All user reviews for the DigiTech RP300

I got this effects unit at the local music store 'cause my individual effect pedals were giving me too much of a hassle. I normally prefer analog pedals over Digital/Modeling pedals, but as it was getting hard to maintain, I decided to go for a full effects digital unit. I went for this unit because of Digitech's fame for good products

I bought this unit for $200.
There's a lot to like about this unit, considering the price and the size. I have to say that I was positively surprised at the creative potential with this unit. First off, the distortion. It is my experience that digital distortions and overdrives are just not good at all, however the distortions on this unit are, to say the least, awesome. The Marshall and Fender models sound really good. I am quite sure that the original amps probably sound better, but let me tell ya, for all of us who don't have the money, Digitech sure is a lifesaver.
The digital effects, are also very good. Delay and chorus are very clear and have lots of configuration options for you to play with. The phaser, flanger, tremolo, wah and compression are all really good, in my opinion. The other effects I don't really use much. The yaya, the synthtalk I haven't much use for them, I'm more into blues rock and so I use them little, but they're an interesting creative tool. The pitch shift and whammy were not that good, but I definitely forgive that considering the quality of the other effects. Listen everybody, if you want a good and cheap guitar processor, this is it. I mean, it sounds great connected directly to the console!! The speaker simulations are very good.
You have to remember that you can't just use the presets, you have to make your own sound, and the unit is very easy to operate so that you can do just that. Also, you have to be aware of what each effect is capable of doing. If someone says that this unit stinks is because they haven't explored it or exploited it, and probably 'cause they know diddly squat about effects, it is not necessarily the unit's fault.
Anyway, going on, some other features that I really like are the A/B switch for switching amps, which is awesome for changing to distortion while retaining your effects, or to a louder sound, for solos and stuff. Also the V-switch which lets you turn the wah on or off on whatever preset you are on, just like if you had the individual pedal.

The only thing that I don't like, that I might mention about this unit, is the fact that it takes a small moment to switch from preset to preset, as if maybe, the unit processes a little slow. However, it is not noticeable on live presentations. In the studio (hehehe, my room, you could call it also) I record effect switches separately, so this is not a problem.

Now, the unit is encased in a metal chassis, and so it's pretty durable, pretty sturdy.

If you are an entry level player, looking for a good, cheap effects unit, this is it. Heck, if you middle level player, this a good unit.
Worth the $200 I paid for it, and more.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought it at Daddy's Junky Music in Portland, Maine for $179.00. I was not too pleased with the store, because the unit was a demo and they couldn't find the manual at first and I don't think the power supply is the right one.

I like the range of effects. You can spend hours tweaking each effect to your liking. The presets are pretty good, although there are some that I will have no use for and some are just down-right annoying. The cabinet modeling is pretty good, and the ability to model the different mike positions really gives you a lot of tone possibilities. I like the ability to re-store your own creations in place of the factory ones, but the factory presets are still saved as well.

The pedals are too close together! When jamming with my band I kept stomping on two at a time. Also, the wah pedal is too close to the third pedal and my heel keeps slipping over and activating it. And don't hold down too long on the selection pedals or you will rip right through the different presets. It takes some practice to use this thing. Also, my unit keeps crapping out on me during jamming, but that might be because I have the wrong power cable.

Construction is OK, but could be better. I wouldn't drop this thing.

I kind of wish I had looked around a little more. This unit does the job for the most part, but I am sure there are better ones on the market for the same price.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

One of the members in the band bought it. A dealer where he bought it told him it was the highest of quality at that price.

I hate to say it, but I dislike this more than Satan and I'm a christian. No, I'm kidding. I'm not a christian.

