Rockman : The Products - Rockman - By Tom Scholz
Rockman : The Products - Rockman - By Tom Scholz
Rockman : The Products - Rockman - By Tom Scholz
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Rockman</strong> : <strong>The</strong> <strong>Products</strong><br />
_____<br />
Inside the Blue Box<br />
www.rockman.fr
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
THE POWER SOAK ............................................................................................................................... 3<br />
THE HEADPHONES AMPS.................................................................................................................... 7<br />
ROCKMOUNT, ROCKMAX AND ROCKBOX...................................................................................... 15<br />
THE ROCKMOUNT................................................................................................................................15<br />
THE ROCKMAX .................................................................................................................................... 17<br />
THE ROCKBOX .................................................................................................................................... 18<br />
THE ROCKMODULES.......................................................................................................................... 20<br />
SUSTAINOR ..................................................................................................................................... 21<br />
INSTRUMENT EQ............................................................................................................................. 27<br />
CHORUS/DELAY.............................................................................................................................. 31<br />
STEREO CHORUS ........................................................................................................................... 35<br />
STEREO ECHO ................................................................................................................................37<br />
GUITAR COMPRESSOR.................................................................................................................. 40<br />
SMART GATE ................................................................................................................................... 45<br />
DISTORTION GENERATOR ............................................................................................................ 49<br />
MIDI-OCTOPUS................................................................................................................................52<br />
DUAL REMOTE LOOP...................................................................................................................... 56<br />
THE XP SERIES ................................................................................................................................... 58<br />
THE PGE-2............................................................................................................................................ 63<br />
THE PRO-BASS ................................................................................................................................... 65<br />
AGP, UDG AND A12-50 ....................................................................................................................... 66<br />
ACCESSORIES .................................................................................................................................... 68<br />
STAGE GEAR....................................................................................................................................... 72<br />
APPENDICES ....................................................................................................................................... 73<br />
PRODUCTS LIST.............................................................................................................................. 74<br />
PRESS REVIEWS............................................................................................................................. 80<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 2
Introduction<br />
THE POWER SOAK<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Power Soak was the first commercial product by <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong>. It wasn't named "<strong>Rockman</strong>": this<br />
trademark was introduced only in 1982 at the creation of the headphones amp.<strong>The</strong> Power Soak is<br />
therefore "<strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong>'s Power Soak"<br />
Though the Power Soak was not the first power attenuation device for guitar amps, it was the first to<br />
be 100% reliable, the first to respect the sound of the amp. Most of all, it was the first to include a<br />
volume control: the previous devices were only dummy-loads without setting.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� <strong>The</strong> old-school tube-amps can sound good, accidentally. As a matter of fact, someone with a brain<br />
will easily make the following statements:<br />
• <strong>The</strong>se amps were created in a time where the bands had no mixer and no PA. <strong>The</strong>y were thus<br />
way too loud for what we do today<br />
• <strong>The</strong> lack of gain of the preamps, and the lack of controls over the power-amp section, obliges<br />
the player to crank them up in the hope of getting a good sound<br />
• All in all, it's almost impossible to get a good sound of these old amps and to control the<br />
volume at the same time<br />
<strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> has recorded the two first albums of Boston with these big, over-powered Marshall stacks,<br />
cranked up at 11. Since he's a clever man and knew that his ears are precious for a musician, he<br />
designed the Power Soak as a "Volume Control Device", as defined by the US patents 4,143,245,<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 3
D256,798, 4,363,934 and D270,153. <strong>The</strong> Power-Soak not only attenuates the power of your amp: it<br />
allows a precise control over the global volume of your set-up. In other terms, tweak your sound first,<br />
then adjust your volume.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> personal prototypes used by <strong>Scholz</strong> from 1975 (?) till 1980 allowed the new-born company<br />
SR&D to issue its first product, the Power-Soak, in the end of 1980. <strong>The</strong> first commercial ads<br />
appeared in 1981, and were rather product oriented: the Power-Soak is a tool, not a toy, and it really<br />
solves a problem for the guitarist.<br />
An updated version of the original Power-Soak, known as "Model II", was issued in the end of 1981: it<br />
has an extra switch made to adapt the Power-Soak to the solid-state amps (though its primary target<br />
is the tube amps market). <strong>The</strong> resistors network was tweaked a little, for a more precise attenuation<br />
control (?). No audible sonic difference with Model I.<br />
Discontinued in 1982 when the <strong>Rockman</strong> headphones amp was created, the Power-Soak was reissued<br />
in 1992 as a PS-III model: the difference is in the jack positions (rear panel on the re-issue,<br />
front panel on the original). <strong>The</strong> solid-state switch has disappeared, and the manual says that the PS-<br />
3 can be used both with solid-state and tubes amps. <strong>The</strong> impedance selector has two positions only (4<br />
& 8 ohms), but 16 ohms amps can be used at the 8 ohms setting.<br />
� How many Power-Soaks were built? Around 10,000, if we refer to the number of eBay transactions<br />
per year. That's consistent with the serial number of a Power Soak I own, which has the serial number<br />
81-3391 (approximately 3500 per year).<br />
Features & Structure, Hook-up<br />
� <strong>The</strong> following pictures show the 3 types of Power Soak (Model II, Model I and Model III), front then<br />
rear view. That's fairly explicit...<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Power Soak must be first connected to the amp. Before doing that, one must set the Power-<br />
Soak to the proper impedance with the front panel switch (4, 8 or 16 ohms).<br />
<strong>The</strong>n one or two cabs (parallel mode) can be connected to the Power Soak outputs: once the Power-<br />
Soak is connected to the amp, this amp cannot be damaged, since its powerwill be anyway dissipated<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 4
y the Power-Soak. Should someone turn his tube amp on before connecting a load to it, the accident<br />
will happen: the output transformer will probably blow out!<br />
<strong>The</strong> Power-Soak is not just a volume pot: it handles up to 100W power (equivalent to a regular light<br />
bulb), so using power-designed cables is absolutely necessary: using audio line signal level cables<br />
would certainly result in a shortage, blowing the amp out too.<br />
� Inside the Power-Soak, what do we have? A network of power resistors, housed in a grill-type<br />
enclosure designed to dissipate the heat. In the middle of the resistors network, a rotary selector that<br />
configures them for the desired attenuation: from -32dB to 0dB (full power setting). At -32dB, one can<br />
even connect the output of the Power-Soak to headphones or to a mixer: the signal level is now low<br />
enough for that.<br />
Usage, samples and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Power-Soak can be used in several situations:<br />
• Crank up an amp in the studio and turn down the volume until people can stand it...<br />
• Tweak the sound you want on stage, then adjust the volume to match the venue or the rest of<br />
the band (difficult for a guitarist, but you can do it!)<br />
• Bedroom playing: you can at least use your favorite tube amp at home with a decent sound!<br />
� I have put on line some samples recorded with a Power-Soak: search for them in the samples<br />
page. You will see (hear?) that the sound is good, knowing it was recorded in a flat with only an SM58<br />
in front of my Boogie, without specific care for the mike's placement.<br />
� Are there any limitations? Apart from the fact that the Power-Soak will not accept a 150W Triple<br />
Rectifier (it is "limited" to 100-120W), it's only fair to say that the less you attenuate, the better it<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 5
sounds. It is not due to the Power-Soak itself: the guitar speakers are not linear and need a minimum<br />
amount of power to "breathe". If you send only a few watts into a guitar cab designed for 100W, the<br />
sound will be somehow flat and muddy. You can partially correct that with the tone controls of your<br />
amp, but let's say it: there's nothing like feeling the air moving with 100W in your ears, and you won't<br />
get the same sensations with 1W sent into a 4x12' cab. That's normal. Moreover, the human ear<br />
doesn't behave the same way at high SPL's or at low SPL's, making it impossible to compare bedroom<br />
level playing and stage level playing.<br />
This limitation is of course out of scope for normal attenuations: the Power-Soak is really respectful to<br />
the sound of your amp if you only need a few dB's attenuation. Remember that -3dB is equivalent to<br />
dividing the power by 2, and the Power-Soak can go down to -32dB (headphones level)!<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� With only less than 10,000 items sold worldwide, it can be quite hard to catch on eBay. Prices vary<br />
from $100 to $300, depending on the version, the condition and of course the current market demand.<br />
� It seems that no-one really cares about the model (I, II or III): as a matter of fact, I have made A/B<br />
comparisons (refer to the samples) between the three of them and though they have minor technical<br />
differences, cannot tell which is which in a blind test.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Power-Soak does it job and does it safely. It's an excellent tool, not to<br />
say mandatory tool, for any guitarist who loves the sound of his tube amp.<br />
Improved products have been issued since, with or without built-in cab sims<br />
(Allan Holdworth, Motherload, the well-known Palmer, THD Hotplate,<br />
Marshall's Power-Brake, etc...): none of them is as robust, versatile and<br />
simple as the mother of them all, the Power-Soak.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 6
Introduction<br />
THE HEADPHONES AMPS<br />
� If Boston is the band that has created the Adult Oriented Rock sound, the <strong>Rockman</strong> is the device<br />
that enabled creating the guitar sound of the eighties. From Sports by Huye Lewis - as soon as 1983 -<br />
to Satriani's Surfin' with the Alien via ZZ Top (Eliminator, Recycler, etc...) and Don Henley's "Building<br />
the perfect beast", the <strong>Rockman</strong> sound was omnipresent throughout the whole decade.<br />
This black box was a real revolution. Considered now as the ancestor of the modern digital<br />
multieffects, the <strong>Rockman</strong> was much more than a portable practice amp.<br />
� It was, more than anything else, the first amp simulator ever made available as a commercial<br />
product.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� When <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> has created the <strong>Rockman</strong>, he had two different objectives in mind:<br />
1. Create a device that would allow him record Boston's music without the huge and<br />
cumbersome tube Marshall stacks: an amp simulator<br />
2. Create a commercial product for his young company, <strong>Scholz</strong> Research & Development: a<br />
headphones amp<br />
� <strong>The</strong> first SR&D product, the Power Soak, was a honourable success. Its nature (a professional tool)<br />
was not suitable for a wide distribution to the end-consumers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> was launched in 1982: it was an instant hit. In 1982, there was no homestudios, no<br />
DAW's, and playing DI through the band mixer was too exotic for a majority of guitarists. So the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> was completed by a fancy accessory: headphones! <strong>The</strong> name itself, <strong>Rockman</strong>, was based<br />
on Sony's Walkman ®, and a set of headphones was actually the most convenient way to provide<br />
quality stereo sound.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 7
Stereo was a fantastic and really new feature. Today, in 2008, we have forgotten what mono was: only<br />
old chaps like me remember the mono record players and tape recorders we used in the seventies!<br />
<strong>The</strong> younger generations don't even know that there was mono AM radio before the stereo FM they<br />
are used to...<br />
� Ahead of its time? No. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> was right on time, and arrived exactly when the market<br />
needed such a tool. That's the key factor of all the success stories...<br />
Inside the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
