Ultimate 80's Tones - Rockman XPR vs Sustainor

[@HeRacesTheSun]

I still have my Rockman X-100, rack mount Sustainor & Chorus Delay, and Bass Rockman, the only guitar amps I use in my recording studio. During Boston's 1987 Third Stage Tour, I found out where the band was staying, we decided to go there for Brunch on Sunday. I felt so silly, but I took the face plate off my Sustainor and brought it with me. In the restaurant lobby I met and talked with Boston drummer Jim Masdea, and showed Jim the Rockman face plate, he laughed and said... "Oh wow, Tom would love that, that's his fun!" Then we walked out back where all the condo's were, we didn't go far, we didn't see anybody out there. We were just about to turn & leave, and in the distance I see a tall thin man with long dark hair walking with a little boy. I teased my girlfriend saying that's Tom Scholz, she hit me, stop teasing me that can't be him. We got a little closer, me still talking her into that it is Tom, her hitting me more but starting to believe me that it was Tom even though I knew it wasn't. Then as they were slowly walking toward us, nobody else around, my God it actually was Tom Scholz. Longer story shorter we talked a bit,i I thanked him for his music saying we were big fans, he was polite but reserved saying thank you. As I turned to leave, I almost forgot, and said... "Oh, and Tom, I'm not just a fan, I'm a customer also. He looked confused like what? Then I pulled out my Rockman face plate, and he got this huge smile and started laughing. We talked for a while, and I got my picture with him, still with his huge smile on from the crazy Boston fan who decided to bring his Rockman face plate with him, in the rare chance he might meet him, and meet him I did. I still have that awesome picture of me & Tom in my recording studio. Rockman still lives! All 3 of mine still work & sound like new.

[@cliftonwright7081]

Ooooh man, opening with that Trevor Rabin riff off of Big Generator. So cool!

[@RythmTR]

You mean Love will find a way by Yes

[@geoffreymerrifield5666]

Yes, Yes, Yes!! The Rabin cleans are worth it alone!!! Really appreciate your passion for great content Michael!!!

[@johnneiberger]

Oh, man. This is such a classic sound. I borrowed someone's Rockman back in 1988 to do a solo on a song on a studio track. It was one of my favorite solos. I wish I still had that tape.

[@joemillo]

I was blown away to hear Love Will Find A Way and then you follow it with Shoot High Aim Low!!

[@joemillo]

In 2016 I created a massive Rockman rig for a series of shows with the most recent lead singer of Boston. I had every module and doubles of some along with the XPR. Every single piece was refurbished and near mint. When that gig ended, most of my modules were purchased by Gary Pihl of Boston for his touring rig. For me, the sound was just ok. I found it mushy and much too easy to get buried in a live mix. The true Boston sound was created by Barry Goudreau and is what you hear on the first two Boston albums. I traded emails with Barry and he still uses the Marshall amp and SG guitar from his Boston days. Third Stage and everything that followed was all Rockman stuff. Not a sound for me but it clearly worked for Tom S. Rock on!

[@circuitsandcigars1278]

Does Barry still have the Hyperspace pedal? I want to see how it operates in its various modes. I’m modifying Echoplex EP-2 like Tom did but as Brian Setzer said , “if you look at an Echoplex it breaks “ lol

[@joemillo]

@@circuitsandcigars1278 Barry didn't have anything to do with the HS pedal. That was all Tom S.

[@dcdno_one2393]

The Sustainors improved with later models. There’s the 100, 100A, 200 and double IC 200. You can quickly identify them by the faceplates. 100s have blue Sustainor logo and also more graphics around the Treble slider. I’m not sure where in the signal chain the slider is but it’s a bit synergistic and worth messing around. Also the Sustainor really expects a pre and post EQ to be functional….

[@luthiervandros]

Nailed it

[@westernperf]

Just made me smile with the Yes riff 👍

[@adam872]

Great video. First, Trevor Rabin's riff from Love Will Find A Way, then Lerxt's Show Don't Tell! I had GK head and loved the thing. Lerxt and Adrian Smith from Iron Maiden can't be wrong :-)

[@deanbibb3680]

You had me at Love Will Find A Way!

