Rocktron Pro-Gap Preamp

I have the original verison (version 1) Pro G A P. It's a midi capable programable preamp. It is extremly versitle and sounds great. I use it live and in the studio with excellent results.

I use a Gibson Les Paul orginal pups, a Schecter Classic and ESP baritone with EMG 85 and 81s. And it goes from real nasty (in a good way) brutality to smooth as silk this preamp is very versitle. Not noisey at all when using the Hush and AGX with the high gain settings. I hear no distortion artifacts when playing clean, all sounds are better than the Prophesy II I tried.

Built like a tank, would rely on this at a gig without a backup. Never had any issue with it. Spilt beer, and dropped - this thing keeps on ticking.

All the stuff I've from Rocktron is solid, so I never had to deal with them.

All in all a fantastic unit and one of the best values out there if you can get it for under $150. I've been playing for over 20 years and have tried numerous preamps and this is one of the best I've come across under $500+ used. Just what I was looking for, finally able to get that metal tone I had in my head. If stolen I would buy another.

What do you think is the most important thing in creating good guitar sound ? In my opinion preamp stage , this is the place where your sound coming in and all that shape , dynamics , tone is given to you . Rocktron Pro Gap Ultra has it all ready to tweak

I am playing 20 years , I used a lot of gear: solid, tube amps all kind of modeling gadgets (Pod , Digitech , Vox) After all that years I can said only that i lost 10 maybe more because I didn't buy Pro Gap later . Sound is simply amazing, what was i looking for : Vai , Satriani , Petrruci sound i have them all now . Straight to my tube power amp and then to Celestion speakers. What can I say : Guitar Heaven i can play 25 hours a day haha

It is easy to operate , but to get your sound you have to tweak a lot better find sombody who help you change all that semi parametrs while you are playing

Never deal with them

I am so stupid that i never tried this before I had a lot of chance but i prefered newest technolodgy modeling etc. Now i know i was wrong anyway what can i say : life is beatifull with pro gap

Clean/Distortion + HUSH, 128 programs, solid state, stereo, mixing out (never tried), efects, controlled by midi or double footswitch.

I use Dean Cadillac select >> Pro GAP >> Rozcktron INTELLIFEX >> DIY POWER AMP (jcm800 based) >> DIY 2x12 Cabinet (Eminence Legend V12).

I think it's one of the best transistor units ever made. It has it's own specific feal that is kind of a tube-like. It's very dynamic, and not noisy at all.
The distortion is very good, it gives you more gain you will ever need. I think it fits metal the most, it like it's good for all the type of metal, thanks to the way the equalizer goes, I mean pre and post distortion freq.
Cleans are quite good and don't get distorted.
I never tried to get crunch out of it but i suppose it could make it well.

Never noticed any problems.

Never dealt with.

I play all kinds of metal from IRON MAIDEN through KSE, TRIVIUM to SLAYER or SATYRICON and it just does its work as it should! Just a kick ass unit.

Read the manual once thru and you are set

Darn! Darn! Darn! Darn! Darn!
I use a highly regarded Mesa 20/20 tube amp and I had searched and searched for the right preamp till I found this one. After this preamp, I dont even feel like listening to online clips anymore because I have found my sound.

This preamp is ALL OUT MAYHEM. at 50/70, the gain is more than any other preamp maxed out.

The sound is indeed very hi-fi. The factory presets are Rubbish. Too Middy.

Crank the bass, scoop the mids, add a touch of highs, and VOILA! HEAVY AND THRASHY at the same time.

I prefer the sound of this Monster to the peavey rockmaster, digitech rp14d, marshall 9001, Mesa Triaxis (nice but not as much gain as this monster) Crate Blue Voodoo, Hughes $ Kettner Attax, marshall jcm 800 and EVERYTHING Else out there. Practicing has become a pleasure for me. For shredding, it has really fast attacks yet it is expressive like a tube amp. I am sure that my mesa 20/20(amazing little thing) adds to this.

Oh, word to the wise. I learned this the hard way, pay attention to the cable you use. YOu'll be surprised how much difference they make.

This unit does not fart when you add bass, it has more than enough gain, it has clarity to the max, the mids sound energetic without sounding harsh, the highs are refined and not processed sounding. IT is just an amazing unit.

I really love this bad boy. I'm keeping it.

Its solid state, what could go wrong?

IF you want to sound like pantera, or megadeath, or motley crue, or green day, etc, fuggedaboutit. Those sounds are CRAP in comparison.