� If you want to understand what a <strong>Rockman</strong> is and why it sounds so good, the first thing to do is to<br />
...forget the headphones!<br />
Think of the <strong>Rockman</strong> as a stereo amp simulator, designed to be connected directly into the<br />
soundcard of your PC, or in the mixer of your band. Once that said, let's take a look at the internal<br />
structure of a <strong>Rockman</strong>.<br />
� One can roughly identify two parts: a first mono section that corresponds to the amp simulator in<br />
itself. <strong>The</strong>n a stereo effects section, with a stereo chorus and a stereo reverb.<br />
All in all, you connect your guitar to the <strong>Rockman</strong>. <strong>The</strong> signal goes through:<br />
• A compressor<br />
• A distortion unit (or nothing in clean modes)<br />
• A cab sim<br />
That's the amp simulator. <strong>The</strong>n the stereo part, where the <strong>Rockman</strong> creates two different versions of<br />
the signal:<br />
• One channel is based on the dry, original sound, plus some reverb<br />
• <strong>The</strong> other channel goes through a short delay modulated by an LFO (thats the chorus effect)<br />
plus another reverb’d sound<br />
You have now two channels, left and right, with a huge spatial image due both to the stereo chorus<br />
and the stereo reverb. About the use of these two effects, you can read the section called "<strong>Rockman</strong> -<br />
the Concept" for an extensive analysis<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 8
� <strong>The</strong> cab sim of the <strong>Rockman</strong> was, in 1982, a truly innovative concept: certainly the first circuit<br />
designed to reproduce the frequency response of a guitar speaker in such a small device. <strong>The</strong><br />
concept was so new that SR&D didn't even think about calling it "cab sim". It was simply called<br />
"complex filter", and the following curve shows its frequency response.<br />
If this cab sim mimicks the frequency response of a guitar speaker, it cannot duplicate its dynamic<br />
response. And that was critical!<br />
� <strong>The</strong> main difference between a real amp and any amp simulator is that that the speaker has some<br />
physical, mechanical inertia that levels the tough peaks of a guitar signal. <strong>The</strong> attack of an electric<br />
guitar is way too strong to be pleasant to hear, and that's why we need these big speakers: they kinda<br />
compress these unpleasant attacks.<br />
Compression? Well, there is a compressor in the <strong>Rockman</strong>! And that's the real secret of <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong><br />
guitar sound, much more than EQ's, filters and saturation.<br />
<strong>The</strong> above diagram shows how the simple compression circuit of the <strong>Rockman</strong> limits the attack of the<br />
note, and attenuates the difference between the initial peak of the note and its decay. That's what a<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 9
guitar speaker does with its mechanical inertia, and that what makes the <strong>Rockman</strong> sound realistic,<br />
combined with the cab sim.<br />
� A few words about the <strong>Rockman</strong> Distortion. If you are receptiveto the marketing speech of these<br />
common stompboxes manufacturers, I'm sure that you think the <strong>Rockman</strong> distortion had something<br />
special.<br />
Well, the <strong>Rockman</strong> distortion is the only classic part of the circuit!<br />
A distortion stage is nothing: compression, that alters the dynamics, and filters, that process the<br />
harmonics balance of a sound, are the critical factor. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Distortion in itself doesn't have<br />
any real importance, just like tubes or solid-state has a very limited impact on the final sound of a<br />
guitar amp: its design is from far more important.<br />
And here's a proof of this statement: though they sound alike, the <strong>Rockman</strong> and the X100 don't have<br />
the same distortion circuit...<br />
<strong>The</strong> following diagram describes the clipping (saturation) stages of both the <strong>Rockman</strong> and the X100.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are clearly different, and the corresponding waveforms are also different. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> uses<br />
what is called a "soft-clipping circuit" with 4 diodes, while the X100 is based on a "hard-clipping circuit"<br />
with 2 LED's.<br />
Note: the terms "soft" or "hard" clipping refer to the position of the diodes in the circuit, not to their<br />
number. <strong>The</strong> Soloist has a 2 diodes soft-clipping circuit, for example.<br />
Does an X100 sound really different from a <strong>Rockman</strong> IIB ? No, of course: even if the clipping was<br />
made with a tube in one case, and an OpAmp only in the other one, the results would be very similar!<br />
<strong>The</strong> compressor before the clipping stage, along with the cab sim after the clipping stage, are the two<br />
elements that really make the sound.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 10
� <strong>The</strong> compressor and the cab sim, joining their functions, have the role that a speaker has in a guitar<br />
amp.<br />
<strong>The</strong> message can be summarized as follows.<br />
When you listen to someone playing electric guitar, what you get is:<br />
1 - <strong>The</strong> player himself<br />
2 - <strong>The</strong> cab<br />
3 - <strong>The</strong> electronics<br />
<strong>The</strong> electronic part of an amp has a limited impact on the sound. That's the reason why the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
allowed easily to replace these huge Marshall stacks: their electronics had a very little influence on<br />
what was recorded, and <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> managed to capture the response of a recorded guitar cab inside<br />
his little black box!<br />
Evolutions & Features<br />
� <strong>The</strong> original <strong>Rockman</strong> (1982) was followed by five similar guitar products:<br />
Type Birth Clipping Sounds Chorus Reverb<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> 1982 Soft CLN2/CLN/EDGE/DIST Yes Yes<br />
Ultralight 1983 Soft CLN2/CLN/EDGE/DIST Yes No<br />
X100 1984 Hard CLN2/CLN/EDGE/DIST Yes Yes<br />
Soloist 1984 Soft CLN/EDGE/DIST Yes No<br />
Guitar Ace 1990 Soft CLN/EDGE/DIST No No<br />
Metal Ace 1994 Soft CLN/EDGE/DIST No No<br />
• Note 1: the Ultralight was strictly a <strong>Rockman</strong> IIB without reverb.<br />
• Note 2: the Soloist was a real new product with its own design: actually, a simplified <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
circuit.<br />
• Note 3: the Guitar Ace has no effects. It is basically the amp simulation part of a <strong>Rockman</strong>.<br />
• Note 4: the Metal Ace is a Guitar Ace with more gain and a different voicing.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> & X100 line was in constant evolution. As a matter of fact, there were 7 revisions<br />
(from REV1 to REV7) for the <strong>Rockman</strong>, called <strong>Rockman</strong>, <strong>Rockman</strong> II and <strong>Rockman</strong> IIB, and 3<br />
revisions for the X100 (from REV8 to REV10). <strong>The</strong>re are minor external changes that can help<br />
identifying the actual REV# of a <strong>Rockman</strong>, but the only reliable solution is to read it on the PCB, inside<br />
the enclosure.<br />
• A <strong>Rockman</strong> I can be a REV1 or a REV2<br />
• A <strong>Rockman</strong> II can be a REV3 or a REV4<br />
• A <strong>Rockman</strong> IIB can be a REV5, 6 or 7<br />
• <strong>The</strong> REV8 is stamped <strong>Rockman</strong> on the front, and X100 on the back<br />
• An X100 without power supply TRS mini-jack can be a REV9 or a REV10<br />
• An X100 with a power supply TRS mini-jack is a REV10<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 11
� Apart from the soft versus hard clipping difference described above, the <strong>Rockman</strong> differed from the<br />
X100 by an additional switch, actionned mechanically by a folded metal square: <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> has<br />
always been fond of these mechanical tricks!<br />
<strong>The</strong> square pushes the additional switch when the <strong>Rockman</strong> is in EDGE or DIST mode. In the X100,<br />
this trick has disappeared: its purpose was to shift a filter that was necessary in the <strong>Rockman</strong>.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 12
<strong>The</strong> square was often lost on the old <strong>Rockman</strong>'s, causing an unpleasant sound in distortion modes.<br />
Bass headphones amps<br />
� <strong>The</strong> guitar headphones amps range was completed by two bass products:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> Bass <strong>Rockman</strong>, in 1984<br />
• <strong>The</strong> Bass Ace, issued with the Guitar Ace in 1990<br />
<strong>The</strong> two units are totally different: while the Bass Ace is an economic mono product with minimum<br />
features, the Bass <strong>Rockman</strong> is a genuine stereo professional product with amazing features for its<br />
size:<br />
• Built-in DBX compressor<br />
• Stereo chorus, specially voiced for the bass<br />
• Several filters providing various EQ settings<br />
• Distortion stage<br />
• Anti-click filter for people playing bass with a pick<br />
� In other terms, the Bass Ace cannot really be used without post-processing, while the Bass<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> can provide a complete range of finished stereo sounds, directly useable for a professional<br />
production.<br />
Usage, samples and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> users themselves have certainly been really creative with the <strong>Rockman</strong>, and it's impossible to<br />
make an exhaustive list of the configurations that people have used since 1982. Basically, in 2008,<br />
here are the most common usages of a <strong>Rockman</strong> headphones amp.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 13
• Practice amp<br />
This is the immediate function of the <strong>Rockman</strong>: pick up a headphones set, connect your guitar to the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong>, and enjoy this huge stereo sound! You also can connect an mp3 player and jam along with<br />
your favorite songs, or work with a backtrack.<br />
• Homestudio<br />
That's where the <strong>Rockman</strong> becomes really interesting. In 1982, homestudios were the privilege of<br />
some happy fews. We are in 2008, and if you read these lines, you have a PC and probably a<br />
soundcard - hence a homestudio.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first function of the <strong>Rockman</strong> is the amp simulation, designed for DI. Connect your <strong>Rockman</strong> into<br />
the stereo input of your soundcard, and you will really appreciate its ease of use and its sound quality.<br />
• Rehearsal<br />
Tired of hauling your heavy amp and effects rack between home and the rehearsal room? Take your<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> and walk! Thousands of people have done it before you, for rehearsal, studio sessions or<br />
even stage use. In 2008, I wouldn't recommend using a <strong>Rockman</strong> on stage, because of its limited<br />
switching features, and a professional studio has of course many ways to achieve the same results.<br />
But in everyday's life, the magic little black box still does its job, and does it well!<br />
� How does a <strong>Rockman</strong> sound? That's, after all, an important question! If you have really never heard<br />
one, you will find plenty of samples on this dedicated page. <strong>The</strong> best being of course to buy one and<br />
try it by yourself...<br />
� What are the limitations of the <strong>Rockman</strong>? As stated above, the switching system is really poor, and<br />
makes it difficult to envisage a constant usage on stage: real time sound change is almost impossible.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> is based on presets (the 4 basic sounds) and the chorus and reverb have fixed settings:<br />
don't expect creating your own sound with a <strong>Rockman</strong>!<br />
<strong>The</strong> only real drawback of the <strong>Rockman</strong> is the fact that you can turn off the chorus or the reverb, but<br />
not the both of them at the same time. This is weird, but that's the way it is... In case you want a non<br />
processed <strong>Rockman</strong> sound, you have to pick up the rare Ultralight, or turn towards the economic<br />
Soloist and Ace.<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� <strong>The</strong> total quantity of Headphones amps produced by SR&D is certainly above 40000: they are not<br />
rare at all, and are now cheap compared to what they originally costed in the eighties.<br />
� Depending on your budget, you can pick up a Guitar Ace for $50, or go above $100, sometimes<br />
$150 for an X100 in good shape. A complete model with its original box and accessories will of course<br />
call for more.<br />
Due to the continuous improvements brought by SR&D, it is recommended to look for the latest<br />
model, i.e. a REV10 X100, recognizable by its side power-supply mini-jack. Remember that the early<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> models require a Rockadaptor to be used with an external wall-wart! <strong>The</strong> Ultralight is very<br />
rare, and is praised for... its lack of reverb! It's actually the only way to have the straight sound of a<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> without chorus nor reverb added. <strong>The</strong> Soloist is often underated: while its features are<br />
similar to those of an Ultralight, it is usually much cheaper.<br />
<strong>The</strong> homestudio trend makes the <strong>Rockman</strong> headphones amps more<br />
attractive today than what they were in the nineties. <strong>The</strong>y are a wonderful DI<br />
box providing directly a fully processed guitar sound: as a matter of fact, we<br />
are back today to the original mission of the <strong>Rockman</strong>, the headphones<br />
function being a secundary feature.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 14
ROCKMOUNT, ROCKMAX AND ROCKBOX<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> was officially presented as a headphones amp, a sort of practice device designed for<br />
home use. Yet, it was also the first commercial amp simulator designed for DI, and that's what made<br />
its success. <strong>The</strong> problem was to conciliate its fantastic musical possibilities and its poor mechanical<br />
layout: a lot of people have hacked the circuits to allow more switching and easier connexions, while<br />
three commercial add-ons were issued in order to convert the headphone amps into something that<br />
would fit the musicians requirements on stage or in the studio.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se were:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> Rockmount, that converts the <strong>Rockman</strong> into a 19' rack unit<br />