[@scottpeters4401]

I had all the modules back in the 80’s….I eventually blended the Rockman Sustainer with a Marshall….they were okay..even back then they were very expensive new….All if the modules just squashed the life and dynamics out of your sound,were stupid noisy,and just got swallowed in a mix….it’s a cool sound,and fun to reminisce,but man,I remember I couldn’t get rid of those things fast enough……I certainly don’t understand the crazy money they go for….they do the 80’s thing…no denying that…

[@neilkendall5499]

I find the Rockman cuts through any live or recorded mix perfectly, so don't understand why you'd say they don't. They perfectly EQd with enough mid boost etc to cut through. Best guitar tone ever in my opinion and experience. Beats the over-used, generic Marshall sound any day of the week!

[@ginoames]

Nice Rush riff thrown in there!

[@mikemccourt6225]

Nice Trevor Rabin tone! I saw Yes in '91 and his tones really made me rethink my sound

[@swakke3232]

Satriani used Rockman headphone amps back in the 80s. Take 'Not of This Earth' for example, it's full of rockman sounds

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Always loved those Rockman "Cleans" - I used to have those 1/3 rack units. (noisy but great sounding) Really enjoyed this. Killer tones.

[@R2R3Lockingnut]

Makes me want to break out my Rockman XP 100 portable amplifier... Look what you have done! The 80/90s sounds are stuck in my head 🤯

[@aleaallee]

What a crushing day to play such a great preamp.

[@CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

There's a lot of videos on Rockman stuff. This is one of the best advanced ones. I'm an old yacht rock strummer and don't need any of this but it brings back such great memories. I think I'll just get a refurbished X100 and hang it on my belt for the occasional open mic night. Thank you.

[@jayheath1971]

The GK250ML and RL are simple to use and sound great. Those are the amps famously used by Lifeson and Maiden in the mid-to-late '80s.

[@dannobman07]

I had a 250 Ml back then … Great amps indeed .

[@atlantaguitar9689]

The Alesis Quadraverb GT is cheaply found on EBay and it's pretty much an "80s in a box" kind of unit even though it was released in the early 90s.

[@ae3062]

Love, these videos, can never get enough! Would enjoy to see you walkthrough the Yamaha UD stomp. I had one back in the day, such a cool sounding pedal and it does what we all love modded delays!!!!

[@MalcaratMartinez]

Love will find a way !!! You won me with that one !!

[@RandyFricke]

I just had my Sustainor Model 200 refurbished by David Ferringer. I can't wait to hear it. I'm hooking it up stereo like I used to. That's where these babies really shine.

[@danieljakubovic]

Wow . Love will find a way ! I love that tune and the sound of that album. ❤

[@jake_peralta_BR]

Oh man that tone on DT was great!!!

[@OnesteptotheRight]

I just picked up the sustainor/ equalizer combo rack. Having the rockman equalizer right after the sustainor. It brings it to life. Not kidding. Talk about full! Oh man

[@SteveOuimette]

I saved up all my high school graduation money for a Rockman Sustainer and Echo/Chorus back in the day. Ran them through my Randall RG-80, lol. The XPR does in fact sound more "expensive", I agree.

[@mikestillwagon5675]

The Stop function on the XPR is really cool for adding a bit of spread to the tone without the chorus sweep.

[@mike42441]

Oh yeah, that XPR sounds beautiful !!!!!

[@tman6495]

I still have my Rockman Chorus. Original owner too. Nothing comes close.

[@novemberzed9163]

@07:22 that nails the Pull Me Under Clean tone better than Dream Theater!

[@MrKnt93]

The rockmodules which is the line that the Sustainor was a part of, really shine when you have others connected to each other. So the Sustainor by itself is as you say, very thin. But part of it is that it's mono. When you combine the Stereo Chorus or Chorus/Delay you get way more out of it! Also I do think the distortion on the Sustainor is a touch better than the XPR though that's just me haha. Awesome video man!! Love seeing videos on the Rockmans

[@Gonzo2707]

If you‘re into the GK stuff, do give the 100 MPL‘s older brother a chance: The GK 2000 CPL is the all analog, no menu divin‘, knob twistin‘ predecessor of the MPL and has, more or less, all toe MPL‘s key features: Compressor, chorus, reverb, noise gate, 4 band EQ, stereo FX loop. Does a really great Jazz Chorus impression, too. I‘ve had one since the mid-90s and it‘s still my go to preamp for those ultra glassy, compressed, chorussed cleans. Killer on piezo, too, my Parker Nitefly and Epi Lifeson signature both love the 2000 CPL to death.