Get this if you want to sound heavier than metallica, or shred like Vai

Very easy to use, a basic amp setup. I'm only giving it a 9 because I've had friends try to dial in sounds and the pre-distortion EQ srewed them up (not really the devices fault though). NO other effects, just a GREAT preamp with dual HUSH noise reduction.

Using Ibanez, Fender, Steinberger, Washburn, Gibson - all sound great, and with the different presets, you can have patches for each guitar (not really needed though). I run into a IPS33B harmonizer then into an 8008 Valvestate power amp running a Marshall 4x12 - OUCH! What a sound! I've gone through a LOT of different gear in my day (playing out for over 15 years), even sold a nice big Marshall rig because a friends ProGAP just blew me away. You've really gotta try one (don't stick with the factory presets though - I've never heard a factory preset worth keeping on ANY device). I can roll-off my volume or even just pick quietly and this thing responds like a nice big tube amp - cleans up great and then comes in WHACK when you hit it. I've never been able to get this kind of dynamics from another device, only tube amps (all tube -pre and power) have this kind of range, and this thing doesn't blow up every night (road work is tough on amps!). Sparkling clean, blues, grunge, metal - it's all there. A note though, it does really sound 'HI-FI' as someone put it. If you want TOTAL versatility for sounds, go with a modeling preamp (just remember that there's not one on the planet that has the dynamics and bounce that this thing has). Silky smooth feedback too (again, like a nice overdriven tube). It has those qualities that we all use to describe tube amps - it 'bounces', 'breathes', and has a 'nice spongy feel' to it. I liked it so much I just bought 2 more (one is a ver.1 and one is a ver.2)!

A friend gave me one because of the shape it was in, the motherboard was covered in mould (it was sitting in a plastic bag in a wet basement), and none of the switches/knobs worked. Note that you CANNOT get parts for these, and the ver.1 switches are custom and IMPOSSIBLE to replace. I actually went to Radio Shack and threw some big, ugly buttons in, and didn't even bother replacing the Loop button - just the Store and Recall. Believe it or not, it STILL works perfect and takes a beating every night (I do have it in a rack now though). As for backup, I've used it for years without one and never had a problem. Since there's NOTHING be manufactured today like this (they've always gotta throw a ton of useless junk in a preamp instead of just making it SOUND good), I recommend buying 2 if you see a good price on them. I just found 2 brand new in the box on eBay (a music store found them in their storage bin) and bought both, so I'm basically all set for the rest of my life.

Never had to call them, but did email asking for replacement switches and never got a reply, so I'm not sure about their support (I have been told by others who own other Rocktron gear that they're good though). Note that they do still have the manuals on their website (Rocktron if you're reading - keep this up!), I wish more manufacturers would do this.

I play rock, funk, jazz, and this thing wokrs for everything, mainly because IT SOUNDS LIKE A REAL AMP! I used to have (and still do have some of this) an ADA MP1, Marshalls, Digitech modeling footboards, H&K Cream Machine (raunchy - still the BEST compact old Marshall Plexi type preamp you can find find - but needs a good dose of EQ - just like the old Plexis!), Fenders, Boogies, Crates, and on and on. Only the ProGAP lets me go from clean funk to woody jazz to EVH to Satriani. If you're a real metal head though, you might want to look elsewhere, as this thing keeps it's string definition even a high distortion/volume (again, like a nice tube amp), and won't give you that shred-type ball of mush that some guys like. You could always pump a Metal-Shredder into the front of though. For me it's a 10, but I'm giving it a 9 overall, since some guys might want a little more range in the versatility department (just get something that sounds good and get ON WITH IT!). This pre-amp will let you sound like YOU, and will never kill your personality (something most pre-amps do). I'll sum it up this way -
I WILL NEVER PLAY THROUGH ANYTHING ELSE!
(not happily anyway - why do you think I now have 3 of them?)

Not bad EQing is easy if you know what your doing

I have to much equipment to list so I'll skip the nitty gritty, this preamp is not bad for a solid state preamp, and it creates some interesting tones, but it in no way compares to any tube amp I've ever owned (and I have owned an awefull lot). I currently have approximately 10 tube guitar amps, about 20 different preamps, and 15 guitars, and have been playing guitar for 20 years. I have been on a search for the right tone you might say. I have played about every modern and vintage guitar amp you could think of, and in addition alot of preamps as well. If you are looking for a good sound, that is NOT tube like in nature, this preamp may fit your needs, but to those of us who have been spoiled by those beautiful glowing bottles of tone called tubes, this preamp will not replicate those sounds. I am extremely picky, and have not found a preamp I like yet. That includes (ADA MP1, Marshall JMP1, Mesa boogie triaxis, tube works realtube 2, tonebone, electroharmonix hot tubes, mesa boogie v-twin, budda phatman, budda zenman,) and many many others that are considered top notch. If you are picky like me do your self a favor and not buy this unit. I guest the sound Im looking for doesn't exist yet. Someday.

