THE 80s SOUND - MXR Rockman X100 Review

[@JohnRussomJr]

Billy Gibbons was asked how how his sound had changed and become so awesome and he said, "talk to om Sholtz, he created a distortion you can play in church" BG is a legend.

[@peterschaefer1665]

One thing this pedal is missing in an instrument thru output. Which allowed the user to blend a live amp signal with the direct sound of the Rockman. The Rockman tones (direct) blended with a mic'd up plexi is when the magic happens in the studio.

[@pimpyohthrash]

Lol, I still have mine from the 80s. The headphone version I practiced with it at night time. I tucked it away with all my pagers in a box in my garage. Lol. Great tone " Rockman is Alive ..YEAH.

[@dpoultski2499]

My son works for an online music retailer in the US and people are pre-ordering these!

[@jjcollins]

Honestly, an absolutely beautiful job! And I truthfully loved the song as well. The best part, for me, is when you said you thought the rhythm sound would sound like crap - thats when you realized the magic of the Rockman. I still own many of them, 3 headphone amps, and 2 rack units with the floor board. I am a child of the 1980's, and this sound has never left me. Even though I absolutely am a Tom Scholz nerd, and apparently an "old fart" :), I pre-ordered one, even though I absolutely don't need it. I love the acclaim that it is getting, and I hope more people do more with the sound that captured a generation and was used on hundreds of records. Beautiful job once again, and I know Tom would be proud to see this.

[@danmartin1200]

It will work in front of clean guitar amp but really better direct. With guitar amp you would definitely need some external eq to make it usable through guitar amp. Back in the day the power amps that Scholz was marketing with the preamps were Carver/randall power amps. His whole design concept was getting sound at preamp and amplifying with full range power amps/ flat speaker systems. He was way ahead of his time. I have his last product made ,the A1250 50 watt combo.

[@GhostpainOG]

That sounds accurate from what I remember reading and hearing back then.

[@peterschaefer1665]

Hmmm kind of like the frfr cabs of today

[@gazmercer]

oooh, that sounds very nice. Loving the songs for the gear reviews too.

[@ghfdt368]

I believe Billy Gibbons in ZZ top used a Rockman quite often as well. He used it heavily on the Afterburner album and some of the eliminator album. In fact it confused me for years how the hell he got that unique incredible overdrive sound that sounded somehow really overdriven and saturated but at the same time so clear and warm. Also I think the overdrive would work great in almost any context in a rock song today, I actually think its aged incredibly well in terms of sound.

[@RandyFricke]

It's nice to know that Tom Scholz is still getting paid for his genius. I have an original Sustainor (Model 100) and just had my Model 200 refurbished. I love the tone of course but it's not my tone anymore although I still have the rack with my original Scholz Rockman (stereo) Chorus/Delay that is STILL the best chorus I've ever heard.

[@MrUltraworld]

Tom sold Scholz R&D in the 90's. He's not getting paid anymore.

[@RandyFricke]

@@MrUltraworld I am so glad to be alive at a time when someone like you could set me straight on that. How can I ever thank you?

[@ponzo1967]

I used my Rockman as a preamp and it sounded great. Those things were amazing for those times.

[@kaidemen156]

I’m excited to get my hands on one of these, I have a hunch that it’s going to reignite the hair metal craze \m/

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

I took the dog for his walk and my MX100 package was on the porch this morning. 😀 Wheee! I still have my Rockman X100 from the 80s. It was so amazing to have a little battery powered headphone amp with cleans and distortion. I guess for the young guys, you can think of it as the Boss Katana Go of its day. Sort of. You had two cleans, edge and distortion, with echo and chorus. You could select from all effects on, chorus off-echo on, or echo off -chorus on. The chorus chip in this MXR pedal is the same as from the original X100. I had heard that the components for the original echo were out production so they didn’t include it.

