Rockman X100

Very simple to use... Not much options to switch between anyways !

Considering this thing is 20 years old, I think it performs quite well for its age. I like all four modes (although CLN sounds a bit trebly, but CLN2 is fine). Good enough for recording if you like the tone ! Otherwise, some EQ could help... The only thing I don't like; it's noisy . ...but that's maybe because of how old it is and the fact I am the second (or third ?) owner of this piece of gear and therefore can't tell if it was abused or not. I take two points off because of the noise.

This is a solid-state unit... If it still works after 20 years, I don't know why it would die on stage. It could do the trick but the noise may cause painfull feedback... get a Sustainor if you really want to bring this kind of tone onstage. With new switches and a good cleaning operation, I guess it could last another 20 years !

Scholz Research & Development was bought by Dunlop... who reissued the portable Rockman line under the "Ace" name (guitar ace, bass ace, etc). These are junk in my opinion; no chorus/reverb like the original. I also hear there is a ex-SR&D tech who repairs Rockman modules at Dunlop... but for a good refurb/repair or just information, I recommend PRSS (www.perfectsoundrockrefurbs.com)

This is a good sounding practice/recording preamp as far as I'm concerned... If you are looking for something dependable, buy something else that is new. If you want something collectible, yet unique-sounding with analog echo and chorus, get a Rockman X100.

It is really easy to get good sound out of it. I love BoSTon, so for me this is a gift from the guitar gods. The manual is great; it explains what switches you should use for your application.

It?s amazing how you all the sound of a 100watt amp in a box the size of a hotel Bible. The Preamp Gain function (Or Sustainer) offers great flexibility along with; Clean 1 & 2, Edge, and Distortion.

If you want to sound like BoSTon, or basically have an amazing sound that not too many people have, then this is what you want.

Pretty cool how you can plug anything into it. (Keyboard, Guitars, and Radio's.)

The manual says that the batteries will last for 35 hours. I can put plenty more on it before I have to change them.

You just have to be careful that you don?t trip on your cables, and bring it to the ground.

I have never dealt with Jim Dunlop, so I really can say how nice they are. I can say this, they bought Scholz Research & Development, the fact they still produce the ROCKMAN is shows that they appetite it.

I would trust them to get it repaired.
Or http://www.perfectsoundrockrefurbs.com/

If these guys could not fix it, I would bug Tom Scholz.

I love classic rock so this matches me perfect. I am new to playing the guitar, but I have played the Trumpet for nine years. I do enjoy putting out a professional sound with out being a professional. I am very protective of my ROCKMAN X100, and ROCKMAN Soloist. I have a special carrying case lined with impact foam lining it.

My dad is 48 years old, and he loves music. (Pink Floyd, Journey, Sticks, Queen, Beatles, and Carlos Santana). He told me that when this came out it was ahead of its time.

It's like giving your amp five more numbers!

ROCK ON!!!!

I bought this new around (I think) 1981 or 82 for less than $200 (again I think). I didn't have any grey hair then. Now I'm just happy that I have hair.

Anyway, this unit couldn't be easier to use. Plug a guitar in, put on your head phones, and start fooling with switches. Easy!

I can't give it a 10 because that's supposed to be pristine. These units never quite did that, but they got close.

Aside from a bit of noise they do sound great. But great compared to what, and alligator? They sound great compared to anything made in the early 80's and bunch of stuff made since then. Great compared to a POD? Probably not, but still tons of fun.

A little weak hear [sic]. As others have mentioned, the switches are magnets for dirt and crud. As an electronics tech for the past 20 plus years I know just how to clean this up. Now I'll tell you just in case you don't.

Use a plastic safe spray solvent (like TF) with teflon added. Spray the hell out of the switches and slide 'em back and forth several times. That should hold you for a while. The first time I cleaned mine I used a spray with silicone. Big mistake. The silicone stayed a bit tacky and attracted even more crud. Stick the the dry, non-conductive lubricant and you'll be happier.

One of the conductors on my battery door also fell off and I just got around to ordering a new one. By the way, it's the only part the Jim Dunlop officially stocks for these.

Properly maintained, I would gig with this without a backup.

These guys were great. In addition to the battery door, I also needed the battery contact board on the inside. I left batteries in the unit and they leaked. My fault, not the Rockman's.

