Rocktron Prophesy

You can do just about anything with this unit. With this amount of power and flexibility comes a steep learning curve - no complaints there though. The knobs are intuitively laid out for tweaking tones however things can get very technical as you get deeper into sculpting sounds. With about 5 minutes of skimming the manual this unit becomes instantly useable - only difficulties lie with deep editing but this is the case for anything high end.

Sound quality is flawless from the box. I play an Ibanez Jem and an EBMM Petrucci sig, both guitars maintained their personalities without becoming coloured - the end result is a completely different sound with each guitar at the same setting.
The speaker simulator is amazing and is something that a lot users overlook. I record mostly at home so I go direct through an M-Audio Delta 1010. This is the only unit I have ever used that has an authentic feel, even playing through headphones the tones handle like a tube amp cranked.
I recently recorded in a studio and felt the need to go through a Mesa Simul Class 2:90 poweramp then to a Marshall 4x12. The sound was amazing but then I blew the transistor on the poweramp and had to finish the remainder of the session direct. There was no reduction in sound quality whatsoever and the difference was barely noticeable - just a slightly different character tone. What I would like to see is more options on the speaker simulator.
The distortions are great and extremely tight - no unwanted noise spillover (the Hush helps but a good guitar is also important). I don't use the cleans because I play prog/shred metal but they sound very nice when I mess with them. Distortions is where it's at for me. The distortions do not sound like Mesa or Marshall - unlike what other users say. However, they are kick ass tones that equal Marhshall and Mesa and in some respects surpass them (very clear and tonight and extremely deep and powerful).
Sound effects are excellent in particular the delays and chorus. I still like to bypass some of the effects and go through my Eventide H3000D/SE - but then again... who wouldnt?!
Other preamps and modellers I have owned include PODxt, Digitech GNX, Boss GT-Pro, Mesa Boogie Triaxis - the Triaxis is the only one of these units to cut the mustard but it has major problems with noise and electrical hum/buzz. In short, the Rocktron Prophesy is the dog's bollox (it kicks ass!).

Never had the slightest problem.

Never had a problem so I have never had to deal with them.

I consider this a 9.5 with 0.5 cut for the speaker simulator (it is still excellent but could have more parameters for variation - would be handy for studio recording). It could also do with a headphone socket although this can be easily gotten around in the most basic of home setups. Also, I would like to see a manual even on the Rocktron website that starts from scratch and goes to expert on how to actually create tones not just how to use effects. That would be very handy and would fast track the learning curve while giving everyone the ability to take full advantage of the units capabilities without having to be a sound engineer or serious tech head.
If anyone stole this unit I would put a contract on their theiving head then pry the blood splattered unit from their lifeless fingers. Definitely the best buy in my guitar playing career (15 years at this stage).

For musicians who are not familiar with parametric equalisers, this unit may be a bit overwhelming at first to use. In the past, I used a Rocktron Chameleon 2000 which eliminated the pre and post EQ's so when I purchased the prophesy, the parametric EQ was a little difficult to get used to. However, the manual explains each aspect of this unit in GREAT detail and even though it may be lengthy, it is very well written and extremely helpful. It is available at the Roctrkon site in PDF format...it's free. Why not look at it? The best way to get used to the parametric EQ and effects processing is to experiment...a musicians ear is the most reliable source.

I play the prophesy through a Mesa Boogie 2:90 into a Randall 4x12 loaded with Jaguar speakers and I must say that the tone cooks! The prophesy is definately an upgrade in tone...it is very warm and has a great big sound with lots of crunch. Even on high gain settings, it retains a clarity that most players strive for. Personally what I like to do is add a slight chorus effect to my rhythm tone to make it seem as though two guys are playing at the same time. Every effect is super high quality, do not be deterred from this unit being that it is an "all in one" unit. It can go up against the Triaxis or JMP-1 anyday...may even sound better! The only draw back is the pitch shift. I feel that Rocktron has never gotten this right. It sounds very muffled and delays a little bit too. I don't really use the pitch shift though so that isn't a problem for me.
One of the best characteristics of the Rocktron, and all Rocktron products for that matter, is the HUSH system. It reduces all the noise on high gain tones, but it is subtle enough that it does not cut your sound out at all. I have to note though, the type of guitar you use with this unit really makes a difference. I use a Jackson Dinky Professional from the early 90's and it sounds great. Do not waste money on this unit to only use it with a crappy guitar/crappy pickups.

This unit is built for the road, definately. It has a solid metal plate on the front panel, metal knobs, and fits into a two rack space. If I could describe it in one word....INDESTRUCTABLE! I even bought the unit used, and it is in PERFECT working order.

Whenever I have questions about gear, the customer service reps at Rocktron reply immediately and with insightful advive. Great team over at Rocktron!

I play mostly thrash metal and prog metal; however, I do a lot of blues and jazz licks with very diverse sounds. This unit can handle it all, it is very versatile. I have been playing guitar for 10 years...20 years old now, so I haven't owned that much gear, but I have played through lots of stuff and heard lots of guys play and I have to say that a lot of gear is overpriced garbage (or the artists have no clue how to dial in a good sound). Bottom line is that this unit is a monster. You can get very diverse tones ranging from the cleanest of cleans to the most gut wrenching metal, but YOU MUST WORK AT IT!! I have been programming the prophesy for three weeks now and I am just now getting great sounds. To not get frustrated...I did, and I almost got rid of it. Just keep working with it and you will not regret it!

Very Easy to scroll through and get great sounds right away. Also has "Amp" knobs on the front for on the fly editing. When you scroll from left to right, each menu is easy to understand and pretty much self explanatory.

For those of you that have a hard time editing patches, a quick read through the manual is all you need. It explains every single editing capability in FULL detail, and on each page it shows you what it would look like on the screen too!

You can get pretty much ANY sound you want out of this unit. It covers almost every style, but it especially suits Rock and Metal. The Amp sounds are pretty good, most notable the Mega Drive, which you can get pretty much any High Gain amp tone you want.

All the effects are superb if you set them up right. i.e. The settings are very dependent on the eq settings. So if you have too much high frequencies, some effects like Chorus and Flange while sound a little bit thinner than normal, but easing off the high frequencies and trebles will produce thick, lush sounds from the effects.

I especially like the Decker Delay. You have an insane amount of control over how you want the delay to sound. And the new "Ducker" feature allows you to set a threshold on the signal so you only hear delay when you are not playing! Its like turning the effect on and off depending on when you are playing and not playing. GREAT!

My set-up is: John Petrucci MusicMan w/piezo--Prophesy--BEE 482i Sonic Maximizer---Carvin TS100 Tube Power Amp---Carvin Legacy 2x12--Carvin 4x12. I use the Behringer FCB 1010 MIDI Controller, which has 10 patch buttons, up and down bank switches, and 2 expression pedals. I use the left one for a volume pedal, and the other I assign depending on the patch. For example, on a rhythm sound, the right pedal controls the amount of gain. Pedal down= Gain at 9.0; Pedal up= Gain at 0.3. Its just like rolling back the volume knob on your guitar and playing a vintage amp where it cleans up...For other patches, it controls the level of the effect, like delay or pitch bending, etc.

Everything sits in an SKB 6 Space rack case and is powered by a Carvin AC120 Power Conditioner. I am using two cabs because the 4x12 has great bottom end, and the 2x12 helps the highs cut through, so when you combine both, it is a very smooth, full sound.

I generally always use the piezo pickup for cleans, so all my clean settings have the preamp bypassed. I only use the compressor (which is great), and on other settings, Chorus and Delay.

All my dirty tones are with the Mega Drive channel. I am a huge John Petrucci fan, so I love all the tones he uses throughout his career. I can nail pretty much all of them with this one unit, and he uses many Mesa Boogie Heads. And the HUSH is perfect. I can finally have a screaming, sustaining, high gaim tone, but as soon as I am not playing-SILENCE- I can stand right in front of my speakers and you won't hear a thing until I start to play. I fact, the only time there is even any audible noise is if you stand RIGHT in front of this unit, and even then, its about as loud as a tiny practice amp with the volume on 1.

I have been using this preamp for almost 2 years, and I haven't had ANY problems with it. I haven't even replaced the tube inside. I usually play it about 1-4 hours everyday, so it can handle the constant use. And it barely even heats up after those long jam sessions. And I bought this unit USED...

I have it in my SKB rack case, which is ATA Flight approved, shock absorbent, AND the O-Ring Gaskets seal it off when the lids are closed so it is also water proof! You should always keep expensive rack gear in the most protective cases possible. Since the stuff in my rack costs close to 2 grand, OF COURSE I will spend an extra $150 for a case that will protect everything in it.

I would gig without a back-up, but if I were playing more than 2 gigs a week, I would have a backup just in case.

I haven't dealt with the company. The website is very informative, and has all the information you need, including a dwnloadable manual, and downloadable patches!

I play Progressive Rock and Metal, and for those of you who like those style, you know that playing that music calls for many different sounds. Being able to store 127 of my own sounds is more than I would need, and the best part is I can access any of my sounds on the fly with 1 switch. That is more than I can ask for because I am very particular about each sound I use, and being able to change multiple settings (Amp EQ, Level, Pre and Post EQ, effects, etc) with 1 push of a switch is great. It sure beats tap-dancing on a bunch of stomp boxes. I mean, unless you are Tom Morello (that is how he switches all sounds LIVE!), this unit does all the work for you.

I have been playing for 6 years, and I have owned many kinds of gear. I have had quite a few Marshall Heads, Peavey, have had many rack preamps, multi effects processors, and I like this one the best. Tube amps are great, but there is too much noise and no effects are included. AND they are not very versatile for more than 2 or 3 sounds at a time...

I would definetly buy it again, but I would like to check out the Prophesy II and see if there is an improvement, although I can't see how you could improve this unit.

I have always been a tube amp guy until I bought this unit. There is 1 tube in this preamp, but that is why I power it with an All tube Power amp (The Carvin TS 100 has 4 12AX7's and 4 EL34's). I think using a tube power amp really brings out the quality of this unit. And since I have a BBE sonic Maximizer between this unit and my amp, it has the most clarity and cut of any rig I have ever had.

I think they could get away with selling these for $700, because that way more people would buy them IMO. But check on eBay, because every now and then you will find a great deal.

Besides my Music Man Petrucci guitar (My DREAM guitar), this is the best purchase I have made. Try one and see for yourself.

This is a follow up review from my last bad review of the rocktron prophesy preamp. i spoke with a rocktron rep who said i must have gotten a defective unit (which is really rare with rocktron). i bought another prophesy preamp off of ebay and started tweaking. there are tons of menus to work thru if you really want to get deep into editing, which is what i did. i decided to really give this preamp a fair chance before this review. you can download the patches i created at the rocktron site to hear it for yourself.

open receiving the prophesy preamp i immediately loaded the whole prophesy 2 patch library from the rocktron site. i checked out the presets and then changed out the tube and put a JJ tube and found very little change in sound. i found the presets to be very "high fi" sounding...maybe not too tube sounding or warm. i cranked up my rocktron piranha (all tube) and peavey tube fx for reference and started tweaking the prophesy. after 2 hours i finally had something worth listening to (of course i'm really picky). the sound i was looking for is the ultimate brown sound, clean when volume is rolled back (even fender tube jangly) and bluesy when coil tapped (marshall) and rectifier sound when cranked. whew, that's impossible! oh well, you have to have a dream. after tweaking, i believe i got as close as the prophesy can get. i think the voodo valve may even get pretty close to the sound i'm talking about (i'll tweak that later). the verdict: it's a keeper. the prophesy had a clarity at full volume that the other preamps didn't. also, the volume on my guitar cranked down produced a much cleaner sound than my other tube preamps. it didn't get as jangly with the volume rolled back but was still very nice. the preamp is also death quiet on even the most extreme distortion settings. i tested the preamp with a peavey cx200 power amp, peavey 5150 speakers, ibanez rgt42 (mahogany neck thru) guitar with prs hfs pickups. i tweaked the cabinet simulator using a set of mackie studio monitors a/b'd against my cabinet and got really close. i tried the rig out live with a behringer midi pedal and was really happy with the results, especially the tone and effects spillover. it's amazing what you can do with the pre-eq on this thing.

rocktron has always been dependable. i've done tons of live shows with no backups (not a good idea) with bo problems ever.

the best! period. these guys do everything possible to make sure you get the help you need quickly.

this preamp is for everyone but the most pure tube freaks out there. if you can afford to buy a mesa road king or diezel or engl or whatever...get the head you really want. if you need versatility and effects spillover and midi control and ultimate tone tweaking without selling your house...this is it. the next step up is the mesa triaxis and tc electronics g-major or some other expensive combo.

ok here's the test: i tested the rocktron piranha, prophecy, peavey tubefex, behringer v-amp pro, pod xt live, and the mesa triaxis. all tests were done in my studio with the same guitar (ibanez rgt42 with prs hfs pickups) and played thru a behringer guitar di straight thru the mixer. of course i could have tested them in a better situation thru a tube power amp into some great cabinet but i was looking for JUST preamp performance in the worst case scenario. to keep this review short, i'll assign a number rating for each preamp. the piranha (9) had one of the best overall tones. the triaxis (9) was also really nice but expensive. the tubefex (8) had the smoothest liquid lead tone. the pod xt live (8) was the most versatile but could wear your ears out over time. the v-amp pro (7) was surprisingly nice, lead tone as smooth as the peavey and most sounds almost as good as the pod xt live. the prophecy (6) was a let down. the effects were stellar but the overall tone of the preamp without the effects was cardboardish. no bottom, no highs, just midrange crap. now i didn't mess with any presets on any preamp, just played them as-is without the effects. the prophecy is supposed to be the evolution of the voodo valve but i couldn't find any tone close to the voodo valve or the piranha. maybe the new version 2 presets from rocktron will solve the lack of tone issues. many artist presets are included with it. the one saving grace of this preamp was the ability to put one of the other preamps in the effects loop and assign an eq before the distortion and use the stellar effects. i give this unit a 6 just for the effects.

Tube preamp with tons of digital effects. it has every feature you could ever want and then some. kinda like a voodo valve on steroids.

rocktron makes some of the most solid gear around. you can count on their gear.

the best customer service! period! no other company will send you schematics and put a tech on the phone with you to help you troubleshoot. and certainly no company will send you free parts and even repair your soldering mistakes for free. but rocktron has done this for me many times. the best!

this preamp is probably worth looking at now that version 2 is out. you can probably get version 1 for next to nothing and upgrade it to version 2 by simply downloading the presets from rocktron. rocktron just emailed me the presets and i am looking for another prophecy to buy and test the new presets on. i think this unit should be considered a great effects unit that also has distortion. if your experience with this preamp is different from mine, please leave a review.

Recap to an earlier review

A very nice unit, I mentioned the Peavey TubeFX, which I felt was the Holy Grail at the time. The upgrade did not solve the delay problem when switching patches, which was a huge pain for using it live, (the Prophecy is instant). The tone of the Peavey was great at first but after receiving a few emails, about how to get it to cut through the mix better, I was a bit perplexed. The Prophecy certainly doesn't suffer from that problem.

An excellent alternative to the Prophecy is the Voodu Valve. The same sounds and preamp section (almost) but fewer effect parameters, which much of the time we don't need anyway. Plus at less than half the price, you can't go wrong.

There's not much else to choose from that's all inclusive, the Engl is awesome but at over two grand thanks but no thanks. The ADA MP-2 would be close if it had reverb and delay. I went through eight preamps in a short amount of time until I found one that works best for me. Even bought several upgrades, I had the ADA MP-1, MP-2, Peavey TranstubeFX and TubeFX, still have the TT for a backup. Also tried and like the Piranha, but it didn't like EMG's much, if too much treble was used it would sound like your strings were hitting the pickups, cut the treble and it loses bite. Sounded great with passives, could have just been my unit??? Very powerful sound that could cut through anything, almost harsh at times, nasty, much different than anything else, enough about the Piranha, I miss it, as I do all the rest, I found I like collecting guitars more. My final choice was The Voodu Valve. Almost as versatile as the Prophecy, sounds as good, much less $$$, and just one rack space. With a Mesa 20/20 you can have a complete system in 2 rack spaces, which I had, but the 20/20 had to much breakup and not enough headroom for what I needed. So I went back to my Peavey Classic 50/50. The Transtube in between and a power conditioner, damn, now I'm back at five rack spaces. Guess there's still no substitute for cubic inches. This would be a ten except it can't get the sound of a Piranha, it's a whole other class.

A friend of mine who still has one says the notes die too quickly, I'm not sure what he means but it bothers him and is worth mentioning. Haven't had that problen with the Voodu Valve.

Built like a tank.

If you have the money buy the Prophecy, it has every feature you can possibly imagine, quite complicated, it won't let you down and the resale value is good if you decide you like something better. The Engl (I forget the number but its the midi controlable one) is far too much money. The Voodu Valve, great choice when on a budget, has no effects loop however. I run the VV in the Transtube's effects loop to get it's extra features like the tuner and better pitch transposer for drop tunings, and the tt's chorus sounds far better, but the channel switching is better on the VV. All the preamps I've had sounded great in one way or another, stay away from ART and Digitech, there not near the quality.