[@BaronVonSchnarffler]

@@lostinpa-dadenduro7555 I read the same

[@LeStraTele]

The Boston 3rd Stage album is the best Rockman endorsement out there. Also check out the Orion The Hunter album. So many 80's hits used Rockman. Jeff Beck's People Get Ready. ZZ Top Afterburner. ...can you tell I'm a Rockman fan?

[@arnaudstegle5034]

2 sliders, 2 push buttons and the sound is set and balanced for clean or distorted tones with or without compression and/or chorus. Impressive little box !

[@russperry3000]

It’s amazing that Tom figured this sound out in the mid ‘70’s, yet people are still trying to recreate it digitally 50 years later.

[@BaronVonSchnarffler]

The pedal is all analog, I think it will probably be the biggest selling pedal for 2025, I have a tonex that is digital

[@zyxwfish]

Right

[@benligil]

​@BaronVonSchnarfflerI believe so and Heatseeker will be top sellers

[@stoneysdead689]

LOL- I bet you never dreamed you get to make that fanboy flex huh? You been sitting on that one.

[@donedwards5150]

Just as so many guitarists are desperately chasing Edward Van Halen’s 1978 tone. There’s countless videos claiming they’ve nailed it, and a few come very very close… but no matter what amp settings, effect pedals, tube combinations or voltage customizations combined with bicycle paint hues or 1971 quarters, it’s still… not…quite…there.

[@Mendelian]

Thumbs up for that harmonic minor vibe

[@EytschPi42]

Haha

[@Jasonalanlarsen]

Cool video man but you need to dive into the Rockman rabbit hole. Tom didn’t just use it, he was literally the engineer (from MIT) that created it. It was never just intended to be a shitty headphones amp, he was top shelf hi-fi all the way

[@HeathWatts]

The headphone amps were incredible for their time. I still have a bass one and a guitar one at my Dad's house and they likely still work.

[@Rickeyhoof]

I ordered one to add to my collection, I have the soloist and a couple other clones from RMS and GOAT Blue series. You would be surprised how many people offer there version of Toms work

[@ShreddingFinn]

I believe you can very accurately recreate this in any modern modeler, like HX, Mooer whatever. Its not the same as trying to model Eddie's VH 1 rig

[@PeterMcCracken-n3g]

Bloody awesome Henning, your playing style matched the x100 perfectly. I thought Tom Schultz was an electrical engineer that designed the rockman and then got it built. That's the word on the street anyway. Thankyou for your time and your channel, you are great, Cheers.

[@keithbenedict8764]

You win the internet with that Rockman song.

[@arnaudstegle5034]

Poor Pauli having to excuse himself repeatedly for his shirt and have to explain that YES he knows there's a switch to turn it stereo. But still taking time to answer. Community management must be the hardest part of your job. Such a brave guy. Here it is 🍺 you deserve it !

[@dpoultski2499]

The song should be the official promo for the pedal!!

[@PooNinja]

🎶It's a bright horizon, ooh, and I'm awaken I see myself in a brand new way The sun is shinin', ooh, the clouds are breakin' 'Cause I can't lose now, there's a new rockman to play🎶

[@eoinc_Ire]

Boston (Tom Scholz invented it) used it on Third Stage and the Deaf Leopard guys used it on Hysteria… RJ did a review of the original. It is a cool sound! “And I want, and I need, and I lust Animal (s at the end) ) … “

[@stoneysdead689]

Tbh this is not a tone that's impossible to get- but it takes a handful of pedals, you have to know how to set them up right, you need the right amp, compressor, chorus, etc. The genius here, imo- is putting it all in one box, just choose what effect you want, two sliders- you're done. It's idiot proof, plug and play 80s tone. And it makes it really accessible to about anyone- you don't need any other specialized gear or anything- just a powered speaker of some kind to plug into, or a PA, recording interface, etc. Hell, you could technically use your computer speakers I guess- probably have to buy a 1/4 inch to 1/8th adapter, but you could make it work. Two-fiddy seems steep until you realize this thing is a DI solution- not just a dirt pedal and a chorus pedal in one enclosure, which is how most ppl are thinking of it, I think.

