How to: ORIGINAL BOSTON TONE using Rockman Sustainor

[@skithewhitestuff]

Greetings from England. I have always loved Boston and am getting my rig together to get that Boston tone. Your videos have helped me a great deal. Thanks and keep them coming.

[@KeithGrommes]

Dude!!!!!! Spot on!!! So impressed you figured all that out based on so many things, including paying close attention to interviews! Very impressed!

[@massapower]

Great stuff. Now your ready to start your very own BOSTON tribute band 😎

[@rbcarleton]

Thanks for the demo. It's cool to see the Sustainor/GarageBand hybrid lineup that you used.

[@verdantacres4460]

Awesome great to see you putting in the time, great results!

[@ericgustin3386]

This hands down the only replication of the first Boston album tone. It's perfect, minus the 60 cycle hum when not playing. But that could be electronics or florescent to in the room. Little noise gate would get rid of it, but might squash the tone. Good gos that sound is perfect. Ripped right from the album. Third stage sound is also a spot on rockman distortion. But ya gotta have the jangly chorusy clean sound to go with it. You do that , and I'm gonna lose my mind! Nice work with the research. Didnt realize there were super crazy boston fans like me out there. Nice work brother!!

[@catonthemoon2084]

Bravo Taylor I'm one of Boston's biggest fans it's great to see a young fella loving the ultimate guitar sound of all time. You did a tremendously great job at your calculations arriving at a very close sounding replica. I have an idea for you should you ever get a band started. I often wondered what the great music of that time period with groups such as Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Aerosmith & others would sound with their great hits all with the Boston sound. It appears you may have a little genious in you too..great job!

[@annamckinney6622]

Buy one of the original rockmans (80's models) if you can find one that still works. Screw all the computer stuff and plug headphone cord (with adapter) directly into a small Marshall amp. I add a digital delay delay pedal just for more fullness and that"s it. Sounds just as good (if not better) than what you spent weeks (or months) trying to achieve. Scholz built the original rockman to emulate his signature sound by itself.

[@johnc7801]

That's what I did with mine back in the 80's. Lol- funny to see these still around.

[@yactabay]

I will believe you when I hear it. Post a video. Look at all the KZbin videos with guys claiming they nailed the sound and they didn't! Computer or not, they miss the mark. On all those videos, in the comments, you keep reading "You nailed it". They didn't nail the first album. This video and one other guy on a Boston forum, not KZbin are the closest I've heard. Both used computers. The Rockman X100 is almost the same as the second album, whose sound I also love. I wish this guy had played single notes, particularly the very first electric guitar notes on the song Peace Of Mind right after the acoustic guitar intro. That would have let me know how close he actually got. This, however, was excellent. Great job.

[@glendrover3846]

Good work Taylor

[@ihop4no14]

You definitely got the sound! Good job!

[@DOMINOSMOFO]

I approve this tone. I need to see if I can get someone to amp clone that setting digitally.

[@tjtheedge29]

AMAZING job!! You nailed it. Love those tones.

[@hockley91]

Awesome! Sounds great! Love that sound...

[@markj6506]

Wow ! i got chills! Simply awesome. This is one of my favorite all time tones, i have a line on a rockman this a great tutorial, specially for setting the eq properly! Thanks!

[@1badsteed]

MY GAWD!!!Man that is perfect! Unbelievable

[@jonathandenny2870]

You nailed the tone dude!

[@kostantismp3704]

4:47 that tone

[@RestrictedAirspacePodcast]

Not going to lie you dialed that tone in. Imagine plugging that thing into a Mesa or jc 120. Rockman🤯 GAME ON!

[@mikeoxfloppin9699]

Ahhh good stuff man! I’m diggin

[@timothycasey5749]

Now, all's you need are some guys who have been castrated to sing in delp's range... Unbelievable sound...spot on...

[@rareform6747]

I had that same unit and sold fast , until I found the X-100 stereo head phone amp . Run it into 2 DSL 100's British JCM 2000 . Game Changer !

[@Riffking69]

Nice job.. Tone sounds pretty much spot on.

[@TheBishopRock]

awesome dude! I could have used you in my Boston tribute band years ago!

[@playAgainMe]

'I'm guessing you may already know this. Several other bands used the rockmans in the studio in the 80s. Def Leppard Hysteria, Queen The Miracle, Huey Lewis, Kiss Animalize,.Joe Satriani Surfing with Aliens, I'm sure there lots of others. these were the one I could remember. What a great unit. You have good tone recognition to figure this out.

