This Preamp Is TOO 80s!!!! (Going Back To The 80s Ep 3) ART SGX 2000

[@RobertBakerGuitar]

If you missed last weeks check out the ADA MP-1 video HERE - kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4TMgYx8nLWdl9E

[@psgnw]

Hope you know that this glorious thing have 3 more banks of presets?

[@rodysk8]

I have the Digitech RP21D that sounds killer specially after swapping the 12ax7 tube!

[@GeeWillikersMan]

Now you need the X-15 foot controller to complete the set. The lcd should be backlit. They powered it with 5.6v instead of 5v for some reason. I can point you to a replacement that has worked for me, but any common hd44780 based backlit lcd with 16 pins across the top will(should) work. You may need to swap the wires in pins 15/16 to change the polarity of the backlight power. The contrast adjustment range/viewing angle changed with my replacement, it's an issue I'm looking into long term (adjusting the contrast pwm from the cpu) but still usable when viewing angle setting is cranked. Firmware update would make it an Express, if I'm not mistaken. I think the hardware is the same. Maybe. Last firmware for Express was version 1.10 If you are interested and it will work for you, let me know and I'll burn you a copy of the rom. Nightbass (SGX for Bass!) = SGX 2000 Express with some different part values and an added crossover. There is a patch editor available, but it is 8 or 16 bit and I can't get it to run on anything past WinXp. For completeness I'll mention the last version of the X-15 firmware was 1.07. There is an editor for the X-15 that I have been able to run on Win10.

[@Dustiehippo]

Which would you choose if you could only have 1 the art or the Ada?

[@GeeWillikersMan]

@@Dustiehippo ADA MP-1 hands down.

[@EronPlaysRocknRoll]

You should create an entire 80's rack gear rig for one of these episodes. That would be awesome

[@18JR78]

*Track:* It Sounds 80’s *Artist:* Robert Baker What do i win?

[@russellzauner]

If you fed that back into a Rockman we might literally end up back in time.

[@ZaneDalton]

😂

[@1970borntorun]

I read somewhere that if you feed this Preamp to a Rockman, you suddenly and without warning will be wearing Acid-Wash 501's, a half-shirt and sporting a Mullet lol

[@alanohagan6999]

Only if you’re travelling at 88mph

[@megatedassaultituary6783]

​@@1970borntorunand a fanny pack

[@megatedassaultituary6783]

Lol it was actually Trey Azagthoth from Morbid Angel who got me here. Apparently He used the Rockman midi octopus in his fx chain with a ART Ultrafoot midi controller back in the 80s...your comment is hilarious.

[@ibanezleftyclub]

How much pitch shift, comp, chorus, delay, reverb and flanger do you need? Yes.

[@ryananthony4840]

lmao RIGHT!

[@billspmaxx6490]

They never did turn the 80's off, still going today. This remindes me of my old Korg processor that I just cant let go of.

[@Jaidezilla]

You win the word of the day for saying Korg

[@larslevinberget9558]

The A3?

[@ColonelMeatwad]

I laughed my ass off! I have a lot of these '80s ART devices and still use them to this day for live guitar. It isn't that we are stuck in the '80s, it's just that the '80s gear was so much fun we are finding new ways of applying this "fun factor" to the new millennia! Bravo Robert! Keeping the fun and humor firmly in the '80s. No, I am NOT the "Steve" that Robert references in the video but under different circumstances I could have been. I still own & use many members of the '80s and '90s ART family of products and have more fun than you... LOL! I play very little "metal" but these tones can be applied to many genres. I have so much fun building rack systems based on this gear that the 5 rack systems I built during the Pandemic kept me sane by allowing me to have a great time all the time! Perhaps I can build a system or repair one of these devices for you, Robert?

[@cliffordleong5540]

After a 25 year hiatus from guitar playing, I pulled out my SGX-2000 Express last month, along with a time capsule of other 80s stuff. It's hard not to have fun with that thing.

