Lou B.
Many presets seem to have been designed with excessive gain. The higher gain presets seem very harsh. Better cab sims and EQ would be an improvement. I haven't yet had time to dig into customizing or creating presets from scratch. Hopefully I'll be able to create more usable presets. I am not new to digital modelers, and it is somewhat common to have to tweak the presets. For some reason most manufacturers seem to think all we are looking for is high gain presets.
The unit seems well built and offers good output flexibility.
One thing I dislike is having to step on 2 buttons to swithc banks. Often it is not that easy to coordinate both presses and you only move to the next preset within the same bank. Can be embarassing if playing live.
George A.
Solid construction, with plenty of effects and amps, will keep me occupied for a long time getting to know all effect . Was about to buy a new amplifier but not anymore, got the sound I was looking for with the arena 2000. And so will you.
JOHN V.
Nicely made, lots of options for effects. I would have liked more built-ins for acoustic guitar, but you can make your own.
Chris B.
It works great, i use it as a back up it's small and compact and fits in my gig bag. Best part is it also sounds great and the XLR outputs are perfect
Randy H.
Awesome, easy, versatile!
Kelly G.
So far so good. Really enjoying it and all of the cool things it allows me to do. Would recommend .
Matthew C.
Easily one of my new favourite musical tools. I use this on my desk and at band practice. Keeps my sound consistent and locked in. May buy another if they go on sale!
Thomas M.
Made pretty cheaply. The foot pedal broke after about 4-6 months. Also , the looper “doesn’t loop” beyond 30 seconds I believe. The preset channels or preset “boards” do not lead you into knowing what their sound may sound like. For instance, a channel may be named chicken foot. You have no idea what that sounds like until you play it. Then it gets lost in the other 199 presets for you. But, when you do find one you like it may be all you need. Idk. I need more.
Ryken M.
So far its been great, no issues what so ever, plays and sounds geart too thats about it
Sylvain R.
Super happy with this unit. Many options to get inspiring sounds. Lots of fun.
Ariel d.
my son loved it! it was fantastic
Wayne D.
For the money it's the best I ever used thanks donner
Nasr Eddine C.
Nice multi effects
Paul d.
I was surprised how well this Amp modeler / Multi-effect is easy to use and how it sounds especially. Had no problem tweaking my sound or trying the multiple offer effects and storing them in the unit. The Arena work great with my computer through my interface, once balanced the blending in the recording was excellent. Great job with this product/package.
Jean-Francois L.
Cool budget multi effects. Sounds pretty good for the price. Tones are ok, specially if you want that beefy palm muted metal sound. Amp/cab simulation are raw but good enough. Surely not professionnal but for my personal needs, it's super.
David S.
I love this pedal. This is my second purchase so I have a backup. I own 2
Mohit K.
This is the best budget effects processor one could get. It's been a few weeks since I got this and I have to say that this is amazing.
This processor has a ton of effects, preamps, and cabs to choose from and lets you create the best tones based on your needs.
The device has everything that one could look for in a processor - ranging from effects, tuners, loopers, and drum presets for practice, as well as a USB-c, aux-in and headphones-out port as well.
Bruce M.
I’m really enjoying learning this thing. I have a gig coming up in a few days, so I’m having fun getting the virtual amps set up to work best with my PA. The quality of tones and intuitive interface (Bluetooth app and via the pedal itself) are both welcomed. I think I made a good choice, particularly at this price point.
Stephen McPherson
I purchased this unit primarily to use as a looper and to try out playing with a drum machine. As a learner, I didn't want to drop large, as some of the looper pedals with drum machines are not cheap. The Donner unit gave me that, and more. This unit has far exceeded my expectations, not only as a looper and drum machine, but also as an effects pedal. A few things I really like:
1. the cell phone app. Can't say enough about it.
2. the desktop app. If you're inclined, I find this a far easier way to edit and control the unit.
3. If you are running the desktop app, through some magic that surprised me, any music or sound you have playing will play back through the unit and into your amp, if that's how you are connected. For me, as a learner, that's fantastic. I can play my favourite back tracks in my browser and they come right on through my amp, along with my guitar. Fantastic feature and unexpected. Bonus!
Ross P.
Pedal is a Christmas gift to myself so I have not tried it out yet
VITAL C.
Love it, very simple to use, lots of very good presets.
Chris Hoopes
I have one and it is a very capable unit, with features that rubber some other multi-effect pedals I've researched. Things like XLR outputs, separate output volume controls, and stomp button descriptions on the display gives it a lot of flexibility. Having apps on computer, iOS and Android make it even easier to set up.
I have a MIDI pedal attached to give more stomp button options making it even more versatile. I wish they had bass effects, or bass firmware for it. That would make it the perfect device for me.
Steve M.
Beyond expectations! I have to ask why other pedals like this cost 5 to 10 times as much.
Jared Boudakian
I have the arena 2000 and it's the best multi fx/amp sim for the money. I use this as my live set up with 2 amps and 2 cabs. The effects and Sims are top notch. Super versatile. Great in a studio or on stage. I absolutely love this pedal and I can't wait to see what Donner puts out next.
