Revisiting the Digitech Trio+

[Cunamara]

I just got around to getting one of these, about 7 years behind the times which is better than usual for me. It seems to have a lot of promise, but I am still in the early phases of the learning curve. One thing I can't figure out is how to get a good 4/4 walking bass swing groove. The bass grooves I have been getting have odd starts and stops and pauses that are anti-rhythmic, which I am sure is my fault somehow. Any tips for getting a 4/4 jazz groove? I've been around the genre and style dials without any success so far.




Of course, it's almost impossible to get a real bassist to play a walking 4/4 groove anymore either. Apparently swing is passé.

[nyc chaz]

I have a looper which pretty much collects dust from hardly being used.Hard to beat Band in a Box for it's price and usefulness when it comes to practicing especially jazz tunes.

[Alder Statesman]

I was just dusting off my Trio to help me practice lessons with my new teacher.

For bass I had the best luck by pressing the “Simple Bass” button with the Trio in Blues 4/4 time. I would tweak it with the style settings (1-5).

It is a neat device.

[Cunamara]

Thanks, that was more successful than any of the jazz settings.

[Bflat233]

You may know this, but I have found the best results come from laying down the bass line with single notes, rather than with chords as the manual recommends. Land the notes right on the beat, keep the rhythm simple and the bass line will tighten up.

Agree about the dialing back on the bass complexity with the button. There are three levels. Off is the most complex, Green plays the root of each chord. Strive to get that right and you may be able to use the "off" position, too.

It's a shame that Digitech was sold shortly after the release of the Plus model. I think the original developer would have pushed future generations to have the ability to program the styles; I use two - jazz and Latin. The rest are wasted as it is. And the drum tracks - probably the weakest part of the product from a jazz perspective. Too bad the BIAB producers (PG Music) didn’t take an ongoing role in upgrading the device. There’s been a grand total of zero enhancements.

That said, it’s been integral to my practice for years. I’ve hauled out to gigs, too. It’s a slick way to build up your own backing tracks and listen back to your comping and your single lines. As far as loopers go it’s definitely a good investment.