Woodsnstrings
The Donner Arena 2000 is an incredibly powerful floor modeling amp sim and FX unit in one compact, affordable package.
Richard
I bought this to have a smaller light-weight option to my larger/heavier pedal boards ... this one definitey seemed smaller and lighter. I actually enjoy mostly the adjustability by using an iPhone & app to control and adjust parameters. But one has to spend time with this unit, to get used to the sounds, the EQ, and the amps etc. I have it now in my livingroom, along with my small Roland practice amp... to play electric guitar and even some acoustic-electric stuff. It is a good deal for the price. It is very good for what it is.
Harry R.
This is a great unit. Easy to configure and tweak on the fly. Sounds arr great with excellent touch dynamics.
I dont recommend much but I recommend this, you will have to pay much more to find something as good.
Jakob L.
Very happy with the multi effects guitar pedal! Exactly what I hoped it would be.
Terry
The Donner Arena 2000 Multi-Effect Guitar Pedal AMP Modeling Multiple Effects Processor is a great little gem . It has so many options programed into it and with the option to add my own into it is just way cool . I haven't had it to long yet but with everything it has and does it may take me awhile to go through it all , but everything I have tried on it so far is very awesome and for the money it is a great bargain .
Ezra M.
Donner Arena 2000 is one of my all time favorite for my home studio recording and it's a perfect gear for beginners or even professionals. It is very recommended. Great
Eddie R.
The Arena 2000 is truly exceptional .
A Beautiful clean response no noise, or hum. The pre sets are something else, just so good . I own a number of effects units, this is without a doubt the best of all of them . Very, very happy with my investment and the outstanding service by Donner. Thank you Eddie Roberts
Malcolm E.
I have only used it for a short time still a lot of functions to explore. What I have experienced so far has been above my expectations
Sophie Burrell
Thanks for @Sophie Burrell
samplaymusic
Thanks for @samplaymusic
harpistkt
Thanks for @harpistkt
giuse luz
Thanks for @giuse luz
gianlugentilesca
Thanks for @gianlugentilesca
Peter B.
Fast delivery thank you.
Great pedal at a great price, exactly what I’ve been looking for
Buy2Much
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Winner!
I threw together a quick demo of some raw tracks played through the Arena2000
I wasn't trying to duplicate any original sound, I just pick some of the presets I found while roaming all the presets. I used the Arena 2000 as the USB interface. I sent the raw recorded tracks to the Arena from the DAW, and then recorded the output back through USB. My DAW skills aren't great but I also didn't do any more signal processing to or from the Arena 2000
All of the presets show some features - but it would take tens of thousands preset patces and a whole lot of time to do all the combinations.
I see numerous reviewers listen to a couple of presets, then start tweaking them to their own taste. I think that's a good way to go. You'd need a decoder ring to figure out what the creater of each preset was trying to do, but tweaking them yourself you're more likely to put the patches to your own sound. Really, try as many of the built in presets. They really explore the power of the arena2000. They are great examples. You'll get the real value when you create your own for your own sound.
The original patches are stored in ROM if you want to reset to factory defaults in the future.
One thing for sure is you'll want to go through the patches and normalize the levels. Some are screaming loud while other too quiet. It's not a lot of work to do this, but just do the ones you like.
50 slots is massive for an ir loader. Plenty of room to expand. 23.2 MS per slot gives you all time and resolution you'll ever need to reproduce the essential sound of a cabinet. This is not going to be enough for room reflections, but you can add reverb to simulate rooms and halls. When you are playing live, you'll want the essential cabinet IR and be glad you can control room/hall reverb response separately.
I would like a longer looper and one that lets you do multi layers.
The drum rhythms are handy for practice and the aux in can accept any mp3 or phone apps
I haven't found any hardware or software glitches - everything works as expected. I still expect Donner and everyone else to find some reason to do some updates to the firmware.
The build quality is excellent. The expression pedal is stiff and lets you control it gracefully with your foot. There are six feet on the bottom to handle the foot press pressure.
