When the DigiTech TRIO was unveiled at Winter NAMM 2015, I was about as skeptical as possible. While the concept behind the pedal appealed to me, I just didn't believe there was any chance it would be any good). It took months of researching the pedal and reading amateur reviews from other people online to recognize that the TRIO is actually an amazing product. Yes, it is overly ambitious, and yes, it does have flaws. But the takeaway from my early experience with the pedal is that DigiTech put an amazing amount of thought into how their customers would actually use the pedal, and the end result is a terrific practice aid for jamming at home and simply learning to play better guitar.
The interesting thing about reviewing the TRIO is that there is a kernel of truth to many of the "bad" reviews you find on this site and others. The basic function of the TRIO is to "learn" a bass line and drum beat simply by playing the simple chord progression of a song (or, more accurately, one part of a song). The process isn't always perfect. The TRIO will create a loop based on the progression you train it with, but the timing and some of the bass notes will invariably be off a bit. I think some of the bad reviews really expected the TRIO to understand what you are trying to do and to nail the perfect accompaniment for your guitar part every time. If that's your expectation for this device, then yes, you may be disappointed.
But the reason the TRIO works for me is that DigiTech gives you a large amount of flexibility to tweak the band accompaniment parts AFTER you play your training phrase. You can select from a number of musical genres (rock, alt rock, pop, country, etc.). Each of those can be tweaked further using a style selector knob with about 12 different options. There is even an alternative time button to double or half the timing based on the same beats per minute. It's very true that TRIO comes up with bass/drum parts that don't quite fit your idea. It's also true that with all of these different style options, you're almost certain to find something very close to what you intended, or something that works anyway.
The flexibility of this pedal extends to the output choices you have for playing the bass/drum backing track. You can run a single instrument cable into a single guitar amp. Or, you can run a TS (unbalanced) cable into a mixer or studio monitor so that you have a separate speaker playing the band part along with the guitar output going to your guitar amp. Big credit to DigiTech for providing volume knobs for the bass and drum tracks separately.
There is even a third option, which allows you to monitor using a headphone jack on top of the device, and hear the bass/drum track along with your guitar playing all through your headphones! The Guitar FX button on the top left engages a preamp and cabinet simulation so that you get a genre-appropriate guitar tone without having an actual amp anywhere in the signal chain. For example, "Rock" setting will give you a distorted tone through a large cabinet, while "Country" gives you a cleaner, jangly tone with some slapback echo. The tones aren't elite quality, but it's addition nonetheless, which allows the TRIO to be an all-in-one practice tool. (There is even a headphone volume knob, which can be used in conjunction with the Bass and Drums knobs to control the levels of all three instruments through headphones).
Oh, and the implementation of the tempo knob is brilliant. The "1x" tempo is based on how fast you play the learning phrase. But if the resulting product is too fast or two slow, you can easily adjust with the Tempo knob, and tracks will loop at that new speed.
I've read some people describe the TRIO as a "glorified metronome". The truth is probably somewhere between that description and DigiTech's own claim of "Band in a Box". The one feature missing that surprised me a bit was that the TRIO does not include a looper for your guitar parts. In fact, it has no memory storage options beyond the three song parts that you program at that time. But now that I have owned and played around with the TRIO a bit, there might have been the issue of just "too much going on" if they tried to jam a looper into this device, also. It should be possible to run the guitar output into a separate looper pedal, and then you would have a rhythm guitar part to go with the bass and drums, but I have not tried this yet.
All in all, this was an extremely ambitious project that DigiTech put a lot of love and detail into - for the most part, I think they got it right. It will be interesting to see if they continue to improve on the pedal with firmware updates through the mini-USB port.
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After owning for 7 years, my thoughts on Digitech Trio+
Kevin Chambers
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Customer Review: VERY COOL, FUN, AND UNIQUE!
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Honest Review of DigiTech Trio+ Band Creator & Looper
Kevin Chambers
From the manufacturer
DigiTech Trio+ Band Creator and Looper Pedal
The TRIO+ is a simple-to-use guitar pedal that listens to the way you play and automatically generates bass and drum parts that match your song. Just plug your guitar into the TRIO+, press the Band footswitch to teach the TRIO+ your chords and rhythm, then press the Band footswitch again to start playing with your own personal band!
Band Creator + Looper
Bass and drum levels can be adjusted for the perfect mix using the TRIO+'s Bass and Drums knobs. The TRIO+ also features a Simple Bass button lets you select between 3 bass line modes for busy or simple bass lines. Pushing the Band Creator paradigm further, the TRIO+ also allows you to loop and custom sequence your looped guitar parts to create full songs on the fly. Press the TRIO+'s Looper footswitch to record a loop along with an unlimited number of overdubs.The TRIO+ provides 12 music genres to choose from including Blues, R&B, Rock, Alternative Rock, Metal, Pop, Electronic Pop, Hip-Hop, Country, Folk, Latin, and Jazz.
