Rockman Guitar Compressor

New to Rockman gear? Here's some help. Questions are welcome.
Braetcmmc
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Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by Braetcmmc »

Hello:
I'm new to this site and to the Rock-man gear. I just acquired a Guitar Compressor. It is the only piece of rock-man gear I have at this time.
I did a lot of research on rockman.fr website WRT the GC. The Boston sound is said to come from Pre-distortion Compression.

So I went ahead and set up my signal chain as follows:
Guitar--->Rockman GC ---> VOX saturator ---> VOX time machine ---> Marshall Valvestate 2000 AVT150 amp. Ch #2 clean input

I tweeked the GC as per the factory manual and with everything engaged, except the VOX saturator, it sounds great.
According to the manual, the Lead leveller is suppose to be only used when a high distortion signal is used so when I engaged the Lead level and the VOX saturator, the tone was just drained and it sucked the life out of the VOX saturator.

Previous to installing the Rockman GC, the VOX saturator has been flawless and I love this pedal.(in fact the chain above is flawless, without the GC)
I re-checked all my cables and factory settings from the Rockman manual and tried it again but no improvement.
When I switched the VOX saturator pedal on and off, its like choking it and then releasing it.

Any suggestions or pedal chain rearrangements would help appreciated.
CB
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rbc
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by rbc »

What do you have the output level of the GC set to?
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Braetcmmc
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by Braetcmmc »

I tried it at 15 as recommended in the manual. No improvement
Then turned it all the way up to 30, maxed it out. slightly louder but not clear, still choked
Then backed it off below 15. slightly softer but with the choked effect.

Funny, it is only when I engage the distortion from the saturator, otherwise the volume level is fantastic.
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rbc
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by rbc »

I’d set it to 5 and work up. The GC will output line level if you ask it to. I think the rest of your chain is optimized for a guitar level signal. You will will probably need to adjust the downstream levels to compensate for the lower GC output. Just a suggestion.
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Braetcmmc
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by Braetcmmc »

I did as you said, put it at 5 to start and it did improve quite a bit.
It seems counter to what the manual said though.
I was able to engage the sustain at 12, the normal compressor mode and output I set to 7.
I will play with it more to fine tune where I like it.

I read on rockman.fr that he was able to go from the GC straight into a PC soundcard.
So it make sense that this can be used directly into a PA or mixer.
The instructions said to start at 15 so when it sounded choked I automatically increased it.
In hindsight should be two separate instructions, one for PA / mixers and one for guitar amplifiers.
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rbc
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by rbc »

Braetcmmc wrote:I did as you said, put it at 5 to start and it did improve quite a bit.
It seems counter to what the manual said though.
The GC really seems like it was primarily targeted as being used as a guitar amp replacement for clean playing. I don't know if that's really true, but the recommended output volume setting of 15 dB, instead of a lower level speaks that to me. It's simple enough to cut the level back so it can be used with audio components that are expecting an instrument level though.

Some of the other forum members might know more of the back story on that.
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GuitarBuilder
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by GuitarBuilder »

The problem is that you have a severe signal mismatch between the GC and Vox Saturator. The latter is expecting a guitar-level input, while the former is now at line level. There's both a level and impedance mismatch.

Here are two suggestions:

1) Use an Ebtech line leveller between the GC and Vox

- or -

2) Go all Rockman - replace the Saturator with a Rockman Sustainor and the Time Machine with a Rockman Stereo Echo.
Braetcmmc
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by Braetcmmc »

The problem is that you have a severe signal mismatch between the GC and Vox Saturator. The latter is expecting a guitar-level input, while the former is now at line level. There's both a level and impedance mismatch.
First off, thanks for the advice.
So while I would love to have all rockman gear I thought I would start with the GC and then work my way up.
According to rockman.fr WRT the Guitar Compressor, GC, was designed for those people who do not have Rockman gear but a typical amp
http://rockman.fr/FAQ/FAQ.htm#FAQ17

What is the Guitar Compressor made for?
"Let's say it: a Guitar Compressor is 100% useless if you have a Sustainor and play exclusively with standard Rockman gear. As a matter of fact, the basis of the Rockman Guitar Compressor is the clean channel of the Sustainor.
The Guitar Compressor was designed to be the best compressor for people who play with a conventional guitar amp and want these clean Rockman sounds. It's also the best compressor for distortion sounds and endless-sustain leads, because of its two features: built-in noise reduction and Lead-Leveler."
So that is me, this is why I decided to get a GC.

So now with what you said is the case: how is it to be placed in the chain?
1. If it is up front then you get the problem I'm having. Mismatched as you said
2. If it goes into an effects loop, how do you obtain the so called pre-distortion compression?
3. It sounds to me as though the GC is still designed to be put through a full range PA or mixer and not directly into an amp? IMO.

Now that I know the GC produces a line level output I may look for the original Rockman headphone amp and just connect it to my home stereo amplifier.

Thanks again
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rbc
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by rbc »

Braetcmmc wrote: So now with what you said is the case: how is it to be placed in the chain?
1. If it is up front then you get the problem I'm having. Mismatched as you said
2. If it goes into an effects loop, how do you obtain the so called pre-distortion compression?
3. It sounds to me as though the GC is still designed to be put through a full range PA or mixer and not directly into an amp? IMO.
I'll add that I think the bias of the documentation is toward direct connection, but the GC hardware is still pretty flexible. A gain of +5 dB gets you well under a line level with a guitar. That's one thing I like about the Rockman gear. You know what the number is. It gives you a place to start, then you can fine tune things with your ear.

As for the impedance mis-match, that might just wind up as a matter of taste, and the tolerance of mis-matches by your other equipment. If it sounds good, I wouldn't worry about the mis-match.
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RockmanCentralBob
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Re: Rockman Guitar Compressor

Post by RockmanCentralBob »

I use my GC followed by an MXR 6 Band EQ into my Marshall JVM HJS and it works great.