Prophesy delievers the HOLY GRAIL of Sound.
Mesa Triaxis and Marshall JMP-1 are both very good pre-amps, but do not properly represent any other brands. That is where the Prophesy leaps ahead. Marshall, Mesa, Fender, Randall, Peavey 5150....

Tech Tip: Replace the stock Sovtek 12AXwa with either a Sovtek 12AX7LPS or JJ/Tesla ECC803s or 12AX7 EH hi-gain tubes. WOW

IMPORTANT FEATURE: The preamp section features a parametric Pre EQ, which allows you to "pre-shape" your tone to simulate the characteristics of several different guitars (such as fine-tuning your Strat to sound more like a Les Paul, Etc) as well as an additional parametric Post EQ to add extra Lows, High, or scoop out the Mids. And if that?s not enough, it also has a Global Parametric EQ which adjust the overall output of the Prophesy on all presets.

RIG:
Furman Power~
Rocktron Prophesy: Sovtek 12AX7 LPS
Marshall 9200: (2x)12AT7 EH, (2x)Sovtek 12AX7LPS, (8x)Svetlana 6550C
(4x)Marshall 1960: Speaker Celestion Vintage 30's

Axe: Jackson PC-1*, Kramer Vanguard, Rampart Custom V, KV-1, YJM Strat, EVH Axis, ......

*PC-1 is the most versatile guitar....

Thru its pioneering work in the beginning of the 19"-era, Rocktron substantially put its stamp on an entire epoch. With the Prophesy, the visionaries of rack-technology now allow a glimpse into the future.

Due to the enormous processing power, equal to that of a hi-tech computer, the Prophesy is able to calculate data twelve times faster than a regular Intellifex. Let this sink in: the Intellifex has been known for its superior sound because of it?s fast processing! Okay, enough bytes and megaherz?s. As guitarists, we are more curious to the questions: How does it sound? What can it do? How does it operate?

The principle of the Prophesy is a programmable TUBE preamp with a digital effects processor. In the four-channel preamp section, a Sovtek 12AX7 tube provides the authentic tube tone. The four basic sounds are called "Clean American", "Texas Blues", "Vintage British" and "Mega Drive". These names speak for themselves. As the Prophesy is a combination of a programmable processor and preamp, the controls consist of keys and knobs. With the knobs you have direct control over preamp parameters like gain, volume and tone, practically like a normal amp. As soon as you touch them, the display above the knobs informs about every parameter and value that is being edited at that moment. In the normal operating mode, it shows the active preset name, preset status and its effect combination. In order to call different functions and edit facilities, there?s a keyboard on the front panel. There?s also a page-controller, which we?ll come to later. Two controls are provided for level-adjustment of the in- and outgoing signals. The keyboard consists of 16 keys for dialing up different functions. To edit a certain effect, you simply press its button. The values of the available parameters are being edited by turning the controls. The changes are audible in real time and -thanks to the large display- visible also. With the compare button you can toggle between the original and the edited preset, to compare your changes to the original preset. Naturally, all edits can be saved. Another function to be called by the keys is the integrated tuner. While tuning, the output is muted. A bypass key mutes only the effect section, so that you can operate the Prophesy as a preamp only. It is also possible to mute just the preamp, so that the Prophesy acts as an effect unit only. For every patch a number of pages can be called up, offering different editable parameters.

For recording purposes, the Prophesy comes equipped with speaker simulation. This is not, as often the case, just a simple non-changeable filter; here we find a complete set of editable parameters. You can pick the type of speaker, for instance. Offered are15" to 8" and fullrange. Every speaker has its own characteristic, of course. The position of the simulated microphone can be moved from the speaker?s center to its edge. And also the reactance can be edited, determining the type of speaker cabinet. Along the same line, each single effect offers a vast number of editable parameters and functions. Handling all this data is dead easy, and you always have visual control over what you?re doing. So far, so good. For effects, you naturally have the choice of various modulation effects, reverbs and EQs, in perfect studio quality. All usual effects are available. They all offer very high audio quality.

Anyhow: Rocktron effects, like the Intellifex, have been known to produce the desired effects only, without adversely affecting the guitar signal. By the way, here?s a simple experiment to test the quality of any multi-effect processor: Take any cheap stompbox and a high quality effects-processor and alternate between the two in the effect loop of your amp. With the cheap effect you?ll clearly notice a degradation of the guitar signal. It?ll sound mushy and undefined. With a quality effect like the Intellifex or the Prophesy, the guitar signal will stay untouched, and only the effects are being added. Further useful features include two XLR frequency-corrected recording outputs, next to the normal main outputs and a stereo effects-loop, assignable in the effects chain. Of course the Prophesy is fully MIDI compatible. Very practical is the delay tap button.

Quailty components maintain the excellent reliabilty of Rocktron.

www.rocktron.com
PatchBay, Manuals and Tech Support.

Conclusion: BUY A PROPHESY

I did read the owners manual a few times before I even got it so it was a breeze to operate. You're still going to have to learn how to dial in what you're looking for as the EQ on this preamp is extremely versatile. Unfortunately, sometimes you'll sit there for a half hour tweaking only to realize it sounds worse than when you started. It can only be your own fault if you cant get it to sound incredible in the end because any tone you can think of is in there. Its just a matter of putting time into experimenting.

Im am using a Schecter Hellraiser C7 into the Prophesy than into a QSC poweramp. From there it travels into my peavey cabs which I believe have Scheffield speakers in them. The HUSH unit in the preamp is incredible. My Schecter is loaded with 707's which are as hot as its gonna get pretty much. As long as I'm not stading directly in front of my rig I have pure silence without the hassle of a noise gate cutting my sound prematurely. The effects are crystal clear and very tweakable. Its got a lot of different types of reverb which is what I use for my lead channel. I made a Megadeth distortion in about 20 mins which is pretty close to the sound from Rust In Peace. I also made a distortion based on Nevermore's "The Godless Endevour" which also sounds exellent. You can get any tone you want which is why I bought this to begin with. I spent a long time with my GSP 2101 and I did get a very awesome sound; it just didnt feel as dynamic as this preamp does. If you try it out and like the presets than you'll love the sound you can create with it because the presets are pretty much trash compared to the distortions I've made. Incredible sound overall. I cant really see something sounding better than this can.

I've had it for almost a month and I won't be gigging anytime soon so I'm not one to comment on the reliability. It does seem pretty sturdy though

I sent them one email which they did reply to in a couple days. However they didn't really give me much more than a one sentence answer. At least they answered at all though.

I play technical metal and also write instrumental guitar music inspired by the many soloists I listen to. I've been playing for 6 years now and the better I play, the more demanding I become of my gear. This easily meets my demands hands down. God forbid it ever got stolen because I worked hard to get that thing. I think I would buy it again because the features really fit into my stlye of amplification. That being a multipurpose multi-effects/preamp all in one rack unit. I'm by no means a tube guy and dont see how an amp with three knobs is going to get better sound that this. I can handle the expansive EQing ability of this preamp because it really pays off once you master it. The first day I got it I felt disappointed in it. However, once I had a week or two of working with it everyday my sounds got better and better. I kept the sound I made the first day I got it so could measure my progression and the difference is remarkable. The bottom line is that the prophesy reflects your own ability to make a tone and if you cant get a good tone than its your fault.

This unit is very easy to program if you are used to rackmount effects. The interface is very well laid out. Many if not all of the knobs on the front panel are used to edit each page of settings so you can edit various settings in the same effect on the same page. As soon as I got it out of the box read the manual and plugged it into the wall I was editing patches. I am experienced in using parametric EQ's so making adjustments was easy. It still took me a few hours to get my basic sounds programmed the way I wanted. I will differ from many others reviewing this item in that I have never owned (this one included) any multi-effects unit that had presets I could use. I play a variety of music from Heavy Metal, Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues, Country and Classical. This unit was able to make me happy with the sounds in all of these categories.

I bought this unit because of the reviews I read on this site. My main guitar is a Tom Anderson Drop Top Classic. I also have a One of a kind Carvin accoustic electric, a Martin Accoustic and a Tobias 5 String Bass. My previous setup was Tom Anderson > Nady 650 VHF Guitar Wireless > Korg DT-1 Pro Tuner > Mesa-Boogie Triaxis > BBE Sonic Maximizer > Mesa-Boogie fifty-fifty > Palmer Speaker Simulator > Alesis R12 mixer > Carvin 2000W Power Amp and Sound Tech EV loaded speakers each with 2-15, 2-10, 1 horn and two tweeters. After buying this unit I play through Tom Anderson Guitar > Nady 650 Wireless, Rocktron Profesy > Korg DT-1 Pro Tuner (in tuner out jack) > Aphex 250 Aural Exciter Type III > mixer, amp, speakers as listed above. I had some great gear before but with this Profesy and the All Access controller I have better control of my sounds when switching from Heavy Metal to Country, etc. This unit is very quiet. I hear no digital noise of any kind. I have a Jan tube in it. I love this thing. The speaker simulator has gotten mixed reviews but I love it. It is easy to criticize a simulator since it is not a speaker and will sound different depending on what you play through. I can tell you I can use it to get that bright bell like sound if I want on my accoustic work or roll off the higs. It is as much a sound tool as a simulator. It saves me from needing more gear to get the sounds I need. The effects are also very good for the price. Some people have said they are the best. They are not. They are certainly up there with the best in the price range for sure. The Eventide H8000 series however is the best Multi-Effect on the planet and will be my next purchase. The effects however do sound better than 95 percent of the bands I have heard play. I will be selling my Mesa-Boogie and Palmer Rig to buy the H8000FW. With this preamp and that effects unit my sound will be in a class by itself. The EQ and Preamp section can get you just about any sound you want if you are willing to learn to use them and spend the time tweaking them. Eveyone wants a different sound. I personally want 30 different sounds all of which sound like a million bucks. This unit can get you there. I highly recommend the All Access midi controller to use with it. They are already designed to work together so you can use them right out of the box without even programming the pedal. You will certainly get more out of the pedal by programming it but the preset titles on the Profesy show up on the pedal so you always know where you are. The tuner is not the greatest but why would I use my preamp to tune my guitar. That is what my tuner is for.

I bought it used. It was originally purchased in 1999. I have had no problems with it and don't forsee any at this point.

I have not had a need for Customer Support.

I have been playing since 1982. I sold my last pedals and went to rackmount units in 1986 and have never looked back. If you want a truly versatile preamp that can get you a great sound no matter what music you play. This one can do it. If you are used to pedals and a head and are not interested in learning about sound shaping I would suggest you buy something else. Whie this unit is easy to program, you need to understand, Shelving EQ, Parametric EQ, and the variables associated with Chorus, Flange, Pitch Shift, Reverb, Delay, etc. to get the most out of the amp. If you buy the unit, spend some time to work out your sound I am sure you can find it in here. Some guitar purists feel that nothing will ever replace a tube head into 12" speakers. The reality is the general music listening public doesn't care what your equipment is. They just want it to sound good. Nothing sounds as good and consistent to me as a professional than having all of your units in a rack running directly into the board and the PA. You have full frequency response and are not limiting yourself to a 12" speaker. If you want the 12" speaker sound, program it and you are done. This unit is a BEST BUY for the money. If you have any questions or comments or just want my opinion on something, feel free to contact me.

Once I got used to the pages and editing controls. this thing is very easy to make awesome sounds with, every sound is so quiet and just ahhhh lol. I use with the Midi Mate and it is very easy to set up for controlling as well. Manual is straight ahead, Im the type that doesnt really like to read manuals and I seem to get along fine. Not as bad as the boss gt manuals, those are absolute crap. vs 1.06.

Carvin 7 string , with a carvin power amp, and midi mate for controlling. Absolutely no noise at all even at the highest of sound levels ( you wont know your about to blow your ears out!) effects are great, instead of sounding like a modelor, it has its own sound, and it is very warm and tubelike. i can get the sound of any artist. has very good effects section as well as preamp section. the prophesy defines pristine sound quality. ive owned the bossgt3, gt-8, the digitech gnx4, and this thing pretty much @$$ rapes all of them. best amp sound ive ever had.

hasnt failed me yet, very solid, thing looks like it would damage as opposed to getting damaged. blah blah never use without a backup is all i hear but would you pay this much money for something you wouldnt trust? i trust this guy very much.

havent dealt with them but i hear good things.

i play progressive metal, as well as jazz guitar in college this thing can do it all. There is no way in hell i would ever LOSE it. i love the tone of it, has plenty of patches for me to create my own sounds, and even has good factory sounds. these things are pretty expensive but they come with every sound you will ever need.

Man, EASY. FINALLY. An all in one that doesn't require complete nerdiness. BUT I just bought it and haven't edited any patcehs. SO far, very into the knobs. Ihave a Digitech 2101 and this thing is just so much easier to use.

WOW. Excellent. Exactly how it should be. LIQUID WARMTH. Honey. It is magical. I had a Marshall JMP-1, a Digtech 2101, running through a Marshall 9100 [all tube rackmount dual monobloc amp]. This thing blows all three into the water. DESTROYS. AWESOME.

FUCKING AWESOME. Played two presets and was sold on it. That was it: YES.

So far so good. Will update in a year or so.

None.

I once was a metal head. Metallica/Pantera/Slayer. They're the only cover songs I ever learned. But grew to love classic rock, and now I write mainstream music. Trying to make some cash. I've been playing for 14 years.

Like I said, I've owned a Marshall JMP-1, A digitech 2101, a Marshall VS 265 [hybrid amp], A Crate GX 130c. And a Marshall MF 350, Mode Four.

version 1.06, easy to use when understanding it. The manual is good, it's like programming a cheap multieffect pedal,
very good direct access via knobs while playing preset, compare button is very useful. Midi is not so difficult.

I play live in a cover band with custom SSH telecaster, Kent Armstrong pickups, Prophesy+midi mate, volume pedal, direct into P.A., with stage monitor, only by playing with another guitarist I play through valve combo (into return, 20W and 12" speaker as monitor) and too direct into P.A. without miking.
No noise, effects very good except of wah.Very flexible, authentic.
Feeling, dynamic - all tubelike. Good clean, crunch,distortion, with or without effects. I don't use factory presets. To get good sounds required some time,knowledge. Sound is in this way using speaker simulator (the way like in studio) so good or better then middle priced valve amp miked with Sm-57. It means what people hear. For the player is certainly better power amp with good speaker as the stage monitor, it's your choice. For digital one clear 10. 1 real fender sound and 1 real Marshall is one step better .. How long yet ?
Terrible is built-in tuner, it's really the wrong way. But! it has separate out for another tuner.
The reviews about digital distortion in clean sounds I don't understand - bad use ?

? it's in use for 2 years without problems, I thing it's useful to take with small pedal with speak.sim. and two sounds, for all cases.

? No reason to use it.

Every style from left to right, up and down, in this case it is very strong. I play 5 years, previous Boss ME-30, Digitech Rp 14D, later custom valve amp 3x12AX7, 2x EL 34 (Marshall sound) and stompboxes.
Now all in one, easy to carry, to use. I'll buy certainly another if it were stolen. With this you can have your own sound.

The knobs & buttons on the front make on-the-fly changes intuitive and fast ? this was the main reason I bought the Prophesy. The abbreviated text directly above the knob changes according to which button you press, and corresponds to what the knob will do when you turn it (eg. Press the Modulation button, then select Chorus, and the display changes to show which knobs adjust the parameters for rate & depth etc..). Abbreviations can be a bit confusing as you enter certain parts of the menu system, but most of its in the manual anyway.

Digging into the manual to learn about the deeper programming abilities of the unit is essential if you want to unleash the real power of the Prophesy. The knobs make it much easier than many similar products, but the very nature of rackmount means that it is going to have a greater learning curve the deeper into the parameters you go. I find it frustrating when people buy rack products then score them low because they find the programming difficult. You buy rackmount because you don?t want the clutter/hassle of pedals and because you want to be able to push a button and change your sound completely in a millisecond. This flexibility is always going to come at a price.

Charvel 750XL (Jackson P80 pickups) - Prophesy (VER: 1.06) - BBE Sonic Maximiser - Marshall EL84 ? Marshall 4x12

Anyone who has owned earlier Digitech GSP products or Zoom products will think they are in sonic nirvana when they plug into this unit. It allows your original guitar signal to pass through without unwanted colouration of the sound. Other reviewers have commented on a faint distortion on the clean settings?.I?m not aware of any static or interference on clean patches. At a guess, I would say that most people operating the unit within ?normal? limits will not encounter this. By ?normal?, I mean?none of the parameters are maxed at 100%. Maybe the newest software version solved a problem with earlier units? My Charvel does not have active pickups - maybe this overloads the input? The prophesy does sound extremely natural?the output does not have that processed electronic tinge to it that many other all-in-one processors are guilty of.