[@kolchak357]

I was in high school in the 80’s. Can’t tell you how much I love this. 🎸 ❤️

[@eddiejr540]

Dude....one of my all time favorite shows is Kolchak...the night stalker!!!...you are too cool !!!

[@kolchak357]

@@eddiejr540 Lol, it’s one of my all time favorites. Used to sneak downstairs late at night to watch it with my brothers when I was a little kid.

[@ryananthony4840]

​@@eddiejr540 same here! My favorite episode is "Chopper" with the headless motorcycle guy lol..... it's on every Saturday night on MEtv ;-)

[@scoobers90]

Robert: This is the 80s tone! Rockman: Am I a joke to you?

[@deeberdave8190]

Been playing mine on and off since the eighties! Have it hooked up to a stereo 50 watt tube power amp, it rocks! I used to play it through two, two twelve cabs, now I'm down to two single twelve cabs. ART was way ahead of their time, add an X15 midi floor pedal and it's eighties heaven! Thanks Robert so much for bringing back the memories of some of the most interesting gear of the time.

[@homerdomer73]

Maaaaaan when I got one of these I was in heaven! Hours of tweaking and dialing. I wish I understood then what I know now but it was the bomb. I love simple tones now but a big part of me wishes I still had mine and the giant goofy foot switch it came with.

[@Sodacake]

i agree about the 80s carrying on into the 80s. up from the ashes by don dokken is an awesome 80s album that came out in 1990!

[@vanguard4065]

great album yes with don on vocals jeff pilson on bass and john norum of europe on guitars and mickey dee of king diamond on drums

[@patrickreilly7658]

Yes I agree too

[@AlexThorn]

Not to mention Exposed by Vince Neil in 93!

[@pleaseleavemealone5234]

I can't remember how many times I've seen a Baker video and being amazed at his playing. Guy can playyy!

[@toolguyslayer1]

That's what he do LOL

[@Super-Simo-B]

I always loved the 80s guitar jives they had in 80s shows like Macgyver, Knight rider, etc. Screaming over the top bends and roaring leads. Can't get enough!

[@thehansongoons8975]

Ultimate Warrior just ran down to the ring. Chuck Norris just killed a group of ninjas. Wolverines just defeated the Russians. Maverick just killed a fighter pilot upside down at 6 Gs. This is so over the top it should be called Stallone. I saw this video on Michael's channel, and had been waiting for you to do this since. It was great to see how excited you got playing with this. I will definitely buy one of these sometime

[@georgemueh3273]

It's like a flanger into a chorus into a phaser to a delay to a stereo chorus into a reverb and a delay back to another phase 90 with a little bit more flanger on to a inverted chorus and last but not least. Distortion 🤘 Oh wait more hair

[@AndiKravljaca]

As soon as I saw the pink, I knew it was an ART. I absolutely love this gear.

[@danman9510]

Gallien Krueger 250ML : that is soooo 80s !! I had one... it is that sound...

[@michaelthompson1287]

Great amps

[@cbeserra]

We all drooled over those things back in high school. The store where I taught would let me just crank those things and shred for hours! Could never afford one :-(

[@trudeaulikesmuhammadallahu6761]

How much are they now?

[@svartmetall]

I love my SGX2000....it has absolutely zero concept of subtlety or restraint, and that's precisely WHY I love it :)

[@RC-hx8gz]

I still have mine sgx express 2000 .along with a foot pedal board...and still using it!! I love it!!!!

[@formercakid]

Whats the difference between the express and the plain sgx?

[@Griuofficial]

Thanks for the video! i'm in the process of buying one at the moment and i cant wait to hear it in action

[@jjones8817]

All the retro gear videos have made me dig out my Digitech RP12. Talk about a time trip. Great channel!! Stay safe

[@robinfoot_daikou2767]

Around this much is perfect for me. I don't need any "super high -res" for guitar amplifiers except recording. Almost of 70's, 80's and 90's ampifiers are GOAT .

[@antioche6276]

Love to hear some Leon Todd love on this channel :) Been watching you two FOREVER, and hearing you enjoy his vids makes me really happy for him. Cheers Robert !

