Rocktron Austin Gold

It's simple, only three knobs, it's easy to get exactly the tone you want, the one thing that really does bug me about it is the fact that you have to unscrew the battery case to change batteries.

Perfect. It's exactly the subtle overdrive I was looking for as a nice boost for playing lead. I find that the Boss Blues Driver and the Tube Screamer are great for a bit more drive, but tend to degrade the sound quality when you have the drive turned down. This one enhances it perfectly without adding too much drive so you're still playing almost clean, but with a much hotter tone.

I've never used it at a gig, just once at an open jam. It seems pretty solid, but I've only had it for a few weeks.

No need to rehash descriptions?the other reviewers have done a great job. I just wanted to put my two cents in about another great use for this pedal. Overall, it's pretty easy to use.

I bought this pedal to address problems I?d run into when using both single coil and humbucker-equipped guitars on the same gig. I use humbuckers about 80 percent of the time but I?ve got an EMG-loaded Strat copy that periodically makes its way out of the case. Using both types of axes generally required adjusting the amp?s e.q. and volume to make up for the differences in tone and output. Not convenient.

After years of wrestling with the challenge, I figured that I?d probably be o.k. if I could use an overdrive pedal to provide a moderate boost to volume and gain. My Reverend Drivetrain II and Barber Direct Drive were great, but I like them more for straight-up overdriven tones. I even tried Rocktron?s Big Crush compressor which sounded good but wasn?t what I was looking for, either.

The Austin Gold fit the bill perfectly. For single coils, it?s a great signal boost and I just use it with the Barber or Reverend pedals to get some dirt. It won?t make single-coils break-up too much unless your amp is doing it already. But you can use it to get some decent honk and chang for some of your alternative and roots rock. Shortly after I got it, it made me play my Strat?s bridge pickup for an hour on Bo Diddley and open-chord stuff ?cause it sounded so good! I generally don?t use bridge single coils for much of anything.

To date, I?ve used it with my Heritage Patriot 50 1x12 combo, my Guytron GT100 head and my Reverend Kingsnake head and 2x12 cabinet. Everybody got along fine! Also, when I use it with humbuckers, the pedal kicks a serious Tube Screamer vibe, adding a respectable amount of snarl. It also has the bonus of an adjustable low-end to prevent the muddies.

Tonally speaking, the pre-bass control can really help you get that Texas honk and twang if you?re amp isn?t doing it naturally. I generally set it at mid point (plus or minus a bit, depending on the room and the axe I?m using) and go from there.

Only had it three months...too soon to tell. but I doubt it.

Right now, I'm primarily doing praise and worship music at my church, which requires that I tap into a variety of styles, including rock, R&B and folk. I've been playing now for nearly 30 years.

I dig the fact that for 70 bucks, I got a pedal that I can use in a variety of ways and sounds good doing it. The manual says it all: ?This pedal is designed to work with your amp?s overdrive to kick it over the top.? With that in mind, you really can?t go wrong if you buy this pedal. With a little knob twiddlin', you can probably get a few good uses

Traded it for a Carl Martin Boost/Kick , it is the older model in the bigger chassis.
Three controls , Level , Drive and Pre Bass.
Simple.

Using this pedal because the crunch channel on my TSL is very muddy.
Use mainly with a Strat or a JR Mosrite.
The Austin Gold can deliver a huge amount of cleanish signal boost , and the ability to add just a hint of extra drive and add/subtract bass frequencies make this thing perfect for hitting the front of a valve amp hard.It makes a massive difference to the sound quality without altering your fundemental tone.
Please note that some reviewers feel this pedal is too trebley , not so - subtracting bass is NOT the same as adding treble.

Very solid casing , recessed knobs , plastic jack sockets though , and the 9V is on the side.

Never dealt with them , dont suppose they would be interested.