• SR&D's Rockmax, a modification that added footswitching features to the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
• <strong>The</strong> Rockbox, that converted the <strong>Rockman</strong> into a regular pedalboard with full footswitching<br />
capacities<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rockmount<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Rockmount was manufactured by Four Designs Company. Its purpose is to host a <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
headphone amp (<strong>Rockman</strong>, X100, Soloist or Bass <strong>Rockman</strong>) in a 19' rack format.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> must be inserted into a specific case, batteries cover out, and a Rockadaptor bolt in the<br />
rack provides the required supply voltage to the unit. Two jacks are connected to the guitar input and<br />
one of the headphones outputs.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 15
� <strong>The</strong> features of the Rockmount are fairly limited:<br />
• Guitar input on the front panel<br />
• Global bypass footswitch jack on the rear panel<br />
• Dry/Processed balance pot<br />
• Guitar level output jacks on the front panel<br />
• Line level output RCA outputs on the rear panel<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Rockmount provides no control over the <strong>Rockman</strong>, and its only real interesting feature is the<br />
dry/wet balance pot. Mainly designed for a studio usage, the Rockmount did not transform the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> into a stage unit.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rockmount had one quality: the <strong>Rockman</strong> itself was not modified at all, for the best and the worst.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 16
<strong>The</strong> Rockmax<br />
� While the Rockmount was a third-party product, the Rockmax was a genuine modification proposed<br />
by SR&D.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> received an additional PCB with some J-FET switches, and two jacks bolted in the<br />
bottom of the enclosure.<br />
� Connected to these two jacks came a (big) pedalboard that allowed remote control over:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> channel: DIST to CLN, CLN2 or EDGE, depending on the position of the slider switch of<br />
the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
• <strong>The</strong> chorus (On-Off)<br />
• <strong>The</strong> volume (High or Low)<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 17
<strong>The</strong> global shape of the <strong>Rockman</strong> didn't change, and it was therefore far from becoming a real stage<br />
unit, but at least, the <strong>Rockman</strong> could be used on stage without having to go through the tiny slider<br />
switches!<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Rockmax was an excellent compromise, that left the <strong>Rockman</strong> almost unchanged, while the<br />
additional footswitches provided enough possibilities to use the <strong>Rockman</strong> live on stage.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rockbox<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Rockbox was another third-party add-on for the <strong>Rockman</strong>, made by Electronics Specialty<br />
Services. From far the most complex, it converts basically the <strong>Rockman</strong> into a real multieffects<br />
pedalboard.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 18
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> was modified with 1) an additional PCB with a series of J-FET switches, 2) a 25 pins<br />
connnector that links the <strong>Rockman</strong> to the control electronics of the footswitches. Once closed, the<br />
Rockbox was a big and handy stompbox, with 4 footswitches for the 4 channels and two switches for<br />
the Chorus and the Reverb.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Rockbox is clearly the most interesting modification for a <strong>Rockman</strong>, and transforms it into a<br />
genuine stage unit (that can of course also be used in a studio). <strong>The</strong> chorus and the reverb were at<br />
last independant and could be turned off and on with their own footswitch.<br />
<strong>The</strong> addition of the 25 pins connector was unfortunately necessary, but it was of course a deep<br />
modification of the unit (though the <strong>Rockman</strong> can still be used as a standalone device).<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 19
THE ROCKMODULES<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> has created the name,<br />
the sound and the notoriety of the brand.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Rockmodules, introduced in 1986,<br />
rapidly became the core of SR&D's offer,<br />
and more than 20 years later, are still<br />
what the collectors look for.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Rockmodules were all designed<br />
to be high-end analog devices, and it's<br />
still what they are today: the<br />
manufacturers having targeted their<br />
efforts in the digital domain, the overall<br />
quality of the <strong>Rockman</strong> half-racks has<br />
been sometimes equaled, but no<br />
manufacturer can claim he has a<br />
complete range of analog guitar gear at<br />
this level of quality.<br />
� <strong>The</strong>re are roughly three categories of<br />
Rockmodules:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> amp simulators (Sustainor<br />
and Distortion Generator)<br />
• <strong>The</strong> sound processors (EQ,<br />
Compressor, Smart Gate,<br />
Chorus, Echo)<br />
• <strong>The</strong> control devices (Midi<br />
Octopus and Dual Remote Loop)<br />
It is difficult to compare the Sustainor and its derivation, the Distortion Generator, with today's gear:<br />
they are defined more by their sound than by their qualities, and one may like this sound or not.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Midi Octopus was copied several times by other manufacturers (though a midiswitcher is not<br />
something that you can find easily), and after all, it is not an audio device.<br />
But the sound processing modules are all references in their category, even today.<br />
That's what makes the Rockmodules unique: the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Chorus is the best stereo chorus,<br />
the Instrument EQ has no competitor, the Guitar Compressor is unequaled, etc...<br />
� Let's review all these magic boxes one by one, in detail. <strong>The</strong>n all you'll have to do is to try to buy<br />
them and make your own opinion!<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 20
Introduction<br />
SUSTAINOR<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Sustainor is the heart of every <strong>Rockman</strong> rig. It is certainly the most complex and the most<br />
charismatic of the Rockmodules: its development required several years from a complete team of<br />
engineers, probably working separately on sections of the Sustainor.<br />
Though its sound signature is immediately recognizable, the possibilities and versatility of the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor are almost endless, still over twenty years later.<br />
� Certainly the first high-end analog amp simulator ever built, the Sustainor is, still today, an<br />
outstanding device, far above the classical preamp image that some people have of it.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� <strong>The</strong> basis of the <strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor is the amp simulation of the <strong>Rockman</strong> headphones amps. If<br />
one considers that the <strong>Rockman</strong> and the X100 are semi-professional devices, then the Sustainor<br />
stands as the professional extrapolation: while the headphone amps are based on four preset sounds,<br />
the Sustainor was extended by several complex, smart and useful inventions.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 21
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> headphone amp was created by <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> and issued in 1982. SR&D improved it<br />
continuously between 1982 and 1986, without significant changes: only minor circuit tweakings.<br />
In the meantime, <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> had imagined the improvements that would give birth to the Sustainor:<br />
• Adjustable gain stages, volume controls and filters.<br />
• A noise reduction circuit: the Smart Gate<br />
• A truly amazing feature: the Autoclean<br />
• A 4x12' cab simulation: the Phase Notcher<br />
� When did the studies for the Sustainor begin? Probably right after the issue of the <strong>Rockman</strong>: 4<br />
years is not much when the deal is to stuff 1kg of components in the volume of a pocket book! All in<br />
all, the <strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor was issued as a commercial product in January 1986, along with the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> Chorus/Delay.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sustainor, like all the <strong>Rockman</strong> products, was continously improved. <strong>The</strong> first commercial items<br />
correspond to the REV03, knowing the last commercial release, in 1989, was REV09.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first models had this blue logo that make us call them "Blue face", and the rear plate was stamped<br />
"100" (as a matter of fact, all the Rockmodules are stamped 100 and it's more an enclosure type than<br />
anything else). SR&D sold almost 9000 Sustainors in 1986. In February or March 1987 (circa S/N<br />
10000), the rear plate was stamped 100A, and the blue logo was still here. <strong>The</strong>se 100A Sustainors<br />
have nothing special: they are just the last Blue-Face Sustainors, a sort of transition model before the<br />
change of logo.<br />
In October 1987, the logo on the frontplates of the Rockmodules (i.e. the Sustainor, the Chorus/Delay<br />
and the Instrument EQ) received a white logo instead of the original blue one. <strong>The</strong> Chorus/Delay was<br />
actually discontinued, and the existence of white-faced C/D's or blue-faceed EQ's as commercial<br />
products is not proved.<br />
<strong>The</strong> change of logo was accompanied, for the Sustainor, by a change of rear plate: it was now<br />
stamped 200 instead of 100. <strong>The</strong> front plate was slightly modified, and all these changes make us<br />
speak about the Sustainor 200, though the 200 is just a continuous improvement of the 100, not a<br />
different product.<br />
� All in all:<br />
• A total of over 21000 Sustainors were made and sold between 1986 and 1992<br />
• <strong>The</strong> early Sustainors are called 100 or "blue face" and can be identified by their blue logo<br />
• <strong>The</strong> later Sustainors are called 200 or "white face" and can be identified by their white logo<br />
• <strong>The</strong> best Sustainors are the younger ones, and the manufacturing date, along with the Serial<br />
Number, is the key to choose one<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 22
Inside the Module<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Sustainor is complex. Very complex. While the amp simulation circuit of the original <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
took only 6 OpAmps controled by only one mechanical switch, the Sustainor is made of 28 Opamps<br />
with a complete network of mechanical and J-FET switches.<br />
� Let's have a look the structure of a Sustainor to see what are all these OpAmps and Switches are<br />
made for. We can compare it to the structure of the X100's amp sim for an easier understanding:<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 23
� <strong>The</strong> first addition is the Smart Gate, placed right after the compressor, i.e. right before the distortion<br />
stage. As a matter of fact, noise doesn't come from distortion itself: the distortion overamplifies<br />
evrything, and the most discrete breathe can become a real wind sound! <strong>The</strong> Smart Gate is here to<br />
suppress all the breathe noise that the compressor can generate.<br />
What does the Smart Gate do? A classical noise-gate does two things:<br />
1. Compare the signal level and a threshold<br />
2. Cut the sound if the signal is below this threshold<br />
Of course, a noise gate cuts the noise, but it cuts the signal too! <strong>The</strong> Smart Gate operates differently,<br />
and does two things:<br />
1. Follow the signal level instead of comparing it to a threshold<br />
2. Opens or closes a low-pass filter proportionnaly to the signal level<br />
Closing the filter cuts-off the high frequencies where noise is present, an never, never cuts off the<br />
main part of the note. This principle is derived from a more general principle called "adapted filter", a<br />
math-based noise-reduction approach that usually requires very complex circuits (such as the circuit of<br />
Rocktron's Hush). <strong>Scholz</strong> just did the same thing with classic components and a lot of time spent<br />
tweaking his circuit...<br />
� <strong>The</strong> next significant addition is the circuit called Autoclean. We all know that turning down the<br />
volume pot of the guitar reduces the gain of the distortion: to a certain extent, we can go down from<br />
plain distortion to light overdriven sounds. To a certain extent only: the balance between the treble and<br />
the bass frequencies is messed up, and we lose a lot of dynamics. Moreover, it is virtually impossible<br />
to go as low as a clean sound with this technique.<br />
Well, all in all, the Autoclean circuit allows doing all that: total control over the saturation without signal<br />
loss, without dynamics loss, from the guitar volume pot! It is even possible to reduce the gain down to<br />
the clean sounds range.<br />
Though the basis of the Autoclean circuit doesn't look complex, it was actually very tricky to design,<br />
and as a matter of fact, only the younger Sustainors have an Autoclean that really works great.<br />
� <strong>The</strong>n the Phase Notcher. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> cab sim (see the Headphones Amps review for details)<br />
simulates the behavior of a plain single-speaker cab. Some guitarists are used to the weird response<br />
of a multi-speakers cab: this technique was used in the sixties when the speakers had very low<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 24
sensitivities, cause it was the only way to make an amp sound loud. It became 100% useless ver the<br />
years, but the habit is still here: some people love the feeling of a 4x12' cab, as if they were playing in<br />
the Shea Stadium everyday. Well, multi-speakers cabs have a sonic drawback: there are interferences<br />
between the speakers that cancel some frequencies...<br />
<strong>The</strong> objective of the Phase Notcher is to simulate this default: it produces a nasal sound, that you may<br />
like or not. <strong>The</strong> following curve depicts the frequency response of the Phase Notcher:<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Sustainor has another smart trick that can be really helpful: the rhythm volume footswitch. This<br />