The tech support guy (Abraham) found a way to get me a used battery contact board. Next the parts dept. woman (I missed her name, sorry) took my order without any trouble or attitude.

If only Jim Dunlop made more stuff that I wanted, I would do business with them again.

Overall I have to give this gizmo a ten. It does what it does better than any gizmo before or since. I sounds dated but who the hell am I to talk!

Easy as it gets. You know the features. All analog. No edit patches, menus, out-of-phase knobs, bi-amp crossovers or the all important this and that switch. Just plug and play. Actually quite a few features for its age and price, though. No problems here. With that said, I still don't know what the hell to do with, if anything, the AUX INPUT / LOW LEVEL OUT. An innie and an outtie?

Compared to what? Next to my 5150 halfstack with a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo in the effects loop and a script logo phase 90 up front? Errrr, well, not too hot. But that is not a fair comparison now is it.

This little gem was desinged during the first few years of the Reagan administration to give us bedroom rockers a flexibile, cheap, parent friendly, Walkman style experience. And that, boys and girls, is what makes this piece of gear some damn cool even twenty years and counting later.

Is it a perfect headphone amp? Possibly. The distortion is good, the harmonics and sustain are excellent. All analog. Gives us a nice 0U812 era EVH sound. The chorus and a slight delay round out the sound and yield a highly stylized, stereophonic sound. Oh, and it is plenty loud with an appropriate pair of headphones.

My bias here is that I have spent many a night playing with this little guy during my guitar formative years. And, I have never been able to come to terms with the whole digital modeling thing. Not that I am a tube snobe. Per se. It's just that I don't quite think the technology is there yet. So factor this into the quality and / or accuracy of my review.

A few reviews here, which I have really enjoyed, show you how to get different sounds from using the Rockman in a non-traditional setting. I myself have run the Rockman through my hi-fi (Magnepans and Levinson gear thank you) with great astonishment and bewilderment. It sounds really good . . for a while. Then I bring in the Marshall 1/2 stack. Game over. Sorry Mr. Scholz (not the foot doctor guy).

Look people, this is a headphone amp. I love overachievers. I still root for the underdog: Gerry Cooney as a boxer, Dolph Lundgren as an actor, Bob Uecker as catcher, you get the point. The X100 can do a number of things well -- as a headphone amp.

So what about my forays with the Rockman as a preamp / amp? Again, at first it is a bit off-putting. Sounds good, but ultimately thin. And cloudy. I describe it as thin distortion with a head cold -- No matter how much EQ, aural exciters, and beer are added. This reminds me of the time I was in Applebees. I was sober. In any event, a Van Halen song was playing and it sounded like, well, Van Halen. Really woosh-y and warm. The next song was a Boston tune. Scholz's sound was much more thin and light compared to the VH tune. It was still cool. Just not as ballsy. This translates to the X100 too.

Conclusion -- this is a headphone amp, damnit. Use it accordingly. I couldn't give it a 10 because that says "Pristine sound quality". Always one to follow instructions, I declined to give it a 10. It is not pristine -- it is analog, okay.

Woops. I have quite a few Rockmans lying around the house. All have longevity issues. Let's just say they don't age gracefully. For instance, my old MXR pedals and Marshalls are to Rock n' Roll what Cary Grant is to the movies. They keep getting better as they get older. The Rockman is no Cary Grant (and you senator are no Jack Kennedy). The switches and jacks wear out fast with any regular usage. So take care of these little guys. They are classics. Don't let this stop you from buying (or keeping) one. They excell in other categories so read on!

Caution. Do not, repeat not, under any circumstances send this back to Jim Dunlop Mfg. (the new owner of Rockman / Scholz). I did. First, they lost my X100. Then they found it. Then they lost it. Then they found it. Then they lost it. You get the point. Months later, I get back . . . something else. Yes folks, it was a wah-wah pedal. Not that I sent in a wah-wah pedal. That is just what I happened to get back. To abbreviate a long and tragic story, I got back my Rockman. It had been fixed, sort of. Somehow, one of the brain surgeons at Jim Dunlop managed to place a long gash down the entire front and back of the unit. Symetrically. I spent hours looking for how to select the negative numbers on this category . . . . . . .