Distortions are gutsy and full with adequate gain for most applications. Modulation effects are warm, clear and expansive. The Hush is amazing?as is the ducking delay. If guitar playing was a school, and effects processors/preamps were the exams? ...comparing the Prophesy?s effects to the likes of a Lexicon Reverb or a TC Electronics delay or chorus is kinda like saying the Lexicon or TC scored 90% and the Prophesy scored 85%. An A grade was anything above 70%..... and these units are ALL most definitely A grade ?students?.

This is the best all-in-one processor I have ever played through?period. If cover band material is your thing, you would be advised to invest in the Prophesy. The high gain/lead channel on this is really superb for your 80?s American rock style solo?s.

Personally modeling processors aren?t my thing?.if you feel this way about the mirage of modeling units available?.borrow, beg or steal the extra few hundred and go for a Prophesy

Hard to say considering I?ve owned it from new for about 3 weeks. Judging by Rocktron?s customer service so far, I would say they would be pretty quick to repair the product should it go faulty?..at a price. Looking through other Rocktron feedback, it would appear that their products are designed with reliability as a core requisite. Having your products used by some of the worlds most significant guitar players (to whom price is not a deciding factor) implies that the products are pretty reliable. I have had a Gainiac and a Banshee Talkbox for years without any problems.

Exceptional ? I emailed Rocktron US for information on the Prophesy and the details of a distributor in Belfast. Rocktron then emailed the UK distributor who in turn emailed my details to a music store within traveling distance of where I live. I have made other enquiries to Rocktron and the response has been within 24 hours. A chap called Bob Waller seems to deal (very efficiently) with many enquiries?.give this man a payrise!! In my book, this is outstanding customer service. Digitech ? listen & learn ? this is how to run a business!

Giving yourself reasons to purchase a Prophesy depends largely on what you want to do with it and what you expect to get out of it. All in one pedal boards are great if you are prepared to take the risk of drunk buffoons setting pints of beer within 2-3 feet of your board. Personally, I like to know the result of my hard earned cash is safely tucked away out of range of nosey/clumsy punters at a gig.

Presets are amazing ? the AC/DC, Ozzy and Van Halen one?s come to mind instantly. Most rack units have presets that are designed to appeal to a wide cross section of buyers, and need to be tweaked a bit to suit your individual guitar/amp/effects combination. I would be confident that the Prophesy could be used directly out of the box without any major tweaking.

I use mine mostly in a home recording studio, often bypassing the preamp to run acoustic instruments through the digital section. I run various brass instruments and vocals (as well as guitar) through it with very high quality results.

If I had to be picky, I would say the ?feel? of the knobs is quite ?clicky? and cheap?.they feel sort of light and flimsy. Also, a headphone socket would not go a miss??.

If you buy a Prophesy, your sound will be awesome - period. Your prophesy however is only as strong as the weakest link in your setup. Quite often the weakest link in a setup is not the equipment, but the player. Get lessons, and get to ?know? your instrument?only then will you get the true capabilities of units such as the Prophesy.

This review is for the metal player. I have been using digital preamps (midi) for over 10 years and the reaction you get between parameters is huge. Meaning you can get very good sound with little tweeking, but to get great sound requires getting used to how the effects react with one another, and can take time unless you know someone that can dump their presets on to yours.

Too me I don't think I'll ever find a ten (unless it can blow me) so a 9 would be highest. An 8 might even be too high but as most users have stated there's not much else out there that does what this can do. So I feel I should give some examples of what has worked for me: First let me say I play in a Metallica tribute (for 5 years) and my ideal rhythm tone would be between Creeping Death and Disposable Heroes. My friend has one of these and has used it for Def Leppard to Iron Maiden with excellent results. But it's not the only preamp/processor out there.

I also have a Peavey TubeFex and TransTubeFex that are worth looking into, but only on ebay since they stopped making them. Not because they don't sound good, just cuz the trend is modeling amps that take the fun out of being creative.

I bought the Transtube on a whim cause I saw one in someone's rack who were selling a Peavey 50/50 on ebay. I spent many hours dialing in lead, rhythm, and clean tones and was impressed for a solid state preamp. I bought the TubeFex to compare and holy wet your pants what a difference. HUGE distortion tone. HUGE. However it seems a little muddy in the bottom end, and we all need a good bottom. I probably need just the right tubes for it, Electro Harmonix Came with it (used) and they are less muddy than the JJ's (high gain) brand new ones that I tried. It has more than enough gain so you don't need high gain tubes. This thing's tubes run at 250 volts. Much higher than most preamps out there so they had to create a special pot that could handle this power and there lies the flaw. Early units suffer the most cuz they can't handle the eprom upgrade well. Check out my review for the TubeFex at the Peavey location comming soon. The upgrade takes away the delay between channel switching (very important live) and improves the effects interface. So, other similiar units, they're out there, just not new.

ART also makes an all in one unit, the SGX and the DST4. But most of their distortion is solid state and I am a tube freak!

There's also Digitech: 2101, 2112, 2120. Jeez can't they get it right? They all sound like shit! Guess if you want to sound like shit here they all are. (Have talked to tons of owners of this unit). Did you know the Johnson Millenium is a 2120 in a head/combo?

Prophesy good, Peavey good. Which one is better? You can easily find a Prophesy new while the Peavey will take some serious digging. It took about 5 months for me to find one on ebay and I am still waiting for the last upgrade from Peavey. (Three weeks now, there parts dept. sucks.) You have to send them your old chip to get the new one.

They're both awesome units. The Peavey is more "tube" like in my opinion and it's only one rack space. Coupled with a Mesa 20/20 you got a complete system in two rack spaces. Plus the Peavey has two noise gates, pre in the compression stage, and post. A Prophesy/VHT 2902 also sound very appealing. Who says you don't have choices.
I also have ADA MP-1 and MP-2, Mesa Triaxis, Marshall JMP-1,
units but did not mention cuz there not all in one.

I actually like the Prophesy and TubeFex tone more than all of these.

No problems with Rocktron. Channel switching delay on the Peavey really sucks, but the upgrade should take care of that. The Peavey users complain about the motor pot that controls the input has burnt out on them, but I have found a way around this: Keep all gain settings the same for each channel (there are actually a total of 8!) Low gain and high gain for each of the four channels, so if you set it at 70% for everything the motor will never move, thus prolonging it's life. Just turn the gain knob every once in a while to keep it from going sour.

NA

I am 38 years old and have been playing since I was 8. Fortunately in high school I played with guys that were much better than me and learned alot about theory and what amps were good and what not. I have owned several heads like The Marshall JCM 800, ultimate in crunch but not enough gain for me unless it's up full blast or with an added pedal. Carvin makes some really nice heads like the X100 and Valvemaster. The latter has excellent tone but I never tried different tubes for more possibilities,(stock ones are mediocre). Mesa, Peavey, Sunn, etc. Unless you can afford a Diezel or an Engl not much else will compare. Soldano's a tone for only a few who like it. Matchless and so on are one trick pony's, either you love it or you don't. The holy grail of amps is all in your head, (the one on top of your shoulders) and the more fans that tell you your tone is awesome, musician or not, the closer you are to it. Rock on!

The Prophesy's biggest flaw is it's price. I got mine during a price drop for 500 and it's still too much. The Peavey can be obtained for under $250 on ebay and sounds great. It also has an upgrade that replaces the battery memory backup. No more battery! EVER!!!

This rating is based upon the fact that before buying one I understood parametric EQ, signal path and importance of proper gain structure. DSP devices do not allow for ignorant errors like analog does. This unit will overwhelm the average Guitar Center guy, and is not appropriate for those guys unless they are willing to initially accept results that may be no better or even worse than the cheap stuff. The flexibility this thing allows also allows the average Joe to screw it all up, and it can sound really bad in a hurry. If your willing to learn it inside-out you will be rewarded for your effort. Kudos to Rocktron for developing a high-end product that really suits only a small portion of the market.

I have three Prophesy's in studio application. All of the guitars here (six) are modded, having 3 pickups each wired to individual output jacks, followed by an outboard matrix. Each pickup (or output of 3-way X-over split) feeds it's own Prophesy. The L/R loop outputs are mono, so one output from each unit feeds an input of a VHT 2-50-2 power amp. Amp outputs feed Groove Tube SE11 speaker sims that soak the power back to line level, and are returned to the loop in's that are either mono or stereo depending on your settings. Main outs from each Prophesy feed the board and end up at the main monitors in the control room. Without the power amps in the loop the sound quality rates the 10. With the amps it's a 15. Regarding the digital noise issue, there are two levels. The first is faint, and heard in the background when playing clean. This occurs only when you get sloppy with gain structure - as the previous reviewer noted. The other is obvious, and occurs if you are stupid. The only complaint I can dream up is the delay isn't stereo like some other Rocktron stuff. The overall capability of the delay section and other effects is more than sufficent for anyone however. You can get any sound you want from the Prophesy, and the more you know about what your doing the faster you'll get there. Again, it is not for beginners unless your willing to accept the presets, which are still better than anything else out there.

No problems.

Rocktron sent me new chips at no chare for each revision upgrade - just by asking. If they would send me more info regarding internal signal flow paths than what's in the manual they would get a 10.

This unit allows for flexible superb sound though it's built in complexity. It's not for everyone. If your too lazy to learn para EQ, what the parameters are doing, how they interact and what's affected when you spin the knobs about, look elsewhere. Go get a Pod or something. The ability of previous reviewers to realize the potential of the Prophesy can be observed by the rating they gave their Prophesy. Occasionally, I'll take one of the units out of the rack, and play some live gigs. It's a pleasure. The speaker sim feature is powerful, works well, and allows you to spare the cabs and the ridiculous volume levels in order to get a sound. For a cover band it is ideal because you can achieve original tone and add that little bit extra too. Just plug into the PA and run a monitor. Simple. On the other hand, the Prophesy may not sound as good as perhaps a well mic'd Dumble or a few other fine amps that get one good specific sound, but it can sure come close - so close to all of them (except Vox) that it takes a real critical ear to hear the difference. It's fun to poke a bit of fun at the guys that drag the high-buck, ear splitting stuff in. Dial up the Prophesy, throw an A/B comparison in the monitors and let them pick out what's what. It's also just plain fun to play too. It talks back nicely, and provides all that 'bubbly' note articulation and feel at the neck. The reason I'm writing this is because the guy before me took the time to straighten out some of the ignorant bull that too many capable yet unknowledgeable musicians have to ferret through to select a good product. Just helpin' the guy out, and maybe some others.

This unit is really easy to use. I rarely give 10's, so it gets a 9. There's pages of parameters, and you can use the 16 buttons on the side to jump to a page, which saves a lot of time and effort. It's thoughtful designed and the manual is better than average to read.

My rig is as follows. Parker Fly Mojo guitar, to Rocktrong Prophesy, to Mesa Boogie 20/20, to a moded to stereo Fender 4/12 cabinet. The piezo side of the Fly goes through an Aphex acoustic Xciter and to the board, but that's not going to affect this unit.

Noisy it is not. This unit has the best noise gate system I've every had or tried. It REALLY works. It's called HUSH, and that kind of says it well. You can be playing some serious gain, melt your face off triple rec demon setting, and even with the hot Fly Duncan pickups, it is quiet as an unplugged amp the instant I mute the strings, which is great for any metal heads out there. You can have an ear splitting volume and chunk away and in between every chunk, when you mute your strings, nothing but crickets churping! That's one plus to this unit, it can really clean up your sound, even your bandmates will like you better.

As to the "digital distortion" on the clean channels: This is important guys, because this was my main concern buying this unit after reading these reviews. Does it exist? Yes it does--and NO it doesn't.

What I mean is, I've heard it, but I've also figured out what it is.

The mojo does have some hot pickups. That's the first element to look at, should you get this clean distortion or noise. Keep in mind guys, humbuckers have more signal, generally speaking, than singles do. Active pickups have more signal than non-active do, and so on. Then you combine your guitar's signal with the features of the prophesy, and you can run into more trouble, if you aren't aware of what's going on. You have an input volume. You have to follow the manual and set it so that it only goes into the red range when you get on it. I'd set this level with your hottest pickup selection. Set it and forget it. Then, and this is very important, you have PRE EQ PARAMTRIC EQ'S. This can boost frequence elements of your signal up to +15dB. That's no small amount of boost. You can also cut it, but the point is, you can INCREASE your signal level, before the gain section on the preamp. It's no different than using a booster into an amp, even a clean amp can break up. The first distortion was with CLEAN amps. You can take a real live tube fender on a clean setting and get distortion out of it, one way to do that is to boost your signal going into the amp. Another way is to boost it in between the preamp section and the amp section (like on the Prophesy's post parametric eq)

What I'm pointing out is, the prophesy's amp models are amazingly well done, to the point that you can play with a high gain setting, and if you turn down the volume on your guitar, the sound cleans up, just like on a real tube amp! Likewise, if you overdrive the clean signal--IT WILL DISTORT! So, yes, the distortion is there, IF you have TOO MUCH SIGNAL in one of these trouble areas, and it will be accentuated even more by reverb. As a rule of thumb, set your input level correctly, and don't boost any on the pre eq frequencies, and you'll be okay, also keep the preamp gain knob at 2.6 or less for that American clean amp. I also own a Voodoo Lab 3 channel pre, and if you set the gain high on the clean channel, it will break up, if you set the gain on a real tube amp high, it will break up, and basically, it's an unpleasant kind of distortion, centered in the upper frequencies, just like you get from the Prophesy under similar conditions.

However, if you set it up right, keeping all these pitfalls in mind (which are basically common sense, if you have a tube amp background) you will hear an amazingly crisp and totally tube amp sounding clean that is along the lines of (with my single coils activated) SRV's tone in songs like "Rivera Paradise" and "Little Wing." It's a very strat friendly tone. With humbucking speakers, I can get a more old Metallica clean Mesa Boogie sound. Granted, having a 20/20 for the PA is no small plus in the sound of this or an

I do rely on it, for three gigs now and counting, in the last month and a half I've owned it. I have the Voodoo Lab 3 channel as one back up, but it's not with me at the gigs, it's back home in the closet. So far, so good, but I won't put a number on this one.

Rocktron has been very kind to me. I sent an email to them before I bought this unit because though I'd heard so much great things about it, I know it's been out since '98 and I had to figure it's being replaced soon by the next great thing.

I received a reply in less than 6 hours, and basically, while he wasn't thrilled with what my email insinuated, he patiently explained Rocktron's outlook on things. They don't try to repackage the same basic product in a new package and sell it as the latest thing (a la digitech, for example.) They do extensive research and then when they come up with a great product (like they have with the Prophesy) it's kind of like, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." And I liked it enough to take the plunge and buy one, and I own him for that. His name is Bob Waller. An asset to Rocktron he is.

Later, I got a Midi Xchange to change patches with, and the unit I got was a dud. I emailed Bob about it and he emailed back the next morning that he was sending another unit to me ASAP, what's my address? I emailed back with my address and asked where to send the faulty one to in return, he emailed right back and said, "toss it, no use wasting your postage." Sure enough, a new unit came in the mail shortly there after and it worked exactly as it was supposed to. That kind of customer support is what we are looking for and it deserves to be noticed.

I play mostly in a cover band right now, we do a few originals, but mostly we cover a wide gammet, a lot of bluesy rock stuff, Hendrix, SRV, Gary Moore, Robin Trower, Stray Cats, some 80's glam like Poison (people sing along!) and we also like to kick the tires and light the fires on some renditions of our songs, like Born to be Wild with Dimebag Darrellesque distortion or the Metallica version of Turn the Page. Santana, some newer stuff like 3 Doors Down and Puddle of Mudd and then even a few (yuck) country tunes. I also have a personal affinity for Jazz guitar.

I've been playing since I was 16, I'm 34 now. If something happen to it, I'd honestly get another one. My brother plays in my band and when I took it over his house and let him try it in his rig, he sold a Les Paul and a Twin amp to buy his own within the next 5 days after, and he hasn't regretted it. He's as happy with it as I've seen him ever be with anything, and he got rid of his Peavey Tripple X tube amp with no regrets, though he formerly swore by it.

My favorite feature of this amp is the tone of the amps. The next fav is the programmability of the effects, the wah is great, as is the HEAVY gain!

I've tried what's out there, the vetta, the cybertwin, this is just more real.

The unit is fairly easy to use but I must say having alot of experience with pedals and tweaking around with things after reading the instructions it was quite clear to then understand what I was doing. It was after a while I started to get some sounds that where really mind blowing!!

I use a RG550 Ibanez and I have owned several things in my 28 years of playing but this thing is frightening! The sounds are just great you can get excactly what you want and I mean excactly the tunings are to the finest possible! I was able to create with the pitch shifter some deep sounds with the octaves it scared the pants of me and the mega drive is unbelievable. Some have wrote in there reviews that the Prophesy is awful either they are mentally retarded or they need to get a life is all I can say this thing rocks I have never heard anything like it! If you haven't got one then take my advice buy one now it's worth the money. I do alot of recording with Cubase,
I used to have a piranha from rocktron and an intellifex and although they where very good units they had no direct recording output a big plus from the Prophesy good work Rocktron! I have been able to imitate most of my favourite guitar players as regards sound I'm still learning the hush also does it's job very well without sucking up the sustain too much!

