Digitech Multi Effect Pedals: A Guitarists Review of the Digitech RP Guitar Effect Pedal Series
I suppose I could give you all the usual talk about the professional sound and user friendly interface that the manufactures love to ramble about in their "reviews", but I know you can get that from them. What I can tell you about is how these pedals sound to me, and how easy (or hard) they are to use, and how well they are constructed, from a guitarists viewpoint.
The RP series starts with the RP55, and continues to the RP355 with more or less the same layout and functionality throughout, with the addition of integral foot controllers on the RP255 and RP355. Where things really start to get interesting, especially for someone who plays live, is with the RP500 and RP1000.
Construction
The RP500 and RP1000 are basically built like a tank. Believe me when I tell you, this helps when your playing live. Nothing like a broken switch when your about to launch into your favourite solo. I've also noticed that all the connection points at the rear of the unit are very robust (XLR, guitar input/output/USB/CD). This is probably because they are mounted into a steel casing, which helps resist movement, and cracking. I've had this happen with a few pedals. The best part however, is the footswitches. They are, again, made of steel. Pretty hard to wreck with your size 12 cowboy boots, no matter how hard you stomp. The only weak point I could see would be the rotating knobs used for effect tweaking. They are made of plastic, and located near the footswitches, so potential for breakage there.
Features
The RP500 and RP1000 are basically the same unit, with a few key features. They both have a row of effects footswitches for controlling compressor, distortion, chorus/fx, delay, and reverb. These effects can all be modified on the unit itself using the knobs, or by using the X-Edit software that comes bundled with the units. Many classic, and modern sounds can be replicated with this setup including distortions like the Ibanez TS-9, TS-808 Tube Screamer, Arbiter Fuzz Face, Big Muff, Boss DS-1 and more. This can be found in quite a few multi effects pedals, but some cool additions are the Digitech Whammy if your'e into Jack White, or Tom Morello, or the Univibe and Octavia if your'e into Jimi Hendrix or Doyle Bramhall II.
They also both come with a 20 second looper. If you have never used a looper before, its more fun than a barrel of drunk monkeys. This feature is actually what persuaded me to buy the RP500 as I was looking at buying a dedicated looper (Line 6 JM4), but realized I would get much more bang for the buck with this unit. I also tried the JM4 in a guitar shop and thought the sound was very poor.
If you have 2 amps, or even better a PA with a couple of powered monitors, you can run a stereo signal (via XLR or 1/4" outputs) and create some amazing sounds. I do this with my Fender Twin Reverb tube amp, and a cheap practice amp, and WOW! Try some effects like the Tremolo Panner, or the Rotary Speaker and you get some very interesting panning sounds across the speakers. I can only imagine what two great amps would sound like.
Ease of use
To rearrange my title here, its easy to use! I think it took me a grand total of 10 minutes from opening the box to start getting good sounds out of this unit, and to begin tweaking the presets. The presets are actually not bad. I say this because I normally don't expect any presets to be worth keeping, but in this case, I have kept them all. They make a good starting point if you are creating new sounds. Being as there is room for 100 factory presets and 100 user presets, there is no need to delete anything. The X-Edit software is also fairly user friendly. The tweakability of the effects is greater with the software than it is on the unit itself, so if you are really into this, then you will want to get the unit hooked up to your computer.
Amp/Cabinet Bypass
Speaking of amps, what turns most people off buying these types of effects pedals is how they sound through an amp. I have to admit that I have tried some multi effect pedals through my tube amp and they sounded very bad (so do some single pedals). This probably had a lot to do with the fact that you could not turn off the amp modeling, which was designed to be heard through reference speakers, or headphones, and not colored by the amplifier circuitry. One of the biggest advantages of the RP500 and 1000 is the amp/cabinet bypass switch. This simple little switch (at least the switch looks simple!), allows you to apply the effects of the unit directly to the tone of the amp/cabinet you are using (in my case a Fender Twin Reverb). You really notice the difference when you hit the switch on a tube amp, and the sound becomes much warmer and organic. When you activate the internal amps and cabinets by pressing the switch again, through headphones, or computer speakers the sound is fantastic, with quite realistic sounds. I'm not really into this feature of the pedal (amp modelling), but I'm sure some would have hours of fun with it.
RP500/RP1000 differences
Well, the first difference is price. The RP500 normally comes in at around $300 while the RP1000 costs approx. $500. This price difference is due mainly to the second row of switches on the RP1000 that allow you to control external stompboxes. This was added with the pedal freak in mind who wants the advantages of the new breed of multi effect pedal, but just can't part with their old pedals that they have built their sound around. The side benefit of this is that it will allow you to experiment with new hybrid sounds, combining your old pedals, and the new library of effects, tones and amps that comes built into the RP1000 (160 to be exact).
With a combination of solid construction, ease of use and great sound, the RP500 and RP1000 would make a worthy addition to any guitarists arsenal of pedals. After awhile, I bet you will find its the only pedal you need.
by Steve A Gray
Gloss