[@PutItAway101]

There's a switch inside to choose mono or stereo mode

[@transparent6748]

Im still confused why all the great companies like fender-boss-Ibanez etc didn’t made a rockman version years ago well known its been requested by numerous,,,well finally its here after all,,great review as always

[@alexsiedler]

So fantastisch! Und schon bestellt vor ein paar Tagen! Seit 20 Jahren will ich einen rockman, und deine Ballade am Ende ist das beste Kaufargument❤❤❤

[@landonbailey]

I was slightly distracted by the shirt but I'm not sure why

[@EytschPi42]

Shut it

[@bob_kazamakis]

2:18 he made the whole line of Rockman gear… that is why his name is on all of it.

[@zyxwfish]

It’s funny, Def Leppard’d hysteria was considered to have some of the best tones and they used this thing on that album. Guess you don’t need a fancy tube amp. Just a pedal direct to the board 🤷

[@yoyoyuyu234476]

IM gonna write a tune for the beauty undustry now: its more than a peeling

[@antipsychosoup6709]

I think the reason they put it in a pedal format (or at least the reason I'm thankful they did) is for players who want to have easy access to all the Rockman tones within the context of their existing pedalboard rigs. In other words, the pedal format makes the Rockman much more "gigable". I plan to run my MXR X100 in the loop of my HX Effects, which will give my the ability to build several presets around it for specific songs, as well as the ability to use one of the HX switches to cycle thru the 4 different X100 settings.

[@vasotoe]

Great to see the Soothsayer! 🤘🔥

[@kenmasters007]

Wow love the production and the song in this video...!!

[@mcinen67]

Do you have some IR involved? Great video and great sounding pedal. I like the idea to make a song of the product you are reviewing.

[@daka4711]

Great sound. Looks like a lot of fun. 😊

[@Danthehorse]

You need to make a whole album like that!

[@PereRevert]

Nice presentation and love the main song! Wondering if that one is some AI creation... or at least the voices seems to be. Have several original Rockman stuff... this pedal sounds a bit close but didn't get the essence of the original tone, for obvious reasons. Keep up the good work man!

[@johns1159]

I have the original version, although it stopped working years ago. It definitely had some type of slap delay and chorus, with the compression.

[@patriotpizzaman]

The singer stole the show on the Rockman is Alive and that's quite the acommplishment! That thing sounds AMAZing!

[@tommyb.9022]

As far as I remember, Tom Scholz invented this thing, that's why his name is on it. I think it was initially built for recording.

[@garethbarlow5278]

Correct. Boston's "Third Stage". An album which famously took five years to record and produce.

[@Smurfman256]

That clean tone sounds an awful lot like when I use my Tru Fi Colordriver as an EQed clean boost. Wonder if the frequency response curves are similar?

[@cassavamellin]

i used to have the rockman distortion generator. awsome sound, hated that it wasnt a pedal

[@PeterStrmberg007]

I still have an original :) Offers over $5 considered😅 I'm loving your use of AI for these demo tracks.

[@darceylawrence5440]

Technically it can do early heavy metal like it kinda sounds like the tone TANK had on their 1983 album This Means War, If you add and a overdrive pedal and maybe a EQ pedal I feel you could get pretty close

[@boomerbassmeme]

They are going for about $229 US. Freakin sweet pedal!

[@TimBailey-qi1hh]

Stereo option in the back of the pedal,take the back off,flip the switch,am I correct?

[@EytschPi42]

Yes

[@g.m.6417]

If you open it up you can switch from mono to stereo. There is a switch inside.

