Rocktron Big Crush

three knobs... its pretty simple to figure out

There are good and bads about this pedal, first I'll start with the good. I love the sound of the compression I can get with this pedal but, it isn't very versatile. this pedal is mainly made for shredders because of the crazy amount of compression it produces. I run this at the end of my effects loop just before the gate (trust me the gate is a must, this pedal is NOISY!) and when it is switched on it makes my leads very defined and it gives a very nice boost. on the clean channel, it makes my guitars with even very hot pickups sparkle and pop like a strat which is very nice.

now, the real killer of this pedal. it is by far the noisiest pedal I have ever used, if I dont have a good gate after it the pedal screams, buzzes like a swarm of bees, feeds back like mad and occasionally produces a chorusy sound. not very desirable at all. and the worst part is that it attenuates the guitar signal so much that you need a clean boost in front of it in order to maintain at least some of your volume. and that doesn't even begin to mention how sterile and solid state it makes any amp sound when bypassed. I took this pedal out of my chain and every problem with my rig was solved. not a keeper at all.

hasn't broke on me yet

its the same customer service company as crate so they're good if you don't mind holding forever and a half to talk to somebody

i'm only giving this a 4 out of generosity because i do kinda like how it sounds when on, its hard to find a compressor that can squeeze like this one does, but it isn't a very useable pedal for any applications

Maybe the previous user have missunderstood me. The pedal sounds great, that's true, and it is also evident that it has a level knob for adjusting the output level. When I mentioned the problem with the volume and tone, I wanted to say that this pedal is a tone sucker!!. Just, try to put your guitar dirtectly into your amp at some level, and then put your guitar to the amp through the Big Crush in bypass, you will note a drop of about 40% of the volume and tone of your guitar. Oviously, this pedal is not true bypass, but there are a lot of pedals that being not true bypass, don't suck the volume as the Bigg Crush does!!. Finally, I would expect more respect and kind regarding some comments of the previous user.

I put 5 because this pedal is a volume sucker, and this is unacceptable for any guitarist, since it change completely the personality of your guitar sound when is in bypass, regardeless the quality of thhe amp you use..

3 Knobs. Pretty self explanatory. If you need to know about compressors then look it up!

I use a Strat with Lace Sensors, a Tele Custom with P90s, a Jagmaster with Duncan Hot Rodded Set, and a Dean Evo 2000 with Evolutions into a Line 6 Spyder or a Epiphone Valve Junior. This pedal has a wonderful way of fattening up my sound, I love it and always have it on. Put it first in your chain and you shouldn't have problems! To some of the complaints listed: This thing is not picking up radio signals or noise, it is your other crappy pedals. If you have an noisy pedal this will amplify the noise because that's what compressors do, they even out all levels (even bad ones!). As to complaining about losing your volume, are you retarded? The pedal has a volume knob that you match to your level for either no volume jump or a boost if you like. I don't use batteries but just a one spot and I love it! It is one of the best compressors I have heard and can be completely transparent or super squashy. Some people need to learn about compressors and their use before they post on here because they are misleading beginners because of their own ignorance about the pedal. I'm giving it an 8 due to their being super expensive great compressors out there, but for what it costs (got it off Musician's Friend for $40) it was easily a 10 for price/performance.

Solid as a rock. I would use it without a backup.

Haven't had to use it.

I play blues/rock/funk/jazz stuff. I have been playing for 10 or so years. I also work on electronics in guitars and pedals often. I hated my Boss Compressor (CS-3) and sold it two days after I got it. Something about this pedal draws me to the thickness it brings! I would buy it again definitely (for the $40 for sure). I didn't expect much when I got it and just wanted to give compression another shot and it has brought a whole new life to my Line 6 amp. Find a deal on it and give it a shot! Compression is complex though, and dependent upon your style and tone you may not need it.

This pedal ssound quite well when is on, but when you turn it off, you suddenly note that the volume and tone of your guittar drops about 40%. It is incredible that the design of this pedal be so weird.

I just communicated the volume drop problem in order to gget any support to avoid it, but no answer at all.

It is a pity, since the pedal sound quite well, pretty good I would say!!, but the problem when the pedal is off is too noticeable to rely in this pedal.