[@JimPerdue14]

ZZ Top

[@EliPrinsensHVTVocals]

Nailed them all!

[@allenlocke1935]

There many ways to skin a cat, and the way you did yours, is as good as any of the others that make one take notice. Great Job! Pretty convincing to me. I shall begin my quest to see if I can get this though a HeadRush into LogicX or Garage Band for that matter. Thanks and cheers!

[@leswadley6792]

Sounds great!

[@michael_caz_nyc]

I wish they would re-release this unit and Clean-Up the noise-floor. It sounds very Unique for a certain type of distortion. Nice Job with this.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

@Rick Gustin Yeah - I heard them. My opinion was not quite as-bad-as yours. They brought-down the noise floor, but missed the mark on some midrange frequencies. Hopefully someone will get it spot-on. It would be a Mega Seller $$$$$ - it's One Sound - I Don't Have in my arsenal.

[@mikek1348]

Brilliant work!

[@chewiebaby]

Sounds awesome!

[@TheDoug625]

Nice job!

[@jamesalfano5740]

By Joe, I think he's got it! Actually its hard to make the SRD sustainer sound bad, plus Tom has little arrows pointing to his suggested settings.

[@nicksterwixter]

Dude you are amazing! I don't have a Sustainer, but I do have an X100 (which obviously doesn't allow for the same level of control), but I bet with your Garageband presets I could get it close enough. Thanks dude!

[@jimdoner3443]

Just do it it'll be great lots of fun

[@lexusmaxus]

Very well done dude

[@Chord_The_Seeker]

You need to get a Rockman X100. It has all of that sound already set perfectly in a box the size of a paperback.

[@dawnpoint]

I have an X100. It's close to Boston's Rockman era sound but not quite, and definitely not very similar to the Marshall rig sound. Scholz didn't design it to be a replica.

[@ericgustin3386]

Yeah. 1st album and thirds stage rockman sound are two completely different animals. Slightly similar sound. But also radically different. In fact a lot of Boston fans were unfortunately turned off by the rockman sound initially.

[@vic.joe.lee06]

Can this do the same thing as the Rockman X100, and make the same sounds?

[@tater7363]

Yes and no. You have the same 4 settings on the Sustainor and the X100 ( 1. DIST 2. EDGE 3. CLN1 4. CLN2 ) but the Sustainor adds to that Compression, Sustain, Smart gate ( high frequency noise gate ) Auto Clean ( allows you to switch from Distortion to Clean by simply turning your guitars volume knob down. When Auto CLN is "ON" the volume knob no longer has any effect on the volume of the guitar. It acts like a "switch" to go from Distortion to Clean with just one quick and easy turn of the guitar volume knob. GREAT FEATURE ), and a phase notcher ( mimics microphoning your speaker cabinets ). The X100 adds Echo and Chorus ( must select ECHO on, CHORUS on, or BOTH on. There is no way to turn off both effects. Must choose one or both ). Hope this helped!

[@LouMarcotte]

I'd love to try to replicate this but the links to the GarageBand patches don't work.

[@vidmangamer1]

Good work! Thanks!

[@williamengles5030]

Superb...dead on

[@shanedavis3414]

Wow, the computer program amps are something I have never done. Is there not a speaker cab ? Is the volume only what the computer speakers can dish out ?

[@kevinseraphimday6373]

Yea, what he said. This stuff looks like magic or something!

[@sonus289]

man spot on!!! Tho try a cab emulator after it then into a interface for the computer ..the 1/8" jack and signal chain adds artifacts and noise...but this if extremely close! Don't forget he sagged his amps

[@jimrogers7425]

Pretty much nailed it!! Good for you!

[@martymore1]

respect bro.

[@Zone9Rock]

Camera movement made me sick. But tone match ended up being sick as well. Nice job!

[@jymmccullough]

Excellent job! Wish I could recreate that without hunting down and forking out for a Rockman device!

[@robwarner292]

Great boston tone

[@malcolm77]

Hi Taylor , great job! I just purchased the Sustainor and Chorus modules. Can you please explain how to connect 2 eq pedals to this setup and into an amp. Sorry, I’m not very tech savvy. Thanks

[@Sam07989]

I have a Yamaha TH 30ii, I would guess I could achieve a similar sound with this using that playing live?

[@kamikazi777]

Who would give this kid a thumbs down.

[@MOAllDa]

All the so called elite tone snobs

[@javiereduardo5140]

What a nice sound

[@glennevans5824]

Nice job👍🏻🎸

[@kevinseraphimday6373]

Thats perfect.

