Tech 21 (SansAmp) RPM settings

[cetera]

Right,

Seeing as so many of us have RPM's and there doesn't seem to be any sort of user forum on the Tech21 website for tone sharing let's see what we can learn from each other...

The RPM booklet gives some guide settings but I'm sure we've all tweaked them and made our own faves....

Anyone care to post their suggested settings and a guide tone description (i.e. slap bass, Geddy Lee, 'Tool-style' overdrive, vintage valve, etc) ?

I've set up another thread for RBI users...

 

[cetera]

Bump

 

[Josh Ryan]

I don't have one...yet.

 

[LowEndLobster]

I have yet to buy one of those babies to accompany my RBI.. I can just hear the dreamy tone .

 

[gregandgail]

I know this is an ancient thread, but I just recently bought a used RPM and I'm having trouble finding my sound. I really dig the "bassman" settings in the manual, but when I play with my loud rock band, I seem to get lost in the mix. I've tried dialing up the mids and lowering the bass, but I just can't seem to get it right. It helps to roll off the blend, but I'm hoping there's a better solution.

The "svt" and "fat tube" sound great by themselves, but not so much with the band. I usually end up turning up - which doesn't solve anything. I've tried using both my mim p and mim jazz with mixed results. The jazz cuts through well at times, but when I'm haning on the low E it tends to get lost too.

I've searched the forum... So what settings are other people using?

 

[Mikata]

Anyone know what settings Geddy has his RPM set at? Any other threads with info on this? (dont link me the 100 page thread from Geds ex guitar tech, already read it). I recently got one and have been really digging the SVT setting. I recall Geddy using a SVT way back so i figure he may have used that as a general start for his tone. I know there are alot of Rusheads/Rushians around these parts so please fill us in.

One week till i see the boys! Greatest RockNRoll band of all time, and still going strong!

 

[pocketmaster]

I have been trying out the RBI and the RPM. For my setup, the RPM is better, and I would suggest settings other than what is in the manual.

I am connecting the output of the RPM to the effects return on my Epifani UL502. The preamp on the UL502 is bypassed and the Sansamp is my front end. I leave the tone controls at 12:00 and just experiment with the Blend and the Drive.

One way to start out is to leave both blend and drive fully counterclockwise. The sound is dry, precise, punchy and ultra clear. With the blend at zero, the drive control does nothing. Leave the drive at zero and try adding just a touch of blend. The more blend you add, the softer the sound, and the mid scoop comes in. Blend fully clockwise is too muffled for my taste. Back it off and the sound becomes louder and more crisp.

I forgot the level control on the right. If you crank it up with the blend at 9:00, you can scare the neighbours and drive the mice out very quickly.

Overall, nice range of new sounds for much less than a new amp.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I have been trying out the RBI and the RPM. For my setup, the RPM is better, and I would suggest settings other than what is in the manual.

I am connecting the output of the RPM to the effects return on my Epifani UL502. The preamp on the UL502 is bypassed and the Sansamp is my front end. I leave the tone controls at 12:00 and just experiment with the Blend and the Drive.

One way to start out is to leave both blend and drive fully counterclockwise. The sound is dry, precise, punchy and ultra clear. With the blend at zero, the drive control does nothing. Leave the drive at zero and try adding just a touch of blend. The more blend you add, the softer the sound, and the mid scoop comes in. Blend fully clockwise is too muffled for my taste. Back it off and the sound becomes louder and more crisp.

I forgot the level control on the right. If you crank it up with the blend at 9:00, you can scare the neighbours and drive the mice out very quickly.

Overall, nice range of new sounds for much less than a new amp.

Great description! I generally run the blend at 50-60%...anything more tends to suck the mid-focused articulation (finger tone) out of the equation. Kicking the drive up to 10:00 adds some pleasant break-up but not enough to be fuzzy or distorted. It also provides some compression by design...it is a tube emulator. Adjustment of the para mids is a matter of taste. I usually roll off a tad at 500 hz but a boost 'n sweep is the best way to pinpoint your sweet spot.

