Rocktron VooDu Valve On-Line

Easy to use & edit once you get familiar with its many configurations. The manual is informative, especially its effects descriptions. The firmware revision is 1.03

I initially bought this guitar preamp for direct recording to my PC. It is exceptional for that. Currently, I use it for live gigs too. I run the stereo XLR outputs direct to the mixing console. When I need my own stage monitor I run the 1/4" outs into a small keyboard amp. The unit is very quiet and has a very broad range of clean, overdrive, and distortion sounds. Its built in effects are also very nice. The phaser, flanger, and chorus are very thick and intense, like good old analog pedals. The delay and reverb are easy to adjust, and also sound very nice. The tremolo is warm and covers a broad range of speed and intensity.

I received free schematics via fax from Rocktron.

This is a great studio preamp. It is also an excellent live performer. I've receive many compliments about my sound through it. Definitely check one out.

If you consider its abundant features it's easy to use. But it will take some time to get familiar with. IT IS NOT A STAND ALONE EFFECTS PROCESSOR. It is a guitar preamp with effects. I don't know why Harmony Central classifies it as an effect.

If you are an old school player into blues & classic rock then go buy a small tube combo, because this thing is over your head. If you are into hard rock, modern rock, metal, alternative, pop, ... or just need versatility then the Voodu is a god send. You can dial in any tone imagineable. It has many ways to shape the sound: tube gain, pre eq, gain, post eq, speaker sim, excellent effects... It even sounds great direct.

It's damn expensive if you buy it new. Try to find a used one and save a lot of dough. I've wanted one of these ever since a friend of mine bought one of the originals, over 5 years ago. I just could never afford to pay $900 for a new one. I finally found a used one, and believe me it's a steel at $450. Now I gig with it exclusively. Sometimes I even plug it straight into the board. For those gigs I don't even need to bring a speaker cabinet. Best off all I love my sound. For $450 it is a fantastic value.

The Voodu Valve On-Line is loaded with complex features. You may need to spend some time with the unit, to get familiar with its capabilities. I found many useful factory presets, which are a great start. From there you can tweak to perfection. The layout is logical, and relatively easy to use.

I use it live, and to record direct to hard disk. Its tone, versatility, and vibe are outstanding. It remains noiseless, even at high gain settings. I have some tips for other VV owners:
1. Always use the speaker simulator, even with guitar cabs (just set the speaker to full range, and the mic position to zero). USE THE REACTANCE CONTROL! It adds massive low end chunk. I like it set between +6 and +12.
2. Get used to the Pre & Post EQs. The Pre EQ affects the character of the sound. Adding pre-bass will give you a loose, vintage sound, because it boosts the bass before the gain stages. I like a tight sound, so I keep the pre-bass between 0 and -5. I like to give a slight, wide, boost to the upper pre-mids, for added sustain & harmonics. Be careful, too much pre-mid may make your sound too compressed. The Post EQ has the greatest effect on the tone. It is also the best place to boost bass, cut mids, and add high end sparkle.
3. The effects sound great, but make sure you don't over do it. The factory presets tend to over emphasise the effects, to demonstrate their abilities. Trust me, less is more.
4. The factory presets were tweaked to sound good through Rocktron cabinets. Their speakers are quite dark. So be prepared to back down the mids and/or highs a bit.

No glitches for almost 4 years now.

I cover a variety of music genres, including: pop, rock, metal, and modern rock. I've been an active guitarist for over 10 years. Consequently, I've used many different guitar rigs. The Voodu Valve is the most impressive of all. It has great tone and a plethora of great effects, all in a single rack space. It inspires me to play, due to its seemingly unlimited tonal capabilities. Rocktron could improve it by adding a built in tuner, and a quick access hatch for the tube. Regardless, it is an excellent piece that I highly recommend.

It has 254 presets, many of which get you real close. Once you get familiar with it you can tweek them to perfection. It can be complicated because you get tube gain, digital gain, two bands of tunable pre-EQ, and four bands of tunable post-EQ. So you can really get unlimited tones and feel out of this thing. On top of that, you have several awsome sounding effects to play with. I don't think the unit itself is difficult to use, It just gives you more control over parameters than any other preamp.

