Conference napalm::guitar

    I've got a Hush IICX that I'll plug for.  It's a nice unit without the
    harshness of your typical gate.  I haven't heard the chorus yet though.
    
    jc

They just announced a new multi-effects unit (ships end of this month) 

24 bi a/d conversion
100db s/n ratio!
6 effects at once

stero digital hush on the inputs
multi-tapped chorus and delays
reverbs 
pitch shifting 2 ea. two octaves up , two down (3 part harmonies)

etc.

no list price but looks real pretty in the pics they sent me

dbii who will be checking one out as soon as it shows up at my local dealer

    RE: -1
    
    I saw an ad for it yesterday.  Since I expect to get an efx unit
    within a couple months, I'll definitely check it out.
    
    Mike

Intellifex update

My local says: shipping by mid march (he's got one coming for me)

$1149 list, probably discounted to $799

oooouuuuucccccchhhhh!

dbii

    
    I will have to hit the local store for input on inbound....
    
                                              

    I'm interested in the Rocktron Pro Gap preamp ... anyone out there
    heard one of these ?  The adds claims it can it can reproduce *exactly*
    the tone of a Marshall MKII and a Boogie MKII, among others.  Is this
    add true, or should I pull my pants back up ?
    
    Scary

    <Insert opinion here>
    
    Yeah, ADA sez the same thing.  See the ADA note for more on this.
    
    ;)
    jc

    It's hard to make a unit sound like rare amps.  I'd guess it sounds
    "sort of like it".
    
    To make it sound just like it, it needs speakers, transformers,
    etc.  Otherwise, it's a filter job of someone's idea of what 
    those amps sound like.
    
    Jay
    

    The add shows wave forms produced by both .... exactly alike !  What
    that *really* means, I don't know ...
    
    Scary

    But where were the waveforms for each collected?  At the speakers for
    each?  What kind of speakers?  After the preamp?  After the power amp?
    
    I mean if they compare the waveform at the output of this preamp to the
    output from the preamp of another amp, that doesn't mean squat because
    the power amp and speakers will affect the sound.  If they compare the
    preamp output waveform to the output from the speakers of another amp,
    then that's equally bogus because then whatever power amp and speakers
    you run it through are going to change that waveform that matches.
    
    Unless they have some tangible data on how they collected these
    waveforms, I would consider them not to be a good comparison.  BTW, can
    someone that knows more about audio stuff tell me if a waveform is
    really a valid comparison to begin with?
    
    Greg

guitar world revied the pro-gap favorably...my local has one in stock but
Ive never stroked it up...

dbii

    Well, I'm not an audio expert, but I've hung around amps and physics
    classes enough to offer as good a half-baked opinion as anybody.
    
    I always laugh when I see these "our waveform vs Marshall waveform"
    comparisons; what you see is a single input signal, at (roughly) a
    single frequency, with a single spectrum of harmonic frequencies,
    a single amplitude, and a single attack transient.  Change any one
    of these, and the response of the two amps is likely to differ.
    And there are an infinite number of possibilities for these values.
    What might be more interesting is a comparison of the frequency
    response curves for the two, but even that misses a lot of important
    stuff like transient response.  Guitar signals have a lot of heavy
    duty attack transients.
    
    That said, I believe the Rocktron Gap is a pretty cool unit; it seems
    to do the things that these programmable, multi-purpose pre-amps do
    pretty well.  It might even give you a great Marshall simulation;
    it just won't do everything a real Marshall will and vice versa.
    
    /rick

    Yeah, I think if you want a marshall or <insert your favorite brand
    here> sound, you have to own the gear.  I think that waveform stuff
    is superficial and misleading.
    
    However, in situations where you need versatility, reliability,
    portability, and the ability to emulate a lot of different amp
    tones, a doo-hickey like the Rocktron or ADA unit is a MAJOR LEAGUE
    asset.
    
    Like i've said about my ADA unit, it does a pretty fair job of
    emulating marshalls, boogies, fenders, GK's etc...  it's not perfect
    at any of those, but it's a proven design.
    
    However, I do caution you to stay away from units that try to cram too
    much functionality into one box... there's bound to be short comings.
                                                                 

        Well, I sling a lot of this in the Audio notes file...guess I can
        sling it here to.  It's worth about a much as well.  Most of the
        other tecno-weenies will pick their own sides and disagree with
        me.
        
