Shit.....

[steve_k]

Man, have just had the wind taken right out of the sails....

Had gigs last weekend. Just got the PA and desk set back up, along with the monitor rack (which includes that new Mackie DL1608 with iPAd control and fucking awesome BTW). Got two gigs next weekend. One being the normal heavy stuff and one will be complete Pink Floyd covers. This would imply 2 different set-ups for me. I am putting a few things back in the store room and going to set up an amp or 3 and I come across my Digitech RP1000 sitting there in the box. I never really used it at all, other than try only the FX out in front of an amp. Look at it and um....there's XLR outs on it and so I hook my 2 mic inputs for my cabs to the desk up to it, select amps/cabs "on" and crank up the FOH PA. I rocketed through a few of the presets and adjust the EQ on the Mackie a bit. Then I begin to run through some stuff, including some of the heavier presets and rip through some Metallica tunes. About an hour later, my wife pokes her head through the door and asks if I have a new amp because it sounded really good compared to the other ones.....I about shit myself. Probably 20,000 dollars worth of amps around here and cabs and I get told that this $500 box direct through the PA sounds shit hot.....

 

[Heritage Softail]

The tone is in the fingers?

 

[suhrimmetal]

LOL... Go ahead and ship those amps and cabs my way then bro ...

I hear you tho.. I use a digitech pedal pushing clean channel of a low watt practice amp for my home use and practicing.. Sounds decent and gets the job done...and very forgiving. However, in a band setting or with any degree of volume I really hear the processed and modulated sound...plus you don't get that thump of air being pushed like you do with a tube head. Any band I've seen using a Line 6, digitech, etc type setup has hurt my ears... sounds like a buzzsaw.. If I walk in and see that kind of setup, I usually walk back out the door ... Tell your wife to stay in the kitchen or bedroom where she belongs.... ... Just kidding bro. All the best and keep rockin

Cory

 

[steve_k]

LOL... Go ahead and ship those amps and cabs my way then bro ...

I hear you tho.. I use a digitech pedal pushing clean channel of a low watt practice amp for my home use and practicing.. Sounds decent and gets the job done...and very forgiving. However, in a band setting or with any degree of volume I really hear the processed and modulated sound...plus you don't get that thump of air being pushed like you do with a tube head. Any band I've seen using a Line 6, digitech, etc type setup has hurt my ears... sounds like a buzzsaw.. If I walk in and see that kind of setup, I usually walk back out the door ... Tell your wife to stay in the kitchen or bedroom where she belongs.... ... Just kidding bro. All the best and keep rockin

Cory

If this little box of digital shit sounds this good through Yamaha power amps through the Mackie mixer without a cab, power amp or anything......I can only imagine what an Axe or Kemper could do. I haven't even altered a single setting on the factory presets yet on the Digitech.

Fuck it. I am going back to playing drums.

 

[Jerome Allen]

lol. I sympathize. In the last year, I've spent around $10k on mics and preamps for recording, loaded up on various speakers and cabs, and started building a "live room" for micing amps/cabs. Then I got a Kemper. In a couple years you'll probably see some nice preamps and mics for sale on ebay with the heading "Mint. Like New. Used Only Once."

 

[rupe]

My RP1000 has about 30 minutes of total use on it...sounds like I might need to break it out and give it more of a chance. I didn't dislike it but was so busy with other things that I never put any time into it.

 

[Greg Riley]

Thats funny as hell..About 6 months ago..My girlfriend was showing her son and daughter my "Man Cave" ...Her daughter asked where her mothers "Women Cave" was...her son said " The Laundrey Room"

LOL... Go ahead and ship those amps and cabs my way then bro ...

I hear you tho.. I use a digitech pedal pushing clean channel of a low watt practice amp for my home use and practicing.. Sounds decent and gets the job done...and very forgiving. However, in a band setting or with any degree of volume I really hear the processed and modulated sound...plus you don't get that thump of air being pushed like you do with a tube head. Any band I've seen using a Line 6, digitech, etc type setup has hurt my ears... sounds like a buzzsaw.. If I walk in and see that kind of setup, I usually walk back out the door ... Tell your wife to stay in the kitchen or bedroom where she belongs.... ... Just kidding bro. All the best and keep rockin

Cory

If this little box of digital shit sounds this good through Yamaha power amps through the Mackie mixer without a cab, power amp or anything......I can only imagine what an Axe or Kemper could do. I haven't even altered a single setting on the factory presets yet on the Digitech.