Make sure you don't cut corners on the power amp or speakers. I use a Mesa 20/20 tube power amp and a Rivera 2x12 cab with Celestion V30's. This combination is incredible. It sounds much better than the store demo setup, which used a solid state amp and emminence speakers. This is truly a great sounding preamp, so give it a good amp & cab to play through. I get amazing clean sounds, both modern & vintage. I can get a great crunch and unbelievable high gain sounds. Make sure you use the speaker reactance control. It can add incredible chunk to your sound. Just be sure to set the speaker to full range and the mic position to zero, when you use a guitar cabinet.

9 months of abuse - no problems so far. I let you know how it's holding up after the 3 year warranty expires.

I didn't quite get the online thing, so I emailed customer support. I got a reply the next day. BTW, in order to download presets to the Voodu Valve, you have to first download some free MIDI software from Rocktron's website. If you use your MIDI/joystick port on your sound card, then you may need to buy an adaptor. Stores that sell keyboards or MIDI software usually carry joystick port to MIDI adaptors, for around $20. Although it seems like Rocktron should provide these.

I think this is the best all-in-one preamp. You get tube warmth, top notch effects, unlimited tone control, and the ultimate versatility in this one rack space beauty. If you can get by on a simple set up, then buy an old deluxe reverb or a JCM800. However, if you need a great sounding, flexible rig then go for a Voodu Valve driven rack.

I think this preamp has diverse enough presets, that anyone can find something suitable for them. Editing, as with most rocktron products, can be a pain. Just pay attention to what kbob yo turn and everything will be okay!

I have a Mesa Boogie Triaxis, a Mesa 2:90 power amp, Marshall 1960 4x12's and I use Washbun PS500 guitars mainly. I've had the Chameleon, but thought it lacked slightly in real tube sound, I got a Piranha, and though it was great, it had no effects. I needed an all in one preamp/effects for a back up unit to the triaxis and my other effects unit, which happens to be an Intellifex Online. I tried the VooDu and it was the best of both preamps. Though I wish the tube was high voltage instead of low.

It's my backup, so I'm hoping I never have to use it! But if I did, I know it'd be there for me, and it's sound really good too! Seems more solidly built then the Chameleon, but not as sturdy as the Piranha.

I email Rocktron frequently and always get quick responses, though they are brief and lacking in detail sometime. I wouldn't send anything to any company for repair though.

Greta over all preamp, effects are good, you just need alot of time to tweak it. Very quite thanks to HUSH. Pain in the ass to change the tube. You basically have to tear the who thing apart, which can be scary! They could of made the tube more easily accessable...I guess thats probably a ploy to get us to send them in for a simple tube job.

This piece has a very intuitive user interface. You can tweek for days or settle with some of the many cool factory presets.

Ibanez RG570 -> Voodu -> Mesa 50/50 (fat mod) -> Marshall JCM900 1960B
This is a very versatile rig. I get a wide range of sounds from ultra clean to blistering death and everything in between. The tube gives the sound a warm & responsive character. The effects are first class. I'm extremely satisfied with this rig. It makes playing fun.

No problems after 2.5 years.

Never dealt with them.

I like to play blues, rock, & metal. I've been at it for over 12 years. I've been through many different stacks & combos that all sounded nice but had limited tonal ranges. This preamp gives me unlimited tonal possibilities in a compact rack setup. When you consider all the quality built in effects & features it's a bargain. It even has a great speaker simulator for direct use. It's easy and fun to use, a definite keeper.

The factory presets are very diverse, so you should be able to find some good sounds out of the box. Once you get familiar with its features and layout it's easy to edit patches. The manual is well organized.

I use an Ibanez USA Custom straight into the Voodu Valve On-Line. I run the unit's stereo outs to a Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp, which drives a sealed 2x12 (stereo) cabinet with Vintage 30s. The Voodu Valve is dead quiet, even with extremely high gain settings. The built in hush is amazing. It doesn't seem to effect the natural decay of the notes either. The Voodu Valve has no problem doing any type of clean or dirty sound. Also, it can dial in the most brutal high gain sound that I've ever heard. The reverb, chorus, flange, delay, phaser, and vibrato are excellent. I don't use the pitch shift or wah. This preamp sounds amazing direct to hardisk. The speaker simulator does an excellent job, and is highly adjustable. I really like the way the unit reacts to subtle changes in pick pressure, like a vintage tube amp.