turns down the global output volume a little, and at the same time scoops the mid frequencies to leave<br />
room to the lead instruments or vocals within a mix. Simple and efficient!<br />
� Last but not the least: the Sustainor has a special loop designed to host a pre-distortion equalizer.<br />
Placing an EQ before the distortion stage and another EQ after the Sustainor is the key to all the<br />
possible sound variations, from mellow to harsh and from classic rock to modern sounds (refer to the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> Concept section for details).<br />
Usage, samples and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> endless parameters combinations of the Sustainor make it an extremely complete and versatile<br />
tool. <strong>The</strong> samples and tracks posted on the dedicated page show how far one can go with <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
gear: listen for example to the cover of "Shine on you crazy Diamond" to see (hear?) that a Sustainor<br />
is much more than a Boston-in-a-box tool.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first contact may be a little surprising: if you play alone during the first test, you will probably find<br />
the sound a little nasal! That's perfectly normal, if you consider that the Sustainor was designed to play<br />
guitar within a band, i.e. with other instruments. A guitar is always mixed with an emphasis on the mid<br />
frequencies (except in this weird death-metal-trash-core teenagers' stuff!), and the Sustainor pre-<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 25
processes the sound in this spirit. In a second approach, you can try to play along with any classic<br />
rock record (Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, etc...) and you will hear the magic happen!<br />
� Any limitations? Well, it is highly recommended to use the Sustainor with a pair of <strong>Rockman</strong> EQ's if<br />
you want to dial your own sounds. One could also regret that only 2 modes out of 4 can be controlled<br />
by the footswitches: a modification is necessary to access the 4 of them.<br />
Apart from this secondary issues, the Sustainor is what it was made for: a professional analog amp<br />
sim for the most demanding musicians.<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� Buying only a Sustainor, without the rest of a <strong>Rockman</strong> rig, is of course possible. Yet, one can very<br />
rapidly see that it's a sort of nonsense: the Sustainor is the heart of a <strong>Rockman</strong> rig, so the question of<br />
its collectibility as a stand-alone unit is pointless. Either you need one, either you don't.<br />
Moreover, the Sustainor is not rare at all: with over 21.000 items on the market, there are always<br />
several Sustainors for sale on eBay, with prices ranging from $100 to over $400.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> question is more "which Sustainor should I buy", knowing the 4 possible choices are:<br />
• A Sustainor 100: the cheapest and the oldest<br />
• A Sustainor 100A: slightly better, but not much<br />
• A regular Sustainor 200, still affordable<br />
• A "young" Double-IC Sustainor 200, quite expensive for what it is<br />
Buying a Double-IC because of this Lead-Leveller feature only is fairly stupid: as a matter of fact,<br />
nobody can tell the difference with or without Lead-Leveller. But there's another factor that must be<br />
taken into account: take two Sustainors and make an A/B comparison, and you will always hear a<br />
difference. So, all in all, since you cannot try a Sustainor before you buy it, the only rule to follow is<br />
"the younger the better": hence the Double-IC domination on the second-hand market.<br />
Buy a 100 if funds are an issue, buy a 200 if you want less noise and a better Autoclean. Buy a<br />
Double-IC if you need a garantee to have the youngest possible engineer revision, hence the best<br />
Autoclean.<br />
� And most of all, remember that a Sustainor with its original electrolytic capacitors needs a thorough<br />
refurb before sounding the way it deserves! <strong>The</strong> Rockmodules are 20 years old now, and their caps<br />
are at the end of their life.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sustainor is, still today, an excellent amp simulator. Truly mandatory for<br />
any <strong>Rockman</strong> fan, it can also be the first module to buy for a newcomer.<br />
Worth buying anyway because of its endless possibilities.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 26
Introduction<br />
INSTRUMENT EQ<br />
� In a first approach, an equalizer is only an equalizer. Something simple that all the manufacturers<br />
should be able to design correctly.<br />
But if you ask someone like <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> if the common commercial devices fit his requirements, and<br />
the answer is less obvious.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Instrument EQ is just different and better than what's available on the market. Let's<br />
see what makes its qualities and differences.<br />
Objective and history<br />
"[...]a couple of years ago we designed a graphic equalizer. Now, how crazy is that?<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are dozens of them on the market, but there was not a single one that could be used with a<br />
guitar level signal, was footswitcheable, had a decent signal-to-noise ratio, and could give better than<br />
an octave resolution.<br />
We tried to modify existing units, but finally gave up and designed the stupid thing so we would have<br />
what we needed."<br />
(<strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> in Guitar World, Feb. 90)<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 27
� What were these modified EQ's used by Boston, before the <strong>Rockman</strong> EQ was born? On this picture<br />
from the 1987 tour, we can see that Boston used Boss 10 bands EQ's: these were the modified units.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> first <strong>Rockman</strong> EQ prototypes were certainly reproductions of these modified 10 band EQ's,<br />
housed in a Rockmodule enclosure to match the existing Sustainor and Chorus/Delay. <strong>The</strong> following<br />
picture, grabbed from a 1987 guitar magazine, shows this un-issued 10 bands <strong>Rockman</strong> EQ, the draft<br />
of the 12 bands model we all know:<br />
� Bob Cedro, now MXR's chief-engineer, was in charge of the development of this 12 bands<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> Instrument EQ. <strong>The</strong> first models, made in 1987 had the same blue logo as the Sustainor<br />
100 and the Chorus/delay, as on this ad published in December 1987:<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 28
<strong>The</strong>n the white face series was issued, with the Stereo Echo and the Stereo Chorus: the Instrument<br />
EQ was finally a white-face too, and these blue-face models must be extremely rare now.<br />
Inside the Module<br />
� <strong>The</strong> first thing that a tech will see inside the Instrument EQ is... no 4053/4066 chips! <strong>The</strong>se J-FET<br />
IC's are everywhere in the other modules, and were not used in the EQ. As a matter of fact, SR&D<br />
designed it for the best signal-to-noise ratio, and selected a +/-12V power supply - instead of +/-8V -<br />
that prevented from using the integrated switches (the bypass circuit is therefore based on discrete J-<br />
FET's).<br />
<strong>The</strong> higher the power-supply voltage is, the stronger the signal can be, and the better is the S/N ratio:<br />
with a total amplitude of 24V, the immediate improvement is 4dB compared to a 9V powered<br />
stompbox. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> EQ can thus be used both with guitar level signals, as required by <strong>Tom</strong><br />
<strong>Scholz</strong>, and strong line-level signals (up to 14dB): there is a switch on the <strong>Rockman</strong> EQ that selects<br />
the operating signal level (Normal: line level or Hot: instrument level).<br />
� Back to the features of the unit. <strong>The</strong> real difference between a classical EQ and the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
Instrument EQ is the presence of 3 additional bands in the mid-frequencies:<br />
• 62,5 - 125 - 250 - 500 - 1000 - 2000 - 4000 - 8000 and 16000 Hz classical octave bands<br />
• 700 - 1400 and 3000 Hz additional mid-frequency bands<br />
<strong>The</strong> range of each band is +/-12dB: all in all, the Instrument EQ is extremely precise and efficient, and<br />
allows the best sound sculpture for the most demanding musicians.<br />
This is not instrument gear any longer: the Instrument EQ is a genuine studio-quality device.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 29
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> EQ is truly mandatory for anyone who really wants to create and tweak his own<br />
sounds. When one starts building a <strong>Rockman</strong> rig with a Sustainor, it becomes rapidly obvious that two<br />
EQ's are necessary: one placed in the loop as a pre-distortion EQ, the second one being placed after<br />
the Sustainor.<br />
<strong>The</strong> possibilities provided by a pair of EQ's are both subtle and endless. Changing a few dB's on a<br />
frequency band can alter significantly the sound and the position of the guitar in a mix, and using<br />
radical settings can also deliver specific sounds: fuzzy or metallish, fixed-wah effects, etc...<br />
� As a matter of fact, EQ'ing can become very complex, and can turn into a real nightmare. Finding<br />
the perfect sound is impossible, and the situation was perfectly summarized by UseHerName on the<br />
boards of Gonnahitcharide.com:<br />
You are suffering from a condition know as O.A.D. (Obsessive Adjustment Disorder). <strong>The</strong> good news<br />
is that there is help. You are not alone. First you must recognize that you do have a problem. <strong>The</strong>n<br />
you must have a desire to change your behavior. I have devised a three step program to help others<br />
like you on the road to recovery.<br />
Disclaimer: Author assumes no responsibility for damage to equipment resulting from users adherence<br />
to the recovery program here by known as R.O.A.D.I.E. (Reversing Obsessive Adjustment Disorder Is<br />
Easy).<br />
Step one:<br />
Set all EQ sliders flat. Pick up your guitar. Play. DO NOT TOUCH THE EQ FOR 24 HOURS.<br />
Do not go on to step two until you successfully complete step one. YOU CAN DO IT!<br />
Step two:<br />
Find the sliders on both ends of the unit that only dogs can hear. Leave them flat or cut them as you<br />
wish. If you have a dog, allow the dog to set those sliders on your behalf. Pick up your guitar. Play. DO<br />
NOT TOUCH THE EQ FOR 24 HOURS.<br />
Do not go on to step three until you have successfully completed steps one and two.<br />
Step three:<br />
You must now accept the fact that no matter how many sliders are on your EQ, there are only a few<br />
that matter most for guitar. It is generally accepted that those are roughly 500 to 2k. You may now<br />
adjust those sliders to your liking. You may re-adjust those and only those as many times as you wish<br />
for a period of 24 hours. After the 24 hour adjustment period has expired you must then permanently<br />
disable those controls. Break off the sliders with a pair of pliers. If you don't have pliers ask your dog to<br />
bite them off for you. If you don't have a dog a wife will do nicely.<br />
Pick up your guitar. Play. Don't look back.....<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 30
Introduction<br />
CHORUS/DELAY<br />
� <strong>The</strong>re are tenth of chorus effects and dozens of delays on the market. But there is no other device<br />
like the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Chorus/Delay.<br />
Its sonic quality is outstanding, and the features of this half-rack makes it truly different from any other<br />
device. One may think that the unit is a classic chorus and delay, packed inside the same enclosure.<br />
� It is actually a chorus or a delay: it was done on purpose, thus making the <strong>Rockman</strong> Chorus/Delay<br />
a complete space-maker, rather than one more effect machine.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� If you have read in details the section called “<strong>Rockman</strong> - <strong>The</strong> concept”, you know what a chorus is<br />
made for, and you also know the role of a slight delay during a recording process.<br />
Both of them are here to switch from the dry mono sound provided by a guitar to a stereo sound, a<br />
sound with air and depth.<br />
That's the objective of the Chorus/Delay: it can provide the classic doubling effect of a chorus, that<br />
simulates the presence of two guitars playing together, but as a delay, it can also give dynamics and<br />
depth by using very short echo sounds (within the 200ms range).<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Chorus/Delay was issued with the Sustainor 100, in January 1986. This second blue-face<br />
Rockmodule was produced until the last quarter of 1987, and was replaced by two units: the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
Stereo Chorus and the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Echo. <strong>The</strong>se new items didn't make the Chorus/delay<br />
obsolete - just different.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 31
Inside the Module<br />
� <strong>The</strong> heart of the Chorus/Delay is the MN3005 BBD chip. A BBD is the basis component of all the<br />
analog chorus effects (25ms delays with an excellent Signal to Noise ratio). It can be pushed up to<br />
200ms delays, at the price of a S/N degradation: 75dB only at the longest delay setting.<br />
� In order to improve this poor S/N ratio, SR&D has included in the Chorus/Delay a noise-reduction<br />
circuit, based on the same principle as the Dolby System: a "compandor".<br />
A compandor is a dual circuit composed of 1) a compressor before the source of noise (the BBD in our<br />
case), 2) an expandor after the source of noise.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 32
<strong>The</strong> expandor increases the level difference between the sound signal level and the noise level. <strong>The</strong><br />
signal-to-noise ratio is highly improved, but the dynamics of the sound signal is of course altered.<br />
That's why there is a compressor placed before the BBD: the combined action of the compressor and<br />
the expandor is neutral for the sound signal, while the noise level is highly reduced.<br />
This compandor system is too expansive for the common chorus and delay stompboxes, and are<br />
found only in costly units. It is clearly one of the qualities of the Chorus/Delay, that makes the<br />
difference with its competitors.<br />
� Back to what the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Chorus/Delay does: Stereo, Chorus and Delay...<br />
<strong>The</strong> chorus effect is achieved by sending the original sound through a 20 to 40ms delay, slightly<br />
