Item Reviews for: DigiTech RP500 Guitar MultiEffects Pedal  -  DOD RP500 LIST
DigiTech RP500 Guitar MultiEffects Pedal
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Well worth the money.

By: Scott      Submitted: 8/30/2016

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Product Rating Product Review While this unit is well worth the money, the distortions are way too scooped for my taste. I'm going to try adjusting the EQ a bit and see if I can dial it in.
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I love this thing

By: R.Kaplan      Submitted: 4/8/2016

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Product Review The digitech RP-500 is my best perchase, this thing is just too cool!
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great pedal board

By: Mike F      Submitted: 12/19/2015

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Product Review great pedal board still trying to learn how to use it but its built like a tank and seems easy enough to program
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amazing gadget#!!

By: John Culp      Submitted: 5/20/2015

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1 person found this review helpful.
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Product Review This unit is great out of the box. I have played guitar for over 30 years. The presets are a lot of fun! Can't wait to create some of my own, if I could stop playing with it long enough. A great buy. Love it!!!!.
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I LOVE THIS GADGET!

By: Mark B from Groveland, Ca USA      Submitted: 4/12/2014

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6 people found this review helpful.
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review title:

The Best Pedal of its Kind... Period

By: Greg Burroughs from Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA      Submitted: 10/13/2012

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2 people found this review helpful.

Just Got it today, after taking back a Boss GT1o that totally sucked. If you buy a Boss or anything else that you're disappointed in, or are thinking of "tweaking" so you'll get to like it eventually.. take it back! GET THIS! So far so great. Your general opinion of this product. If you are reading and believing reviews of all the other units of this sort, just let me tell you this: I've been playing for 35 years, and I have never found anything this good in a floor unit. Why do these fields keep asking me questions about a guitar? Oh well.. Here's what's BETTER about the RP500 than its competitors- 100 presets that already sound very good... but you also get 5 independent footswitches to alter each preset on the fly- Compression, Chorus, Distortion, Delay, and Reverb. No tweaking knobs with your hands, no lengthy "set-up" time (no set-up at all actually), and the Wah-Wah is footswitchable (on or off) no matter what setting you're on. Why hasn't anybody done this before? The "tones" are all beautiful. You get a Satch preset that sounds like Joe, a Hendrix one, and AcDc one, an SRV one and many others- all of which are modifiable using the 5 footswitches. Amazing. REALLY attractive product. It's black. It's heavy. It's metal. What else could you want? Perfect. The most ready-to-use piece I've ever purchased- or at least it's tied with my Carvin CT6M California Carved Top.
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Works for Horn Players TOO!

By: Jonathan N from Bloomfield Hills, MI      Submitted: 10/11/2010

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Very well made, and so far is very dependable. The only thing missing is a battery-powered option, not that I would necessarily use it, but having the option would be nice. No problems so far, I've only had it a month, but it is STURDY! Your general opinion of this product. I purchased the RP500 to use with my saxophone in live music settings. It works great most of the time. Some of the tones are too over-driven to use with a microphone, so I avoid those presets. The best thing to do is sit down with it, play around with the settings and create your own sound. No problems with the playability or feel. The controls are smooth and intuitive. Tone production is great. I can't use any of the amp modeling because I'm using the RP500 with a microphone, so I haven't been able to test that function, but everything else works great and sounds awesome! Fit and finish are great! Everything worked as it should.
review title:

great bargain

By: Mr. Montopolis from Largo, FL      Submitted: 9/24/2010

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It seems very dependable. As I mentioned, the adaptor burned out, but that was because I left it plugged in. This can happen to any adaptor. I bought a new adaptor and it's fine. Just unplug the adaptor when you're finished and you shouldn't have a problem. The knobs do break off. I lost one the first gig i played with it. But that didn't matter to me at all because I program it with my computer. Do not leave the adaptor plugged in. It will burn out. A new one is like 20 bucks shipped. Other than that, I've had it for probably 6 or 8 months with no problems. Nothing changes once it's set. I trust it to work every time. Your general opinion of this product. This pedal is a great value. I would recommend it to anyone. Yes, the knobs are prone to break off (I've lost one already), but you're going to end up doing your presets on your computer anyway. So it really doesn't matter. I bought this on payments and it was well worth it. Everything works pretty well. The only small complaint I have is that the wah is very easy to engage. It turns on when you reach the end of the travel of the expression pedal. It also turns back off just as easily, at which time it becomes a volume pedal. This can be a little difficult to wrangle in the heat of the moment. A person could probably learn to negotiate it effectively, but I mostly leave the pedal full volume and don't use the wah. The metal tone is pretty thick. So you may have to do some EQing to get the guitar to sit in the live mix properly. But overall the tones are really cool. The color is black and the back is a flat metallic color. The colors look tasteful. You will probably want to set up your own banks, but the presets are a great jumping off point. In fact, I would just modify those to get the necessary sounds.
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Great for the price

By: Nathan Ryan from Boise      Submitted: 6/28/2010

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Great! 1 1/2 years and it still works awesome. No problems what-so-ever, besides the computer program that comes with it. It wont save what I make on it, but thats fine. Its a little more fun to tinker with the thing yourself. Your general opinion of this product. I needed something that would provide me with the effects that I wanted with the versatility to use only specific effects. This provided that for me. When I need that extra crunch, apply the distortion. Same with everything else. AND SO EVERYONE KNOWS, DOWNLOAD THE NEW FIRMWARE FROM DIGITECH WEBSITE FOR THE LOOPER! A 2 year old could run this thing Some of the effects sound awful, but when there are so many to choose from that sound great then who cares. Most of them do sound good though, expecially the delays...I love the delays i got a B-side, and would not have known it. Still looks great after a year and a half of play Ummmmm, its like Schwarzenegger in Predator type of actoin.
review title:

wow

By: Mark Shields from Corbin KY      Submitted: 6/23/2010

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So far it feels good - if it goes down hill I will update later just got it but I have had a few digitech processors and they do pretty good Your general opinion of this product. First, this is the B stock and while it came in a GNX2 box, I can't find a scratch, ding, blemish..anything, wrong with it. it feels pretty heavy duty. It's not as heavy as the GNX3 I had but it's close. this thing sounds really good. the models are close and sound pro. it's grey and black like any digitech since the rp2000 this isn't a guitar but the foot switches are like the ones on an amp food switch..this has been a problem for me with my other digital pedals. it's eventually what killed my RP3 and the first thing that went wrong with my RP250.
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I'd actually give it a 3.5

By: Eek from Brooklyn NY      Submitted: 2/16/2010

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Seems to be very well made, just like other Digitech gear I owned back in the 80s/90s. I've only had it for two months but have used it at countless band practices and 2 gigs. Seems sturdy enough - although the matrix display/knobs seem a little flimsy. For $300 though, there's really not much to complain about. The only reliability issue I have is the dropout when switching patches.. I didn't really notice it until I was playing a gig and it was in my face - it was pretty noticeable and since then I've been a little hypersensitive and annoyed by it. I won't give up without a good fight though. Your general opinion of this product. Having been a dedicated Boss GT user for years and disappointed with the high gains in the GT10, I recently switched over to the dark side and bought an RP500. It sounds fantastic to me (I have it plugged into the front of a Bogner Alchemist), especially for the price, however I have one major complaint that I wish other reviews would have mentioned (which is mainly why I'm writing this): I posted something on the Digitech board and other users have acknowledged it so I'm not alone on this: there's a lag/dropout when switching between patches. This stinks for me because I switch from high gain to clean several times in songs and although I'm starting to get the timing down to press the switch early, it's still sort of a deal breaker for me. If there were no dropouts, I would definitely give this a firm 4.5. It's too bad. The tones this thing cranks out are wonderful. Great crunch/high gains, great cleans. I dig the black/silver.. but that could be the 1970s KISS fan in me. Display is nice and easy to read in almost any condition. Foot switches are nice and sturdy. Expression pedal feels a little loose but I'm sure that can be fixed pretty easily.
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This unit will save you from Back Injury