        For what it's worth - ya gotta measure the thing as a system.

        The cable and load will cause variations that can be as simple as
        amplitude variations which are audible, measurable and
        repeatable.
        
        There are other variations that are diffcult to measure - mainly
        spectral contamination and the phase of the distortion, which are
        IMSO, more important than the amplitude of the distortion.  These
        are much more diffcult to measure as they are more closely
        related to the dynamic conditions, thus the test gear gets real
        expensive.
        
        There is a nother consideration in all of this - how much does it
        really matter to the listener.  The majority of listeners don't
        have the background experience in listening to really tell the
        difference.  What this means is that one unit can be around 40%
        to 60% of the sound of another unit and most folks don't or won't
        care.
        
        The real bottom line is can you tell and do you care enough fork
        out enough gold to buy either the real thing or as much
        approximation that will make you happy.
        
        Bob

    RE: ... last few ...
    
    WHOA !!! Techno-overload !  Thanks for all the info on waveforms and
    such.  You made some valid points, and when I demoed the Pro Gap
    yesterday I really heard what you're talking about.  
    
    Basically all I did was play this thing through a 30W solid state
    Marshall combo (I used an Ibanez Universe ... *nice*).  The saleman was
    changing patches so I could devote my efforts to playing (what a
    concept ...).  It's a nice unit, no doubt, but it ain't a Marshall, or
    a Boogie, or anything else.  Just another MIDI preamp that'll do a LOT
    of different things pretty well.
    
    The saleman asked me what I was using now ... so I rattled off "...
    Chandler Tube Driver into a Roland GP-8 into a Diditech DSP-128+ into a
    Mosvalve power amp into a Stereo 4x12 with 50W Celestions ...", and he
    said, "so why the hell are you checking *this* out ?".  He made a good
    point too ...
    
    Scary (who says nothing will do it all ....)

The user interface sucks!

Mostly these are nits but:

Configurations are hard wired to patch numbers...

MIDI prgram mapping is a pain in the ass as you have to save each individual 
"map"  ie:  midi 1 goes to patch n ....save
	    midi 2 goes to patch n     save

the reverbs are good/great, but to my ear no better than the quadraverb. Some
of the reverb modes are cool, and you get some different sounds than the quad
but how many different reverbs do you need live? The chorus is very flexable
(compared to anything) but tricky to set up. The base chorus patch is actually
4 voice, you can set up 4 individual chorus to run at the same time,  complete
with a pre-delay (which sounds pretty wierd) or you can devote some/all the
voices to delay instead by setting the depth to 0. There is an 8 voice chorus
that's real strange (pretty thick sounds). Most if not all of the chorus
presets are much too heavy on the mix knob and it's difficult to judge these.
My chorus patches are to date, rather dull sounding. But then I've never heard
a digital chorus that really wow'd me. I miss my old analog foot pedal, that
sounded great.

No eq's at all. How you would use an expression pedal to create a wah is beyond
me with this unit. 

The hush is stereo if you set directs to pre-hush (essentially bypassing it) or 
mono is directs are post hush. I have no real experience with hush, It's a nice 
idea but doesn't buy me alot in terms of real "active" noise reduction.
Probably because all of the presets and my programs are pre-hush on the
directs so all the noise in the original just gets passed. I'll spend more time
with this later and see if there's any real improvement.

Delay ducking: I currently have no use for ducking. I'm not sure I fully
understand it's uses. Certainly it's (based on the presets) not that useful
for a midi rack puke guitarist.

The configuration being hard wired is my main gripe. I have to search out an 
unused config of the type I need/want and then program it at the patch number. 
With my quad I was used to working up in the patches in the 90's and then
moving the patch down to the first 20 for 'production' use. As near as I can
tell you can't copy patches from one location to another. To determine the
config you push the config button and it blinks the display between the patch
name and the config, but it blinks so fast you can't read either....at least
not easily (this is rocktron crap, as my midi mate does the same f'ing thing)

The pitch shifts are awesome. (credit where credit is due). But in all reality 
how often am I gonna use a patch that gives me a major 7th chord for each note
I hit? (or your own intervals). I say this after spending an evening recording 
on the 688 using a low octave patch on my acoustic :-). It definatly does
harmonies nicely. But you can't shift and chorus at the same time.