[@antioche6276]

@@0megalul309 If I had had money at any time this year, I probably would have spent it because of him hahaha

[@glaucosouza1971]

Im on the same boat!

[@curtpozzi5527]

The ART SGX 2000 made in Rochester, NY by Applied Research and Technology. I got mine over 25 years ago and it still works! I just dug it up a couple weeks ago and ran it through a Fender Studio 85 solid state amp right in the front. Incredible amount of sound(s)! So Robert you mentioned early 90's bands, have you heard of Tora Tora, Tangier, The Scream or the Electric Boys?...toss in Steelheart while we're at it. These bands we like the last vestiges of the hair bands that soon after vanished. Sad that they did not get their due despite being very talented.

[@Rick-uu5yo]

Lots of fun watching this. Back in 93, I bought the ART SGX-2000 Express and the companion X-15 Ultrafoot midi controller for a total of CAN$1638.75 and I still have them. I haven't used them for a few years as they were bumped by an AxeFX II XL+ and MFC-101 MkIII a few years ago. As shown in this video, the old SGX-2000 is very versatile, highly configurable and it does have tubes inside it too; you can choose to use the tube preamp only, solid state only or both. I'm not sure that there is anything else quite like it. The Express has 475 factory presets, many of which had popular players' names associated with them; I'm not sure if the players were involved in setting these presets at the time. Mine has been babied at home and about 10 years ago, the display backlight died so I sent it back to ART to repair and at the same time replace the internal battery. Have fun Robert!

[@dareangelmusic]

I saved up from a dishwashing job in the late 80's to buy the SGE Mach II. Basically the top half of that unit without the preamp. I still have it. It taught me to menu dive in my pre studio days. Michael Pinder from the Moody Blues kept one in his studio at least late into the 90's and beyond simply for the reverbs. Mine also got relegated to outboard gear as the years went by.

[@niallmacdonald2710]

SGX-2000 and it's bass brother the SGX-Nightbass were a big part of the Ministry sound. I have both and one Ultrafoot for them. All are keepers,

[@richardjacklin1812]

that riff that tune you 'ar playing is NIGHT RANGER ' close your eyes do you dream about me.it is

[@MikeSalopek]

Oh yes sir indeed I love this I remember how snobbish I was in the '80s about tube amp two bump and looking back those units just like that one right there made the 80s spectacular. I used to have the midi foot controller for that that I would put on my DigiTech IPS 33b harmonizer. Hahaha

[@RussCottier]

Yes! Finally a KZbinr not being surprised by the fact that reducing the volume cleans up a distortion. This is just one reason why this is THE best guitar channel on the tubes!

[@olivaric]

I used to have one of those in the early 90s. It was amazing. Should've never let it go!

[@runabout76]

I have an ART SGX T2 which is a single rack space unit from the same series. I use it as the last element of my Stereo rack rig before the power amp to make the sound MASSIVE and wide. Love ART gear. Great video. Looking forward to the last piece of the 80s!

[@mikebarnard2689]

Simply is a great unit, still got mine, needed a replacement lcd, and pots have become a bit scratchy. I spent hours programming mine back in the day. Quality gear and …. Fun !!

[@steveb7416]

I am the original owner of an ART SGX 2000 Express and an X-15 Ultrafoot. Bought them back around '92-ish when rack gear was all the rage. The stuff still works! I think I had the preamp tube in the SGX replaced once. Your 80's lead sounds a bit like Night Ranger's "When You Close Your Eyes", so maybe shout out to Brad Gillis? P.S. still have my Rockman Soloist, too!

[@BlueRivers]

Had one for ten years: pretty much an expert on it.:FYI: it only has one 12ax7 preamp tube. You can write your own tones or edit any tone using the little black select and edit buttons. The number of the tone will be blinking on the display screen when your in editing mode. The ultra foot pedal,extension gave you a wah pedal built in too. Man I really miss this piece.When it first came out it had 16 bit digital effects than they updgraded it 20 bit. Really great piece. The big selling point was you didn’t need a huge pedal board with lots of cables and white noise from the mess of patch cables. Awesome unit! Thanks for bringing back some sweet memories Rob!