[@JanpolCodnita8704]

How is this compared to the Sonic Port that was released by line 6? I think they are both the same

[@BluesDelux12AX7]

Really good job of getting his tone. Great idea to run it through GB for more processing! Just curious though, what happened to your shirt? It looks like it was sewn together by a blind seamstress! I actually like it though!

[@h91rex100]

You should see his underwear

[@twotone9908]

Boston toned 2nd most recognizable next to evh

[@deandee8082]

lol, Scholtz has way more tone that EVH, way more.. are you serious? Eds off the shelf, flanger, OD and phase.. bout it, fuggin Tom built his own one off tools, hale just listen to it.. lot of that sound you might think is a synthesizer is his guitar and a pedal he built, c'mon man its OK to leg hump your heros but keep it straight, EVH? fookin Paul Kossoff had more tone than Ed, you must be thinking of Eds fingers here?...

[@treystunkel2044]

ed’s 90s tone was untouchable

[@shreddievanhalen1]

@@deandee8082what? Do you know what TONE is? It’s not something you can have more or less of. It’s not a quantity. A guitarists TONE is just his guitar sound. He is saying Eddie’s tone is more recognizable than Shultz. Which can be debated. But your argument is just stupid.

[@toddweller]

That sounds spot on!

[@texocalistation6049]

I had one of these and I had to sell it because I found it to be extremely limiting to that one Boston Sound. It wasn't very versatile in my mind at all. Plus I struggled to get the actual Boston sound dialed in perfectly like you have it here. I probably wouldn't have sold it If I didn't need something else, but at the time I was playing blues in a show band, and these tones were just not cutting it at all, too hard rock/metal for what we we trying to do, what I really needed was a clean fender sounding amp with a distortion pedal for leads and that is what I wound up using, just an Ibanez TS-10 Tube Screamer into a small Fender amp, which is always a good choice, as is a Marshall stack. However a Marshall stack is huge, and heavier than a tank to carry around and needs to be played louder than hell to get that great sound, and still needs a distortion pedal into it as well, but Tom Scholz figured out a way with his MIT engineering skills to build a unit for his own personal use to cram that huge sound into a box that he describes as being the size of a "Peanut Butter Sandwich", I think he may be referring to the Rockman Guitar Ace, sized unit, but either way the sound is great, and very recognizable on records, check out the solo on Michael Sembello's "Maniac" and see if it doesn't sound like a Rockman. I still think that Tom Scholz took an unorthodox approach to the layout of the unit as the controls don't make any sense to me. I'm sure that they make perfect sense to him, but I have never seen anything like it on any amp before or since, it's still confusing today, the bewildering names and concepts of how things are labeled and was even more confusing to me over 25 years ago, I just played with the weird sliders till I got a sound that was close to the Boston sound, but it really couldn't do anything else. And it sounds very compressed and EQ'd all to hell, but for what it does, it does really well and I really regret selling it now, because I learned that even though it is a one trick pony, it does do the Boston thing really well, as it should, considering that Tom Scholz invented it and sold them as copies of his rig. It's sad that even he doesn't have access to as many of these as you would think, because they are not made anymore. I know a guy who was one of his stage tech's on tour recently and was telling me how they had to keep spare parts around to keep his rig going, and it was really hodge podge. Just spit and bailing wire and duct tape keeping the best of the old ones together after all of these years. I think he should really focus on re-issuing the units, but maybe there isn't enough demand for them after all of these years and it might cost too much to do that. I'll probably get one again one of these days, but they are getting more and more expensive these days as they are less and less common. And to think I bought mine for lie $75 bucks and probably sold it to a pawn shop for the same is mind boggling when these things go for like 3-400 dollars or more now.

[@garysabo2181]

Can I run my pedal board in the back of the Sustainer?

[@partydeer1640]

Awesome video man! I have a question: can you plug the sustainor into an amp and use that as a speaker instead of plugging into a computer? I don’t have a computer that uses any guitar programs, so I was just wondering

[@modernhoghunter9537]

Right On!

[@wilsocn]

This reminds me of "money for nothing" tone too.

[@1badsteed]

Thats that cocked wah sound I believe...yeah VERY similar!

[@RSchmitt1966]

Awesome!

[@roylowry4798]

Awesome

[@johndoe-br9kv]

My headphone jack on my mac book pro is inoperable, that being said, can the signal be piped into my digital interface (Focusrite)? thanks so much for you time

[@dawnpoint]

If the Focusrite has a 1/4" input (which like all of them do) it'll work just fine.