I intend to write them a letter and tell them just how poor I think the
interface is. It looks like I might even put my qaud back in the rack with
the damn thing...

This is a $1149.95 effects processor?  Well maybe, but they had big balls IMHO
calling it an "intellifex", un-intellifex is more descriptive of the user
interface. But based on the user interface to my midi mate, this is typical
rocktron. I guess they haven't figured out how to give a good user interface to
a midi device yet.

This is a real powerful effects processor. It isn't a 'one_size_fits_all'
device as it doesn't implement eq. It may not be for everybody but we're gonna
start hearing these on record/cd/tape pretty soon.





ps: but I do like some of what it gives me....

      Has anybody had any experience with thier 360 Stereo N.R. unit? 
    I will be expecting to get mine in at the end of the month. It will
    be used for bass, and Stereo recording.
    
    /John

Here's the features/specs of the intellifex:

stereo digital hush
64X oversampled A/D converter, 3 16 bit converters
24 bit internal processing data path
8 voice chorusing
4 voice pitch shifting over 3 octaves
2 voice pitch shifting or 4 voice chorus simultanious with hushm delay and
	reverb
Can store up to 8 unique MIDI controller patches with each preset

maximum input: +20dBu
max output: + 20 dBu
nominal imput range:  +4dBu to -21dBu (input control min to max) 16db headroom
input imp: 470Kohms
output imp: 120 ohms
dynamic range: 104db (hush in)
		94db (hush out)
THD : .009%
Dry freq response: 10-100Khz +.25, -1.5 db
		   10 - 30Khz +- .25db

wet freq response: 10 - 18Khz +.5, -3db
		   20 - 17Khz +- .5db

rear panel:

r in 
l in
r out
l out
footswitch bypass
footswitch inc/dec 
phantom power in: for powering a midi-mate
midi in
midi out/thru
power: wall bug input 9vac/1500 ma.

front panel:

power on/off
recall button: patch recall
preset knob: patch select
config button: displays patch configuration
display panel: 16 char blue letting
compare button: compares patch to factory preset
parameter adjust knob: adjust displayed parameter value
store button: stores changes
parameter select knob:
function select knob: selects one of the following:

preset
mixer
Hush
chorus
pitch shift
delay
ducker
reverb
title edit
midi controller mapping
midii program mapping
midi channel
footswitch types
factory restore

bypass button
inpout level meter
input level control
clip LED
output level control
reference level switch: switches between -10db and +4db output level

Reverb section:

Plate A
Plate B
Room A
room B
Hall A
Hall B
Dual allows right and left to be setup seperately
Stadium: allows large predelay and high freq damping

Controls:

level
decay
high freq damping
low freq: controls the low freqw level that gets processed
reverb type
dir in pan
predelay l
predelay r
gate
gate decay
gate threshold
hold time: gate predelay

Delay section:

Stereo
ping pong
2 tap

Controls:

delay
mute type: pre and post
level 1 and 2: levels for the two delays
pan 1 and pan 2
delay time 1 and 2
regen 1 and 2
Delay type
Delay hi freq damping

Ducker section:

controls:

sens
attenuation
release rate

Pitch change:

Chorus:

level
pan
delay
depth
rate

there are two types of chorus, 8 voice with 8 sets of controls or 4 voice with
4 sets of controls

Pitch shift:

pitch 
fine
level
pan
delay

adjusts in 20 cent increments 2 octaves down and up

Hush:

Expand threshold
release rate

Configurations:

Hush, chorus, delay, reverb
Hush, reverb
Hush, delay, ducker
Hush, 8 voice chorus, delay
Hush, pitch shift(4 voice), delay
Hush, pitch shift(2 voice), delay, reverb

There is an interesting note in here:

Operating temperature range: 32 to 104 F. If the unit overheats it will display
a EXT MEMORY ERROR and then recall patch 160. Facotry presets might work but
user presets may not.