I've had this for a couple of years, and I keep finding myself putting it first in the signal chain....there is nothing to it for ease of use, just plug it in and twist the knobs for whatever sound you want....

Right now I've got it coming from a Strat and going to a fuzz face clone, and then to a Fender Champion 600 amp. It is only really noisy when the battery get weak, but sometimes then it makes really cool bizarre noises.

Reliable to the max, it's been kicked all around, but it's built like a brick house

never needed support

I play mostly burning blues and sick grunge, you need this for that. I've been playing for about 45 years. I own a dozen guitars and half a dozen amps....I tend towards Fender gear. If it were lost, I'd look for another. The sustain is the thing here as far as I'm concerned, and the way the tone changes when you twiddle the guitar volume knob...lots of shades there...it helps to make music, for sure. Run it into any other stomp box, and it will make that box sound better.

Three controls that pretty much explain themselves. Plug it in, dial it up...can't get much easier.

I read every review on here first before making my purchase. I'm kinda obsessed with getting the best for less (thank God for eBay). I'm upgrading my sound from a multi-effects unit to a more analog tone delivery with individual pedals that fit me as apposed to takin' what your givin'. I run this first in my chain with custom modified hot Tele and Strat guitars, and a Peavey Heritage VTX tube amp (say what you will, but once you find your settings on that thing, it's a monster).
I've never been able to find the sound I wanted with my multi-effects, I don't know why, but as soon as I plugged into the Big Crush, I was completely amazed. I did have to re-adjust my amp settings, which took forever, but once I did I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This pedal is completely transparent, when it comes to tone, and the sustain it adds can go on forever and a day. The level range is wide, and unlike some pedals, does not thin the tone at all as you turn the level up, even at max. If you like warm tone through your amp, it will stay warm with this pedal, so on and so forth. What I loved the most is the "growl" I was able to obtain. I know that's what happens when you compress your sounds but, I've never experienced it this pleasing and warm. I keep my amp dialed in on the clean channel and with just this pedal, it gives me that Brad Paisley type clean tone that can be described as having just a little hair on it. That same "growl" can be found on my distorted tone as well, giving me chunky lows and beautifully pleasing highs, not ear piercing. Hell, depending on how much distortion you're into, you don't even need a distortion set-up at all. Just turn the sustain up to find a good, warm and dirty overdrive sound similar to AC/DC or any 70's style distortion sound. This thing is everything I always wanted out of a compressor, transparent, "growly", and easy on the wallet. If your into playing New Country sounds, Southern Rock, Rock, and Blues, this pedal is just great. I bought mine new off eBay for one hell of a deal, but right now they're on sale at Musicians Friend for $50 bucks. I don't think anyone can beat it, and for me my search is over. Good Job Rocktron.

Haven't gigged it yet but it seems to be built pretty good and seems durable.

Haven't had to deal with yet.

Overall this thing can't be beat. It does exactly what a compressor is supposed to do and what they're not supposed to do, JUNK YOUR TONE. The control and range of adjustment is great and wide. If you can't find your settings and the sound you want out of this thing then you should probably check your amp and think about changing it. For tube amps this thing is a blessing.

Very easy to use. Battery replacement is nice and easy.

This pedal gives the illusion of sounding better than it is. When its on it sounds good, it just wasn't quite the right sound i was looking for. but when its off its a tone killer but not in a very obvious way so when you turn it on it seems like it improves your tone quite a bit but really its just restoring the tone you had before.

the switch seems kind of cheap, everything else seems solid.

its sounds decent when its on. robs tone when its off. im not sure if its possible to modify this pedal and give it true bypass, im not satisfied enough to put the time into attepmting to modify it and i dont want to spend the money on a looper

so yeah i read all of the review in here and must also add that i like the effect. the knobs does what they supposed to. level is for voulme, sustain is for sustain. and mostly the hard part. the ATTACK. for those ppl that dont or cat hear difference is,

switch to your clean channel on the bridge PU mode then pick single notes on a chord shape. start on the SLOW attack setting then work urself up. ull notice that the more to the right (FAST) on the attack the more compressed and softer smoother the ATTACK of the pick/click on the strings. if u put it on completely slow, ull notice that the attack of ur pick sounds as if ur on bypass mode on the pedal but this time, since ur in play mode of the pedal, u also get the interaction of the level and the sustain effect.