Overall, buy this if you are going to take care of it. I have been using the guitar (and vice-versa) since the 80s. The Rockman has been with me ever since. It still sounds good (as a headphone amp) even after all these years. Great analog distortion with that funky chorus and / or delay. Legend has it that Phil Collen and the right honorable most Reverend Billy Gibbons have used it direct into the console to record such albums as Hysteria and Afterburner, respectively. It has some issues, sure. It is un-dependable and customer support is nil(the bastards). True, it cannot hook into your computer, speak Japanese, perform quadratic equations, or clean your oven like those fancy high dollar Line 6 thingees. But, for one hundred American dollars, it is a steal. I can hardly fill up my truck for $100 once the lottery tickets, cigs, air freshner and beer are figured in. Don't delay. These things won't be gettig cheaper or more numerous.

And that in conclusion ladies and gentlemen of the jury makes this a classic and a perfect ten even if the sum total is greater than the average of the aggregate of the individaul categories. Look for my review of the 5150 under the same name.

Its easier to use now! I had my father install sequential switching via footswitch. I got tired of having to stop playing to move between channels. Otherwise I'm happy to leave volume settings(on full) and chorus/echo (middle position) as is.

Well, I have to admit that I've gotten hooked on the sound and raw power I can generate. The output is flexible, that is, you get some real response when playing notes differently. Hard to describe that, but say... a pinched harmonic carries MUCH MORE than usual.

When running to an amp you will notice this thing sucks a lot of power. Your guitar output is substantially reduced.

This is where things get a little strange. This IS supposed to be a stereo unit. My right channel died a few days ago and I'm trying to figure it out. Got it apart and already soldered a couple broken wires back but still no right side. Nothing more irritating than putting on the headphones and only hearing one side. Looking for schematics now but nuthin out there. Battery port is long gone, rotten, but I have a proper sized plugin adaptor. Little box with all kinds of wires, lol, guitar input/output, headphone jack, foot switch jack and adaptor jack. Sometimes a pain in the butt to set up so i usually just unplug the guitar and leave it out til next time.
Nope, can't depend on it now.

NAH, old hat. The only option you have is to try and fix it yourself/ get it fixed or hunt down another one in working condition.

Been playing about 30 years, got a 88 strat, 67 Hagstrom III, and two handbuild (by ME) mahogany electrics w/ humbuckers (one neckthru of my own design and the other a 24 fret Gibson SG neckthru copy). I play hard rock, Deep Purple, Zeppelin, etc. all that good 'ol music.

To reduce noise, the gain should be permanently set at -8. The volume can be left at max and the unit left on through several numbers. This leaves only the two effects switches that are employed while playing. A little practice and the unit should be rendered quite user friendly making the manual unnecessary as far as illustrating how to use the X100. Anyone having problems with the quarter inch jack connections can try what I did: Double up a rubber band (the Sunday paper kind)and pass both jacks through it. Slide the rubber band up and down the jacks until you find the sweet spot where there is no distortion. It worked for me and also stabilizes the connection should you move around a lot while you play. I don't like using the belt clip but it is advisable that if you set it on a table or amp that you not forget that you are tethered to it lest you walk away sending it crashing to the floor spilling its cargo of batteries all over the place. (I see some of you are sheepishly nodding your heads in the type of agreement that comes with experience!) Speaking of batteries, I can't understand what gives with the helical spring contacts at the positive terminals of half the batteries. They don't contact the battery properly and they corrode quickly requiring me to take the chassis out and wire brush the springs with baking soda. Rechargeable batteries won't work because they don't supply sufficient voltage - at least not in my unit. Once the dcv gets below 10 volts (1.25 volts per battery), its time to pry off that cheesy battery cover and replace the alkalines. That being said, an extra $49 can get you the adapter from Dunlop Guitars, the company that bought out SR&D. Most of the gripes I have about the X100 are germaine to the power supply when using batteries, with the adapter the unit is quite versatile and handy. I recommend using different headphones than the ones supplied, mine did not last very long

I use a Fender Strat to the unit and out to a Fender Twin Reverb silver face. The unit sounds okay with the master volume but not with the master volume pulled out. The echo on the X100 and the reverb on the amp don't adversely affect each other. The X100 echo off setting I rarely use because the echo is too subtle to cause any dissonance
or interference with whatever sound scheme I use. The chorus is very pronounced and effective. The four settings give a wide spectrum of sound possibilities. I suggest that a high end electronic tuner be used instead of tuning by ear to eliminate sympathetic vibrations when playing chords while on the distortion setting. This will keep the distortion more tonal and can give you that clean fuzz sound rather than generic distortion.