[@ct90twa]

I love this series. The sounds are amazing. Rediscovering all this gear.

[@petebrown3715]

Love this series. All the "sounds" I grew up with in the 80's bro.

[@alexcarvalho4274]

For real that melody was amazing, needs a full track around it!!

[@aria.vega5]

I got one of these! Couldnt agree more with this video. Great preamp. I use it everyday to record with.

[@crystalplanet023]

I love this 80’ series , we want more !! Thank you

[@vhsorion]

8:59 that Lay it Down is great

[@dragnasty540]

I have the express unit.i bought it new in 92 and although I don't use it much, I'll never get rid of it! It was ahead of its time back then!

[@kevzed927]

That is a cool processor. I have the Digitech GSP21 and it still Rocks...

[@JohnJones-ep7of]

I have put together 80's style rugs that were played by the shred masters of the 80's guitar ,amplifier cables ,pedals ,cords and sound equipments,batteries and battery packs.That is definitely what you should do!

[@thegreatgarrett1]

That riff where you ask what melody it was sounded like Night Ranger's "When You Close Your Eyes"

[@13mrbolivar]

I had one! I forgot it existed until your video popped up. So cool!

[@gazorbo]

7 Preamps Inside one Unit. Real tubes and solid state.

[@iKnowFast]

My rig in the early 90s was; Peavy T-60. An Art SGX 2000 with X-15 (previous, I had an MGP 9004 Stereo Guitar Preamplifier and Roland Phase Shifter SPH-323) Marshall Shreadmaster into the FX loop of the SGX 2000 Marshall Blues Breaker reissued amp from about 1989. Probably didn't cost more than £600 total. The guy who sold me the SGX2000 was very disappointed with it, so I got it very cheap.

[@jmd76family]

I picked up one for 25 bucks! Spent more for the footpedal for it than sgx2000! Got zoom 9030 and boss se70 in a rack with mine! Glad someone else appreciates sgx 2000!!!

[@RobFranklinROX]

I have a pile of Rocktron gear, I call it "The Rack Of Infinite Overkill", for the same kind of fun as that. That sure looks like a lot of fun. I want one.

[@suchin8524]

"This huge 61 page manual" ( I look down at my 100 page Boss GT-8 manual, lol ). Thanks for another great vid that reminds me of my childhood. Brings back great memories. Thanks and keep rockin".

[@BigHairyGuitars]

16:31 is amazing.

[@RobertBakerGuitar]

Super NOVA!!!!

[@cmdrsocks]

Wow, sounds awesome, looking at the ART website, what is interesting is that the pre-amp is tube, all the dynamics (comp, noise gate, etc) & all the drive and distortion are analog, the time based effects are digital. This thing must have cost a fortune back in the day (edit, looked up price, about £1500 or $2000 in today's money). One of the things that everyone complains about with modern DSP units is that the distortion & drive sounds like ass compared to a tube amp and analog pedals; this unit solves that by using analog where it is better and digital where it shines. I would love to see a modern take on this with tube, SS analog and DSP combined as our current level of DSP is way beyond what could be done in the 80s and 90s. Vintage equipment is cool, but many of the parts are now unobtanium.

[@russellzauner]

Art sells tube preamps still there are a lot of models and most of them have a standard preamp tube in them and then all the stuff in the big box now fits in a tiny box lol so I would imagine that there's a whole pile of nostalgia patches/tone prints somewhere in there. If not, use an arbitrary waveform generator to generate input stimulus to characterize the waveshaping characteristics and basically do a tone rip the hard way. ;-)

[@cmdrsocks]

@@russellzauner Yes, but their current line-up is all regular studio gear, not guitar specific. What most modern guitar gear (Helix, et al) lacks is studio grade compression/preamps/drives, which obviously ART are very very good at. That's why the SGX sounds like a guitar track straight off any album from the 80's, the box is full of stuff that most pedal makers just can't match (well they can at a price). I know I could replicate it all with plugins, but the latency would not be like playing through proper analog circuits. I would love a multi FX that combined the best of both A & D.