[@Donald.W.Rissler-ARTS]

I would find it interesting to hear the Rockman Sustainer module ran thru the fx loop of an MP1. Using the Mp1 Chorus and the Rockman compression on the clean channel and even the SS/Tube dirt. Great work, always interesting to see the 80/90's rack year you demo for our amusement.

[@nikolavuksan2029]

The Gallen- Krueger got me! That's the sound of my favourite records!

[@Maxreverse]

Great video

[@richardmckenney9434]

Still have a Rockman X100 with its Rockmount rack in my rack system going into a helix rack and it sounds amazing id love to try the other Rockman stuff but im happy with what ive got. gotta love the old Rockman gear.

[@wakjob961]

Thanks dude...I adore this stuff. Wish I could own a unit like this or H3000 or PCM70 ect...

[@billx8245]

Could you send me that Strat Please ? It's beautiful . 😀 I work with special needs kids for the school's, and my salary was cut. Then my identical twin brother had a stroke and my mother just found out she needs Heart Surgery. So I've been the caretaker of the family.. I'm joking about the Strat , but I did have to sell all my guitars to pay for my brothers bill's. I love your channel, and you demo all the stuff I used to dream about owning when I was growing up playing guitar... Keep it up. Hopefully you can get your hands on the New EVH ICONIC Amp, because I might be able to afford that, and I trust tour reviews. Thanks Mike, and be safe my friend... Bill

[@timothy5974]

Thank you for another fantastic video.(update) I recently updated my very old iPhone to a 12pro version and it’s crazy. I know that you are affiliated with Overloud TH U, what about a future video of using a iPhone and try to replicate these tones with that. Love the channel and anything you do.

[@LPMojoGL]

Have the X100. Def Lep, EVH, ZZ type tones as well as Boston. Such a fun lil thing!

[@jimmcdougall9973]

This sounds so great. These tones have me in my 80’s element! Could you profile these on the Kemper, or have you?

[@SolarWarden88]

Of course, should have known Dr. Rack, aka Mr. Torren, would have one ;p The man has 2 Langner DCPs! lol. Great vid as always man!

[@tonictonetomrockstar1931]

love the Rabin riffs

[@vicesquadpunk]

AMAZING, the compressor on switch sounds like Apple Mail notification 😊❤️

[@hittingnote75]

What song is 3:12?

[@circuitsandcigars1278]

A Yes song as an intro is never a bad thing

[@alguitarchristie]

I don't understand why they don't make more! Its awesome for recording!! Put a mini ISP decimator to cut the noise and you're good to go!!

[@jkdbobby]

Dunlop makes a noise gate based on the rock man as they own the rights

[@alguitarchristie]

@@jkdbobby yes, i saw that,but I mean the rockman and some of the gear like in this video. I wish i had kept mine!

[@jkdbobby]

@@alguitarchristie Dunlop must view as a defensible asset, something you buy so no one else can make it. But my reall guess is it’s more profitable to make mxr pedals. Some of these rock man units had a lot of parts, way more compared to an effects pedal. I share your wishes but we need a time machine.

[@beachboyvince]

michael what do you think is a good plugin equivalent to that XPR clean/chorus sound?

[@bobbyarthur-yf3yf]

After seeing a recent photo of John Mayer in his studio I saw a bunch of old rockman gear .. so went on a 24 hour deep dive as I just happen to have an xpr in my big rack of bits n peices .. pulled her out and fired her up for Perhaps first time since 92 maybe .. all running well but seams the lights for volume just right of the 5 band eq are dead but volume still function up down just fine. .. any idea where to find parts and any more to quiet her up ? I bought new and was in studio so other than moving racks here and there she is all clean n tidy …

[@johnprescott1764]

Michael, are you able to get your hands on the XPR again? An old friend used to use a BBE Sonic Maximizer rack in stereo, and then into a rack power amp into cabs. Transformed the XPR onto something AMAZING! Def lightyears beyond the XPR limitations.