Think this pedal could help most valve amps regardless of musical genre , it is an ideal front end booster to help you get your pre amp gain down and master volume up on your amp.For those of you who like that pre amp on 10 , master on 1 , wasp-in-a-jamjar sound , dont even consider this pedal , but for those who like to hear all the notes when you play chords , even with some drive , you might like this one.

Three knobs easy right....Not as easy as you think. They are interactive. That means your drive knob can and will change your level and your pre-bass knob will change the sound of your drive and amount etc... Play with it. It's fun... Manual is just about worthless,but I never read them anyway. This is a chinese model recently made within the past 2 years. With that in mind have at it and tweak until you hear something you like. Something you like will come out of this pedal. I promise. Even if you like death metal or whatever this pedal is so versital it's not even funny. The other note I should probably make is that this pedal is almost never on by itself. I use it in conjunction 9 times out of 10 in front of my amps distortion or a distortion pedal. As a stand alone pedal it is so/so and is not for slipnot fans...etc... if you play that sort of music you still could use this pedal as a boost pedal which it does very well...

I play a Dillion dr 500 with dimarzios into a stereo rig with 2 Fender deluxe 112's or into a Laney gh50l II and a Fender 4x12 cab loaded with eminence legend speakers. The Laney is loaded with all electroharmonix tubes. THIS IS THE BEST BOOST PEDAL AT ANY PRICE. It is noisy in this capcity,but so are compressors and so are tube amps and so are flangers and phasers...My point is so what...This thing kicks the crap out of any tube screamer I have ever owned (even expensive mods) which they should be ashamed charging that much for those things knowing that product like this is out there.I feel used for having paid the prices for modded drive units at one point in time.I still like Barber and will never get rid of my burn unit.Barber stuff is worth the money,but beware of those other custom/boutique guys.This thing really shines as a boost with the drive kept low or even off. This pedal can greatly enhance the sound just as a clean sound enhancer which it makes no noise (with the level kept low) in this capacity. and as a stand alone drive it has sounds like Joe Walsh, Eric Johnson and Jeff Beck built right into it.Metal guys use this thing as a clean signal boost. This thing can super charge a solo like nothing else I've ever heard. Yngwie like clip at the top end if you like ,just play with the pre-bass. Very beautiful piece of equiptment. I have it in front of a boss ds1 . Holy cow I didn't think I could sound this good and I'm getting noticed because of this pedal. I was happy with my rig. I was just looking for another inexpensive overdirve that would contrast my boss sd1 a lil and would be an inexpensive back up ...not that sd1's are expensive. This thing might as well be made out of gold.

I've had it about a year using it heavily ....It gets stepped on a lot because it's mainly my boost pedal for solos or really cool riff like passages...NEVER FAILED. I have played it out with no back up and will continue to do so...

neer had to

This pedal is a real winner singing leads and screaming harmonics when used as a boost pedal. Shred heads..if you are into Vai Satch Yngwie or Petrucci this is your boost. I have nailed just about every one of their tones with this pedal. Blues dudes this pedal should be awesome for you. Jazz guys can probably even use this to add a very small amount grit to their sound or enhance their signal. Country folk will like how she cries. Rock dudes should have no quams with dialing in a groovey grind that will bring a smile to their faces. Remember ...a pedal only sounds as good as the amp and speakers you play it through...and unfortuanly ability is a huge plus.If you are on a budget and lack a good amp this pedal will greatly improve your overall sound. However instead of buying this pedal save up your money and get a good amp you really like then BUY THIS PEDAL. New players or those with less experience probably will not like this pedal at all. If you have chops and know it,this pedal can greatly enhance your sound and it magically does it all with out killing your core tone,which you may already like. That's the kindda pedal this is... I play whatever I want because I can now and this pedal is as close as it gets to a do it all unit. I'm pretty convinced that there is not a song in which I could not find a way to use it. If I had to pick one overdrive this would probably be it,just because you can do so much with it once you know how to use it. The best way to describe it is that it's like being able to dial the grind in right where you want it and then boost it!!!