Everything. Let's start with the distortion. I've played with many processors before(like Zoom, Ibanez, and for crying out loud even Peavy pedals) and this had the worst distortion options available. Too many names, vitually the same thing. It all sounds fake. I especially love the cabinet feature which switches your sound between cotton balls in your ears and ear bleeding sharp. The effects like detune, chorus, etc. are ridiculous in this unit. It turns your guitar and amp into an effects machine for Star Wars. (Which is a great movie series, by the way.) In other words the effects are useless to offer a serious sound. The delay isn't too bad. Yet, the reverb sounds either none existent or overdone.

It could be buit like a tank. (Which almost is, and you could really say is the only thing they did right.) The fact remains true that "it's not what's on the outside...but how it sounds!!!"

Well friends, I guess the bottom line is:
"If you're going to by cheap, by smart."

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this processor at Sam Ash in northern ohio for $220. I bought it because my amp (Peavey Rage 158) only has two channels and the lead is rather bad.

I really like the fact that there are 40 different settings, then the same 40 again, so you can change little things about the settings, (or the whole darn setting) and still keep the original around. This pedal is probably the only pedal I'll ever need. There are so many different effects and the fact that it has amp modeling and pickup modeling is just great. by the way, awesome built-in tuner

The only problem I can come up with is the fact that the pedal squeaks wicked loud. Loud to the point that its useless if your practicing,because its louder than an amp. This could probably be remedied with a little oil....or a louder amp
It also has a lot of features that I feel I'll probably never use. Like Learn-A-Lick. You record part of a song from a cd or something into the pedal and it slows it down. Great feature, but you need to buy the right cables to do it seperately.

The quality is great. I have had absolutely no problems so far.

Definitely worth the 220 I paid. From beginner to pro, country to metal, this pedal does it all.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought it at Musician's Friend for $199 US.
Needed a good guitar FX unit for cheap.

Flexibility. Can get lots of sounds.

Nothing really. For the price it's great.

Not as solid as the Boss products but still seems plenty strong.

Good entry-level/intermediate FX unit. If you are an FX snob you may not like it but I love it. FX snobs will have to pay a lot more money to get bettter sounds.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought the RP 300 at Guitar Center for $199.95. I had a RP1 for 7 years but it finally died. I chose Digitech because I like the sounds it makes and it's reasonably priced. I chose the RP 300 because you get the A/B switch for a little more than the RP 200.

The RP 300 has more sounds than you'll ever use. Digitech says you get 40 Factory settings and 40 User settings, but with the A/B switch it doubles the number of settings to 80 each. The A/B switch lets you change the amp type which changes the sound.

It's easy to program once you get used to the procedure. You can change a parameter, try it, change it again, try it over and over before you store the settings you like.

The expression pedal is neat. You can program it to inrease/decrease your effects parameter, or use it as a volume control. And by press the toe way down, voila, you're in wah-wah mode.

Not much. Some complain that your guitar cord gets caught under the expression pedal. I avoid this by looping the cord around either my music stand or microphone stand.

It takes a little getting used to the pedals being close together. You can't combine modulation effects into one preset.

Though solidly built, it's light weight makes it a little unstable if you're playing on carpet. I compensate by placing a piece of wood under it. I couldn't find a carrying case for it so I use the one that I had for my RP1.

So far, I'm very satisfied with the RP 300. The more I tweak it, the more I learn about using it. If you buy one, go to the Digitech web site and get the preset default settings (http://www.digitech.com/products/specs/RP300_Presets.pdf). Digitech also has a place where users can post patches they've created to share with others (http://www.digitech.com/patchlib/index.asp).

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I liked the RP200 and decided to upgrade. I pruchased the RP300 retail at Guitar Center, Austin Texas.

This is a great heavy duty product with quality effects and flexible programming.

Please read the following emails:

To: support@digitech.com
From: (Mike)
Subject: Comment, Suggestion, etc.