[@eddiejr540]

Unobtanium!!!.....nice!!!

[@williamcooper6069]

I was thinking the #43 sounded like some trower sounds.very cool

[@trickyt4527]

I had one one of those, with a JCM 900 head and 4x12 back in the early 90s. It was pretty awesome at the time.

[@hotrod4013]

Everyone wondering why these art units have no power switch cracks me up. You turn your whole Rack on or off with a power conditioner rack. Ive always plugged my amps and fx into a furman power conditoner rack so flipping that power switch is always step one for me. Power switches are pointless on gear you always leave on. I could see a bypass switch making more sense. Great video also! Been hoarding Art racks lately, have sgx lt, sgx t2, dr-x 2100, and the fxr elite so far, and an x 15. Sgx 2000 is next on my list! Always add a BBE sonic maximiser at the end of your fx loop or a maxcom. Amazing tonal improvement. 🔥

[@gpdaelemans]

There it is!!!! One of my first Rack pre-amps!

[@TeleCustom72]

I remember these things. You ‘can’ strip back the effects, but it’s fun just to submit to the shear OTT nature of the unit.

[@jonbooker1050]

Wow! I had one of those! I had a MIDI pedalboard that I used to switch between presets. It has every effect you could possibly need.

[@Schatz_and_Krum_German_Parts]

I use my ART SGX 2000 as a TUBE turntable preamp. Amazing.

[@gregalon]

Oh the flashbacks! I got one just as grunge hit. It nailed the tones from the first STP record and everyone was impressed by that. As they should be!

[@1970borntorun]

STP was great, Pearl Jam, a complete joke lol

[@deadcenterarts29]

Almost every one of those presets are set up to use the X-15 MIDI controller that goes with that unit. it has 2 expression pedals. On the stock presets many of the effects are not active unless you use the x 15 .if you had the X-15 and you stepped on the expression pedal then all of a sudden you start hearing things like changes in EQ settings , harmonies / pitch transposer sweeping on and off delays or Reverb or changing delay times ...slap backs. It's really a cool unit I still use mine all the time I love it. I just don't use the built-in Distortion very often I run it the effects Loop of my amp.

[@allisonholmesmusic97]

I graduated from high school in 1986 and I always wanted one of these. Sadly the closest I ever came was a Peavey Stereo Chorus 400 (not close at all I know)

[@moorecreativ]

Rob, i just bought one on reverb. got it today. oh...my...god! thanks for this video man!

[@Goodgraciousohmy]

This series has been my favorite videos to watch I always look forward to the next one

[@eddiejr540]

I had a Rocktron Voodoo Valve processor....I played it for years thru an old peavey 5150 2x12 combo...got me thru hundreds of gigs!!!

[@michaelfrancis1]

Cheers from Texas! 🤘😎🤘 Time to go back and see the other gear in this series! Love that gear that was dumping all they could into it; to say, "Hey check this out"! Starting off with Reb Beach. Solid fun! Rock on! M

[@BaconFire]

I own this unit as well. Patch 053 is legit. Love this rack unit from ART. Thanks for doing this demo.

[@GuitarSafari1]

This is so awesome dude great tones. Ive got a few 80s Rockman units they are cool. Def Leopard used them. Love the 80s 🙂

[@paulfromjupiter]

I have one of these sitting in storage in the original box. I really need to break it out and see if it still works. Used it with a Marshall Valvestate 8008 power amp (also in storage). I had them in a small rack case with a Furman power supply, so I would just turn everything on and off from the master power switch on the front. Didn't need a power switch on the ART.

[@65Superhawk]

I've got 3. Love them and need spare parts to keep them alive.

[@leroyjenkins3895]

I have one of those with the matching x-15 foot pedal. I sent it back to have the Express chip installed. Very cool unit and pretty simple to program. Its very capable and doesn't have to be over the top like some of the presets are. Of course I haven't used for sometime but I had a lot fun with it when I did!

