Bostonrocks

okay, I'll do this right this time.




The Power soak
This is the unit that started it all for SR&D. The power soak is device that you would place between head and the cabinet to attenuate to power delivered to the speakers. This allows you to crank the amp but maintain a reasonable sound level.




Rockman X100
Then came the Rockman X100, it was introduced in the early 80's and was the first of the "walkman-style" practice amplifiers. In addition to the X100 there was a soloist and a bass rockman. Later the "Ace" series was introduced(junk in my opinion and most other rockman junkies).

It has Distortion/Edge/Clean1/Clean2 Also has Normal/chorus off/echo off (when in normal you play both chorus and echo)also has a 3 setting switch for volume (quiet, normal and loud) it also has 2 headphones out, guitar in, and a Aux In/Low level out.

The X100 was a revolutionary piece of gear. At the time there was nothing else like it. It was an instant hit and showed up on many professional recordings in the 80's & 90's (Ie. ZZ top Joe Satriani)

The X100 sounds best through a full range, flat response system like headphones, stereos, PA's and recording decks. It doesn't sound it's best as a preamp through a guitar amp.



Rockman Sustainer
Then came the "sustainer" the first of the "rockmodules" It became a huge hit in the 80s. It was one of the best preamps of the time, and in reality was one of the first "modelers". A couple of the cool features of the sustainer was the compresser that was at the beginning of the circut then on to the actually preamp/sound part of the module with Dist, Edge,Cln,Cln2 (clean 2 is like a staple of the 80s with it's very compressed and clean clean sound) the cool thing about the edge setting is the ability to use the "auto clean" where it works like a tube amp and you can use your volume to control the level of OD. there was also a Phase notcher (a control that lets you mimic the sound of the phase cancilation of a miced cab. There were three versions of the sustainer 100, 100A, and 200. The 100 and 100A are almost identical other than some very minor changes, the 100A was a crossover or transitional version of the 100 to the 200. the 100 and 100As usually have more gain are a bit louder (more hiss) and have a bit more grit, great for the 80s sound. The model 200's have less his and less gain a bit smoother better for the "boston" sound. The late Model 200s (89 or 90 and later) are the most sought after because of the double IC chips.



Rockman Chorus/Delay
The Rockman Rockman Chorus/Delay was one of the first rockmodules introduced. Although there are many fans of this unit I think it has some limitations. You can only select the chorus or the delay, not both together. Also the maximum delay time is only 200ms. I personally like to use at least 250ms for an echo setting. The delay is not stereo.

Other than the above limitations the unit sounds great.



Rockman Stereo Echo
This is perhaps one of the most desirable modules. The Rockman stereo echo is highly sought after and is considered by many to be one of the finest delays you can buy. Like the other modules it's beauty lies in it's simplicity.

The delay can be set to a maximum of 500ms. A curious feature of the unit is that the delay times are not exactly 1/2 of each other. The ratios were set like this so the delay would not step all over the mix.

To create a natural sunding delay there is a 6dB per octave rolloff in the feedback circuit. This means for every repeat the highs get softer and softer. This simulates the way a tape echo works.

this is easily one of the best analog delay you can ever get, they are still used in alot of studios today.



Rockman Stereo Chorus
This one of my favorite pieces of Rockman gear and in my opinion of of the best sounding chorus units available. As with all Rockman gear it's just about impossible to get a bad sound out of the Rockman Chorus. The LONG switch selects a delay time of 20ms or 40ms. The longer delay creates a more intense effect and almost sounds like a doubler. It's great for thickening up a tone.

Though not evident by the front panel the Rockman Chorus also has a "sweep stop" feature which can be activated via footswitch. Sweep stop removes the modulation.



Rockman EQ
All of the Rockman modules were designed out of need. What makes this EQ special is the concentration of frequencies in the mid-range, those most critical to the guitar.

I would run the EQ right after the sustainor. I like to add a little more bottom at 125hz if you want a bit less Rockmany. Tom Scholz would have an EQ before and after the sustainor. I would used the Rockman EQ on everything from guitars, drum machines, vocals and bass. Great Unit.



Rockman Compressor
This is one of the Rockman modules I don't know much about since the sustainor has a built in compressor I never really payed attention to this unit.

That being said it was a favorite unit amongst guitarists. I once noticed one in the backstage warm-up rack for Eddie Van Halen. I don't know if it was used on his stage setup though


Rockman XPR
The Rockman XPR was one of the last pieces of gear to be offered by SR&D. This unit had it all, compressor, chorus, delay and pre/post EQ. As I mentioned earlier Tom used to run a EQ in both the pre and post distortion phases.

This unit had 100 midi accesible user-presets. I was never too interested in this unit since I had some of the other rockman modules already.

However, they offered the XPR in a 100W boombox, which I did drool over.





Rockman Distortion Generator:
Nothing more than the Edge and Distortion circuit of the Sustainer with an added 3 band EQ before and a treble booster after the OD. Also has a MUCH improved Auto-Clean circuit

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Bostonrocks

Reserved for the rest of the Digital Modules

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ShredGod George

My frind learned to play on a soloist though headphones

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Bostonrocks

the soloist is a great little headphone amp for cheap, most of me recording were done with it

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Bostonrocks

bump

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ShredGod George

how why is tom sholz's name on them?

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Bostonrocks

Scholz Invented the design and also owned the company

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BeerChurch

Great stuff!!!
In the 80's EVERYONE had the X100. (Parents especially loved this device!)

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http://www.robrandolphmusic.com

Bostonrocks

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Bostonrocks

bump

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gregs1020

Had one, loved it. I'm liking the stereo chorus unit. *runs to craigslist*.

Bostonrocks

go for it greg, it's a great unit

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shadow__666

Brett, how expensive is that Stereo Chorus? I need something that gives better chorus tones than my POS CF-7...

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Flying Couch

I'm going to find an old X100 one of these days, I swear it.

mmolteratx

There's been an X100 on CL here for several months. No one seems to want it. I may pick it up since it's only $65.

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WTLT 2012
PBT Native
Gear
GG&A BotB Best Rig 2012

Bostonrocks

Shadow, they go for between 1 and 150ish on Clist and ebay. also be sure to check HC

mmolteratx,

Jump on that now, it's a good deal X100's are going for 1-120 on ebay right now

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mmolteratx

Sweet, I'm gonna have to make a call in the morning.

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WTLT 2012
PBT Native
Gear
GG&A BotB Best Rig 2012

Bostonrocks

yes, yes you will. Let me know if you get it.

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Bostonrocks

bump

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