Rocktron Silver Dragon

A good sound is in the manual, it has a large range of sounds but I am a metal player along the lines of necrophagist, as blood runs black and immortal. This sound added a bit of hum to the system, but this is coming from a grounding problem. For other styles it comes off perfectly, it sounds great for all metal styles but you have to have a keen ear, it can get muddy. Controls are basic, but strangely named.

I can get the sounds of the above mentioned artists if I choode to, it has a unique sound tthough if you try to make your own sound and it is a great sound no matter what, just tweak to your ear. It is very heavy at times but can alo get a blues and even a clean if you roll the volume down!

Its metal, you can beat someone with iit, plug it in and play.

Its not a 10 because it needs a mid eq for more control but other wise it is perfect, if it sounds muddy iys probably your fault!
The learning curve it has it unimportant, the sound is what counts.

Very Easy to Tweak, knobs for each setting: Fire (dist), Shriek (treb), Roar (Bass)
Intensity, level, and so on..

My setup: Fender (Strat Mex), Jackson (DXMG), The dragon is in front of a Digitech RP250 run stereo to a crate 120w head to a marshall 19060b cab (Left) and then to a crate 120 twin (Right). I just pickup effects off the Digitech mainly reverb and delay.

I was looking for a more gritty sound when I purchased the dragon and am very satisfied with it. You can get 80's metal type distortion with this pedal and it truly sounds like a very over driven Marshall. I have recently played on the JVM at the guitar center and was happy I purchased this versus paying all that money for a Marshall Head.

I have been playing with this pedal for a long time and haven't had any issues with it. It is consistent in sound and built like a tank. This is the first Rocktron product I have purchased and I have to say I am pretty impressed with it.

Never dealt with them so I don't know

The style of music i play is: Iron Maiden, Rhandy Rhoads, Ratt, Judas Priest, Megadeth

I have been playing for 20 years and I still suck but I truly enjoy the sound of a distorted amp and always will...

If it were lost or stolen I would probably buy this again or step up to one Rocktrons pre-amps built that sound similar to this.
I compared alot of distortion pedals before this: Boss, Line6, Rocktron Metal Planet.

First use the manual, which gives a good standard sound to start with.I got a good sound emmediately by using the settings suggested.The bass setting is a little overpowering so keep it low.Overall it is easy to use.

I am using a fender strat plus with gold lace sensors and a 1983 fender montreux amplifier.Also a gibson lespaul with a peavy bandit 112.As long as you just have it set on the breath setting it is not noisy at all,but when you engage the anlog distortion side you will get a hiss. This doesnt bother me because i only engage that part of this pedal for lead.The intensity level is awesome because it acts like a sort of sustain.If you want to have both parts on at the same time i would suggest simply rolling back the volume on your guitar just a hair until you get ready to play.Once again if you engage the slayer side mid song you will not notice the hiss nor will the audience.The distortion i am getting is very comparable to any tube amp.Both my amps have excellent clear channel so this was an excellent option instead of buying a tube amp. It delivers a good distortion which you can tweak to taste.I have had it for about a year now and it still sounds and performs just like advertised.
Very good for any classic rock and most metalheads.Keep the roar (bass) low for best sound.

So far so good. I have gigged without a backup and wasnt too worried.This looks and feels tough.Maybe in ten years the tube might go out?

I have had no reason to contact.

I play mostly classic rock and blues.I have been playing for about 23 Years.I also have a fender esquire which works great with this pedal.If it were stolen or lost i would buy another, or possibly a very similar pedal with a built in tube.I love the great tube distorton sound that solid state amps cant give you.Like i said the slayer side will hiss,but there are tricks around that.I love the glowing tube it makes the pedal seem alive and lets you know its pumping out great tube distortion.For the price with a built in tube for tube sound it is hard to beat.There are other built in tube pedals but not at this price. For me it gives me the best of both worlds awesome fender clean and thick layered tube distortion.These are just my opinions, ADJUST to your ear and i think you will like what you hear.RATING OVERALL is a 10 For price and performing as advertised.

why to give it less than 10?within a day you can dial up the tones you prefer and use the unit without any problem.

