Where have all the good products gone?

Years ago I invested my then-scarce income into a truely terrific pre-amp/multi-processor put out by you guys.  Which one doesn't matter, my story applies whether I bought an RP-10, 12, 20, 21, 2112, 2120, whatever.

My unit served me well through a good many years before succumbing to the ravages of time recently.  With more cash in hand at this point, I figure it was time to purchase the latest toy your company had to offer.  My eagerness to see what was available at this point was grounded in the assumption that, in the years that had passed between my last purchase and now, surely the brilliant minds at Digitech must be able to produce an incredibly sophisticated processor that is easy to use and with all the features I would ever need.

I went on-line and from one guitar store to the next only to find disappointment!!!  While the prices were all within reach, the quality of the units currently produced were far, far below what one might expect given the past line-up.  Where was the easy-to-navigate interface?  The user's screen had shrunk to the point where naming patches hearkened back to the eight character rule back in the DOS days.  There was little to indicate the effects chain, but then again, that wasn't particularly malleable either when compared to units gone by.  Where were the advanced EQ sections?  Why, reduced to the standard 3-bands!  I guess I was spoiled by 10 bands at a time (with additional EQs able to be inserted into the effects chain at any location, of course).

Granted, some respectable features have arrived in the interim: computer interfaces and downloadable patch libraries, among other things, but these are merely parallels to decades-old developments in synthesizer technology.  Not to have caught up yet is inexcusable.  To have your flagship series of the moment lacking in standard features in the equivalent lines five or ten years ago is unforgivable.

Not every guitarist is a high school dropout and not every potential customer has blown all his cash on pot and Playstation games.  Stop dumbing down your products and put out a line with some of the quality you once demonstrated.  I will have to pass on purchasing my next processor from you, but I hope you can bring your company back to its former glory in time for my processor-after-next.

-Disappointed.