I've used it for about two years without a glitch. It does however contain a tube, which may eventually need replacing. Also, I should buy a MIDI cable for my PC soundcard, so I can back up my presets on a computer.

They have users manuals, MIDI related stuff, and presets on their web site. I emailed them once and received a quick, but mediocre reply.

Overall, the Voodu Valve On-Line is a great sounding guitar preamp with excellent quality effects built in. Its speaker simulator is so good that you could easily use it direct to PA. It is also an excellent tool for any guitarists' home studio. I tried the POD and the J-Station, but the Voodu Valve just blew them away. The VV is much more versatile, and has an organic sound & feel to it. My rhythm player prefers my clean sound to his beloved blackface twin.

This box is loaded with many cool features that help shape your tone. So it takes quite a bit of tweeking to become familiar with how they all work. The most powerful features include tunable pre distortion eq, tunable post distortion eq, variac, tube class, tube gain, and speaker sim. Each of these parameters effects the tone & response of the preamp. So of course there is a learning curve, but you'll discover a ton of cool sounds along the way.

I use an ESP eclipse, and a Fender Strat Plus Deluxe. I originally used the Voodu Valve, into a Rocktron Velocity 120 amp, into a Mesa Recto 2x12 cab (with Celestion Vintage 30s). It sounded good, but lacked deep bass and top end presence. Then I switched to an old Marshall 1936 2x12 cab, which is loaded with Celestion G12T-75s. What an improvement! It's as if someone took the cotton out of my ears. I recently substituted a VHT Two/Fifty/Two tube power amp in place of the Velocity 120. Now the rig really shines. The power tubes just react with the speakers in a magical way. The Voodu Valve can produce a wide range of clean sounds, from ultra sparkling clean to Southern dirt. It also does a mean crunch, which improved dramatically with the Marshall cab - go figure. Bring the gain up from there and you get an amazing liquid gain sound. By playing with the eq tuning, you can get anything from violin sounds to wicked bone crushing metal. This is the most versatile box that I've ever heard! I've owned this baby for over 3 years, and have yet to hear a sound that this thing can't cover. The guy who claims he couldn't get a good clean or a good crunch must not have a clue how to use this box. Read your manual and try turning some knobs, because the sounds are in there. Best of all, you will discover your own unique sound. Last but not least, this thing is incredible direct to tape/hard-disk. In fact, it even sounds excellent through a home stereo. For these applications you need to use the wonderful built in speaker simulator. You can also use the speaker simulator with your standard guitar cab. Just set the speaker sim to full range, and take advantage of the reactance control, which really beefs up the bottom end. Enjoy!

Haven't had any problems at all, but it looks like you have to remove a lot of screws to change the tube.

I've received adequate answers to e-mail questions within 24 hours.

I've been playing for over 10 years. During the last few years I've been in several different bands. I cover all sorts of music ranging from jazz & blues to modern rock & metal. This preamp has been a swiss army knife to me, especially during recent recording projects. I highly recommend it.

Compared with other systems, like Digitech or Boss etc. it's fairly intuitive. With the pre- and post EQ you have to get prepared for a long learning curve, but then it's fine.

I bought the unit without testing it, because here in Spain there was no dealer around who had it on stock. So reading the features and some reviews, I thought that's it and ordered it. I am currently using a Mesa V-Twin pre-Amp with a Boss GX700 effects unit in the loop, switched by an ART X-15 foot controller. I was looking for an integrated tube-Preamp with effects, Midi controllable.
So here is my rating : If you are into Heavy Rock or trashy Sounds, this may be your thing. If you are into clean and smooth Tube distortion forget this thing. I like Robben Ford, Larry Carlton and Santana Sounds and there is no way to get them. Comparing ono to one the V-Twin and the Voodu is a shock. The Voodu is nowhere near the warmth and the richness of the V-Twin. The Overdrive is very digital, no slight overdrive between clean and distortion.
It is ok though for Metallica, Rammstein and modern Hardcore sounds.
If you are a tube fan and like a Mesa or Soldano sound forget it.
The effects section is versatile and powerful. I wish you could turn off the Preamp Section, but you can't.

Just had it for 2 weeks, no opinion.