My observations:

This unit has alot of headroom. It's also pretty loud if you crank up the
output level. I have yet to get it to distort. There appears to be no
compression of the audio signal at all, unlike many processors. After to get
used to not being able to copy patches, and the other user interface oddities
it's pretty easy to work with. The sounds are lush, I'm finding that my studio
setups are much too heavily mixed to be used live, but they sound so darn good.
The hush seems to work ok, I expected more but I usually do. The pitch shifting
is good, the shifted sound is muchkiny if you shift the full two octaves, but a
slight adjustment of the mixer covers it pretty well, when you shift down it
also sounds funky if you go low enough but again if you mix it down a bit it
doesn't really come through. With a little distortion I can get it to sound
like some of Steve Via's stuff off of that last solo album...

If you don't need distortion in your effects processor but want everything else
this is a pretty powerful single space processor.

    dbii

dave
    

      
      Based on a lot of info in this conference and my observations
    about what kind of effects units work well integrated into a 
    MIDI rig, I've acquired an Intellifex. Well, it's on the way.
    I'm keeping the GSP-21, but I'm gonna use it as a standalone preamp
    since there are drawbacks to using it with my present preamps.
      Why? Because the GSP-21 drains the true signal from my preamp.
    I can get some better sounds just going to the power amp from the 
    tube preamp. But then there are no effects! Not that I intend to
    overkill on the effects. I just want good delays/reverbs/chorus
    and it seems this Rocktron unit is one of the few that will keep
    the characteristics of the original signal. 
      My review in about a week after rack integration of this monster!
    
    							-=B()()M=-
    
      p.s. thanks for all the info dbii! 

    -1
    
    HE'S AT IT AGAIN!!!

       WOW - The Intellifex is my ticket to tone! What it really did was
    brought my real signal back to life thanks to the exceptional dynamic
    range. I was wondering if I was gonna miss all the bells & whistles
    of the GSP-21 (compressor/EQ/speaker sim/noise gate) but I don't.
       The Intellifex fits right in with my other rack gear! I'm convinced
    that all I really needed was the high quality digital effects that this
    unit provides. I've got my 10 performance patches ready and they are:
    
        PATCH #		KITTY HAWK TR		INTELLIFEX (name/effect)
    
    	  1		 clean		    clean chorus (ch/rv)
    	  2		 crunch		    vintage twin (rv)
    	  3		 lead 1 	    sizzle on 6  (rv)
    	  4		 lead 2		    kick ass kat (ch/dly/rv)
    	  5		 lead 2		    flangeola    (fl/dly/rv)
    	  6		 clean		    8v chorus	 (ch/rv)
    	  7 		 lead 1		    all fired up (ch/dly/rv)
    	  8		 lead 1		    dynamic delay(ducked dly)
    	  9		 lead 1		    downshifter  (pitch tr/rv)
    	 10		 clean		    bypass	 (no effects)
    
      My lead 2 channel is the max gain lead, patch 3 is set to be a 
    hot crunch rhythm (almost a lead setting, but backed off a tad on the 
    lead 1 drive).
      The nits that dbii mentioned are there. I've gotten around the
    hardwired configs by MIDI mapping to a config I need, so I'm not the 
    consecutive patcher I used to be! The choruses are real impressive
    and the flexibility of the delay section is astounding. None of this
    "can't quite get the right parameter" crap. Hey dbii - I love that
    delay ducker. It keeps the delay and/or reverb from kicking in until
    the imput signal drops below a threshold, and with the threshold and 
    amount of attenuation being adjustable it's great for removing
    "delay clutter" from where you don't want it. The only other effect
    unit I know of that offers delay ducking is the mega bucks TC 2290!
      The LED display is much more visible that the LCD types, It's sorta
    like the one on my GSP-21 foot controller! The controls aren't too bad
    once you get used to them, it takes a little time with the manual for
    sure!
      I'll stop raving for awhile. I've only had it a day. So far I think
    the Intellifex offers a lot of quality for the price (and I think I got
    a pretty good $ at that). 
    
    							-B()()M- 	

      
     Hey - after five days I still love it. That's a good sign huh?
    
     Seriously - This unit is one of the answers to the signal squish
    problem. I'm totally amazed at the retained signal quality, probably
    because I was getting quite upset at having to EQ the heck out of the 
    GSP-21 to bring some "life" back into it. I like not having to use 
    the noise gate because now I can back off on the guitar volume and 
    get a linear response instead of dropping below threshold and
    disappearing entirely! With the reduction in noise and the addition
    of the Hush (tm), I don't need a freakin' gate!
    