By: Chris from Athens, NY, USA      Submitted: 9/10/2009

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Top notch quality. Totally solid device. Metal box, the switches are sturdy Your general opinion of this product. I love this DigiTech! You don't need amps and cabs anymore, use this live and go right into the board. Tons of sounds for any music styles. X-Edit software is easy to use and you can get what you want as long as you play around and have some patience. It is easier to make your patches in X-edit, but if you must edit on the fly, it is not terribly difficult. The key to good tone on this thing is to not max everything out. There is some tinkering involved to get a good tone but the time is well worth it. I no longer need an amp and cab anymore. The LED is bright Red so you can see it well in the dark. n/a
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Very Nice unit

By: Chris from Stockton,Ca,USA      Submitted: 4/15/2009

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Love the construction of this unit. All metal. I was kinda iffy on the foot pedal untill I recived the unit. It' sturdy. Only had it a couple weeks but I really don't see any issues in the future. Your general opinion of this product. I wanted this unit for one reason really, The stomp box's. If you are anything like I am, you will never use everything in here. The Wah has pretty good feel to it and reacts well. I can't tell any differance from the Tube screamer pedal and the one thats in this unit they sound the same. The MXR flanger, well it was easy enough for me to get thet Eddie Van Halen sound from it. The twin verb sounds pretty close to the older fender amps. I haven't used much in the way of the internal amps/cabnets. From what little I have done they do sound pretty good. Really just depends on how good your amp is. I use a Marshall so my amp has great sound already. But if your amp dosen't have great dirty tone, then this unit will be an upgrade for sure. I have found at least 3 or 4 amp/cabnet combos that sound pretty good. fast respones from the switching. easy to use right out of the box. Read the book though just makes it a little less confusing at first. not a guitar but I like what I hear from the rp500 so far. way more here then I will ever use. Nice finish, looks like it won't scratch easy. none
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A great Amp Alternative or a great Stomp Box Alternative? BOTH!

By: Jind from Ashford, CT USA      Submitted: 3/23/2009

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Having upgraded from a previous Digitech product, the quality of the finish, and the overall build have come quite some ways in the positive. this unit feels solid, and has heft to it and an all metal chassis. The vacuum switches feel solid and much more reliable than the plastic foot pedals you will find on previous units and other manufacturers products. I've only had it a few days so far, but I don't suspect I'll be having any issues with it given the dependability of my previous Digitech products. Your general opinion of this product. As mentioned in my title, this unit can be used as either a great sounding alternative to lugging your amp/rig from home to stage - having all your tone here in one place, the modeling capabilities have gotten tighter, things sound so much more natural, all with several connection options for either mixers or other PA systems; or this unit can simply be an awesome collection of stomp boxes with easy to adjust parameters and the ability to turn each on and off just as you would your individual stomp boxes making up your pedal-board. But together they make a great team - wonderful sounding amp/cabinet models and stellar effects building your tone is as easy as it gets. The controls are the same easy matrix knob and LED system Digitech has been using for a long time now. You have a large 10 character LCD display that gives you the name of the device you are altering, and the LED lights in the matrix show you which devices are in your effects chain. You have several knobs to control the individual items that make up each component such as GAIN, BAS, MID, TREBLE, ... for amps, and DECAY, TIME, MIX, ... for effects. It's just like working the real thing, just from the same console each time. If you want really deep editing capabilities, simply load the included X-EDIT2 software and you can see a virtual version of your entire device that you can make patches with and see what makes up the included presets. Speaking of which, the RP500 comes with 100 factory presets and room for another 100 user presets. Overall control and connections are a simple as it gets but it gets the job done and quickly. The tone from this unit is great. Digitech has come a long way with their modeling capabilities and it shows with the new AudioDNA processor chip. The amps sound tighter and more lively, the cabinets make a greater difference as you play around with combinations. The same goes for the distortion models - many of them are spot on for the originals. I encourage all to not just settle for the premade presets or others patches - go nuts and find your own tone or the tones of your favorites, but learn to do it yourself. This unit will get you there or at least as close as you can get with modeling. The finish on this product is great, a nice black and silver coat with the bright LCD display and the red LEDs of the matrix control panel. It looks like a switching rig should. It's an FX unit - not a guitar.
review title:

More hands, less feet!