many reviers have said lot of thing about this product. I will say few things maybe some new.I have a ibanez rg240(old model and cheap) and recently i bought an ltd mh-400nt.I also have a Boss GT-8.when i got my new guitar i can barely hear any differences throught my distortion and effect patches.My ibanez had already an emg81 installed.That was sad.
Then before a week i purchased the silver dragon and finally heard why i spended 700 euros for the ltd.I could hear the body resonate and the sustain going forever.I could hear the tone of the guitar and pickups because of the silver dragon.End of story.
only two cons for me: i could have liked more low end and less hiss and hum.But there are solution for these problems and there's no hard feelings!

seems sturdy and the knobs feel and the are great.But i only have it for a week so i'm not gonna give a grade.

didn't needed any support since know.However my local dealer gane me 2 years warranty so ....10/10

This pedal offers good real tone forget about digital crap.I play modern metal such as lamb of god,hatebreed,machine head and even in my crappy amp this thing sounds good.If you use some extra eq i think that the possibilities are endless.Also consider bying a noise suppressor if you don't already have one.

Knobs have funny names, but the manual explains.
Manual is good.

I use 02 guitars
Kramer 86 Flying V(with EMG 81 and 85) / ESP LTD (MV 200 with EMG HZ) ---> NS2 (NOISE SUPRESSOR) ---> Zakk overdrive ---> Dime Distortion ---> Silver Dragon ---> Equalizer MXR (10 band) ---> DD3 ---> AMP (METEORO 200W)
boost pedal in send/return (solos only)

***** THIS PEDAL KILL, **** AND DESTROY all my favorite boss, marshall, samsamp distortion pedals ***** ITS TRUE, BRUTAL KILLER SOUND... INSANE!!!

Before I read all the reviews in this page... 2, 3, 4... times I BOUGHT **I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED**

Best sound with this:
1- Take care level botton up to 3 hours (hiss sound)
2- You have a noise gate?
buy because its necessary, VERY IMPORTANT.
3- Its bigger..., but I LOVE IT

if you're not happy you can just change the tube to your liking

I am impressed with the quality given the price.

DESTROY / INSANE

Overall, this pedal has great control and Tone.
t has great bottom end & good, driving mids with razor sharp highs that sound like they will take your head off...

If you is a metal player... buy the best METAL ******* MACHINE tomorow. : )

First, you will never find a more die hard "tone whore" out there than me. I build my own amps per Leo Fender's original designs, mostly tweed era. My clean sound is extremely important to me, new amps that are not hand wired simply don't do it for me...and if you have played 50s/early 60s Fender amps...you understand exactly what I am talking about, don't you?

That said, I need a moderately distorted and heavily distorted sound for certain situtations: slide guitar and blues guitar.

This pedal is more satisfying in this catagory than most, well actually all others. Personally I've played over 100 distortion boxes...this Rocktron Silver Dragon is simply the best.

No pedal, new or vintage is more versitile than this Silver Dragon, none deliver the range of tones and volumes that this pedal does. No it's not a vintage tube screamer, but I'd take this pedal over a vintage tube screamer any gig, every gig.

The fact 1/2 of this pedal runs on a tube makes it's quality dependent on that tube, which is good. I've had mine for 2 years, I'd replace it without thinking twice if it gets lost or stolen.

Perfect Rocktron, perfect.

Pretty easy to use, responds well with changes in the amp or EQ settings of my rack. The manual explains everything, including the somewhat noob-confusing names. If you are a guitarist, easy to use. If tones don't sound proper, go to your amp, or other places and dial them in a bit better, and go back to the pedal and make slight adjustments to it as well.

I can get the sounds of different metal genres that I play, as well as other genres. I can approximate tones of different amps as close as I care to, and get great results. I am using this with my Peavey Rockmaster head, laney cab, Ibanez or Hamer guitars, and one of two boss SD-1/DS-1 if needed. This pedal would be noisy if you set both distortions full, had the eq's set really high (past 5/12:00), and/or had the volume incredibly loud, especially if the pedals vol didnt match the amp. The effects always sound good, though if you set the distortions all the way to 0 and don't have much distortion coming elsewhere, it's a bit lacking, but could appeal to blues and country folks if they wanted a bit more a of rock-type firey sound.

Seems sturdy enough. My other Rocktron pedals are still going strong. Time will tell.

Never dealt with this company.

