Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Slartibartfarst42 on May 20, 2012, 09:28:17 PM
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I've had this unit for a while now and at last I feel OK about writing a review for it.
It seems to me that there are a couple of fundamental questions that always come up when it comes to multi-FX systems like this:
1) Are the amp models as good as the real thing?
2) Can the effects take the place of all of my individual pedals?
The answer to both of these questions is probably 'No' but I think that would be a bit too superficial to do this system justice and as with all things guitar related, I think a lot is down to personal choice and preference. I'll try to deal with each question in turn and then finally sum up how it works for me.
Amp Modeling
The RP1000 has a lot of different amp models available and each of these can be mated to a myriad of different cabinet models and the reality is that some are better than others. It's certainly fair to say that the factory presets are bloody awful without some tweaking but if you play around with the various settings, it is certainly possible to find some decent tones. None of them really quite have the feel of a real valve amp and all of them suffer from a digital feel to them that even going through the power section of a valve amp can't completely remove. The real question is; does this mean the amp models are useless? Absolutely not. I think I could find a use for virtually everything here if I really wanted to. The acoustic models are reasonable, as are some of the clean amp models and high gain so it covers a lot of tonal ground and certainly far more than you can get with just a normal valve amp and a couple of pedals. Of course, not everyone will need that kind of versatility but if you do, this unit has a lot to offer. It's certainly possible to play a live set using nothing but amp models and unlike a conventional setup, using the RP1000 gives you a built in backup in case your amp fails as you can then just plug it into the PA and you're good to go. It's also great for recording and the headphone socket in the back allows you to practice without disturbing family and/or neighbours. What's more, it's very compact and portable. The other thing to note is that the reality is that many, if not most, of your audience will actually prefer it to a proper guitar valve amp simply because they are used to listening to a processed sound on their CD players and that is ultimately what the RP1000 gives them. Where this scores over many other multi-fx systems is the incorporation of an amp loop so I can program any patch I want to bypass internal amps and use my own amp's tone instead but more of that later.
Effects
There are a LOT of effects here and it has to be said that there are more than a few that are either weak or even completely pointless. I'll ignore the more obscure ones for now and focus on the bread and butter effects that most people will be interested in.
Delays, Chorus, Flangers and Phasers are all reasonable enough and while not as good as a really good stompbox, they do benefit from the fact you can program in completely different settings for every song you play and I always found that once I had a setting on a stompbox I liked, that had to do for the entire set as it was too much of a pain to tweak things mid set. What's more, a simple press of a button can give you very different settings within the same song and I think that for me, this sort of versatility makes up for the lack of ultimate tone but I accept many may disagree.
The Wah effects are poor in my opinion, giving a sweep that is neither wide enough or smooth enough. No Wah effect is even remotely as good as my Mark Tremonti Wah pedal and the only reason I sold my own Wah was because I don't use Wah that often and I needed the money.
Compressors, Distortions and Overdrives are, like the earlier effects I mentioned, decent enough without being spectacular. They lack the ultimate quality of a stompbox but I love the fact that I can use a range of overdrives and distortions to modify my sound. Switching from a Screamer to an 808 to a TS Mod overdrive can do wonders in fine tuning the sound of your own amp and that's versatility that individual pedals just don't give you.
Noise Gates are a tricky one. None of them compare to my ISP Decimator but then I find the RP1000 a lot quieter than using individual pedals so the settings can be very low and that has led me to putting my Decimator up for sale.
The Parametric EQ is rarely mentioned in reviews of the RP1000 but I find it to be the best thing here and I use it on every single patch. Just using this and nothing else really brought my amp to life.
There is also a stompbox loop built into the RP1000 so it's child's play to incorporate your own pedals into the chain and I imagine many people will do this, even though I don't. If you're a bit OCD about your tone then there is no doubt you'll stick with your many pedals but in the real world, the RP1000 gives you a huge amount of versatility in a compact and affordable format with perfectly decent sounds.
How it works for me
So far I have 23 songs from our set programmed in to the RP1000 and only one of them uses an amp model so clearly I prefer my own amp's tone but the one song that does use an amp model certainly doesn't stand out like a sore thumb. I like the clean channel on my amp for my clean sounds and the drive channel for 80's Metal tones and that covers most of what I need. For crunch tones I add an overdrive to the clean channel and if I want higher gain or more saturation I add either distortion or overdrive effects from the RP1000. If I ever decide I want monstrously heavy high gain, I'd certainly look at the amp models as a possibility but as it's a small element of what I play, it's not worth getting a different amp. The RP1000 allows me to keep my basic rig but embellish and expand what I have, if and when I need it.
Whether it's worth getting one of these units depends on your mindset. I found that in chasing all the sounds I had in my head I had to get a multi-channel amp and an ever expanding range of pedals, to the point where it invariably ended up bigger and more complex than I wanted. I came to the point where I decided to sacrifice ultimate tone for versatility and saving some money and I have no real regrets thus far. The RP1000 integrates well into my rig and has more than paid for itself by selling my old pedals. I play in a Rock covers band so the versatility is fantastic. I think the secret with a unit like this is to use it to a minimal degree. There's so much here that I think the mistake most people make is to start swamping their tone with a mass of effects. To me, it's far better to find an amp that you really like for the couple of core tones you need and then just use the RP1000 to tweak that. That way you're never relying too much on the processor and the great sound of your amp can still shine through while you also have fantastic versatility available in a very compact package. If you want to use it that way or as a recording or silent practice tool, I heartily recommend it but it clearly won't be for everyone.
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Nice review. The problem I have with a lot of these units - and I tried/had a few from Roland and Line6 - I seldom can find a convincing breakup tone and a dynamic crunch. Today we rehearseled with a classic rock/bluesrock-project on low volume. Got a terrific tone with my Saint Blues/Mules in to Emma Reezafratzitz into Fender Blues Junior into 2x12 cab. No unit has brought me that open/dynamic plexitone (listen Sas Jordan/Make a believer). The Reeza is a gem. Like playing an amp.