Re: A Digitech 2101 AND 11 Rack owner...tell me what to expe
I can kinda answer for the 2101 side of things.... There is no comparison.
Remember creating your own custom effects routs/linkages? Yeah that not a problem. And you don't have a memory constraint of how many routes you could make. Just download Axe Edit and give it a look without the axe-fx unit. You just wont have any audio.
I cannot put them side by side because the last time I had a 2101 was about 15 years ago. Effects / memory management / has completely changed and progressed much farther then the 2101 could have ever done. Just goto the wiki and look at the depth of which you can edit/manage your effects. Plus there is effect automation (Controllers/LFO's/ADSR's/Envelopes/sequencers) that can be linked up to most parameters. Again... download axe-edit.
Computer front end (if you want) is a million years past what anyone has ever put together for the 2101. The axe-fx hardware interface is not too bad to get use to. For me, this was worth the price of admission.
PreAmp, Power, Cabinet simulation... Lets not get into this. It's not worth the calories I will burn typing it out.
2101 was amazing for it's time but, Axe-FX is a totally different beast and much more flexible.
What I have heard about the 11 Rack is that it is a very good sounding using but, lacks the depth that you can get into your effects and simulations. But, having the patch data stored into your protool's project file metadata is a smashing feature. My feeling, depending on what you use all this gear for to loose the 2101, and integrate the Axe-FX into your workflow. There are people who use both the Axe-FX and the 11 Rack together for recording purposes. Do some seaching around, we have no idea what you are trying to accomplish.