I can't really comment too much on that at the moment but if you have it in a rack and look after it from my experience with other Rocktron products these things just don't break down well that's my opinion??

Nevr had to deal with them ???

I am a rock player and enjoy playing Satriani stuff down to Gary Moore bluesy stuff and I also use my acoustic through the Prophesy!
If it got stolen or blown up by terrorists I would most definately replace it with another Prophesy and hunt down those responsible!

Okay, the product isn't the easiest to use beyond the presets, but the presets cover a lot of bases and you may find it is all you need for many situations. In the studio I just use the straight Marshal sound when I know I don't want to record with effects on, and it really sounds perfect. It's a bit weird to edit and rather confusing how the pages of the effects are accessed. Once you get used to it, it's not that bad...but there is a definite learning curve. I have the latest version (1.6). I give it a 9 for presets (which is way higher than most boxes) and a 5 for editing - averages to a 7.

First let me say that the person who said they couldn't get good Strat sounds through it may not be a strat player and so may not really like single coil sounds. I think the single coil and humbucker sounds are the best of any non-amp product (modeling or tube) I've ever heard. My brother recorded with it and listened to the recording later and thought it was his Marshal! I had to remind him that it was the British setting with no modifications-on a Strat no less. I think all 4 amp models are excellent, record-worthy, amp sounds. You get a warm sound from the 12AX7 and it breaks up like a real amp; plus you can record at low volumes!

Hard to say, it is in my studio rack, so I won't rate it.

Don't know this either, hope I never do.

I've been playing bass and guitar since 1977 and have both owned and played in numerous recording studios. I mostly play fusion (70's style and modern) as well as some alternative and blues. I've played with most modelers (Line 6, Boss, Roland, etc.) and just got rid of a Fender Cyber Deluxe which sounded pretty good...but nothing even comes close to the sound of the Prophesy. Damn good! However, at a music store it will run you around $1300, online you can get one for as low as $999, but I really think it should be priced at about $599 to $699. They'ed sell a lot more too. I give it a 9 because of price, otherwise it would be a 10.

I PURCHASED THE ROCKTRON PROPHESY PREAMP FROM GUITAR CENTER SEVERAL WEEKS AGO. THE SALESMAN GAVE ME A 30 DAY NO HASSLE RETURN POLICY IF I DIDN'T LIKE THE UNIT. THE COOL THING ABOUT GUITAR CENTER IS THAT IF I DIDN'T LIKE THE UNIT EVEN THOUGH I SPECIAL ORDERED IT, THEY WOULD STILL REFUND ME MY MONEY. I FOUND IT VERY EASY TO GET A GREAT SOUND OUT OF THIS UNIT. I HAD NO TROUBLE WHATSEOVER. THE PARAMETRIC EQS CAN BE A LITTLE ROUGH, BUT SPEND A LITTLE TIME LIKE I DID AND YOU WILL HAVE NO TROUBLE GETTING A GREAT SOUND. I HAD NO TROUBLE EDITING THE PATCHES AND I'M A COMPLETE IDIOT WHEN IT COMES TO THESE KINDS OF PRODUCTS. I SKIMMED THROUGH THE MANUAL SO I CAN'T REALLY COMMENT ON IT TOO MUCH. WHAT I DID READ WAS HELFUL. THE VERSION OF THIS UNIT IS 1.6. THERE IS NO HIGHER VERSION AT THIS PRESENT TIME. I CALLED ROCKTRON AND ASKED ABOUT THIS.

I USE A MARSHALL 1960 A SLANTED CAB WITH A MASRHALL 100 WATT TSL HEAD ( NOT AN IDEAL POWER SOURCE FOR THIS PREAMP I KNOW)AMERICAN FENDER STRAT. THE FAINT DIGITAL DISTORTION THAT EVERYONE IS HEARING ON THE CLEAN CHANNELS DOES EXIST. I HAVE NOTICED IT MYSELF. BY TWEAKING THE GAIN AND BASS KNOBS YOU CAN GET RID OF THIS FAINT DISTORTION NOISE. I MESSED AROUND WITH THE PARAMETRIC EQS TO GET BACK WHAT I LOST BY REDUCING THE GAIN AND BASS KNOBS. I HAVE NOTICED SOME NOISE ON THE DISTORTION SETTINGS WHEN I WAS DOING SLOW PALM MUTING ON NOTES AND CHORDS. YES, THE HUSH UNIT WAS ON AND I KNOW HOW TO WORK THIS UNIT, BUT THIS UNWANTED NOISE MADE ME RETURN THIS UNIT FOR A FULL REFUND. I TRIED WITH OTHER POWER AMPS AND CABS AND STILL NOTICED THE NOISE ON THE DISTORTION ALONG WITH 4 OTHER EMPLOYEES AT THE MUSIC STORE.I SENT THE UNIT BACK TO ROCKTRON AND THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. THE EFFECTS IN THE UNIT ARE GREAT. I WISH IT HAD PING PONG DELAY AND AN INTELLIGENT PITCH SHIFTER BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FOR THE PRICE? I PAID $900 BRAND NEW. THE EFFECTS ARE VERY GOOD EVEN THOUGH I HAVE HEARD BETTER. I GIVE THE CLEAN TONE RATING A 8 BECAUSE I HAVE HEARD BETTER CLEAN TONES. THE CLEAN TONES ON THIS UNIT ARE VERY GOOD.THE DISTORTION IS EVERYTHING I COULD ASK FOR, IF IT JUST DIDN'T HAVE THAT DAMN NOISE!!!!!THE DISTORTION IS AN 8 BECAUSE OF THIS NOISE ISSUE.I WAS ABLE TO GET MEGADETH,PANTERA AND IRON MAIDEN TYPE TONES OUT OF THIS PREAMP WITH NO PROBLEMS.

I ONLY HAD THE UNIT FOR A WEEK, SO I CAN'T COMMENT ON THIS.

I SPOKE WITH JIM AT ROCKTRON WHO WAS VERY HELFUL IN ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS. I HAVE NO GRIPE WITH THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I PLAY METAL,PUNK,BLUES AND JAZZ AND I FEEL THIS PREAMP IS A GOOD MATCH FOR MY STYLES. DEDICATED JAZZ AND BLUES MUSICIANS WILL PROBABLY WANT TO KEEP A FENDER COMBO ON HAND. I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 12 YRS. I OWN OTHER MUSICAL GEAR BUT IT IS NOT RELATED TO THIS.I WILL NEVER BUY THIS UNIT OR ANY OTHER PREAMP AGAIN. I WILL AB A FENDER AMP TO MY MARSHALL FOR CLEAN TONES. FOR DISTORTION AND CRUNCH I WILL BY A RACKMOUNT PARAMETRIC EQ, GRAPHIC EQ,TC ELECTRONICS G FORCE EFFECTS UNIT AND BBE SONIC MAXIMIZER AND GET MY TONE THAT WAY. IM DONE WITH PREAMPS.I GAVE THIS UNIT A 6 BECAUSE OF THE NOISE WITH THE DISTORTION. THE CLEAN AND CRUNCH CHANNELS PASSED THE TEST BUT THE NOISE ON THE DISTORTION CHANNEL MADE ME RETURN THIS UNIT. THIS UNIT IS LIKE OWNING A FERRARI WITH A DENTED DOOR!!!!!!

For those of us who have sound processing knowledge, ease of use would be a 10, but in order to be fair I gave this unit an 8 for ease of use as a big BEWARE to those of you who don't know how to work parametric EQ's or advanced processing chains. Beginners: You will not get a good sound out of this unit unless you read the manual and spend a lot of time with it. I've worked with all sorts of different processors and this is by FAR the most comprehensive all in one unit I've ever seen. The best part is that once you get the hang of using this unit, it becomes very easy to flip between all the screens. TAKE YOUR TIME WITH IT!!!

Rocktron really does understand metal players, that's for sure. I play in a prog/metal conglomerate mishmash of a bunch of styles and I have to say that I'm quite satisfied with my sound. My gear: Rocktron Prophesy (of course) BBE Sonic Maximizer, Alesis 3630 compressor, powered by the God of amps - a Mesa 2:90 and out through a wonderfully built Mesa 4x12. Throw in a a couple of ESP's (a MH-301 with a Tone Zone in the bridge, and an H-1000) and this rig sounds siginificantly better than ALL the crappy, overproduced, cookie cutter guitar tones you hear from those jagoffs in radio "metal" bands. My little rig rattles the whole neighborhood, especially with the sonic clarity and capabilities of the Prophesy. This is the best sounding all-in-one unit, period. User Note: I also play a top line American Classic Strat and haven't discovered how to create any good Prophesy tones yet, and I'm beginning to think the thunderous sound of the Mesa stuff isn't appropriate with Fenders...?? Any feedback would be appreciated.

My whole rack case dropped on the floor (face first) from it's perch on top of my 4x12...the Prophesy didn't even flinch. (Needless to say my Mesa stuff was OK too, so don't cry...even though I almost puked on myself when I saw it drop...) If dropping a 80 pound plus rig on the floor isn't good enough to test it's durability or reliability than disregard this section.

Talked to them once about use of my non-Rocktron MIDI controller. They were very helpful and didn't chastize me for my choice in footboards.

This unit is the Bentley of preamp/processor combos, hands down. If you play any kind of music that requires clean, dirty, or extremely aggressive distortion (read between the lines: all music) then this is the unit for you. Please take heed to the warning for beginning guitarists, this unit requires a very good understanding of why tones change when you fiddle with one particular aspect of ANY tone. It's taken me about 2 months to get to the point where I've memorized where each screen falls within my created sounds, but up until then it took what seemed like AGES to move around the pages and pages of processing options. I would buy another one if it was stolen, only after I broke every knuckle on the thief's hands, and then poked him or her in the eye, really hard. I love that this unit is so versitile and "easy" to use (see above) and allows the player to go from one extreme to another seemlessly. The carry over within the delay is by far the most wicked tone "trick" I've ever come across, if you now how to use your volume and pick at the same time. I wish it had more options for distortion instead of just the three, but once I figure out the EQ to gain relationship, I believe the options will be endless. My only beef with this unit is that when you spin the knobs too fast it goes ballistic, which leads me to my final note: This unit is NOT for the impatient player who is looking to sound like everyone else. If that's you, go buy some stompboxes and continue to suck.

When you first look at the manual intimidation actually does happen. There are 96 pages! If you are like me and skip the manual for everything, you will have no problems programming this unit, the prophesy has the EASIEST interface! I am fairly new to rack units and I had no problems figuring out how to modify presets, add effects, naming, etc. and I didn?t even read the manual! Rocktron really made the prophesy easy to use! So why didn't I give it a 10?
PARAMETRIC EQ!
I personally have never worked with a parametric eq before and it is tough. The more I learn the easier it becomes but Rocktron really should have been more detailed in the manual on this topic. These eqs are not for beginners! I started asking some people about parametric eqs and started getting some patches from rocktrons site and it became a little easier but again not for beginners. However, this is not rocktrons fault that I don?t know how to work there eq section perfectly!

I have the latest version 1.06

My setup: Jackson-->Prophesy-->BBE Sonic Maximizer-->Rocktron Super C Hush--> Rocktron Velocity 250 power amp-->Peavey stereo cab.
Let me first say, that I am actually writing this review for the guy/girl looking for a death metal sound. I have had numerous preamps that always had something that wasnt perfect. So is this the unit for a death metal band. ABSOLUTLEY! You can achieve so many sounds with this unit, but if you need a brutal death metal distortion, it will be acheived with this unit and be tamed by the built in hush. Does that mean you cant get other sounds? Hell no, that is the reason I bought the damn thing! I wanted variety, I am into other music besides death metal and wanted a whole shit load of different presets from clean to rock and the prophesy does not let me down. Having said this, you will really not achieve the sound fast unless you understand parametric eqs. Once you have those down, man, you can get 127 presets of everything you have dreamed of! I have had for a few days and have 10 presets that I love!
Is noise a factor?
This preamp has NO NOISE!!!! I can't believe how quiet this thing is! The built in Hush system really does its job. You may be wondering why the hell I have a Super C in my rack if the preamp is so quiet. Well, the truth is, I really don't need the hush in my rack! But, I play real fast death metal band with lots of stops and goes and I needed a gate to absolutley makes sure that any feedback or noise at high levels will be cut off, so, I use it for the gate since there is no built in gate in the Prophesy. My older setups had BRUTAL noise that needed to be unheard, not this unit. After all the shit I have bought you could honestly get away with a 4 space rack, prophesy and your power amp and be satisfied.
As far the effects go, unreal! You get chorus,delays,reverbs,pitch shifter,tremelo,flanger,rotary, wah, cabinet simulation, mic simulation, and more! All sound great that can be tweaked to perfection. Someone mentioned in another review that the pitch shifter wasnt great,I disagree, I love this effect. My setup is in true stereo, so the prophesy allows you to setup effects this way. When using an effect say the pitch shifter, I have no effect on one side of the cab and almost all effect on the other side, sounds like 2 guitars! Not fake at all! So if you play in a metal band and looking for those great 3rd minors without the 2nd guitar player here is your answer! Somone had mentioned that the clean channel isnt that good. That they heard some minor distortion. Well, I heard a bit of that too but you can completely get rid of that! I have a clean preset now that I worked with and it sounds great! No distortion! You just have to tweak. If you dont want to tweak sounds, dont get this preamp. If you want out of the box sound buy a head for about half the price and save yourself the trouble. This preamp is for the guitarist who needs their OWN sound. Another point is the wah sound, it is really good. I have heard other preamps try to create the wah sound and fail miserably, not this unit.
As far as getting it to sound like other amps. Its possible! I actually did get one preset to sound exactly like the Marshall MG 100HDFX head which is my backup gear.

Its Rocktron! I wouldn't worry too much about there stuff, I have had older rocktron preamps from late 80s early 90s that probably been through hell and back and worked great! I have had it only for a few days but my experience with Rocktron stuff has been good.

I have emailed them 2 times and got fast responses. But, the second time was a question about the prophesy about running the unit in mono and the guy told me that you have to change something to get it to run in mono. Not the case. So, I guess he really didnt know the unit all the well which isnt that good if you are the tech guy for the company.

I have been playing for over 12 years but I have just recently got into rack gear. This preamp is a good match for all music. If it were lost or stolen, I would do everything I could to replace it after I had crawled out of a corner and stopped crying! There is nothing I hate about this preamp although the parametric eqs are tough but they are there to build your OWN sound, that is not something to complain about. The only thing this unit could possibly have is a built in gate, that is all I could think of. Is it better than a triaxis? I think so.It blows away Marshall! Forget Digitech stuff! Never tried the tech 21 preamp but I heard that it sounds too digital and it has no effects. I definatley chose this product for variety and creating my own sound. In the end, thats what all serious guitar players are looking for, their own sound. I think the Prophesy will make any guitar player happy.
For those in in search of the perfect sound here is a word of advice...
I have made so many costly mistakes of buying gear, older and cheaper,trying to get the sounds I want and not succeeding just because I fealt like I didnt have the money to spend on the newer models. Do yourself a financial favor and just buy a newer unit and be happy. I got this preamp on Ebay for a good deal, definatley look around. However, looking back now, I should have just bought this prophesy new and I still would have saved money after all the units I bought and sold losing money in the process. Get credit! Save your money! Buy this unit!

Well first of all when u first open it it looks great, and u know is going to be great. Extremly easy to add effects to your preset, real nice hush system on board, speaker simulator, mic simulator,the reast has already been mention. Now for the hard part, the parametric EQs, good is a pain in the ass if you never messed with them, but once u play with them and start to understand, u wonder why u never used them.

Now the most importan part the sound. Well u can make this damn thing sound like just about anyother amp, that is untill and only untill u start to understand the parametric Eqs(i'm still figuring them out, but i already managed to get a kicks ass preset, that i use as my main setting. I play death metal/gore grind, and black metal, and for that this is great,(my sethup is, an Esp Ltd M-1000 delux with dual 81's, right into the prophecy, than into a velocity 100 power amp(altho i wish i had the 250 or highter, for the thicker sound, altho the 100 is not so bad, and most of the sound is in the preamp not the power amp)into a create 4x12 vintage 30 celestian loaded speaker cab, and man i have no problems hearing myself, i never turn my velocity past number 5, it overpowers the drums, hahaha
how many solid state amps do that at 5? also i msg martin hendriksson from dark tranquillity www.darktranquillity.com, and he was kind enuff to send me his patches, altho u can emulate any artis is better getting them from them, specially if they use the prophecy aswell. The efects well they sound a bit above abarage, i played with them a little, but not too extesivly, but some of the factory presets have them, and they soud pretty damn good, and nother cool thing is the mute button, which not only mutes the system but automaticly kicks in the built in tunner.

