Design © 1998-2008 Ken Kocanda |
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| The Right Effect | ||||
| Digitech RP50 | ||||
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| Review by Ross Anthony | ||||
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What a fun powerful little pedal for the price! Actually, there's a great deal of bang for the buck in this tool. I'm a multi-instrumentalist/songwriter doing some multi-track recording and I needed something to give my acoustic/electric guitar a lead sound, so I picked up the RP50. Not only did it completely satisfy that need, but it also gave me a delay effect I've been wanting for live flute solo performances. I'm not a lead guitarist and I've never used any kind of pedal with a guitar before, it still seems to me, when you consider that single effect pedals often cost more than this, the value here is really incredible. Click this link SONG SAMPLE (©Ross Anthony, 40 second Audio Clip) to hear how this pedal manipulates the sound of my Ibanez acoustic/electric. I'm playing the Ibanez on all parts. Over the rhythm guitar (clean), I'm playing through RP50's pre-program #47 for the first lead part. I'm playing second lead part through RP50's pre-program #78 (This is a simulation of the voice-box effect made popular by Frampton.) I did not use an expression pedal, though I like that RP50 has an input for one. More good: 40 pre-programmed effects to choose from. Unlike some products, there's a nice range of effects too -- not just 20 variations of the same effect. Programming isn't all that difficult. I needed an effect with a much larger delay time than the factory programs gave me, so I went into one of them and adjusted that parameter and assigned the new effect a patch # -- no big deal. I don't expect to do any more programming with it -- but it's nice to know I have 39 more patches available to store my created effects if I do. Also, created patches are saved even if you don't keep batteries in the pedal. Stereo! Especially on effects with delay, the stereo is very nice, both live and recorded. Not so good: Some of the sounds are a little noisy. Some. The housing is tough plastic, not metal. Still, should be fine if you don't go crazy on it. Switching between more than one effect per song live could be tricky. I suggest saving the effects you need to the lowest patch numbers (say 0-5). But, switching between effect and bypass live -- is no problem at all. I'd love for it to have a phantom power for those of us who will run a mic'd instrument through it -- but I've really got no right to request that at this price -- and really, I'm just being lazy, I could loop a patch from my board to it. To purchase a copy of one of my CD's go to: RossAnthony.com and click on Good Books & Good Music. Enjoy the day! |
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Copyright © 1998-2008. In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Ross Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Ross has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over thirty countries. He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (coast to coast). To get signed books by Ross or schedule him to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Was this review helpful? (Include your email if you'ld like a response.)
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