[@dw22509]

I got mine in the early 00s and replaced it with a POD Pro a few years later. Had a huge rack rig with a 31 band eq, bbe rack mounted sonic maximizer, etc, etc.. After growing up seeing so many musicians have these enormous racks, I thought that was the best and only way lolol, but after a while I dismantles it, turned the rack into a PA rack and shoved preamps in a closet and went back to real amps. Weird how we go full circle some times.

[@yuyobravo2768]

I have the SGX 2000 Express I bought off ebay for $150 plus shipping. I believe it is a 94 model. more fun in a box than anyone could imagine. Only issue with it is that when I plug it in now, it cycles through the led's for about 20 minutes before you can actually start using it. Maybe some caps getting old.

[@BillDutton]

Woah! I haven’t seen one of those in ages.

[@JohnnyFarris1]

Love my old ART Nightbass

[@dino91vu]

it is amazing how every your video inspires me to create my own music, i dont know why but its simply so 😃

[@tymj]

I have its little brother, the SGE Mach II with full size floor controller! Good stuff!!

[@jesusbloodneverfails7437]

I love mine...just fantastic as well as the xtreme oedal and proverb 200

[@heavybrett-al4082]

Sounds like my childhood, awesome and big hair!

[@harrypothead42024]

I just bought one myself. Apparently upgrading your standard 2000 to an Express is soldering a new IC into a socket. I don't feel comfortable doing that sort of thing but if you do you might want to look into it.

[@seldonsinq]

My 80s to 90s moment is this. I was in college Sep 1991 and in the dorms people were cranking up Warrant’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. A year later in the dorms it was Jeremy by Pearl Jam.

[@5150Ripley]

you want distortion with ten effects at all times - yes I do :-) love it

[@LewisShieldsUS]

Squash Love! Loud orange shag on the noise floor. Compression could use some compression with some compression. Great show, thanks.

[@UncleGewehr]

Robert, I hope you will pick this series back up and do more 80s/90s rack gear demos! I have bought almost every single one you’ve reviewed. The SGX 2000 needs more videos too, there’s not many good ones of it on KZbin.

[@PDXguitarfreak]

I remember those! Mainly because of the neon pink splashy type coloring LOL. That sounded great too... way too much fun! 🙃

[@jamesshaw476]

Glad I ran this audio thru my Spark 40 amp. Was able to appreciate these awesome tones!

[@daninge7458]

Talking of naming melodies, did I hear some Black Magic by Reb Beach at the start of the video? I love that tune!

[@manningbricker1220]

Make sure to try the artist effects. There is another bank of presets that emulate different artists like Satch and EVH.

[@sedition4267]

I still have one of these with the pedal board, but the small input power supply module fried. I have the schematics around here somewhere, so when I get time, I'll round up the parts and rebuild it...maybe place a seperate fuse in line with it.

[@CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

Absolutely cool! ...and apparently it also came with a big baggie of Ocala ditch weed too🥴.

[@PooNinja]

FYI front eq freqz are 80,160,500,2.3k and 5k, they work great with the programmable Eq of 40,100,250,640,1.6k,4k and 10k to tailor your tone to fit you, also using the programmable EQ with an expression pedal allows you to make a ridiculously weird envelope filter style control 🤘🏽

[@salahbaker4089]

You absolutely need the Midi pedal w/ the 2 expression. My rack back in the day: Rockman XPR, ADA MP-1, and ART SGX Express with chip mod

[@neilrocks25]

I remember gassing over this in guitar magazines in the 90’s

[@abcdefghijk5095]

We need an 80’s Guitar Course from you Robert. Will you release that? I recall hearing you propose that in a video post a while back.

[@andersrandom]

Hell yes we need that

[@thrutheveil74]

The secret to playing like an 80's guitarist is Aqua net.

[@gstmusic69]

I have the 2000 Express in my newly built rack. I sent you a pic on FB a week ago or so. Total 80s setup..lol

[@fen79strat]

All you need now is the crazy pedalboard with the expression pedals.

[@rickc2102]

Yes, nice recall!