Rockman XPR Preamp

Very easy to use. No menus, just push the buttons and watch the LEDS move to your setting. Just the basic settings that a player needs. No fancy wild effects.

Great sound. Solid distortion. No low end "rumble" when playing chunky chords. With the mid boosted, the tone is clear and well defined. High end is just right, it cuts throu with no sizzle. For the classic rock, metal and jazz this is a perfect unit. Those who want modern, fuzz tones this is not for you.

I have used it for 12 years with no problems except for one button is getting a little sticky. Keep it clean with compressed air helps keep it functioning well.

Never needed it. Worried I might not be able to get it fix if it does go down.

Perfect for me. The coolness and sexiness factor is max. To see the LEDS change on a darkend stage is awesome. I have used the Rocktron and Boogie units and they do not deliver like the XPR. Great for the price $295.00. Now however, on ebay, they sell for much more. If you really need the sound, then get it, you won't be sorry.

The xpr is a very easy unit to figure out. If you have used any type of rack module this is no different. As others have said, you really don't need a manual to operate this unit. It very easy to get a great sound out of this unit. The tone has that Boston sound or a mid notch that seems to jump out in the mix for guitar.

I use a les Paul and a Ibanez guitar with a triple xxx combo. I bought this unit for so cheap, I've seen the prices on ebay and was surprised to find one used in a store collecting dust. I tried it, not expecting to like it but even through the amp the salesman hooked it up to , it sounded great- I had to buy it. At first I was just going to use it at home for practice but the unit sounded so good I had to incorporate it in my live set up. I also use a guitar synth so I already have a keyboard amp for this, so I hooked the xpr into another channel of the keyboard amp. I have used a multi amp setup before and it seem to be an easy way to do the same thing. Honestly when I run this unit and my Triple xxx together it sounds great, and mixing different sounds gives me alot of sounds to choose from- from heavy to clean. Very important do not run it through a guitar amp it will not do this unit justice. It can be noisy on the dirty sounds but just get a noise gate etc.. for this.

Well I figure this unit has to be about 15 years old and it stills works like a charm(knock wood). I use a two amp setup so I don't worry about a backup.

I guess Dunlop wiil repair these units for a fee.

I play rock and some blues, some metal etc.. I have friends offer to buy this unit since they sound great and as hard to find as hen's teeth. I have had other rack units and they don't sound as good as the xpr. For what I paid for the unit and the sounds you can get out of it, I'm very pleased with it. If I ever get bored with it I can always sell it on e bay and triple my money- but I don't think I'll be doing that any time soon. It blows my mind that for the age of this unit and the great quality of sounds and ease of use that Boss,Digitech, Line 6, etc.. haven't taken a lesson and put out something similar that actually sounds good, as I have owned my fair share of these products and within a very short time have become unhappy with products out on the market today. The only exception would be the vox tonelab which I find to be another great unit that continues to sound as good as the day I bought it.

This is one of those rare units that is hard to make sound bad. Unlike other units that give you so many options that it's hard to actually dial in a real good sound, much less feel safe enough to edit it once you find one sounds pretty good.

For example, the eq's are set at guitar frequencies (some guitar units I've used give you the option of using super-high or super-low frequencies that a guitar rig has no buisness with...and then they'll give you the option of setting the bandwidth too). Also the compressor/sustain section...just four levels of compression...no screwing around with attack, release, or setting compression ratios.

Lastly, the read out is outstanding in it's simplicity. Rows of LED-type lights for each parameter. No scrolling through menues and you can see your setting from across the stage. I heard Tom got the idea from a 1960's era Russion spacecrate layout.

The tone circuitry is all analog. It sound fat and sweet. Not thin or like a swarm of mosquitos in the high end like the Line6 units or Korg PX4 Pandora's units I also have.

REMEMBER THIS: the XPR is a full-range unit and should be ran through full-range speaker cab's. It isn't designed to be ran through a guitar cab. A guitar cab will work but it will sound muddy. I use EAW floor monitors so the sound is right in front of me. Also DO NOT use a tube power amp. It colors the tone too much. The XPR needs a very clean amp.

NO MICING: That's right. Full range. Run it direct to the board (need a DI if your going the distance). Also, you can adjust your master volume and master EQ all night and it won't affect your signal to the board (makes soundguys happy). The direct outs come before the master EQ/volume outputs, which go to your poweramp.

Sounds are killer. It has an awesome acoustic clean sound (because it's fullrange like an acoustic amp) and also does that jangley semi-clean 80's chorused sound very well. I've side-by-sided it with a Roland JC120 and the XPR beats the king at his own game..easily. The distortions are truely ripping! The rockman stuff has a lot of 500k mid going on that makes distorted guitar simpley rip through the mix and there is sustain for days depending on the compressor/sustain setting. I also get great high-energy Texas blues tones from it BUT I would not recomend it for more mellow blues forms. The XPR is a bit compressed sounding for that. You'd be better off with a very touch sensitive tube amp.

And then there's the chorus. It's analog, it's in stereo, it's fat, and it's the best I've ever used (much better than the Intellifex's I've used, not as washed out). This is the key to the Rockman sound in my opinion.

The stereo echo sounds great like all analog echos but it only does one repeat. Get an outboard Rockman Stereo Echo (man do those sound SWEET!).

The reverbs: are usable at best. Get an outboard unit.

Noise: there's lots of it. Good luck finding a Rockman Smartgate. Buy a 1/2 rack Boss NS-50 for $30-$50 and put it in the FX loop. It works awesome. Rocktron HUSH units don't work very well with the XPR.

Like all Rockman preamps, they can be used on there own, but sticking a Rockman EQ in the FX loop makes a lot of difference. I bump the 1.4k up a bit and it really tightens up the bass and better defines the tone in a mix.

This thing is about 14-years old and works great. Have to be carefull you don't break the sliders off. Some SR&D stuff is known for having issues with internal corrosion. They were built on the east coast and the salt air was to blame.

Never had a problem. Still, I never gig without a backup.

Now owned by Jim Dunlop. Bob Cedro from the old SD&D works there and takes care of the old Rockman stuff for $50.

In a top 40 band. New stuff, classics, country, rap, classic metal. Big festival gigs working every weekend etc. This covers them all without much fuss and it sounds very original at the same time.

Been playing 18 years. I'd buy another one

As previous reviewers have stated, it's VERY simple to edit/create patches, just dial the sounds you want push the red record button and you're done. I never got a manual, you don't need it. I'm not sure when mine was made, but it's in excellent condition for being used.

I use a Mosvalve 1160 power amp, BBE 462 Sonic Maximizer, and 2 Marshall 4X12's with Vintage 30's. It's a little noisy with the gain & sustain cranked but the tone is worth a little hiss. I'm not big on effects so they suit me just fine. Playing in a commercial hard rock cover band, this unit has given the most satisfaction out of all the mainstream preamps, ie, ADA, Rocktron, Mesa. The only problem I have with this unit is that you can't escape the Boston sound, not that it's a bad thing, maybe try an external programmable EQ. Very impressive distortion for being a non-tubed preamp. My other guitarist uses a 100 watt Marshall and I keep right up with him.

Other than being completely abusive, I don't see what can go wrong, better built than the modules, with no clicking & popping. I would definitely gig without a backup. These are getting harder to find and going up again in price.

Here's where you lose. Dunlop, who bought the Scholz name, doesn't care about this line. It takes an average of 6-8 weeks if you send something in for repair. If Dunlop was to reproduce these units, he'd make a killing! Tom Scholz should never have sold!

Overall a great addition to any guitarists rig, so many options available in 1 rack space. It's not the crunch of a Marshall, but if you need more than a couple of tones, this unit is hard to beat. I also use a Marshall Jubilee 100, and a Voodoo Amps modded MP-1. My main guitars are a '70 LP Standard and an ESP Lynch Serpent. I would be VERY upset if lost or stolen

Dialing-in the sounds of your choice on the XPR is very easy. The only reason I'd rate it a 9 is that at first look there appear to be way too many buttons to play with. Looks can be deceiving though, as the layout of the unit is very straightforward. If you're used to the individual half-rack rockmodules (and the ensuing nightmare of short patch cables that erupts if you have more than 1) then the integrated nature of the XPR is a pleasant surprise. In case you're interested, the XPR "combines" the features of individual Rockmodules, including Clean, Distortion, Chorus, Delay, Reverb and pre/post EQ. Selecting different combinations of sounds is very simple, and the big red record button makes MIDI saves a snap.

I'm using the XPR with a Fender Princeton Chorus and a small variety of guitars - 2 Les Pauls and 2 Hamers. The Princeton is a nice 50 watt non-tube amp that has a great clean sound on its own. Adding the XPR into the loop just kicks it up a notch. The XPR clean tones are great and the distortion settings are much more flexible than those found in the Rockman Sustainor. The XPR Chorus and Echo sections produce the same great tones as their older brother rockmodules. An addition to the XPR is a reverb section (piggybacked into the Echo section) which is nice if your amplifier doesn't have its own reverb. Unfortunately the reverb circuit seems to have come at the loss of a delay circuit. So, if you're looking for delay, either find an old Rockman rockmodule, or another delay device of your choice. The XPR has an effects send/receive loop that makes patching in a delay device quite simple. As a suggestion, a nice rack mount, MIDI capable delay unit would be a useful addition. That way the MIDI controller of your choice can control both the XPR and the delay unit.

I just picked mine up via ebay and for a unit that's 11 years old the thing is in great shape. Because there are no tubes it's completely bulletproof, and by nature of being several years newer than the rockmodules the XPR benefits from some new ideas. The old sliders from the rockmodules are gone, replaced with intuitive pushbuttons - say goodbye to the annoying pops and snaps that the sliders usually develop.

Support for the XPR is going to be an issue since SR&D was bought by Jim Dunlop several years ago. I've contacted Jim Dunlop a few times, and their attitude toward the Rockman line is decidedly mixed. I think they would rather you purchase a newer effects device, but for those people (myself included) who are hooked on the Rockman sound, well, we don't want anything else. That said, depending on what you need, you can have some success. Currently Jim Dunlop will sell you a copy of Rockman manuals for $5 a copy. (And a copy is exactly what they are - sometimes a good xerox copy, sometimes not). As far as repair goes, I was able to get a Rockman Sustainor repaired, but only because I found out that the head engineer for SR&D stayed on with Jim Dunlop after the sale, and because I pestered said individual until he agreed to take a look at it. The repair was done flawlessly and my Sustainor now sounds just like it did when built in 1982. (If only it looked as good)!

I play a mix of everything, and the XPR does a great job of providing the tones I want. If this got stolen or broken I would probably round up another one - not only for how it sounds but also for the fact that it only takes up one rack space.

I'd have to rate the XPR at a firm 9 for ease of
use.Editing is a breeze for this unit,just tweak it to your hearts content then hit the red "record" button.Simple.Channel changes with the Rockman midipedal are instantaneous and noise free.Two volume sliders on the final output stage are real handy for live playing.(no re-editing to adjust volume) It also a three level power switch with one setting for the headphone jack,one for low level output and another for high power.Another bonus is the programmable effects loop, which works equally well with stompboxes and other rack gear. I have owned a few rack preamps and this puppy is very user friendly.

I use a variety of different guitars from ye old Les Paul
Deluxe to acoustics with Dean Markley Pro Mag soundhole pickups and piezo's.I can get some surprisingly good acoustic tones with some serious EQ'ing.All the trademark
Rockman effects are here,the classic Scholz chorus,compression,and echo with two different reverbs.
Though not as comprehensive as the Rockmodules are for tweaking, the XPR is kind of a condensed version of all the Rockmodules.I combine this unit with various Rockmodules. Some in the loop(12 band EQ) and some after it(stereo chorus and echo) and switch them all with the Midioctopus.
It sounds great and is very flexible. The Rockman gear is best used through a full range sound system as that is what they were designed to do. You can also run the XPR with conventional guitar amps and speaker cabs though it may take alot of tweaking and EQ'ing to get the sound you like.
The much maligned Rockman distortion circuit is something
I never really liked until I found this XPR. I can honestly say that for a solid state unit this thing has alot of warmth and (dare I say it?) TONE!! I run it through a MosValve Power amp into two 4X12 Marshall cabs with vintage 30's and it rocks.Clean tones are where the rockman stuff really shines and the XPR is no exception.With all the effects off and the compression way up, I can get some wicked chicken picken stuff (ala Ed Van's "finish what you started") and with a heavy dose of chorus and echo the sky's the limit with anything from Rush to the Pretenders
wobbly chorus sound within reach.And of course this thing absolutely nails some of the great Boston sounds. I'm havin' alot of fun with this. Satch and ZZ Top have used these in the past.It's got an unmistakable 80's vibe to it.

This thing is Bullet proof.It was sold in 1990 and has seen continuous use since then and still works perfectly. I do use it without a backup and don't worry about it at all.No tubes to break, no knobs.Scholz was so far ahead of his time when he designed these multiprocessors....

Scholz Research and development ceased to exist in 1995 so factory service is history.Though I am sure there are tech's out there that can fix any problem you may encounter.

I play predominantly classic rock and this unit covers most of the bases.Though it doesn't have the nuance of a tube combo for blues playing, it does straight ahead rock and roll and most classic metal tones quite well.I love the tightness and articulation of the crunch tones and also the pristine glassiness I can get with the two clean channels.
I'd definitely go on the hunt for another if this one went down or got ripped off.I own other preamps some newer some older. ADA, Digitech, the list goes on.Tubes are awesome there is no doubtaboutit,and solid state stuff generally sucks but.. I really love my XPR. It is just really flexible and stands up to alot of abuse without fail.All the while sounding great. Long live Tom Scholz! If only he would resurect SR&D.This stuff is getting very collectable.
If you find one for sale, don't hesitate, buy it!!