I have owned for 6 months, havent gigged with it yet, but i dont think it will crap on you unless u drop is, but thats why they created rack cases. I'm confident enough to gig with it by itself, specially since i dont really have a back up, i sold my old gear which was rocktron gear aswell.

Well i had a good experince with them, before i bought stuff from them, and i would e-mail them to aks them about their producs, Rhandy(who happens to be the representative for the midwest) would respond within hours, and ecourega me to buy stuff, once i bought stuff from them they kind of ignored my email :~. Than they had me waiting for 8 months for a freaking cab, till they finally told me they were behind on production so it was going to take another 8 months, thats when i bought my crate, wich along with my guitar is the only non rocktron equipment, and that is rocktrons foult.

Like i already said, i play death metal/gore grind, and black metal. and for that it excides. I have been playing for almost 5 years, and after tring some tube amps like boogie(wich sounded to muddy for my taste, same with the crate blue vodoo series, and both are more expencive to buy, and mantain, plus i dont have much control like u do over the prophecy, metal is about heavy distotion with tone, and hearable, unlike the boogie and vodoo that get extremly muddy, so if it ever got lost or stolen, i will cast uppon the nortdik gods and have them oblitarate the theif, and return it to me, and if it wasnt possible i would get a job, so that i could buy another. By the way i'll write my contact in the bottom, incase anyone wants to trade patches, or give me info on the parametrics. Also watch for my band Sepulcro.

There are many great sounds which can be achieved from the Phrophesy, but to dial in a combination which can be switched through a midi controller does take a good deal of time. The upside is that you can really get creative especially with the ADSR function, but again, be prepared to spend some time setting it up. The preconfigured effects are generally above average, but personally, I needed to spend a lot of time to get just the right sounds. The front panel interface is pretty good, but I would prefer a more elegant solution.

I use a Gibson Gothic V, the Prophesy, a Digitech Whammy 4, plugged into a Marshall JCM2000 DSl head and Marshall 1960a cab.

The Prophesy is the cleanest sounding effects processor/pre amp I have ever used, and in the 25 + years I have been playing, I have used so many effects, pre amps/modelers, and noise gates, and the sound quality of this unit is beyond compare.

All effects are studio quality, and you can create just about any sound you are looking for if you spend enough time.

The only hold back is that the manufacturer states the Rotary effect should not be used with other modulation effects, most noticibly Chorus, due to a lot of processing needed. With the power available in todays processors, the processor of this unit should be upgraded, since the unit is soo expensive, there should be no sacrifices.

Not sue, I keep the unit in my home and do not travel with it. It definetely looks well built enough, but I would keep it in a travel case just to be safe, the unit does contain a tube, so droppage could be a problem.

I sent Rocktron an email regading some information in regards to the Midi Mate, a must have controller for this unit. Rocktron responded within twelve hours and provided all the information I requsted. I was very impressed.

I play many styles of music, although my love is hard rock/metal. If I had to replace this unit, I would most certainly buy another. It is the best guitar processor I have ever used. There are other units out there, but once you play the Phrophesy, you realize just how cheap and ultimately what a tonal sacrifice they represent. I cannot see using any other processor at this time. I love this unit!

Version 1.05
It's actually very easy to get some good sounds, but to really get inside this box's head will take some time and work. A 7 is a bit low but I think they could have done more "modeling" at the factory, since this thing can get just about any sound. They seemed to go on auto pilot and stop trying to make good pre's. Not really that big a deal.

My Guitars are Custom PRS and a MIJ Strat. I am only doing direct recording right now so I don't have an amp, I just listen through my mixing monitors.
This preamp is not noisy! All the noise people hear is coming from the guitar/cord. High gain will have some noise but that's true for any amp.
SoundWise I can get anything from Crispy Clean to Charred Meat. Though, I'm not real picky about my cleans and I like a little bit of edge to them so I suppose if you live for that Class A amp solo jazz player type of sound this might not be your cup of tea, but for every one else this thing smokes!
The favorite things about this amp are:
1) It keeps the sound of my guitar. I've heard digital stuff before that was more the sound of their digital box than the guitar.
2) The preamp sounds great without any effects. Again, I've used boxes where the distortion sounded pretty good but you needed to add some effects to get it usable. This thing you can just be playing with the preamp, turning the gain up and down, changing the bass, treble, etc and you can get lot's of great sounds.
3) One Word: Parametric EQ's. OK, that's not one word but once you use these you'll wonder how you ever lived without them.
4) Reverbs, Chorus, Delay, Phaser, and Wah are really good. ADSR is pretty Awesome, but a bit tricky sometimes. The Rotary is really cool.
5) Programmable effect loop. I just started using my effect loop and running it into a compressor (FMR RNC) and let me tell you, it's really addictive!! Sometimes before the preamp, but usually after. It really helps keep things from getting muddy when using multiple FX.
Things I don't like:
1) the pitch shifter is not that great, but used in combo with stuff it can create some interesting sounds. Just don't expect a top notch pitch shifter.
2) It can get overloaded if using the Rotary effect with others. It's a pretty old chipset in here. If they ever come out with a Prophesy 2 with 10X the power, now that would be something!!

So far, I've been able to get any sound I want from this and my styles range from the Beatles to Iron Maiden.

I dunno. I haven't dropped it yet! Although, I did switch the tube in it a few times and it was a piece of cake.

I emailed and they got back within a couple days.

Like I said, I play lot's of different stuff and this thing is great. Now, if you have 10,000 bucks to spend on a Dieter amp with an Eventide in the chain I think you might be happier, but if you can pick up a Prophesy for under a grand, you'll be very happy. I was!!

For a beginner or someone who knows little about sound, this unit may appear daunting at first, though I'm confident that with a little tweaking anyone can obtain results. Knowing a fair bit about sound myself,I had very little trouble getting the sounds that I wanted. It has a very linear interface & the manual explains everything in lamans terms. My unit is no. 2.0

To put it simply, this thing is the tone master. I require many different tonal settings for my music & this thing(with some tweaking) delivers in this respect. I use a USA Strat, Marshall 2000 DSL(not ideal I know) & standard Marshall quad. The effects are generally great, though I found that adding too many on top of each other will create excess noise. The clean section does have some inhibiting factors such as distortion, though I have found that by reducing the gain & the bass, this is made totally redundent. The fact is that this thing is a pre-amp/effects unit in its own right & should not be classed along with other digital modellers. The only problem I have experienced is when changing patches, whereby occassionally a strange clicking sound occurs. I play predominately metal & for this the Prophesy sounds awesome with great sustain, nice effects & not to mention the powerful ADSR. Just add some bass, low mid, chorus, delay & pitch shifter(octave)& you have a lead sound which will rival any other. High gain pickup a must!!!

I have dropped this thing twice & have had no problems. It's sturdier than it looks.

E-mailed Rocktron a couple of times & they responded quickly. Unfortunately I live in Australia & bought it overseas, so I don't have warranty. Prophesy is ridiculously priced in Australia, I think I'm about one of two people who own one here.

For metal the Prophesy is ideal. The amount of tonal control is phenomenal, there is plenty of gain & that fact that is totally user definable makes it a great tool for the serious muso. I've been playing for around 9 years & was after a pre-amp/effects unit with these kind of capabilities & in the Prophesy I've found a gem. If it were stolen or lost I would hope there might be a Prophesy 2 out. Any plans for this Rocktron?????
At the end of the day the Prophesy sounds great & compared to other digital gear its like chalk & cheese, with dual 24 Bit 66 Mghz processors & a tube it's hard to go wrong. The only thing I don't like is the spelling of Prophe-S-y, here in Australia we spell it Prophecy.

Using O/S version 1.06, the newest I believe per Rocktron. The factory sounds are interesting, but what you can do with this unit beyond that is nothign short of amazing. Had the POD Pro, nice unit, but the Prophesy, although much older, suits my taste much better. Manual is excellent. Editing patches is easy, but no night/day on one control, you must move through a number of options to get to the tone and effects you like, but the "fine-tunability" is unequaled in my opinion.

I use this unit only in the home studio, it replaced the POD Pro. Live I use the Triaxis, Simul2:90, MPX-G2, and (2) Mesa 1-12s with E120s.....totally satisfied, there will never be another live rig. In the studio Prophesy direct to 03D mixer, Crown Amp, JBL 4411s...could tweak the Prophesy forever, it just keeps getting better. Effects are excellent. I've got a great clean "Fender" w/ "dual" reverb rhythm sound, same with delay for country, same with mutiband awsome chorus for Police, same settings with "British" tweaked for Hendrix, Robin Trower, same with ADSR and WAH for excellent Hendrix Wah....and it will go on an on.. I can't imagine anything that I cannot get with this unit. Some distortion and effects combinations can get "noisy" same as with amp combo/pedal...just use the HUSH and it goes away...total silence until you are playing. Clean sounds can get "edgy" and may sound like digital distortion, but you just have to work on the tone...with patience you'll get rid of all that. I give it a 9 because I'm still working on the right combination to get the "studio" sound. Have the "live" sound.

I bought new and used the Rocktron Intellifex for 10 years with no problems, then one day it started "fading out". Had bought another one "used" for my acoustic rig that had some noise. Sent that one back to Rocktron for repair. It came back only marginally better. So I figured my #1 Intellifex's life was over, and replaced it with the MPX-G2. If I can get 10 years our of the Prophesy I'll be happy.

No problems so far with the manual. I bought this unit used on Ebay, and emailed Rocktron about the current O/S. They responded in 2 days. Thats fine. Manaual is excellent (although it's for a version 1.0) I think I try to get the newest one. Don't anticipate any problems.

I play a little of everything from Kenny Rankin to George Jones to AC/DC. Been playing for 35 years. If stolen or lost, I would investigate the market to see what other "values" may be there, but would have no problem purchasing this unit again. Love everything, hate nothing but dislike the wallwart, but if that makes the unit quieter, thats OK. At least Rocktron gives you a very heavy-duty one. Compared it to the PODxt, might be close, but preferred the rack-mountability. It definitely helps, I play better because of it's sound. Same as my live rig..It is inspiring...never really got that feeling with the POD Pro...got a little of it with the PODxt. Looking forward to perfecting the "studio" mix ala Steve Lukather.

First of all I bought this thing because all the other preamps, effects processors just don't let you teak your sound enough. Your usually stuck with narrow band eq's, pre programmed effects, etc....
So it was to be expected to take a little longer to learn all the in's and out's. In about a month I had this thing down. Editing patches is a joke if your willing to spend a little longer then you would with a cheepo processor. The manual is very well written and easy to understand for the most part. Anything else you could probably figure ount on your own.

My main guitar I use with this is my Dimebag 3ST USA.
Marshall EL34 100/100 Poweramp.
Peavey 4x12 5150 cabinet.
First off I don't know how these people are getting this noise in the clean channel. I use pretty hot pickups IF YOU DON"T COMPENSATE FOR THIS you'll get noise but the same goes for any preamp I've used.
After that I had NO problems.
Being a mainly metal guitar player I am very picky on the how much gain I get, and how much room I have to work with it. This is the first preamp I've owned where there were cases that I had to turn the gain down a bit. I've never had too much distortion before...this thing smokes!!!
I must admit I have heard better clean sounds before, some better reverbs, better choruses but that was on dedicated chorus and reverb processors....what else would you expect. But the rocktron has the ability to pach another unit into one of your effects chains. But I'm more then happy with what I have to work with.
This has by far the best digital Wah sound I've heard to date, and combimed with the ADSR technology works REALLY well.
The Delays especially the ducker delay sounds wicked especially with a little or a lot of tweaking

I have owned one other Rocktron piece of equipment. A chameleon 2000, sub-par when you compare it to the prophesy but it was fairly cheap. Anyway I dropped that thing about 6 times, didn't even have a rack case for it for a while and had NO PROBLEMS! If the Prophesy is half as sturdy as the cheapo(which I'm sure it is) I'll be more then happy. I do all my shows without a backup (crazy I know) but I never worried with the chameleon...and I won't with the Prophesy.

never had to deal with them

Like I said I'm a metal head and this thing SHREDS!!! So much gain and the Hush controls it ideally. I've been playing for 9 years, I'm a big gear junkie and have been searching for something GOOD for years. There might be better processors out there but I haven't tried them and it sure as hell AINT digitech...absolut CRAP!!!!!
If I lost it I would definately get another one. I want another for a back anyway...I'll be touring more this year...better be safe then stupid. It's very veristile and I have become a better player using it. Every guitar player that's heard it or I've let play through my prophesy has loved it. First preamp I've owned where the presets were actually worth using.....woh boggles the mind.
I'd never give a 10 rating to anything that didn't deserve it. I was happy from the second I turned it on...looks good...sounds good.
just my opinion

You have find his logic first and then it'a verry simple

From country music to death metal

When I first use it in a live show I had no backup gear with me because it wasn't possible to take with me all the things that I was need. From that gig and now then it's my guitar and the Prophesy

Great, just great

I play with my band thrash metal. I am a guitar player 5 years.
I also using Marshall power amp or VHT power amp, AKG wireless,
Shure mics and Jackson guitars.

If you have been living in a cave for the last 13 years or so and have not owned some type of rack gear, especially "anything" Rocktron, there might be a slight learning curve getting around on the Prophesy. I personally found it pretty straight forward to get around on. A quick look at the manual will get just about anyone up and running fast. Other than that, the presets are excellent, if you want to just take it out of the box and get going quickly. Simply plug in and play.

To say I've owned a variety of gear in the last 20 years would be a horrible understatement! I have primarily been a Marshall and Les Paul kind of guy. Relying mainly on stomp boxes for effects. With that said, I have also owned my share of Boogies and Fenders, along with tons of rack gear, including Rocktron, Sansamp, Boogie, Marshall and the latest by Line 6. My current amps are a Marshall 6101 Blue Anniversary combo, and a Road King Combo. My guitars have radically changed. I now have a few Anderson guitars and one green Wolfgang standard flametop for the old Van Halenish type stuff.
I bought the Prophesy for a simple, good sounding way to record directly into my Yamaha AW4416. After being a gear junky for so long, I decided to vastly slim down my gear and started by selling off most of my guitars, amps and recording gear. Getting it down to some basic "quality" gear. After selling off all of my recording gear, I bought a Yamaha AW4416 and am running it into my Mackie HR824 monitors. Since I no longer play out live, I wanted to get rid of my amps and get a "rack unit" simply for recording. I bought a used Prophesy at first with the 1.0 operating system. I have to say, I wasn't very impressed. While the distortion settings sounded pretty excellent, the clean sounds really sucked. I just couldn't get the unit to produce a good "clean sound". It seemed like there was always some type of digital distortion happening.

After much frustration, I sold the Prophesy and got back on the merry go round of guitar amps again. I started by buying a Marshall JMP-1 and the Mesa recording rectifier amp. All of these amps sounded great, but still seemed "uninspiring" to play and were just lacking something. I had a chance to buy another Prophesy, but this one was brand new in the box and at a great price ($800). This new unit also had the latest operating system as well, vers. 1.6.
I don't know what the differences were between version 1.0 and 1.6 or if the first Prophesy I owned simply had some problem, but this new Prophesy sounds nothing short of INCREDIBLE!! Great clean sounds, amazing effects and awesome distortion sounds. The real killer is they sound so "tube like"!
But being a recovering gear junky, I couldn't leave well enough alone.... So I went back to plugging into my Mesa Recording Rectifier amp and JMP-1. I patched both units into an Intellifex so that I would essentially get the great effects the Prophesy had, but with that amazing Boogie and Marshall tones. You know how after you play something long enough, and the unit sounds half way decent to begin with, you seem to be able to convince yourself, it's better than what it really is? That's exactly what I did. I though the Boogie and Marshall rocked!!, then I plugged into the Prophesy again.... GAME OVER!! With all of the units plugged directly into my AW4416 and using the Mackie Monitors, the Prophesy kicked the "living sh*t" out of the Boogie and the Marshall with the Intellifex!!! It was bigger, fatter and warmer than the other two, could ever hope to be! Especially for "direct recording".
I have since compared the Prophesy with the Triaxis, the Line 6 gear, the Fender Cyber-Twin and the Sansamp. Again, no comparison! The Prophesy was the clear winner hands down! Being a guy who has always loved "tube" gear, it was tough to actually admit, this non tube unit was superior, but at the end of the day it was the clear winner. The sound quality is simply "superb". This unit is the "SH*T" for direct recording!!

Since I use this unit for recording, I am not overly concerned with it's reliability, although Rocktron has always been quick to take care of problems in the past for me.

Rocktron really has that "personal" touch when dealing with customer service. I give them my highest rating.

