Rocktron Austin Gold

I bought this overdrive unit to enhance playing blues harp thru a Danelectro DM25 tube amp. The controls work very subtly with one another, which gives you great control. I found this pedal much easier to adjust than the volume/master-volume gain controls on amps I've played thru. As with any new piece of gear, I had to spend adequate time playing with the adjustments... to find my sound.

One advantage of using these pedals is they're affordable, so you can buy one for each type of harp mic (or I suppose guitar for that matter) you play thru and never have to make any adjustments once you've got them set up to your liking. I found the pre-bass adjustment helps bring out the best sound in your mic element and your brand of harp.

I like the original style pedal (rather than the newer cheaper model) because the control knobs are protected from being kicked around, plus it's built like a brick shit house. If you keep an eye out, you can still find the original model.

No experience.

I'm an intermediate level blues harp closet-musician, so I haven't had a ton of experience with a lot of different gear. But I am trying to learn enough about music gear & technology to achieve good sound and... hopefully keep from electrocuting myself. I used harmony-central and other internet resources in making the decision to buy this overdrive pedal. And once I discovered how well it works for my needs... I bought more of them.

Very easy to get a good sound.

I have to rate the sound quality very hard since it gives me what I was after. It boosts the guitar's sound without a whole lot of gain or coloration or noise. I am using this with single coils.

Looks sturdy enough. Haven't looked inside though.

I doubt that I will ever need this.

I play rock and blues. Tele and Strat through a class a Trace Elliott Velocette. It pushes the amp very well. I have tried a lot of o.d. pedals and was getting tired of all the coloration being thrown at my amp. This device is a good thing. Good value.

Its pretty easy, only 3 dials: Level, Drive, and Pre-bass. Level boosts the level, drive seem to add a bit of "crunch" to the signal, and Pre-bass gives it some meat - more mids than bass but I could be wrong there. I didn't get a manual with it but no matter - I like it

I love the sound this thing has which is almost nothing - if the dials are set correctly, it will not color your signal, just boost it considerably (30db according to documents and stuff I have read.) You can dial up the Drive and Pre-bass to give it some edge but it not overboard - very mild. This pdeal is more like a spice than it is meat and potatoes. I bought it because I wanted to overdrive the front of my Class A tube amp (Gibson GA-15RV) into tube blistering oblivion without the mud and "distored" sound of a normal overdrive pedal - it does that extremely well. I run the Gibson in triode mode (about 6W) and turn the guitar all the way up, without the AG on. It is the most awesome tube melting sound in the world - then I kick in the AG and it is blister popping tube melting sound uncolored. It is not true-bypass. Haven't cracked it open to see if it can be modified for that either. I plan to at some point. If you want a pedal that will not color your sound at all but boost the snot out of it, this is a great pedal to have. It can also add some good edge to it which I like. There were two versions made, one with round dials recessed in a huge aluminum block and the latter version with chicken head knobs on the less fancy case. I have the first.

I could run over this with a truck and it probably would not get damaged. It is literally a block of aluminum machined and polished and it has fairly thick walls. I think the second version with the less impressive case was to save cost. The original case is awesome.

Never called.

I love this pedal but it may seem disappointing to some. This pedal will not be good for a solid state amp as it will probably set the front end on fire. For a tube amp, this pedal is great, it will make those tubes scream.

3 knobs: Level, Drive, and Pre-Bass

I had read about this pedal, and I like the construction and quality of my other Rocktron pedals (I don?t really like the newer ones). I already have a clean boost (PE Germ), but for the price I decided to buy the Austin Gold. It does a nice clean boost, although it is not really transparent. The overdrive is nice and smooth.

The old Rocktron pedals are extremely well built.

I am addicted to overdrives, and this one?s definitely a keeper. I tend to use this one mostly for blues and some classic rock. Given the inflated prices of overdrives these days, it was nice to find a good overdrive at a decent price. It?s a simple pedal, does what it?s supposed to, and seems pretty reliable.

Extremely easy to use.

DO NOT CONFUSE THIS OVERDRIVE PEDAL WITH TUBESCREAMERS AND SIMILAR TYPE OVERDRIVES. This pedal mainly is as advertised it will boost whatever is going through it, extremely clean and clear. I use it for that feature, only to boost my solos. I had a Boss EQ that I tested for the same use and the Rocktron is superior in every way. It is very quiet. If you are looking for a pedal that will enhance the sound of anything going through it this is the pedal. It will not sound like a tubescreamer no way. It is not advertised to do that anyway. So, since it does exactly what Rocktron says it will do it and no more or less it gets a 10.

Built like a tank. Has the feel of quality. USA made.