Don't realy know but its solidstate, and has a hard wired power cable so id think its probably good.

no idea

I play a metal, jazz, blues, classical, funk fussion. Yeh its pretty interesting stuff. Like I said before Ive been playing for 20 years. My main rig for the time being is a guitar I hand made from a solid piece of bubinga, mesa boogie v-1 bottle rocket, accutronics 3spring reverb in a peavey classic 50 all tube amp (the original version without an effects loop), and a Peavey classic 4x10 extension cab. I use this amp because it has virtualy no character, just a warm tube personality. That way any preamp I put through it will generate the tones I'm looking for. I have too much other gear to list. If it were stolen or lost I wouldn't care because Ive already gotten over the $80 I lost to buying it. I like the pre and post EQ, I think all tube amps should also have this feature. I hate how steril and plain the tone is. This a waste of money unless you like this sort of sound.

Two noise gates (Hush and AGX), pre-eq (mid boost or cut w. selectable frequency), gain, post eq, fx loop, midi in, midi out.

Now I know how the Children of Bodom get that nice, fluid, squealing
lead sound. I be happy, I play until me gots no fingers :]

Seems very well made. Should last long enough in normal use.
No tubes to burn out either. Very good.

N/A

Got a Laney GH100TI Tony Iommi head, which sucks ass when compared to this (There is not enough gain on the tap in the Iommi)

I would probably seek out a Piranha or VooduValve, if this were stolen. I wish it had even more gain and a very good delay.
But, i will probably get an Intellifex to do the delay thing.

I have the Pro Gap Ultra version. I bought it on ebay without a manual. I had already owned a rocktron intellifex, so I know the rocktron interface. I had no trouble getting a great sound out of it. It did, however take tons of tweaking. There are SO MANY parameters. I couldn't believe it when I saw it had Variac and rectifier selection. The pre and post eq sections are awesome.

I am using the Pro Gap ultra with dimarzio Paf Pro loaded charvel model 2 I think. I use this pre amp with a rocktron intellifex online, a carvin solid state power amp, and 2 carvin 2x12's. First, with a lot of gain, it sounds a little too compressed, but then I realized I had just set the variac wrong. It sounds fantastic other wise. I am A/Bing this side by side with an ADA mp1. I actually like the pro gap more. I never thought I could beat the Mp1 for what I paid for both items.

Rocktron didn't make very many of these, so they want to charge me an arm and a leg for a manual. I actually got drunk and dropped a mattress on the input jack with a big whirlwind cord sticking out. When I woke up, I thought the jack had pulled off the circuit board. I opened the unit, and it was fine. THey had anticipated that and used wires with slack to attatch the jack. All I had to do was reattatch the nut on the front of the unit.I would still bring the mp1 with me incase the gap blows up.

Never dealt with them. I hear they have just gone off the deep end with GHS buying them. I htink they make everything in Taiwan now. I'm glad I picked this up before the word gets out.

I have been playing ten years and play primarily shred. This preamp has soaring, usable, screaming lead tones. THe rhythm tones are better than my Mp-1. The clean tones are awesome, but not as good as my mp1. I might buy another one before everyone else starts buying them. THis unit came out at the exact wrong time. I think it came out in '92 right when grunge hit the scene. This unit represents the pinnacle of 80's metal equipment. BOTTOM LINE: This is the BEST preamp I have ever used. I have played phiranas, voodoo valves, chameleons, mp-1's, jmp-1's, triaxis', and countless others. THis preamp beats them all, and without the use of tubes.

First things first. I have the Ultra Version 1.0. Now if you don't have patience you better not try to play through this preamp. It takes a bit of time to tweek those semi-parametric pre an post eq sections. The manual pretty much tells you how to do any task you could possibly do on this machine. Its easy to navigate through the menus, but it is not easy to get a good tone.

This is my setup.