[@bobbyarthur-yf3yf]

I happen to have one I may part with if the right offer comes along , just fyi ! Bought it new for my studio perhaps 89 … have couple bbe sonic maximizers and some Alexis quad I think I used together if memory serves … I would shuffle between that and an ADA mp1 in various rack rigs but the mp1 I let go of though don’t remember how .. wish I had that midi foot Pedal still . Was solid that thing

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

IMHO, the GK preamp to have is the 2000CPL. One space rack, two channels, chorus, reverb, all analog controls. It is what John Entwistle, Iron Maiden, and Rush used. It sound very much like a Rockman. It is the sound on Somewhere In Time & 7th Son of a 7th Son … chorus and all.

[@ThemFuzzyMonsters]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXnZYoCerZiefKs

[@salahbaker4089]

everything on xpr has a marshal tone curve, short clean 2. The cab was a 15, 10 and horn via a Carver 500 amp.

[@ValSchnitzel]

Megadeth were using Sustainors live on their Peace Sells tour.

[@peterschaefer1665]

Hughes and Kettner 'Black spirit floor' for an awesome midi analog programmable unit!

[@dnashofficial]

you showed AND told.... breaking Rush's commandment for the entertainment of us all

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Fantastic! Lucky timing! They're so fun! Thanks!

[@deadendkid1968]

They actully use Tech21 stuff straight thru the board...

[@chrisquinn9104]

Haha I was just on another Rockman dig and this came up Couldn’t ask for anything better Borrowing an Old Rockman tomorrow. Hoping I can pry it away from my buddy

[@billhewlett1214]

I had the rock man chorus delay ran it stereo in the wide setting sounded great wish I still had it 😤

[@neuralfraud]

DUDE ...NEVER knew that was Yes... my dad played that constantly ...wow

[@NO-TALK-GuitarPlugin]

Now I want some of these for ToneX ;)

[@MarshallGTV]

Something tells me a Rockman profile pack is incoming 😁

[@ianfurqueron5850]

I wonder how the XPR sounds compared to a classic Rockman X100? Since it has the built in chorus?

[@dcdno_one2393]

It is more like a programable X100 than the Sustainor. The Sustainor is actually distortion lite compared to the X100 and XP100.

[@MetallicAssault]

There's a patch for the Eventide H9. I think it's called "little speaker". Try that with a distortion and it will kinda get a Rockman type of sound.

[@soundcheckers]

Dude! Make an XPR Kemper pack PLEASE!?

[@BillDerBerg]

Holy Grail

[@Twobarpsi]

Love will find a way!

[@DerekHundik]

7:09 Pull Me Under by Dream Theater

[@Yupppi]

Very interesting! Totally not my cup of tea, but interesting! I really feel like it should have another preamp to get the sound and use the Rockmans as enhancer. The Gallien-Kruger as well, only knew that a friend like their bass stuff.

[@stefanosella5719]

Hi Michael and community! I need a piece of advice here: which preamp (ideally rack-mount) would you suggest for clean sounds? Something on the affordable side as all the budget is gone for the heavy stuff. Thanks

[@joeyvanostrand3655]

I have a Sustainor module. It's a lot of fun but that's about as far as I can get with it. It has a constant, loud and oppressive *HUUMMM*. It doesn't matter what electrical outlet, power strip or conditioner, guitar, pickup combo, cable, or wireless is used it is always humming. Probably just going to sell it off.

[@StephaneBergeronPixelyzed]

I played a Sustainor for years. You have to take into account that its main usage in the real world was through an amp. I would have never played that direct. I played mine through a Roland JC-120 and it sounded great. Strat on position 2 through the Clean 2 setting and lots of compression to the JC-120 was the classic sound. But I personally would not go back to that. I have a few old Rockman items for sale including my old Sustainor (wich always lived in a 5U rack). 30+ years on it all needs recapping, cleaning and refurbishing though. If you haven't done that to those units they will be noisier and thinner than they were back then for sure.

[@Twobarpsi]

OMG the clear coat on that guitar, is thicker than a glazed Krispy Kreme donut!

[@jackbenson8228]

that chorus is the chorus. holy shit.

[@LightWingStudios]

Rockman gear sounds BEST with Humbuckers. Try the Fulltone Add-On in Amplitude. Stunning!

[@archonlian]

What kind of guitar is that? Incredibly nice.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Shabat Lynx. Thanks

[@levik19]

The guys from Overloud are developing a Rockman model for future release. Will you ever do a demo if ever they contacted you?

[@Rockmanxpr]

Have any links to the Overloud news about it?