The only reason I wouldn't depend on it is that it is old. I would not use the most reliable equipment without backup. In its prime I used it for gigs and had no complaints about the X100's ability or reliability - but only with the adapter..

I have been playing classic rock since 1972 and the X100 allows me to mimic the artist's recorded sound at least 90% of the time. I use a Dan-o-wah peddle and a Dod 440 envelope filter but other than the effects on the amphead, I don't use anything in series with the X100.
If I could assure the quality of a used X100 I would certainly buy another one should I lose the one I have now. The unit was my first experience in sustain (which is probably the reason people use the distortion setting as opposed to the gritty sound). The sustain greatly expanded my scope and is my favorite feature. The sustain and clean fuzz capabilities of the X100 I find more desirable than the amp head effects available today.

1/4" TRS instrument input and Aux Input.

Choice of Chorus/Echo, Chorus or Echo effect(s).

Volume of Max (0dB), Med (-5dB), Low (-10dB)

On/Off Switch

Input Gain on back of unit (varies from -8dB to +8dB)

2 x 1/8" stereo headphone outputs.


Super easy.

On its own, this thing delivers all the _oompf_ of a 'peanut butter and jelly sandwich.'

However, it does have tone, but some doo-dads can help it out. Here are my tips to make the most of this little, brittle box with touchy switches.

Assuming you have a nice clean x100. Go to radio shack and get a 1/8" stereo splitter to RCA (or if you're lucky, to 2 x 1/4"), and then some RCA to 1/4" cables. Get TWO Behringer ULTRA GI-100's DI's. These are cool, red metal encased direct injection guitar cabinet 4x12 simulations, and run about $30-40 each. (These are handy units to have and can be used with other amps, not limited to the rockman x100! See www.Behringer.com for more info.) Plug the splitter into one of the rockman headphone outs. (It's best to get a short 1/8" extension cord, to go out of the rockman, then to the splitter. This doesn't put so much stress on the headphone out). Then take the split signal and patch each into it's own respective behringer GI-100 box. Take XLR cables out of each GI-100 into their own channel on a mixing board. Now plug in your geet, turn the volume on the rockman to -5dB or -10 dB (this helps keep noise to minimum), kick on the dist channel on the rockman with either chorus or chorus/echo. For eq'ing on the board, this is what I use: bass (80Hz) to about +10dB, mid (2.5KHz) to about +2dB, and the high (12KHz) to about +4dB. Adjust mixer volumes to just below clipping. And don't forget to pan the channels hard left and hard right. You should have a beautifully chorus'd, singing, crunchy marshall tone. It's crunchier and clearer than my best soldano patch with tube screamer on my POD XT. Plus it's analog, so you don't theoretically lose anything of your signal, and by using the lower volume outs on the rockman and boosting the channel (or mix) volumes, you keep that infamous pesky noise to a minimum. For some strange reason I can't explain, but the GI-100's cab sim help take down the noise from the rockman a bit! Kick the sim in and out... yup.. less noise!

It helps to use a meaty sounding guitar with humbuckers. I can get kick ass chunky tones like later VanHalen with careful eq'ing. The Rockman x100 is a bit more gentle in it's 'wah eq' filters than later rockman offerings, such as the sustainor and distortion generator. And if you like, 'scoop' the eq for some great modern tones. I kid you not, this setup can do it!

Now, click the rockman to CLN2 setting. Beautiful deep bass with nice rounded highs. Use the number 4 or 2 position on a strat (or strat like guitar) for out-of-phase phat phunk. It'll pop and chime like a good fender twin with the same eq'ing on the board for the DIST setting I mentioned above.

The Edge (not directly related to U2's axe man) setting will deliver some huge crispy chunk reminiscent of various late seventies great guitar tracks. (Think Deep Purple, Foreigner, ACDC). It's got that right amount of 'glassiness.'

If you like, ditch the echo setting on the rockman, and use a real reverb or echo unit in the effects send on the mixer, you'll be groovin' for a while with great sound.
Or, get a strat, roll back volume a bit, stick on Edge mode, boost the mids on the board, use with a digital delay to get that vintage Edge of U2 sound. In fact the Edge setting is one of the more responsive channels of the x100 to a guitar's volume control. I have used this with great success.