    							-B()()M-

      
     Hey dbii - Have you started using the ducker yet? I really like this
    feature (because I don't want to spend $2K on a TC 2290!). The
    flexibility of the controls for the ducker really allow you to dial
    in quite well. 
     It's weird not having the patches I use set up consecutively on the 
    unit. I'm MIDI-mapped all over the place thanks to the config
    restriction! Like #1 on my foot controller may go to 1 on the
    Intellifex, but #2 could be mapped to 27, #3 to 14, etc...
     Maybe I'll opt for the Midi-mate so I can run one cable to the 
    front of the stage instead of two! I'll wait till dbii gives me a quick
    MIDI-mate run down.
    
    							-B()()M-

I called rocktron about that config problem. You can change a patche's config.
What you do is find the config you want, edit it and store it at the
location of your choice, this changes the config at that location. Kinda 
stoopid way to do things but it works. So you can load all your 'working'
patches in the first locations if you want to.

The intellifex is pretty nice, I now have to take back my comment about
not finding a digital chorus I like. This one takes some tweeking but it's
about the best I've ever heard and very very flexable.

dbii

      Well there's one hurdle overcome. I guess it really isn't clear in
    the manual how to edit the config. I tried doing it by hitting the 
    config button, changing the config and storing it and it didn't take.
    I'll try what you just posted tonight. 
      I agree on the chorus comments. It really is a rich sound for 
    a digital unit. Now, if they'd just make a decent cable for phantom
    powering the Midi-Mate! For now I'll stick with my KH foot controller.
    
    							-B()()M-

      
      Thanks dbii - You're absolutely right. I've retained 8 out of my 10
    "main" patches and they are now all in the first bank! It makes sense
    that you can do this since Rocktron allows for an increment/decrement
    type footswitch. But I prefer the bank/patch arrangement that I've been
    comfortable with since my Roland GP-8 days. 
      The two patches that I deleted were somewhat redundant, so I decided
    I needed one patch somewhere between crunch and scream. Another one
    will be in the works. 
      
    							-B()()M-

    
    
      In case anyone is wondering if the Rocktron Rack Mechanics manual is
    a fancy name for a booklet of advertising material masquerading as a 
    technical advisory manual - That's exactly right. 
      Not that there isn't some good info in there, but since it costs
    three dollars I expected it to be a litle more generic. They give you 
    a few examples of how to integrate a rack system. They start with their
    cheapie Maxe preamp coupled into a VELOCITY power amp. They show racks
    that add the 300G compressor, the new Guitar Silencer, the ProQ EQ
    unit, and of course the Intellifex. The higher end racks use the ProGAP
    preamp and the Midi Switcher (or Bradshaw rig). They mention the 
    Juice Extractor for situations where you want to retain a standard amp
    head and use it to front end a rack.
      There are a few common sense tips like secure the cables that are 
    permanently in the rack, power cables on one side, audio and MIDI on
    the other. Keep the cables as short as possible....
      The Rocktron Power Station is a power conditioner unit with five 
    AC outlets and six (?) 9V AC outlets to power the Rocktron effects 
    that use the Wall Wart power supplys. That's a great idea if you have 
    more than a few Roctron pieces in a rack ( I hate the Wall Bugs).
    
    							-B{}{}M-  
    
    
      I was surprised they didn't send more ad flyers with the manual.
    Well the manual does push the gear anyway.

  Well dbii (and whoever else has an Intellifex), I finally wrote down
all the parameters to my "Crystal Ball" chorus patch. After writing it 
all down, I thought "Wouldn't it be nice if there were such a thing as a 
MIDI modem, for the MRP's and keyboardists to swap patches?".
  Some of the parameters surprised even me, especially the "73" rate
on voice/delay 4. Maybe I should go back to tweaking. ANnway, this is 
the patch right now and it sounds pretty good in my application. Keep in
mind that I have it in the ACCESS's FX loop B so this effect is added 
to my direct signal. The actual mix parameter will need adjusting depending
on how the Intellifex is utilized.