12 song styles are available for each genre and can be selected using the TRIO+'s Style encoder, including selection between 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures. Multi-colored LEDs around the TRIO+'s Style encoder indicate which styles best match your song.
The TRIO+ can learn up to 5 different song parts, perfect for creating an intro, verse, chorus, bridge and outro. Song parts can be recalled on-the-fly as the song plays back or pre-programmed as a sequence for automated playback. Up to 12 songs along with loops can be stored to the TRIO+'s Micro SD Card.
Highlights
- Programmable Song Part Intensities For Creating Song Dynamics
- Programmable Song Part Sequencer
- Adjustable Tempo With Audiolastic Time Stretching & Quick Selection Of Alternate Time Interpretation
- Independently Adjustable Level Controls For Bass, Drums, & Loops
- Rugged Design
- Additional Hands-Free Control Available Using An Optional DigiTech FS3X Footswitch
- Can Learn Up To 5 Different Parts Per Song
- Up To 12 Songs With Loops Can Be Stored To A microSD Card
Compare with similar items
This Item  Digitech TRIOPLUS Band Creator and Looper |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $347.00 | -9% $319.70 List: $349.99 | $298.00 | -32% $114.39 List: $169.00 | $199.56 | $379.00 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 3 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Easy to use | ||||||
| Versatility | ||||||
| Sold By | Zorro Sounds | Last Samurai | Boomerang Looper | MOOER | MANMOS JAPAN | Singular Sound |
| hardware interface | microsd | usb | — | — | usb | 1 4 inch audio |
| power source | Plug | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Electric | Battery Powered | Corded Electric |
| amperage | 100 milliamps | 500 milliamps | 500 milliamps | 300 milliamps | 300 milliamps | 100 milliamps |
| signal format | Analog | Analog | Analog | Analog | Analog | Analog |
| controls type | — | Knob | Knob | Knob | Knob | — |
| voltage | — | 9 volts | — | 9 volts | 9 volts | 9 volts |
| style | TRIOPLUS | Loop Station | Compact | Professional | Looper,Expression,Advanced,Mini | single |
Reviews with images
I own both trio and trio+
I love this thing. It is not perfect, but for a lone, home player like me, it is way better than regular looper; it makes playing much more interesting/fun, changing tempo and feel on the fly. I also own the regular, cheaper trio. The trio+ is a HUGE improvement--tunes are saved to sd card; can switch genres within a single song; 3 possible bass lines for whatever is currently playing (via simple button push); can program the sequence of song parts. On the sequence, each song has a max of 5 parts, but sequencing can repeat parts. So say i have a three part song, A B C. It can be sequenced in any order, with repeats, for example, A A A B A C C B A. Next, Having the looper function as part of the trio+ is the only way to effectively integrate overdubs. I tried using the regular trio with a seperate looper, but it proved impossible to get the parts perfectly synchronized. The cheaper trio can't do any of what i just listed.My biggest complaint about the cheaper trio is the inability to save songs. It can sometmes take an hour or more to teach trio a song and have it interpret as i want. Not being able to save that work when moving to a new song is what motivated me to buy the expensive trio+.What I don't like on trio+:--The timbre of drums is inferior compared to the cheaper trio. On the trio+, they much more digital and sterile, more casio-toy-like.--on the trio+, the style selector knob's detentes do not exacly match the led and actual selection of a style. Thus, very often, I turn the knob and miss the selection i am looking for, as the actual selection jumps/skips. This is especially annoying when making a selection on the fly, while "jamming". I suspect this might be a quality control issue and specific to the unit i have.--i wish i could switch songs on the fly, without latency. Parts within a song switch instantly, on the beat, without latency. However, switching songs requires stopping the play to load the new song. The switch of songs takes about 2 seconds. This makes medleys impossible--cannot connect one song to the next.All in all, the trio+ is great fun and reinvigorated my playing. Even with a couple of flaws, i love it. It is far superior to the regular trio, but it is also way more expensive.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2021
Style: TRIOPLUSConfiguration: PedalVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Pascal
Magique !!!
Reviewed in Canada on February 7, 2024Style: TRIOPLUSConfiguration: PedalVerified Purchase
armando r.
UN EXCELENTE ARTICULO PARA LOS AVANZADOS Y LOS QUE NOS INICIAMOS EN EL MUNDO DE LA MUSICA
Reviewed in Mexico on January 22, 2022Style: TRIOPLUSConfiguration: PedalVerified Purchase
samuel
Ideal para mejorar
Reviewed in Spain on October 2, 2021Style: TRIOPLUSConfiguration: PedalVerified Purchase
Ankur P.
One of the best purchase decisions you will make
Reviewed in India on August 17, 2021Style: TRIOPLUSConfiguration: PedalVerified Purchase
Mariano Provenzano
Un’interessante loop station, con un paio di cose in più...
Reviewed in Italy on May 15, 2019Style: TRIOPLUSConfiguration: PedalVerified Purchase
