Rocktron Big Crush

Three knobs: Level, Attack and Sustain. How hard can it be? although a settings/presets in the manual would help.
Battery replacement is very easy and don't require screws

I'm using a Les paul standard => Rocktron Big Crush =>Boss SD-1 (Moded) => Amt Extreme III => Visual Sound H2o => Dunlop Crybaby 535Q => Vox Pathfinder 15R (will be replaced to VOX AC-30).
The Rocktron Big Crush sounds really warm when tuned right
The Big Crush gets a little noisy when all knobs are on max. but thats mean can be pushed to the end, But when all knobs are on 12:00 you'll get a very punchy sound.
I tune this to
Level : 9:00- 12:00
Sustain : 12:00
Attack 9:00

The Big Crush is not True-Bypass but his influence on the clean sound is very minor.

Seems Really solid I would defently use it on a gig without a backup

Never dealt with them

I play (and hear) most styles of music (Jazz to Metal). in clean sound The Big Crush is warm and in Dist he's very dominant and warm. Necceary in all pedalboards. Would buy another one if something will happen to this bad ass pedal.
The blue led is AWSOME!

Very easy I guess, exept for the attack knob, I don't get it, I can't hear any diference in sound, can't it be that it's not working? apart from that, perfect

when I bought this pedal I thought I was getting a very good deal, then I realised it was the normal price. but i'm glad that happen because I really like this device. I play with a strat and turning the sustain knob I can get a very good sustain, and what I wanted: a nice feedback that I thought I would never have with my amplifier. It??s good to work with the clean sound but I use it more with the overdrive.

it looks very reliable

I play all styles
I've been playing for 15 years
I would probably buy it again
helps a lot
I guess they know what they are doing in China...

very easy to use, and you can really hear the difference the attack and sustain knobs make as you turn them to experiment with different settings. Usually, compressors can be very difficult to use, so i'm giving this one a 10.

sounds great. i had been happy with my MXR dyncomp, but just tried out this box on a whim because someone was selling in mint condition for really really cheap. i was really surprised at the fat warm tone. this makes the dynacomp seem really cold and sterile. doesn't add any noise except at extreme settings (which is normal for a compressor)

seems solid enough... but somehow i'm still wary of rocktron's reputation in this area... i will have to use this for a few years to really be able to say.

n/a.

best compressor in this price range. awesome gain boost without added noise. does what it should with flying colors. i'm giving it a 10 (for the price range).

Three knobs - easy enough. A few sample settings in the manual would have been helpful, though in the end your settings will be based on your own ears. The manual does say to experiment!

AMAZING. I previously had a Line 6 Constrictor pedal, which I thought was good but I didn't like the preset "attack" settings. The Big Crush is MUCH better to my ears. Very transparent, whereas the Constrictor had a notable change in tone.

I'm using it with a Tech21 Trademark 30 amp, which already does a good job of emulating tube compression, but the Big Crush takes it to a new level. With sustain at 12:00 and the attack knob at 8:00 ("fast"), I can get that classic Byrds / early-Who compressed Rickenbacker tone from my Ibanez Artcore now!

It does get a little noisy with sustain past the 2:00 level, but that's pushing it anyway. Even then, it's quieter than the Constrictor was - and that had a built-in noise gate!

Haven't had it long enough to know.

Don't know - hope to never need to call on them. Rocktron is owned by GHS, who make great strings!

There may be better compressors, but this is one of the best at this price range. The only ones I'd compare it to are the MXR Dynacomp / Supercomp. The Big Crush received the Guitar One magazine "1" award in December 2004, with good reason! Here's a quote from that review:

"The Big Crush is one of the finest compressors I have found in pedal form. It added vitrually no noise to my sound. (Of course, any compressor will bring up the noise inherent in your other gear). If you desire, the Level control offers enough overall gain to drive the preamp into distortion. The Attack knob worked extremely well, allowing the guitar attack to come through at slower settings, while providing plenty of "squash" at faster settings. The Sustain worked as advertised, keeping the level up and bringing out the richness of modulation effects like vibrato and chorusing. Best of all, unlike some pedal compressors, the Big Crush doesn't suck all the tone out of your guitar."

'Nuff said!

Three knobs, level, attack and sustain. Doesn't come easier then this

I bought this pedal in the hope of getting more sustain of my ibanez GRX but it didn't realy do mouch to the sound in a sustain kind of way, instead it REALY sweetend my sound. I run it through a Marshall DFX30 (great prctice amp by the way)and now io can realy get a sweet sound from the distortion. the sound used to be very cold, but when i plugged in the Big Crush it realy gave me that warm sweet sound of a tube amp.

When i use it without distortion, it enhances my sustain a littele bit, but again the main differance is in the warmth

Built like a tank. i bought it a month ago and it's still using the same batteries it came with, and that's after 2 gigs!!!! when i read reviews on other pedals (Boss, Digitech ect.) they all say they eat batteris like hell, but the light on mine is still shining strong

Has a stron blue led showing that it's active, wich is great if you are giging someplace dark

Never ha to deal with them, and hopefulle never will

It will probably give better sustain to a better guitar, but it realy sweetens your guitar and takes the edge of cheap distortions.

if it got lost, i would probably by a new one

I think this pedal is bst for rock, progressive rock, blues...doesn?t realy do mouch if you play heavy metal (wich my band does), but i use it for everything

Three controls, call em what you will, they give nice simple control over the sound. Manual? We don't need no stinkin' manual. The sound is excellent. I am not an expert on compression by any means, but this box makes my entire setup sound better.

This pedal is used by iteself between an American Standard Strat with Texas Specials, and a Peavey Classic 30 with a set of tubes from Eurotubes.