Fuck it. I am going back to playing drums.

 

[petejt]

I friend of mine used to do that with a Digitech unit into a Fender Super 60 valve amp.

You're right it sounds pretty good on its own and works okay as a backup, but thins out when used in a band context.
I understand what you mean by that "processed" sound. Here's a classic example- corny parody of Sting from 1997 obviously ripping off Andy Summers' Police guitar sound with the flangers & delays and choruses, but since it's just a skit they use some random digital modelling unit (probably the Digitech RP? or a Boss GT-4 or some digital multi-effect rack unit from the late 80s-early 90s that was trying to cop late 70s-early 80s sound effects!). You can hear how it really thins out and sounds too processed, even for an originally strongly modulated guitar sound.

Still, I rate Digitech any day over Line6 or other modelling stuff that's out there.

Your RP1000 would probably work great though in a compact wet/dry/wet setup, with a valve amp for the centre dry signal.

 

[TeleBlaster]

I got a Logitech speaker "system" for my home PC, it's got two speakers and a sub... it does OK for $50.00
Anyway, I was crankin' up the first Vinnie Moore Hot Licks video off of youtube, and my wife sticks her head in and says "Oh, I thought that was you..."
CRUSHED me on so many levels....

 

[rupe]

I got a Logitech speaker "system" for my home PC, it's got two speakers and a sub... it does OK for $50.00
Anyway, I was crankin' up the first Vinnie Moore Hot Licks video off of youtube, and my wife sticks her head in and says "Oh, I thought that was you..."
CRUSHED me on so many levels....

Look on the bright side...she thinks you're as good as Vinnie Moore

 

[pstar]

Lol hey because she does not want u buyin anymore gear
That's the motive behind her comment

 

[TelosHedge]

most of the digital units sound just as good to the average listener as a regular guitar amp, or so i've found. even for me i can't usually tell the difference between an axefx/kemper/whatever and the real thing if i'm just listening to a sound sample. if i'm playing through the thing, its a totally different story.

your wife probably just loved the sounds of the overly wet and rediculous presets you were going through, along with the notion that you dont have to crank up a digital anything to sound right in the sweet spot

 

[Shark Diver]

One of the bigger reasons I will load my amp into the Two-Notes and use the speaker/cab IRs direct for most gigs. I still get the amp feel, but everyone likes the FR better. I'm sure 90% of it is volume and where they stand. My "real" cabs have almost become monitors.

 

[Anonymous]

just goes, again to show you.

good players can make anything sound good.

dont hate 'da playa, hate the game!

 

[guitarmike]

If you are a live player, 99% of the people you play too could care less or tell between a Line 6 and a Cameron. I know this for a fact, the other guitar player in my band plays a Line 6 head of some sort, the only difference most people hear is that the CCV cuts through better. I am looking real hard at a Kemper/1U poweramp into cab setup. For live use it almost ain't worth it any more.

 

[singtall]

i had the rp1000 and used it a few times, and i thought it was better than the line6 pod hd500. one day i'm playing around with the rp1000 into a pa system just testing some of the presets when the worship leader of a church walks in a promptly handed me $399 for the rp1000 on the spot just to have my presets!

i know a lot of people want to be tube purists, but the average person listening can't tell what you are playing through....so if you can rock a rp1000, go for it.

 

[snowdog]

Every time Steve mentions storage, I get the vision of this scene from Indiana Jones.

 

[Anonymous]

Amp went down at a gig years ago...my trusty ghetto rack running though it...took the line out of the JMP-1 straight to FOH...gave myself a touch in my monitors...had great tone!! There's really no need for amps anymore but...they are part of us...

 

[TeleBlaster]

Look on the bright side...she thinks you're as good as Vinnie Moore

But I know I'm not - not even Vinnie Moore 30 years ago w/jewfro gone wild and on VHS!!

 

[Drew]

.... There's really no need for amps anymore but...they are part of us...

Yup! I've got some really good amp rigs but I played a festival this past weekend for about 3,500 people with nothing but a $169 Zoom G3 into the PA and I was told it sounded great out front.