I didn't see the product RP300 in your drop down above... THIS IS A SERIOUS DEFECT NOTIFICATION! I upgraded from the RP200 and purchased an RP300 from Guitar Center in Austin TX. I found that when I pressed the "STORE" button that the PC board below seemed to "give" a little. I took the unit back to Guitar Center and demonstrated this to Kyle in Accessories. We found that ALL the units he had in stock did this same thing. When I opened up the back, I found that there is a screw missing that holds the board down in that area! I also went to MARS Music in Austin and found that all their RP300's did the same thing! My engineering background tells me that any
time you allow movement in a PC board there will eventually be a stress failure. I have inserted a screw and it corrected the problem. My immediate concern is that I had to work on a brand new unit I paid for,
because there wasn't another in town that didn't have the same problem. I feel I am entitled to some recompense for my trouble with a defective product and for notifying you instead of hitting the user group and product review boards. Please respond.

_______

Dear Mr. Welch,

Thank you for your comments regarding the RP300 that you purchased. First off, we appreciate your purchase of DigiTech products. We also value the feedback that we receive from our customers. The screw that is missing in the area by the STORE button is not an oversight. The bos that holds that particular screw in is inconsistent in height from our casting supplier. Because of the high volume of
manufacture, the inconstant height was causing problems on the production floor. We considered removing the screw only after carefully reviewing the ramifications. When the PCB flex was considered, we looked at the flex with the screw inserted and without it inserted. The PCB flexes with or without the screw inserted and it actually has a gentler flex (the angle of flex is less) when the screw is not inserted. After thorough testing, it was
decided to leave that particular screw out of the assembly until we could redo the casting to solve the real problem From our extensive experience building these types of products, we don't feel that the amount of PCB flex will cause any problems (there are no fine pitch parts close to the switch,
which is where the majority of the problems happen).

Thank you for taking the time to write to us and express your concern. I
hope that I have answered your concerns. Please contact me if you have any
further questions. We would like to send you a DigiTech shirt for the amount of effort that it has taken to alert us of your concerns.

Best Regards

John Hanson
VP of Engineering
Harman Music Group


Good materials, ergonomic.

I love the effects and easily programmong and storing capability. I have donre programming between songs in a live set!

I don't neccesarily appreciate the repsonse from Digitech when I pointed out a manufacturing defect.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this unit on an action on ebay for the express purpose of expanding my sound and adding varity to the few things I can do well on the guitar. Luckely, I used the 'buy it now' feature to puchase, with shipping included, the unit for 140$.

What's most impressive about the unit is the bang for you buck that it offers. The hardware has more effects than I could ever use in five sets, each effect being fullying adjustible as it would on a pedal giving only one effect. See, you preprogram your effects for a show so all you need do is stop on one pedal button to keep chaning your effect, sequentialy, throughout the song, with out the hassel of looking for which pedal to push. Of course, if all I need is distortion, I pull out my old Pevey Red. Honestly, you can not get board with the hardware, so it wont collect dust if you play, so you can count on it being well worth your money.

Thus far I have no difficulty working with the unit except for one minor detail: There is a delay occasionally when switching effects, but, I think it has to do with my guitar. After taking it apart, I may of botched the insides of it, causing the guitar to not output instantiously, instead of the pedal. But, other than that, the pedal has no negatives, in the opinion of a poor college student whoes happy with what he has, and can deal with distortion that is wicked cool, as some fellow guitarists occassionally comment.

The quality and constuction of the unit are simply out standing. Being thrown around, droped down a flight of steps, being stoped-on on a day to day basis, and still outputing as it did the day I bought it make this piece of hardware my thumbs up.

The Digitech RP300 is an affordable and excellent piece of hardware for anyone who wants a load of guitar pedals, but dosn't have the money to buy each individual one.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I got this for $200 on MusiciansFriend.com as a first guitar effects unit.

I love the variety of effects, and its flexibility. None of the effects are top-notch, but theyre of generally good quality. Its very programmable, and a lot of fun. Overall, a great buy.

