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MGR/Amall Gib « DigiTech RP200 Multi-Effects Processor »
Published on 11/10/03 at 15:00I bought this at the Guitar Center in Detroit Michigan last winter ('02). I paid $150 for it.
I play out in a few different bands (original and cover) and just needed something simple for delay and reverb with my live rig (VHT/Fender 2x12/direct). At the time i was also in need of a volume pedal and so figured i'd just get a multiFX stomp box.
I've long since started playing with all of the effects and what-not. The unit was extremely easy to figure out even without looking at a manual.
Preset switching is fairly transparent with pop/rock material that i do in my cover bands.
The 40 non-editable presets are a great example of all the different sonic possibilites of the unit.
The 40 user-editable presets are way more than enough for my personal needs.
It turns out that the acoustic guitar emulator is actually VERY useable with some EQ adjustment. It works for both live *and* for direct recording (i own/play several large-bodied acoustics; sometimes out live). It's obviously not as good as micing a real guitar but it's alot better than other units i've tried out (like the Boss AC-3 recently).
While i don't think their amp/cab emulation is at all accurate, ALL of the clean amp sounds are very good, even for recording directly to the board late at night.
Speaking of which, through headphones this thing sounds very nice (for clean sounds). The chorus and ping-pong delay have a decent stereo spread. Overall tone with headphones is pretty full and definitely easy to listen to.
All of the effects sound good. Very clean and open (for a $150 stomp box). Out live i only use this thing for FX and it's perfect. The only other unit i need is my Crybaby.
For each preset, you can assign one parameter to the expression pedal. For me personally this is very useful.
I do realize that most other FX pedals do this too.
At first i couldn't figure out the delayed reaction of the level control (master volume). It's hard to explain, but you have to sortof play with it before it starts actually adjusting the volume. But this is a VERY GOOD feature in the event that you accidentally bump/nudge the knob with your foot (or mistakenly grab it and tweak it between songs with low stage light)! Nice touch.
Bypassing the unit alltogether is simple. I know alot of the stomp boxes are like this, but i thought it worth mentioning. Anyone who plays out live will understand the usefullness of this, even if you have an FX bypass through your amp/rig.
Amp and cab simulations (with a single exception: Marshall) are NOT accurate. It's not to say that you for sure won't like some/all of them; just be aware of that fact.
I'm a 36-year-old guitarist who's owned Vox, Fender, Marshall, Mesa, etc. In this case, you really are getting what you pay for.
The distortion sounds are terrible. I don't just mean when compared to vintage tube-amp distortion. These circuits even suck when compared to other dedicated distortion pedals i own including some very cheap ones (Arion).
In my opinion, they aren't useful live, for recording, or even with headphones. Very inorganic and sizzly sounding.
I was actually quite surprised by this.
As somebody else pointed out: adjustment of some parameters exclude *tapering*. You are instead limited to one of 4 factory presets.
This includes the delay decay. It's not a problem for the pop music i play out live, but for the original stuff i have to use a dedicated delay pedal.
The expression pedal is located _way_ too close to the UP footswitch. Out live, i have to constantly be careful to not accidentally hit the expression pedal when switching presets. I use a wah in probably 50% of the tunes i play out, and because of this pedal's layout, i CANNOT use its built-in wah for fear of accidentally changing presets in the process!
I know it's just a fact based on the size/price of the unit, but still.
The built-in tuner just does not work. It would be cool if it did because this display is WAY easier to see than my tiny Sabine (duct-taped to my amp). At first i thought i had a defective unit and i took it back to the Guitar Center but it turns out they're all this way.
The tuner consistently does not work with any of my guitars: active, passive, single-coil, humbucker, acoustic.
By comparison, my 10+ year-old Sabine is accurate even when i barely have the volume up on any of my guitars.
As i said before, the acoustic emulator on this thing is surprisingly (to me) good sounding. But... you can't adjust it in any way (other than switching guitars/pickups. It's still not a huge deal in my opinion.
For some of the original stuff i play out live, switching delay time between presets leaves me unable to use this thing for alot of material. It's not NEARLY as bad as the delay with the Behringer V-amp (which i actually liked), but it's definitely noticable to the point of distraction.
The typical stomp-box aluminum shell but with a recessed (although large) display.
This thing has seen ALOT of stage and practice time in the last year. I've dropped it and have dropped things on it more times than i could remember. The only thing that hasn't happened is the inevitable beer spill.
I'd rather the knobs were toward the TOP of the unit and away from the up/down switches (and my feet) but i haven't broken one yet.
Not only is the box still working just fine, but i haven't even had to replace the adapter yet. [i'm jinxing myself right now as i type this]
In this price range it was just what i needed so i'm completely satisfied in that regard.
Had i just needed something for the sounds *alone* i would've definitely gone for the Behringer.