Playing 40+ years. Loud clean Rockabilly/Classic Vintage Rock/Early Country. This pedal is a steal if you want a high quality pedal to boost the volume of your sound without any added color. It makes my tubescreamer scream. I think they can be had cheap because of having the name "OVERDRIVE" on the pedal. This makes people expect a Tubescreamer overdriven type sound. If that is what you expect it to sound like it will be very unsatisfactory. Rocktron should re-think the naming and marketing of this pedal. I suspect they will not continue making it or maybe they already have discontinued it. Again since it does EXACTLY what Rocktron says it will do, it gets a 10 in my line up. Definately would buy another one if it were lost or stolen

It`s dead easy - it only has the three "normal" controls.
Level, drive and tone (it`s called "pre-bass").
I give an 8 simply because of the pre-bass control - I like
staightforward and consider the pre-bass control a "little too much".

I`ve had a pedal that I love this much.
First of all - it doesn`t have a lot of gain in it.
Second - it doesn`t coloiur the sonud at all - it just adds that little "extra".

The Roctron pedals are tank-like built.

I`ve bought from a store a long way from home and they have really been great to me. Really!!!

I like to push the already touch-sensitiv overdrive sound in
my amp too get some extra juice for solos and for "stronger" parts.
It`s the best clean boost AND the best "ground sound" pedal I`ve ever
tried and I`ve had a lot!!!

This pedal is as simple as they come. One on/off switch, three controls (level, drive, and pre-bass). The pre-bass adjusts the level of bass added to the signal, which breaks up a tube amp more easily. It didn't come with a manual because I bought it used, but you can't figure out how it works you've got larger problems.

I have a Fender Blues Junior through which I play either an American Strat, a Les Paul DC Studio, or a Mexican Tele. This pedal is perfect for me because as the Blues Junior is a one-channel amp I wanted something switchable that would still *sound* like the amp, not some pseudo-tube-overdrive-emulating piece of junk. The Austin Gold is an up-to-30dB boost (not fuzz/distortion) which will naturally overdrive your amp (preferably tube). Therefore, the sound is only as good as your amp's overdriven sound. For my setup, it produces a very natural-sounding overdrive that does not alter or override either the inherent tone of the guitar or the amplifier. And that was what I was looking for. It's a little bit more trebly vis-a-vis my amp's overdrive, but it's not very noticeable and is more than sufficient for live playing.

I have a Rocktron Tsunami Chorus as well which is equally well-constructed. I trust these guys.The knobs are set back which is good, and the metal housing (no plastic anywhere!) looks extremely sturdy. Actually, the previous owner must have dropped it because there's a ding on the lower corner, but it works great. I have no reason to believe that this thing would crap out on me for no reason - Rocktron is a trustworthy company IMO.

N/A

I play a lot of clean stuff with a bluesy/classic rock edge - my tastes don't venture towards metal or real hard rock these days. But for what I play, the Austin Gold is perfect - it's got about as much overdrive as a Fender Blues Junior with the preamp dimed (or is it twelved?), which is plenty for me. I've been playing consistently for over ten years, in bands for seven. If this pedal were stolen or lost, I would definitely repurchase it. It is exactly what I was looking for. I had almost sold my Blues Jr to upgrade to a Hot Rod Deluxe because of the difficulty of playing live with one channel. But I'm totally satisfied now. Granted, you don't get the saturation that the Hot Rod amps provide, but those things overpower your guitar so much that it's nearly impossible to tell what kind of guitar you're playing. (IMHO) Anyway, this is a simple pedal that snobby tone purists such as myself will love to use. I compared it to countless overdrive/fuzz/distortion pedals and *none* of them came close to the wonderful natural overdriven sound of my amp - not the Daddy-O, not the Marshall Bluesbreaker, not the BOSS whatever-it-is, and certainly not anything DOD makes. You turn this thing on and it doesn't scream, "hey, I'm a guitar effect!!" It's just there and it sounds really nice. If you're looking for an overdrive pedal that creates real amp overdrive without nasal-sounding coloration, this pedal might be ideal.

Extremely easy to use. Features Level, Drive, and Pre-Bass (tone). With the Drive set at 12:00, the level set at 10:00 matches the no effects level of your amp.

I play a Les Paul copy with SD Pearly Gate and 59 PU's, a PRS Custom 24, and a 79 Strat through a 70's Dual Showman Reverb (think Twin)amp run into a Marshall 1960 Vintage cab. I am a must have clean tone fan, however, every now and then I crave a little "chunkiness" to get a Stones Exile on Main Street groove. I have searched for years to get a stomp box to deliver the goods. I tried Boss, Ibanez, DOD, Marshall, etc. with no luck. This Rocktron pedal finally delivered the tone I craved. This pedal gives you the overdriven tube amp tone that allows you to hear the notes of a strummed chord instead of different colors of "mud" that you get with other pedals. This is a must have pedal for owners of non distortion equipped Fender amps if you need some "chunk" that will not distract from the beauty of your amps clean tone. This is a "no metal-pedal", at max drive you get a strong, very warm, Keith Richards "Can't you hear me knockin'" tone. So, if you desire to accent your clean amp, you will love this pedal.

This is a very rugged metal pedal. You do need a screwdriver to access the battery compartment though.

No problems so far....

This pedal is the truth if the truth you seek is warmth and chunkiness that allows you to hear the individual notes of a strummed chord.