DigiTech Dirty Robot Stereo Mini-Synth

The DigiTech Dirty Robot Stereo Mini-Synth is a compact synth pedal from DigiTech, launched at $187.44 MSRP in April 2016¹. It converts your guitar signal into one of two selectable synth voices, straight envelope-style synthesis (V1) or vocal formant synthesis (V2)¹. A momentary vibrato footswitch modulates the synth signal with vibrato while depressed, and when released the active/green LED changes to red and the vibrato stops¹².

The Dirty Robot is no longer in production: DigiTech's product page lists it as a past product³. It carried an MSRP of $187.44 at launch in 2016¹.

Two synth voices

The Dirty Robot offers two different, selectable synth voices: straight envelope-style synthesis (V1) or vocal formant synthesis (V2)¹. MusicRadar described the two voices at launch as "straight envelope-style synthesis and vocal formant synthesis"⁴. The V1 voice is the classic envelope-follower synth sound, while V2, as Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio explained, "provides a more 'vocal' effect similar to a talk box"⁵. Players looking for that talk-box flavor in a pedal might also compare the TC Helicon TalkBox Synth.

The pedal was positioned as a successor to DigiTech's earlier Synth Wah, with the launch press release calling it "a worthy successor to the Synth Wah"¹, a description Guitar Interactive Magazine repeated⁶.

Controls: seven knobs and the Drift knob

The Dirty Robot features seven controls¹. The centerpiece is the Drift knob, which rotates a full 360 degrees to control morphing between sub, octave and square waveforms¹. DigiTech describes it as an exclusive control that lets you blend the square wave with octave and sub synthesis sounds³.

Gearnews summarized the start, stop and time knobs as being "used to adjust the sweep of the synth sound and control its duration"⁷. Reviewers liked the feel of the Drift control in particular: Pedal of the Day wrote that "the smoothness of this dial really lets you do some nice blending work between these settings"⁸.

Momentary vibrato on the footswitch

The Dirty Robot's footswitch does double duty. Its unique momentary vibrato makes the effect available on demand: when the footswitch is depressed, the synth signal modulates with vibrato, like a mod wheel on a keyboard synth; when it is released, the active/green LED changes to red and the vibrato stops¹. Guitar.com described the same behavior at launch, noting the vibrato is available to the player on demand via the footswitch².

Stereo routing and bypass

DigiTech describes the Dirty Robot as a stereo mini-synth pedal whose effects are "complimented by stereo ¼" inputs and outputs for routing flexibility"³. RockBoard's PedalPedia likewise lists it as a stereo mini-synth pedal⁹. The pedal also uses true bypass circuitry, which the launch press release described as keeping the guitar tone pristine when the device is off¹³.

What comes in the box

DigiTech lists the box contents as³:

• 1 x Dirty Robot Stereo Mini-Synth pedal
• 1 x StompLock
• 1 x Die cut hook-and-loop pedalboard pad

The StompLock and hook-and-loop pad are mounting accessories: the pad fixes the pedal to a pedalboard, and the StompLock guards the controls³.

Where it came from and what reviewers said

DigiTech by HARMAN launched the Dirty Robot Stereo Mini-Synth at $187.44 MSRP, with availability in April 2016¹. The pedal offers two selectable synth voices, straight envelope-style synthesis (V1) or vocal formant synthesis (V2), and its momentary vibrato puts the effect on demand via the footswitch¹⁴.

Gearnews included the Dirty Robot in its 2016 roundup of unusual effects pedals, describing it as a robotic, synth-like stomp box aimed at players who want a different sound¹⁰. The pedal offers two selectable synth voices, straight envelope-style synthesis (V1) or vocal formant synthesis (V2), and its momentary vibrato footswitch modulates the synth signal with vibrato while depressed, with the active/green LED changing to red and the vibrato stopping when released¹⁷.

Pedal of the Day's 2017 review highlighted the Drift knob's smooth blending between waveform settings as the pedal's strength⁸. Delicious Audio noted the pedal's two voices, Drift waveform knob, momentary vibrato modulation and stereo I/O when it reported on the release in November 2016⁵.

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