there are an infinite amount of effects available

[TheDisturbed78]

is it good for metal?? Im thinkin bout buyin it.

[richard-g3]

can you play this through an amp?:S

[devdude19]

you do play it through an amp....

[Phadian]

It is FANTASTIC for metal, found the perfect setting for some serious Children of Bodom sounds, pureley amazing.

[B.Steaksandwich]

-HeretiC- wrote:

Digitch GNX4 Cleans up a Boss GT-8. I would know, trust me on this!

They both have there better qualities, the boss GT-8 is better for live playing as you can make minute adjustments on the fly, with impressive results. This digitech GNX4 is great for playing live... if youi have set it up correctly at home. Please dont just say it is supremely better because making a comment like that on something like this just makes you sound like a cock-head.

[C&C Magik]

Getting this baby for Christmas

Needless to say I'm pumped.

[reilly91]

I am deciding between this and the GT-8. I have a marshall dsl 401 and don't want to lose any tone. I mainly just want a multi effects for the effects, not preamps. But if the preamps are good, I will use them as well. I also want to do recording and really like that the GNX4 can record all the instruments I would need. I hear the boss's effects are the best? How do they stack up to the GNX4? Any suggestions on which I should get and why? THANKS in advance.

[BOC15]

I was lookin for something to get and i decided to get the RP70 which for some reason isn't on the effects page yet, anyway i was lookin through effects boxes and pedals and stuff and i thought about lookin at this, but it seemed like way to much for just a single guitar player, wouldnt anyone expect this to be way to much??

[nr7286]

anyone know if you can reverse what you record on it? (play it backwards?)

[I_Am_In_Flames]

GNX-4 or GT-10? Hmmm, it's a very tough decision i love the amount of effects and recording capabilities of the GNX4, but the design, set-up and graph technology of the GT-10 make me drool. Idk. Help me out.

[Petrucci=God111]

hey 1 question...would the gnx4 sound ok played through a hybrid amp..tube power amp/solid state pre

[Original_Fire]

metallicmonster wrote:

i noticed it has a whammy effect.does it have all the features of digitechs whammy pedal,or just the standard whammy effect?

Yes, it does have all of the effects of the whammy, every single one from harmonies to dive bomb ! or two octaves up and 1 or 2 octaves down.

My only problem with the gnx4 is that the expression pedal doesn't move very smooth and sometimes makes a clicking sound. but overall i love this thing and i don't think I'd trade it for any other effects processor out there.

[qwertymason]

Can it do Machine Gun, by Jimi Hendrix?

[stilt37]

i just bought this thing and im waitin for it in the mail now. im friggin psyched.

[Super_Ego09]

metallicmonster wrote:

i noticed it has a whammy effect.does it have all the features of digitechs whammy pedal,or just the standard whammy effect?

It has all of the Whammy's features, not just the standard.

[Super_Ego09]

richard-g3 wrote:

can you play this through an amp?:S

There are a bunch of different ways to use it, you can play it through an amp, PA system, directly to speakers, headphones, or even your computer.