I don't find the box to be noisy until the sustain knob is cranked all the way, but that's not necessary for me to get a good tone. And for most folks in a band even all the way might be ok. The level knob barely comes off the peg when it sounds right to me.

Cranked all the way is WAY too much. I never really liked the Texas Specials until I had the combo of the new tubes and the Big Crush. On the right settings this thing is a ten for me. (As I said I am not a compression expert, I just like how this pedal bablances out the levels of my lousy playing!

My Strat has never sounded better. I can't live without it, even after a relatively short time with it.

I had my pedal for two days and the stomp switch went south. But, there is major good news here, in the customer support section. So good in fact that I cannot give a bad grade here. After all, noone bats a thousand.

As I just said, two days and the swich broke....

and a quick email to ROCKTRON, and a QUICK response from ROCKTRON, and an exchange of purchase data, and bingo! New box in the mail.

One week later, I am back in business. I consider this to be service above and beyond the call of duty. You can be sure I will look to ROCKTRON first for other effects due to the willingness to make sure the product is supported. 11+

I play a variety of clean sounds through the Peavey and the Big Crush is a definite plus. And I think that for the price it has to be one of the rare great deals in guitar gear.

I have played since 1967, and have never improved. But I love the fun of a nice sounding guitar, and the "aliveness" that the Big Crush adds is well worth the money. I'd buy it again in a flash, and it is the only stomp box in my collection that is ALWAYS in line now.

I wish there was a way to evaluate some of the other well regarded compressors; Keeley, CompROSSer, etc., but I can't really justify their prices compared to my level of playing. If you are in my situation where money is tight and you want to try a compressor, I can't see any way to beat this little gem.

It doesn't sound like you've made any compromise at all. Other compressors may do neat things, but I don't see how they can what this one does any better.

sounds more like a sustainer, hard to get a '80 pop sound(only as attack knob is set to the max. wich sound it more noisy ), getting overdrive if you hit it hard , when stepping on my bad horsie (in front ) it will drive even harder it is almost a overdrive pedal, very nice. Hard to get clean sounds, maybe because i use a telecaster with S.D jazzneck & S.D.Hot tele pickups. giving a 8 because of the missing '80 sound and a compressor is not for overdrive( but I like it)

no problem i don't like the leds it shines to bride , it is made in China but looks like a Volvo

I play every thing, had a boss compressor/sounds but it sucks, a tech 21 comtortion very stupid don't buy it, it has a noisereduction that you can't switch off it works only if there is a signal ,if there is no signal the noise reduction switch of giving a irritating ploppy sounds, it really sucks, the build in overdrive doesn't clean up nicely , the next one i try was a mxr but to my ears it had to much boost, the best one i had was the compressor build in the Korg Pandora
px-1 but can't use that on stage, play almost 20 years.

Simple, easy, but like any other new toy you're going to have to play with this a bit to find what you like. Manual is adequate. LED is very bright blue when unit is active, so there's no mistaking when it's on.

Rocktron recommends this first in your chain, that's where I put it and it works fine there. Quiet and quite transparent. Lots of gain if you want it, the attack control is effective, and it sure does
sustain without the noisy roll-off. I use a volume pedal right before the amp, more as an expression pedal, it works very well with the compressor. I can get feedback at low volume levels from a single-coil without using any distortion. I wanted good sustain with a clean guitar and it'll do it. I leave it active all the time, I find no reason to bypass it.

Too early to say, but from the exterior it's well designed and executed. I haven't looked inside. Easy-access battery cover on the bottom. Unit manufactured in China.

Don't know, but at least they offer an address, phone number and website. Apparently Rocktron is a division of GHS based in Michigan.

It's difficult to improve on the comments left by the gentleman below, to whom I say THANK YOU! I have four other compressors which I don't use because they just don't sound that good. This one works. Don't screw around with Ebay, just buy a new one from a retailer with a decent return policy and if you don't like it you can return it. You'll probably save money in the long run. I'm keeping mine.

Very User Friendly, Easy as fallin off a log. Only has 3 SELF explainatory Knobs THAT DO WHAT THEIR NAME SAYS.

Manual is short but adequate given the simplicity of the pedal.

Manual does NOT have suggested settings/presets. Dont really need them anyway.

Does not really matter what "your setup" is. Guitar and Ampl; how hard is that?

I did notice it's a tad noisey at "extreme" settings when using a single coil guitar. (yeah and what stock single coil p-up isnt a tad noisy)

Volume, attack rate and "sustain" DEFINATELY do their thang and affect the sound.

NO problem to get this box to DO EXACTLY WHAT ROCKTRON ADVERTISES IT WILL DO ON THEIR WEBSITE.

New in my arsenal so cant answer on the dependability yet.

It's built with extruded aluminum (whatever that is) but seems sturdy enought.

Havent dealt with RockTron (yet)

Chicken pickin, blues , metal etc....I can NOT see anywere this couldnt have the potential of being a welcome and valuable addition.

Ive started playing just a couple days after the Lord created Dirt.

Love ease of use, PERFORMS AS ADVERTISED, BIG bang for buck factor.

Dont hate nuttin about it (yet) Favorite feature is WHOLE PEDAL.

Compared to some other name brands including SuperComp. I chose this one because of price and advertisement description.

TONS MORE SUSTAIN,MORE APPARENT LOUDNESS, EVEN OUT STRING VOLUMES ACROSS ALL 6 STINGS. What more could you ask for from a Compressor pedal for $59 bucks?

Try one in your local gheetar shop. You may be WELL PLEASED like I was. But, opinions are like anal orafices EVERYBODY'S GOT ONE.