alla in all, not as noisy as most compressors that iv tried (not that i havent tried many either to get a hold of the particular pedal).

problem is. for what im going for now. i really dont like any effects on my clean sound other than a chorus effect and a liitle reverb. same goes for the disto channael. RAW is what i like. period.

anyone has the a alney VC-30? no? get it. its very very clean amp. i just cant figure what the folks are talkin bout the oiverdrive is weak. baby, turn that volume up and introduce POWER TUBE saturation and then listen again. ud be amaze that not only does the vc-30 has that "enough" overdrive" not disto drive, it is also FAT and BIG. put a zoom HL-01 hyper lead on the clean channel. and ****. it sounds so close to my marshall 1987x on the "before clipping" of the plexis volume and knob with the zoom pedal.

amyways. im ranking this compressor on teh behalf that it does work as advertise. sounds good with minimal noise. problem is. i just dont like compressors in my chain. maybe its temporary:)

Easy to use, plug in and set the level(total volume of output), attack(how fast the effect kicks in), and sustain (how much of effect you want) knobs. The manual doesn't tell you much more than this, other than to put the compressor first in chain of effects.

hmm, as there is no category for "annoying design flaws", I'll combine them in this section. First the good: The tone of the compression with the pedal on is actually pretty good if you could get rid of the unwanted noises. It does what it is supposed to, makes the softer sounds louder and louder sounds softer and you'll get a more uniform sound. Makes hammer ons/tapping sound louder, and makes leads sound smoother through my peavey 5150 half stack. You can make your notes sustain a long time. I got this pedal mainly to turn it on during solos and use it for a little boost in volume as well as making leads sound smoother/sustain longer/have louder hammer-ons. The amount of background noise made by the pedal increases as you turn up the sustain knob or the level knob but it is pretty tolerable if used in moderation and if you use a good clean power source. Initially, I had a lot of extra noise/hum when having it on using a 9volt AC adapter. When using a 9volt battery there was much less noise. I later put an isobar surge suppressor/100db electrical noise filter before the adapter, and the electrical hum went away.
Now for the bad: it has been totally useless for what I wanted to do with it. When the pedal is on, I can hear a couple of local radio stations through my amp, which does not go away no matter where I move the pedal to in the room. The radio stations get louder with turning the level or sustain knobs up. This hasn't happened to me with any of my other pedals(metal zone, chorus, wah pedal) in the same location with the same guitar and amp. When using a 9v battery, for some reason the radio stations are even louder than when using the adapter. When the pedal is off, there is considerable loss of gain in the guitar signal. The peavey 5150 has two input jacks, the first is high gain and the second is 1/2 the gain of the first. When plugging in the guitar to the high gain input with the pedal off(using short cords), it sounds like the guitar is plugged into the low gain jack. This loss in gain makes playing with the pedal off(in my case for the rhythms) sound thinner and less ballsy, and pretty much destroys any prospect of using it in a gig only for solos. If you don't need a lot of big crunch and play clean this may not be a problem for you.

Seems sturdy enough, but pretty much useless for gigs for reasons above.

Have not needed to use customer support.

I play thrash metal, extreme metal, melodic death metal. I have not used any other brand compressors before.
In summary, acceptable noise from pedal circuit itself with a good power source, tone is pretty good when ON but pedal has lots of gain loss in signal when OFF, and pedal acts as a really annoying radio. I plan to take it apart and find some way to shield the electronics better. If I can get rid of the interference, then it would make a decent compressor for home use with it left ON all the time, but still unappealing for gigs unless you want to leave it ON all the time for the gig too. If it did not pick up radio station, and if the signal kept more of its gain with the pedal off, I would give it a 9.

Very easy. 3 knobs. The ranges for the settings are wide and useful, but also quite forgiving.

Very little noise and quite warm sounding. I use it to add some sustain for my distorted playing and fatten my clean sound. Definitely a fat sounding unit.

Very solid. Never had any issues.

NA

Solid and priced right. It does a great job and doesn't overwhelm your guitar's tone like the MXR.