modulated (e.g. 20 to 25ms) then mixing that with the original sound. <strong>The</strong> result sounds like two<br />
guitars playing together.<br />
In order to have a stereo image, one must separate the original signal and the delayed signal, send<br />
one of them to the left channel, the other one to the right channel.<br />
That's the widest stereo image you can have, and that's what the common stompbox chorus do not:<br />
these pedals are designed to be mono-compatible, so their main output delivers the sum [original +<br />
delayed] signal.<br />
When the manufacturer wants to build a so-called stereo image, the other output is only the difference<br />
[original - delayed] signal. This is not full stereo, and that's the other significant difference between the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> Chorus and the other devices.<br />
All the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo units (Chorus/Delay, Stereo Chorus and Stereo Echo) have a specific output<br />
stereo mixer, that allows tweaking the wideness of the stereo image, from mono to wide stereo.<br />
� SR&D added another feature in the Chorus/Delay: the delay of the BBD, usually 20 or 25ms in a<br />
chorus, can be doubled and be set at 40ms. This is the limit between doubling (when the ear cannot<br />
separate the two sounds) and a delay (the human ear clearly hears two disctinct sounds). This Long-<br />
Chorus mode provides a deeper effect than the normal mode.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 33
� As for the delay section of the Chorus/Delay, we have here a conventional delay/feedback/level set<br />
of sliders. <strong>The</strong> delay time, as said above, can go up to 200ms: coupled with the output stereo mixer,<br />
this allows building all sort of reverbish or slap-back stereo sounds.<br />
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> main usage of the Stereo Chorus/Delay is of course the classic <strong>Rockman</strong> chorus sound (for a<br />
guitar, a keyboard or even connected to a mixer). It can also be used for slap-back echoes and<br />
reverbish sounds.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> only limitation of the Chorus/Delay is the lack of footswitches: it has only a bypass, a<br />
chorus/delay selector and an output mix selector. <strong>The</strong> other features (long chorus, long delay) are not<br />
remote controlled.<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
<strong>The</strong> Chorus/Delay is fairly easy to find (6800 units). It is an excellent value<br />
for someone who wants this <strong>Rockman</strong> Chorus sound, and its delay functions<br />
compensate for the simplicity of its chorus section.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 34
Introduction<br />
STEREO CHORUS<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Chorus was introduced in 1987, when the older Chorus/Delay was<br />
discontinued. Based on the same circuit, it has the same qualities, plus some improvements that make<br />
it a genuine reference.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Chorus/Delay was a combined unit. Like in all the multi-effects, some features were limited:<br />
some footswiches would have been welcome, but the rear panel was simply too small for that...<br />
� <strong>The</strong> new Stereo Chorus was therefore entirely dedicated to the chorus function, and all the switches<br />
were now remote-controled. <strong>The</strong> Stereo Chorus has a total of four footswitches:<br />
• <strong>By</strong>pass<br />
• Long-Chorus<br />
• Sweep Stop<br />
• Alt-Mix<br />
<strong>The</strong> possibilities are of course huge, and the technical quality of the unit - already great for the<br />
Chorus/Delay - were improved again.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 35
Inside the Module<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Stereo Chorus has the same structure and circuits as the Chorus/Delay. This includes of<br />
course the noise reduction compandor.<br />
<strong>The</strong> key difference is the BBD's: the Chorus/Delay has one MN3005 chip (up to 200ms), while the<br />
Stereo Chorus is based on two MN3007 (up to 50ms each). <strong>The</strong> choice of two BBD's was made to<br />
allow a silent switching between the Normal (20ms) and Long-Chorus (40ms) chorus modes.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Stereo Chorus, as said before, has two footswitches that the Chorus/Delay doesn't have.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sweep Stop footswitch de-connects the LFO modulation from the BBD, and the Stereo Chorus<br />
can thus act as a fixed-delay stereo doubler (20ms or 40ms). This feature can be used to enhance the<br />
sound of an instrument in a mix (if you listen to such a sound individually, it may sound weird).<br />
<strong>The</strong> Long-Chorus already existed in the Chorus/Delay: it provides a deeper chorus effect. In the older<br />
unit, switching was made by a push-button on the front plate, and since there was only one BBD, it<br />
was done by a clock change that caused a sort of brief woosh sound, just like what you have when<br />
you turn the delay pot of a delay unit. In the Stereo Chorus, there are two BBD's, and the second one<br />
is activated with this additional footswitch, without that woosh.<br />
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Stereo Chorus is almost perfect. It is an outstanding unit, certainly the most professional<br />
chorus effect on the market. If one really wants to find a limitation, let's say that it has no depth control:<br />
the Stereo Chorus was designed to provide a chorus enhancing effect, not to dismorph the sound like<br />
any stompbox.<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Chorus is not rare. Almost 7000 units were made, and its market price is<br />
really attractive for what it is.<br />
A reference tool, with almost perfect qualities: the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Chorus is<br />
something you will love and keep in your rig, simply because no other chorus<br />
can sound the same.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 36
Introduction<br />
STEREO ECHO<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Echo is often considered as the Holy Grail of the analog delays.<br />
Well, it's only fair!<br />
<strong>The</strong>re aren't many quality analog delays on the market, especially since this technology was replaced<br />
by the cheaper digital technology.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Echo not only uses state-of-the-art analog circuits, its functional design was,<br />
like every other <strong>Rockman</strong> unit, performed by a musician for musicians.<br />
And that makes a huge difference.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Stereo Echo was issued along with the Stereo Chorus when the Chorus/Delay was<br />
discontinued in 1987.<br />
And the delay section of the older C/D looks really simple compared to the highly improved Stereo<br />
Echo! While the Chorus/Delay was limited to doubling, slap-back and reverb-like short echoes, the<br />
Stereo Echo can deliver these huge walls of sounds that a tape echo can give.<br />
As a matter of fact, the filters of the Stereo Echo were designed for this warm, tape-like sound -<br />
nothing like the cold feeling of a digital unit.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 37
� <strong>The</strong> stereo effect of the SE is unique: the left channel delay is always equal to 3/5 of the right<br />
channel delay. This ratio was introduced to avoid taps overlapping: the echoes interleave from left to<br />
right and right to left without crossing path.<br />
This special feature allows the Stereo Echo sounding a little like a reverb - something that no classic<br />
delay can do.<br />
Inside the Module<br />
� Just like the Stereo Chorus and the Chorus/Delay, the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Echo includes the<br />
compandor noise reduction circuit. This is one of the key features that make it sound clean, when the<br />
common analog delays are fairly noisy at long delay settings.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are four BBD chips inside the Stereo Echo, which are connected in series. <strong>The</strong> Left Channel -<br />
short delay - is picked up after the third chip, and the last chip provides an extra delay for the Right<br />
Channel.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 38
� <strong>The</strong> following chart is a simplified diagram of the <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Echo's structure. <strong>The</strong> right input<br />
channel is left untouched, and is mixed towards two outputs with the original left channel, the short<br />
delay and the long delay to achieve the desired stereo image.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> output mixer, apart from the same mono-to-wide switches as in the Chorus units, has a three<br />
positions switch to select three patterns:<br />
• Input stereo signal mixed to mono, short delay left, long delay right<br />
• Input stereo signal unchanged, short delay left, long delay right<br />
• Input signal left, delayed signal right<br />
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Stereo Echo has very rich features, and a guitarist will certainly never find the limits<br />
of the unit: from discrete slap-backs to huge walls of sound, the Stereo Echo will meet his<br />
requirements.<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Stereo Echo is becoming difficult to catch at a decent price. It was produced in the same<br />
quantity as the Stereo Chorus - approximately 6700 units - but people who can buy one do keep it,<br />
and a lot of collectors own several of them.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Stereo Echo doesn't steal its reputation: it is an outstanding unit, that<br />
really has no competitor on the market - unless you prefer digital to analog<br />
gear.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 39
Introduction<br />
GUITAR COMPRESSOR<br />
� <strong>The</strong> name itself says it all: we are speaking about a Guitar Compressor, i.e. a compressor that was<br />
designed especially for the guitar. In other terms, the other compressors that you may encounter were<br />
never designed for this special usage! As a matter of fact, no other compressor takes into account the<br />
very specific dynamics of a guitar note: they compress, full point, and you have to like the result or not.<br />
� What are the compressors that you can buy ? Either cheap circuits stuffed into a pedal format,<br />
either costly studio units that are really cumbersome and costly solutions for what a guitarist needs.<br />
<strong>The</strong> quest is over: the <strong>Rockman</strong> Guitar Compressor is unique, and really meets a guitarist's<br />
requirements, without concession.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> has spent a lot of time on the compression topic. As explained in <strong>Rockman</strong> - <strong>The</strong><br />
concept, compression is a key feature of the <strong>Rockman</strong> sound, that allows getting natural sounding<br />
clean sounds and distortions with a very long sustain.<br />
Every <strong>Rockman</strong> amp simulator has a built-in input compressor, from the first <strong>Rockman</strong> headphone<br />
amp, in 1982, to the AGP and the UDG, in 1993: it was only natural to expend the basic circuit present<br />
in every item into a dedicated unit: that's how the Guitar Compressor was created.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> funny fact is that, since there is already a compressor in every <strong>Rockman</strong> item, the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
Guitar Compressor is perfectly useless if you use <strong>Rockman</strong> gear! As a matter of fact, the Guitar<br />
Compressor was designed as an add-on for people who play with a classic guitar amp - but want this<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> compression sound.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 40
Inside the Module<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> compression circuit being a key part of the <strong>Rockman</strong> sound, it is useful to take a<br />
close look at its principle. <strong>The</strong> following charts are over-simplified schematics that every one can<br />
understand, and will help you understanding why this circuit is different, and eventually to understand<br />
what the famous "Lead Leveller" is all about!<br />
� <strong>The</strong> problem to solve, when you want to design a compressor for the guitar, is a double problem:<br />
1. Act as a limiter during the first part of the note - a strong peak<br />
2. Act as a sustainor during the second part of the note - a slow decay<br />
<strong>The</strong> common compressors are limiters or sustainors, but none of them can perform correctly the two<br />
functions. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> compressors can do it.<br />
It took several years before finding the perfect circuit, the challenge being to handle the transition<br />
between the two parts of the note - the strong peak then the slow decay.<br />
� Let's review step by step what the rationale was, and how SR&D started from the basic compressor<br />
of the <strong>Rockman</strong> headphone amps and finally developed the <strong>Rockman</strong> Guitar Compressor and its<br />
Lead-Leveller circuit.<br />
That's a gain stage, based on an OpAmp<br />
and two resistors.<br />
All you need to know is that the gain of<br />
such a circuit is equal to 1+R2/R1. <strong>The</strong><br />
smaller R1 is, the larger the gain is. <strong>The</strong><br />
larger R1 is, the smaller the gain is.<br />
A compressor is, basically, a gain stage<br />
with a variable gain. A circuit that has a<br />
high gain with low signals, and a low gain<br />
with high signals.<br />
Let's add a Field Effect Transistor (FET) to<br />
R1. If we apply a negative voltage Vg to<br />
the gate of this FET, its resistance Rt will<br />
increase, and the gain of the OpAmp will<br />
decrease.<br />
This circuit is called a Voltage Control<br />
Amplifier (VCA). That's a nice beginning for<br />
a compressor: if we find a way to generate<br />
the proper negative control voltage, our<br />
compressor will automatically adjust its<br />
gain as expected!<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 41
This diagram shows what a basic diode<br />
can do with an audio signal: only one half<br />
of the signal goes through, and the positive<br />
half is cleared.<br />
That's not a control voltage yet, cause we<br />
still have those half waves, but we are<br />
getting closer to our objective: generate a<br />
negative direct current, proportionally to the<br />
strength of the audio signal.<br />
In order to clear these negative oscillations,<br />
we add a capacitor right after the diode.<br />
A capacitor has a natural inertia, and<br />
cannot follow the rapid voltage changes of<br />
the half-waves. <strong>The</strong> result is a continuous,<br />
constant voltage, which is 1) negative and<br />
2) proportional to the strength of the audio<br />
signal.<br />