Hard to make it sound bad, I'd have to say. Not one of those pedals that take a long time to learn its' "sweet spots".

Using a G&L Legacy Tribute-->Crybaby wah-->MXR Dyna-Comp(both knobs dimed)-->Austin Gold-->clean channel, preamp level 10, boost knob pulled out (~6-8 db clean boost) of my Seymour-Duncan 84-40 40W all-tube (4->EL84/6BQ5 power)1-12 combo.

I play blues in a working (mostly :-P) band. Played for almost 35 years.

This pedal works great in my lineup, allows me 3 sounds..clean, Dynacomp dimed-out which just brings the amp to the edge, just the Rocktron AG/Dynacomp off for a small boost and edge, and then, kicking in the Dynacomp to drive the AG, which gives me a beautiful sustain, with that SRV-style natural breakup that has plenty of definition so that chords don't turn to mush.

Very dynamic, play softer/guitar vol down, cleans right up for those quiet solos where the band drops to a whisper, before dropping the hammer. I plan on dropping in a switch for true bypass, my only niggle, along with plastic-collared 1/4" jacks which always manage to break in time. Noise wasn't problematic.

I gig about twice a month with this pedal. No problems so far, extruded-aluminum housing is nice..it's tough and tends to stay where you put it if you use it alone without a pedalboard. See above regarding plastic-collared 1/4" input/output jacks, though. Not sure if the earlier versions had the same jacks or not.

Can't say at this point, it works.

Overall, a great bargain for a great-sounding pedal, notwithstanding the plastic-collared input/output jacks and not-true-bypass issues.

Great pedal to drive a tube amp with. If you drive the AG with a compressor, it reacts much like a tube amp, very dynamic...it fattens up without losing definition and turning to mud..great for those screaming blues solos at small club levels.

Only 3 knobs.

Late '60s and early '70s Fender Stratocasters through Marshall tube heads (Super Lead and JCM800) and Marshall 4x12 cabs.
Pedals are only a Fulltone Full Drive 2 and the Austin Gold for clean boost (recently replaced by a '70s MXR Dyna Comp script logo).
The Austin Gold doesn't color the sound that much, but, since I play single coils, the added treble that the pedals gives bothers me when soloing.
A bit noisy even when used for a rhythm (not solo boost).

Just replaced it...
Still have it because you never know...

Good for solo boost and not expensive.
I prefer other brands today (Fulltone).

Deca

http://www.barangarock.com.br

basic pedal..level , drive, and pre bass...which doest seem to have any bottom end.

ok....this is a 1 demensional pedal.... it is a clear,clean drive which simply has way too much high end...compare to a dod 250 for less $, which is far more creamy and well rounded. if you are looking for a jangly,trebley sounding clean overdrive this will work...there is hiss however when level or drive is past 12 o'clock if using the overdrive setting on your amp.

rocktron does make some solid products... i own the tsuami chorus and the short timer...both outstanding. this pedal and the pulse trem are both truely inferior products

good customer support

if you are looking for a clean overdrive look elsewhere...this is an inferior product..no depth to its sound...just treble...kind of a one trick pony...should be called a noisy treble booster.

Beyond easy to figure out. GREAT TONE!

So far I can't find anything wrong with this pedal. It's transparent & delivers great overdrive tone. The bass knob really does the trick. Plus you get a great volume boost for solo's. For a Hard Rock/Punk Rock pedal this can not be beat. If you have UFO, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Redd Kross type tone, then buy this pedal for solo's.

The switch is having some isseus.
Rocktron sent me a new one in the mail FREE!

GREAT SUPPORT!
Any company that will send out a part for free
is doing their job to help customers.