   Program Title - CRYSTAL BALL
   	MIXER -	chorus lvl - +2.5
		L dir lvl  -   *
		R dir lvl  -  *
		dir pre hush
		regen L	   - -20
		regen R    - -20

	VOICE	DLY1	DLY2	DLY3	DLY4	DLY5	DLY6	DLY7	DLY8
 
         -LVL     0	  0	  0 	  0 	 -20	 -20 	 -20 	 -28
	 -PAN	 30	 70	 30	 70	  20	  80	  70	  30
	 -DLY	 10m	 20m	 32m	 16m	  30m	  22m	  24m	 28m
	 -DPH	 30	 41	 36	 39	  40	  43	  37	 40
	 -RATE   25	 21	  5	 73	  38	  42	  10	  3

								-jr

    
    
       Hey dbii! Did you try out the chorus patch yet? 
    
       I got to check out a Digitech DHP-55 the other day. YOWZER! Nice
    sounds - chorus , delays, and a awesome pitch transposer (I think
    Digitech is getting closer to Eventide quality in the PT department.
    The tuner on the thing is also real nice - like a strobo-tuner display!
       The drawback here is that a DHP-55 has a big lag when changing
    patches, not the greatest thing for realtime stuff like guitar rigs.
    Great for a studio though - guess I just stick with the intellifex.
    
       BTW - Has anyone played through a Rocktron Velocity power amp yet?
    
    							-B{}{}M-

I haven't put the chorus patch in yet, I do have  it printed out...been real 
busy.

FWIW the A3 I got has a 1-2 second switching lag if you change the effects
chain, it's almost imperceptable if you use the same chain. This type of lag 
has got to make any device unusable in a guitar rig.

Also for those of you who have sp-1000's pray they never go...,mine blew a 
power transistor and so far we havn't found one....and may never...

SO is the ADA micro tube amp cool?

dbii

    
    
      Can't find a power output transistor? That's got to be an
    off-the-shelf piece unless Metaltronix got into something real
    weird. Did you ever find a schematic?
    
      I called on a Velocity, but haven't got a price yet. I'd like
    a full tube power amp like a Mesa 2:90 but I'm not sure if I want to
    deal with the weight and tube headaches. If I put my Metaltronix
    SP-1000 up for sale that means I'm going for something else. 
    
    							-B{}{}M-
      

  Just when I thought I was going to make it through a whole year without
a GTS attack, I sell off some gear and buy a couple new additions to the 
main rack. First and foremost is the Rocktron Velocity 300 power amp.
The idea here was to get a more tube sounding power amp without the 
headaches (re-tubing, fragility, weight). The SP-1000 has served me well for 
over four years, but it was time to step UP. I can honestly say that after
putting the Velocity through the torture test that it easily  wins the 
A/B comparison with the SP-1000 (which is very good because the SP's no
slouch). What it really has over the Metaltronix is more bandwidth, especially
on the low-end. On top of that the low end is real tight. There's also more
"sparkle" to the high-end, nice on the acoustic sounding stuff. 
  I expected the Velocity to sound good when coupled with the Access, I was
surprised at just how much it changed the overall characteristics. The 
harmonics are more noticeable and the sustain has better harmonic overtones. 
I keep the Reactance control up pretty high, but the amp also sounds good
without cranking it. I can make the clip led come on pretty good when the 
Access is on a lead patch, but the amp doesn't respond with any rude clipping
noises like you'd think it might. 
  I know it's always fun the first day with a new toy, but I think I made a 
decent addition to the rack. I coupled it with a deal to buy the Rocktron 
Power Station power distribution, so that the Furman PL-plus can go into the
band's amp rack. I've got to get the PA ready to use for the new band's first
gig on New Years Eve. My last band rented a PA, but that got old and too
expensive. We're back to using our own system and making some money.
  Back to the Rack......

    
    
     Hey, didn't somebody in here buy a Chameleon preamp. I thought it 
    would have been in this topic, but I guess I was wrong.
    
    							-JR-

    
    >Hey, didn't somebody in here buy a Chameleon preamp. I thought it 
    >would have been in this topic, but I guess I was wrong.
    
    	Yeah, his review is in the previous reply ... I guess you
    	just couldn't see it, for some reason.
    
    	[Geez, you people make this too easy.  8^)]
    
    							GTI
    

    re: .34
    
    I guess I couldn't see it either.  Care to give a note number?

    
    	It's a CHAMELEON amp ... chameleons blend in with their sur-
    	roundings and are hard to see.
    
    	Geez!!
    
