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The new Digitech BP355.

#21
I just received a BP355 on Saturday. It's a nice effect unit and easy to use. The tuner is great and the looper is ok (no click available while in looper mode). Unfortubately I find the vast majority of effects unusable for me. (I use a Wah One and EBS chorus). It would be interesting to own but I won't get any practical use out of it. So, it's on it's way back to Sweetwater as of an hour ago.
 
#22
T Most, are you saying the vast majority of the effects are "unusable" b/c you do not need them b/c all you ever want to use is a wah and chorus, or b/c the Digitech effects' sounds do not sound good enough for your tastes? the way your post reads it seems that you have limited need for effects to begin w/ and it's not clear what you thought of these sounds. thanks!
 
#23
I've found that, at first blush, the RP355 I have had a lot of 'special effects'-type possibilities which may be beneficial in spicing up a mix but which didn't seem to offer much in the way of meat & potatoes tones.

But I also found that there is a LOT of flexibility available in tweaking its tones to taste, and as such, I was able to find some big beef in short order.

Equally, many of its stock reverb, delay, chorus, compressor, and noise gate settings are musically useful as is and sound heavenly through even moderately priced closed cup headphones.

I now think of the RP355 as being a sonic smorgasbord whose numerous delicacies are aimed at ensuring there'll be at least a few things that will appeal to a wide range of players.

One thing though:

IMHO it's best to explore feature-laden devices like these in private for a few hours before taking them to a band rehearsal or to a gig.

And connecting these Digitech boxes to a computer via their USB port & using the included software to quickly change parameters without adding needless wear to their rotary switches is a good approach until one finds one's preferred custom settings. I believe the included Windows and Mac apps. can save tweaked parameter settings as a file to a PC's hard drive. Unfortunately the above-mentioned gdigi for GNU/Linux currently cannot.

Hopefully a patient exploration of the BP355 will yield similarly satisfying results.

Oh, and one more thing: these amp & cab modeller/multi-effects boxes are designed to be played through full-range systems like PA cabs.

To play them through music instrument amplifiers it's likely best that the cab models (at least) and possibly the amp models too (depending upon one's tone goals) be turned off. I'd expect that doing so on the BP355 will be the same as on the RP355: one has to manually turn them off from within each preset--yet another reason to do some experimenting before taking a '355 to a gig.

FTR: the RP500 (and higher) has a switch which can globally turn off the amp & cab models thus turning the '500+ into a pure multi-effects unit.
 
#24
Chowowbus said:
Oh goody...cant wait for your big review of it!:D I am really excited about this pedal..
Hey MN AirHead, does this pedal use an optical tracker like the whammy 4 or does it use mechanical? Just wondering..Hows the build quality on your guitar version? Is it bar gig tough?:D
Click to expand...

Gig tough.. yes.. the intricate details... I'd have to find out.

I own ALL of the gear for my band... my guitarist has it.. lke most things like this.. he dumped all the presets and redid them.

Tim
 
#26
dfp said:
T Most, are you saying the vast majority of the effects are "unusable" b/c you do not need them b/c all you ever want to use is a wah and chorus, or b/c the Digitech effects' sounds do not sound good enough for your tastes? the way your post reads it seems that you have limited need for effects to begin w/ and it's not clear what you thought of these sounds. thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm saying that for the stlyes of music I play, Gospel, Contemporary Jazz and Old School R&B I wont get much use out of the unit. It was a curiosity purchase to try out and see if I could work some effects into my gigs. I played with it at home for 3-4 hours Saturday then took the 355 to my gospel gig on sunday and only was able to use the wah and the Geddy Lee effects (out of 70 effects). I would only use it at home to amuse myself and that just isn't worth it. But again, the unit is very solid, easy to navigate and edit tones.
 
#27
I'm using the RP355 as an alternative to a bass whammy haha.

I got the guitar version of it because a) I also play guitar and b) don't have a decent amp at home for it. I got a couple of whammy presets on it now especially for bass (Octave Up, 5th/Oct, 5th/6th), and use a couple of other effects which I don't have on my pedalboard (Phaser, Chorus, Tremolo)... I still need to play around a bit with it though to find some stuff.

But yeah, the whammy was the one that interested me the most though, and for that price (I paid 170€ for it) it's much better than paying a fortune for a Bass Whammy or a Whammy 4 with a Molten Voltage. The tracking and sound quality is better than I expected, but probably not as good as a dedicated whammy. The pedal itself feels solid though.

For bass, I don't use any of the distortion or amp/cab modelings (I got my sound with a VT Bass and a Musket Fuzz). So the guitar version is perfect for me.
 
