Yamaha DG60FX-112 Amplifier
The marriage of the Stomp pedal with a 60 Watt amp
Just like little Pinnochio, who got transformed from puppet to real boy for being good, Yamaha’s DG-Stomp has undergone a similar metamorphosis. The DG-Stomp is handsomely rewarded in this case with an amplifier and speaker, just like a real amp. So the new combo is basically a grown-up version of the DG-Stomp pedal, but with a 60W power amplifier, a single 12-inch speaker and plenty of footswitching facilities. Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that…
Comparing the DG-Stomp with the preamp section of this combo, things look pretty similar. The only real difference between the two is that the on-board footswitches of the DG-Stomp have been separated from the main unit and now appear as a floorboard, with its own special DIN cable. You’ll be pleased to know this footswitch unit is included in the price of the combo. Apart from a ‘power amp in’ socket, allowing direct access to the combo’s clean power stage, and two input sockets which replace the DG-Stomp’s single switchable-sensitivity input jack, the units are identically equipped.
In typical Yamaha fashion there’s nothing about the constructional integrity of the DG60FX-112 that warrants criticism. After all, Yamaha didn’t get where they are today by building shoddy cabinets. Our sturdy enclosure features chromed metal corner protectors, heavy-duty strap handle, tough nylon speaker cloth and non-slip rubber feet.
As far as the actual control layout is concerned, this unit follows the DG-Stomp’s successful formula precisely. We get display, patch and mode buttons to the left and the effect on/off buttons and parameter controls on the right-hand side, above a familiar array of tone and gain controls laid out in traditional guitar amp fashion. These are preceded by a selection of eight different amplifier types located on a rotary selector.
Rather than hint at the origins or mimic specific amplifier models (like Line 6, for example) Yamaha’s selection of lead, drive, crunch and clean (there are two of each) are more of a guide for you to create your own tones. Experienced players will prefer this freethinking ‘build-your-own-tone’ ethos. Think of it more as a painter’s palette with infinite blends, as opposed to the paint-by-numbers approach found on most other modelling units. To that end the DG60FX-112 is ideally suited to live applications, where you can view it as an eight-channel amplifier, if you prefer.
The separate four-buttoned footswitch operates in the same way as the footswitches on the DG-Stomp. Put simply, you have a choice of either your three pre-programmed patches in any given bank, or individual effects on/off control. In addition, a multi-function tap tempo button controls the effect speed and doubles, or rather triples, as a bank select and tuner button. How long you hold your foot down on this switch determines which of the three functions it will perform.
To toggle between effect control and patch control you’ll have to enter the DG’s deeper editing functions via the utility button and amp selector knob. The amp is not quite the no-brainer it first appears, so you’ll definitely need to refer to the manual to fully exploit its hidden talents. Once the utility button has been pushed, the amp select knob turns into a scrolling menu for altering the parameters of the footswitch unit, MIDI functions, external control settings and expression pedal settings. This is also the way to access the DG’s 16 speaker simulations which range from 2 x 10-inch to 4 x 12-inch cabs of both US and British persuasions. Another useful DG function is that you can switch off the speaker simulator ‘globally’, across all patches simultaneously.
The unit’s 180 patches are divided into 10 groups, each with three banks of three patches. To differentiate between the user patches and presets, the three-digit display features a tiny dot between the bank and group digits, denoting factory preset status. Not that you’ll need to look at your amp once you’ve programmed it, but if you should need a quick glance, the easy-to-learn layout lets you know instantly what effects are on, via integral green LEDs above the individual push buttons. It’s a shame there’s not an alphanumeric display allowing the naming of patches on both the amp and controller. It would’ve made remembering your sounds a lot easier. It becomes hard remembering that patch number 232 is great for metal.
Sounds
From the moment you plug in, the DG’s sounds are instantly satisfying. The bass is tight and beefy, with more warmth, punch and attack than you’d expect from an open-back cabinet. Playing through a few random presets reveals a fullness and depth of the tone that will make you beam.
The clean sounds in particular benefit from the DG’s authoritative speaking voice. Glassy, spacious and incredibly musical, their refined character is extremely impressive. These waxy sounds work brilliantly for chord melody or jazz fingerstyle and with plenty of EQ on tap to fiddle with, you can conjure up pretty much any clean tone you’d ever need.
From shimmering hi-fi ballad sounds to mellifluous, leather upholstery jazz, the Yamaha cuts it. Don’t forget, of course, you can embellish the rich basic tone of the Yamaha with easy-to-tweak lush choruses and rich reverbs.
The effects work excellently as far as ease of use and transparency are concerned, and are laid out in a logical manner. The chain begins with a compressor featuring a single control capable of squishing the sound nicely for some attempted Adrian Legg-style fingerpicking or just fattening up your rhythm work. The compressor can also help to add a more valve-like response to overdrive and hi-gain settings.
The built-in collection of modulation effects is impressive, including chorus, flanger, phaser, rotary speaker emulation and tremolo. These five effects share a pair of controls for speed and depth and their LEDs double as a display for the built- in chromatic tuner, accessible via the footswitch. The DG60FX-112 has a wonderful three-dimensional tone to start with, and once the effects enter the fray, things just get bigger and better all round.
Verdict
The best thing about this amp is the way it responds to your guitar’s volume control and playing attack – some other modelling amps, seem to output the same feel regardless of what’s happening with your guitar. Also, there’s a real sense of musicality about the DG60FX-112, which is sometimes missing in some of the hi-tech equipment we review. However, that said, the multi-function foot-controller does take a little getting used to.
At the end of the day this amp is up against some stiff competition in this price bracket, but stands good comparison to anything else out there. Even when fully cranked up, it handles itself well – it was perfectly happy alongside a drum kit in rehearsals.
The DG60 is a flexible, great-sounding amp with plenty of features and editing to keep you satisfied. In live use the patches change instantaneously, with no glitching, and as a studio companion the DG earns its keep superbly. If you don’t like the playing-by-numbers modelling approach, the DG60 could just be the one for you.
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