Depending on your musical style you may like it. For modern, digitally achievable sounds it's a solid and powerful Pre-amp.
If you have never used a Mesa Boogie before you may not even notice what you are missing. My mistake, I made a 1 to 1 comparison.

Editing patches is easier than it seems at first. Rocktron's method is different, but once I knew how it worked, I was surprised by how quickly I could make edits. You _will_ have to read the manual, though. It's a good one.

Going direct is easy from either the 1/4-inch or XLR jacks.

The sounds can not be beat unless you buy a truckload of amps. I know I will never play through a rackmount preamp without tubes in it ever again. There is a headphone jack on this thing, so it is terrific as a practice amp. No matter how good a digital preamp sounds at first, I always suffer ear fatigue after playing for about 30 minutes. This never happens with the VooduValve.

I normally don't like Fenders as well as humbucking brands of guitars, but my Tele sounds fantastic through this unit! There is a patch called "Milkman" which is a sweet clean tone. My amp is a Fender HotRod Deluxe, which I thought had a perfect clean tone, until I heard how the Rocktron enhanced it. I go guitar to the Rocktron to the guitar input of the amp. I have a Marshall JCM2000 too, but I haven't tried the Rocktron with it yet, because the Fender sounds so good with it.

I am now inspired to try any other tube-based multi-effects I can find.

It's certainly sturdy, but it contains a vacuum tube, and tubes sometimes fail. The tube in this unit is operating at a low voltage relative to an amp head, so it ought to last a long time.

The VooduValve has never spontaneously rebooted itself, which happens with cheap gear sometimes. I did have difficulty getting it to work properly with a low-end MidiBuddy footpedal, but I switched to a Digital Music Corp. Ground Control device (highly recommended), and have had no problems.

It seems harder to obtain Rocktron gear than gear from other companies.

I sent several emails to Rocktron both before and after purchase, and I got prompt, informative answers each time.

I play a wide variety, including surf, blues, jazz, funk, and metal. This unit covers it all. There are multiple Van Halen patches, Metallica, AC/DC--but there are also hollow body and a dozen other types of clean. It inspires me to write music in styles I had not considered.

This unit has sounds I have been waiting for all my life, sounds I could sometimes get out of amps, but never from an effects unit. All the other considerations are secondary.

At first, this wicked little thing seemed to be a difficult to use, but after two weeks, you know all basic things. Only if you want some little characters to your sound, it takes for a while before you can do it. Editing presets is easy, just dial knobs and stuff.
The manual quite good, there's no bugs.

I'm playing my VooDu with Washburn BT-10 and a Fender Princeton Chorus(through FX loop). I'm going to buy Marshall 8080 power amp, it's cheap, and Marshall 2x12 cab running for stereo mode. With my Washburn I get variety of different sounds, especially distorted. I have some Mesa/Boogie and Soldano sounds in it, and they work good.
It's really quiet, because of the Hush system. Effects are good, but there's no personality(like some classic stomp boxes).
I play in three bands, a hard rock, a power metal and a thrash metal bands. Rocktron suites these styles really good. Killer distortions are the main thing of this machine, but you can some milky clean sounds from it too. Dimebag Darrell's Randall cruch is in this unit, also Marshall sounds are loaded.

I have had this machine now for a month, so I haven't tried this on a gig yet. But I think, that you don't need any backups with this. But I'm not sure, so...

No problemo.

Rocktron VooDu Valve is a killer unit for a guitarist, who insists killer distortion sounds. Only clean sounds could be a little better.
It got a fucking good solo sound, like in a "Top Gun" anthem, flying, melodic, you know, I like that kind of 80's sound. Santana sound is good too. When I bought this, there was some personal sounds ready.
Pantera, Malmsteen, Satriani, Vai etc.
If you're lookin' a good preamp with effects, this is your device. If you play country or surf music only, buy a Fender.

Well... I also had a Chameleon(almost the same)... so can't answer this one... But, It definately took some time to get used to Chameleon.

I'm using Gibson Classic with mostly Roland jazz chorus, and sometime Marshall amplifiers(sl-x). and always set vox wah (and boss tunner) with it...
It's sound GREAT~!! Definately differs from Chameleon sounds... (I've always thought that it had a same color of sound as Chameleon... but I was wrong)
It sounded much richer... and I fulfilled what I was in lack when performed with Chameleon. (also had a better sound in a studio)
it has a strong and richer sound... and I am satisfied with it!
But the phase shifter and pitch shifter are the things I'm not satisfied with... so I give it a 9... ^.^;

Can't answer this one, yet... but I use it with out a backup...

