Rocktron Hush IICX

This unit does not add *any* sound, but removes hiss and other white noise.

No patches; everything is controled by knobs.

Didn't get a manual; so far none is needed by the ease of use of this unit.

Again, this is not really a sound altering effect.

It completely removes any noise you have. This is a Noise Gate unit.

I've been inside this unit, and it appears to be fairly well built.

I bought mine used on eBay from a seller in Puerto Rico. When it arrived, I could tell it took a hit.

I opened the lid and had to re-arrange some LED's that were not in the front panel correctly.

It layed around for about a year, as I didn't get the "wall wart" power supply with it. This unit takes a 9v AC 850ma PS. The trick is, 9v AC. Most units use DC, so many people blow their units not buying the correct PS for it.

I finally got tired of this laying around and found a compatible PS for $3.50 on eBay. The unit performs flawlessly.

If I didn't have this for a gig, I could perform, just all my hiss would be back unfortunately.

Never dealt with Rocktron.... so I can't help here.

I play all types of Classic Rock (mostly 80's to current).

Many songs I play require some heavy distortion, so I got extra noise along with a good growl tone. I got tired of hearing all the band mates asking me why I have all the noise, let along sound men complaining. So I bought the Hush IICX in hopes it would help.

I've been playing for over 30 years. Right now, I'm running a rack mount system. I run an ADA MP-1 > Alesis Quadraverb > Alesis MicroVerb > BBE > Rocktron Hush IICX > power amp.

As you see, I put the Hush unit last in line before the power amp, so it kills any noise from the preamp or any effects.

Before using a rack system, I used one of 2 Mesa Boogie amps. One is a MKIIa and the other a MKIIb. I haven't tried this with either of these amps. The MKIIb isn't as noisy as anything else I'm using, but doesn't have the tone or drive the MKIIa does. I am anxious to try it with that amp, but I'm in the process of rack mounting it too. So, I'll wait until that is done, and hopefully post results.

I really like how simple this unit is to operate, along with the fab results. I now have ZERO noise. This is after I just purchased a Noise Mod to put in my ADA MP-1. Now I don't see a need for the Mod.

I've not used any other Noise Gates, but understand the Boss NS-2 (I think) is a good one, but I'm not into pedals, so I can't offer any advice there.

Right now, everyone is happy. I haven't sacrificed any tone or drive, and have completely eliminated the noise.

No sound that's the trick :) I use it to denoise a ADA MP-1 which shares a 2HE rack with it - plug it in, push the stereo master button, tweak two knobs - and then there is - silence. Easy and all you need to use it is a pair eyes and ears.

As stated above I use it to denoise a ADA MP-1 which is the overdrive module in my keyboard rack. It is NOT noisy. It does what it needs to do surprisingly good.

It's built like a rock. Never had a problem even it has it's years on stage now.

I play Jazz/Fusion/Rock. Actually I'm a keyboard player who has learned from a pro guitar player how to get a nice overdrive. If this thingy would be stolen the ADA would be stolen, too - I'd try to replace both of them with the same setup or something similar - I would not need one if the ADA wouldn't be as noisy as it is - so: yes I would replace it straight away if I'd have another ADA :)
I live the simplicity of tweaking it in and it helps me a lot to get a clean sound on stage.

I've had the unit for about 2-3 months now and I never got the product manual for it. I'm still not sure I understand what all the controls do, but I was able to get it to act the way I want it to after 2-3 band rehearsals.

One of the things I noticed is that you need to setup the unit for the type of guitar you'll be using. For example, a low output, single coil strat will need different settings than an Ibanez Jem with PAF Pros and the setting for the Ibanez will need different settings than a Les Paul with high output PUs like the DiMarzio Tone Zone, Evolutions or EMGs. Using the settings for the Les Paul while using the Strat or Ibanez doesn't work well. Notes will cut off prematurely and you may get a lot of clicking noise.

