[Harp-L] Digitech RP360/Line6 Amplifi FX100

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

I'm working steadily towards the release of a patch set for the Digitech RP360/360XP, and expect to have it completed soon.  In the meantime, if you want my latest take on this device, check out:
http://www.hunterharp.com/digitech-rp360xp-or-rp500-heres-how-i-make-up-my-mind/

I had the opportunity to use the 360XP in a recording session and performance last week.  It doesn't have the enormous array of footswitches that the RP500 has, which makes it less flexible in performance, but players who (unlike myself) aren't changing up their sounds 3 or 4 times per song should find it a pretty handy device.  For recording, the thing is terrific.  The sound is very similar to the RP500, with the extended EQ control that's common to the 500 and the 1000, and when it goes to hard disk in a studio it just seems to glow.

On a related topic, Line6 has just announced the Amplifi X100, a floor-mounted version of the electronics in their new Amplifi series of amplifiers.  The price point is $300 at retail, about the same as their 300HD, which puts it at about $100 above the RP360XP.  Like the RP360XP, it allows you to chain FX in any order you like; unlike the RP, it apparently allows you to put multiple modulation FX (for example, a pitch shifter or two plus a rotary speaker effect) in the chain.  That's very cool, because it opens up the potential to do things like emulating a horn section or an organ.  The Zoom G3 (for which I continue to threaten the release of a patch set) does the same at a price point of $200 (for the version with a pedal controller), but the quality of the FX in the Zoom is somewhat variable (and it has no rotary speaker effect--WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?).  I intend to check out the Amplifi X100 as soon as it's available.  

As always, what I look for in these devices is price for performance, also known as bang for the buck: what features does the thing deliver, how well-suited to a harp player's needs are those features, and what do you pay?  Line6's devices have always been priced higher than Digitech's, and I haven't seen the point in paying 1.5-2X more for a device that doesn't deliver much more in the way of usable features for harp players when the basic amp models and FX in the Digitech RPs are so good.  But these devices evolve rapidly, with significant improvements appearing every 2-3 years, and I like to stay on top of that evolution.  So stay tuned for my report on whether this year's model is indeed irresistable.

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
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