THE Rockman thread
- Thread starter PurposeToMelody
- Start date
petejt
Active member
rbc":1s4z2kzh said:rbc":1s4z2kzh said:
Ok, I remembered to turn the sweep on this time
I liked this one better.
It's interesting to hear that the 'Wide' setting actually sounds the most natural. It just sounds really wide.
When you switched to "Normal" mode, then 'Equal' and 'Subtle', the effect had more of that "over-processed" & shrill cheesy chorus sound.
I think that's a factor of electronically mixing the dry and 'wet' (processed) signals. When you keep them separate and let them aurally mix, although the effect is prominent it sounds more natural.
To relate back to the Eddie Van Halen F.U.C.K. thread- maybe that's why his later 1980s-early 1990s sounds were rather shrill & cheesy sounding, despite using high end Eventide equipment? I've read a few times how in the wet/dry/wet setups, that the outer 'wet' speakers actually mix in some of the dry signal in an effort to 'preserve' the tone. I think it has the reverse effect- it just plasticises it up even more.
It might also explain why a lot of the recorded Rockman sounds that are heard (and laughed or scorned at), is because they were either recorded in mono, used the 'normal' setting which has a 90%:10% wet/dry mix or other wet/dry effect mixes, or mixed down to mono. So the original stereo chorused effect just gets jumbled together to result in this corny cheesy over-processed sound.
I felt like the compressor was set a little too aggressively on my Dunlop Ace, so I pulled off the cover to see what could be done about it. I found a single adjustment that seems to control the gain or something else about the compressor. I found a setting that I like better. Has anyone tried this kind of adjustment or have a better idea of what this adjustment controls?
Thanks,
--Bruce
Thanks,
--Bruce
Attachments
This is a little comparison of my Dunlop Guitar Ace, versus my SR&D Guitar Ace. The Guitar Ace on the left is Dunlop manufactured, evidenced by the Benicia address. It appears to have been made in 1995. Wow, I just bought the Dunlop Guitar Ace in 2013. I guess they are still trying to sell off that batch. The Guitar Ace on the right was made by SR&D. It doesn't appear to have an adjustable potentiometer.
Attachments
petejt":2l42ps4o said:
That may be the thing. It sounds great when it's stereo, but mixing down to mono ruins things. I'm not a sound engineer, but I have read in some places that mono output should be considered as part of the constraints for a mix. Perhaps the sound was driven by mono/stereo tradeoffs.
petejt
Active member
Hi rbc,
You wouldn't happen know how the Rockman was modified for Def Leppard, which they used on their Hysteria album back in 1987?
I heard it was modified the same as for ZZ Top.
To me the tone sounds a bit more "chunkier" and slightly less "boxy" than the standard Rockman sound. But it's not as "low-middy" as the original Boston sound.
You wouldn't happen know how the Rockman was modified for Def Leppard, which they used on their Hysteria album back in 1987?
I heard it was modified the same as for ZZ Top.
To me the tone sounds a bit more "chunkier" and slightly less "boxy" than the standard Rockman sound. But it's not as "low-middy" as the original Boston sound.
petejt":nirayszm said:
I don't really know what kinds of modifications were used by Def Leppard or ZZ Top. I'm guessing they both eventually used the Rockman Sustainor, a half rack unit. When you use it with a pair of equalizers, you can get enormous flexibility in your sound.
The Sustainor has an effects loop that is before the distortion unit. One equalizer would go before the distortion, the second after the Sustainor, but before the chorus and delay. David Accomando wrote up a nice little article about using Pre-distortion with the Sustainor:
http://www.perfectsoundrockrefurbs.com/articles.html#Article 9 - Pre-Distortion EQing...What gives?
You might find it interesting.
You could try dual equalizers with a regular guitar amp. Put one before the guitar amp. Put the second in the effects loop. Adjust away!
Just don't fall victim to O.A.D. (Obsessive Adjustment Disorder)
Little B
Well-known member
rbc":16gw0r18 said:petejt":16gw0r18 said:
I don't really know what kinds of modifications were used by Def Leppard or ZZ Top. I'm guessing they both eventually used the Rockman Sustainor, a half rack unit. When you use it with a pair of equalizers, you can get enormous flexibility in your sound............I'll have to look for them, but somewhere theres pictures of Phil's rig from the early years and theres an XPR in there.I think they were in g. player, g. world, or one of those magazines. If the XPR a smart gate, full echo,ultimatum circuit and a full pre eq, it would've been darn near the most perfect pre of its time.
The Sustainor has an effects loop that is before the distortion unit. One equalizer would go before the distortion, the second after the Sustainor, but before the chorus and delay. David Accomando wrote up a nice little article about using Pre-distortion with the Sustainor:
http://www.perfectsoundrockrefurbs.com/articles.html#Article 9 - Pre-Distortion EQing...What gives?
You might find it interesting.
You could try dual equalizers with a regular guitar amp. Put one before the guitar amp. Put the second in the effects loop. Adjust away!
Just don't fall victim to O.A.D. (Obsessive Adjustment Disorder)
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
The rockman stuff sounds like a wah pedal stuck in one position pushing the nasal mids. That tone would grate on me after a while I think.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
I was reading some of Wagener's QnA on this forum from a few years back and being producer on that album he says NO rockman used. That sound is all the guitar tracks pumped back through a "secret" fostex recorder. So I don't know.. take the producer's word for it? He kept all the notes..
Kapo_Polenton":69wdhxb6 said:
You're certainly not the first to notice this. David Accomando provides some specific remarks about the mid-range in an article about pre-distortion:
http://www.perfectsoundrockrefurbs.com/articles.html#Article 9 - Pre-Distortion EQing...What gives?
In his suggested settings, you might notice that he sets the 500 Hz slider to -12:
http://www.perfectsoundrockrefurbs.com/eq-1-2-3-settings.html
This discussion has been had before...I'll stick to what Lynch told Guitar Player back at the time the album was released, and what he took on tour with him for those shows on that tour (a Rockman in a "Rockmount" rackmount enclosure) that was sent to FOH to be blended in with the Marshalls, the same way it was done on the record. Use your ears...it's there. Try it if you have any Rockman gear kicking around ...you'll hear it...trust me.Kapo_Polenton":1qbhyu4a said: