ISP Theta Pro DSP

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McLeanAB

McLeanAB

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Hey all,

I'm a big fan of the ISP Technologies gear... I've had the rack preamp for several years and it is just amazing. Had the Theta Combo, traded it for several items just to try them out (Mesa Triaxis, Engl e530, ADA MP-1... the last two I had had before, but wanted to try again). Found another Theta Combo just a week ago and realized I never should have gotten rid of it. Love it. Got the Stealth and the Impression. All of the ISP stuff just floats my boat... I'm totally biased and unashamed.

And then this guy is soon to arrive... the ISP Theta Pro DSP. I had the chance to work over the first prototype at NAMM, and then got to spend three days with it at Gearfest programming presets at night. Absolutely love it. So, I'm just trying to spread the love of this product and company because I think their products are amazing and others should know.

Hit me up with any questions about the Theta Pro! I've spent some quality time with it, and I'll have one soon!

Here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIkGNpfvtFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTND7CJZ2SY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTd7x9tGiFM

(most of the demos online of the Theta rack preamp and Combo are me... and the Theta Pro preamp section sounds just like the analog versions in the pedal, rack, head and combo).
 
I have the Theta preamp pedal and love it! Very cool pedal. I am very interested in the DSP when it drops......
 
Sweet!

I'll be doing some demos the moment I get mine... (any day now...) :)
 
Adam...looking forward to your demos...

$1298 is some steep coin, but if it delivers, it delivers.
 
Yeah looking forward to more demos. I'm gutted in Canada here because with the bad exchange rate right now I can't justify the price until I wait for one on the used market. Gah!
 
Just put in my pre-order for it here in Canada at Long and McQuade... $1499 here :doh:
Crazy, but I haven't bought any new gear in some time so hoping it will be a keeper.

I really love the Theta Pedal and the Stealth poweramp that I have, just monster tone and gain in something I can stick in my bag and plug into any cabinet.

If the Theta Pro DSP works out it will be replacing my Kemper for direct recording.
 
I've been eyeing this and even the regular theta preamp. All I can seem to find are high gain clips. Anybody know if it can do plexi type tones?
 
^^^^^

Check out the Ethan Brosh demo again... it's capable of all sorts of stuff from super run-direct-no-cab-sim-ala-Alex-Lifeson cleans, to throaty jazz, to bluesy dirty stuff, to hard crunch, to 80's hair metal, to modern drop tune ERG stuff.

I was just up in Michigan at ISP helping Buck, Bill and John finish writing presets that will come stock. We matched all sorts of tones from all the guitar styles we could think of. The Theta Pro is pretty damn good at anything you can throw at it, in my humble opinion.

I know Buck finished tweaking presets (we wrote some at Gearfest with headphones, Ethan wrote a bunch at ISP, we wrote a bunch later, so trying to find a 'common' EQ across the presets, but keep their individual tone). It's in production and should be shipping after next week if everything is on schedule.

Most of the demos of the Theta Preamp rack, Head or Combo are done by me... I just don't play stuff that could demo other sides of the Theta very well like the Plexi tones, (bluesy, SRV, Hendrix, etc), and I love higher gain stuff... but hell yes, the Theta and Theta Pro can do all sorts of stuff very well.
 
Hey all,

Just got my ISP Technologies Theta Pro... only had this weekend to so 3 quick demos...

This one is using the Lowpass Filter EQ curve cab sim, a 'throwback' to when all cab sims were just basically comb filters... I happen to LOVE this sound, as it's pretty much the XLR out cab sim you find on the Theta Rack Preamp, Combo and Head... this is not everyone's cup of tea because it is wonderfully non-realistic, but check it out anyway...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpX6P1noO94

This one is short short metal clip using the 4x12 Greenback cab sim, a raw version and then slight post EQ version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TiGTOPbEkk

This one is the same metal clip using the 1x12 Creamback cab sim and the Lowpass Filter for reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk4rG6IK1wU

I'd really love to do some crunchy, bluesy, jazzy stuff, but that's not my wheelhouse and my full time Assistant Professor job has me quite busy now that school is back in session... I'll try to do more soon, but as we all are, I'm pretty busy!

Enjoy!
 
Still waiting for mine Adam! Thanks for the quick videos. Not a fan of the cab eq filter, I know it has been standard on a lot of boxes over the last several years (such as Marshall JVM, Blackstar, etc...) but I find it only good for quick silent noodling with headphones or doing some scratch demos. It's cool they included it so you can use the same sound from the Theta Combo/pre amp, but the other cabs are superior.

I liked the greenback one, but the music didn't suit it. Would love to hear the v30 cab.
For myself when using my Kemper, I prefer v30 for rhythms, and greenbacks for leads.

I've been looking at the ISP site for their manual but can't find it. Was hoping to do some study before it gets here.
 