Ibanez RG > Progap Ultra > Aphex Aural Exciter > Velocity 100 >
Crate 4X12

I don't know if it is my cab, but almost evry patch was muddy. Like if there was to many lows. I started editing them and they started sounding good. Once you get it dialed in this thing sounds awesome. I can't really get a good clean sound.

On;y had it for a couple of days.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I mostly play Metal, but I also play blues and some rock. This thing delivers. I would definately be pissed if it were stolen. I really wish it had some damn reverb and chorus. If anybody knows of any upgrades for this preamp please email me.

Very easy to use. Not necessarily quick to get at things but there simply is not that many parameters to change. This is a simple preamp and nothing else. No FX etc.

This thing sounds great. I bought it on a whim for $61 on Ebay. I like trying stuff out and have always liked Rocktron stuff and thought what the heck $61, I?ll try it. I absolutely love this thing. It is weird and goofy 80?s gear but man I like the sound. I am using mine with another 80?s Rocktron unit, the intelifex. WOW. This pre amp with this FX unit works great. I have tried a lot of the mid level preamps out there and this combo hangs, or actually beats, them all. It is much better than my V-amp 2, POD2, Sansamp PSA-1, transtube stuff, Carvin X-Quad, Mesa Quad pre, etc. It is not super versatile but can get great clean, blues, rock and metal sounds. My signal path is my parker guitar, Pro GAP, Intelifex, BBE 422, mixer, PC. This thing sounds HiFi and is easily several steps toward professional gear from all the other pre amps mentioned. I find it humorous and intriguing that Rocktron was building such amazing equipment 20 years ago that it is not being easily surpassed today. My first Rocktron experience was with the intelifex which I got off Ebay just looking for a good FX unit. I was blown away. The reverbs are great, the chorus is great, simply a professional sounding unit. Maybe the Rocktron sounds just fits what I am doing and want to hear. When awaiting for it to arrive I read all the posts on this forum and others and was not expecting that much because I like more clean and blues OD sounds and read this was great for hard rock and metal distortion but not really clean and OD. I have to disagree. The clean sounds I get out of this are nothing short of amazing and I have owned real Fender twins etc. I also think the OD sounds are incredible. Additionally this thing responds to pick attack and rolling off the volume excellently. I can roll off my VH patch and get a SRV sound and roll off more and get a nice clean sound without it becoming muddy or damped sounding like happens with a lot of equipment. I also get really varied sounds from my different guitars and pickups. If you?re looking for a direct recording solution and are looking into a POD or such do yourself a favor and get the Pro GAP and Intelifex. Sounds 20 times better, much more refined, much more professional, much clearer and dynamic. You will be limited to 40 great sounds instead of 100 OK sounds. This thing also sounds just as good amplified. I have a Mosvalve 80x80 power amp and two 1-10 marshall cabs and it sounds great. The Hush and AGX are some of the best gates and noise suppressors I have ever used at any price.

Where would I rate it down? It could use more EQ options, different flavors of gain would be nice, more cab sims, better layout for ease of use.

Bottom line is this quirky little 80?s preamp has some great tones hidden in it and is extremely professional sounding and dynamic. I have found some sounds in this thing I have been looking for for years. I could use this and the Intellifex for everything and be happy. I will post some sound snippets soon.

Pair this with a nice FX and give it a try, I don?t think you will be disappointed.

Rocktron. Nuf said.

for what?

A great blast from the past unit. I thought my Sansamp PSA-1 was going to be the ticket but found that sterile and lifeless after a while. Also somewhat confusing to dial in. this unit is everything I hoped the PSA-1 was going to be. It is funky and weird but works great for me and will be a part of my recording studio for years to come. The only realty shortcoming I have with it is I would like more EQ options. I find I EQ at the board a little and get exactly the sound I want but I want to be able to get that sound without the board so I can duplicate it later if I need to over dub or ??? This is by far the best $61 I have ever spent on music gear. A great, funky, tool.

The unit is a simple preamp, NOT a multi-FX, with very sophisticated & professional features, as:
- Semiparametric equalizers PRE & POST gain (very important to get out many sound flavors, at any gain).
- Per preset programmable HUSH, in order to properly combine sound dynamics and noise suppression.
- Per preset programmable loop.
- 2 switches for further external operations, also programmable per preset!
- AGX for proper gating.
- Full MIDI Operating capabilities
- 108 user presets, for storing the own sounds. NO battery required, CMOS-based mamory is used here: Permanent storing!!!
- Good viewable LED display (Now old-fashioned, but still nice): All parameter values & preset names are clear to see.
The manual is really good, the unit is very easy to use. I still own the very first version, and have no purpose to update...
- Last-not-least: Total silence and absolutely NO delay on switching between the presets.
These features, are not met today together, even in expensive hi-tech products. Some people thing that "programmable loops" and "external switches" are now, in the age of full digital administration, old-fashioned. Well, I say, they might be not so commercial (by first view) as a "double expression pedal", or "10 effects in chain", but they are sophisticated and make this thing really professional in use.

