Digitech Leaks A Little News About the Upcoming RP360(XP)
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I just saw this Audio Fanzine article on the upcoming Digitech RP360 and RP360XP. Here are a few first impressions.
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What a Difference a Mic Makes, Part II
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I published samples recently of a set of blues licks played with three different mics–the Shure 545SD, Audix Fireball, and Bottle o’ Blues–through my Digitech RP500 with a patch of mine that models a Gibson GA-40 amp and cabinet. The clear conclusion I came to in that post was that a traditional blues mic–the kind that comes in a bullet shape–is tops for blues, whether you’re playing through an amp or an amp modeler.
I promised in that post to publish more samples, because amped blues isn’t the only thing you might want to play on a harmonica. (It’s not the only thing I want to play, that’s for sure.) In this post I provide samples of three different RP500 patches–one with a rotary speaker model, one with a TC Electronics chorus model, and one that combines the TC chorus with a long delay–used with each of three different mics: the Audix Fireball, the Shure 545SD (with Bulletizer by Greg Heumann), and the Bottle o’ Blues (which aced the blues test, as noted above). The samples were recorded live with my Zoom H4 positioned a foot in front of my Peavey KB2 amp. No modifications were made to the recordings, other than to normalize the various samples to the same volume level.
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Got Pitch (shifting)?
Posted by Richard Hunter · 3 Comments
Harmonica players tend to play traditional roots-based styles (like blues) with traditional equipment, and lots of harmonica players have never tried out the sorts of FX that guitarists have been using with great success for a long, long time. We’re going to talk about one of those FX in this post, the one that I think EVERY harp player should try (right after they’ve picked up a decent delay or reverb pedal): a pitch shifter.
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Blog, Meet the Pros
Help Grant Dermody Record the “Louisiana Sessions!”
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Grant Dermody is one of our favorite harp players, with great chops and a pile of excellent recordings in a wide range of roots-based styles on his resume. We got a message from Grant this morning to the effect that he’s getting set to record some roots music with a band in Louisiana, and he’s looking for donations to fund the project.
Grant Dermody
We’re planning to donate to this project ourselves, and we hope you will too. Here are the details, straight from Grant:
I wanted to let you know that I have just launched a new fundraising campaign, through Indiegogo, for my newest recording project; The Louisiana Sessions.
I start recording this January at Dirk Powell’s studio in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Dirk will be wearing the engineer hat for the project as well as playing on all the songs and tunes.
Orville Johnson will also join us on every track. Cedric Watson will play fiddle on the Old Time and Cajun tunes and Rich Del Grosso will play mandolin on the Country Blues songs. Dirk and Orville and I will produce the record.
My last two CDs each took over two years to complete. Doing them that way, a song at a time, for a few hundred bucks, with some down time in between, was doable financially.
Since I am playing with four musicians this time, instead of twenty-five plus, I have to record the whole CD in two, three or four day sessions.
I am playing with the best musicians available to make the best record I can. To pay them what they are worth is expensive. They all need to be paid all at once, as does the engineer. Then there is travel and lodging, and all this adds up in a hurry. This is why I need your help.
I am ready to create new music that is strong and joyful and deep. I have written a bunch of new songs and tunes. It is time for me to make an excellent record with great players in the musical mecca of Louisiana.
Please contribute what you can at one of the links below. I also need you, please, to pass this information on to anyone and everyone you know who might be interested in helping. It takes a village, and not just the people in the village that I know!
igg.me/at/GrantDermody or
www.grantdermody.com
We can’t wait to hear this new project. Check it out, and be part of it: help Grant with a donation.
Blog, Meet the Pros
Jackson Kincheloe Interview, Part 2: Gear and Roles
Posted by Richard Hunter · Leave a Comment
As I noted previously on this blog, I interviewed Jackson Kincheloe of Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds right after the band’s performance on the afternoon of Sunday, July 21 2013 at Targheefest in Alta, Wyoming. The band sounded great at this show, with a sound that combined a horn section of bari sax, trombone, and trumpet, a female lead singer with a big R&B tone, a BIG rock guitar, an amped harmonica, and a rock rhythm section.
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What a Difference a Mic Makes, Part 1
Posted by Richard Hunter · 1 Comment
I get a lot of requests to make patches sound tougher and more distorted. (Nobody ever says “make something that sounds angelic.” I do it anyway.) Anyway, I realized recently that I’ve been focused on making the patches in the RP tougher, and I haven’t thought much about the mic.
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Checking out the new amp models in the RP500
Posted by Richard Hunter · Leave a Comment
I’ve been working on new sounds for the Digitech RP500–no surprise there–and I’m having a lot of fun with the Gibson GA40 and Digitech Blues amp models, neither of which are available on the RP355 and down.
The GA40 amp model is a raw-throated kind of amp model. It hollers, with a touch of screech in the tone. The matching 1×12 cab model adds a lot to the general sense of raw blues shouting. In fact, I’m using this cab model with other amp models now when I need more screech and holler in the tone. It sounds like the Champ 1×8 cab model–which is also screechy when you need it–only with more low end punch. In short, it’s one seriously blue amp model.
One of the amp models that sounds nice with the GA40 cab is the Digitech Blues. I didn’t know what to expect from this model, and it has no matching cab. But it turns out to have a nice, beefy midrange punch that goes well with blues harp, and it matches well with the usual cab suspects for big blues harp sounds.
New features take time to explore, which is why you never know exactly to do with one of these devices the first time you turn it on. I’m having fun seeing what these new models can do. Stick around for more discoveries.