The reason I give this an 8 for sound quality, is because it has the guts of a good sound, just not out-of-the-box as you might expect to use it like a pod. To the person who did an earlier review saying 'get a pod,' try this setup out! You might be surprised at how good this sounds. Compared to the amount of time I've spent dickin' around on a POD trying to get a decent tone, versus the time spent on this setup with the rockman is pretty big. And it's just so darn musical sounding. The clean tones alone blow the pod off the map. And for the price paid, DI boxes and all, it's ch

I have to be honest, the original blue 'walkman' case and switches SUCK! The switches are susceptable to dirt and grime, get noisy, and generally difficult to adjust. The layout of controls on the box is very poor as well. I've heard many people say they thought it was a really cheesey cheap walkman from the early 80's, you know by generic sony knockoff makers like 'Candle' that were available in sears catalogs. The x100 inspired the same lack of confidence. It never felt quality or durable.

If you love the tone, have some basic technical knowledge for electronics, yank it out of it's black and blue coffin, and stick it into a nice safe home with new switches, input and output jacks and proper power supply. It should take an afternoon with a soldering iron and screwdriver.

The x100's can still be had for cheap, even on eBay, if you lurk properly. If you are lucky, and not inclined to refit to a new box, you might come across a ROCKMOUNT on eBay or some dusty music store. Get it! You can slide the x100 into it and use like a stomp box with a bypass switch and not worry about batteries.

SR&D are gone. Sending them in to Dunlop is costly and should only be used in the most dire circumstances. Warrantees are toast on these, so think about it... find a local electronic repair shop. The circuits are usually fine, it's the jacks and switches which are troublesome. Usually it's a broken solder joint on the circuitboard mount.

I ALWAYS dug the clean tones. The huge stereo seperation was always something to marvel at through headphones. I started playing guitar in 1987, and these were starting to become passee as 'the new hot box.' Still, they sounded AMAZING back then to a raw beginner. There were also less expensive rockman copies, but they sounded like every shade of kakk in-a-box. I could never afford/justify the price for a rockman back then. (I later found out that Rockman sales funded Tom Scholz' fight against record companies, and now it makes sense.)

Fast Forward many years later, I got a POD XT to record direct. It was useful, and served it's purpose, but I had a system upgrade scare, thought I smoked the unit, but eventually got it to upgrade. With a newfound hesistation towards digital equipment, I got a couple of used rockmans on eBay, cheap.
Let's face it, with so much legend and lore of rockmans being used to record direct, they are the great-grand-daddy of the pod.

So I opened the x100 package, got the wallwart, plugged in and strummed... Good gawd! Like old episodes of Battlestar Galactica, they were better in my memory than what they actually are. Still, I listened to Eliminator and Third Stage, and figured there is something to work with. I had a couple of the GI-100's attached to one of my tube stage heads, grabbed 'em and patched them into the mix board. Booyahhh!!! Tweaked eq. I was jamming on CLN2 for about 2 hours against some drum tracks from the computer. Didn't realize where the time went! Started laying down some thick leads with DIST setting, again slightly tweaking the eq. Couldn't believe the results. I got big sounds the way I wanted quickly. To be fair I have one soldano patch and a couple of hiwatt patches on the POD which I think are pretty hot, and found that was all I used, i.e. Those THREE patches. In practice, I was using the POD as a sup'd up x100. Now I don't know if the GI-100s are better sounding than POD cab sims, but I like this tone better. I can go from thick mids, to big van halen oomph, to sounding like playing out of a 6" speaker. I have classic rockman clean with cab sims off, jazz chorus or fender clean with sims on. The edge setting gives great, glassy crunch and nice picking and fingering dynamics. Good smooth tone for legato playing.

I'm a recording fool again.

OK, reality check! Who is giving this old thing a 9 or a 10?? Maybe back in 1985! Look, I've had one since 1983 or so and back then they were amazing. Or I was amazed at the concept. Who knows. Did much recording with it. But today, a POD blows it away! I've plugged it in a couple times in the last few years, and it sounded so bad to me I wanted to cry. I will never sell it. Never know when a cover of "Danger Zone" will be needed.

