1992....31 years ago. Wow. 1992, the RP1 was $500, a higher end, pretty expensive product at the time. 24 bit processing, metal construction, 9 effects at once, studio quality tones, and sleek good looks, it was Helix or Fractal of it's day, and the dream of so many. Even today, it's pretty damn sexy! That was pretty big money in 1992. When you own high end products, you fall into the trap of thinking bargain priced, and older gear, won't sound good, but that's flawed. While I have an AX8, Headrush, Ecstacy, SLO, and other high end products, I enjoy playing my Carvins, Peaveys, and older Digitechs just as much. Creativity is about "unique", not "best". Using an RP1 today is a blast from the past in every way, but it can still sound great if you spend the time to tweak, which is the story for all the high end new stuff. Presets are just placeholders created by software engineers, just starting points. Never judge a unit on presets! I also have the little Digitech RP360XP which can sound amazing, but you have to spend time in the editor to tweak. Playing the RP1 is a real trip, here in 2023. Stunningly simple, basic little menus, only 4 distortion types, though with drive levels on each. It has 8 cab sims, 4 which are existing cab models, and 4 which are blank EQ curves for you to tailor to your desired curve, a pretty clever aspect. At first all presets seemed real rolled off and round, until I ventured into the cab sim utility and setup a custom cab sim EQ curve to my liking, then I had the brighter tonal ranges I like. All of these modelers, even these old units have so many interdependencies that affect the sound, and play off one another. The editing & tailoring menus in this are really crude and limiting compared to new stuff, but even with that said, you can tailor all aspects to get what you want pretty much. It's not big on low end beef, not a very good choice for heavy lowish detuned guys. It's a late 80s/early 90s voicing through and through, kinda similar to the Soldanos of those years being brighter mid-high lead amps. 80s/90s we're all about leads and solos, not beefy grinding rhythms like in the later 90s & 2000s. If you like Ratt, Dokken, and that metal scene, you will enjoy it. Also, the cleans can be dialed in to be beautiful! You can definitely hear the 24 bit quality of tones. You may or may not like how it's voiced, but you can't deny the sound quality. Even just used as a midi controller and for the stellar effects (studio quality), it's a steal for $150ish used today. If you want to appreciate how far modelers have come in 30 years, pick one up, and prepare to have your mind blown. It's so crude and simple, but so much fun to see what a top tier product was 31 years ago. Don't take that to mean it has no great sounds to offer, it sure does, you just have to tweak!
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