DigiTech RP21D manual Selecting a Program, Creating Programs, Preamp Defaults, Editing the Preamp

RP21D User’s Guide Section Two - Editing Functions

Section Two - Editing Functions

Selecting a Program

When creating or editing a sound, you must first start by choosing a Program. The Program number does not necessarily need to be the location which you intend to have the sound reside, as you can save your creation to any user Program number during the store process. You do have to start with one of the user or factory Programs. It is not possible to start with a completely empty Program. Pick a Program which will be your starting point.

Creating Programs

The RP21D lets you create your own Programs, or fine tune the original settings to suit your needs. Editing and creating is a very simple process that doesn’t require a lot of time dedicated to learning the menus. Once a Program has been edited to your liking, you may store those settings to any of the 128 user Programs. Remember that the user Programs are duplicates of the factory Programs so, you are not at risk of losing any of the sounds that the RP21D came with.

Preamp Defaults

Once you have selected the Program, press the Preamp button once. All of the modules in the Preamp section will begin flashing in the display. This is the default page of the Preamp. A default is a way of quickly getting several effects and/or parameters set up without having to Program each one individually. It remembers the settings of all of the preamp effect modules and will set all parameters to the values stored in the default. There are 30 factory and 30 user preamp defaults in the RP21D. You can choose one of the factory preamp defaults that suits your needs, or tailor your basic sound to get a custom preamp tone that you will want to use for several other Programs. You can then store your custom default to a user default location. Then when you create a new Program in which you wish to use that same preamp tone, all you have to do is select the same default setting. This saves you the time and hassle of reprograming the preamp every time you create a Program.

Editing the Preamp

Let’s suppose that you are not going to use a default for the preamp, or that you are going to create a custom default setting. This means that you will need to edit all the effects in the preamp individually. To access the effects within the preamp, press the preamp button twice. The Compressor box will begin to flash indicating that you are about to edit the compressor module. Successive presses of the preamp button will advance through all of the effect modules in the preamp section. Once you reach the end of the preamp modules, the RP21D will “loop around” and start at the beginning again. Every module will have parameters associated with that effect available for editing. These parameters will be shown in the 1-4 positions of the display. To adjust any of these parameters, press any of the 1-4 buttons and an arrow will appear next to the corresponding parameter. Rotate the Data Wheel to change the value of that parameter.

When the preamp has been edited to suit your requirements, you may store the settings to a user default for use in other Programs, or move on to editing your digital effects within the current Program.

The Preamp Effects

The preamp contains a total of 7 different effects. The effects were laid out in the most logical and best sounding order and cannot be changed. The guitar signal can go through any or all of the modules. The first effect that your guitar goes through is the compressor. The output of the compressor is then fed to the Wah. After the Wah effect, the signal can be split and run through two discrete Distortion paths. Each Distortion path has a dedicated Equalizer. The expression pedal can be assigned to morph between the two Distortion paths (see page 50 for more information on morphing). The outputs of the Equalizers are sent into a Noise Gate which is the end of the Preamp effect modules. Each effect in the preamp (except for the Wah) includes a default menu exclusive to that effect.

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