Personnally, I found that my problems with noise/feedback were more of an issue with higher output pickups. Anything up to the level of a Paf Pro is fine so if I decide to plug in the strat, the unit is bypassed. If I wanted, I could use the second channel on the unit for the lower output guitars but in my current band, I only use the high powered guitars anyways (Ozzy Tribute Band) and I've replaced the Ibanez's PAF Pros for a Norton/ToneZone pair to get a consistent guitar volume level between guitars (noise aside, volume/gain stays pretty much the same whether I use the Ibanez or the Les Paul).

All I can say is tweak until it works for you and experiment with all buttons.

Setup is Ibanez Jem (Norton/ToneZone pickups) or EMG equipped Les Paul into Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, Dunlop Wah, Rocktron HUSH, Marshall JCM2000 DSL using the "Red" Channel most of the time in the first mode (lead button not pushed in), gain maxed out.
To my ears, I don't find that the unit alters the tone and if it does, it is absolutely not an issue for me.

I really want to be critical about the sound quality, but this unit sounds good once it is properly setup. No clicking sounds, no noise and I still get pretty good sustain.

This is an old unit and it seems like it is well built. My biggest complaint is the use of an adapter. This is very dissapointing for a rack unit. On top of that, it is not a standard wall adpater you can get anywhere so if it dies I'm kinda screwed.

Could not find the manual on their website. Even checked the obsolete products section and there was nothing.

I've never had noise problems until I joined this Ozzy Tribute Band. My band experience is more in Heavy Blues/Rock. I've never had to play this loud, with this much gain before. I've been playing since I was 12, I'm now 32.

If it were stolen, I would test the NS-2 from BOSS just to see if it is better but assuming both are similar, I'd get the HUSH again just so that I don't have to deal with a floor pedal.

I bought this thing out of necessity. My choice was based on the fact that Yngwie Malmsteen used this unit in the 80's. I like his sound, so I figured the HUSH IICx would be a good choice. Yngwie now uses the BOSS NS-2. I'm tempted to try it out but I don't really have the cash to just try stuff out for the hell of it. Right now, I'm really happy with the Rocktron unit because it does the job it was intended to do and I don't have to deal with another pedal on the floor like I would with the Boss unit.

The only thing I really hate about it is the stupid adapter I have to carry around and worry about.

Pretty damn simple to use. I bought mine second hand so there was no manual still figured it out in 1 minute.

As it is a cheaper noise gate compared to other on the market the sound quality isnt all that good. As your signal drops away there tends to be a clicking sound if you dont mute the strings otherwise it is effective at what it does and doesnt effect your tone.

Hasnt broken yet! And i do rely on it.

Havent had the pleasure

I use this before a mesa dual rectifier and it is basically there to get rid of noise from the cables and that so i dont hum or feedback. It works well and if u see one for a good price u should buy it.

I purchased this unit on ebay 6 months ago and I have been totally pleased with it, LED indicators showing when the hush is fully active and another set of 5 led's showing when the guitar is being run wide open. The LED's are great indicators for the threshold and sensitivity controls, and once you get this thing dialed in correctly, (which can take some time) it is set, i leave it set for my stage volume and use the handy override button to disable it for low volume playing since it's not needed and adjusting the settings again is a pain, It had no manual when i got it but it didn't need one.

I use this stereo rackmount unit in mono mode, housed in an anvil rack case, i run it through the effects loop of a first year Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier (#0053 to be exact). I use a Gibson SG Standard guitar and run my amp into a marshall 1960 cabinet. The amp is quite noisy at high volume levels, as were most older dual recs, once i got the Hush set up correctly, it was totally transparent, no effect on my tone, just eliminated the noise, which is exactly what it should do!

As for reliability, it's a metal rackmount unit enclosed in an anvil case, it would probably take a nuclear holocaust for it to break, so i gotta give it a decent rating, though it hasn't seen any bad falls or rough conditions, I baby my gear

Never dealt with them, hopefully never will need to

I play a mix of music, i used to use it in a hardcore band, and a punk band, and now play in a indie rock band and it's worked for all my styles my older mesa boogie is quite versatile compared to the newer ones and gives me a nice vintage tone using the spongy variac setting and the tube rectifiers, i love how this thing quiets up the excess noise but lets my tone come through.