Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Digitech's RP-50 is a reasonably priced multi-effects unit tiny enough to take up very little space on a shelf or in a gig bag. It will provide more than enough bang for the buck for most guitar hobbyists. It contains multiple flanging, delay, chorus, autowah, and distortion effects. These go beyond the "bread and butter" stock sounds that many Korg and Zoom boxes provide, giving us truly useful and musical sounds. I'm particularly impressed with the various amplifier simulations; there are some beautiful clean Fender and Voxlike sounds hidden in here. There's also a gorgeous acoustic simulation that will strongly evoke a piezo pickup if you play without distortion. I'm also happy that the presets aren't oversaturated nonsense but actually highlight the varied sonic qualities of this multieffects package. Furthermore, the RP-50 can be used as both a headphone amplifier (perfect for when you don't want to wake up the house) and a direct input for recording. I've used the RP-50 for a lot of home recording since 2003, and the sound quality is very, very impressive even when plugged directly into my computer. In fact, I prefer the RP-50 for that use instead of using it to replace a pedal board. There's also an excellent tuner that's easier to use than some other pedal-based tuners I've tried.
Is this as good as more expensive models? Customization is, unfortunately, limited. Since you can't totally control all the parameters of each effect, exact synchronization of delays (for example) is impossible. The onboard EQ is limited to "Lows," "Mids," and "Highs" making it almost impossible to dial in nontraditional tones. There's a great-sounding drum machine included which (you guessed it) can't be reprogrammed. You can select a different drum pattern and choose a different speed, but that's it. You can't create your own patterns, and the drum speed isn't given to you in beats per minute (BPM). The selection pedals are very small and I would worry about stomping on them too hard on stage.
I've used the RP-50 since May 2003 and have never once had a problem with it. It's a valuable practice tool, sounds great, and is a terrific value. I'd buy it again if I had the chance!
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