I play metal guitar, with the occasional drift into blues, classical or rock territories. It's a good match and could be used for a multitude of genres, but always leaning towards the more extremes of these genres. I have been playing five years, and my other reviews show what I own, such as my recent review for the Boss SD-1. I'd get this again, whether or not the tube is actually fundamental in it's tone, I don't really care. I love the fact it works with my amp like a rhythm dist and a lead dist channel. I compared it with other pedals in the price range, and decided I liked this the most. I chose this because of past experiences with Rocktron. I wish the plate for the tube was a bit bigger for easier switching. It helps me make music in the areas of extreme metal, which I have been looking for.

Manual is very helpful. Got good tones right out of the box.

Very noisy but it is a gain pedal so what do you expect. It is funny cause I have a mesa rectoverb and this pedal sounds exactly like the dirty channel but I like it better cause I can keep the output sound around the same level as the clean channel on the amp. I don't even know why I have my Mesa anymore. This thing is awesome.

Like a rock.

I have had a bunch of distortion pedals. I like this one the best. I took it out of my chain for a few days and used my big muff pi. I put it right back. I really like the fact that I can switch on the solid state section for solo's and have the tube channel on for rhythm work. That is the units biggest selling point. It is like having a high gain channel with a built in tube screamer. I have no use for my dirty channel on my amp anymore. This unit screams. It really does. I use it for all my aggresive rock songs such as disturbed/metallica etc. This really has helped out my soloing cause the sustain goes on for days.

Out of box, used Manufacturer suggested settings. Real Easy. Chicken nobs so not hard to tweak.

This is the BEST sounding distortion I have ever heard. Previously used a Korg AX1500G and going to this is like night and day. It brings out my active pickups as well. I use this with a Morley Wah and a Carl Martin Red Repeat and a 40V Pignose Amp....great sound. Very low noise with the Awake but some hiss with the Solid State overdrive.Not much at all....

This is my main pedal for gigging...would NOT need a backup. Very rugged casing, metal. Wouldn't Suggest dropping this thing as there is a 12AX7 tube inside.

N/A

PLay heavy rock, wanted a pedal that could handle rhythm and lead sounds...this does it. I would definitely replace this item if stolen. Really sounds great with active pickups!!

it definately takes some fiddling. I just leave the tone knobs(shriek and roar) at 1 o'clock. Put the tube stage distortion at three the solidstate distortion cranked and the breath knob at 10. I'm not sure what that knob does. I mean it changes the sound but its hard to tell how.
The switches are metal switches but they switch real easy. kinda like a guyatone pedal.

strat>dreamtone dreamcomp>silver dragon>boss ph3>budda budwah>analog yamaha flanger>boss giga delay> fender twin

Great great pedal. I love different stages of distortion, but the twin isn't enough gain for me at times. The tube stage of this pedal sounds real good and crunchy and really pushes the fender over the top. It is my ideal tone for rockin' out.

Now the slayer mode or the solid state mode is insane! better than a boss metal zone because it still has a little tubeish feel in there. GREAT for solos so much sustain that I could probably drop the compressor out of my lineup and i probably will.

Now I'm all about changing tubes and when I heard people saying they did I jumped at the chance to mod this pedal, and i figured if it was already this good, hell, I might as well make it better. Bad idea. This pedal is insane to take apart. it took more than an hour to taki apart change tubes and put back together. I put it an electro-harmonix gold pin. It didn't change the sound at all, it cut down on the noise by %6.5 and that is it. Waste of time and aggrivation. Stick with the stock tube.
It is a pretty noisy pedal if using it with your amps dirty channel, but i really don't care about noise. but it gets a nine for that because it is the noisiest distortion pedal I have ever played. but it's also the best.

Hell yeah, rocktron is solid. when I took this pedal apart i was amazed. We don't need no stinkin' backups!

oh that reminds me there was someone on here that said the tube doesn't work and there is a led under it to make it look like it is lit up.
He's half right. There is a led under it that lights up and it even fades in and out when you turn it on and off. Hey rocktron, that is super gay. But this pedal doesn't work without the tube. I tried it while i had it open. It turns on but no sound comes out. And when the tube is in, you do have to wait for it to warm up to start playing.

changing the tube voided the warranty so I will never know.

I got a hell of a deal and I love this pedal. I don't even bring the footswitch for my amp now. These are my two gain channels now.
if it were stolen I would hurt someone on my way to the store to get another one.
I have played a ton of pedals and own even more.

metal to jam it's great.