People, check your ears. These don't sound good anymore. Get a POD.

Easy. Practically plug and play

Noisy, but still pretty amazing. A recording studio in a box. Very nice clean and distorted sounds. Mild limitations in that you have to have either reverb or chorus on clean sounds.

Gets shorts.

It has it's flaws. Noise, shorting out. But it's still pretty amazing. Ayyone who still mikes up an amp to record is a dope. This is all you need. Clean, distortion, rythm, lead. It rules. I started with this recording then switched to a compressor sustainer, and a Digitech RDS 3.6. But if you're starting home or studio recording get one. Live it doesn't work with amps too well. It's too noisy and compressed. Okay with PAs live.

Very easy to use as the X100 has a total of four switches, including the on/off switch. I suppose you could consider the input gain as a fifth switch. However, once set, you need not bother with it again. The designers placed the input gain on the backside of the unit, knowing the user would seldom need to make adjustments.

As for the manual, it is well written and easy to follow. It explains clearly the X100 and all its functions and capabilities.

Sit down, plug in, put the headphones on and get ready! If your quest has been to replicate the Tom Scholz/Boston sound, you have successfully reached your journey's end. Absolutely, the X100 succeeds in reproducing this very same tone.

I use the X100 for what it had been originally designed, that being a headphone amp, so I am unable to comment on how it sounds when played with any type amp.

I play a Peavey Wolfgang and a Les Paul with the X100. Both sound excellent.

The X100 utilizes sliding switches, and they occasionally sound scratchy. However, this problem arises only when moving them, and any unwanted noise disappears once the switch is released.

All the effects (echo, chorus, two different type distortions) are excellent. The X100 has two clean channels, and both sound sweet.

As for the volume switch, it has three settings, and played through headphones, you can go from comfortable to fairly loud. Regarding headphones, the quality of phones you use makes a difference in the X100's tone. Cheap, throw-away style headphones will give a thin sound, while good quality phones (like Sony's MDR-V6 Studio Monitor) will produce a deep, full sound. If you are considering obtaining an X100, do yourself a favor and use decent headphones. It will make a difference.

The X100 is an excellent piece of equipment. It reproduces the Boston sound perfectly, but I have never felt it "confined" me to playing Scholz' music exclusively.

If you have the opportunity to try one out, you should probably expect to hear the noisy switches. Don't let this keep you from purchasing the amp. These babies were ahead of their time when Scholz released them into the world, and they still hold their own today.

SR & D (Scholz Research and Development) has long since gone out of business. However, Dunlop (www.jimdunlop.com) provides service for the X100. I dealt with Dunlop just one week ago, and they were very positive in their response (*see "overall rating" for more info.).

I had two reasons for buying my X100. I wanted the Boston sound and I also wanted this sound in a headphone amp. I accomplished both by purchasing the X100.

I bought my X100 on Ebay, and in the last month alone they have been going for over $100.00. I was very fortunate to have obtained the amp from a seller who cared greatly for it while it was his. If you intend on getting an X100 through Ebay, read closely the seller's description of it. It is fairly common to read the seller may have had problems with the switches, the jacks, the belt clip on the unit's backside, and the battery compartment door (NOTE: the X100 needs 8 AA batteries, making the unit quite heavy).

* I called Dunlop, not knowing if they backed the X100 (Dunlop bought SR & D out a few years ago). Dunlop will perform repair work on them. Also, Dunlop makes the A/C adapter for the X100 (Dunlop's item # for the adapter is: CSP-007-US X100 POWER CONVERTER). The cost is right around $45.00, with shipping. Not bad, considering the original SR & D adapter is harder to find than the X100.

With each passing day, X100s are getting harder to find, even in less-than-desirable condition. I have scoured guitar shows in Toledo, Cleveland and Detroit, and in the last three years I have not seen a single one for sale. For good or bad, they are usually available on Ebay.

My rating the X100 is near perfect, but most of the remaining X100s will not be this good. If I were to purchase another one, it would probably receive a lower rating. As I stated earlier, I was fortunate to have purchsed it (sight unseen) from someone who didn't abuse it.

Good luck in your search, but don't hesitate if you do find a clean one. Their value is rising while their numbers are diminishing, People familiar with them know their value and are willing to pay the price to own one.