    							GTI

    
      GEEZ (2) - I hate it when the mod tries to confuse you. 
    
      I did a search, no luck. Must've been way back in GD or equipment 
    inventory or something. FWIW - I really like my Rocktron gear. And
    to think, I was a KittyHawker (I am still, just somewhat diminished
    							-B{}{}M-

    
    
      Yet another piece of Roctron gear joins the GTS acquisition ritual.
    Sitting under my Christmas tree was a Rocktron box with a bow on it. 
    A new Rocktron Midi-Mate foot controller. Looks nice, functional, and
    rugged. Power it up! Hmm - nice scrolling welcome -
    
    	 "Rocktron Midi Mate - ver 2.1".
    
      I've managed to edit in a few titles on it's easily seen red LED 
    title display. And there are LED's above each patch button indicating
    which is active. Nice touches. I'll be getting it set up for use on the
    New Years Eve gig (which incidently almost paid for the new toy)..
    
      And to think - this was a fairly quiet year in GTS land.
    

Boom congrats, that's what I've been using for a few years now.

Of course mine's been a pain in the aas at least twice and now I've got bad LED's
in the display and no time to take it down for repairs! Still it's been pretty
good to me considering the abuse I've given it

dbii

    
      Hey dbii - is your Midi-Mate running ver 2.1? Are you using the 
    continuous controller capability? And last : how are you powering your
    controller - phantom from intellifex? Did you ever have anything done 
    with the cord that you thought was cheesy?
      Sorry for all the questions, but I just set my MM up last night and 
    it's controlling the Intellifex and Access quite well. I managed to
    name all my main patches and make sure everything was mapped correctly.
      It seems like one of the better controllers out there. My next runner
    up was the DMI Ground Control unit.

well I don;t think mine is 2.1, it's an earlier unit. I'll look tonight and
see.

am I using continuos controllers? for a couple fo songs

I'm phantom powered from the tri-axis the intellifex is in the backup rack!

teh Cord? The one I got was a standard 3 wire midi cord with a 7 pin din 
hacked onto it, with two wires shrink wrapped to the outside of the original
cable. PIECE of SHIT!

I have switchd to the ADA 7 Pin cords, musician's friend stocks them for
something like $12-14 for a 25 footer. I have two of these and they work great

I think it's one of the better controllers out there, but the DMI is superior
IMHO, based on my observation of Andy's....

dbii

    
    
      Thanx dbii ! I ordered the ADA 7 pin cable and will be setting up the 
    Intellifex to phantom power the Midi-Mate.  Your Intellifex is in your
    back-up rack? Yikes! 
      
      I mailed away for the newest Rocktron catalog since they've really 
    made a push with some new gear lately. I wonder what the Velocity 1X12
    speaker cab looks like? And then there's the new Voodu Valve MIDI tube
    preamp, Kind of an update to the Chameleon but with one or two 12AX7's
    thrown in for good measure.
    
      I still have a backup rack, it's a REXX! 
    
    							-John R-
    

       
    
       The latest Rocktron gear:
    
       VELOCITY 120 POWER AMP - New lower cost addition to the velocity 
    		line. 60 watts/channel, 120 bridged. single space. 
    
       VELOCITY S112 - single 12' speaker cab. ported,  trapezoid style.
    		Can be set up like a monitor. Also comes as a SE112 with
    		a built in DI that is somehow integrated with the speaker.
    
       REPLIFEX - a new guitar oriented processor. Somewhat like the 
    		Intellifex but with a compressor, EQ, phase shifter, 
    		flanger, chorus, and delay. Also has two programmable 
    		external control outs (for channel switching) and 
    		preset spillover that allows delay effects to not 
    		be cut-off when switching between presets (the switching
    		occurs at the input to the delay/reverb).
    
       SIDEWINDER - three channel preamp with seperate EQ for each 
    		channel and DI built in.
    
       Lotsa new stuff for Rocktron!
    

    BoOm,
    
    Post more of your presets - else do a MIDI dump and upload it
    for me, will ya?
    
    Man, this thing is a BEAR to program!
    
    I mean I love it, but there is so much to tweek, it takes a WEEK!
    :-)

    
      The I-FEX a bear to program? Try creating an algorithm on a TSR-24.
    It is a Grizzly Bear! And one that will rip you up at that. 
    
