The one that got away?

Ok I can't believe I'm writing this, but every so often I get a longing for my first REAL gear purchase. Well... it was real to me.

At the time, the Digitech RP-1 boasted what no other unit had: Full programability on the floor with bankable patching & useful effects. Other Digitech units and companies like ART (and who can leave out Eventide!) had amazing units available, but they were rackmounted and you had to drive your unit with a foot controller that was wired. And hopefully it was wired with MIDI and not some proprietary cable, because back then they only gave you about a 10' cable typically.



Sure it had it's drawbacks from the beginning, but it was still ahead of it's time, and in my opinion is still the best of all the RP series. What are they up to now, like the 500 or something stupid like that?

Now usually, I don't ever utter the word "Digitech" unless it's in the same sentence as "dynamite" or "premature death." But this is an honorable mention. Let the record show, I am no fan of their products.

The pros were that it was VERY rugged, with some of the best footswitches I've ever used. Usually Digitech/DOD blows it here, but for once they got it right. Also it had some of the most amazing reverbs I've ever heard to this day. Yeah, they were digital, but come on it was like '94 when I got this thing. Distortions & ODs were awful, but luckily the box worked very well in my amps effects loop. It had In & Out level controls mounted on the top panel. It could be used as a MIDI controller. It required a NORMAL POWER PLUG! <---That was a big deal at the time.

The cons were that the switching wasn't seamless (again, it was 1994) and you could forget something like unity gain when kicking the distortion on and off. You had to switch between preset patches of your liking if you wanted a "Clean sound/Dirty sound." Oh and it got hot. Very, very hot. :)

The delays were great, and all the 80's/90's hair metal crap was great too: flanging, modulations, digital reverbs, and a very cool reverse function.

The nostalgic part of me wants one again. Dunno why. Might be great for acoustic gigs (seriously!) But part of it was that I paid $425 for it way back then. I guess the units nowadays have more to offer, but the DSP engines they slap in those 6 ounce units just don't deliver. Oh well, maybe someday I'll pick one up. It was fun to walk down memory lane with it a little...