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Hatsubai « Heavy sounding preamp »
Published on 03/16/11 at 09:29The Rockmaster is an interesting preamp that Peavey introduced. It features three channels with some ridiculous amounts of gain. If I recall correctly, the preamp is actually somewhat similar to the XXX and JSX. One big issue is that it did not have MIDI. This generally caused it to be overlooked in the preamp world.
UTILIZATION
A big problem with the Rockmaster is that the solder joints tend to go flaky and cause the unit to die. There are guys out there who can fix this, but it can be a real hassle. It's also a fairly common issue, so reliability on the unit is questionable. You also cannot switch channels without a footswitch, so if someone forgot to include the footswitch, you have to be clever when it comes to switching channels. The unit also tends to lose knobs. The manual can be very hard to find, but it's not exactly necessary for this device.
SOUNDS
Sound wise, this thing is very heavy. It has tons of gain on tap, and it can does awesome in a metal band situation. Pair it with the right power amp, and the thing will start to roar. The cleans aren't too bad, and even mid gain tones are pretty good. The controls are fairly sensitive, so it's worth taking a few minutes to really mess with the unit.
OVERALL OPINION
Despite its reliability issues, the preamp sounds quite nice when it's working. If you're in the market for one, check to see if it has had the solder joints touched up. If it hasn't and the unit sounds somewhat flaky, I would recommend contacting Jerry @ FJA Mods. He knows the issue well and can fix it right up for you. I just wish the unit had MIDI. The lack of MIDI implementation means you'll need to buy another device to MIDI everything up in a rack, and considering how important MIDI is to racks, it's a bit of a pain.
UTILIZATION
A big problem with the Rockmaster is that the solder joints tend to go flaky and cause the unit to die. There are guys out there who can fix this, but it can be a real hassle. It's also a fairly common issue, so reliability on the unit is questionable. You also cannot switch channels without a footswitch, so if someone forgot to include the footswitch, you have to be clever when it comes to switching channels. The unit also tends to lose knobs. The manual can be very hard to find, but it's not exactly necessary for this device.
SOUNDS
Sound wise, this thing is very heavy. It has tons of gain on tap, and it can does awesome in a metal band situation. Pair it with the right power amp, and the thing will start to roar. The cleans aren't too bad, and even mid gain tones are pretty good. The controls are fairly sensitive, so it's worth taking a few minutes to really mess with the unit.
OVERALL OPINION
Despite its reliability issues, the preamp sounds quite nice when it's working. If you're in the market for one, check to see if it has had the solder joints touched up. If it hasn't and the unit sounds somewhat flaky, I would recommend contacting Jerry @ FJA Mods. He knows the issue well and can fix it right up for you. I just wish the unit had MIDI. The lack of MIDI implementation means you'll need to buy another device to MIDI everything up in a rack, and considering how important MIDI is to racks, it's a bit of a pain.