Riis

 

[bass4peace]

Just picked up an rpm last night for a killer deal on craigslist.
Plugged it in today and messed with it for quite a few hours.
I found that for me it works best straight in front on my carvin bx500 rather than in the effects loop.

After setting my bx500 flat (added its graphic eq later to fine tune) and then started turning knobs on my rpm I found a killer gritty tone pretty quickly. And like someone mentioned before, I then just adjust the blend knob for each song depending on how much grit I want with everything else staying the same.

I am blown away at how good this thing sounds so far! It took me 3 years to find a great tone from my bx500 and in 30 minutes on this rpm I have a tone far far better

Saturday I will find out how it sits in the mix with a very loud guitarist and drummer. We play progressive drone type rock with lots of groovy mellow stuff too.

Here are my rpm settings for anyone interested:

DRIVE- dial pointing at the D in DRIVE (11 o'clock)
MID - full on boost to the right
MID SHIFT - 3rd line on left @ 200-250hz I guess)
BLEND - usually 2nd line left of noon (*adjust to taste*)
BASS - between noon and first line to left, points to A in BASS
TREBLE - 3rd line left of noon (10 o'clock)

I will report back after this weekend with any adjustments I make.

Thanks to everyone for this great forum full of awesome info!

 

[MJ_Sotti]

I pretty much use the SVT setting but with the drive around 10 oclock and the bass around 3.

 

[captainbeyond]

Hey I play in a heavy psychedelic band and its been driving me crazy for the past year to settle on that "tone" at the right volume. A lot of that had to do with the level on my power amp. I use a passive P-bass>RPM>CrownXLS1500>Ampeg 8x10. For a while, when I have what I consider a loud, punchy volume, my mids always seemed to get ugly. I was slightly boosting around 500hz and then I tried removing some in the 800ish-hz range. Although it cleaned up my tone, it would lack the volume when I removed any mids below 1K. So last night, I tried removing some mids in the 2khz and it did wonders to my tone. I finally had the clean, bright, yet warm punch I had been trying to achieve. Lowering that frequency took a way a lot of the harshness. It also sounds great with fuzz/overdrive and effects! The bass level will probably vary depending on the room. I like having my notes around the 12th fret to sound fat and juicy. If there's no punch on the 14th fret, D string (E note in standard), then I don't like it!

DRIVE: 1:00 (1 notch past noon)
MID: 10:00
MID SHIFT: 3:00
BLEND: 3:00
BASS: 1:00 (1 notch past noon)
TREBLE: 1:00 (1 notch past noon)
LEVEL: 3:00

Crown XLS1500 (BRIDGED with hi-pass filter on) - level at 3:00 (80%)

 

[Silly Bims]

I play a modulus FB4 which is extremely nasal with the tone pots set to the middle. I've played around with boosting the low pot but i prefer the frequency range and noiseless boost on the bass knob of the RPM.

Drive is subjective because it will be affected by your instrument output level. Passive basses will require more drive to achieve the same amount of tube emulation of an active bass. Here are the settings I use with my Modulus:

Drive: 10 o'clock
mids: 2 o'clock
blend: 12 o'clock for carpeted stage, 2 o'clock for wood stage (carpet is a presence suck)
mid shift: all the way to the right (3000k)
bass: 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock, depending on venue
treble: 2 o'clock

This combination of settings brings the highs and lows up to meet the nasal mids inherent to the modulus flea. It gives it a stingray vibe on a Bergantino HT322 and sounds HUGE when going straight to the board from XLR out. I find the bass knob to be perfectly situated in the frequency spectrum to give the low-end size without sounding eq'd. And it's clean. That's the best part.

 

[Nephilymbass]

no RPM here but if anyone wants my RBI setting here you go