RP Tip #17: Yeah, you’ve got real-time control

One of the things that owners of long chains of analog effects pedals often say about multiFX like the Digitech RPs is that the multiFX boxes lack real time control–the kind of control you get by twisting dials on the pedals in a chain. The fact is that all of the Digitech RPs give you control over at least a couple of FX parameters in real-time, and some give you control over ANY parameter in real time.

We’ll start with the basics. Every RP gives you real time control over master (device-level) volume and FX level. On the RP 150/155/250/255, the rightmost knob is master volume, and the next one to the left is the FX level. Not very fancy, but those are probably the two controls you want the most at any given point in time. “FX Level” controls ALL the FX in your RP’s FX chain, including whatever modulation effects you have in play, as well as delay and reverb. It’s powerful–you can control how fast and how much you bring your FX chain in with one hand.

The RP350/355 add knobs for Amp Level and Amp Gain, which are critically important for shaping the tone on a particular patch while you’re playing. Gain in particular has a big effect on how distorted the sound is, and that’s pretty important stuff.

Finally, the RP250/255/350/355 have that lovely footpedal, which you can assign to anything you like–effect level, distortion mix, delay length–you name it. That means that in an RP350 or 355, you can control up to five elements of your sound with dials or footpedal, and up to four with a 250/255. Not too shabby.

A chain of five analog footpedals might give you anywhere from 5-15 knobs or dials to turn, anytime you like. The RPs don’t quite get all the way there, but they do let you change your mind about a lot of important stuff while you’re playing. And that’s all good.

Huntersounds RP150/155 (bulk load) patch sets now available

We’ve just made Mac versions of our patch sets (the bulk sets that let you load up all the patches at once) for the Digitech RP150/155. Mac users now have all the ease of use for our patch sets that PC users have.

If you’re a current RP150/155 Huntersounds licensee with a Mac, please drop us a line and we’ll send the new files to you.

RP Tip #16: Three ways to record with your RP

If you like the sounds your RP makes, you’re probably going to want to record with it. There are three ways to do that, and all of them work well.

1) If you like the sound of the RP through whatever amplifier you’re using with it, then you can just stick a mic in front of the amp speaker and hit RECORD on your recordng device–exactly as if you were recording an electric guitar from an amp. A Shure SM57 mic or equivalent, placed an inch or so from the speaker grille and facing straight into the center of the speaker cone, is a good place to start. We recorded our RP155 patch samples with a Zoom H4 right in front of the speaker grill, and it worked fine for us.

2) If you already have a decent audio interface for your computer, or good inputs on your recording device, you can run cables from the XLR outputs or 1/4 inch outputs on the RP directly into your audio interface or device inputs. Use LINE or INSTRUMENT level inputs for this purpose, NOT mic level inputs. Recording from the stereo outputs gives you the full flavor of effects like the rotary speaker, flangers, reverbs, and delays, which is very cool, but if recording inputs are in short supply, the RP sounds fine recorded in mono too.

3) Since the RP is itself a 24-bit digital audio interface, you can connect the RP to your computer via USB for recording directly from the RP. We’ve done this ourselves on a couple of recent sessions, and the clients loved what they heard. (So did we.) Any patch that’s active on the RP at the time of recording will be part of the recorded signal. In this case, you MUST have previously downloaded the correct audio drivers for your specific RP device from Digitech.com and installed the drivers on your computer. Once that’s done, you will probably need to go into your recording software and tell the software to use the RP as your audio input and output device. See the instructions for your recording software to find out exactly how to do this; in most cases, your software will have a menu that shows you all the available input and output audio devices on your computer, and you just check off the ones related to the RP.

Any of these techniques can produce good results. Watch out for digital clipping (which displays visually as squared–off waveform tops in your audio recording software), and lower the level of the RP’s outputs or the recording device’s inputs if necessary to get a signal with a level that’s neither zero nor clipped.

Digitech RP255

Kudos for Huntersounds RP patches from Rob Paparozzi!

Rob Paparozzi is one of the top professional harmonica players in the world. His resume includes thousands of recording sessions with industry giants, as well as a 5-year run as lead singer for Blood, Sweat, and Tears.

So we were utterly delighted to see this post from Rob to the Harp-l list in which he sings the praises of his RP350 with our patches in it. We’ve reproduced Rob’s post verbatim below. Thanks, Rob!

Rob Paparozzi

Re: [Harp-L] If money were no object…(RP Digitech Units)

I’m not a big Tech Head as many people know, I plug in and play. The past 10 years on my gigs which cover everything from Little Walter, Butterfield to Stevie & Toots…I’ve been VERY happy with my Reissue Fender Blues Deluxe 1×12 with two mics: The Audix Fireball and Greg Heumann’s Ultimate 57.

