Re: Digitech RDS-8000, RDS 3.6 - good loop tools?

[legion <legion@voicenet.com>]

eric potter wrote:

> I'd like to hear anything about using the older Digitech stuff for
> looping, particularly the RDS-8000, RDS-3.6 sec. and the RDS-1900. I've
> been offered one or more of these in a long-distance trade, but I've
> never tried them. These days I use a Jam Man and a Boomerang. I'm not at
> all afraid of lo-fi situations, in fact I'm looking for a tool for the
> gritty extremes.

The time machine series has a number of generations in it. the earlier
ones are more noisy (not nescessarily gritty - just noisy) and came be
identified by their large grey buttons that stick out of the front
pannel and black with blue lettering design. Next came two series of
balck units with blue lettering and flatter square buttons. These units
were a little quieter and started to stretch out the times some more
(ie: this series introduced the 7.6 second delay) and the 2nd series
added a manual trigger button. Finally there was the white/grey design
and this had the 8 second delay with all the trimmings.

As a sound processor  I think these things are amazing. I use my 3.6 sec
(mid period) delay all the time for almost everything live. It can
stutter a sound, do the roboflange, and catch a loop and destroy it with
the built in width which acts as an LFO. Really freaky stuff.

As a straight looper it's a bit limited though. You can easily set the
time manually and warp the loop with the front pannel knobs but there's
not much chance of layering (at least not in the EPD or Jamman sense)
and you can't play something backwards or anything like that.

Still it is a wonderful piece and fairly inexpensive these days. oddly
enough I've used an 8 second and decided to stick with my 3.6 as it
prompts me to do more with the sound that a straight loop in order to
make it interesting. YMMV but overall I say the time machines are killer
pieces.

All the loops on my latest live album were done feeding a pitchshifting
tape recorder into the time machine. It does *insane* things.

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