After listening to this baby and comparing it to other direct recording preamps, I really could not understand why it is not more popular than it is. But I guess if you had to pay "new" pricing for it like at musicians Friend $1400, I guess I can understand. If Rocktron would have made a reasonably priced optional pedal board for this unit and set the Prophesy's base street price in the $600-$800 range, there's little doubt Line 6 and it's POD Pro line would be way less popular than it currently is. There is no comparison between the two units and to be fair, I think the POD sounds pretty good. But the Prophesy sound like a collection of "real amps", not some half assed "modeled" amps.
Although priced comparably to the Boogie rack gear, the Prophesy is way better sounding for direct recording. After being out on the market for about 5 years now, Rocktron should drop the price of the unit, since the R&D costs have surely been recouped by now. But then again Mesa Boogie still charges $1600 for the frickin' Triaxis and it's been around now for what? 13 years???
And last but not least, if you like "Cool" looking gear, this baby won't let you down. Great color scheme and classy looks best describe this incredible looking unit! If you can pick one of these up for less than $900 it easily rates a "10", but at $1400 new price, I have to knock off a couple of points.

Just like any preamp unit like this, it takes time program your own good sounds. Just play around with it and use the manual. DOnt forget the factory presets are awesome. Play around with eq & paramatric eq.

Just awesome! I've palyed many different amps and this unit does it all. I'm playing in 2 projects right now. 1 rock band and 1 instrumental rock/blues/fussion. This unit gets all the sound I need without having to drag around different amps. The cleans are sharp and the dirty channel ROCKS! The preamp section a tube in it to add character to the mix. With a load tube power amp this unit will blow away must amps out there! My personal set up is the Prophecy into MesaBoggie 50/50 power amp. My guitar signal go through a BBE sonic maximizer(stereo). Then I have Furman power rack to power the whole unit and 2 4X12 Legacy cabs by Carvin. Awesome set!

I bought it used. ITs about 2 years old. Its been banged around in my rack box from moving it around and so far no problems.

Dont know................have needed it

It sounds awesome! Need not say more. May a little easier setup ,our own sounds might help. Cant forget the price! Pretty costly I couldnt afford a new one $1800 list!!!! I so I had to wait around for a used one. Check Ebay! After a power amp VERY COSTLY! But I'm final happy with my sound. I love to hear from other users EMAIL ME!

This unit is fairly easy to use. However, the "user interface" can always be better. In some cases we are expected to understand bandwiths and advanced EQ'ing. I think this is expecting a bit much. If Rocktron could address these issues they would certainly receive less tech support questions. However, in Rocktron's defense, it must have been a difficult task coming up with a user interface for such a powerful unit. A little time experimenting and a little time with the manual will get you going.

I use the Prophesy with a Mesa 20/20 power amp into a Carvin Legacy 2X12 cab with Celestion V30's re-wired for Stereo. The Carvin is the "weak link" in this setup but I can lift it with one hand!! I play a heavily customized Ernie Ball Silhouette Special about 80% of the time, an American Strat (stock) and a Squier Tele with 2 humbuckers.

This unit is very quiet, the Hush circuit does a great job where required to kill unwanted noise. The preamp tones are quite fantastic. There are 4 variations; American clean, Texas Blues, Vintage Marshall and "Mega Drive". I've only had the unit for about 10 days but I've been busy and I have found that I can get a great variety of tones and after many years of looking I've found "my sound". I am indeed very impressed. The effects are also very good. Rocktron brag that this unit has 12 times the processing power of their original Intellifex. Well if you've used an Intellifex you know that they are good. Imagine 12X the power! I am very picky about Reverb, Delay and Chorus. I am very happy with all of the effects and particularly happy with the Verb, delay and Chorus. The ADSR technology is very cool. I have only used it with some of the stock presets but nonetheless, very impressive.
Short answer: It sounds great!

I have had other Rocktron gear and it has all been reliable. I would love to have a backup rig but I can't afford it! However, I am confident that this unit will be solid.

I have dealt extensively with Rocktron and they are a great. Response is timely and they certainly want to help.

I play a wide range of music covering Jazz, Hard Rock, Fusion and blues. This unit is certainly versatile enough for all of this. I have been playing for about 30 years. If this unit was lost or stolen I would replace it, no hesitation. My favourite feature about this unit, easy: sound quality. Least favourite is the user interface for specifically the pre and post EQ section. Not a big deal once you get a handle on it but, I still think Rocktron should try to improve this. I compared to the Rocktron Voodoo Valve, Marshall JMP-1, Fender Cyber Twin, Line 6 Flextone combo and POD units as well as amp and Fx solutions. I chose the Prophesy because I wanted flexibility and quality. Simple! I did not compare to the Lexicon and TC units because of price and the fact that the Prophesy has a great Preamp built in with Fx.

I wish it came with a computer interface and some basic software for storing patches. I know that there are some solutions out there but perhaps Rocktron could help us here. I'm nitpicking.

Hats off to Rocktron, they've done a great job.

As with any processor it is good to sit down and get to grips with all the functions available. I found the Prophesy fairly easy to understand and set out very logically; the manual is also very informative.

I have been playing 12years, I run my Prophesy through a Marshall EL3450/50 & Marshall cabs. My guitars are Ibanez 7 string Universes. Now one thing about this unit is that it is QUIET, I found that I really had to drive my power amp at about 7/8 to get a nice live sound. (I play in a LOUD melodic metal/hardcore UK band check out www.junkdna.co.uk).
The HUSH facility is an incredible tool and really cleaned up my sound, the EQ section really lets you get 'in there' and bring almost any sound in your head to your fingertips...awesome!
The effects on this unit are simply stunning; Choruses, flanges & phases are lush and rich in sonic depth. One criticism of the unit though is the delays...there is no stereo panning!! There is virtually no colouration of the original signal and the ADSR technology opens up a whole new world of creative thinking. I have worked with many effects processors/pre amps all of varying qualities - Line6 Pod Pro's, Digitech 2120's, Boss, Marshall's, SansAmp's, Mesa Boogie's etc, but the Prophesy to me has to be one of the best units I have played through, warm crystal clear clean, spiky, crunchy overdrive and PHAT, chunky distortions, what more could a guitarist want?!?

Done a grand job on tours so far...Although I have noticed a couple of times when I turned on the unit there was no signal, I turned the unit off and back on again and it worked fine. Hmmmmm? As I don?t EVER want to have ANY problems whatsoever at shows/recordings/rehearsals etc I do have a complete back up rig.

Sent emails asking technical information, received replies within 1/2 hour, very good!

This unit is much more a serious tone tool than a mere toy as some processors are, the Prophesy is packed full with features and top quality sounds, if mine was stolen or lost I would sit and cry for a while, then get up and buy a new one IMEDIATLY, I would not be without this unit!
I work in a music shop so have had plenty of time to try all that is on the market, I found that I came back to the Prophesy every time, this was due to the gorgeous quality of effects and what you can actually do with the all the functions.
As I said I play in a UK band playing emo-hardcore-metal, the Prophesy certainly delivers, being the only guitarist in the band I needed a unit that cuts through live, sounded HUGE and had no drop outs - patches blend nicely together, you can change from one preset say with delays on to another with a different delay tempo and hear the original patch fade out behind the new one...as for ducking delays, wow, although, maybe the delays could be set to pan left and right, and a headphone jack possibly?
There are to many plus points to list, mainly the sound/effect quality that make this unit so great for me, yet it is the sheer creative possibilities that the Prophesy possesses (such as the ADSR) which make this truly a great addition to any guitarist rig.
The Prophesy really has inspired my playing, thank you Rocktron.

The unit is what I would call easy to use but I am a hard core computer geek so complicated is what I like the best. I found it very easy to edit patches all I had to do was follow the manual.
Not sure on the Firmware version.

Ibanez Guitars-VHT 2502 Power Amp-2 Mesa 4x12 Recto Cabinets for Stereo.

No noise but that is due to the hush circuitry...If you turn that off on the high gain patches it has noise.

I personally do not like the clean sounds on this unit but I do not hear the background noise others are hearing. I just don't hear a sparkling clean sound that I can get from a good tube amp (Fender Type Clean). I can get an excellent metal distortion with lots of balls and the really great thing about this preamp is you can change the single 12ax7 tube and completely alter the sound of the preamp. That means if you like NOS tubes, you put your best sounding tube in this preamp and it takes the tonal characteristics of that tube (like in the V1 position). I personally love the way it sounds with the new JJ 12ax7 ECC 83S tubes, very thick and not buzzy at all. I give it a nine because the clean could be better.

No Data

I personally find this to be one of the most useful items in my rack. The reason I say that is because I can go direct to tape (computer) with it in total silence and get some really great tones. I can play live with it and get compliments on my sound. I just wish the clean sounded more of a fender like clean but for rock and metal its very nice.

The unit is fairly easy to understand, although i think the eq section is a little hard to dial in.

I use this with a
furman pl plus
korg dtr1
bbe 482
mesa simul-class 2:90
the preamp section has a great distortion but the clean sound does have some sort of background noise or distortion. I have tried it with numerous power amps and guitars and changed the chords but nothing fixed it. I sent it back to Rocktron to get it fixed but it came back with the same problem. The effect section sounds great and is very versatile. I love the sound of the unit i just wish the clean sounds didnt have the excess noise.

It works great and outside of sending it off to have them try to figure out the background noise it has been ready when needed.

They are easy to deal with and seem to have great pride in there product. They were very helpful to me.

I play progreesive rock and this works perfectly with my style. I have been playing for 13 years and would buy another. I have compared it to the digitech 2101 and 2120, the triaxis, and a Marshall jcm 2000
For an all in one preamp processor i think its great probably the best there is and with the built in hush noise gate you have a completely quiet rig.

so far it is pretty easy to use,it takes time though,and you will have to spend time with any processor,unless you want cheap sound and settle for brainless pedals.the prophesy is set up very good,as you scroll the knobs under whatever you are looking at is the knob you use to tweak that specific function.anything else read the book its well written,unlike lexicon which ive had the pleasure to own then get rid of.mpxg2

now,im going to dig in,and rip the other reviews.1st off there is NO NOISE,i don't where you are getting noise from,maybe your power amp?maybe you just don't know how to use this.I played through one at guitar center in jersey,and it was also noiseless.learn to use the product please,before you submit your results.And use the hush in it thats what its job is anyway,getting rid of noise,and Its perfect.Now the preamp,ya baby,it kicks,it smokes,ive tried preamps looking for that sound,you know every guitarists perfect sound,lex mpxg2,mesa triaxis,and now the prophesy,I AM GLAD I DID NOT LISTEN TO THE REVIEWS,OR WHAT SEVERAL PEOPLE HAD TO SAY,if i did i probably would have not bought this.the preamp is awesome,you could do whatever you want esp,with 3 eq's.pump out the power and the bottom end.if dave mustaine uses it...it must be good.effects are nice also,i like the holy clean tone with delay and chorus,sweeeeeet.nice leads,this thing is truly smooth,but you have to work with it ,dont expect to plug any processor in and just have the perfect tones,take time and design your own,thank you rocktron!!!!!!!!!

so far... so good... so what???????

not yet but treat anyone with respect and you'll get respect back...remember you reap what you sow!!!!!!

we play metal,real metal,metal of the 80's n 90's,melodies,solos,great hooks,music that hangs on and on and on.I'm am totally happy i bought this,i was really leary because of all the drag reviews,but pssst on them!If you are looking to buy one guitar center has them in stock,play it through a tube amp and some good cabs,and take time with it,and you'll thank yoursaelf in the long run.
STONE MUSIC ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!

Playing through the presets is more than easy, of course, but trying to figure out every single function in all the pages in the menu is no piece of cake. i don't mean it's difficult, but I think it'll take whole lot of experiment for me to really get acquainted with this unit.
But then again, why would I pay for over a grand for something that looks like or works like a Boss pedal? I think the dufficulties of use is the inherent nature of something complex and versatile, at least for this unit. I give it a 5 because of 10 for versitality and 1 for 'ease' of use.

Top-notch. I think the 12x7tube in the preamp section helps quite a bit. But again you can't expect it to sound exactly like a real quality tube amp. That's why this unit requires a nice power amp for live use (or you can use the record out, with on board speaker simulation nad mike placement---not great, but it'll suffice, IMHO).

Some people complain about the background noice on some clean settings, and I notice that myself too. But fortunately, i don't think it's a real issue. Unless you're going solo (with no other sound coming from your band) with a very low volume and the audience is literally sticking their ears on your speaker, I don't think it's noticable.
The ADSR system works like a dream too. It really gives you a chance to let your guitar 'sing'. Too much to explain, if you're interested check out their website. I wonder why this system is still in its infancy. For example, the auto wah combined with ADSR control really makes this unit unique.
Pre-preamp eq and post effect global eq is yet another nice touch by Rocktron. Many guitarists using seperate pedal before will find it familiar and useful for sure.
Assignable Effect loops make this machine even more versatile, and because it allows further compatibility with any exansion of gears you make, this is likely to be a long-lasting product.

OK, those are the main features that stand out to me immediately. But about its sound, I think I'm just more than happy to report that it doesn't sound DIGITAL. I once owned a Eventide Eclipse and have played through several other Eventide models, so I think I know hat transparency in effects is. While no Eventide, the effects in Prophesy is more than capable of producing decent sounds.

I know I probably shouldn't compare a unit at this price range with other claimed 'all-in-one' unit, like GT6 or Digitech stuff. But I really think there's a distinction between a toy's sound and that of a pro unit. My personal advice for those who are like me, with not much cash but really like to have something decent, is two words: credit card! Some really good players I know are still using units like GT-5 or GT-3 and they sound pretty good too. But IMHO, a real decent unit like Prophesy will easily put them in another league in seconds.
Can I get the sound of my favorite artist? Well, pretty damn close, from Metallica to Dimebag, Aerosmith to Korn, and Gary Moore to SRV. The only thing(s) lacking in this unit, I'd say, is some more variety of effects, like envelope follwer/filter, fuzz, ping-pong delay...etc. Yeah Rocktron, how about throwing in something more to make this cool unit a GREAT one? Call me greedy, but I think with over a grand and what I expect from Rocktron, it's not too much to ask for, is it?

Looks tough to me. But I wonder how often I'll have to change the valve. Put it in appropriate rack it'll probably never come out again.

Never dealt with them. this is actually my first Rocktron that I bought. Hope I never have to deal with them.

It doesn't give you really whacky stuff, but it does what it does more than nicely. I think it really merits the title 'Best all-in-one unit'.

I play almost everything. My other gears include PRS Custom 22, Collings OM2H accustic, Cornford Harlequin 6w tube amp...etc. Been playing for more than a decade now but still feel like a beginner on a daily basis:)

My favourite feature will have to be ADSR. if there's something I hate, hmmph, the display, I suppose, oh and I think it doesn't look as expensive as it is (comon Rocktron, it's 2002 already, can we drop that 1980s look?)

I compared this unit with TC G-force (versatile and imaginitive, but too damn digital for my taste), Lexicon (pretty cool effects, but the preamp SUCKS), Boss GT6 (sorry, can't comment on that), POD (sorry, I know how many people think it's a great professional gear, so no comment again in case if I upset any one of you), Prophesy, while no winner in every aspect, stanbds out as the most practical, usable and versatile all rounder. It doesn't give you really whacky stuff, but it does what it does more than nicely. I think it really merits the title 'Best all-in-one unit'.

throw in at least two quality EQ pedal, one compressor, one VERY EXPRESSIVE auto wah, one cool phaser, chorus, reverb, delay, tremolo, oh, and a decent tube preamp (like Marshall JMP-1)...man, that's more than grand definitely, if you're smart enough to add the pedal carry case and quality power supply with good connecting cables, you know you're likely to go over 2 grand. This unit does most of what seperate pedals do (and sometimes better), plus, it saves you from doing the lap dance and give you instant change of patches with a midi controller. I can't complain, really.

If you want your own sound, this is a good piece of equipment to work with. However, like other reviewers have stated, don't expect to plug in and love every patch. The layout is confusing for the 1st month, but again, once you're comfortable with it, it's a lot of fun. If you understand frequencies(bandwidth, etc.), you will find a unique tone, and find ways for it to get along with the power amp you use.

I play original metal, something compared to Devin Townsend/Fear Factory in that realm of tones. However I like to use tones similar to Allan Holdsworth or Eric Johnson, too. So, having versatility as well as the chance to get a cutting edge tone attracted me to this unit. I play a Schecter guitar with and EMG 85 in the bridge. I use a Mesa 50/50 for power, and a BBE for enhancement. As far as a good, strong metal tone, it took a very long time to manipluate it so that the preamp and power amp made a unified sound. But none-the-less, I get great compliments on my live sound, and other players always wonder what's hiding behind the Marshall cab. :)
A reviewer mentioned the scratching sound when running clean tones with a power amp behind it. I agree. Rocktron told me it's the nature of the beast, and can understand that. There are so many factors concerning this, and I found that simply going to a lower-output pickup can help. Granted, this is not fun, but considering that ths is a one-in-all unit, I'll suffice.. I have never ran this thing direct for recording, but I plan to in the future. The bottom line- If you got the time(and I mean months)you'll get your sound. The effects are realistically good for the money, and it holds down the fort very well for what I do.

