RE: [Harp-L] DigiTech Review

["Rich Beaubien" <RichBeau@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Richard Hunter [mailto:turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 11:31 AM
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx; RichBeau@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] DigiTech Review
> 
> "Rich Beaubien" wrote:
> "The XLR connectors on the RP300 made hookup easy.  I played through
> some of the presets, while they were kind of nifty, for me they would
> get old pretty quickly as I like a purer sound. I also had a hard time
> getting a clean sound from RP300. It always seemed a bit ahh.fuzzy. Most
> often I want a clean sound with a touch of echo or reverb. I had a hard
> time getting it, at least easily. The RPs are really for a guitar and it
> seemed to be a stretch using it for the harp."
> 
> The RP series pedals are certainly designed for guitar.  The key to
> getting a good sound out of the unit with harmonica is to dial the GAIN
> settings WAY back. Gain settings in the single digit range on most amp
> models are a good starting point.
> 
> Out of the box, presets on these units have gain settings that are
> correct for guitar, and this will indeed sound like mud or screaming
> feedback when applied to a mic and a harp.
> 
> For those who want clean, the "Clean" amp model on the RP200 is great
> for sweet, clear harp sounds with lots of body.
> 

As I said... "with more experience with both models I probably would improve
the quality of sound." I did fiddle with it a bit but apparently I did not
lower the gain enough. It was not obvious to me sitting there, which was one
of my reasons for discounting it.

Richard has pointed out a clear path to getting some better sound out of the
RPs. So bear this in mind if you test the DigiTechs. With any of these units
there will be a period of learning. At least Richard offers some proven
setups on his site to help get you started with the RPs.

--Rich