ErikH
Well-known member
For a while now I've been looking at options for a backup rig, home practice and even band practice setup just to make things a little simpler. Well, that hunt is over. I was eyeing the Vox Valvetronix floorboards but the price is out of my range and others within my range just didn't cut it when I tried them out. So, I decided to give the RP500 a try and sat with it or a while at a local GC just to get a taste of what it has to offer. That set it right there and a few weeks later, I picked one up for myself.
I must say, I am very impressed with the sound quality of the models in this thing. There's quite a few good amp models in it ranging from old Fenders to modern day Mesa's as well as a 70's JMP, 80's JCM800 and a really good 5150. It's really cool being able to select an amp to match up with each amp model. There is a default for each but if you feel like running a Triple Rectifier through a Bassman 4x10, by all means, go ahead.
The overdrive/distortion models are pretty impressive too. There's a TS9 and 808, Redline, DOD 250, Rat, Boss DS-1, MXR Dist+ and a handful of others. My favorite right now is the Rat which I used with the JMP model. Very nice classic rock sound.
The modulation effects are pretty good. I use the Boss CE-2 chorus with the Twin for cleans and it sounds pretty nice. The cool thing here is you can choose pre or post position of the effect (in front of amp or in an effects loop) depending on how you like to place them. I haven't messed with the rest of the modulation effects yet other than the Phase 100, which sounds pretty authentic to me, and I own a real Phase 90.
Reverbs and delays sound fine to me. I like the Echoplex model. It has a nice trail off to it. Feels very natural. It's perfect for my VH style patch. I haven't sat and messed with the rest of them yet.
The treadle is nice and smooth. Push down the toe a little and the wah turns on, push it again and it turns off. This is with any preset. I haven't found a way to disable that or change what's in the toe down pressure point but that's OK. It's nice having the wah right there ready without having to change patches.
There's also two modes to this unit. Preset and Pedalboard. In Preset mode, you can go through stored patches with different amps/effects and such. Pedalboard mode (enabled by a button) turns it in to a typical pedalboard right then and there. Now you have the ability to individually turn on/off the overdrive, compression, modulation, delay, and reverb with just a tap of the foot.
There's also the choice to turn on/off amp/cab modeling for use with either an amp or PA. Keep in mind with the modeling that a keyboard amp or even a powered PA speaker would be best for something like this if you don't want to run it direct to the console. With amp/cab modeling off, just run it to a regular guitar amp and use the OD's and effects by themselves.
There's 100 user presets and 100 factory presets. Some of the factory presets are very usable. Editing is very easy and can even be done on the computer with the enclosed software. Oh yeah, CuBase comes with it too so you can record your cool new riffage. There's even a tuner that tracks pretty good but could be a little better. Still, better than nothing. And enabling the tuner is easy, hold down the Bypass button.
I've been using it at home for practice at night with headphones. It has a headphone out jack and a CD/MP3 player input jack. I've used it in band practices the last couple weeks too with great results. Just pump it through the monitors and I'm good to go. Everybody else in the band has been very impressed with the sounds I'm getting out of it. I'm planning on using it on very tight stages as well but I'll have my amp there for backup.
It is built very solid and the whole casing and treadle is metal. From holding it, it appears that it's built to withstand some abuse but like anything, I wouldn't jump on it like a gorilla. I have not tried it with external pedals yet. No need to, that's why I bought it in the first place.
For the price and features, I can't find a better product for my needs. It's a perfect little rig in a box. This review just touches the surface of what's in this thing. There's quite a bit there and I can easily find myself tinkering a lot but it's not hard to find a good tone.
I have a couple clips recorded but lost my hard drive a couple weeks ago so I have to get the recording stuff going again. When I do, I'll post a few.
I must say, I am very impressed with the sound quality of the models in this thing. There's quite a few good amp models in it ranging from old Fenders to modern day Mesa's as well as a 70's JMP, 80's JCM800 and a really good 5150. It's really cool being able to select an amp to match up with each amp model. There is a default for each but if you feel like running a Triple Rectifier through a Bassman 4x10, by all means, go ahead.
The overdrive/distortion models are pretty impressive too. There's a TS9 and 808, Redline, DOD 250, Rat, Boss DS-1, MXR Dist+ and a handful of others. My favorite right now is the Rat which I used with the JMP model. Very nice classic rock sound.
The modulation effects are pretty good. I use the Boss CE-2 chorus with the Twin for cleans and it sounds pretty nice. The cool thing here is you can choose pre or post position of the effect (in front of amp or in an effects loop) depending on how you like to place them. I haven't messed with the rest of the modulation effects yet other than the Phase 100, which sounds pretty authentic to me, and I own a real Phase 90.
Reverbs and delays sound fine to me. I like the Echoplex model. It has a nice trail off to it. Feels very natural. It's perfect for my VH style patch.
I haven't sat and messed with the rest of them yet.The treadle is nice and smooth. Push down the toe a little and the wah turns on, push it again and it turns off. This is with any preset. I haven't found a way to disable that or change what's in the toe down pressure point but that's OK. It's nice having the wah right there ready without having to change patches.
There's also two modes to this unit. Preset and Pedalboard. In Preset mode, you can go through stored patches with different amps/effects and such. Pedalboard mode (enabled by a button) turns it in to a typical pedalboard right then and there. Now you have the ability to individually turn on/off the overdrive, compression, modulation, delay, and reverb with just a tap of the foot.
There's also the choice to turn on/off amp/cab modeling for use with either an amp or PA. Keep in mind with the modeling that a keyboard amp or even a powered PA speaker would be best for something like this if you don't want to run it direct to the console. With amp/cab modeling off, just run it to a regular guitar amp and use the OD's and effects by themselves.
There's 100 user presets and 100 factory presets. Some of the factory presets are very usable. Editing is very easy and can even be done on the computer with the enclosed software. Oh yeah, CuBase comes with it too so you can record your cool new riffage. There's even a tuner that tracks pretty good but could be a little better. Still, better than nothing. And enabling the tuner is easy, hold down the Bypass button.
I've been using it at home for practice at night with headphones. It has a headphone out jack and a CD/MP3 player input jack. I've used it in band practices the last couple weeks too with great results. Just pump it through the monitors and I'm good to go. Everybody else in the band has been very impressed with the sounds I'm getting out of it. I'm planning on using it on very tight stages as well but I'll have my amp there for backup.
It is built very solid and the whole casing and treadle is metal. From holding it, it appears that it's built to withstand some abuse but like anything, I wouldn't jump on it like a gorilla. I have not tried it with external pedals yet. No need to, that's why I bought it in the first place.
For the price and features, I can't find a better product for my needs. It's a perfect little rig in a box. This review just touches the surface of what's in this thing. There's quite a bit there and I can easily find myself tinkering a lot but it's not hard to find a good tone.
I have a couple clips recorded but lost my hard drive a couple weeks ago so I have to get the recording stuff going again. When I do, I'll post a few.