By: BillyO from Monson MA. USA      Submitted: 3/15/2009

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Solid, metal case. Switches seem to have a nice solid push feel. I've only had it 2 weeks so far. Your general opinion of this product. I bought this pedal expand my sound possibilitys without having to deal with a bigger pedal board. I play in a cover band and I like to mix up my tone and the RP 500 lets me do this simply. No more of that "what got unplugged or which pedals knobs got twisted between gigs". I'm still getting used to the switch layout, but the display is big and bright. Editing is real simple, even on the fly. Took it to practice for the first time last week and it took seconds to get my levels in line with the rest of the band. A couple of the amp models are a little sterile, but it allows you gain and eq adjustments that will make them sing. The fact that you can fully bypass the amp models and use it as a huge arsenal of pedals to keep your amps tone is really useful. mmmmmmmmmm.........pretty..... Its a pedal.
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Great for what it is. Can't complain... much :)

By: Jeff D. from Jacksonville, FL, USA      Submitted: 1/10/2009

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Top quality construction. Built for the road, no doubt. I owned it one day. Hasnt broken. Your general opinion of this product. It is what it says it is. An alternative to having a cumbersome set of stompboxes to screw with and get tangled up in. Sounds fantastic and does the job. I havent connected it to the computer yet. Looking forward to that. My only complaints are as follows: Again, like the older rp200 I used to own, no on/off switch... retarded! Also, I would love to be able to use batteries on this unit, but again, like my older rp200, not an option. No wallwart, no function. Last but not least, the tuner is too sensitive. It's accurate, but you really have to make sure to pluck each string lightly to get a proper reading. When I'm on a gig, I don't like to have to "work" to use my tuner on stage. I will have my tuner pedal in front of this unit and use that rather than the built in one. The buttons and knobs feel nice. Great stereo tone. what? not a guitar.
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This is very cool!

By: Jeff from Arizona      Submitted: 10/24/2008

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Digitech has always manufactured quality products and the RP 500 is no exception. Its a rock Your general opinion of this product. The layout is simply straightforward yet the tone and effect variations are enormously complex. Very easy to learn your way around. Easy to set-up for stage and even easier to work around from at times tense performance situations. Love it Whatvever your little heart desires ... its here Black ... why not? slight buzz on the 2nd a 3rd fret of the B string ... I'm sure you could find it if you wanted too ;)
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Just Keeps getting better winner among new multi pedals

By: Carl from Akron NY      Submitted: 8/17/2008

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BUILT VERY WELL, SMOOTHLY OPERATING CONTROLS. Very sturdy and road-worthy very solid, button action is crisp, and instant. Your general opinion of this product. If you are looking for something in the studio this is the product for you This is the best Processor for the money. It has an unlimited supply of sounds. If you take the time to setup the RP500 it is very user friendly. Controls are good, product is very sturdy, Endless tone with presets that suit any musicians Everything from Bright to Dark. What ever you desire, It's there. It's clean and sharp. High Tech and Slick !!! Right out of the box it was plug and play watch out you will want to play for hours.
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Awesome pedal. From a Power Metal keyboardist point of view

By: Nelson from Dominican Republic      Submitted: 7/17/2008

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All metal construction. This thing will last forever. Its built like a tank Your general opinion of this product. I play the synth on a power metal band. I was looking for a good distortion to emulate a Jens/Janne lead and this thing did the job beautifully. I just had to sit down and tweak a bit the Big Muff Pi distortion and browse the amp/cabinet models. Its a heavy pedal, in a positive way. And you can control each efefct separately just as you would if you had 5 different stomp boxes in front of you. I was able to get the tone i wanted. Its got a general EQ plus the distortions and Amp/cab. So I was really able to get the tone i wantead. Nice and good looking finish on this pedal. Everything worked right out of the box. I went through the first 2 pages of the manual then I was able to program all the settings right away. This thing is really easy to set up, specially when you're used to programming synthesizers like me !
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YOU GOTTA GET THIS NOW!!!