Obviously we have corresponded on the sevenstring.org forum. Great clips.......the price is off-putting. I would love to just pick up a Theta preamp and profile it into my Kemper lol. How does the Sag feature operate? Is it just for tightness or does it help thicken up the tone? It sounds killer but clips can mislead of a talented player also.. :rock:
 
shred-o-holic":3v0rsccu said:
Obviously we have corresponded on the sevenstring.org forum. Great clips.......the price is off-putting. I would love to just pick up a Theta preamp and profile it into my Kemper lol. How does the Sag feature operate? Is it just for tightness or does it help thicken up the tone? It sounds killer but clips can mislead of a talented player also.. :rock:
Click to expand...


Ill sell you my theta for $275 shipped as my pro is incoming!
 
Jeff Hilligan":2mkgvjpr said:
shred-o-holic":2mkgvjpr said:
Obviously we have corresponded on the sevenstring.org forum. Great clips.......the price is off-putting. I would love to just pick up a Theta preamp and profile it into my Kemper lol. How does the Sag feature operate? Is it just for tightness or does it help thicken up the tone? It sounds killer but clips can mislead of a talented player also.. :rock:
Click to expand...


Ill sell you my theta for $275 shipped as my pro is incoming!
Click to expand...

Can I sell it back to you for $274? Lol I may just abuse a return policy somewhere I'm so poor right now....or not :)
 
just got done jamming for about 45 minutes and this pre amp really has the goods! I have a great JCM 800 tone then bump to gain 2 and got all the confidence gain and liquid feel that anyone could really want. I am so excited to get the PRO. Then this will be up for sale!
 
Jeff Hilligan":2yjpdeuk said:
just got done jamming for about 45 minutes and this pre amp really has the goods! I have a great JCM 800 tone then bump to gain 2 and got all the confidence gain and liquid feel that anyone could really want. I am so excited to get the PRO. Then this will be up for sale!
Click to expand...

Sounds cool I bet but for 1200 nowadays with the Kemper/Axe FX (used market) and the Helix coming out it's hard to buy into something that seems more bare bones. Unless the tone is that good?
 
Tone seems better to me than the Helix by quite a margin and the Axe going direct, this is easily as good with the sims to my ear.
 
Kapo_Polenton":3askkodg said:
Tone seems better to me than the Helix by quite a margin and the Axe going direct, this is easily as good with the sims to my ear.
Click to expand...

It does sound good but limited clips on the unreleased Helix (not enough to really form an opinion yet) and I don't agree on the Axe FX. The Axe FX is a proven commodity.
 
I just got my Theta Pro DSP last night. I played with it for a couple hours just through headphones. Honestly when I first started going through all the presets I thought I was using a processor from 1990 ;)
So I immediately just grabbed one of the ones I liked the most, and saved it to a new preset slot and started tweaking, first of all disabling all the effects! Way overkill!

I absolutely love my Theta Preamp Pedal, but when I started dialing in the DSP Pro preamp, I felt it didn't quite sound the same as the core tone of the pedal. Maybe the previous Theta head/rack preamp/combo is different, but my Theta pedal sounds very much like a modded EL34 Marshall, while the Theta Pro DSP preamp seems to have a more 5150 grind to it. I'll have to play them side by side to really compare but sounds different to me. I didn't try the clean preamp much yet, but it is super clean, like direct-to-board clean. I think to get some breakup you need to use the Theta Vintage preamp in the preamp distort side.

Didn't use many effects yet but the reverb was super nice sounding and transparent. The best out of the box reverb I've ever heard.

The main cab sim is a 4x12 Greenback which sounds really really good, even for metal, but I was a bit surprised there were very little other choices. There is a 1x12 creamback, and what seems to be clean based speakers such as a fender deluxe, twin, bassman. A bit shocked there was no v30 option at the very least for the metal side. Of course you can disable the speaker sim and use your own IRs in your DAW or a Two Notes device. But at this price point I expected more. At first glance, there doesn't seem to be a way to update the firmware, such as a USB port. I wonder if there is another method because I would like to see more cab sims added in the future.

No tuner option either which is a bit strange for an all-in-one floorboard and one more thing you'll have to carry with you.

Today I'm going to try it in a real test through my Stealth power amp and Marshall 4x12 and do some comparisons with my Theta Preamp Pedal.

Will do a lot more tweaking but my first impression was mixed. I love my Theta Preamp pedal core tone, and unless you like that core tone and ability to really shape it, I can't see this appealing to other people used to Line6 where there's more variety and bang for your buck.

This is a nice solid unit though, nice hard metal all around and U.S. made of course. It uses high quality metal foot switches, nothing plastic here except the few knobs.

Will give it a better go today and see if I can tweak it closer to my Theta pedal. There is a lot of pre and post EQ shaping you can do and I have to get used to it. Will give another update today. You guys who have yours already, let me know your tips and tricks.
 
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