[@Terrysoddy]

What did you change on the sustainer to get the third stage tone

[@MrRockman46]

Pretty dang close,curious to what your doing with the wah pedal,settings? I didn't realize he incorporated that into the tone.thanks and hopefully I hear back from you.

[@silverarrowslk]

I’ve still got mine

[@mkii1964]

Totally Boston!

[@shawnknuijt1]

Holy shit awesome tone man. Right on to Scholz. Who needs tube amps anyways right?

[@JaviBello]

With a cranked plexi(better use a tom scholz's power soak so your neghbours don't call the cops) with a greenback loaded marshall 1960 and a blue six band pedal, you got even closer sound, no processing needed.

[@skithewhitestuff]

Do you think that the Rockman equipment in this video running straight into my Marshall AVT275 amp would give me a good Boston tone or would I need to use some other pieces to achieve it.

[@dawnpoint]

Put an EQ between the Rockman and the amp and you should be able to get pretty close. I find the cab makes more of a difference than the amp itself. Single-speaker cabs have been a lot easier for me to dial in than multi-speaker ones.

[@skithewhitestuff]

Thanks mate, just waiting to get my hands on one when I can find one for sale.

[@axe2grind911a]

Seriously good job. The first tone was a bit too saturated as was the last one, but I imagine if you just turn vol knob down on guitar a bit, it would be perfect. What'd you pay for the rockman?

[@dawnpoint]

I got mine for $320 which is a good deal for a model200.

[@axe2grind911a]

Any good modeling of that tone that you know of?

[@dawnpoint]

Check out my video "Cracking the Code." I have since learned that what I assembled wasn't that accurate but it works. I outline some steps for getting the tone on conventional gear.

[@axe2grind911a]

Hey thanks, will do. I spent some time trying to get that sound on my iPB-10 today. I think I got a good start: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHjQq6Gnhr5-fKM

[@axe2grind911a]

Looks like I also oversaturated the rhythm part. Here's a 2nd attempt at just the dirt part: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWOpqpd-jZh_aJI

[@davidhodgeon4711]

Hi ive been watching you for years great tone by the way i have a sustainor 100a a stereo chorus delay and distortion generator but no eq what woud you suggest i do thanks

[@dawnpoint]

You'll need an EQ. A 15-band graphic EQ will work.

[@davidhodgeon4711]

Thanks buddy

[@jimdoner3443]

Sholz changed the pups in his Les Paul to I believe Duncan's what do u have in yours, it sounded good.I've got 490s in my 1980 L.P.Custom it sounds good through my little original Rock Man. But I think yours was closer and tighter to the tone and response.Man I loved it when I ran in to it then ran that into my Marshall triple superlead on a 1960 slant 4×12 cab like using it as a preamp kind of set up all the extra settings were great. I miss that half stack.

[@jackhayson9876]

Actually Sholtz was running Dimarzio supers

[@jackhayson9876]

Also notice the white soap bar pups in later photos of mighty mouse, he replaced the Dimarzio's with his own self wound pups, there was some mention of them in a guitar rag years ago which he did not divulge the specs other than say it gave him more sustain.

[@jimdoner3443]

@@jackhayson9876 thanx I realized my mistake about the Duncan's but I've never heard about him making his own. I appreciate the info.

[@victorjames4851]

Dude you have a killer look alike of Napoleon Dynamite!

[@BillDerBerg]

The Rockman combo amps are the best at getting that 80s tone bar none

[@badzuri]

What brand of 10 band eq ?

[@BlueButterfly7777]

Such a "Boston sound." Love it.

[@kencohagen4967]

Tom Scholz hasn't used a sustainor since he invented the XP 100. Those units demand a price from $1500 to $1800. He also uses a Dimarzio Super aDistortion pickup. Gary Pihl reccommeded starting with a guitar made of Mohagany, and the SD pickup. Tom also detunes his strings slightly flat so he can bend them into tune as he plays. Question for you. Where are you find tabs for all his music? Thx!!!

[@MrRockman46]

tom still uses the sustainor bub

[@jamesmiller9823]

@Vinnie Provolone I've seen that, he does have alot of them, I had a Distortion Generator preamp and it sounded awsome for that time when they came out.

[@keviniles8748]

I've read and listened to many many interviews with Tom where he talks about his rig and tone. Tom has hundreds of various original Rockman products in his posession that he used both in the studio and on stage. He uses different combinations of the Rock modules, the XP 100 and the Ultimatum Distortion pedal for different variations on his tone. Throughout Boston shows and records he switches up his tone for different songs and sections of songs. He's never using just one device or combination of devices.

