Rockman Stereo Chorus

very easy to use. however not intuitive at all. you just have to dig.

i play jazz blues and rock. my setup is : yamaha ae1200s with a solid spruce top - ibanez ad9 delay - hbe compressor - germ boost - 1971 marshal artist 50W.
now let's move to the rockman chorus...
it basically has the common 80's sound. i can't say that the rockman sounds terrible. however it is not what i have expected after reading the raving reviews about this unit. it sounds just as any other 80's chorus. the sad thins is that i've sold my tc electronics chorus in order to buy it. and the tc with no doubt provides a much organic sound. the funny thing is that since the tc are too expensive today, i just bought on ebay a cheap digital boss rce-10 chorus for 50$ and it beats the tc and the rockman together!!! who could tell...

built like a tank!

did'nt have any problem with the unit

there is no doubt the unit is well built. it is also suppose to be anlog. however , it just sounds like any other 80's chorus pedal. i was disaponted, but if so many people liked it maybe i am the deaf...

Not hard to use at all. The only thing is that you need FOUR footswitches to control all the parameters (bypass, type of chorus, speed of chorus and something else I don't remember, I only use bypass anyway, even though the speed control and the type of chorus controls are probably very handy).
Plus, you can't really dial in the depth of the effect, since it's only limited to four modes, ranging from deepest to... bypassed, or very very subtle anyway (which in stereo would result in wider and wider choruses, according to the setting). Well, if you don't consider the "long chorus" setting, which produces a deeper sound (not exactly a higher Dry/Wet setting, it's more of a, well, longer chorus... duh :D ).

Very, very nice chorus. I use it with bass, and I feared that it wouldn't have been an effective chorus on the low frequencies.
But it works stupendously on bass as well, it's great sounding even on low notes (although not as effective as a "proper" bass chorus... which I DON'T like, since they tend to bloat the bass' sound).
OK, it's not very deep (on bass, at least). On some settings it may sound weak (but it would probably go very well on slap lines - which I don't do, since I am totally unable to slap - a nice subtle effect to add a bit of colour to the sound... make it sound more "tridimensional"). But I don't like very deep choruses. Plus, the speed control (at least on the panel) only goes from 1/4 Hz to 1 Hz, which means it's impossible (at least without the footswitch) to have very fast choruses (no psychedelic warbly effect). But I don't need higher speeds.
Anyway, it's a very, very shimmery effect. It doesn't darken the sound, it tends to cut higher frequencies, anyway, you lose a slight bit of "zing", but I would say that the Rockman opens the sound up, instead. Very wide sounding (even more on the long chorus setting), shimmery, but still warm to my ears (although compared to many choruses, it would probably sound ice cold, but I repeat, I think most choruses around tend to bloat the sound of the bass, while this one lets the bass keep its place in the sound mix).

In summary, a great sounding chorus.

I wouldn't know, I have had it for a couple of months now, and it once gave me some problems with the output level (it dropped by a good half during a rehearsal). I would blame it on the crappy faulty electric system in my rehearsal room, though. Might be the power adaptor, as well, since it's not supposed to be a really professional one (had it with the Rockman when I bought it).
Just remember not to switch it on and off while the amp's on, if you don't want to send a horrible burst of static to the speakers (but if you like damaged speakers, go on :D ).

No customer support. Rockman was acquired by Jim Dunlop, and it appears that they have ceased support for the entire Rockman line of products.
Anyway, there are a few resources for Rockman effects' fans on the Internet (forums, web sites dedicated to them, etc.).

Superb effect, I wouldn't recommend it, just because, in case mine got stolen, or it broke (touch wood), it would be harder to find another one :D
Wouldn't really know an alternative... probably the EBS Chorus, the samples are really good, but it sounds like a different effect anyway (deeper, warblier, much more of a conventional chorus). Some people may be put off by its being a rack effect, which is a bit of a pain in the ass, surely less practical than a stomp box (for me, anyway), but I must say I don't really care, since it's so good.

Simple. Plug in mono jack, output either mono or stereo. Four basic settings, which double with the use of the 'alternate' setting - think a second channel if this was an amp. All parameters are footswitchable, including bypass. Details and suggestions are accessible via the uploaded manual at rockman-central.com.

Astonishing and beautiful chorus. Subtle and spacious. NOT as shimmery or swirly as most other chorus effects, I like this very much. If you need more than sweet and very wide chorusing, then you'll need a flange, phase, or whatever. You can get a bit of warble on the 'normal' setting or in mono, but I think this unit is designed to approximate the sound of two guitars playing identical chords on opposite sides of a very large resonant room - like the Taj Mahal. It is GORGEOUS clean, and can really turn heads.
With an overdriven amp or distortion pedal, this chorus smooths out the harmonics in an orderly and luscious way. I lack the technical terminology to define it properly, but the sound is very pleasing to the ear. You can certainly nail that creamy smooth Boston tone (duh) but it can be used to simply take the shards out of a high gain, upper register solo. And it covers a multitude of sloppy, spikey, sins from the fingers of rank amateurs like myself.

Might as well be made from solid rock, man.