The expression pedal squeaks! Really badly! Also, the cables come out the back, as opposed to the side. This leads them to get caught under the expression pedal frequently.

Very sturdy, aluminum body. The foot-pedals are a bit small, and you might accidentally go into Learn-A-Lick mode until you get used to it. And the expression pedal squeaks. But overall, good construction.

Overall, a great buy. I'm very happy with my purchase. It's a great unit, especially as a first unit.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Following extensive research on related gear and being familiar w/ digitech quality, I aquired this product from Mt. Pleasent Music (Charleston, SC). $195

My objective was to obtain a processor that could blend my guitar sound to my techno station, affordably. Digitech is extremely heads-up on a guitar's needs. The creativity allowance gives sanction to high potential. I've created only five hybrids, (of 40 user). But the first two have met all of my needs from trippy clean to sonic distortion. Bright LCD, with parameter description is helpful.The expression pedal works well, but I never use it? With a Durable construct and a vast soundscape this product is very economical.

My dislikes are only in the creation process. It seems there are many rules I don't know about when bending sound in this domain. The depth of twelve effects at one time can be deep. But this is probably an aspect that will be much more appreciated upon more practice and experimentation. So if you call that a dislike...

Definitly a tough unit with steel casing and sound beyond the range of its retail price range($199 most sites).

My conclusion is, if you are interested in giving your guitar the capability to sound like, probably any guitar performance you've heard ( in terms of tone, not ability). And you don't really want to spend to much money in this department, With all the many other avenues of music to travel. This model will surely get you by with plenty of room to grow,that of course is limited by time.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

from Musicians Friend, as a first effects unit, for $200

I think the RP300 is an excellent overall unit. I love the variety of effects, and the customability. The Amp A/B switch is very useful in making your own patches, and I consider it the main improvement over the RP200 (along with the two extra knobs).

A few things are wrong with it. First, the wires often get under the pedal, since they strangely come out the back, not the side of the unit. Also, the buttons are small and it is very easy to go into bypass or learn-a-lick mode by accident, when either changing patches or amp channels. And wah (and ya) effects aren't really all that great.

Durable, aluminum constrruction. No problems, but then again I only play at home, and I'm gentle with it. Sometimes the expression pedal squeaks.

Excellent piece of equipment, a great buy. Highly recommended.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I started playing guitar in our church's praise and worship team and was in the market for a new chorus pedal. I decided to look a little further at a multi effects box since they are not that much more expensive than a box. I researched on the internet and found that the digitech rp-300 looked to be the most versatile in my price range. I decided to try the unit at a local music store and decided to purchase it from them after they let me experiment with it for about 45 minutes. I paid 179 dollars for the unit.

I like the fact that it is pretty versatile and is also easy to use and program. It appears to be solidly made and has some decent presets which are good starting points. I never had an effect that had "amp modeling" and am satisfied with the the sounds that it can produce. I also like the multitude of on board effects.

The overall aethetic appeaance of the unit leaves a little to be desired, but the unit is functional. I wish that there were a little better control "while playing" of some of the effects like the delay and the flanger. I personally don't like to stand still while i am playing and have accidently "stomped" the unit to a sound that i didn't want (to my embarrassment.) Some of the presets are kind of gaff but they can be over written easily. I also find my self wishing i could easily turn on an effect without having to program the sound.

The unit appears to be well constructed and has held up to what I have been putting it through so far. I'm not so sure that i like where the power cord plugs into the unit as it appears to be a little flimsy if one were to step on it.

Overall I am happy with the unit as it serves my purpose and i think that it is a pretty good value, although i wouldn't mind paying a little more for more control and more sounds.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

MusiciansFriend.com (internet) for $199



Ease of use - The unit comes with 40 user-programmable, and 40 factory presets. Changing or adjusting the User (editable)settings to your liking is a snap. All the basic effects and modeling options are here, and easy to alter to your liking. A couple of additional effects (such as "Synthtalk") add some room for experimenting. I can't imagine a genre that this unit won't support, short of 'conservatory classical' applications.