Ian H.
I really like what the Arena 2000 adds to my sound. It will still surprize me years from now. Keep up the good work Donner.
Ian
woodsnstrings
The Donner Arena 2000 is an incredibly powerful floor modeling amp sim and FX unit in one compact, affordable package.
Boasting 150 Presets, 80 Hi-res Amp Models, 50 Built-in Cab IR Models PLUS 50 Slots for Loading 3rd Party IRs, A Total of 278 Effects,
Moveable Effects Blocks for Flexible Signal Routing, Multi-function Ctrl and Expression Pedals. a Built-in Drum Machine with 40 Patterns, and 60s Looper with Reversed/Double Speed/Half Speed, this thing is practically a self-contained production studio for guitar.
In addition, it's MIDI and USB compatible, includes Bluetooth control for app control, and comes with its own software suite for editing tones, backups, and updating firmware.
Robin T.
Bought this a few weeks ago. First foray into amp-effect simulation using a modeling engine, so I can't really compare it with pedals I usually use (RAT, Cry Baby, Ernie Ball volume pedal and an older Loopstation). I don't think I would use it on a stage floor, but it's really cool on my living room table, hooked up to a small Blackstar transistor amp. Been exploring the presets (more fond of the less ''metal'' ones, but hey, that's just me these days) and having a lot of fun. Using a simple Godin SG with it for now, but I will try it with my Schecter Super Shredder if I ever feel metal again. Did not try a bass on it yet (have a few of those), but I don't expect it to be a fit. I bought Donner before (electronic drums, piano bench, ukulele come to mind) and am as always, very impressed with value of offering, as they compliment more ''elite'' gear very well at an absolutely unbeatable price, and this thing so far is totally up there for me. Now I will read the manual...
Gus B.
Haven't spent a ton of time with the Arena 2000 yet but first impressions are good with some convincing amp sims, cabs and effects.
Orcatrino
Very nice all the way around. Built very well. Huge color screen. Easy to use. So many options and features.
Tamura
I waffled between 4 and 5 stars on this one. I bought it to have a smaller footprint on stage when I play acoustic gigs. It's actually a lot of fun to create my own patches and sound combinations. There are a lot of distorted sounds and folks who are more into metal or at least harder rock would probably really love this. I'm more of a jam band fan, so I just wanted to have some subtle delays, phasers, chorus, etc. in various combinations. I'm still getting the hang of it, but it really can do a lot. My only complaint is that it does sound...digital. Many of the pedals on my main board are analog, so maybe I'm just sensitive to the differences and I doubt folks in the audience can tell the difference. With that being said, it's not a significant cost and you can have a lot of fun with it no matter what you play.
Paul lynch
This unit has some very good presets and sound's amazing. The unit has a great looper and pretty good drum sounds.
samplaysmusic
Thanks @samplaysmusic
giuse luz
Thanks @giuse luz
Tamura
I waffled between 4 and 5 stars on this one. I bought it to have a smaller footprint on stage when I play acoustic gigs. It's actually a lot of fun to create my own patches and sound combinations. There are a lot of distorted sounds and folks who are more into metal or at least harder rock would probably really love this. I'm more of a jam band fan, so I just wanted to have some subtle delays, phasers, chorus, etc. in various combinations. I'm still getting the hang of it, but it really can do a lot. My only complaint is that it does sound...digital. Many of the pedals on my main board are analog, so maybe I'm just sensitive to the differences and I doubt folks in the audience can tell the difference. With that being said, it's not a significant cost and you can have a lot of fun with it no matter what you play.
James S.
Great Product! Easy to use! Great for gigging which is what I needed this for. I never had a good system to hookup to house PA's, this has a balanced XLR output to provide this use. The presets give you a chance to fully customize to your personal tone!
Nicholas G.
I am pretty happy with the arena 2000 so far. The included amps and cab sims all seem serviceable. The existing presets are okay overall with some pretty great ones and a bunch of useless ones but you can make your own of course too. Comparing it to my old line 6 pod hd500 this sounds MUCH better. I don't love or hate the settings and layout but using the app makes it much easier. I will say this is not to the level of an Axe fx or kemper which no one should expect for the price but for a non pro level recording musician I think the sounds are more than adequate. Other than that it seems fairly sturdy and I'm glad I got it. (Donner if you make this into a rackmount unit I'd probably buy a second one just sayin)
Joe M.
The Arena 2000 is a very good value offering a lot of presets, excellent input/output options, and a good build quality. The manual is helpful to get going quickly, but the phone app is a real plus for making faster edits. The presets provide a great overview of all the different effects, amp, and cab simulations, but, as others have pointed out, the real value is when you get inside the presets and customize them for your own personal use. I'm having fun with it. So far I've used it to plug into the front end of a clean guitar amp (disable cab IR for 1/4" outputs) and to experiment with editing while via headphones. Next up I'm going to plug the stereo XLR outs into my sound system to try out the cab IR's in that context and finally will run it into my DAW and try some recording. Great bang for the buck! I wish Donner would make a small padded bag to protect the unit when put into a larger gig case, etc.
One Knob to Rule All
