Digitech RP350

Musings about the Digitech RP350.

Why?

Yes. Tube amps can give a much superior tone than what the RP350 can.The RP, however, gives me much more tone than I need in a very affordable, very consistent, and very convienent package.

...more to come...

GarageBand

I try to follow the following sequence when recording my RP350 with GaragBand.

1. Turn on the RP. Since the RP has no power switch, I have it plugged into a power strip and use the switch on it.
2. Turn on the amp, if I am not using the headphones. The amp is set clean and dry. I want to hear what GarageBand is going to hear through the USB.
3. Launch XEdit. I have found that I need to use XEdit to turn up the USB level for the RP about 10 to 15 dB to get a decent level in GarageBand. Once you get GarageBand up and a track ready to record, check the VU meters for the track. When playing the loudest you intend to for that track, the level should just be tickling the orange.
4. Launch GarageBand.
5. Use the preferences to tell GarageBand to use the RP350 for input.

If anything goes wrong, I turn the amp and RP off, quit XEdit and GarageBand, and start over.

When done, I try to reverse the process.

I usually like to monitor the guitar through the amp or headphones connected to the RP350 to avoid latency. To do this, leave the monitor check-box unchecked for the track in GarageBand. If you check it and turn off the amp, you can monitor the guitar through the computer’s speakers.

When using headphones (plugged into the RP), you can have GarageBand send the other tracks to the RP350 so you can hear them in the headphones. Just choose the RP350 as the output in GarageBand’s preferences. You may have to adjust the mix between “live” guitar and the GarageBand tracks with XEdit.

...more to come...

(USB vs. analog direct vs. miking)