      I'll check into some presets and post them.

    Have they improved the user interfaces on the I-Fex?  The Replifex
    sounds like it might be a better unit to get.
    
    Mike

    U/i??
    
    What user interface??  Seems like like writing writing PDP10 assembler
    without a manual is easier...
    :-)

    
      Haven't update the equip list yet, but I just snagged a Rocktron
    REPLIFEX guitar processor for inclusion into the rack. It will be
    used in addition to the I-fex. The character of the Replifex being 
    replication of classis stomp box effects, it will be patched into
    LOOP A of the H & K ACCESS due to the fact that it can match the
    instrument level full effect insertion into the signal path, with full
    bypass being programmed at the preamp level. The INTELLIFEX will remain 
    the time-domain effects processor that will be patched into LOOP B 
    (parallel effects/studio level). 
      Review to follow. It will take some time to test out the compressor,
    chorus, and rotary speaker capabilities. (The rotating speaker controls
    make it seem like it might be pretty powerful and realistic, we'll
    see!).
    

	I tested the Voodu preamp, it's BRILLIANT. I noticed especially
	the compressor, it has a 'release time' function which works
	really well...makes you play like Chet Atkins ;-)..

	But the drawback, for me, is that I have to bypass my preamp
	on my Fender The Twin if I want to use this unit - so I'm
	looking at the Replifex instead. However, they don't have it
	in the store, and I'm a little careful about just order it and
	buy it...so perhaps you guys can help me with a few details:

	      o Does the Replifex have the same compressor as the
		Voodu preamp?

	      o Can you connect the Replifex between guitar and amp?

	      o Is the overall quality of effects the same as on
		the Voodu?

	Thanks,

	Poul

    I own a Replifex and LOVE it.  You can certainly run it between your
    guitar and amp (or through an FX loop).  I don't know if it has the
    "same" compression as the Voodoo, but it does have good compression.  
    
    ... and good everything else.  Great patches, built in HUSH circuitry,
    EASY to edit.  The first processor I've used that had a slew of very
    use-able patches right out of the box.
    
    I've used Lexicon (LXP-1, LXP-5) and Alesis (Quad+) on my guitar in the
    past.  I was able to do good things with them, but the Replifex is
    really increadible.
    
    It's not cheap, but it is powerful, flexible, and fun.
    
    I've not been sorry

    
    Thanks, an answer like this makes me order and buy it right away ;-)
    
    Poul
    

	Well I finally tried the Replifex - and bought it! It indeed
	has the same compressor as of the Voodu. Just by trying the 
	first few patches I realized the quality of this unit - I'm
	drooling! But I had to bleed around $1300 here in Denmark :-(..

	Happy but poor owner,

	Poul

    
      Ouch ! $1,300?  I won't tell you what I paid (about half that).
    I agree with all of the above. And if use the control switches fot
    amp channel changing, you really are getting you money's worth. 
    I think Rocktron realized that the Intellifex was geared more toward 
    studio people that have a lot of time to program patches. The 
    Replifex is designed for guitarists!

    
       Just call me a Rocktron endorser! In my own downsizing move on my
    rack I have replaced the Hughes & Kettner ACCESS with a Rocktron
    PIRANHA. There is a mix of reasons here. One is that the PIRANHA is 
    a great new preamp that is probably the easiest MIDI preamp to program 
    (mostly knobs, a few buttons). Two is that the single effects loop is
    the best place to put my Replifex into the effects chain. That gets me
    a fully functional rack in a six space unit. Not that the other rack 
    had anything bad going for it other than it was bigger than what I have
    now. Sound quality is still superb, and I'm slowing getting my
    "working" patches back.
      The ACCESS had a few features that I miss. One - the seperate
    headphone jack with it's own level control (it sounded real good
    through headphones! Especially w/ stereo effects). The LED's on the
    Access let you know how things were set at a glance. The PIRANHA you
    have to touch the knob to see the parameter setting. No doubt both are
    at the top end of their product category. 
      On the plus side, my rack is real easy to carry and set up these
    days. I can run it into speakers or the VOX and it sounds good either 
    way.
    
      If you are in the market, check out the PIRANHA! If you want a great
    deal on a full function MIDI preamp like the ACCESS, see my FS in here
    or in alt.guitar on the internet.