DigiTech BP8

(Originally written by astroperenoel/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
I've been using it since 2002. I bought it secondhand.

Effects: compressor, preamp, EQ, noise gate, wah, delay and reverb.

- 4 modes: 1) Compressor; 2) 12AX7 tube preamp; 3) 4-band EQ; 4) effects: chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, auto panner, pitch shifter, wammy, envelope filter, fretless simulation, octaver. Separate 3-mode wah effect

- 2 modes: Delay (or 3.5-loop sampler) and reverb.

- Optical controller with different modes: wha, volume, reverb, delay, effect depth...

- 3 wah modes: the first one is excellent and I find both others useless...

- Very effective high-pass/low-pass filter without intensity parameter

- Additional functions: tuner, bypass, biamp, stereo/mono, resonance attenuation

- Hardware: S-Disc2, 24/48 bits, 1 x 12AX7 tube

- Presets: 40 factory/40 user presets. You can download a very comprehensive patch bank on the website!

-Connections: input, headphones plus 2 high/low outputs, 1/8" line input for a CD player

Very responsive expression pedal

Very rugged metal housing and nice design.

Very good features for a bass guitar multi-FX processor.

UTILIZATION

Good configuration but I regret that the delay and reverb are not switchable via footswitch.

Edit: Quite simple, everything is explained on the LED panel.

User's manual: Very simple except for complex functions (resonance attenuation, 3.5 second loop sampler).

Editing your own sound is not very easy. I finally found "my sound" after several years of use (I don't use it often). That's why the online sound bank is very useful: http://www.digitech.com/bp8/index.htm.

SOUND QUALITY

All effects are ideal for bassists except for the disappointing wah effects. They don't alter the original sound except with extreme parameter settings (the sound becomes cold, digital...).

Effects description:

- Very good compressor

- The tube preamp is a delight with a good tube (Tung Sol, E-H, General Elec...) but I regret the lack of a dedicated control for the drive parameter. The FX Drive pedal is more flexible.

- The parametric EQ is good but requires some learning time

- Effects: extreme parameter settings make the tone sound digital. The sound is really good with adequate parameter settings. Digitech makes good gear!

- Good quality delay and reverb

This effects board is very good, the only cons are the lack of a dedicated delay/reverb switch and the steep learning curve.

But it's very useful to learn how to edit an effects processor.

I also miss a PC and a drum machine connection.

If you want both bypassed and wet signals to have the same level the unit generates too much noise.

You have to sacrifice either the bypassed or the wet signal level... It's very disappointing!

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for practice at home and a little bit with my band. I try to experiment new effects combinations because with such units you tend to always use the same configurations!

- I like almost everything about this device and I find the effect engine very powerful although it creates a short delay with pitch shifting effects.

- I rarely tested other effects processors and I chose it because it had the most features among all bass guitar units!

Value for money: quite good considering its features.

I chose it because I like to have full control over the whole effects chain...

You can discuss a long time about advantages of analog or digital sound and it's true that some effects sound "cold" but it would cost much more to have a full analog effects rig... So if you avoid extreme parameter settings, this multi-effects processor is a good solution!