2 weeks ago I decided to take the plunge and picked up a used Digitech RP 350 from Guitar Center for $99.00 (it works like new). Richard sent me the corresponding patches and then with one phone call to my old friend I was up and running. I’ve since used the RP on a few gigs and a recording session and I can’t believe I’ve waited this long! Richard’s patches are a godsend for Harp Players…they are so perfectly tweaked for the Harmonica and sound great with my Audix Fireball as well as my Ultimate 57.

The Patches ‘Track” extremely well and a pretty darn good substitute for an Amp when you need the flexibility, the Amp Modeling is superb and the EFX are really sweet and so many to choose to ‘color’ up your playing with many shades and cool EFX. The Engineer at my favorite Studio where I recorded my CD said “Wow, that is totally amazing…it’s One Stop Shopping for Harp Sounds all in one unit!”

These units are NOT a lot of dough new or used and the amount of time Richard has spent to give US what we need, is invaluable.

Thanks Richard Hunter I’m glad this is NOW part of my Toolkit as a Pro Harper.

Digitech RP355

RP Tip #15: Use the right power supply

I’ve had a few inquiries from subscribers recently about power supplies for the RP. The questions generally take the form of “what power supplies can I use with the RP?” The very short answer to this question is: ONLY the one that came with it.

A lot of people would like to put their RP into an effect board with a bunch of other devices, and use the power that goes with the board, which is usually 9V or 18V DC. Unfortunately for those folks, the RP runs on a power supply that puts out 9V AC. If you try to use 9V DC or 18V DC (or anything besides 9V AC, 1.3 amps) with your RP, you will fry the RP.

Folks, don’t fry your RPs. Use a Digitech-approved power supply for your RP. When you get your RP, label the power supply that came with it so you know that’s the one that goes with your RP. Don’t use that power supply with anything else, except another RP. If you need a backup power supply (which in my opinion is a very good thing to have), order one designed for the RP.

Digitech PS913 power supply and RP355 (click image to buy at American Musical Supply!)

The latest RP patch updates are in the (e)mail!

I sent out the latest patch updates to my RP 250/255/350/355 patch set subscribers this morning. This is a great set of patches, with three punchy Champ amp blues harp sounds, and two low octave patches that use the Wah Wah pedal for extra juice.

We’re always working on new sounds for ourselves and our subscribers. Subscribers get quarterly updates FREE (with at least four patches per update) for a year after initial purchase, and can re-up their subscriptions at any time to get another year of updates. If you’re not a subscriber, check out our store to find out more about our patch sets for Digitech RP.

We’re very proud of the new stuff, and we’re planning to record video soon to show these patches in action. Stay Tuned!

Digitech RP355

RP Tip #14: Don’t be afraid to buy a used RP

It’s amazing how much sheer sound-shaping power you get for the money with a Digitech RP loaded with our patch set. Even the RP155, which retails new for less than $100, produces a boatload of amazing sounds for both electric and acoustic players, and every one of the RPs is a solid performer as a computer audio interface too.

But even $100 seems like a lot sometimes. When it does, keep this in mind: used RPs sound just like new ones, and they cost less. Not only that, they’re pretty readily available on eBay and from online retailers like American Musical Supply and Guitar Center.

Why are used RPs so readily available, you might ask? Good question. It’s not because they suck. When you read the user reviews on the online retailer sites or harmony-central.com, you see right away that most of the people who buy RPs like them fine. The answer is that a multiFX device like the RP that does ten things at once is not the easiest thing in the world to program, and a lot of the people who buy them just don’t want to put in the time it takes to learn how to use them effectively. In other words, people buy it, try it, realize that it’s going to take some work to get what they want out of it, and end up selling it to get something that seems easier to work with. Of course, that’s not a problem you’re going to have if you buy my patch set–in that case, you’ve got plenty of great harp sounds ready to go, right from the start. So the casual user’s loss is your substantial gain.

I often see used RPs in good condition selling for one-quarter to one-half the price of a new one, in very respectable condition. When I decided to create my patches for the Digitech RP150/155, within an hour I found an RP150 at Guitar Center for $25 shipped, and an RP155 in mint condition on eBay for $75 shipped. That’s $200 worth of retail hardware for half the price, and they’ve both got years of playing left in them.

When you buy used, it’s often a good idea to buy from a place like American Musical Supply or Guitar Center. These online retailers in most cases offer no-questions-asked 15- or 30-day return guarantees on used gear, which is more than long enough to see whether the thing lights up when you plug it in. That reduces the risk plenty, because if the thing is going to go bad, it usually goes bad right away. (And I’ve gotten into the habit of asking the store guy to plug it in while I’ve got him on the phone, just to make sure it does light up.)