I've got all kinds of fingerprints on the LCD screen from trying tap something. I can't help myself. Donner came out with the iPhone app and I tend to now just use it. The PC software works great for me on Windows 10. On both the iPhone and PC the response from the Arena 2000 is instant. Arranging the order of the pedals is just drag and drop on the PC. The App, plus the foot pedals on the Arena will get you through all the settings without having to drop to the floor.
I haven't got into the MIDI yet. I haven't found a published MIDI map, but there is a table in the Arena where you can view the CC's. I will probably eventually use MIDI CC to control the Arena from a DAW. Furthermore, I can use a really cheap low power PC with a DAW to control MIDI as the Arena 2000 saves the PC from having to do Audio DSP loads. Donner makes the PC or iPhone load negligible.
Value of the Arena 2000 is high. You'll save a lot of time trying to collect and build a pedal board to do what the Arena can do, and sound as good as the Arena. Additionally, just fit in a small, lightweight bag to carry around. The Arena does take 9v from a pedal board power just fine.
Derek
I was certainly hopeful that this was going to be really cool but.... not so much. There is quite a list of things I could say that were disappointing like how you can't adjust anything without touching something that completely changed the setting you were just working on or how the volume pedal is too small to be of any real use and has a very sensitive button when depressed to 100% which changes the sound again. There is no way to really get any kind of clean distortion without a ton of noise and above all that it simply doesn't sound good. Nope, not good at all. I will find no use for this product in my rig, not even the tuner is worth using for me. Its good for a very early beginner that doesn't have the means to buy anything else. Sorry cant endorse this one at all.
just wanted to update you all, the company has sent me a few emails with details on how to better the performance, in my book that gets them an extra star just for customer service. I will try the recommendations and they may help, will keep you all posted on it
Yurii Yevdokymov
Such wonderful value for what you pay..! This is like having an entire pedal board in one pedal. The app seems to unlock a lot more more features as well.
William Dymond
I had a combination of many pedals and this easily does the work of all of them. Easy to understand and navigate. I highly recommend !
Scott MacDonald
I really like this pedal. Apart from the fact is an excellent amp modeler it also has a TON of effects a small 'expression' pedal for WAH, Volume, pitch shift, etc. Very solidly built. Nothing feels cheap. I am still learning but having a blast doing it. Thanks Donner!!
Chris
I was looking for a multi-effects pedal when I came across this one. I have a lot of Donner products and have been quite pleased with their products. This pedal really outdoes some of the others available. The screen is easy to read, and after taking time to learn how to control things, it is quite intuitive. The sounds are really good as well. I do wish they made a list available of all the built-in effects. This pedal is almost perfect for those looking for a budget-friendly unit.
Compared to some of the other pedals I researched, there were some really good advantages to this one:
* The display makes it easy to see all of the settings.
* Clicking on the selected button enters stomp mode where you can turn on/off two effects. Those effects are listed on the display so you know what you are controlling.
* The expression pedal can switch between two actions (switch off for volume, switch on for wah, vibrato, or whatever effect you have assigned - you can set both on and off effects).
* Balanced XRL and unbalanced TRS outputs.
* Separate volume controls for XRL, TRS, and headphones!
* Hold the active button down to switch to the tuner, which is very easy to read.
* Settings to adjust the input levels.
* Cab modes can be enabled/disabled per output option.
* Easy to change the chain order.
* Five dials to adjust effect controls.
* Mobile and desktop apps to control the device (mobile apps via Bluetooth as well!)!
* Ability to add 50 IRs.
The only quirk I had to get used to was the touch buttons. The screen isn't a touchscreen, but the mod category buttons are. You have to be aware of where they are when using the dials. If you finger rubs the screen, you can end up either changing to a different effect, or turning one on/off. The input port is closer to the right side of the unit, which is definitely not like most pedals, but not really an issue.
The only thing I wish they did was make a bass model, or had an option for bass effects via firmware. I keep looking for a similar bass version, and there are very few in this budget category. The controls are so easy to use for guitar. I have a separate pedal for bass effects - it's just not as intuitive as the Arena 2000. If they ever came out with a bass model, I'll be adding that as well!