The Weapon: DigiTech Artist Series Dan Donegan Pedal

A box of wonders condensed into the format of a single pedal!!! In my hands is this "little one," which is without doubt a ticking time bomb. Behind its apparent look of an ordinary pedal specialized in one type of sound lies a genuine arsenal of totally hard-hitting tones. This is a DigiTech pedal that delivers Dan Donegan's sounds, designed to bring this guitarist's studio sounds to the stage. In the studio we generally work with racks and/or a variety of effects, depending on the song and our preferences. Then, to take the recordings live, we need to have the effects programmed so we can quickly trigger the exact changes we need in each pass; live, there's no time to hunt for presets.

As a first observation, the "package" is complete, as it includes the following items:

• Pedal
• Zippered carrying case for it
• Built-in battery
• Power adapter
• Dan Donegan pick (a nice touch)
• Catalog of DigiTech X Series pedals

  The Pedal's Structure
  As I anticipated at the start, this "gadget" really leads to surprise, because the variety of effects and possibilities it offers is spectacular for such a small, compact format. Before discussing the effects artillery, let me note the outputs, since they matter. The Weapon comes equipped, logically, with an input jack for plugging in the guitar and two outputs. One is meant for sending the guitar to the amp, while the other is set up to take the guitar directly to a mixing desk or to an amplification system different from the one designed for guitar. In other words, if we connect the pedal's output (mixer) directly to the desk, it sounds like a guitar amp and doesn't produce the typical (lamentable) direct-line distortion sound that's hopeless. In short, this option lets us record without mics, straight through the line, getting a "punchy," powerful sound or, in any case, lets us choose how we want to send the guitar out to the speakers (amp or line).

  Sounds and Controls
  The pedal has 4 knobs. The first has a fixed function: output level. The fourth runs through seven positions that take us from one type of effect to another. Finally, knobs two and three have variable functions depending on the type of effect selected. A brief description:

  Knob four in position 1: Heavy distortion. Rich in harmonics and good for rhythm and solos. The one Dan uses as rhythm on the song "Stupify." With controls two and three we tweak the body and brightness of the distortion.

  Knob four in position 2. Light overdrive. Perfect for rhythm parts with a touch of saturation. Used by Dan as rhythm in "Mistress." Controls two and three, body and brightness.

  Knob four in position 3: Curious operation. If we set control four here, we start with a clean phaser sound, but now comes the surprise: if we hold down the pedal for two seconds, the phaser blends with total distortion that melts into the phaser until the latter disappears. Used by Dan in the "Voices" intro.

  Knob four in position 4: Wah / distortion. Recreates the sound Dan used in "Bound." Honestly, this sound is incredible. Controls two and three adjust the wah.

  Knob four in position 5. Dan's sounds in "Rise" and "Intoxication." An octaver. Control two lets you adjust the guitar level against the octave. With three, we dial in the second octave (from low to high) that we want to trigger.

  Knob four in position 6. Used in the bridge of the song "Stupify." It seems Dan uses it to recreate sitar sounds. Personally, I find it (besides what Dan intended) a type of sound also very well suited to sharp funk rhythms with a very smooth touch of wah or phaser.

  Knob four in position 7. Song "Mistress." This is DigiTech's "Metal Master" sound. A metallic distortion, super punchy in a rather low, dark tone that you can control with the levels of sections two and three.

  Conclusions
  I sincerely believe this pedal is a gem. Given its format it is completely manageable, the sounds (even without an amp) are powerful, and thanks to it, a wide range of resources is at your disposal. From the most piercing distortions to saturated rhythms, clean funk rhythms, wah, phaser and octaver effects. In short, a tool that can cover practically all our needs. Beyond Dan Donegan's uses, you can come up with quite a few more.

  After some confusion over the price inquiry, they finally told me that it's €165 (VAT included) that we have to invest in this "gadget." Given that it's more than a simple pedal, or in any case a high-end one, the price seems reasonable to me. You'll have almost a complete multi-effects unit (of good quality) with its own peculiarities, in pedal format.