I'm amazed somebody hasn't revived the production of these gems. If they ever reissued the chorus or the echo, I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

In the pantheon of godly analog effects, this would be my Trinity:
1. Rockman Stereo Chorus
2. EH Electric Mistress
3. Rockman Stereo Echo
The tone is almost spiritual. I use a stereo combo amp, locally built by John McIntyre. The Rockman does not change the tone of my guitars, (Legacy w/ Fralins, 335 w/57's) rather it enhances the tone of the amp, if that makes sense. It also boosts the volume considerably when playing clean. Volume + is less noticable when driving the amp. When bypassed, it's dead quiet. I forgot to mention this in my review of the Stereo Echo, but when after the decays are done, the effect has a built in noise gate. It's also dead quiet. I mean QUIET. And neither involves tone suckling at all.

Compared to digital fx, this is warmer, more transparent and less swirly. Ditto for any other chorus fx I've tried or heard. It makes me want to play Andy Summers licks!

This effect works brilliantly with other Rockman stuff (in my case, the Echo) and also sweetens any distortion (ala Boston). I suspect it will complement any amp or effect. The only drawback is when you want a really raw, earthy blues tone, or a nice raunchy old time rock n roll sound with all the slurp and honk buck naked. In these instances I'd agree with Dave Edmunds who said 'chorus is for girls' and bypass it. In all other cases, IMHO, the Rockman Stereo Chorus will make any piece of gear and any player sound sweeter, without damping tone, touch or mojo.

sliders and buttons. no menus. me likey. nice footswitching
capabilities as well.

bestest and smoothest and W-I-D-E-S-T analog chorus the world has
ever heard. in a word: BEAUTIFUL.

"Never had one problem" (said in my best Ferris Bueller dialect).
sliders "seem" a bit loose and flimsy at times but have never failed.

STOP,...you are killing me!! :)

the best chorus that has ever existed.
i sometimes wish Tom Sholz would get into effects designing again
and come up with products that would kick the living crap out of
some of these newer companies that specialize in "effects modeling".
if you see this product for sale, BUY IT.

A retarded monkey-seal could figure this thing out in 2 minutes it took me 1 1/2, oh yeah beat the seal!

You can't get a better stereo chorus, and it's built by a MIT genius.
Two words for all of you TOM SCHOLZ. Very warm analog sound with the WIIIDEST sound in the buisness

Very rugged, so are all of the rockman gear. If you put it in a rack it will live forever and if it doesn't just send it to Dumblop (I spelled it wrong for a reason).

Tom sold it to Dunlop and they made a mockery of the name.

WHY TOM? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

It is a ROCKMAN.
No explaination needed.

User interface is lean and mean. I like the sliders vs. knobs on this chorus, and even though the sliders may *look* flimsy, they have a nice feel.

There is simply no better sound guitar chorus available today. From barely-noticeable enhancement to the instantly-identifiable BOSTON SOUND, this machine will do it. And even though the freq response specs are not stellar, it doesn't matter. All other choruses I have used end up sounding "out of tune" and "wishy-washy". This one does not. The Long Chorus effect and the Sweep Stop capability make it the best chorus ever invented, in my opinion. HOW could they stop making these things?? What has this world come to?

Had mine for 5 years, gets used all the time. Never broke. The built-in power supply means you'll never by a wall wart for it, too.

Scholz R&D doesn't exist anymore. <sigh,

If you ever run across one of these in the used market, GRAB IT. You will never want another chorus again.

Very self-explanatory controls - LED gives you a visual idea of your sweep speed. You'll need a few on/off footswitches to get full use of the options, and it's a little hard to plug the jacks into the unit when rack-mounted as the unit isn't very deep.

Instant Boston sound! No noise, no "pop" when activated. Just shimmering sound.

I've had one in my rack for 9 years plus(and I bought it used). Last year I found one to go in the effects loop of my Fender combo for one-amp setups. No service has ever been needed - they are workhorses.

N/A - never a need.

Equally pretty sound on distorted chords or on clean lines. Now I wish I could find an old Rockman Stereo Echo!

This thing is a "duh" to use. It also has very nice foot switch capabilities.

If you want WIDE, WIIIIIIIDE, WIIIIIDDDDDEEEE, stereo sound, this is the gear that will get you there! Even if you hate chorus, via the footswitch you can envoke a "sweep stop" which will give you great stereo sound without the chorus effect. The WIDE setting will give you that "pan hard left, pan hard right" two guitars playing at once sound. The NORM setting gives great stereo separation. The EQUAL has some really neat sweeping sounds to it. It is especially good for getting that David Gilmour lead sound. The subtle is close to but not equal to mono. I have never heard or used a better sounding chorus!

I have had the Rockman Stereo Chorus for 2 years with NO problems.

Have not contacted Dunlop.

The stereo chorus and stereo echo units replaced my Digitech 256 ($600) digital processor. I cannot believe that I didn't buy one sooner.

Totally simple; use defaults for stock chorus (add long chorus and alternate mix with footswitch), or experiment

Very clean, especially with adjustable input gain for different source levels.

Used it steadily for three years.

Dunlop bought Scholz R&D; you can call them, but all they want to do is to sell you their new optical pedals.

Would buy again in a heartbeat. Not much experience with other chorus units, but I like this one a lot.