[Harp-L] new X-Mas toy (update)

[Jp "Pagán" <jpl_pagan@xxxxxxxxx>]

hey all, 

   well, i've been in and out of town, so i haven't
had much time to play with my new X-Vamp. that said...
   i've been trying out different things. for one, i
tried using the Harp Commander in line with it.
depending on what i'm listening through, it sounds
better, worse, or the same. i don't have a home PA, so
i can't say for sure what it would sound like through
one. my general impression is that won't make much
difference.
   i played around with the effects too. the reverbs,
of course. they sound fine to me, but i'm no pro.
however, their useful range seems limited. there's
just 4 'verbs - the regular reverb setting sounds
good, the spring sounds weird to me, and the other 2
are ok in small doses. that's something of a
disappointment. i haven't played with the delays
enough. the autowah sounds like a toy effect.
   speaking of which, this thing is anything but
intuitive. the manual is obviously translated from
another language (i'm guessing German, no?) and it
just seems incomplete. sometimes it's hard to tell
what you are changing until you hear the difference.
   the noise gate is awesome. i still like the Tube
Screamer modulation, and alot of the amp modulations
are useful to get from crunchy to serious overdrive.
   now the worst news... the pedal sucks. when
assigned to volume, it has a very limited range, and
it kicks in independent of the volume of the preset
before you use it. in other words, say you set up your
preset and the volume is at 5. when you step on the
pedal, the volume jumps to where the pedal is. about
halfway back, the pedal volume is practically zero,
and it doesn't turn up very loud either. not really
good for switching from deep background to screaming
solo. not good at all. the pedal is also anything but
smooth. i had a chance to mess with a Digitech bass
unit, and i remember the pedal being much much
smoother.
   so... i'm seriously considering swapping the unit.
i still have time to switch it for something else, but
i'm reluctant to shell out an extra 100 for the
rp200a. i'm wondering if the rp80 will get me by. it's
more limited in some aspects (like the delays) than
the 200, but it does have a pedal. 
  anyway... if i learn more about the X-Vamp, i'll
post it in the interest of educating potential future
buyers. if anyone else out there has one, i'd be
interested in hearing your review...

    --Jp


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free! 
http://my.yahoo.com