Re: [Harp-L] using amp simulator

[G <gigs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 14:52:57 -0600
From: "Docta Funk" <dustin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] using amp simulator
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>

>I also have a question about this.  I unnderstand many people have been
using 
>the rp400 by digitech, does anyone know how this stacks up against the Pod 
> 2.0 Guitar Amp Simulator?  Is having the effects pedal on the digitech unit 
> useful or is it extraneous to playing harp?  For someone who has not worked 
> with something like this before, would it be better to save the money and 
> work on a less expennsive model such as the rp200??  Any feedback is 
> appreciated, 
> DFUNK
 
Hi Dr Funk,
  In terms of harp players, I wouldn't say "many people are using the
RP400".  Richard Hunter has sung praises of Digitech's RP200, 
http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/huntersrp200.html
and Randy Singer has written enthusiastically about the VC300. 
http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/singersvc300.html
Over the past 6 to 8 months a few people have followed their lead, and
there have been a number of emails about Digitech products in general.  In
the Digitech RP series, the latest one is the RPx400.  
http://www.digitech.com/products/rpx400.htm

My personal experience with emulators is about 18 months using a POD 2.0
with their 4 button foot pedal.  
I used the POD 2.0 for wood shedding, recording, playing live in a pub, and
playing live outdoors through a PA.  I bought it after I realised it would
take a lot of money time and effort to experiement with a range of stomp
boxes and tube amps.  So at the time the POD 2.0 emulator made a lot of
sense.  If I was to do it again, with whats available on the market these
days, it would be with something much better.

The POD, the POD 2.0, some of the Line6 amps based on the POD, and some of
Line6's earlier products usually sound like they're being played in the
next room.  They also have a harsh edge to their tone which is impossible
to remove by any combination of settings of the equipment itself. 

This can be compensated for to some degree depending on what you plug them
into.   With the "next door" effect, this can be mitigated to some degree
by playing it through a powerful amp - I had a 100Watt keyboard amp with a
sizable cab that helped this,  or playing it through a decent powerful PA
with someone who knows what they're doing at the mixer. 
But always that edgey tone, and the bass end of any kind of distortion is
harsh when compared to the real thing.  For its time it was very cool, and
was reasonably convincing. 

The main cause of their problems is the technology used.  They use 16 bit
analogue to digital convertors and only 33kHz sample rate.  
As for the POD-XT series I'm not entirely sure what engine its built on.

While 16 bit digital audio quality is pretty good, after all audio CDs are
16 bit audio format, there are problems with using a 16 bit AtoD convertor
sampling at at 33kHz in real time.  The end result is the top end of your
signal gets chopped off. 

There's a lot more to this subject, and if you're interested there are
plenty of websites that explain the process, limitations and features of
analog to digital convertors, anti-aliasing filters, and so on.

The discontinued J-Station, the Digitech GNX series (technology that
initially began with the J-Station), Behringer's V-Amp series along with
their other emulation and effects rack units, and even Lexicon's bottom
range products - all have 24bit AtoD convertors, and sample at 44.1kHz,
capable of handling anything within the normal range of hearing, so none of
your signal is lost on the way into the unit - giving plenty of potential
for presence and smooth tone.

The RPx400 has 24 bit AtoD, I don't know what the sampling rate is.

However, there's more to emulators than their ability to render analogue
signal into digital data, and that's the software models used to shape the
tone into something that sounds good - not something you can find out from
reading websites.  

My recommendation is to check out the competition, have a decent play
through different units with your mic and harps - through speakers mind,
not headphones - and give yourself plenty of time (months) to shop around
before you think about buying a POD 2.0.

http://www.angelfire.com/music/harmonica/ampdamps.html#emulators

One thing about guitar units, the ideal guitar rig has ample gain and cut,
the anti-thesis of good harmonica rig, since more gain and cut, generates
more feedback.

-- G.