#30
BrentSimons said:
I can't wait for you to post samples either!:hyper: I really enjoyed your earlier ones.
Take Care,
Brent
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment. when I do post sound samples of the digitech bp355, I'll mention it on this thread and my thread(entitled "check out my sound samples"). said it before and I'll say it again, looking forward to testing it out and record sound samples of it on my soundclick website.
 
#32
i have had only a little time to get acquainted w/ the BP355, but i dove in on a gig last night and had fun w/ the octaver and the whammy pedal, separately. this afternoon i tried in vain to figure out a way to make the whammy pedal and the octaver work at the same time... i'm afraid the pitch shifting part of the "brain" of this unit might not allow both of those functions to go on at the same time... that would be a bummer, otherwise, the tones sound good, though i'm pretty far back on the learning curve yet on tweaking sounds. i was gonna sell my old Boss Super Octave, but maybe i'll hold on to it if that's the only way i can get a octave sound and use whammy pedal at the same time...

overall it seems like a cool unit, although awkward at first. seems like there's a lot of potential if you put some time into learning its ins and outs. sorry don't have more time to explore and review at present, will try to update after next weekend's gigs!
 
#34
Crystalman85 said:
MY digitech bp355 has arrived recently. sounded pretty cool so far. the amp models, cab models, and distortion channels sounded pretty smooth. the modulation effects sounded real nice. I dig it. I will be recording some sound samples of the digitech bp355 and post them on my soundclick website real soon.
Click to expand...

The sounds of over-driven guitar amp models through bass cab models should be interesting.

I found that with the RP355 one has to crank the bass EQ to fatten up the guitar amp models, then choose the cab model which comes closest to the desired timbre, and then tweak the EQ to taste (in combination with a touch of ambient reverb to add a hint 'room' when listening via headphones).
 
#35
MIJ-VI said:
The sounds of over-driven guitar amp models through bass cab models should be interesting.

I found that with the RP355 one has to crank the bass EQ to fatten up the guitar amp models, then choose the cab model which comes closest to the desired timbre, and then tweak the EQ to taste (in combination with a touch of ambient reverb to add a hint 'room' when listening via headphones).
Click to expand...

Since you've mentioned that, It does sound pretty cool. ever since I saw what amp models, cab models, and distortion pedal models the digitech bp355 has provided, I started developing Ideas of patches to create. in addition of mentioning sound samples of the digitech bp355 on this thread and my thread "check out my sound samples", I might start a thread on patch ideas of the digitech bp355 just like the thread on zoom b2.1u patch ideas. until then, I will work on sound samples of the digitech bp355 and post them on my sound click website.
 
#36
john_martin_sai said:
Digi-Tech BP355 features a •24-bit 44.1kHz sample rate

Zoom B2.1u - 24-bit resolution and a sampling frequency of 96 kHz ensure signal processing power on a par with the best rack-mount devices.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

----------------
Anyone see any signifcance in this difference?
Click to expand...

I own both a digitech bp355 and the zoom b2.1u and they both sounded pretty cool. I totally dig those multi-effects processors. I also like korg "toneworks" processors. I guess the noticeable differences between the digitech bp355 and the zoom b2.1u is what amp models, cab models, and distortion channels that they provide. although the zoom b2.1u has a great selection of amp models, cab models, and distortion pedal models, the digitech bp355 has a larger variety of amp models, cab models and distortion pedal models. so far from my experience with the digitech bp355, this multi-effects has a more smoother sound than the zoom b2.1u. but other than that, I dig them both and they're definitely keepers. I do have sound samples of the zoom b2.1u on my soundclick website and I will be recording sound samples of the digitech bp355 and I will posting them on my soundclick website real soon.
 
#37
Crystalman85 said:
I own both a digitech bp355 and the zoom b2.1u and they both sounded pretty cool. I totally dig those multi-effects processors. I also like korg "toneworks" processors. I guess the noticeable differences between the digitech bp355 and the zoom b2.1u is what amp models, cab models, and distortion channels that they provide. although the zoom b2.1u has a great selection of amp models, cab models, and distortion pedal models, the digitech bp355 has a larger variety of amp models, cab models and distortion pedal models. so far from my experience with the digitech bp355, this multi-effects has a more smoother sound than the zoom b2.1u. but other than that, I dig them both and they're definitely keepers. I do have sound samples of the zoom b2.1u on my soundclick website and I will be recording sound samples of the digitech bp355 and I will posting them on my soundclick website real soon.
Click to expand...

Due to a low pass filter whose 'knee' is set at a comparatively lower frequency?
 

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