In Korea it's just impossible to get an upgrade or repair...
Please... Rocktron... consider the services overseas... like Korea.
We(Musicians) are suffering... and myself is having problem with the level numbers in my voodu valve on-line... and my midimate needs an upgrade... But nowhere to ask or get a repairment...

i'm using a jackson with dimarzio evolution pickups by steve vai and ibanez RG470 guitars. mesa boogie 5050 power amp and BBE sonic maximizer...awesome! unit is quiet on most settings, very quiet. amp is versatile. there are 250 presets i believe. i use only up to 5 at the most. who needs 250 anway? 1 killer metal rhythm, 1 lead that is saturated with reverb and chorus and delay, 1 lead with not many FX, 1 clean channel with FX for warmth and verb, 1 channel for bright soaring lead that is smoother for arpeggio stuff. amp has a lot of growl to it. if you find a preset you like you can tweak it, save it as another name and store into one of the other presets that you don't like as much. i have 5 killer distortions that are slightly different from one another and all based off the same distortion. i wrote over some of the clean presets i didn't like to store these new settings. i wrote over the ones that sounded like dire straights...yeah, like i'm gonna use those someday!!! if i wanted to get those presets back for some reason that is easy, you can reactivate them. i play mainly metal. some classical but mainly metal. NO ALTERNATIVE. this box would emulate alternative tone but so can a broken AM radio...sorry, i hate alternative. you can emulate pretty much whatever you want. the question is...how much time do you wanna spend programming?

the amp is versatile enough for me. i'm mainly into 80's rock and metal. has cool clean FX and good preamp section. i am powering it with a mesa boogie 5050 power amp and that helps A LOT!!! has headphone jack. there is a lot of tweaking with it to get great tone and i have been lazy. i'm tired of tweaking but you will do that with any rack gear. i used to own the rocktron chameleon and loved that also. the voodu is the same almost as the chameleon except the voodu has 1 12AX7 tube in it so the tones are a little warmer to me. stereo unit, headphones, XLR outs, 1/4" outs, input knob control and output knob control. 1 rack space. www.rocktron.com for more info and photo.

i would use it on a gig without a backup. never broke down. i bought 2...one for home and one for practice space. it's pretty good for recording direct to the mixing board but you will have to tweak it slightly to accomodate for that...tone, levels, etc. i prefer recording a mic'd amp though, however, the direct recording was impressive. same programming style as with the chameleon...i owned that one also.

they are very good. i asked them for a manual and they sent it right out to me.

i've been playing for 14 years now and have owned a lot of rack gear. to me, this is the best for the money without owning a separate rack for FX and preamp, etc. i would buy it again since i like them and are highly-programmable and sound good. i'm very very picky with my tone and i guess i'll never find exactly what i'm looking for but this is close. i heard the mesa boogie triaxis is awesome and is the best for tone and distortions. well, try it out first. it also lists for $1599.00 yeah whatever. then you need to invest more money to get an FX processor since the triaxis doesn't have one. i'm not knocking mesa, they are AWESOME! as i said, i use the 5050 mesa power amp and it kills! i'm just not made out of money. the rocktron does the job great! and i got it for $700 less and there are FX in it that sound great! you can get virtually ANY tone you want out of this thing but as with any unit, it takes time and patience cuz of all the programming.

This is the best thing about it, in my opinion. Controls are logically layed out and fairly intuitive. Digitech, take note. A better user interface than most. That said, I could not keep this unit because of the inability to separate the effects from the pre-amp.

No matter what I did, I could not get rid of the unwanted gain from the pre-amp. It colored all of the effects in ways that I did not always want. It is hard to get good,clean, tones out of the thing. It is fine if what you are looking for is cranked tone at room volume, or emulation of some rectified tube amps--but since I play surf-spy-lounge-sci-fi-spagetti-Gypsy belly dance guitar--it just simply SUCKS, big time. I took it back after a week, and got the Intellifx, which I took back, and got a Digitech 2120 VGS Artist. Now THAT, I like.