For the 8 months I've owned this thing, it's been dead-reliable. Unless you drop the damn thing, the Rocktron won't fail you. Also note, I got mine on ebay(brave soul) at a great price. No telling what this thing's been through, but the factory presets were intact and the unit's been rock-solid. I know I've gotten my coin's worth.

I EMAILED about the clean-tone issue(faint distortion), and they wrote back the next day. Like another owner said, it prolly wouldn't hurt to call instead. Other than that, no problems.

If you have had the 'tapdance blues', and really need to cover a lot of tonal ground in a live environment, this thing rules. Patch switches are fast and it's easy to adjust stage volume between songs if I need to. If you are a tone frrreak who wants to find a unique rhythm tone, this thing is the answer. Remember, the kind of power amp you use with it will determine your foundation for your tone. So if you backed it with a solid-state power amp, disregard anything I've typed.. I'd love an Eventide 'orchestrator' with a Soldano
'SR-71' etc, but I'd rather get groceries. Keeping that in mind, it's worth the dough.

All I have to say is that the processor is way faster than any unit I have ever tried. The gap between pluck and sound from speaker is light speed - the same as any analog circuit. The cleans, particularly the Jazz settings "Pat Martino" are like the best Evans' or Polytones' that I have ever heard. This is a better piece than a voodu valve which is a better piece than pretty much everything else out there. It blows the Lexicon away and it sounds way better than any digitech -absolutely smokes a pod. The setup I played it through sucked too and it still sounded awesome. I might even give it a 10 but that is just a reserved number.

very easy, but you need to learn it a little bit. some little errors in software (turning up and down effects).

I am very uneasy about sound quality... effects are great, but pitch shifter is fixed, I expected intelligent in this price category... wah is not very good and it is not programmable... chorus is very good, reverb is fantastic....

preamp sounds are good, BUT!!!!!!! on clean sounds I can hear something like "background distortion". It seems it comes from another circuit of Prophesy and mixes with main sound... this "wzoooooooom" on the background muddies clean sounds and are very unpleasant....

I tried to e-mail Rocktron tech support, many e-mails I sended and no responses, after long time somebody from Rocktron mailed me "this faint distortion is normal, it is something with software"... unfortunately it is not "faint" and when you want to use some clear strat type sounds, it is DISRUPTIVE....

so I can give 9 to effects and zero to preamp, because it is terrible, overal I will give 2, because this distortion makes it unusable

there are two possibilities: Prophesy is not usable for clean sounds, or my Prophesy is broken and Rocktron customer support is extremely bad... but both these possibilities are bad...

it looks very solid

THERE IS NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT FROM ROCKTRON!!!! I sended many e-mails and no responses... I wrote to Rocktron I can not call them from Central Europe, it is very expensive and my spoken english is bad... no responses...

NEVER I will buy another Rocktron product, that is all I can say. There is not possible "money back" in my country (I am not from US), I will try to sell my Prophesy, but it will be loss for me... and this all makes me very sad, I saved money long time to buy high-end guitar product and just now I have "wzooooooom" machine

This thing is easy to use if you know what your doing.

This Thing has it all. I currently have a VHT pitbull ultral lead 100watt head with a VHT 4/12 cab. BBE sonic maxmizer 482 Jackson SLh2 Soloist. And The Rocktron prophesy. My sound is killer.

Hellya i would depend on this

I've never had a problem to call the company.

This unit is incredibly straightforward to use and program, you don't even need a manual. Almost every effect block and function has a dedicated button to bring you to that edit page immediately, and the multiple "amp-style" knobs give you instant (and comfortable) access to the parameters on every page (no scrolling around). The manual is excellent, written very clearly BY native English speakers and FOR English speakers (unlike all those horrendous, useless wastes of trees distributed by companies like Yamaha, Roland, etc). For reference, however, I am a studio engineer and thus have A LOT of experience w/ effects boxes, processors of all kinds, synths, plug-ins, etc etc so to me a guitar preamp is about as simple a box as I see in a given day. However, that being said, navigation proved exceptionally fast with this unit, and I had the signal chain mastered (and memorized) within an hour.

I ran all kinds of guitars through this, Les pauls, PRS, Ibanez, Carvins, Schecters, etc etc. I used this direct to disk in the studio as well as through a Mesa 20/20 power amp on stage and got great results in both cases. The range of sounds you can get out of this box is truly phenomenal, and I fully support Rocktron's statement that this is the best "all-in-one" guitar processor out there. Definitely in a whole different class than all those "digital modelers" and puts those Digitech 2112 boxes to shame. Like any preamp, however, you need to run this through a tube power amp to really get the most out of it. That being said, this is one of the few "digital" preamps or modelers that I have used in the studio that did not create very audible "artifacts" in the higher frequencies, though under extreme test situations (maxed out treble, gain, and presence on clean channel with no speaker simulation) I did manage to pick up some digital aliasing on my high fidelity near fields. It suprises me, though, how few reviewers on this site ever report these type of artifacts in other boxes like the Digicrap stuff, the Voodu Valve, etc etc, as I have found those boxes perform horrendously under the same test conditions. I guess because most users only run these things through guitar cabs or home setups and have never really scrutinized them in a hi-fi professional studio environment they never pick up on these artifacts. At any rate, the Prophesy performed admirably and as I said before the lowest level of this type of digital high frequency distortion of any box I've tested yet, and you'll never notice it through a standard setup. This box gets crystal cleans, nicely driven blues, Marshall grind, and over-the-top searing "mega drive" and sounds very warm. The effects are excellent and comprehensive, though not as crisp or deep to my ear as a dedicated high-end unit like the G-Force. However they are more than adequate and the only thing I found myself really missing was Multi-tap (and multi-pan) delays and a better compressor (I'm very spoiled in this dept and just can't settle for less than a RNC these days). The Hush Noise Reduction works like a charm and I wish I had it in every processor I own.

Very dependable, thick metal faceplate, sturdy construction, the OS never so much as burped in the studio or in a club. I use it live without backup, enuff said.

Rocktron is fantastic in my experience, they always call back and spend as long as needed on the phone with me. When they didn't have the indepth specs I wanted for comparison (processor speeds, AD/DA conversion algorithms, etc etc) they looked 'em up and got back to me pronto. Very helpful.

I have been playing for over 10 years, owned too much gear to list. This is the best all-in-one rack solution I've ever used, and I highly recommend demoing one if you can find one. Unless you're willing to shell out ~$1000 for an Egnater IE4 preamp and then add over another $1000 for a comparable effects processor (G-Force, Lexicon MPX-G2) this is the best you can do for the money. Highly recommended.

Although some say it's a straight forward device, I tend to think that it requires some serious reading of the manual. Once you become familiar with some of the basics, you can starty to enjoy this piece of equipment.
The presets could be cooler. Most can get you started but some are waste of space. The key pad on the front saves you from ripping your hair out of your scull.

It would help to have a good knowledge of equilization. You have 3 parametrics and a constant basic eq. Once you get OR if you already have this knowledge, THE SKY'S THE LIMIT !!! The tone is has got to be the most important fearure on this processor and the transparency of the effects. Whatver sound you can create will be your true tone.

YES!!! Depend on it. It's never crapped out on me for the last 2 years. NEVER.

I've called for advice on alot of technical stuff and the folks at Rocktron have always been friendly and patient with some of my lack of knowlege. For some reason emails take forever to get answered and sometimes not at all. My advise, CALL.

My rig :
Guitar: ESP Horizon to Prophesy ( controlled by Digital Music Corp, Ground Control ) to Digital Music Corp System Mix Plus Guitar Audio mixer to Amp: Mesa/Boogie Stereo Simul-Class 2: Ninety back to Digital Music Corp GCX Switching System. Cab: Mesa/Boogie Rectifier 4x 12.
I like to rockout and this sucker can definatelty provide the muscle I need for my sound. I also like to experiment with sounds too, and it delivers( I'm still trying to figure out the ADSR though) . A word to the wise, this is not for beginners or some intermediates like me at the time I bought it. In my opinion it is a professional processor with a ton of features that I'm still discovering on a daily basis ( and I've had it for 2 years ). Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to trash the prophesy or scare anyone away... there really is alot to know about it. To me the key to enjoying and recordindg from the Prophesy is learning how to configure the EQ's. My favorites is the 4 voiced chorus which can sound ultra lush. Also the Direct Recording features like speaker type, mike placement etc are convenient. I've done a lot of my recording by simply usi ng this feature. My wish list would be for Rocktron to make some type of manual available or provide information on their web site ( not just swap presets )on how to create some sound recipes that explain some of Rocktrons effects capabilities/ possibilities, like Line 6 does with the POD. Would stereo inputs be too much ask, for like a drum machineor something ? How about a headphone jack and a digital out? It does cost over a grand, mind you. (these maybe some thing to ponder for the next Prophesy?) Despite some of my gripes if somehow it were stolen I'd go out and get another . I don't think I could do without it. Were in love.

You kind of need to get used to it at first, but once youve learned the basics of the unit you'll get better and better with it. Tweaking the eq's are kind of a pain in the ass if you're a perfectionist about youre sound. It may take a little work, but once you've got it, you've GOT IT.

As far as my guitars that I use with it, I have an Ibanez jem, and a custom fender strat with seymour duncan pickups. My other toys along with that include a BBE sonic maximizer, a stereo compressor, a hughes and kettner 4x12 cabinet, and a line 6 300 watt head which I use to power the prophesy with. I am heavily influenced by guitar players like Eric Johnson, John Pettrucci, and Vai, and believe it or not, lots of great blues players like Buddy Guy, Michael Hill, Stevie Ray, and Kenny Wayne Shephard. I'd have to say the hardest tones for me to get are the phat blues tones which are originally produced by some of the finest vintage amplifiers of our time. But by means of using the pre and post eq's in the prophesy, you can come pretty damn close to some of those down home vintage sounds. The only thing that annoys the hell out of me is that the prophesy does'nt have better factory preset's; with the exception of the "Dimebag" preset. But overall the preamp section is pretty good, and the post effects are pretty tricky to figure out, but can't really complain because of the amount of flexibility that it really contains.

So far I've only had it for about a month, but it seems like a sturdy little unit. But of course its always nice to have a backup if you can afford one.

I've actually dealt with rocktron twice in fixing my velocity 300. There was so service charge, but the fact that I had to keep sending it in made me realize that I'm only interested in their processors.

I enjoy ALL styles of music but my heart is in Progressive rock. I'm 22 and have been playing for 10 years. I have went through several amps, pedals, and effects processors and have always had a beef with something. I compared this processor with the digitech 2120, which sounded like I was playing inside of a tin can, and a mesa dual rectifier which I sorry, it just did'nt have enough gain for my taste.
The prophesy may not have the most ripping distortion but it comes close and still maintains a crisp sound and has plenty of nice sounding effects, even though they need to make them a little more user friendly to tweek. I think if it was I could spend more time making music rather than making presets all day.

once you play with the unit you can dial in great tones it seems to be set up so you have to have some type of studio knowledge in order to dail in stuff. i did not get a manual (im never going back to guitar center.)

im using a vht 2/90/2 tube power amp an evintide ds/x harmonizer and a 300 watt 4x12 stereo cab. without a tube poweramp the unit was weak the recording outs sound horrible the clean so far is kinda thin

its been good out live so far

i asked for a manual cause i never got one and they brushed me off f%$k them

A little complicated,especially for the plug in & play amp head player. Most players will not need or use half the sounds available.Although it's nice to know you'll never get bored.
Rocktron has come very close to real tube sound,but when you strip all the cool effects-and there are alot-the basic distortion just ain't the same as the real thing to my ears. Words like harsh,brittle come to mind in the high end.It's still digital no matter how you slice it.But if you're into heavy effects, these help cover that up.
Not the amp for the purist.But awesome options,EQ,& processing power.And the manual is simple & to the point but could of explained more of how what effects what sound wise.
Editing is easy & well layed out.

Used mine w/Marshall 20/20 sounded good most of the time.But not awesome.If you have amazing patience & don't mind scrolling through endless screens/menus/EQ's & effects paramaters you'll probably eventually find some sounds you'll be very happy with.

Very dependable.

Excellent support.

Been playing 20yrs & like the accessability & midi control & overall editing features but don't have the patience it takes to get the personal sound I'm after.
But anyone who does have that kind of patience and can live w/digital distortion will love the power & options available!

The Prophesy can be a little confusing but once you become familiar it gets better like any other new gear. Rocktron hit the mark again,this guitar pre sounds great, and alot of the factory sounds will get you off and running and give you a starting place for your custom sounds.

The Prophesy,s sonic qualitys are stunning. The modling technology delivers four popular amp sounds to build and construct your own blazing sounds. "Hey, would it not be great if there was a site we users could access to find new sounds from other users" Just a thuoght? Anyway a great guitar recomendation "The Parker Fly" was made for this pre. Im using a 3/4 back Mesa 4/12 cab with a volocity 120,BBE Sonic Maximizer, TC M-1,DBX DDP and a Korg Tuner which makes it sound o so good mun.

Very well constructed,however any thing could go wrong at any time with any thing.Back up is always a good idea.If I could afford two I would have two.

Have only had the Prophesy for a short time but I have heard that Rocktrons tech support is bullet proof. And this didnt come from the guy who sold it to me.I had to find out, I bought a demo.

I think this guitar pre is a fine piece of equipment. I believe the Prophesy is a great overall value, its like having a room full of killer amps. Bottom line is that it sounds great.

This is not the easiest amp in the world to set up, That's for sure. But dialing in your tone on this thing is something like that of programing a VCR. If you don't like all the technical shit, then save yourself some trouble and go buy a Rivera Knucklehead. But if love to tweak and tweak, then this thing is for you. It's extremely complex setup is what allows it to produce ANY tone that you desire. You just need some knowledge of parametric equalization to get it. I'm an electronics major and this thing is perfect for me. If you don't have a broad understanding of frequency responses, bandwidth, and various other electronic big words, then this might not be for you.

WOW!! I've always been a little skeptical about these little preamp gadgets. I have always used good ole tube amp heads and have been very happy with the results, but I found that I had trouble getting all the sounds that I wanted. I wanted something I could program multiple sounds and not have to step on 12 pedals.

The moment I plugged this bad boy in at Guitar Center, I knew that I had found my dream amp. I play a lot of hard rock, so the distortion and overdrive tones had to be great. And they are more than great, they are truely breath taking. I can't tell a difference between this thing and any other kick ass amp in terms of quality of sounds. I own a Rivera Knucklehead and a 5150.

Clean sounds are incredible. This thing will do immaculate clean tones, country, blues, rock, hard rock, metal...etc. It has everything in it.

The effects are very good. They are not perfect, but they are very good. Sure, it's much easier to put a boss CE-1 chorus in your effects loop and turn some knobs, but you won't be able to apply different chorus settings to each preset. When you get a feel for the effects, they can be very inspiring.

I was very impressed with the presets. Several are very very good. There is an almost pefect "Eruption" tone. My jaw dropped the first time I heard it. There is an excellent Dimebag Darrel setting as well. I was able to take several presets and just tweak the standard tone controls to my taste and was very impressed. What was really cool was the AC/DC tone. I've found that the preamp gadgets have a very tough time reproducing medium gain sounds, but this amp did it with flying colors.

The way that the Parametric eq's are set up, this thing can match just about any sound that you like. You can scoop some mids before the preamp to give your Les Paul a better clean sound. You can cram lots of mids into the overdriven preamp to make your guitar have more screaming bite. You can increase the bandwidth on the parametric eq to boost the mids before the pre amp and give you a Zakk Wylde like Marshall tone.

I'm currently playing this preamp through a VHT 50/2/50 power amp and a Marshall JCM 800 4x12 cabinet.

This thing will do it all.

So far so good.

I've always got immediate replies about any questions that I may have had.

I play hard rock. My tone I go for is something like a combination of early Van Halen, Slash, and Metallica. I am totally happy pleased the tone of my Prophesy. It has all the crunch, bite, and warmth you could ask for it. This thing fits the bill. But it has jazz presets and all kinds of other bullshit. It is virtually flawless, you just have to have the knowledge to get the most out of the unit.

I've been playing about 4 years. I also own a Rivera Knucklehead, 5150, Lee Jackson head, I use custom shop Ibanez guitars, as well as Fender Strat USA's and a Jackson Kelly Ke-1.
If it was stolen, I would sell a kidney and buy another one the next day.

I tried a Sansamp PSA-1 and I couldn't rid of that fizzy, fake, digital distortion-like sound. I just didn't have a natural tube sound that the Prophesy does. I could have went with a Tri Axis, but there were no effects, and no parametric equalization. That means you are stuck with the voicings that it comes with. The Prophesy has infinite voicings because of the parametric eq. That's how the Van Halen and Dimebag Darrel tones were created using the modern channel. The only way to get a cranked old Marshall tone and a solid state Randall tone with the same channel is to play with the voicings.

This thing really has too much shit on it. I spend more time tweaking than playing. That's the only bad part. Lately, I've pretty much stuck to my favorite settings and have done more playing though.

