BSM Releases The RPA Pedal At Musikmesse 2008

The BSM RPA model was officially released on the Musikmesse Frankfurt and it is a little sensation. The RPA (Ritchie's Pre Amp) emulates Ritchies AIWA reel-to-reel tape recorder preamp stage plus the high-pass treble booster function from Blackmore's hot-rodded Marshal Major amp, to get Ritchie's post '74 sound with any standard amp.

The RPA is equipped with a gain control, to dial in the best possible balance for the use with different amps and pickups. The EQ control allows a tonal fine tuning for the use of the RPA with different pickups, amps and speakers for an optimum in versatility. Depending on the pickups, the sweet spot of the EQ control is located between 11:00 and 1:00 o'clock. Another highlight of the RPA was more or less created by accident: with the gain pot fully opened, and the EQ control completely closed, you receive the authentical Blackmore sound from the great "Machine Head" album or Ritchie Blackmore's "Rainbow"

As a soulmate for the RPA, you can use any mild sounding amp with a good master control function. Plug it in front of the CLEAN or CRUNCH channel, but don't use the high-gain or distortion channel ! Because of the EQ control, you can use all kinds of pickups, from the brilliant sounding low-gain Fender Custom Shop '69 (aka "Abigail Ybarra" pickups) up to the thundering Seymour Duncan "Quarterpounds". The booster is true bypass and can powered with 9 or 18 volts by battery or with the external power AC jack for more headroom. The BSM full guarantee periods are 1 year for all mechanical parts, including the switch, pots, jacks etc. and 3 years for the electronics. BSM stompboxes are built like tanks and should last forever.

MSRP: €280