[@EytschPi42]

As it says in the video

[@Rich4Truth]

Did you lose the manual? In the unboxing portion, you pulled out a little book that was about 1/4 of an inch thick. It said “Quick Guide” on the front. You fanned the pages in fast motion and set it down. Was that not a manual? Maybe it was just a book that told you how to plug it in, in every language known to man. lol. Also, when talking about the original Rockman, you said there was no delay. But actually there was. It wasn’t something you could adjust, but you could cut it off. It was called “Echo”. You could cut off the echo, or you could cut off the chorus, but you couldn’t cut them both off at the same time. I had the original from 1982, which I can’t find right now. But I was able to find the one from 1984, called the X-100. There is a slider switch with “Norm” in the middle, and “Echo Off” to the left, and “Chorus Off” to the right. The Rockman is what made me want to play guitar in stereo, which I did for years. I had 2 Roland Jazz Chorus 120 amps, and I used the Rockman box model you spoke of. With an amp on each side of the room. Or stage.

[@CS-yj8sd]

LOL.... 16:56 ... that is me 90% of the time I am soloing ... just barely hanging on!

[@strumminronin]

Oh, yes, thanks for your video, Henning!!

[@maxmustardman298]

Ha maybe Nobels will reissue their 80s sound studio series if the mxr unit does well. They basically cloned the rockman x100 but put it in a sturdy metal housing and added more controls. I bought one used a couple years ago and I still need to fix it up to get it working properly😂probably dead caps, what else

[@RsSquier51]

2:22 Tom Scholz invented, designed and built the original. He is an MIT trained mechanical engineer with a bachelor's and a masters degree.

[@didamnesia3575]

Amplified nation bombshell overdrive is looking nice

[@viniciusmarcilio3194]

haha love the song=! keep 'em coming 🤘🏻

[@9642SM7]

This song is great! Long live 80s tone!

[@uktmaxx]

a lot of bottom end rolled off, with a 4k boost... hence the cut!

[@kitko33]

Rockman was the first guitar modeller (if you know how Scholz created the sound, you know why it's a modeller). Tom Scholz is a genius.

[@richardlewis1243]

I had the headphone thingie in my ironbird case in '89. it was cool as shit

[@mikecorey8370]

I bought one the day they were released. I found the cleans overly compressed. And being there's no way to adjust it, it was pretty much unusable. Ran it into my board and into my interface. Returned to G.C.

[@brandtdales]

That sounds Beautiful ❤️

[@kaidemen156]

Bro, that song!

[@S.W.Best-Author]

I LOVED that song. lol :)

[@efstathioszavvos4878]

Sure sounds great, but 300 euros is crazy for this. What were they thinking?

[@TomPark1986]

This is a neat pedal.

[@uktmaxx]

have created a nice Helix preset that recreates this.... with a few added features! :)

[@JamNJohnny]

supposedly stereo option from inside

[@michelambi5663]

Nice lyrics 😊

[@klanggrenze3905]

Nice demo, but the stereo option of it is too much a part of it's sound to be dropped...

[@EytschPi42]

Please read what is says on the screen… you can switch it internally

[@benligil]

Tom Scholz created the pedal.❤

[@ezquimal]

I remember kiss play live with the Rickman rack

[@ericgriffin120]

Is someone using Suno or Udio for the vocals?

[@dernetteherr9347]

nice Rockman Song 🤘 i love it❤

[@nicks4802]

Lol I built a goddamn paddleboard just to try and get this sound, When all along i could just used this 1 pedal LOL

[@BaronVonSchnarffler]

Me too.. Doh who knew 🙄🤣

[@JohnRussomJr]

You just had to be there. It was huge.

[@ezquimal]

Purple rain. Put a turbo distorsión boss after and made the solo guitar

[@rvaguitars]

I just wanna know why this took so long to happen. Those were great. Sounds even in the 80s when it came out.

[@garethbarlow5278]

Happy sounds aren't they?

