Rocktron 320 - Compressor/Limiter

The 320 is fairly easy to use, I have no manual and was able to figure it out quite quickly. Very basic, no digital LED menus or what-not. It has compression and output knobs and compressor/limiter, in/out buttons and a button for choosing whether the unit affects the input or the output of the audio signal. It also has a zero-ing knob and LED lights for audio viewing. Two channels, quarter inch jacks.

I've run a lot of things through this as a compressor. With drum machines, specifically Elektron's MachineDrum, it adds an incredible punch to the both high ends and low ends, favoring the low ends in a good way. With guitars it will compress well, but I don't use it very much for that. With bass guitars, again, it punches you right in the face and chest. There are not a lot of variations with the sound, no attacks or releases or gates, it's really just a compressor. As for the limiter, it operates very basically and has a zero-ing knob, as well. It's good for when you want to crank up volumes but not overdrive your amplifier. I'm taking a point off because of the lack of anything but compression and output features, but really that's enough for this oldie.

I believe it was produced in either 1986 or 1987. I picked it up a little beat-up for $20 dollars from a local used gear chain, "Daddy's Junky Music", on a whim. at the very bottom of a rack of tired looking gear. It was even marked down a few times in price. I was somewhat nervous as a lot of the gear in there is pretty "junky". But, it performs unbelievably well, and not just for it's age. No noise. No errors so far, knock on digital wood.

Never dealt with them, but I'd take a guess and say that it would be hard to get support for a discontinued, 20-year old product.

If it were stolen, I would hunt down another. They seem to go for cheap, anywhere from $40-$70, although I found mine for $20 and I still can't get over that. It's amazing that some of this Rocktron gear from the late 80's and early 90's is still floating around and fully functional. I haven't had a chance to use any of their current gear, but it looks pretty cool. Again, the 320 is full of raw, raw, raw, and gritty power. Simple and it just destroys on compression, a real gem. The main reason I'm writing this review is because it's not even listed here and there's barely a word on it when I searched Google. It's like a forgotten relic, maybe someday it'll catch some vintage interest if there's any more of them floating around. I have a feeling a few people are holding this in their secret arsenal. Hope I'm not breaking any rules by talking about it. The first rule of the 320 is......