DigiTech RP 150

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 27 Jan 2007 4:22 pm

Has anyone tried one of these units on steel? It might be a good poor-man's substitute for a POD XT.

I notice that it has "genuine Lexicon reverbs".

I'm not really looking for an amp modeler. I just want one box for reverb, reverb/delay, reverb/chorus, and maybe rotary. It looks like this unit might do it.

Click Here

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 28 Jan 2007 5:43 am

I tend to like the sounds from Digitech's "AudioDNA" chip better than Line 6's overall, and they claim to use the same chips in all their stuff. I love the sounds out of my Genesis 3, but it runs so-oo hot, both the power supply and box seem at risk. The other one I'm looking at is Behringer's V-Amp 2. I've messed with a borrowed POD some; the main thing that keeps me from buying one is that the PODxt is $300 and the POD 2 is $200, and I'm still trying to figure out how they fit a whole hundred dollar's worth of extra two-tenths-of-a-cent chips and gizmos into that little thing.... I hate feeling ripped off....

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 30 Jan 2007 3:30 pm

I just noticed that the Digitech RP150 doesn't have a 1/8" stereo line in to play a CD machine, added drum tracks or whatnot, kind of a deal-killer for me. They apparently think you'll want to pay the additional $50 and buy the RP250 with the footpedal, to get the stereo aux line in. I'm not looking for a big floor unit, rather something compact that I can put in a fat briefcase I have - with a Crate Powerblock and a power strip, a 150 watt "suitcase bomb." Boom.

I'm probably going to go with the Behringer V-amp, it gets good reviews.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 30 Jan 2007 8:41 pm

We have an RP 100 and a Line 6 Spider II, plus sometimes a borrowed POD XT around here.

The RP100 sounds like a toy to me. Good for kids playing buzzsaw metal, but any of the more subtle sounds lack any touch sensitivity and just sound "canned". The Line 6 stuff has far better and more realistic tone IMO.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 31 Jan 2007 5:09 am

It appears that the 150, 250 and 350 are the "next generation" in the RP series, with a new and improved chip. I think they were just recently released by DigiTech. They're not even available at all the usual "on line" stores yet.

The fact that they have Lexicon reverbs is encouraging.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 3 Feb 2007 2:47 pm

I notice in the owner's manual that in the EQ section there is a control (or shift) to choose the mid frequency that is being adjusted with the mid control, much like a steel guitar amplifier.

If anyone is curious about the other features, the manual can be read on-line.

Click Here

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 8 Feb 2007 2:39 pm

Well, I just ordered one. I have no interest in the amp models, but I am anxious to see how the Lexicon reverbs sound. Good, clean Lex reverb and all kinds of delays in a small package for a hundred bucks.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Larry Robinson · Post by **Larry Robinson** » 9 Feb 2007 10:58 am

I just received my RP150. It has many improvements over the RP100. You may have to do a firmware update that's available on Digitech web site. Quite simple, just follow the instructions. It is much quieter than the Rp100 and the effects are really quite good, IMO.
Larry Robinson

Howard Tate · Post by **Howard Tate** » 10 Feb 2007 6:55 am

I recently looked at one at Red River Music, it was the last one and was $99. I held off because I was interested in the rotary speaker effect, but I didn't see a quick, easy way to change speeds. Did I miss something?

Rusty Walker · Post by **Rusty Walker** » 10 Feb 2007 7:23 am

Has anyone tried the Alesis Midiverb? I've only ever used the Microverb but would like to have delay & flange without going to a rack mount.Plus their prices have come down substantily.

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 10 Feb 2007 9:49 am

I recently picked up an RP150 mostly for guitar gigs because I wanted something that would do it all,not break the bank and fit in the pocket of my Tele gig bag. It has every effect imaginable including a very accurate and easy to use stage tuner. Only a few of the factory preset combinations do anything for me - the acoustic guitar sim being one of them. But it's easy to roll your own and I always do that anyway usually using factory presets as a point of departure. So far I've come up with a half-dozen quite usable presets that suit the way I play six-string and grouped them together side-by-side so I can easily scroll between them. For steel it's just as good as any other gadget of it's type and I plan to use it for that as well as soon as I have time to sit down and design some presets especially for steel. I just know there's a great Sneaky Pete patch in there somewhere. Like someone said these type things are usually marketed towards knuckle-heads and the presets are designed accordingly. But when the available effex are used sparingly and dialed in with taste,it really does sound as good as you make it sound. I really like this one a lot.

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 12 Feb 2007 1:08 pm

Has anybody tried the "expression pedal" stuff yet? I looked at the manual online, and it looks like you just plug in, what, a standard volume pedal with a stereo jack (split to mono for the pedal), or something? The manual is really unclear, but it's a 1/4" input, not a MIDI jack.

James Cann · Post by **James Cann** » 9 May 2007 6:52 pm

Good for kids playing buzzsaw metal, but any of the more subtle sounds lack any touch sensitivity and just sound "canned" . . .

Anyone not sure of what this means is welcome to contact me for clarification. I know the sound well!

Randy Cordle · Post by **Randy Cordle** » 12 May 2007 7:41 pm

One other thing to consider between the 150 and the 250 is the ability to name your custom presets. This justifys the difference in price for me. I play a few different instruments on stage and toggle to "MUTE" to switch instruments then back to "TELE" or "MANDO" or "LAP STL" as needed, with the appropriate EQ, effects, AND volume level all pre-programmed. I've been using the older version for several years now with no problem, but one of these days I'll get the new model mostly for the better verbs and EQ.