Re: Digitech RP200 cont'd - the less accomplished end

[Mark Crowley <Mark.Crowley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

just to continue the thread from the beginner's end of the range of experience.

invited to sit in a set yesterday with a young gun rockabilly outfit - pat capocci combo - drums, double bass -amped, elec guitar -gretsch

yes, they definitely go off. It was very scary listening to their first set thinking, jesus, I have to climb up with these kids next .

venue =  front bar of big old biker pub
amp= torque tk100 - 100 watt keyboard amp -british built I believe
effects = digitech rp200 - set on a basic modification of a blackface amp
mic = sm57 - had a stand to perch it on for some different tones but ended up ripping it out of its stand and cupping the whole time

the effects going thru the effects loop of the amp - mic going thru xlr convertor to amp channel.

the amp's main volume down to about a 3 (whatever that counts for) and the channel volume on about a 5 at highest... as night wore on I upped the main but rolled down the channel - as I was worried about feedback with a mic smack in front of the line of the amp.

Was a bit leery of the setup - the amp right behind me - space was just too tight and there wasn't much room - i was a just a "guest" and would have been rude to argue about where i was told to stand.

Luckily the monster didn't show its face but that was more due to blind luck than knowledge

As from Richard Hunter's expereince - its nothing to wipe the volume of the drum machine soon as it powers up - I wasn't going to need different patches so had the box sitting on the amp in case the other guys stepped on it- my vision is going badly so I will prefer to keep it off the ground anyway and tap through different settings with my finger so i can see the LED better.

>From the discussions on list about feedback lately I guess I should be (well out of the damn way of the amp for starters) upping the main, leaving it and using the channel volume to climb up or down with the band.(?? jump in anybody)

lord knows what model the fender guitar amp beside me was but it took two guys to carry in with handles and roll onto its end - it  made 4 of my amp in size.

I wasn't keen to go over the top of the other guys in volume - but nobody asked me to turn it up(lol, maybe for another good reason!!) - i got more than enough solos thrown my way to keep me busy and laying out for the majority of each tune for the gretsch and bass to do their rockabilly thing they do so well.

The amp/fx/mic combination give me a much higher powered version of the sound I get from my little danelectro nifty fifty and SM57.  (I used to use  a shaker madcat but it draws a really weak signal - unless mine is a dud(anybody??). I keep the shaker to use at muso jams - in my pocket and plug straight in the pa)

In that respect I got much more power and tone for less than the cost of a single Fender Pro Jr - which would then have to be setup thru the pa anyway to have any ghost of a chance with these guys.(a bullet and an  sm57 required and a great pa guy - yes, they all fall off trees around here - and don't forget to swap yr tubes as well)

Nobody is saying this is chicago (the nifty fifty isn't either) but this thing worked great in a big place and held its own well with the competition -

from the tone side a big plus is nobody came up and said:

1) where's your bullet?

2) where's your tube amp?

the blues nazis are always right on yr tail about that before you even pick up your harmonica.

I'll be experimenting with different patches and trying the mic going straight into the effects box (as Ironman Mike reccommended) for a wedding this weekend - but it won't need a quarter of the volume as yesterday - there's a nice little triplet patch i want to reshape for a chromatic solo on Mexicali Rose  :)

True, i got the amp supposedly half price as it was secondhand but I believe Behringer make a pretty good keyboard amp new for the same price - more features including a lineout to pa that mine doesn't have. I gues that's for professional folk who get to play stadiums and certainly not me :)

This is a good loud - and cheap - setup for when I need it - but it will be a long time before i get the opportunity to play with a wonderful group of musicians like last night.

If you're a beginner and getting antsy for working amplification I would visit a shop with the pedal there and yr mic in one hand, ask them to plug it into a keybrd amp or something 'clean'  and have a fiddle and a think - before you start laying lots more cash for what will only ever be a baby tube - and yu wrestling with soundmen and pas trying to keep that monster at bay just so you can keep up with the band.

you could get this style of rig for approx the price of a single Fender pro jnr and then save yr pennies towards that real monster tube - if you're not going to go straight for one anyway...

I'll go back to dreaming.... mmmmmmmm.... monster tube......

crowley