By: PK55 from HANFORD, CA USA      Submitted: 6/18/2008

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Steel forged and very solid all the way around. All of the switches and vacuum pots are solid as well. It's built like a tank but suprisingly not so heavy, so don't worry Just got it yesterday, but as I already said, it's built solid and I've owned other Digitech pedals, so I don't see having any problems with it. Your general opinion of this product. I just got the RP500 and I think it's the best pedal overall for live performing. You can use it as a pedalboard with all of your banked presets or you can use it as five different stomp boxes with individual effects and amp/cabs...ABSOLUTELY AMAZING FOR A GUITAR PLAYER...It has a bypass tuner, tap tempo, and the WAH is great and fully adjustable. The best feature imho is the X-Edit software. I spent 3 hours + last night having a blast changing effects, amps, settings, etc...Digitech has basicly given you the ability to make custom rigs on the fly...it's fun and it's easy to do...you don't have to read the manual to use this thing, but I suggest you do because there's soooo much packed into this unit... I've use Boss and Zoom multi-effects products and this has them beat easily...
review title:

The Ultimate Multi-Effect

By: tlhamon      Submitted: 6/9/2008

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Very solid. I especially like the new switches over the plastic pedals. I've owned a lot of Digitech products and have never had an issue. I don't expect this one to be any different. Your general opinion of this product. I bought an RP350 this winter and was completely blown away at how good everything sounded and how user friendly it was. When the RP500 came out, I had to have it for the extra buttons. The X-Edit program is a god-send as it allows you to tweak your brains out. Very easy to use with a lot of features. Best models I have heard so far. They may not be 100% dead on, but they all sound great. Very solid, nice big led screen and a lot of lights. The pedal can be adjusted to your liking with a 1/2" socket.
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Must Have Multi-Effects Pedal!

By: Losthollywood from Springfield, MA      Submitted: 6/8/2008

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The RP500 is solid and well made. I have a Digitech GNX1 that I purchased close to 10 years ago that is still working. This unit appears to offer the same high quality design that should translate into years of use (and abuse)! Too early to tell as I just purchased the unit - see above. Your general opinion of this product. This is absolutely terrific. I'm very impressed with the unit - whether practicing and playing along with songs through a mixer or plugging it into an amp, the effects and flexibility are top notch. Quite frankly for $299, this multi-effects pedal is underpriced in my opinion. All the effects are top notch + there's added flexibility as well - i.e. just look at the number of distortions or chorus option available -each are tweakable too. I just used it live and was very impressed - as were my band mates. Ran the unit through my effects loop on my peavey 6505 and turned off the amp/cabinet modeling. Very quickly set up 5 presets to accomodate a variety of different effects/delays. Good speed in changing presets on the fly. 5 STARS OVERALL! NA Excellent options right out of the box. Love the reverbs and delays in particular! Love the colors of the unit - looks great on the floor. na
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RP 500

By: from       Submitted: 5/15/2008

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I received my RP 500 a couple of weeks ago and have been busy playing with it. I am very satisfied with all the differnt settings, tones, effects etc. Its pretty cool, this thing has endless possibilities, crazy!!!! Dont know. It appears to be built well. I am a basement dweller. I dont play in a band, Its a hobby. My kids think im crazy. The fact that I can get any tone, sound, distortion blah, blah, blah, really makes this a fun toy for me. Im sure a pro might not like this but for me or someone who wants a ton of effects and tone that sound awsome for less $$$ its awsome and Im keeping this around for awhile. Your general opinion of this product. For my style of playing,(anything that rocks) it fits me perfectly, I did alot of research on this, and I made a good choice. I mostly play Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Pantera, Rush,Black Label/Ozzy. You know the old 80's Metal Maniac stuff for you 35-40+ year olds. The RP500 is failry easy to use. The X-Edit is awsome, easy and fun once downloaded. If you want to have some fun with all kinds of possibilities, this is a good option. The factory sounds are pretty good, I have tweak several of them and I am totally impressed. The RP 500 looks very good. It looks really good with my Marshall set up and sounds wicked. I was jammin right out of the box, before I read the manual. Read the manual. Im telling you this thing has more stuff than anyone could possibly need. The individual effects are sweet and numerous styles. I could go on all day about this, but id rather be playing with it. Hey with the payment plan, wifey doesnt even know how much I paid for it.