Like anything new it took a little fumbling around to figure out how to setup patches. The manual helped out a little to start, but really just fumbled around myself for the learning curve. Knobs for each respective parameter are sweet. The eq part took a little time to tweek out having to scroll through all the parameters for pre, post and global eq respectively. Lots more to learn on/about this unit, mainly ignorance of functionality of some items, but overall ease of use a 8. Being a powerful unit a little learning was/to be expected.

Incredible! Incredible clean and powerful to say the least, the added Hush is the key to killing all the bad noise. Messed around only a little with clean sounds but the distortion is amazing, very punchy and lots of room for fine tuning. I run it through a Marshall EL34 100/100 power amp, Rocktron ProQ, Art Dual 15 band EQ, and then a BBE Sonic Maximizer. I play an Ibanez RG540. Currently running it mono through a Marshall 4x12 Stereo cabinet, until fall when I can get a second cabinet and run true stereo. Get an awesome crunch distortion-wise. Play mostly Metal/Speed Metal/hardcore. Get a sweet Deftone-like sound. The effects of adding a little delay/ chorus/ flanger add to the sound and doesn't change the original tone. To get the the sound I like I think the BBE (a must for any instrument esp. guitar), along with the ProQ and 15-band Stereo EQ are a must for me, which really tighten the sound the way I like it. Gives me a stiffie every time I play.

Haven't gigged with it. Just an in-house stress managment tool right now. Would have no problems placing all faith in it for a gig with no back up, and if money were no issue then I would have an identical setup for backup also.

Haven't had to deal with customer support for it. But did have a pleasant experience with ordering a power supply for my ProQ a little bit ago. Very friendly.

If anything happened to it in any way I wouldn't hesitate to replace it. Has more functionality in it then I have currently explored or for that matter probably need. It is kinda hard to explore the other features when I am having too much fun playing on sounds I have already created. For those who are looking for an all-in-one preamp/effects unit the Prophesy is definitely one KIND piece of equiptment. The integrated Hush is the kicker, love that crunch, then when between chords and muting strings...absolute silence. Very slick looking quality constructed item. Definitely the Rolls Royce of preamps. I do wish the way that the effects (delay, chorus, flange, reverb, etc.) are assigned was different. It would be nice to just push on the respective effect/button then have it go right to the parameters for the effect, instead of having to scroll through other parameters to the section to add the pre/post effects for the patch then add it...that is my only dislike.

Obviously interface design for any multi-effects processor in the digital realm is going to be page driven. I must point out however guitar players don't tend to think or work very well that way. I was disappointed to see no support for continuous controllers in the midi implimentation...that would have made a big difference in the practical use of this device. Creating a preset for every single contigency you might encounter during a gig is extremely impractical. What would have made this unit truly amazing would have been the capability of assigning various parameters to continous controllers. (ie expression pedals, swiches etc.) Can you imagine how awsome this thing would have been if you could, at the touch of a pedal, sweep the gain or reverb time or just do wah moves. Oh well opportunity lost.
Dont' get me wrong, it's not a particularly difficalt interface to use...it's just very impractical.If you've got a 20 minutes to go fishing for a sound, you should have no trouble getting it. If your on stage though, your pretty much screwed.

Very impressive sounding gadget, frankly I would say it's one of the best I've heard direct to desk. When I demo'd it in the store the sound was really what impressed me with it. Getting it to my studio I wasn't unhappy at all with the tone (unlike the previous post). I don't think I'm going to keep it though simply because it log jams the creative process with too much page tweaking.

Had it less tha week...so far so good.

Apparently not avaible at the time of day your most likely to need it. i.e. in the evening

If you've got the luxury of keeping a unit on hand that sounds amazing but is a little tedious to work with and pretty much worthless a heavily dynamic live environment, it's really not a bad unit to own. For the price I had really hoped Rocktron would do better.

For the features, it is wonderful. The knobs make it very easy to adjust! The manual is nice, too.

Try it! I use it mainly with a custom Strat copy that I made from Carvin. Ebony fretboard, maple neck, alder body, stacked humbuckers. I also use it with a Carvin DC200 6-string for metal and speed stuff. I play through a Carvin Vintage amp, usually. It is wonderful, clean, and versatile.

You can get any sound you like, I believe.

So far, just like my Chameleon, flawless.

Call 'em and see. I just chatted for 20 minutes one time (and learned a lot).

I play from Holdworth to Vaughn, with Vai and Ackerman in between, and George Benson and Joe Pass on the side.

This is how a unit is supposed to be.

I've owned the 2101 digitech, the Marshall jmp-1, and various forms of alesis, digitech, and rocktron effects units over the years, and this is the easiest yet. Why the 8? Because you still have to get into it pretty deep to get the most out of it.

I feed it through my Marshall 20/20 power amp (a BIG reason why this thing sounds great) and two single 12" boogie wedge monitor cabs. My main guitar is a '71 Les Paul Black Beauty with Duncan JB and Pearly Gates(neck) pickups, and my second is a Jeff Beck Strat with the Gilmour EMG's (mid-boost, etc.) I'm convinced that if you can't get this thing to sound great at different volumes, you have the wrong power amp, speakers, or ears. I've played with this rig in outdoor venues in front of thousands with my power amp pegged, and also played in very small clubs in NYC, and it stays very consistant. For my taste, the third channel, british whatever, can get you everything from Matchless to Marshall, with that great Boogie midrange. You just have to get used to the numerous ways to EQ it. If you boost the bass on the Pre-preamp EQ, it gets "farty" like an old fender. If you cut that same EQ, and then boost it afterwords, the low end stays tight like a big Marshall.

I have one of the original prototypes that I got from the Rocktron rep. I got it in November '98 and have played over 150 shows with it. Not a glitch. Perfect.

I play straight ahead rock-- like counting crows meets collective soul meets Tom Petty, and this thing will do anything I ask it to. Only thing that I've played that I like better for pure tone is the Matchless rack preamp thing, but it's almost the same money and has no effects. I plan to buy another one as a backup.

The "amp knobs" on this thing make editing patches a breeze, though having so many parameters on the screen at once forces them to abbreviate the settings to the point where if you haven't skimmed the manual you won't have any idea which menu you're in at times. Once you've got the hang of it though, this thing is unbelievably easy to use.

There are only a couple small areas that need improvement, such as the assignment of midi controls which lacks a "toggle" function for momentary foot switches, and the fact that you can't see the name of the patch you're about to overwrite in "store" mode.

If there were separate sections for preamp vs. effects sound quality, I would give the Prophesy's preamp a 10 and its effects a 7.

The preamp, which is a combination of a single 12AX7 tube and digital modelling, is the best I've ever heard from a DSP unit. I especially like how it reacts differently to my different guitars and has some excellent sounding presets out of the box without the need for EQ tweaking. Earlier technology (such as Roland's COSM) always sounded to me as though there was a blanket over the tone. Not so with the Rocktron!

On the other hand, the Prophesy's digital effects are not as sexy as the preamp modelling, especially the pitch shifter which sounds awful to me. Also, I was dissapointed by the wahwah effect which has no programmable parameters at all. This doesn't mean I'm going to return the unit by any means, because all the effects (except the pitch shifter) sound fine and a few are very cool, such as the rotating speaker effect. The bottom line is that if you already have an outboard effects unit that you're happy with, you will probably want to keep it patched in to cover the Prophesy's weak areas.

I've only had this thing a couple weeks, but it seems rock solid.

I'm mostly a hobbyist although I do play for others on occasion. This unit strikes me as a nearly ideal preamp for live gigs. Plug your favorite midi foot switch/controller into it and you're ready to go. I bought this thing to replace my Roland GP-100 and aside from the pitch shift effects which are infinitely superior on the Roland, and the minor detail of not having a "toggle" setting in the midi controller menus, I don't miss a single feature.

As with most programmable pre-amps, spending some time with the owner's manual is advised. Unlike Digitech, Rocktron's is actually comprehensible! This pre-amp has a huge array of available sounds, but it is fairly easy to modify existing or create new presets.

I play a custom GMW 7-string guitar with EMG 707's through a Rocktron Velocity 300 power amp and a Belari Tube Exciter into 2 Marshall cabs.
The sound is absolutely crushing! I play very technical death metal, and even at full gain (which is considerable), each note is still distinguishable. The tones range from the cleanest Fender to the most roaring Mesa/Marshall imaginable! It did take a while to dial in the EQ (it has dual parametric eq's as well as 4 normal tone controls), but once I was there, wow! The effects are killer too...you can assign any effect you want in any order (delay, reverb, chorus, phaser, flange, rotary speaker, compression). The noise is nicely handled by the HUSH ciruitry. I give it a 9 since no product is "perfect."

So far, so good. It seems well made, and with only one tube, there isn't much to go wrong.

I've had one dealing with them, and that was very favorable. My power amp blew out a bridge rectifier, and they repaired it very quickly. I also e-mailed them about the number of tubes, and got an immediate response.

I've tried/owned numerous pre-amps (JMP-1, ADA MP2, Tech 21 SansAmp, Digitech 2120, Triaxis, etc.)and this is by far the best. Less muddy than the ADA, warmer than the SansAmp, more gain than the JMP, less scratchy than the Digitech, more grinding than the Mesa! I would definitely buy it again after disemboweling the thief. It's expensive, but worth it. Again, a 9 since nothing is perfect! (Those others would get a 5-7)

It isn't easy to design an effects processor user interface -- the limited size of the display screen and the lack of front panel real estate for buttons and dials make the design a difficult job. Compared to other effects processors I've used (Digitech RP-1 and RP-5), I think the layout of the controls on the Prophesy and the methods for editing patches is relatively intuitive. With a little practice, editing becomes second nature. I do agree with the previous reviewer that modifying the EQ settings can be a nightmare. They've tried to use parametric controls to emmulate graphic EQ manipulation. Rocktron would be well advised to utilize the display screen to emmulate a graphic EQ - visualization (instead of imagination) would be a tremendous improvement to their EQ features. The pre-, post- and global EQs; however, are a very powerful feature. I also agree with the previous reviewer that Rocktron should provide some sort of guide in terms of how to "build" sounds. The Prophesy packs some powerful effects, but I sometimes feel overwhelmed because I don't know how some of the smaller parameters interact to produce the overall effect. Although the smaller parameters have titles, only a sound tech would understand how their adjustment might affects the final outcome, as many of the parameters are extremely subtle. Trying to build an effect by trial and error, using a large number of parameters isn't much fun. I recommend that Rocktron build a programmer's guide on their website where each parameter is fully explained and its manipulation is reinforced/demonstrated using sound bytes. The manual does a reasonably good job of navigating the user through the interface.

I mostly used the Prophesy between my '65 Jaguar and a Boogie Rect-O-Verb combo. The preamp section colored my tone. I think the preamp settings (Clean American, Texas Blues, Vintage British, and Mega Drive) have great characteristic sounds of their own, but they aren't tremendously transparent. So, if you want to use the Prophesy preamp stage to spice up a cheaper guitar, I would highly recommend it for that purpose; if you want to use the Prophesy to add some effects to your vintage guitar or carefully selected combination of pickups, do yourself a favor and bypass the preamp section (the Prophesy allows you to do this) and go right into the effects. On the other hand, if you want to add some "wild variation" to your more traditional sounding vintage guitar, the Prophesy preamp section can do this for you. I have to disagree (quite strongly) with the other reviewer with respect to the Prophesy sounding weak when played at "apartment listening levels". Most folks "in the know" about guitar amps know that tone and volume are highly correlated. An amp played at lower volumes lacks tone, crunch, and definition no matter what devices are driving the input signal. Sure, there are specialty devices like the Marshall Power Brake that overdrive your signal to make it sound like you're pushing your tubes. But let's try a little experiment: plug your guitar into your Power Brake and your Power Brake into your amp and play through your amp at moderately low volume. Can you hear how the Power Brake is overdriving your signal? Now turn your amp up a notch - sounds good, huh? OK, turn it up two notches - sounds great!! The morale of the story is that ALL sounds are thinner at lower volumes, even those coming out of the Power Brake -- you can't blame the Prophesy because you can't "rock out" in your tiny apartment... The effects in the Prophesy are great -- I just wish I knew the individual parameters better so that each effect could be fine tuned.

I've owned the Prophesy for several months and haven't had any problems. The unit appears to be of quality construction and doesn't look bad either.

I e-mailed Rocktron twice. Once about availability and once with a question on operation. In both cases, I had a reply that evening or the next day.

The Prophesy does everything I want it to do. I haven't tried any other high end processors, but I'm not inclined to trade this one in on something else. I plan to keep the Prophesy for studio applications. I prefer to use my stomp boxes for performances - they lend a little more "on the fly" flexibility.

The sounds of the Prophesy are very good. There are enough pre-fab sound you can use as a start to make your own sounds. Some of oversaturated sound like "Ain't talkin' about love" are just fabulous. Editing your sounds are easy, but do not in pre-fab setting try to alter band-with in the EQ-section; at Rocktron they have thought about these settings, so don't mess with them (or maybe a little; just use an other setting that sounds better to you. Going to the different effect is easy. Scroll through the menu's and it works. The manual is allright.

I'm playing with a customized Fender Strat with Dimarzio HS-picups and a Godin. A mesa-boogie 20/20 and a Marshall 2 * 12" with Celestion Vintage speaker cabinet are the rest of my setup. All type of sounds (4 in total from clean to metal-type distortions) sound very good. The difference between the Prophesy and 100% tube pre-amps (like the TOL 4ie of Egnator) is almost not audible. For me, playing in a top 40/100 band is clean sound very important. With the help of the Sansamp (19") preamp running the effectloop you can get every clean Fender Twin sound you want. Combined with the always very good effects of Rocktron it works great.

I have been playing with Rocktron equipment for many years and had never any problems with it. With another preamp in the effectloop I always got a backup, but you don't need it; it'll work always.

I e-mail frequently with certain questions and they always get answered very quickly. For other support I have never had a chance to test Rocktron.

Overall I think it's a great preamp. The advantage of these kinds of preamps is that you can make a "1000-different" sounds which are perfect for a cover-band. Off course there are better preamps (Egnator) and of course there are better effects (G-Force), but the combination is the best. If you have read the an other review of this guy being very negative about this preamp I can only say that he's filled with frustration. I have played on every preamp except the X-99 of Soldano, and the Prophesy is very good. Editing is certainly not harder than any other preamp. Compared with the 2120 Artist is a class better.

Edits differently than many of the other units on the market. Very hard to get used to the way you go into a patch, try to add an effect, and all. And then you try to to it, and you're on the Factory patches (which are for some stupid reason the FIRST set of patches, and of course uneditable) and then you can't even MAKE the change. Stupid. Confusing to me...especially the EQ section. It wasn't just "here's a band, boost or cut it", it's "here's a band range, boost or cut it, choose the middle of the range, and choose the width of the range". Like I said, confusing. It wasn't hard to get a good sound in the store...more on that in Sound Quality. The manual was alright, but lacked the section that it itself had said was in there to tell you "how we created some of our patches, and how to get good sounds". Very lax on the review process on your manual, eh? VERY low on effects, preamp sounds, and other features especially when compared to products much cheaper than it such as the Digitech 2120 Artist. This thing doesn't even come with a footpedal. So I bought the MIDI Mate...which was junk as well. The whole thing is a way overblown waste. Rocktron doesn't give good value for your money.

I play metal--older Anthrax/Metallica. Used with USA Hamer Californian Elite and other high-end guitars, Marshall 4x12 cab, Rocktron 120w solid state power amp. Sounded great in the store...so I bought the cab/power amp setup above, as I had specifically gone to revamp my whole setup. At home levels (apt) it lots its crisp, bright, crunchy distortion, with exactly the same settings it sounded more like an old tweed amp from the 50s or something. Just not a very consistent product at varied volume levels. To me, this kind of lack of quality is pathetic. If you look at the Megadeth sites, you'll probably see that Dave Mustaine is listed as using it. Well, Dave Mustaine also uses a power brake unit so he can still get that loud distortion sound quality at lower volumes, and Dave Mustaine can also afford to replace his power amps and tubes as often as he wants. So, unless you're Dave Mustaine, or have that kind of money, stay away from this puppy.

I wouldn't want to keep the thing long enough to have to worry about that.

I tried to email for support from Rocktron about the above problems to ask. Also, I called the dealer I bought it from, and he said he'd have his Rocktron rep call me back. Well, neither happened all day (I had emailed the night before and called early), so I took it back. The next day, I got an email from Rocktron that was of little help either way. I replied thank you but I had already taken it back after trying everything I could, and had decided to try a Digitech 2120 Artist. The guy replied very rudely that "that mosquito of a 2120 won't sound like Anthrax or Metallica" etc. So I replied back and told him that I wished that the product was more consistent quality over varied volumes and asked if he could tell me how to fix that, I'd consider trying it. No reply.

Rocktron seems to like to offer half-cocked products with very limited features at very high prices. I'm a very honest person. When you see a review from someone like me and its highest rating is a 6 and it's in Ease of Use, it means one thing....STAY AWAY FROM IT.