I own the unit since 1990, and have used it in any possible situation: Live performances, Studio recordings (miked & direct), practicing at home, practicing with band(s), etc. I have played any possible guitar with it, always with excellent results.
If you have some basic knowledge on guitar sound creating, you may get almost everything out of it. As mentioned above, the two parametric EQs are the key: Sounds from ultra clean, twangs, jazzy, crispy, bluesy (of any age and area), 70's crunch, 70's old Marshalls, Boogies, 80's metal, funky, new-wave, british, californian, Nashville, and even special countered sounds (like some of Brian May, J. Beck, D. Gilmour, J. Satriani, etc.), are easily get out of this little thing... To me (graduaded el. engineer & taught guitar builder) is still easy and even so amazing to get (any) sounds out of it!!! The combined use of EQ-pre, Gain, EQ-post and Hush makes an excellent job here.
Use the PRO G.A.P. with any amp you like (main thing: the amp is set clean), plug it in the guitar's input, or in the loops return, plug it in front of any FX unit (I use it live combined with the "ol' good" Alesis Quadraveb+), you'll see what I mean... I mainly use it in the loop of a Marshall Mosfet amp, with a Marshall 1960 TV 4x12" Box. That's my favorite setup, and that's where 90% of my presets are programmed on. But also with other configurations (1x12", 2x12") it simply "sounds" always.
Live, it cuts through the mix easily, I have used it also in a mainstream rock/soul 12-man band, with excellent results!
Currently I use it very often in my home-studio for connect recordings. In combination with a speaker simulation and a little tweak, I can record anything, with superb sound, dynamics and the proposed response. Amazing!!!
Obviously, the main area of PRO GAP was supposed to be the heavy gain area. But, after all these years' use, I thing that the best sounds are in the crunchy/bluesy area, where is really difficult to get something useful, with a solid state device... Here you get smooth driven sounds with dynamics to hell...
The clean sounds are also nice, they although are very dependable on the setup you're using PRO GAP: A clean set Twin reverb helps PRO GAP's clean sounds more than a clean set JCM Marshall...
Last-not-least: The thing has immense gain reservoire!!! I use it 90% with normal strats and I get easily heavy gain sounds, from John Sykes' WS 1987 album up to Limb Bisquit's terror. No Problem!
It needs only a little attention with the AGX setting, in order to get an applicable noise gate and the wished sustain, that's why the AGX is not programmable (very wise!), but needs to get set upon the use volume (depeneds on the implementation: live, studio, practicing, etc.).
All-in-all a hit! For crunch up to heavy sounds I'll give a ten (or more), for all sounds it's a 9, only due to the dependence on other units for its clean sounds (see above text).

The unit is build for rack installation purposes, and I think it should be judged for that, and not as a floorboard or a stand alone unit..
For a rack, it's better than it should be: Solid metal chassis, all main connections are at the rear plate, only guitar input is in the front.
13 years now I had NO problems at all, even in extreme situations (hot wet indoor use, sunlighted, dusty outdoor gigs, etc), NO problem at all.

Don't know, cause I never needed any support!!!

As mentioned above, I own my PRO G.A.P. since 1990. I then bought it, because I had already started playing professional, and needed many sounds on my foot. This was the main reason, the unit was relatively cheap, especially in comparison to other tube pre-amps of the time, and so I moved on. I combined it with a cheap Rolls MIDI floorboard, and that's it.
Soon after, I started discovering its cababilities, not only in sound, but in many other aspects (AGX, progr. loop & switches, etc.). This thing really helped me in my (short, but intense) professional path, due to the fact that I could immediately apply my knowledge and get any wanted sound out of it... Even after year 1994, when I stopped playing professional, I kept using it live and in my studio, and never got dissappointed. Further, all people, (musicians, audience) were mostly surprised by the PRO GAP, and I thing that's the most important thing.

