A few months ago, I sent a copy of my Digitech RP patch set for the RP255 to Steve Baker, who (like many traveling professionals) was interested in the RP as a highly portable tool for getting a great harp sound anywhere. Steve just updated me on how he’s getting along with the RP, and his comments are presented below verbatim, with Steve’s permission.

Steve Baker

Internationally known professionals using my RP patch set now include Rob Paparozzi (RP350), Steve Baker (RP255), Boris Plotnikov (RP255), and Marcos Coll (RP200), and I’m working with Charlie Musselwhite to set him up with the RP155 patches I used when I performed with him at Infinity Hall in Connecticut earlier this year. These guys are among the very best harmonica players ever and anywhere, and they know what sounds good to them and their audiences. I’m utterly delighted that the sounds I’ve created for harp players are now part of the kit these world-class pros take to their gigs.

I’m also delighted that this setup works brilliantly for beginners and intermediate players too. It is by far the most powerful and versatile setup at anything near the price, and it will remain a useful part of any player’s kit for as long as he or she plays the instrument.

If you’re interested in exploring these sounds for yourself, check this out. In the meantime, here’s what Steve wrote:

Digitech RP255
DigiTech RP255 Guitar Multi Effects Pedal with USB

Hi Richard,

I just wanted to let you know how I’m getting on with the RP and your patches.I first used it onstage a month or so back, plugging directly into the PA for 4 gigs with Opportunity, a sort of acoustic soul group I sometimes work with. There are excerpts from us performing live in 2009 in the artists portrait of me on the Hohner website www.playhohner.com to give you an idea of the context. I played mostly my own Deluxe and your Champ 2 presets using a Heumann Ultimate 57. This sounded really good in the context. I turned the gain on the presets way down to somewhere between 5 and 10% depending on the situation. Definitely a highly viable option for a semi-electric harp sound.

Last week I played a number of CD presentation gigs with Dave Goodman and Olli Spanuth. The mic cable broke, so I was unable to use the Ultimate 57 and had to resort to my CR bullet mic. This time I plugged the RP into my Marble Bluesonic (setting the output accordingly). To my amazement the RP made a difference like night and day here. The amp has a very wide, aggressive sound which only starts to sweeten up at higher levels of volume than I care to use on most stages. I was delighted to find that the RP slimmed the sound of the amp down to a much more manageable dimension which interfered far less with the guitar frequencies and blended in far better. I could run the amp at a comfortable volume and got a terrific sound using your Champ 2 patch. Now that I have a replacement cable, I’ll be trying this set-up in combination with the Ultimate 57 at the weekend with BluesCulture. When using the CR bullet, I took the gain on the Champ patch down to zero to reduce distortion to a minimum. It was still sometimes a little more distorted than I want, but worked extremely well in general. I shall certainly be using the RP in future.
All the best,

Steve Baker