[@tonyanthony7703]

Cool!

[@jshelhorse]

It took that much? Jeasy peasy. My little Fender Mustang with an overdrive pedal sounded very similar. Not that it was played as well ... but, just sayin'.

[@mcdude0192]

I talked to Barry Goudreu today!!! He said the lead tone on Longtime was a marshall fuzz tone into a fender champ! Oh yeah he also said its in the fingers :)

[@TheChadPad]

Really close! It seems like you've tried everything (mad respect for that btw) so this might be a dumb question, but I think it can be easy to overlook. Have you tried both pickups?

[@dawnpoint]

The Chad Pad yes, and it seems that the Boston tone really only works from a bridge pickup. The guitar’s volume knob can be used to tame things a little if you want.

[@jesusguitarman3568]

Wow, Great Job! That's The Best Boston Tone I've Heard ! I Just Ordered A Mac Laptop To Load Your Templates. Ive Got A Few Questions 1. Is The 31 Band Eq Part Of Garageband Or A Different Manufacture? Also Will These Templates Load On Any Version Of Garageband Or Are They Specific To The Version They Were Created On?

[@dawnpoint]

All you should need is the $5 GarageBand expansion. I believe the equalizer plug-in comes with Mac OS. To be safe, I recommend using the patches in the latest version of GarageBand, but see what happensIf you are using older one.

[@jesusguitarman3568]

Thanks Again Taylor For Sharing The Sounds! That's So Cool. God Bless

[@jesusguitarman3568]

Unfortunately The Files Don't Load In The Latest Version Of Garageband 10.2.0 Just Get An Error Message (The File Couldn't Be Opened) If You Figure It Out Could You Email Me The Files [e-mail] Ty

[@dawnpoint]

You have to put the .patch files in [user]/Music/Audio Music Apps/Patches/Audio and then they should appear in the library sidebar of Garageband.

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

it sounds a lot like it to me,, and i would say even better in a band mix.

[@crunchchannel9391]

who are the autographs at 4:00

[@dawnpoint]

All of the Boston members, 2016 tour

[@YoBroMan]

That's pretty much on the button. BTW, what are the autographs on the guitar?

[@dawnpoint]

Yo BroMan All of the members of Boston from the 2016 tour

[@mylesmarcovitch7771]

I hate to sound like a digital idiot, but how do you load those files into Garageband?

[@devinthierault]

Should be a file then import function at the top. I dont really remember anymore haha

[@reddrum705]

You need to start a Boston tribute band, that's how great that sounds! Tom Who?.....LOL

[@OddTimeMan]

Sounds great, but it's Scholz, not Schultz.

[@dawnpoint]

Well that's embarrassing...

[@mrshelley87]

Nailed it

[@patrickmcquillan3039]

No sound ?

[@Lost-xl6im]

Into your computer? .. It needs plugged it a marshal

[@マシュードーラン]

Lost Welcome to 2018

[@keviniles8748]

If you wanna buy us all a vintage Plexi then that'd be real cool of ya! Just send me a signed check and I'll take care of the rest. Until then we work with what we can afford.

[@patrickmcquillan3039]

I noticed this person was pretty young to know the band boston

[@colindonnelly6387]

Patrick McQuillan i’m 16 and i love boston

[@Zebrahhh]

I'm 24 and imo Boston is the best rock band in history. Best sound and vocals. Been that way since I can remember thanks to my dad introducing me.

[@thomboy54]

sounds really close

[@raycochrane3971]

All of that and the result is a cocked wah tone that sounds thin and unpleasant because it's not in a mix.

[@ericgustin3386]

Your absolutely crazy. Its perfect

[@raycochrane3971]

@@ericgustin3386 I suggest you re-read my comment, particularly the last six words.

[@perfectsound500]

That’s what I thought.

[@rockrollresale2668]

👌👍✌

[@rareform6747]

I run mine into a set of JCM 2000's Right / Left . Sounds Like Heaven ! Your settings are way OFF !

[@dawnpoint]

How

[@MrRockman46]

Don't think his settings really matter compared to yours buddy,this isn't a contest,his tone sounds really close and that's all that matter,let's see your video rare form.

[@jimdoner3443]

Upload them you've got us all curious now.we sure would like to compare.well at least me if not others.

[@davidmason1577]

You need a psychology

[@6410daniel]

As tom would say awsome...,, i know check out my short vid Tom scholz in sarasota... you tube