Interesting use of a boss rc-2 loop station.

I was just browsing around pedalboards on the internet, and found this.

I don't think I've ever heard Scott Henderson's playing but I found this pic of his pedalboard off his official website.

Notice the disconnected pedal, the Boss RC-2 loop station. RC-2, a relatively new boss pedal, is a compact phrase recorder with 16 minutes(!) of recording time. Scott Henderson uses the RC-2 during soundcheck to listen to what he would sound like to the audience, tweaking the sounds from there. And then he doesnt use the looper at all during the performance. Brilliant!

I personally don't have much interest in digital looping but Henderson's use of RC-2 is a great example of how digital recording can be advantageous to tone perfectionists/experimentalists. It completely solves my problem where I want to tweak knobs to but at the same time keep strumming. Taking his idea, I put a sample pack on my iPod to test out gear. If you have an iPod and audacity:

1)get some digital recordings of what your guitar(s) sound like, just a few minutes of the kind of riffs that you play, recorded direct from the guitar. It will probably seem too quiet, but that is a good sign.
2) keep those recordings on a special album your Ipod. Don't be shy, keep the files quiet so guests wont turn it on at a party. You can patch the iPod into your pedal board or amp to soundcheck or dial in the proper settings on the confusing gear. You might even have the iPod on you when you want try out a distortion pedal and your guitar is at home. oh yeah and it would especially help at gig I suppose(not that I play em),