We have our control voltage for the FET of<br />
the compressor!<br />
What we have here is very close to the<br />
simple compressor of the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
headphone amps.<br />
<strong>The</strong> diode and the capacitor are a<br />
feedback loop that sends a strong negative<br />
voltage when the input signal is strong,<br />
thus reducing the gain, and a low negative<br />
voltage when the audio signal is low, thus<br />
raising the gain.<br />
That's what we wanted to build!<br />
<strong>The</strong> common compressor stompboxes are<br />
all based on similar, simple circuits. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
work, with more or less interesting results.<br />
<strong>The</strong> problem with these simple circuits is<br />
the fixed, constant release time. <strong>The</strong><br />
associated problems are usually<br />
unpleasant pumping effects: the circuit<br />
cannot react the way it should, and some<br />
notes are loud when they shouldn't, or<br />
weak when they should be raised.<br />
In <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong>'s patent US 4,627,094, we<br />
can read that the release issue was not<br />
solved yet: a soft note following a loud note<br />
wouldn't be processed correctly.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 42
<strong>The</strong> problem with the guitar, and the<br />
reason why the other compressors cannot<br />
handle it correctly, is that a guitar note is<br />
made of a very strong peak followed by a<br />
long decay.<br />
<strong>The</strong> diagram shows the reaction of the<br />
compressor to a signal pulse: instant<br />
attack, constant signal, instant decay.<br />
Following the fast attack is easy, but the<br />
classic compressors have a constant<br />
release rate (blue curve) that doesn't match<br />
the guitar constraint: a fast release first,<br />
then a slow release.<br />
<strong>The</strong> objective is to have a two-steps<br />
release, as depicted on the green curve:<br />
that's what SR&D developed for the<br />
Sustainor, and that's what makes the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> Guitar Compressor different.<br />
<strong>The</strong> next step was to reduce again the fast<br />
release step for the guitarists who use<br />
ultra-fast tapping techniques: that's the red<br />
curve - the Lead-Leveller.<br />
In the <strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor's compressor,<br />
the capacitor is discharged via a series of 3<br />
diodes and a LED. This trick allows getting<br />
the green curve, with a fast initial release<br />
rate followed by a slower second step.<br />
Note that this fast initial decay is also<br />
necessary to provide the long sustain that<br />
we expect from a compressor: that's<br />
another key quality of the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
compressor.<br />
This series of four diodes was the answer<br />
of SR&D to the transition between a limiter<br />
and a sustainor circuit, and this solution<br />
can be found only in <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
compressors.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Lead-Leveller is a very subtle change<br />
in the circuit: the LED is just bypassed, in<br />
order to have an initial decay which is<br />
faster again.<br />
This operation is achieved by a J-FET<br />
switch: that's the famous "Double-IC"<br />
modification of the younger Sustainor<br />
200's...<br />
No need for a Double-IC in the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
Guitar Compressor: this J-FET switch was<br />
integrated in the design and didn't require<br />
this cumbersome modification. <strong>The</strong> Lead-<br />
Leveller is simply activated by a footswitch<br />
that bypasses the LED of the circuit.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 43
� A few words about the other features of the <strong>Rockman</strong> Guitar Compressor: if you look at the front<br />
plate, you will see two slider switches.<br />
One of them is used to bypass the unit, and also to activate a noise reduction circuit - a sort of<br />
simplified Smart Gate integrated in the compression circuit. This feature is extremely useful when the<br />
compressor is followed by a hi-gain saturation: all the compressors generate some noise (since they<br />
raise their gain when the signal is low), and this noise reductor avoids this trouble.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Guitar Compressor was completed by a two positions Treble Booster: at the maximum setting, the<br />
Guitar Compressor reproduces the classic <strong>Rockman</strong> CLN2 sound. That's why the Guitar Compressor<br />
can be considered not only as a compressor, but also as a substitute to the clean channels of the<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor.<br />
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Guitar Compressor is honestly useless if you have a <strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor: in a DI approach, it<br />
won't generate any sound that a Sustainor cannot create.<br />
If you don't have a Sustainor but have a <strong>Rockman</strong> Distortion Generator, the Guitar Compressor is the<br />
perfect add-on to your rig: one module for the distortions, and one module for the clean sounds.<br />
� As a matter of fact, the Guitar Compressor was really designed to be used with a guitar amp. I had<br />
really given up using compressors years ago, and didn't want to use one again: I was tired of all this<br />
noise, pumping, dynamics loss, etc... that the other compressors do. <strong>The</strong>n I purchased a Guitar<br />
Compressor, and completely changed my opinion about compressors: this unit is amazing, and really<br />
enhances the sound of the guitar without messing it up.<br />
� Limitations? No, the unit is perfect as is!<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Guitar Compressor is fairly rare: 2350 only were made, and it is pretty hard to find one. <strong>The</strong><br />
price on the market is accordingly high, but it's only fair if you consider the quality of the unit.<br />
A unique device, actually the only compressor designed specifically for the<br />
guitar. If you need a compressor, this is the unit to buy and keep.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 44
Introduction<br />
SMART GATE<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Smart Gate is probably the <strong>Rockman</strong> item that has the best reputation amongst the non-<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> owners. <strong>By</strong> definition, the Smart Gate has no sound, and is thus independant from the<br />
player's tastes and style.<br />
� <strong>The</strong>re are basically three types of noise reductors.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> classic noise-gates - cheap circuits in a stompbox format<br />
• Rocktron's Hush and its follower, the ISP decimator<br />
• <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong>'s Smart Gate<br />
<strong>The</strong> classic noise-gates suffer from their simplicity, their main default being to completely cut the signal<br />
before the end of the notes. <strong>The</strong> Hush is based on a complex signal processing principle called<br />
"adapted filtering" - and on a dedicated chip that performs this function.<br />
� What <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> did was to focus on the most critical aspect of this "adapted filtering": in which<br />
frequency range do we have noise? Thats how he came to the Smart Gate principle: something<br />
simple and efficient that has the same result as more complex noise reduction processors.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 45
Objective and history<br />
� <strong>The</strong> first Smart Gate was introduced in 1986 as a part of the <strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor. This unit has both<br />
an input compressor and a distortion stage: the perfect combination to get a lot of noise!<br />
<strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> worked on a circuit that would suppress the noise where it is generated: right after the<br />
compressor. This choice is weird, in a first approach (we are used to noise reductors that are placed at<br />
the end of the chain), but it was after all very smart, cause it leaves the distortion sounds totally<br />
unchanged, with all their harmonics.<br />
� In 1988 and 1989, SR&D issued three more modules - extractions and developments from the<br />
Sustainor: the Guitar Compressor, the Distortion Generator and the Smart Gate. While the circuit<br />
inside the Sustainor is fairly limited in scope (clear the noise generated by the compressor before the<br />
distortion stage), the rack-format Smart Gate was widely expended and is an outstanding general<br />
purpose noise-reductor, that can handle any situation.<br />
Inside the Module<br />
� Before describing how the Smart Gate works, let's take a look at what a classic noise gate does.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se basic circuits are based on a comparator that turns the signal on or off, above or under a given<br />
threshold. <strong>The</strong> end of the long notes are of course cut, and you must tweak the threshold every time<br />
you change sound.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Smart Gate is an extrapolation of the "adapted filtering" principle. Basically, this principle says<br />
that the noise is minimal when:<br />
• you amplify the signal in the frequency bands where there is something to amplify<br />
• you attenuate the signal in the frequency bands where there is nothing to be heard<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 46
Applying this principle in conformance with its original mathematical definition is complex (that's what<br />
the Hush does), but since we are dealing with instrument audio signals, the problem can be simplified:<br />
1. A guitar audio signal is made of fundamentals (below 1300Hz) that are quite strong<br />
2. A guitar audio signal has also harmonics (above 1300Hz) that are quite weak<br />
3. A white noise is equally strong in the low and high frequency<br />
4. <strong>The</strong> signal to noise ratio is usually good below 1300Hz<br />
5. <strong>The</strong> signal to noise ratio is usually bad in the high frequencies, above 1300Hz where we have<br />
only harmonics<br />
� That's how <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> came to the concept of a variable filter that would always let the low<br />
frequencies (below 1300Hz) go through, and that would open or close above 1300Hz, depending on<br />
the actual input signal.<br />
� Such a filter is very easy to build: a capacitor, a resistor and a FET can do the job. <strong>The</strong> complexity<br />
of the Smart Gate circuit is not here: we need additional circuits that will detect the presence of highfrequencies,<br />
to open immediately the filter every time a new note appears. <strong>The</strong>n we need another<br />
circuit that will control the release time: the filter must be closed proportionnaly to the note decay, so<br />
that the gates closes slowly without cutting the end of the notes.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 47
That's what you have in the first Smart-Gate, as described in <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong>'s patent US 4,809,337. This<br />
circuit, after several modifications and improvements, corresponds to the Smart Gate of the <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
Sustainor.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> rack-version of the Smart-Gate is an extension of this circuit. <strong>The</strong> 1300Hz filter can be set to<br />
1000Hz (Hiss mode), 500Hz (Mid-Hiss mode) or even 20Hz (Full-band mode). Note that in full-band<br />
mode, the Smart Gate clears not only the breathing noise in the high frequencies, but also the hum<br />
noise that can be present in the low-frequencies. You can at least play with single-coil pick-ups without<br />
this unpleasant rumble noise!<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� <strong>The</strong> original <strong>Rockman</strong> Smart-Gate is very rare (less than 2000 items!) and accordingly expensive.<br />
For those who cannot find one, Bob Cedro has re-created the Smart-gate in a stompbox format, with<br />
CMS components, for MXR: all the reviews confirm that this re-issue is as good as the original.<br />
A truly innovative and smart unit, based on a simple circuit that has the same<br />
efficiency as more complex devices.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 48
Introduction<br />
DISTORTION GENERATOR<br />
� Though the Distortion can be considered as a extract of the <strong>Rockman</strong> Sustainor, it has its own<br />
personality, and was not designed exactly for the same usage.<br />
It is often said that the DG has a richer sound than the Sustainor, and as a matter of fact, it is more<br />
versatile in the complete range of distortion sounds.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� It seems that the Distortion Generator was created in order to place an economic unit on the<br />
market.<br />
Nothing new in the DG, compared to the Sustainor, and some features were willingly cleared from the<br />
design to cut down the cost.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Distortion Generator was introduced in 1987, and was produced at least until the end of 1991.<br />
Just like the Sustainor, it has of course been revised several times, especially at the Autoclean level:<br />
just like the Sustainor, a younger unit is preferable to an older unit, at least for the Autoclean<br />
improvements.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 49
Inside the Module<br />
� <strong>The</strong> basis of the Distortion Generator is the structure of all the classic <strong>Rockman</strong> Amp sims:<br />
1. Compressor<br />
2. Distortion stage<br />
3. Cab sim<br />
� Between the compressor and the distortion stage, if we compare the DG with the Sustainor:<br />
• No Smart Gate (unfortunately)<br />
• No loop for an external pre-distortion EQ (unfortunately...)<br />
• A 3-bands pre-distortion EQ (hopefully!)<br />
While the Sustainor has only presets for its distortion sounds (EDGE, DIST, and a gain boost switch),<br />
the DG can be controled with the following sliders, all placed before the distortion:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> compressor's gain<br />
• A three positions gain switch called "distortion harmonics"<br />
• A bass slider (boost or cut)<br />
• A mid slider (boost only)<br />
• A treble slider (cut only)<br />
<strong>The</strong> combinations are endless, and allow tweaking the sound from a very subtle bluesy overdrive to<br />
the most crazy distortion lead sounds.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> DG has the two circuits created for the Sustainor: the Autoclean and the Phase Notcher, then a<br />
classic treble slider (to adjust the DG to the type of amp - PA or guitar amp) and an output volume.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is also a footswitch that will boost the sound by a few dB's, during a solo for example.<br />