I'm giving it a 4 instead of a 3 because I beat the hell out of it and it continues to work fine every weekend.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I play out in a few different bands (original and cover) and just needed something simple for delay and reverb with my live rig (VHT/Fender 2x12/direct). At the time i was also in need of a volume pedal and so figured i'd just get a multiFX stomp box.
I've long since started playing with all of the effects and what-not. The unit was extremely easy to figure out even without looking at a manual.
Preset switching is fairly transparent with pop/rock material that i do in my cover bands.
The 40 non-editable presets are a great example of all the different sonic possibilites of the unit.
The 40 user-editable presets are way more than enough for my personal needs.
It turns out that the acoustic guitar emulator is actually VERY useable with some EQ adjustment. It works for both live *and* for direct recording (i own/play several large-bodied acoustics; sometimes out live). It's obviously not as good as micing a real guitar but it's alot better than other units i've tried out (like the Boss AC-3 recently).
While i don't think their amp/cab emulation is at all accurate, ALL of the clean amp sounds are very good, even for recording directly to the board late at night.
Speaking of which, through headphones this thing sounds very nice (for clean sounds). The chorus and ping-pong delay have a decent stereo spread. Overall tone with headphones is pretty full and definitely easy to listen to.
All of the effects sound good. Very clean and open (for a $150 stomp box). Out live i only use this thing for FX and it's perfect. The only other unit i need is my Crybaby.
For each preset, you can assign one parameter to the expression pedal. For me personally this is very useful.
I do realize that most other FX pedals do this too.
At first i couldn't figure out the delayed reaction of the level control (master volume). It's hard to explain, but you have to sortof play with it before it starts actually adjusting the volume. But this is a VERY GOOD feature in the event that you accidentally bump/nudge the knob with your foot (or mistakenly grab it and tweak it between songs with low stage light)! Nice touch.
Bypassing the unit alltogether is simple. I know alot of the stomp boxes are like this, but i thought it worth mentioning. Anyone who plays out live will understand the usefullness of this, even if you have an FX bypass through your amp/rig.
Amp and cab simulations (with a single exception: Marshall) are NOT accurate. It's not to say that you for sure won't like some/all of them; just be aware of that fact.
I'm a 36-year-old guitarist who's owned Vox, Fender, Marshall, Mesa, etc. In this case, you really are getting what you pay for.
The distortion sounds are terrible. I don't just mean when compared to vintage tube-amp distortion. These circuits even suck when compared to other dedicated distortion pedals i own including some very cheap ones (Arion).
In my opinion, they aren't useful live, for recording, or even with headphones. Very inorganic and sizzly sounding.
I was actually quite surprised by this.
As somebody else pointed out: adjustment of some parameters exclude *tapering*. You are instead limited to one of 4 factory presets.
This includes the delay decay. It's not a problem for the pop music i play out live, but for the original stuff i have to use a dedicated delay pedal.
The expression pedal is located _way_ too close to the UP footswitch. Out live, i have to constantly be careful to not accidentally hit the expression pedal when switching presets. I use a wah in probably 50% of the tunes i play out, and because of this pedal's layout, i CANNOT use its built-in wah for fear of accidentally changing presets in the process!
I know it's just a fact based on the size/price of the unit, but still.
The built-in tuner just does not work. It would be cool if it did because this display is WAY easier to see than my tiny Sabine (duct-taped to my amp). At first i thought i had a defective unit and i took it back to the Guitar Center but it turns out they're all this way.
The tuner consistently does not work with any of my guitars: active, passive, single-coil, humbucker, acoustic.
By comparison, my 10+ year-old Sabine is accurate even when i barely have the volume up on any of my guitars.
As i said before, the acoustic emulator on this thing is surprisingly (to me) good sounding. But... you can't adjust it in any way (other than switching guitars/pickups. It's still not a huge deal in my opinion.
For some of the original stuff i play out live, switching delay time between presets leaves me unable to use this thing for alot of material. It's not NEARLY as bad as the delay with the Behringer V-amp (which i actually liked), but it's definitely noticable to the point of distraction.
The typical stomp-box aluminum shell but with a recessed (although large) display.
This thing has seen ALOT of stage and practice time in the last year. I've dropped it and have dropped things on it more times than i could remember. The only thing that hasn't happened is the inevitable beer spill.
I'd rather the knobs were toward the TOP of the unit and away from the up/down switches (and my feet) but i haven't broken one yet.
Not only is the box still working just fine, but i haven't even had to replace the adapter yet. [i'm jinxing myself right now as i type this]
In this price range it was just what i needed so i'm completely satisfied in that regard.
Had i just needed something for the sounds *alone* i would've definitely gone for the Behringer.
I'm giving it a 4 instead of a 3 because I beat the hell out of it and it continues to work fine every weekend.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com