Lots of RP patch set news!

The new patch sets for the RP150/155 are selling fast, and I have to admit that I’m in love with them. I’ve actually converted some of the patches I did for these devices to their bigger brothers, the RP250/255/350/355, and I’ll be distributing those to subscribers before the end of February. This update is late, of course, but not to worry–everyone whose subscription ran at least through January 1 2012 will get this update. (We don’t penalize our subscribers for our schedule issues.)

I’ve acquired an RP500, and I’ll soon offer patch sets for that device as well. In addition to its other cool capabilities, the RP500 stores 100 patches internally, a big jump up from the RP350/355. I expect to price the sets for this device at $50. Stay tuned for more information.

Finally, I’ve recorded short clips of EVERY patch in the RP150/155 sets, and I’ll be putting those up on the site soon. You’ll like those sounds, believe me. I sure do. If you’ve got an RP150/155 already, don’t wait–go to our store and get your patch set now.

What I Liked About the Grammys

I watched the Grammys last night, and it was the most enjoyable Grammy Awards show I’ve seen since Ralph Stanley opened it up a few years ago with an a capella rendition of “Oh Death,” a cold shot of reality from a guy who’s been around long enough to know what’s real. The thing that made this show so enjoyable was this: the big stage productions were at a minimum, and what was maximized was live musicians singing and playing their asses off.

The show opened with Bruno Mars and band doing a number that openly referenced James Brown and Prince: synchronized dance moves (including Brown’s trademark split down to the floor), great singing, and a powerhouse band (with a horn section!) in the great tradition of funky groove merchants going back to the 1960s and beyond. Mars and the band looked great in their gold lame jackets, they played great, and unlike much contemporary urban music, they didn’t need to put 20 nearly naked women on stage shaking butts to get the message across.

Taylor Swift, her ringlet hairdo replaced with straight bangs and pigtails (which look suits her well), dressed in what looked like a knee-length prairie girl dress, opened her number singing and self-accompanied on banjo, joined soon after by a large acoustic band. Like Mars, her and her crew rocked the place with straight-up musicianship (and a few well-placed synchronized moves). The same must obviously be said of Adelle, who took home six Grammies, and served up a killer performance of “We Could Have Had It All” with her and band wearing all their clothes, with not a soul onstage who wasn’t there to sing or play an instrument. The Foo Fighters turned in a tough performance of their latest hit, and Dave Grohl, who powered the drums behind Nirvana in a previous life, told the audience that their latest album was recorded to a tape machine in a garage, and exhorted everyone listening to put down the computer mouse, pick up a guitar, and learn how to play, which was obviously the main theme of the night. Jennifer Hudson’s tribute to Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You,” was deeply moving and brilliantly sung. And I haven’t even discussed the tribute to Glen Campbell, a great musician who’s certain to be included in any comprehensive account of popular music in the 20th century, which included among others The Band Perry, whose singer is plenty good enough for ANYBODY’s band. What a feast!

Katy Perry’s elaborate sets and staging came across as a little kid playing dressup by comparison. Bobby Brown appeared with two male dancers who swirled and twirled along with Brown, to little effect; I can’t even remember his song, and on this night the song was the thing. Rihanna in her number with Chris Martin and Coldplay just sounded weak; I didn’t get the emotional point of what they were doing, and on a night when other performers were shooting out the lights over and over, it wasn’t enough.

It was a night for musicians to show the world that music is first and foremost music, not spectacle, and they did the job. Whatever else you can say about the current generation of popular artists, they know how to sing, play, and write. And what a pleasure it is to see popular music come back to that.

The Huntersounds patch sets for Digitech RP150/155 are here!

The Huntersounds patch sets for Digitech RP150/155 are now available for sale at our store, a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. I expect the RP150/155 patches to be available on Coast2coastmusic.com within the next few weeks as well.

I’m very happy with the way these patches sound, and in fact I’ve translated several of the new RP150/155 patches to the Digitech RP250/255/350/355, which will go out to subscribers for these devices within the next week or so.

The RP150/155 have the same sound engine as the bigger RPs, but they don’t have the expression pedal or some of the amp models, cabinet models, and FX. What they’ve got sounds EXACTLY the same as the bigger RPs, including all the very nice delays and reverbs, and I’ve taken pains to set the 150/155 up with more than 25 reverb, delay, and reverb + delay patches for people who just want a great reverb plus delay box at a bargain price. (I trust those people won’t complain when they hear all the other cool stuff these boxes do.)

New RP155s sell for about $100, and used RP150s and 155s in good condition can be found on eBay or at Guitar Center for well under that price. My patch sets for these devices sell for a mere $25(!). Check it out!