� Let's review now the evolution of the DG between 1987 and 1991: I have actually identified at least<br />
four different versions, the last being of course the best one.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> picture shows two DG's: January (left)<br />
and February (right).<br />
<strong>The</strong>y look similar, with some off-board wiring<br />
remaining in the January model, but several<br />
modifications were made in the design: the older<br />
model is slightly more noisy.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 50
� This picture shows a 1988 DG (right) and a<br />
1990 model (left)<br />
<strong>The</strong> PCB was entirely revised (it is much wider),<br />
and the sonic difference is very clear: the new<br />
DG's have more gain, are more silent, and have<br />
an Autoclean that works much better.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is no information about the precise date of<br />
this change, but it was probably in 1989.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> last modification occurred between 1990 and 1991: it was, of course, the Lead-Leveller<br />
function. <strong>The</strong> modification is almost nothing: a resistor instead of a LED in the compressor circuit, that<br />
reduces a little the release time of the compressor.<br />
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> DG can be used as an extra channel, either within a <strong>Rockman</strong> rig (in addition to a Sustainor) or<br />
with a guitar amp. It is really an amp sim, and must not be considered as a regular distortion pedal!<br />
<strong>The</strong> design of the DG being much lighter, most of the people consider that the DG has more gain and<br />
harmonics than a Sustainor. It is absolutely true, especially if you can find a recent DG: the sound is<br />
rich and creamy, with more sustain than the Sustainor.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> limits of the DG come from what was cleared in order to obtain a cheaper device: no Smart<br />
Gate, and no loop for an external pre-distortion EQ. I have corrected that on my September 1991 DG,<br />
and added the two features: my DG is now perfect!<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� <strong>The</strong>re are over 15000 Distortion Generators on the market. It is not rare, and it is not expensive:<br />
two good reasons to buy one! <strong>The</strong> only difficulty is to locate a recent model, in order to have a good<br />
Autoclean: it's almost the same issue as chasing a good Sustainor 200.<br />
A very complete distortion unit, with a very wide versatility. A great addition to<br />
any rig.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 51
Introduction<br />
MIDI-OCTOPUS<br />
� If you never heard about the midiswitcher concept, you need to read this page.<br />
A midiswitcher is a non-audio device: its job is only to activate switches in order to control other<br />
devices. <strong>The</strong> midiswitcher itself is controlled via a Midi pedal board, or by any other device capable of<br />
sending Midi Program change orders.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Midi Octopus is present in almost every <strong>Rockman</strong> rack: there are so many features<br />
to control when you want to change sound that the classic footswitches cannot handle that, unless<br />
you're a sort of tap-dance addict.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� As long as the Rockmodules range was made only of the Sustainor and the Chorus/Delay,<br />
conventional footswitches were sufficient to control them: 1 channel change for the Sustainor, 1<br />
bypass for the C/D, and a third switch for the ChorusDelay change. 3 switches only.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n came the EQ's. <strong>The</strong>n came the Stereo Chorus with its 4 footswitches! A standard rockman rig<br />
(Sustainor, 2 EQ's, SC and SE) has a total of 10 controls that you are may want to switch every time<br />
you want to jump from one sound to another...<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 52
That's how <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> decided to create something that would make all that mess programmable. A<br />
device that would turn off or on up to 8 switches when pressing a single footswitch.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> first prototype was a non-midi unit. A big pedalboard that could memorize the position of 10<br />
switches into 10 memories, each memory corresponding to one footswitch. <strong>The</strong>n 10 cables would run<br />
from the pedalboard to your rack's footswitches jacks: you could at the same time change the channel<br />
of your Sustainor, activate the Chorus, turn off the Echo and add an EQ by pressing only one<br />
footswitch.<br />
This prototype was presented in SR&D's 1987 catalogue, but was never issued as a commercial<br />
product.<br />
� In the meantime, the Octopus took a new orientation, and was in fact cut in two distinct units: the<br />
Midiswitcher and the Midipedal.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Midiswitcher contains the programmable features and the control switches, while the Midipedal<br />
only sends midi orders: the midiswitcher reads a Program Change number, and applies to the<br />
switches the configuration stored in its memory.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 53
Inside the Module<br />
� <strong>The</strong> best way to understand how the Midi Octopus is to read its manual. Just one comment here.<br />
<strong>The</strong> manual mentions that channel H has a relay - in case you want to switch something with a voltage<br />
difference issue. Well, I had something like 7 or 8 Midi Octopii in my hands, and only one of them had<br />
this relay (left picture), all the others having only a blank space (right picture)...<br />
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Midi Octopus is almost mandatory if you have a real <strong>Rockman</strong> rig (6 modules or more). Several<br />
Octopii can be necessary for a very complex rig.<br />
� A lot of non-<strong>Rockman</strong> players use the Octopus to control their guitar amp, if this amp has a lot of<br />
footswitches, or simply to integrate a non-midi guitar amp within a global midified rig.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Midi Octopus can also be completed with a cool accessory called "Remote Loop". This little<br />
Hammond box contains a relay and some jacks, and can be used to bypass a non midi stompbox, or<br />
as an A/B Box to control the signal path within a very complex rig.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 54
� <strong>The</strong> only limitation of the Octopus is linked to this relay question: if you want to switch another<br />
device that has a strong negative voltage in its switching circuit, the Octopus cannot handle it if it is not<br />
equipped with this small channel H relay.<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Octopus is not rare (over 6000 items), and is pretty easy to catch, though there are periods<br />
when it's almost impossible to find one! You may have seen on the picture that tops this page that the<br />
most recent Octopii had a different front-plate (almost entirely blue): these rare units correspond to the<br />
last year of production (1992).<br />
A mandatory tool for all the <strong>Rockman</strong> players, and a very convenient unit for<br />
anyone who wants to add midi control to his amp or set of pedals.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 55
DUAL REMOTE LOOP<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Dual Remote Loop is really a weird thing. SR&D produced a single batch of 50 of them: it is<br />
thus the rarest of all the Rockmodules!<br />
<strong>The</strong> Dual Remote Loop is basically a Rockmodule enclosure with a plastic (!) front plate, with the<br />
PCB's of two normal Remote Loops installed on the rear panel.<br />
� Try to buy one if you really want it: it's expensive, and it's a pure collector's choice...<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 56
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 57
Introduction<br />
THE XP SERIES<br />
� A <strong>Rockman</strong> rig based on a series of Rockmodules is a very complex set-up: you rapidly have<br />
several tenth of sliders, switches and footswitches to operate before getting the sound you want.<br />
<strong>The</strong> microprocessors that were available in the eighties were not powerful enough to perform digital<br />
signal processing, but they could easily handle the control parameters of analog devices.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> XP Series was based on this concept: keep the analog circuits of the classical<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> units, and make them programmable.<br />
Objective and history<br />
� <strong>The</strong> XPR was not the first product based on this principle: there were digital controlled analog<br />
preamps and effects before.<br />
But the XPR was certainly the first all-in-one unit: as a matter of fact, when you own an XPR, you don't<br />
need anything else to deliver the sounds you want, and you can store 100 different programmable<br />
sounds in it! That was quite innovative in 1989.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 58
� <strong>The</strong> first item of the XP Series was the XPR, the first 19' rack unit made by SR&D. It was replaced<br />
in 1991 by an updated low-noise version, the XPRa:<br />
� <strong>The</strong> basis of the XPR is just... the X100 headphone amp! In other terms, the XPR is a sort of big,<br />
programmable X100, with of course several additions that make it totally flexible:<br />
• <strong>The</strong>re is a first 3-bands EQ at the input level, that allows shaping the distortion at will (refer to<br />
• <strong>The</strong> preamp and distortion stage have a cool feature that allows mixing a clean sound and a<br />
distortion sound<br />
• A 5-bands post-EQ is placed right after the distortion stage: the combination of pre and post-<br />
EQ gives the XPR a total flexibility in terms of sound<br />
• <strong>The</strong> stereo chorus has a programmable sweep speed (but no Long-Chorus mode)<br />
• <strong>The</strong> reverb section can be used as a short stereo delay<br />
� All the parameters of these modules (compressor, pre-EQ, preamp, post-EQ, chorus and<br />
echo/reverb) are entirely programmable, and can be stored in 100 presets.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 59
� <strong>The</strong> temptation was of course to build a guitar amp that would have an XPR as a preamp section.<br />
<strong>The</strong> guitar amp would of course be stereo, and stereo called of course for separable cabs for a wider<br />
image. That was the XP100 Programmable Stereo Amp: the XPR with a 2x50W stereo amp, housed<br />
in a double enclosure with compact 6 inches Pyle speakers:<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 60
� <strong>The</strong> weakness of the XP100 is clearly its small speakers: the amp in itself is excellent and loud, but<br />
these small car-audio speakers cannot handle this power the way it deserves. <strong>The</strong> other amp based<br />
on the XPR was the XP212: a 2x50W stereo combo with two 12 inches guitar speakers. This version<br />
is extremely rare: probably a dozen of XP212 only were made.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> ad for the XP212 shows discretely another XP Series product, without even naming it! This is<br />
the more-than-rare <strong>Rockman</strong> Superhead: it is in fact the electronics of an XP100, presented in a head<br />
format. I have myself transformed an XP100 into a Superhead Replica, certainly because I will never<br />
cross a real one: Boston owns one of them, and a second Superhead was sold on eBay in January<br />
2006: that's all we know about it! Having no speaker, the Superhead must of course be connected to a<br />
pair of full-range cabs: it is loud, it sounds good, and it is in my opinion the best configuration for a<br />
XPR based <strong>Rockman</strong> amp.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 61
Usage and limitations<br />
� <strong>The</strong> XPR is a contradictory product. It is programmable, and that makes it a fantastic unit, of<br />
course. <strong>The</strong> preamp and EQ's section is really great, and sounds really awesome.<br />
<strong>The</strong> chorus and reverb sections are of course weaker: they don't have the complex circuits of the<br />
Rockmodules, and are fairly limited and noisy. For example, the reverb section is based on the same<br />
MN3011 chip as in the headphone amps, and was pushed to its limits in order to obtain a 220ms (340<br />
in the XPRa) delay. It is noisy, and far from the plain and clean 500ms of the Stereo Echo.<br />
� All and all a good unit, the XPR delivers a wide panel of sound and atmosphere in a very compact<br />
and handy format. Had it been a preamp only, with the Autoclean and a built-in Smart Gate, it would<br />
have been almost perfect. But like every all-in-one device, it has some minor defaults.<br />
Collectibility and conclusion<br />
<strong>The</strong> XP products are quite rare: less than 3000 were built, most of them being basic XPR's or<br />
XP100's. <strong>The</strong> XPRa, XP100a, XP212 and Superhead are so rare that you must not plan to buy one:<br />
just catch it if you can when you see one!<br />
<strong>The</strong> XP products are very contradictory units, with fantastic qualities but also<br />
some weaknesses: some people will find them great, while others will be<br />
disappointed and prefer the classic Rockmodules.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 62
THE PGE-2<br />
� <strong>The</strong> PGE2 can be considered as the masterpiece of SR&D. Its technical characteristics are close to<br />
perfection, and its musical interest is amazing when you have understood what a pair of 14-bands,<br />
studio quality equalizers can do for a guitar sound.<br />
Certainly the most desirable of all the SR&D's products, the PGE-2 is extremely hard to find: 99 units<br />
only were made, <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> and Boston own a good tenth of them, 10 units were shipped to Europe,<br />
and another 10 to Japan.<br />
I'm the lucky and proud owner of the unit that was sold in France in 1991 (#23): it was a unique<br />
opportunity and I will certainly never see another one around here!<br />
� Just read the owner's manual, which says everything you need to know about the unit, and... look!<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 63
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 64
THE PRO-BASS<br />
� This ad is unfortunately all that we know about the very confidential Pro-Bass rack.<br />
It does exist: <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> owns one for Boston, and some happy-fews managed to have it in hand.<br />
But only a handful were made, and the Pro-Bass is virtually impossible to find and buy.<br />
� As of what we can see on the front-plate, the basis is certainly the Bass <strong>Rockman</strong> headphone amp<br />
