Rockman X100 VS Overloud TH-U Rockguy Plugin Comparison

[@MrIbanez1972]

Finally someone made a 1 to 1 comparison. Great examples BRO!!! Love my Soloist. But love also the Th-u 🤘🤘🤘❤️

[@ctsguitar]

Thanks for watching. I know they are not strictly the same model, but it was fun to compare both side by side. Both are great. I love the Rockman sound!

[@luisalextorres]

my favorite plug in so far! i wish i had the real thing but this plug in does such a good job! with a bit of tweaks imo i can get closer to the real thing!

[@ctsguitar]

I was lucky enough to get a Rockman before the huge price inflation. The Rockguy is however a very impressive plugin and offers plenty of control. It can sound very close to a Rockman, but I think it would need an additional boost! This demo was a straight A/B comparison.

[@samuelisaacson4582]

I’d love a video discussing this!

[@9133gaz]

Thanks for this. There's more treble/presence in the original, but I'm putting that down to the difference between analogue and digital. I suppose getting the EQs absolutely identical would be near impossible. As far as the actual sounds go...Rockguy is damn close to the X100!

[@ctsguitar]

It was an interesting experiment. As you say, it’s impossible to know exactly the EQ settings baked into my Rockman, but the Rockguy gets very close. I think I actually prefer the Rockguy cleans, but I feel the distortion settings could do with an extra gain boost (the TH-U has pedals also) but a true test was comparing both by themselves. Thanks for watching.

[@Adam-hs1ft]

If you use an eq plugin with a Match EQ function like Pro Q3, you could likely match the difference.

[@OldBiker]

First of all the Rockman was in Stereo and the Rockguy was in mono so already it's a flawed shootout as a stereo signal gives a complete different sound.

[@ctsguitar]

A fair point, however they are both in fact in Mono. The Stereo effects of the Rockguy plugin sounded out of control to my ear - not the subtle chorus/echo sound my Rockman has. Disclaimer: The Rockguy is modelling the rack unit and not the X100, but I thought it would make for a fun comparison. To counteract the Rockguy being in Mono, the Rockman was recorded using the Mono Low Level Output. To be fair I could have recorded both in Stereo, but as I said, the stereo delays in the Rockguy plugin sounded too wide in comparison to the Rockman. Both in Mono was a closer match (in my opinion). I think you get a good sense of how close they are to one another. I have both and enjoy using them for different reasons. The convenience of the plugin is great… but the original Rockman is still my favourite! Thanks for watching.

[@mura_dadrock]

Seriously awesome! Boston,Def Leppard,ZZ Top,and more! How about Judas Priest "Ram it Dawn"? I had both the X100 and the Sustainer, Chorus/Delay, but maintaining condition and recording them was a challenge, and Rockguy did it!

[@ctsguitar]

Thanks for watching. The Rockguy does a great job of emulating the Rockman sound for sure. The Rockguy isn’t strictly an emulation of a X100, but it was fun to compare them both regardless. In my opinion, the Rockguy could benefit from a little boost in front as it sounds weaker, but as you say, no maintenance involved with a plugin. Both are great - I do love my X100!

[@scottpeters4401]

Sounds great…The TH-U Rockguy is close,but the real thing is..well,the real thing….I don’t have a Rockman,but I have a 200 Sustainor,Stereo Chorus and Stereo Echo modules…..It’s a truly iconic and unique sound….brings back lots of memories from the 80’s…

[@ctsguitar]

I agree. The Rockguy cleans sound great (I might even prefer it) but the distortion is slightly lacking in my opinion - it would need a boost. I understand the Rockguy is modelled after a different unit, but it was fun to shoot them out side by side. Awesome. I’ve searched high and low for those Rockman modules, but they are impossible to find here in the UK. The Rockman sound is something special! Thanks for watching.

[@pjones6749]

@@ctsguitar Is there no way to up the gain in the Rockguy?

[@ctsguitar]

@@pjones6749 I believe the gain was at max on the Rockguy, however the plugin also comes with pedals, so an overdrive or boost could be added.

[@spikesguitarcamp]

Close, but no cigar! 🧐

[@gueims]

It sounds to me that the TH-U out is in mono and the rockman is stereo...so different.

[@ctsguitar]

Good observation. The Rockman was recorded mono to match the TH-U Rockguy plugin, however the Rockman chorus creates a delayed stereo spread which sounds much wider than the Rockguy. The only way to control the mix of the chorus effect with the Rockguy plugin is to adjust the A mono/stereo slider, but anything higher than Subtle or Equal sounded too much to my ear. Thanks for watching.

[@dcdno_one2393]

@@ctsguitar Tom said he likes super wide choruses on guitar. I read once he said he wanted it to seem like you couldn’t identify where guitars were coming from he liked it so wide and open.

[@ctsguitar]

@@dcdno_one2393 Yes true. The wide stereo chorus almost creates the effect of a double-tracked guitar. I know on the Boston records the guitars were dual/triple harmonised - amazing sound!

