Re:Yammie RP200 - drum machine

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark Crowley wrote:
<<Some promo material says it comes with a drum machine and
some says it comes with a rhythm trainer -a limited number
of percussion loops.  So does it only come with those sampled loops or
can you program beats yourself? Anybody experienced in using a vocxal
mic - probably a sm57 into this thing - just an XLR convertor or would
it need
something more?  I was planning using one of these striaght thru a pa -
via Direct Input box I assume - until I can afford a real amp.
<<

Yamaha doesn't make a device called the RP200, so I assume you mean the
Digitech RP200, which is an amp modeler and effects box that also
includes about 30 different sampled drum loops.  You can't add your own
loops or change the ones it has.  I've used an SM57 through the unit and
it works very well. An XLR convertor is all you'll need to connect the
mic to the unit.

You can probably run the unit directly into a PA without a direct box;
after all, it is a preamp in its own right.  I record directly with
mine, and it's got plenty of level.  It'll sound fine.  Some of the amp
emulations sound better than many of the gigging rigs I hear harp
players using.  I recommend that you zero out the volume on the drum
machine before every performance, because it's easy to trigger it by
accident when you switch sounds, and you don't want the drum machine
kicking in in the middle of a song.

The main issue with the RP200 is that it's not set up for harp out of
the box, it's set up for guitar, and guitars and mics don't behave the
same.  I put in about 50 hours of work on my RP200 to get a set of 40
sounds that I considered excellent, and that's a lot of work.  (On the
other hand, think of how long it would have taken to audition 40
different amp and effects combinations in the real world.)  In general,
you need to set the GAIN for most of the amp models very low to get a
sound that works well with a mic.  

You can hear some of my RP200 patches at work in these samples from my
free "Jacked In" subscription series at this URL:
http://www.hunterharp.com/freemus.html

I've made a few patch setups for the RP200 that I've used on various
recordings in my free subscription series available free at this URL:
http://www.hunterharp.com/effectset.html

Summary: it's a good unit for harp.  It'll probably work for you as a
sub for an amp.  (However, keep in mind that your volume will be at the
mercy of the soundman out front, or whoever has control of the PA.)  If
you put in the time to get the sounds you like, it'll probably be part
of your kit for a long, long time.

Regards, Richard Hunter
http://www.hunterharp.com