[@christianbusch2123]

Hi Can you get a similar tone frome a tech 21 sansamp like the psa?! Greetings from Deutschland 🙃

[@Gabetorres1976]

I'm looking for a 80's liquefied chorus found on the Rockman delay chorus (BBD100a). What would be a good pedal clone of these awesome sounding Choruses of the 80's? I want that hardcore Def Leppard Hysteria sound. I have a boss CE-1 and yeah it sounds great just not that liquid lush that comes from the Rockman. Anyone have thoughts on a pedal clone of a Rockman or something that sounds pretty similar?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Hard to match that, but I really like the Boss MD200 for that kind of chorus. But I'd really look for the Rockman 1/2 rack stereo chorus.

[@Gabetorres1976]

@@BigHairyGuitars I was thinking up just picking up a half rack unit but I was looking for something more modern and in pedal format. I’ve sold all my rack gear and have gotten into pedals once again.

[@riniones]

Michael, can't these XPR clean sounds be achieved with chorus and an analog compressor? they don't sound all that special to me... maybe I'm missing the point

[@peterschaefer1665]

Bravo Michael! No one does this kind of sh*t!!

[@GuitarSmartsPodcast]

That Strat is offensively beautiful!

[@eduniversal1298]

why not capture the XPR with a QUAD CORTEXT?

[@nicklebac6753]

You should make something of rock man tones or an fx thing for thu overloud

[@Person-cv9dj]

can you get like a tight Nuno bettencourt type of sound out of this?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Kinda, but it wouldn’t be my first choice

[@Person-cv9dj]

@@BigHairyGuitars because I wanna get the xp100 combo to get that type of Nuno tone on the go do you think that would work? I mean because its such a perfect combo it has a speaker out and effects loop and everything. I mean if its somehow possible even with pedals I would go for it

[@tonysalpinoiii5063]

I'll have to break mine out again, the switching is pretty dirty 😤 needs a thorough cleaning, but it did sound good with my 1/2 stack ,clean /dirty foot switching and a chorus/flange/delay rack for a bit in the early 90s

[@BPToneReview]

Beautiful guitar, what is it? Had to zoom in….Shabat?

[@markjohnson1020]

For the life of me, I can’t understand why no one is making a modern version of this impossibly excellent processor.

[@Bat21bravo]

I use my original Rockman X-100 for most rehearsals anytime/anyplace. Tom Scholz is truly a "Rockman".

[@cjstroked]

Do you put the rockman x100 through the pa during rehearsals

[@c.a.k.comedy692]

7:41 when you discover the tone from “how it’s made”

[@clerian]

Did Dream Theater use a Rockman for Pull Me Under? Because wow, you nailed the tone.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

It's possible, but I think it's more likely that they just went DI direct with EQ and compression, and nice FX.

[@middle_pickup]

If it's just the clean compressed thing you want couldn't you just get that kind of thing from a DI into a good compressor? I kinda wonder what the JHS clover used as a DI would sound into a good compressor for this kind of 80's clean.

[@georgebarry8640]

Why you gotta flex so Hard? I mean, really...you nail "Love will Find a way" right at 0:00 in the video. I call NO FAIR. I Love all things Trevor Rabin..and this is just so unfair that you nail it..

[@aliensporebomb]

Another 80s preamp that sounds great is the Mesa Boogie Studio preamp but it weighs about 20 pounds more than the little sustainor!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

True. The studio is a legend! AAAaaaand pretty heavy.

[@salahbaker4089]

No comp is after pre q

[@Instagrump_330]

It always bugged me that the order of the signal flow doesn’t match the order of the modules on the front of the unit. Still kept it though. 🤷

[@Krashulka]

The old Rockman gear has great sounding fx, only problem is they are noisy as f'. Would be nice to see someone remake this unit in a pedal with no noise. I can get these tones without the noise but it takes 4 pedals to get the crystal clean 80's sound, would be nice all in 1 pedal.

[@brpadington]

You can really hear the Rockman sound on Megadeth's Peace Sells.

[@jbusk6298]

Nobels made a copy of the xpr you might want to look into, leon did a video on it

[@stevehammer781]

Try a Gibson with humbuckers. The single coil Fenders do not sound very good with Rockman preamps/distortion.

[@Rockmanxpr]

dammit the intro song is familiar but I can't remember what it was, anyone?

[@deadendkid1968]

Joe Satriani used a Rockman x100 on that track...there is a video of him talking about it...