[@nathanhoughton8951]

@@ctsguitar Having owned a real sustainor 200 and stereo chorus, you need to set the mix slider "A" to Wide to get the same stereo effect as the Rockman. Also, if you select the "long" chorus mode and move the slider down to 1/3 you won't have so much wobble in the chorus.

[@lorenmorgan1931]

​@@ctsguitarare you sure this was mono? It has to be stereo in the chorus. I'm listening with headphones and each ear is hearing something different on the hardware. Also the rock guy tracks stereo too to my knowledge.

[@josuey.80sfloresb.59]

La distorsión del Rockguy no tiene dinámica se siente que es un poco limitada a diferencia del original Rockman y eso que escuchando el audio de este video

[@DanaVastman]

I have a big issue with this comparison. The spread between the two units is totally different and therefore it makes it very hard to evaluate. The stereo field should have been equalized and it would have been much clearer demonstration. Maybe this is out of the box differences, but it could easily be equalized so that both units had the same imaging. Personally, I always love a wider imaging so the rockman sounded better on everything. Although TBH, I think if the stereo spread were equalized it would have been matting to tell the difference between the two different units

[@ctsguitar]

@@DanaVastman They are both in Mono. Apologies as this should have been stated clearer. The Chorus and Delay on the Rockguy plugin I found to be much wider than my original Rockman - the delay in particular is not the short slap echo as it is on the X100 for instance. I understand the Rockguy is modelling a different unit, but I thought it would be fun to compare them both and to my ear these were the closest settings. To compensate, my Rockman was also recorded Mono via the Low Level Output. Thanks for watching.

[@tobongkim9687]

The 'edge' sounds pretty bad on the TH-U, but everything else is quite nice!

[@ctsguitar]

Edge on the TH-U does sound a bit weak doesn’t it? Overall a great plugin though. Cleans sound nice I think. Thanks for watching.

[@salahbaker4089]

I have an xpr. The individual units are totally different.

[@ctsguitar]

I would love to find an XPR. That appears to be the mothership Rockman unit with all the modules built in.

[@salahbaker4089]

@@ctsguitar The XPR is just The X100 headphone amp with midi and more settings.

[@ctsguitar]

@@salahbaker4089 That’s true. It’s basically the Rockman sound I love with more flexibility.

[@salahbaker4089]

@@ctsguitar The amp was really key to the tone. I have an xpr Rockman 500 stack.

[@steadystate100]

The hardware has MUCH more gain than the plugin. The plugin doesn't seem to distort nearly as much as it should.

[@ctsguitar]

@@steadystate100 I agree. The plugin really needs to be boosted. Thankfully the TH-U plugin has pedals also, but that would be a slightly unfair comparison. Thanks for watching.

[@megaliths]

I want to believe but the edge & distortion tones arn´t great compared to the original.

[@ctsguitar]

@@megaliths The original Rockman is hard to beat!

[@coolmacatrain9434]

Rockman X100 is vastly superior in every example ... not even close. The rockguy edge and distortion sound terrible! unusable actually.

[@ctsguitar]

The Rockman is still my favourite too.

[@jovanvanheckers9224]

the rock guy isnt as BRIGHT as the rockman i feel like

[@ctsguitar]

Yes I would agree with that. There also isn’t as much gain in the distortion settings. The plugin sounds best with a bit of a boost in front. Good plugin nonetheless. Thanks for watching.

[@jovanvanheckers9224]

@@ctsguitar u have the plugin ur self I assume

[@jovanvanheckers9224]

@@ctsguitar could u do a vid on how it sounds with a boost at front

[@ctsguitar]

@@jovanvanheckers9224 I don’t currently own the TH-U Rockguy. I was testing a demo of it to see how it compares to my original Rockman. They allow you to trial the plugin for a few days if you did want to have a play.

[@jovanvanheckers9224]

@@ctsguitar hhmm okay okay!

[@rossw73]

Rockman is far superior.

[@ctsguitar]

@@rossw73 I agree!

[@GeorgeAmodei21]

TH-U "ROCKGUY" ...just not it. You can do better with a Line 6 HELIX plus other alternatives.

[@ctsguitar]

To be fair the Rockguy is modelling a different unit, but I thought it would be fun to compare them. I created a free Rockman patch for the HELIX here if interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/maTWp3qpZpVlotUsi=4oR8QJJBShgcVgMl

[@GeorgeAmodei21]

@@ctsguitar that right it’s not Modeling the X100 ( correct ) I made my own Preset before I came across your Line 6 HELIX… DOWNLOAD. It sounds really good. I’m doing a COVER for my channel of “HESTERIA” right now. ( I’m at the first Chorus ) 😜👍🎚🎧. Lots going on in the Song plus Double Tracking . Thank you again for doing this Vid Plus for us. 🙏George.☺️

[@ctsguitar]

@@GeorgeAmodei21 Thank you. I’m glad you like the preset. I enjoy making videos. Hopefully I can grow my channel and continue making more - it consumes much of my free time. Sounds great. Def Leppard certainly has a lot going on production-wise. I will have to check out your cover once it’s up. 👍