Seemed rugged enough

Who knows?

Classic rock, Marshall Stacks, heavy metal, distortion of death--this is for getting what Frank Zappa called really "stinkin" tones. But if you want sonic clarity with heavy reverb, a little tremelo, or mild flanging, ferget it, man.

Very easy, but you have to work harder to give the sound some character. Editing is also and manual is informative and easy to read.

Ibanez JPM, RG550, JB Player (something), HH 100w combo (sucks-going to buy rack-mounting amplifier).
If your guitar wiring is ok and no cables are broken you could hear a pin drop when not playing.
The effects are good. I don't have an expression pedal yet so I can't tell you about wah or whammy (I bet it won't replace my Cry Baby). I'm not quite happy with the pitch shifter and if you need long delays don't buy this one as you can get max 1 sec delay. Preamp is perfect and that is why I bought this one. When the basic sound is good I don't need much effects. Reverb, delay, chorus, flanger, phaser and rotary speaker effects sound natural. Speaker simulation is incredible (great for direct recording). EQ options are versatile and I've found EQing the best effect so far.
You can get almost any sound (except those 5 sec long delays) with this if you have some patiense. There is no external effects loop but I don't need one.

Sure you can, but remember to bring the included transformer (I forgot mine once and had to play the gig plugged straight in)!!!

The On-line version provides a possibility to dump/load presets via internet. However the patch bay at www.roctron.com wasn't very convincing. But it is a nice option if you want to backup your presets and you don't have to get online to load/dump the presets from/to your computer.

I've been playing for 10 years and nowadays I play mostly jazz and proggressive. I haven't tried other similar products but this was good value for money. If I found better for that price I would obviously buy it, wouldn't you too? What I love is that it is so easy to get pro sounds. If you want to get an original sound you have to work harder and there are of course some other things like playing style and guitar that have their share too. Presets are good for one guitarist bands but if you want to give space for second (or perhaps 3rd etc) guitar you need to twist the knobs a little bit.

Shock!
It's logical, it's simple, it's quick. The interface was obviously NOT designed by someone with a degree in engineering. Compared to the other stuff I've played with over the past 6 months, Rocktron wins the "made for normal humans" interface contest hands down. In fact, in comparison to Roland/Boss and Digitech stuff, it almost seemed too easy, and left me wondering if I'd missed something (I didn't miss anything, I'm just used to the Microsoft/General Motors Blind Retarded Monkey Interface Design school stuff).
Three, count 'em, three rotary knobs gives you access to all the little fiddly parameters that nobody really knows how to use, and it's all presented in such a logical friendly manner that you have to wonder why other people don't catch on and start ripping Rocktron off... Hmmmmm... Idea...
I particularly like the way Rocktron has rigged the speaker emulation parameters. It's all very simple and even includes a reactance control, which very effectively provides that nice 'thunk' sound that real speakers make (nb. in some parts of the world 'thunk' is called 'chunk'. Drummers have also been known to call this effect 'thup'). In fact it's so easy to simulate everything from an 8" closed box with dead-center micing (no they don't provide more finnicky options like what model of mic - get a life) to a 15" open-backed cab with the mic all the way off to the side - incidentally this setting provides great gobs of 'thunk'.
The *only* reason I wouldn't give the VooduValve a 10 in this category is that I find the LEDs hard to read. I am, however, over 30 and as my body is starting to decay, the simple solution might be glasses...

