The TheGigRig G2 is a pedalboard switching system: a floor unit that sits at the heart of your rig and routes your effects pedals through switchable loops, so you can recall whole combinations of pedals with one press instead of tap-dancing across individual stompswitches. TheGigRig calls it "the industry standard effects pedal board switching system"1. It was released in 2013 and designed by Daniel Steinhardt, who had been building switching systems for about a decade by that point2.
At its core the G2 gives you 10 passive true bypass matrix effects loops, two of which are stereo1. Pedals that are not in the current preset are taken out of the signal path entirely, and the G2 also lets you set and recall the level feeding each loop as well as its return volume, so you can balance a loud fuzz against a quiet filter in every preset3.
What the G2 does and how it is controlled
The G2's job is to put every pedal on your board under programmable control. Each of the 10 loops holds one or more pedals, and a preset stores which loops are active, at what send and return levels, and in what order the signal reaches them. The rear panel has two outputs, so players running two amps can specify whether each program feeds amp A, amp B, or both3.
Each preset can be configured for either Preset mode or Stomp Box mode1:
- Preset mode: one press recalls a complete stored combination of loops and levels.
- Stomp Box mode: the footswitches act more like individual pedals, so you can add and remove effects on the fly inside a preset rather than jumping to a different stored program.
Premier Guitar's reviewer found the programming unusually quick to learn:
"I fired up G2 without cracking the manual, and within five minutes, I'd programmed half a dozen presets3."
Premier Guitar review, August 20213
The preset count is reported two ways: TheGigRig's product page lists 120 presets in 8 banks of 151, while Premier Guitar's review describes "eight banks of 15 slots each for a total of 130" programs3. The bank structure is the same in both, but the totals differ by ten.
Power, size and weight
The G2 runs on a 9V DC supply drawing 650mA of current1.
At 650mA, the G2 draws more current than a typical analog pedal and more than many small power supplies can deliver on a single output. Plan your power supply accordingly.
The maker's own page gives two different weights: the spec table says 2 kg (4.40 lbs) and the FAQ says 1.9 kg (4.2 pounds)1. Premier Guitar's reviewer put it at "just under five pounds" and measured it at 17" x 5" x 3"3, close to the maker's dimensions of 44 x 13 x 7.8 cm1.
From the G2 to the G3
The G2 launched in 2013 and established TheGigRig's position in pedalboard switching. MusicRadar called it "an industry leader for effects pedal switching systems since its launch in 2013"4, and Gearnews wrote that it "went on to become a world-leading solution used by some big names in the guitar world"5. Guitar World described it as "award-winning"6.
TheGigRig introduced the G3 as the successor to its G2 Pedalboard Switcher62. TheGigRig's own G3 page frames the G2 as the starting point: "Since the launch of our G2 Pedalboard Switcher in 2013 we've never stopped dreaming about what would be next"2. The G2, released in 2013, went on to become a world-leading solution used by some big names in the guitar world45.
Where the G2 has appeared
MusicRadar reports the G2 in use on the pedalboards and racks of artists including Radiohead, Noel Gallagher, Guthrie Govan, Graham Coxon and Devin Townsend4.
The unit has also been a fixture of That Pedal Show's demo rigs. In the delay basics episode, the show noted that "all effects and amp switching and routing is handled effortlessly by TheGigRig G2"7, and it appears in the gear lists of several other episodes, including the tape echo episode that paired an Echo Fix EF-X2 with a vintage Roland RE-201.
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Questions
How many effects loops does the TheGigRig G2 have?
The G2 has 10 passive true bypass matrix effects loops, two of which are stereo. Each loop can carry one or more pedals, and the G2 lets you set and recall the level feeding each loop as well as its return volume, so individual effects can be balanced against each other in every preset.
Does the G2 use true bypass?
Yes. TheGigRig describes the G2's 10 effects loops as a passive true bypass matrix, so pedals that are switched out of a preset are taken out of the signal path entirely rather than being buffered or loaded down.
How many presets can the G2 store?
TheGigRig's product page lists 120 presets arranged in 8 banks of 15, each configurable for Preset or Stomp Box mode. Premier Guitar's review described the memory as eight banks of 15 slots for a total of 130 programs, so the two sources disagree on the exact count.
What is the difference between Preset mode and Stomp Box mode on the G2?
Each of the G2's presets can be configured for either mode. In Preset mode, selecting a preset recalls a complete stored combination of loops and settings. In Stomp Box mode, the footswitches behave more like individual pedals, letting you add and remove effects on the fly within a preset.
Who designed the TheGigRig G2?
The G2 was designed by Daniel Steinhardt of TheGigRig, who had been building switching systems for about a decade before the G2 arrived. Steinhardt is also one of the presenters of That Pedal Show, where the G2 has been used to handle effects and amp switching in demo episodes.
How much does the TheGigRig G2 weigh?
TheGigRig's spec table gives the weight as 2 kg (4.40 lbs), while the FAQ on the same page lists 1.9 kg (4.2 pounds). Premier Guitar's reviewer measured it at just under five pounds. It measures roughly 17.3 by 5.1 by 3.07 inches.
Sources (7)
- The GigRig, TheGigRig
- The GigRig, The GigRig
- GigRig’s G2 Advanced Switching System Review, Premier Guitar, 2015-09-01
- The GigRig raises the bar on effects pedal switching systems with the G3, MusicRadar, 2020-10-16
- GigRig G3 pedal switching system: The ultimate stompbox control?, www.gearnews.com, 2020-10-16
- TheGigRig debuts the G3, its next generation of pedalboard switching systems, Guitar World, 2020-10-16
- Delay Basics: Uses, Misuses & Why Quick Delay Times Are Awesome, That Pedal Show, 2015-11-13