[@thepeetjournal4469]

CTRL changes the Mode

[@ChristinaAlvarado-r1b]

If you're into old fart stuff... Or if you are an old fart. Great demo and love the lyrics and tune.

[@mattarnold8371]

Is it insanely noisy?

[@EytschPi42]

No

[@nodrog5150]

I had a cheaper copy preamp headphones unit back then. The Rockman was the more expensive one. I'm not sure that it's worth £200 for that chorus sound that lets you sound like Def Leppard. It's all getting really silly. 😂

[@arzarkel]

Those gear-related songs are genius, and the singer is, too! Who is it?

[@EytschPi42]

AI

[@junahvideoplayer]

Nice use of AI on the track 😂

[@almostliterally593]

Thanks I hate it

[@Ron-c6i]

@@almostliterally593 It should never see the light of day outside of Rockman ads!!! 🤮

[@houseofshred3725]

16:55 Easy man, it was just one note! XD

[@レプタリエン]

Love the A.I. lyrics. Oh, and Pooh is mixed with Pedo-bear. Pretty disturbing.

[@EytschPi42]

I had NO clue

[@レプタリエン]

@ That’s what we’re here for boss

[@SkyAvila777]

You forgot to open the pedal and turn on stereo mode...

[@EytschPi42]

I know

[@erwocoolis9451]

I started playing in 1988. The only Rockman I've seen was at a guitar store. There were two of them. They were for testing guitars, in case the sound cabin was occupied. We agreed that it sounded bad and waited for the cabin (that day i bought my black Gibson Explorer). So nope, it was NOT the sound of the 80s, it was the sound most people hated in the 80s.

[@GhostpainOG]

Agreed. This is how *I* remember it. It was serviceable but hardly a hot-rodded JCM800 and a Rat. It might have worked better in a studio with tons of outboard gear, IDK, but the way I remember, not so much.

[@davidstokes4630]

I bought one back when they came out. They were frail and hard to use in a band. I loved the sound of it, but like the first Walkman's, all geared around 1/8" jacks and plastic construction. I traded it for a crappy (Kramer Ferrington) guitar... good trade.

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

Colombo has had a Rockman clone available for awhile. No one reviewed it because ....it wasn't sent to "influencers" for free?

[@EytschPi42]

We never get anything for free

[@Manley156]

Lol Pooh bear is mixed with Pedo bear

[@Ron-c6i]

Yep LMAO

[@undergroundjohnny]

Now everyone can sound exactly the same again.

[@BOSSenjoyer]

Literally Fractal/Neural/Kemper

[@che2335]

While chugging a detuned open D or lower note...80s riffs had hooks melodies and memorable catch phrases...there was a reason Page was known as the riff master!

[@undergroundjohnny]

@@che2335 Amen to that! - Just watched The Song Remains The Same the other day. Best rock concert ever!! And the tone!

[@menschlicheswesen84]

We are all playing fishman's these day's, so yes...😅

[@daniels7624]

299 € in Germany. Preordered anyway. 😝

[@didamnesia3575]

I think I need this, as I am in to old fart music

[@che2335]

Listen to Bostons lead lines not the most talented but the biggest richest on recording lead lines of the decade. Tom Sholz was a better engineer than guitar hero. The production of Boston albums of the 70s was HUGE gor the day. Made other records or cassettes sound small thru the same stereos.

[@che2335]

I watched to the end to help your algorithm

[@T1GWBJAH]

If my eyes arent deceoving the bear that poo is mixed with is an old internet meme that was called pedo-bear

[@EytschPi42]

I NOW know that… what the hell… I had no clue

[@T1GWBJAH]

​@@EytschPi42to be fair i don't think i've seen that meme since 2008 so it is a relatively old one in internet terms!

[@Broccoli_Highkicks]

Can't tell if you're being serious or not, but if you were online in the 2000s, you ought to know who Pooh is mixed with 👀

[@EytschPi42]

NOW I know… didn’t know when I made the video