circuit, with additional filters and EQ's.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 65
AGP, UDG AND A12-50<br />
� <strong>The</strong> last products created by SR&D, in 1993-1994, clearly show a lack of inspiration and difficulties<br />
to follow the market trends.<br />
<strong>The</strong> digital era had begun, and the classic range of <strong>Rockman</strong> products didn't sell the way they used to.<br />
<strong>The</strong> response of SR&D was the economic Ace series for the headphone amps, and a new circuit that<br />
could have become a reference: the Ultimatum Distortion.<br />
This revolutionary distortion circuit is based on two distinct clipping stage in series.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first part of the Ultimatum circuit is similar to what you find in the classic <strong>Rockman</strong> unit:<br />
compressor, clipping stage and cab sim.<br />
A second clipping stage was added, that simulates the saturation of a power section in an overdriven<br />
tube amp.<br />
<strong>The</strong> result is extremely realistic, with a rich a plain sound, full of sustain and harmonics.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Ultimatum circuit should have been issued as a programmable rack: a sort of super-Sustainor,<br />
merging the features of the XPR, the Sustainor and the Ultimatum circuit. This would have been a<br />
fantastic unit, but the product was only made as a prototype, as of <strong>Rockman</strong>-Central.<br />
<strong>The</strong> circuit ended into a stompbox format: that was the UDG... It's clearly an outstanding pedal,<br />
something that you keep because you just love it: you only miss that it was never issued in a rack<br />
format!<br />
<strong>The</strong> UDG sounds great as a DI unit, and can also be used in front of a guitar amp with fine results.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 66
� SR&D made another pedal in these last two years: the weird Acoustic Guitar Pedal.<br />
<strong>The</strong> AGP is basically a compressor with bass and treble controls: if you compress a lot, then find the<br />
sweet spot on the treble pot, your electric guitar will ring the same way as an acoustic guitar.<br />
Don't expect the AGP to make your Les Paul sound like a Martin's or a Guild! <strong>The</strong> AGP is an<br />
extrapolation of the classic <strong>Rockman</strong> CLN2 sound, and aims at simulating the position of an acoustic<br />
guitar in a mix, more than its sound itself.<br />
Note that the AGP was re-issued by Dunlop in 1996, to answer the request of their japanese<br />
distributor. <strong>The</strong>se re-issues can be recognized by their blue button, the original SR&D AGP having a<br />
grey button.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Ultimatum circuit was also used in another weird <strong>Rockman</strong> product: the A12-50 combo. Yes,<br />
the last product of the brand who had proved that one could play guitar without an amp was... a guitar<br />
amp!<br />
� This small 50W combo is actually an excellent solid-state amp, with a sound and power that can<br />
easily be compared with its tube competitors: I've been playing with a Boogie for 20 years, and several<br />
side-by-side comparisons proved that the Ultimatum Distortion, coupled to the excellent Celestion 12'<br />
speaker of the A12-50 give results of a similar quality.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 67
Footswitches<br />
ACCESSORIES<br />
� SR&D used to sell various accessories to complete the headphone amps, and the Rockmodules<br />
during their first years.<br />
If you are lucky, you may find one of these rare <strong>Rockman</strong> Single Footswitch: built as a rock, universal,<br />
it has a battery inside that powers a green and a red LED - thus indicating if the switch is on or off.<br />
It cannot start the engine of a Harley, but it's certainly because there is no footswitch jack on the bike!<br />
� <strong>The</strong> single footswitch was extended to a Triple Footswitch: the robust steel enclosure has the same<br />
profile as the Single Footswitch, and as shown on this graphics, the principle was kept for the<br />
Midipedal and the late Stompboxes.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 68
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Triple Footswitch is a funny device that has a specific feature: it has an internal<br />
electronic timer, powered by four D batteries, that turns off the LED's after 15 minutes...<br />
Headphones<br />
� <strong>The</strong> Headphones amps accessories are difficult to find (they were rather fragile and aged badly).<br />
<strong>The</strong> headphones have disappeared most of the time, and finding original an SR&D headphones set in<br />
good shape is getting tricky.<br />
Note that the Bass <strong>Rockman</strong> headphones are different: they can be recognized by their white logo, the<br />
guitar headphones having a black logo.<br />
Power-supplies and Rockadaptor<br />
� <strong>The</strong> headphones power-supplies are specific to the <strong>Rockman</strong> line: they are balanced +/-6V<br />
wallwarts that don't have a standard replacement.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 69
� <strong>The</strong>re are two types of wall-warts. Here's the older model with its Rockadaptor (blue logo in the first<br />
years, then white logo). In these older models, the voltage regulation circuit is inside the Rockadaptor,<br />
and the wall-wart is directly connected to the Rockadaptor.<br />
� In 1986, SR&D added a TRS mini-jack on the headphone amps for the power-supply, and the<br />
wallwart had of course a male TRS jack. <strong>The</strong> Rockdadaptor was not discontinued, but these new<br />
items were just empty plastic adaptors with only a female TRS jack: they were used by people who<br />
owned an older <strong>Rockman</strong>. One could finally buy separately the wall-wart and the Rockadaptor.<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 70
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 71
STAGE GEAR<br />
� How did a brand like like <strong>Rockman</strong>, the brand that had created the DI concept, come to selling the<br />
biggest guitar amps ever built?<br />
<strong>The</strong> basis principle of the <strong>Rockman</strong> approach is to play without an amp.<br />
Yet, <strong>Tom</strong> <strong>Scholz</strong> has created this product line for Boston, and Boston is not a band that only records in<br />
a studio: Boston plays live on stage, on very large stages.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> stage gear of Boston was designed strictly for the show: these huge amps and cabs are in fact<br />
totally useless (they are not miked), but are big enough to give an exiting look to the band during the<br />
shows.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 3-way cabs were made specially for Boston, in the same spirit as the cabs of a front PA system:<br />
they are totally linear, unlike conventional guitar cabs which colorate the sound a lot.<br />
� As for the amps, the famous <strong>Rockman</strong> PA500 is a Carver PM175 2x250W, with a <strong>Rockman</strong> front<br />
plate and a small modification: the input is copied to a pair of jacks, used to send the signal to the<br />
main PA mixer.<br />
� This stage equipment (cabs, amps and stagehead) were made available as commercial products,<br />
but were produced in very limited quantity (50 or so, as of <strong>Rockman</strong>-Central).<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are of course highly praised collectors items...<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 72
APPENDICES<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 73
� <strong>The</strong> data in these tables are:<br />
PRODUCTS LIST<br />
• For the original SR&D sales price, based on <strong>Rockman</strong>-Central information, completed or<br />
amended by ads published in magazines in the 80's and 90's.<br />
• For the production dates, either <strong>Rockman</strong>-Central data, either deduction made by analysing<br />
various schematics, ads and SR&D documents.<br />
• For the production quantities: <strong>Rockman</strong>-Central has published detailed data about the Stage<br />
Heads and the Rockmodules. As for the other items, the quantity estimations are based on<br />
actual number of transactions, analysed over a period of sixth months on eBay. This rotation<br />
analysis, matched with the quantities that are known for some items, allowed computing a<br />
"probable" production quantities for the other products.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> last colums give an indication about the collectibility and interest of each item. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
information cannot, of course, be totally objective, but I have followed simple rules to provide useful<br />
guidelines to someone new to the <strong>Rockman</strong> gear.<br />
Interest: some SR&D products are really unique, and no other brand has produced a similar item. On<br />
the other hand, some items are truely common and can find easy replacements : think about the<br />
single footswitch, which has nothing special, though it's a rare, collectible item for <strong>Rockman</strong><br />
afficionados.<br />
Collectibility. <strong>Rockman</strong> collectors usually merge three approaches during their chase for gear: Boston,<br />
technical aspects and rarity. <strong>The</strong> PGE2 is the perfect example of an extremely rare item, having<br />
amazing technical characteristics, being used on stage by Boston. That makes the PG2 one of the<br />
most desirable <strong>Rockman</strong> item (though it's not stamped "<strong>Rockman</strong>"...). On the other hand, a cheap and<br />
common Guitar Ace, that has been re-issued by Dunlop, is not considered as interesting by the<br />
collectors. Still, it's a quality product that was used by Deff Leppard on all the tracks of some of their<br />
albums...<br />
Collectibility<br />
A Rare and desirable, hard to find and buy<br />
B Hard to find, but not rare<br />
C Common item, easy to find and buy<br />
Interest<br />
A A reference in its category<br />
B A matter of taste...<br />
C For collectors only<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 74
Stage heads and stacks<br />
� <strong>The</strong>se stage heads, stacks and cabs belong to the Rock'n'Roll History. Originally designed for<br />
Boston, you may cross one of them: they are priceless. Just have in mind that Rackmount Concepts<br />
builds excellent replicas at a more than affordable price!<br />
Note that less than 50 complete <strong>Rockman</strong> stacks were actually produced (hence less than 50 PA500).<br />
<strong>The</strong> exact distribution between the various head types is unknown.<br />
Quantity Start End List Price Collectibility Interest<br />
DC 500 (DG+SC) 10 ? 1989 $1 460,00 A+++ B<br />
S12 CE 500<br />
(SP+EQ+SC+CE)<br />
10 ? 1989 $1 875,00 A+++ B<br />
SC 500 (SP+SC) 10 ? 1989 $1 540,00 A+++ B<br />
SD12 CEM 500<br />
(SP+DG+EQ+SC+SE+MO)<br />
10 ? 1989 $2 265,00 A+++ B<br />
PA220 2x110W Power amp A+++ C<br />
PA500 2x250W
Special non-commercial item<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> Demo-center was designed for music-shops willing to demonstrate the Rockmodules<br />
in a compact, convenient format. Included are a Sustainor, a Distortion Generator, an Instrument EQ,<br />
and a Stereo Chorus and Stereo Echo. <strong>The</strong> Demo Center had switches allowing comparing the<br />
various sounds, and was equipped with a pair of active speakers mounted on the left and right side of<br />
the unit.<br />
Two types of Demo Center were produced: some with all the modules at the right side, and a onepiece<br />
cache on the left, and others with the Rockmodules alternating left and right position, with half<br />
rack separate cache metal plates.<br />
� <strong>The</strong> demo Center is very rare, and is a nice rig to have at home when you like the Rockmodules.<br />
Quantity Start End List Price Collectibility Interest<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> demo-center
Rockmodules<br />
� Information about the Rockmodules is precise and reliable, thanks to Bob and Curt at <strong>Rockman</strong>-<br />
Central. <strong>The</strong> quantities here are from R-C, except for the DG: Curt confirms that "<strong>The</strong>re were more like<br />
15000 Distortion Generators" and I actually own the DG #15325, dated Sept 1991.<br />
Prices are pretty stable, and if the buyer and seller both know their role, transactions are smooth and<br />
easy.<br />
Sustainor 100 11000 Jan.<br />
1986<br />
Sustainor 100A 3000 Mar.<br />
1987<br />
Sustainor 200 5700 Sep.<br />
1987<br />
Sustainor 200 Double IC 1700 June<br />
1989<br />
Quantity Start End List Price Collectibility Interest<br />
Apr.<br />
1987<br />
Sep.<br />
1987<br />
May<br />
1989<br />
May<br />
1992<br />
$289,95 C B<br />
$289,95 B B<br />
$349,95 A A<br />
$349,95 A++ A<br />
Stereo Chorus Delay 6800 1986 1987 $249,95 B A<br />
Distortion Generator >15000 1987 1991-<br />
92?<br />
Instrument EQ 8000 1987 1991-<br />
92?<br />
Stereo Echo 6700 1987 1991-<br />
92?<br />
Stereo Chorus 6765 1987 1991-<br />
92?<br />
Midi Octopus 6200 1988 1991-<br />
92?<br />
Guitar Compressor 2350 1989 1991-<br />
92?<br />
Smart Gate 1940 1989 1991-<br />
92?<br />
$169,95 C A<br />
$199,95 A A<br />
$249,95 A++ A++<br />
$169,95 A A+<br />
$239,95 A B<br />
$129,95 A A<br />
$129,95 A++ A<br />
Dual Remote Loop 50 1991 1991 $129,95 A+++ C<br />
Rackmount (racktray for two<br />
modules)<br />
1986 1991-<br />
92?<br />
$19,95 A A<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 77
<strong>Rockman</strong> headphone amps<br />
� <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rockman</strong> headphone amps were produced by thousands, and can be found very easily. Some<br />
sellers try to hit the big money with them, but to be honnest, they became very cheap now and there is<br />
no reason why you should spend a fortune in something that sells by tenth every quarter. Clearly<br />
prefer a recent item: SR&D was continously improving the products, and the best headphone amps<br />
are the younger ones.<br />
Accessories are quite hard to find, so prices can be surprising sometimes...<br />
Quantity Start End List Price Collectibility Interest<br />
<strong>Rockman</strong> 8000 ? 1982 1984 C B<br />
Ultralight
Rare accessories<br />
� You can see some of these for sale, from time to time. <strong>The</strong>y are rare items, thus making them<br />
desirable if you are addicted to <strong>Rockman</strong> gear. Note that the Remote Loop allows controling any<br />
stompbox via a Midi-Octopus.<br />
Quantity Start End List Price Collectibility Interest<br />
Remote Loop
PRESS REVIEWS<br />
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 80
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 81
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 82
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 83
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 84
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 85
© www.<strong>Rockman</strong>.fr 2008 <strong>Rockman</strong> <strong>Products</strong> reviews Page 86