multi-efx floor units

[Drew Howard]

Dear forum,

I'm want to try/buy an effects unit along the lines of the one Joe Wright uses. I think it's a Korg, but don't know the model.
There appear to be lots of brands to choose from, Boss, Digitech, DOD. Anyone use a floor efx unit as opposed to a rack-mount?

Thanks,
Drew Howard


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</A> <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Drew Howard on 08 February 2001 at 10:24 AM.]</p></FONT>

[Jerry Gleason]

I recently got a new floor box that really surprised me. It's a Digitech RP-200. This is an effects pedal with an assortment of amp models, along with a ton of effects, some tht are good, and some that are just useless crap. It's a budget box, ($149 at Guitar Center) so it has plusses and minuses. On the plus side, The amp models are really great, especially the Blackface (twin) and tweed (57 bassman). Better than my Boss GX-700, even. The EQ's are good, the delays and compressor are usable. After working with it for a while, I was able to program some really nice clean sounding steel sounds. The box has a built-in assignable expression pedal, and the whole thing is made of cast aluminum, so it seems sturdy. It's not as quiet as my GX-700, but it's not objectionably noisy, either.

On the minus side, the reverbs are pretty cheesy, at least compared to something like a Pod or J-Station. Adequate for live playing, though. At this price point, you don't get as much flexibility as a higher-end processor. For example, you can't change the order of effects in the chain, and there's no MIDI implementation.

Considering the price, it's pretty impressive. It's useful for me for times when just want something I can toss into a bag, instead of carrying a rack case. If I had known I was going to like it as much, I would have spent the extra 50 bucks for the RP300, which has more adjustment parameters.

[Drew Howard]

Jerry,

Thanks for the info.

One more question: how does the tremolo effect sound on your Digitech?? Good, bad, ugly?

Thanks,
Drew

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[Jerry Gleason]

Tremolo is not an effect I use much, but the one in the RP200 is actually pretty good. Not as nice as Fender tube tremolo, but as good as any other effects unit I've heard. You can assign either the depth or speed to the expression pedal. Some of the effects sound better with stereo output than in mono, such as rotary speaker, chorus, etc. There are too many effects to list, but most fall into the "useless crap" catagory for me. There is a pretty decent chromatic tuner in it that's good enough to tune a pedal steel if you don't need to know pitch values in cents or Hertz.

Certainly there are better effects units and preamps out there, and it's evident that this unit is marketed toward junior rock guitar players, but I was surprised at how good it actually sounded, and that it was usable at all with steel, considering the price, and how much stuff is crammed in there. I would gig with it. I still think I'd consider the RP300 for a few more bucks.

[ajm]

Go back through the posts here over the last couple of months. There have been several on this subject recently.

My vote of the moment: The Yamaha DG-Stomp.