Digitech TRIOPLUS Band Creator and Looper Review (2023)

Build Quality:
Hardware:
Electronics:
Sound:
Value:
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Pros:

• Extremely flexible
• Offers a lot of features
• “Band in a Box”

Cons:

• Not enough storage for loops
• Hard to perfect the rhythm in the playback

Let me tell you a short story about my experience: for some reason, I have been cursed to be a lone wolf and have never had a chance to perform with a band. To be more precise, I have played a gig or two with a certain group of people but we never connected enough to actually turn our performance into a long-lasting thing. Even though I enjoy the freedom of doing whatever the hell I want with my music, there have been times when I lacked those drums and basses in the back of my guitar.

Electric guitar, even steeped with effects, is not as dimensional on its own as it is with a band. And that is why I sometimes dreamt of having those instruments accompanying my riffs. Luckily, we live during times when everything is possible due to modern innovations, and thanks to those I have the ability to create my virtual band digitally. This sounds a bit crazy, but it is completely feasible with the help of pedals such as TRIO + from Digitech. This beast of a unit packs multifaceted features up its sleeves and can deliver mind-blowing performance with a twist of a couple of knobs. If you are anything like me and want to enjoy the presence of drums and basses in your performance, then this article is a perfect place for you.

Features

When I say that Digitech TRIO + offers all-encompassing features, I mean it! It has so much to offer that you might even get a bit overwhelmed at first. But once you actually get to play, you discover that most of them are really useful and essential. This wonderful pedal can learn your chords and can be further modified with different sonic possibilities. It offers 12 different genres to choose from: Blues, R&B, Rock, Alt Rock, Metal, Pop, E-Pop, Hip-Hop, Country, Folk, Latin, and Jazz.

These genres can be applied before or after teaching the pedal of your riffs. Apart from these, there are twelve more styles available. This smart device selects the style according to the music you teach it and the selected genre. The complementary knob has LEDs that light up either green or amber in order to show you whether the style matches the time and feel of your playing. And there is more (I know, crazy). TRIO + can learn 5 parts per song, which allows you to divide the whole piece into separate sections and treat each of them the way you desire (for instance, create dynamics). It also has a built-in looper with unlimited overdubs, guitar effects, and adjustable tempo.

When it comes to the connections, here we have to Send and Return the FX Loop, dedicated outputs for an amplifier, mixer, and headphones, as well as guitar input, USB port, and Control jack for the external footswitch. TRIO+ is compatible with a micro SD card that can store up to 12 different loops. Not to mention the durable chassis and smooth knobs that add up to the wonderful package. With this pedal, you will not have any dreams left unfulfilled.

Controls

The control section of TRIO+ is truly overcrowded with knobs and LEDs. I almost got a heart attack when I took it out of the box. But then I calmed myself down, took the manual, and started scrutinizing everything this bad boy could do. And I found out that the functionality of each encoder was quite straight-point. Let me tell you some of them and simplify this process at least a bit.

I want to start with the top row, which has four buttons. The sequence allows you to program a part of the song, part buttons (numbered 1 to 5) allow you to select the desired section, Guitar FX adds different effects to your sound, while Alt Time suggests double or half of the selected tempo. The second row features three knobs: Tempo sets the rhythm of the whole song once it is completed, Genre moves between the genres we discussed above, and Style allows you to choose the complementary style.

The third row has Loop, Bass, and Drum knobs, which alter the level of the loop and its overdubs, bass lines and drum parts, respectively. We also have the Simple Bass button, which offers simplified bass lines (simple and even simpler). Lastly, we have two footswitches, the first one lets you record the loops and overdubs, while Band can be utilized to teach, start or stop the band, loop playback, and clear the band.  

Digitech TRIO PLUS Sound

If you were attentive during the whole article, you would have noticed that TRIO+ can create numerous types of sounds, which means it has interminable possibilities. Every single note it emits is pretty powerful and does not come off as something, created with rudimentary equipment. The effects, genres, and styles are all very useful. The ability to teach the pedal your own music is very useful for learning new things and creating distinctive pieces.

The auto-generated drum and bass patterns tailor the background to your performance and make the whole thing quite organic and natural. This updated version of the original TRIO offers simplified bass lines that can be perfect for acoustic guitars or basically any application. I suggest you take your time and explore thoroughly what can be done with TRIO+ since the abundance of choices does also complicate things to a certain extent. This pedal is powerful enough to be employed during live performances as well. In short, this bad boy sounds fantastic.

Conclusion

On the whole, it would be hard to find a more versatile effects pedal than TRIO+ from Digitech. It is a bit different from the rest of the devices, which makes it an asset to your rig, especially if you do not have a band and wish to have one. After enough time spent on exploring its features, you will find that this pedal is truly out of this world. Get your hands on it and amplify your sound with cool sonic possibilities. Good luck!

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