Let's start this section off by defining WHY I setteld on this particular unit over other Roland/Boss, Digitech, and Zoom boxes: I just want a killer preamp with cabinet modelling for direct recording. I add most pitch and time based effects in the mix. For _what_I_want_to_do, I've found paradise with the VooduValve.
For those of you who must have three-part harmonies and Digitech Whammy style pitch effects, look elsewahere, ditto anyone looking for a box with a 'acoustic guitar simulator' should also look for something else - perhaps a real acoustic guitar.
What the VooduValve does do is provide totally excellent, transparent and USEABLE guitar-optimized effects. The flanger doesn't kill your original sound, the chorus doesn't sound like somebody just stomped on a cheap chorus pedal, and the delays and reverbs are surprisingly warm.
I plugged an Ibanez RG with stock (not for long) V7 & V8 pickups into the VooduValve, and tried it with a solid state 10" combo amp, my old stereo system, and a set of decent closed-ear headphones. Playing the preset patches under each method consitently yielded the best tones I've heard from a box of this type, ever.
The HUSH noise reduction is wonderful! I _HATE_ noise reduction systems in general, but this one isn't half bad. At full-bore it does mess with your picking attack a bit, but it's not nearly as evil as the Digitech system. Amazingly, I turned the Hush off on a few of the super high gain patches and the amount of noise that leaked in was (in my opinion) acceptable. This is surprising when you consider that I had the box itself sandwiched between two computer monitors. They must have done a real fine job with the lead paint on the interior of the VooduValve, because even the GP-100 would have been buzzing like a, uh, thing that buzzes a lot.
The Play-By-Play:
The preamp can be ferocious, but it's not a Zoom 'I'm going to kill you' ferocity, it's musical. If you pick poorly you WILL hear it. If you accidentally roll off your guitars volume a little bit, it makes a difference. If your guitar has the worlds worst natural tone, well, it'll sound just as shitty after you plug it into the VooduValve. In short, it reacts like a real amplifier would. Cool. It's got an excellent low gain single-coil fake Fender Twin sound I've heard yet, nice and spongey warm with appropriate amounts of (you guessed it) thunk. It also does the super-saturated 'I wanna be Satriani' sound really nicely and yet again manages to preserve the original tone of the guitar.
Really, really impressed.
Chorus & Flange are really nice, not as juicy as the Boss stuff, but it can really add the perfect shimmer to clean tones and it _complements_ your tone, it doesn't stomp all over it.
The phaser is nice and warm. I hate phasers.
Because somebody is bound to wonder: The wah is very good. Not Crybaby great, but pretty damned good in comparison to other on-board wahs out there. For instance, The GT-5 and VGS2120 wahs tend to produce an astoundingly offensive (bad offensive, not good offensive) burgers-frying-on-a-grill high-end when you've got the wah fully up. The VooduValve doesn't do that. Still, I'm going to buy a seperate Crybaby next month.
Reverb and delay are also nice and warm, perfect for recording with a guitar - which is what this box is all about. So remember, for what I want to do, it's the ultimate machine. however, I don't feel the need to drown everything I play in a sea of effects!

Can't say, I've had it for 4 hours. If somebody cares to send me theirs I will drop that on the floor and give you a full report ;-) I do hear good things about Rocktron stuff, much like Roland gear it seems to be built to a much higher standard than other peoples (Digitech) junk.
I know it can be deceptive, but the knobs move with a reassuring solidity, and the physical box itself is very well constructed with no loose screws or metal shavings. Yes, I know, that means absolutely nothing.

Two weeks ago I surfed over to the Rocktron web site and noticed that they posted a Windows SysEx utility but no Mac utility. So I whipped off a note telling them where they could get such a utility for free, and I got a response in under 4 hours.
That was pretty damned impressive.
HOWEVER, two weeks later and they haven't updated the web page yet. The page still is written in such a way as to suggest that this feature will ONLY work if you have a Windows PC. Since this a) is totally incorrect, b) very cheap (free, actually) for them to fix, c) excludes the majority platform in the professional audio industry, and WORST OF ALL c) offends my militant self-righteous fanatical narrow-minded violently pro-Macintosh point of view, I can only give them a "5".

I love it. I was teetering on the verge of blowing a lot of money on the Roland VG-8 a few weeks ago, but when I heard this I changed my mind. Not to say that the VG-8 isn't incredible (it is, and it has an incredible price to match), but I think the VooduValve is the perfect little box for me.
The ONLY thing that would have made this package a "10" would have been the inclusion of a pedalboard with an expression pedal like the Digitech 2120 VGS (except one that actually works, unlike the one that came with the 2120...). It would drive up the price, but I still have to buy a seperate Rocktron MIDI Mate and they don't have any in stock at the local music store.
That's nitpicking, though. This is by far the best preamp/effects combo I've ever heard. For those of you keeping count, I've spent a couple of weeks each with a Zoom 8080, a Digitech 2120VGS and RP-20, a Roland GP-100, and Boss GT-5. It puts ALL of those units to shame, it's really that good.
You know, after a review this glowing SOMEBODY at Rocktron better send me a damned T-shirt eh?