The unit includes a noise gate. Good thing, as there is a fair amount of ambient noise generated, once this thing's in your guitar signal loop. Also, the quality of the pitch shift/detune function leaves much to be desired. I couldn't achieve an accurate 'octave-below' effect -- it always seemed to be several cents sharp, which means I'm not sure how much application these related effects have for me. The mode pedals are a little too close for me (I wear size 12 shoes). Several functions (such as Tuning mode) are initiated by stepping on two pedals at the same time. Thus, I have to be very careful not to hit two of them unintentionally.



Contruction is metal and very rugged -- That, plus the unit's compact size means it's a great tool for the 'road dog'.



Excellent value for the money. A lot in a rugged-built, compact package. Could be quieter, and a couple of the effects are, in my opinion, 'sub-adequate'.



This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Crank amp modeling and digital multi-effects.
Modeling Amp: Fender Hot Rod Marshall JCM2000 (excellent), Mesa Boogie Rectifier, Vox, ...
Modeling firms: I do not use it because I think it's useless when you play on an amp.
Effects: Simulation of microphones, compressor, EQ, noise reduction, delay, reverb, chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, panner, tremolo, rotary, yaya, synth talk, envelope, detune, pitch shifter, wah, Whammy, .. .
30 Rhythmic battery with adjustable tempo.
Ability to record up to 30 seconds of music for such a work by slowing the speed solo without changing tone.
40 factory presets + 40 presets can be edited via the pedals only.
On each preset, there is the possibility to put two amps interchangeable with the pedal AMP AB.
Wah, Whammy, Yaya, reverb, volume, gain, vibrato can be controlled in real time with the pedal.
You can not edit the preset on a computer because no USB or Midi but a database is available on http://www.digitech.com

UTILIZATION

The general config is pretty simple, but we must look at the manual for more advanced options.
Only problem c preset selector is sequential.

SOUND QUALITY

The efffets the RP300 is very powerful except for the fact that I was not too well understood the value of the Whammy, Wah is correct.
Saaturation of the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier is a little dirty for my taste against that of the famous Marshall JCM2000 is particularly successful.
This is one I use most often, by varying the gain and equalize it can play any style rock / metal (punk, neo, thrast, speed, heavy, death).
I use it with an Epiphone FlyingV is everything works fine.
There is no need to use the simulation of microphones if you have a guitar that matches the style you play.
Finally there are 16 amp models, including two specifically for clean and one that simulates an acoustic guitar.

OVERALL OPINION

It's been 6 months and I use digitech strengths are quality effects and modeling.
I also tried a Korg pedal AG1500 that costs the same price and level of saturation had no photos.
This trinket now costs 320 Euros but there's the top model RP400, which is exactly the same except that the RP300 has more new output and input jack and a USB direct and which aims to make decision- via the software.
The only advantage of the latter is a better convialité taken to make sound and it costs 480 Euros.
If you like big sounds warm and well with a crisp high quality max effects, look no further.

See all the features in the previous opinion, I have nothing to add except that the simulation of acoustic amp is zero. The rest is fine.

UTILIZATION

The use is very intuitive, no need to spend hours on the doc. The edition of the parameters is easy, the pedal is sturdy. All very good!

SOUND QUALITY

There are 40 presets and 40 user memories. I use a maximum of ten presets (the clear, the crunch, the highly saturated, wha wha, in short, the basic stuff). With my Charvel, it sounds great, for cons with my strat'Clapton is very disappointing, I admit that I do not understand ...

When I register, I plug the output of my RP300 straight into the table of my Portastudio Tascam analog and I have very good results as well as clean sounds as saturated.

OVERALL OPINION

I am very happy with this investment at great value prices, I use it for 1.5 years.
on the other hand, a little surprised that it does not sound with my Start 'but hey ..