I have had just about every Overdrive/Distortion pedal available (really). This pedal almost is a cross between a MXR Micro Amp & a DOD 250 Preamp pedal (I have both). It gets the volume boost of the Micro Amp with the sweet gain of the DOD 250. Most Overdive pedals have far too much gain for me. I run my amp with overdrive to start with, so Gain on top of Gain equals out of control poop tone. The only Overdive pedal I still own is the DOD 250, but it has No LED indicator light & not as much volume boost for live situations. This pedal does it all. I don't know where the hell Rocktron came from, but they sure did their homework on this pedal.

Simple to use, simple to get a good sound; 3 knobs: Level, Drive and Pre-Bass; Red "on" indicator light. Simplicity is good, I like pedals that easy to understand and use. To me, the knobs work like a Marshall Amp top: they are interactive, which means, when you adjust one, it affects the others. Takes a little getting used to. The Pre-Bass knob is obviously unusual but works nicely to roll back or add bass to the effect. Works for me. My Austin Gold Overdrive pedal is a brand new unit made in China. Has a gold-copper finish; more of a square shape, rather than your typical Boss or Maxon pedal.

First of all, I'd like to thank all of the other contributors who took the time to write reviews on this pedal, which helped me to find this great pedal with relative ease, considering how many distortion pedals are out there. Having owned and used many other distortion pedals over the years, I progressed to the point where all I wanted is a pedal that would add a mild to moderate amount of crunch to my guitars without changing the sound of the guitars themselves. I play an Epiphone Supernova and a homemade SRV Strat. Unable to afford the mystical and elusive Klon Centaur, my search was on. I have owned and used the Ibanex-Maxon pedals and they sound fine, but, they do change the sound of the guitar you are playing a bit, and bring up the distortion level rather quickly. I owned a Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal too for a while but all it offered was a super clean high level volume boost, or over the top distortion. If you like the ability to dial in all sorts of distortion, all those other pedals are fine. But the Austin Gold is a different breed altogether. It does maintain the sound and character of the guitar you are playing and allows you to dial in a mild to fair amount of "natural sounding" crunch. My Strat still sounds like a Strat, and the Epiphone stays woodsy with this pedal on. Excellent! It takes a little practice to get exactly where you need to go, but it delivers. To my ears, it adds absolutely no noise to the line either, whether on or off. The only thing I don't like is that, when engaged, the pedal does add a bit of additional volume instantly and you have to compensate. If you're doing a blazing lead, fine. But if you are trying to maintain your normal playing level, it can be a little tricky.

Have owned it about a month. Play only indoors in my house. Seems to be built very well. The footswitch and knobs seem solid. No problems so far. I use it with a Hot-Spot adaptor.

Have not needed customer support.

I am an amateur at home player. Allmans, Clapton, Eagles, Doobie Brothers, etc. This pedal works fine for me. I retired my Maxon OD-808 for this pedal. I tried them side by side and I loved the clean sound of the Austin Gold. At this price, the pedal is definately a find and I would replace it with another if something happened to it. If you are looking for transparent, clean boost to mild "clean" crunch, I recommend it highly. Thanks Rocktron!

Deceptively simple. This pedals is meant to push a tube amp harder, not make a SS am sound like a tube amp. I play mostly through a peavey ranger 212 tube amp (modernized version of a fender twin) It is pretty easy to use, but i suspect many people try to use it in a way it was not intended.

This is really a great overdrive re-think on the part of rocktron. Overdrives typically need to cut bass. This pedal allows you to control the attenuation of the lower frequencies, and has no treble control. It is a fairly tranparrent effect, so it doenst really need treble control.

I would say i keep this thing on about 70% of the time. it makes playing fun somehow.

The bypass on this pedal seems to steal some highs though. so it gets an 8 really an 8.5, but an 8 none the less. I think it could be converted to true bypass pretty easilly.

rock solid. better than boss.

Rocktron may not be as friendly as they were a few years ago, but i have emailed them a few times in the last couple years, and every time gotten a quick friendly response.

my set up has simplied over the years. I use a musicman axis, 535q wah, austin gold, subdecay stupid box, small clone and boss DD3. the ausin gold gets the most use. it is a great tone shaper.