Let's come to the current days... It's really to wonder how, in the age of modelling and high tech tube amps, this pre-amp is still a favorite of mine!! In my 22 years as a guitar player, I have hardly seen units more reliable and useful than that. And keep in mind: I own today several modelling units (Roland VG88, Hughes & Kettner ZenTera, Behringer's V-Amp2), which sound farily good to superb, but the PRO GAP easily compares to all of them, and really shines with its simple but brillant perfomance. That's why it keeps surprising people even today.
I don't thing I am gonna give this thing away... Never ever...
If stolen, yes I'd miss it, but I don't know if I could replace it, because the unit is old and I'm not sure if it's easy to find one, even in ebay...
I am thinking to purchase Replitone pre-amp, which is Rocktron's answer to modelling tech.
For now, and for all the reasons above, PRO GAP is still an overall winner to me.

I won't go over the same information in previous reviews, but I'll tell you how the PROGAP helps me in my music making. I'm a freelance musician and studio musician in Nashville and surroundign area. So like most musicians, I need a reliable van and a reliable amp. The PRO-GAP is just part of my sound but an integralpart none the less. Mines a 2.1 version. I bought mine about a year ago.

My set is as follows[Martin Acoustic, Fender Tele, Fender Strat, Gibson Les Paul Classic. When playing, one of these guitars goes into my Pro-Gap, out from Pro-Gap into Marshall 9200 or my Marshall 9100(depends how strong I am feeling that day:Heavy), then out to speaker cabs, Marshall 4x12 with 25 watt greenbacks. Yes, nice sounding. I have a Fender speaker cab but can't recall the model number(It's old, older than the hills). Sometimes I need super clean; sometimes I need gritty, other times and nead blistering lead solo stuff. I need to use great gear so that's why the Pro Gap is an essential part of my musical equation.

I would and have depended on it. I need reliable gear so Rocktron gear is reliable. It enables the true tone of the guitar to shine through. Great for acoustic too. Because the settings are programmable, it means I can preapre for gigs and studio works ahead of time which saves studio time and hassle at gigs. See!

I phoned them a few times and they have been helpful. They even sent me a free manual when I lost mine.

I bought mine used 'cause they aren't made anymore. Shame they aren't. I choose this pre-amp because it sounded the best and did the best job at preserving my tone and helping me make music. A few of the studios have offered to buy it from me but I've turned them down. These are hard to find so I'd be out of work without it.

Super easy. Very nice dials and programmability. I totolly dig the red display. Very Tronish. Lots of editing, very intiutive. I read the other guys review so I thought I'd review my baby. This dude is a superb rack pre-amp. Yeah, I'm a happy musician.

True to life. I can dial in the cleans of the cleans or the dirty of the dirties. I use a stereo Marshall 9200 tube power amp, a Rocktron Intellifex, a Furman Power Conditioner, and a Fender Tele. I make my own sounds and tones, so yeah, I get my own sound. I can also copy about 90% of the guitarist. I can even copy Dimebag Darrel if I wanted, but his tone sucks!

I've had mine for five years and no problems. Upgraded to the newest software for it. It gets better and better with age. I compaired this to a PLOD(POD) and my PRO-GAP blew it out of the water. POD is a plod. Pro-Gap is Pro-Stuff.

I've emailed them and they have been helpful. They are fine.

Well, well, well. I see what the Pro-Gaps sell for on the used market and OUCH! I got mine for a steal at $500. I've seen them go for the almost new price:close to $900 bucks.

I love this preamp. I managed to find it while working in the L.A. area and a studio that was closing down. They really didn't want to part with it, but we came to an agreement and now it's mine! This single-space rack-mount MIDI controllable preamp features MIDI-controllable gain, bass, treble and output level as well as two programmable parametric EQ's. The unit also features MIDI mapping, a HUSH noise reduction circuit, speaker and full-range outputs, and the ability to phantom-power a pedalboard using a 7-pin (MIDI-plus) cable. Programming is fairly easy; scroll through the parameters and change 'em until things start to sound good. I have to rave here about the HUSH. I'd never play without one again after using this little wonder. It can make all the difference in the world, especially in the studio. It's smart, non-intrusive and clean as hell. I would never sell my Pro-GAP, ever. It's the best rack pre. The cloeset preamp to it is the Mesa Triaxis, but that's way more expensive. I don't know why Harmony Central puts the Pro-Gap under guitar amps as it is a preamplifier and should be under the effects section. Why HC?? Why why why!

The distortions range from full-on buzzy Pantera-style stuff to a more mellow Marshall tone. It also does warmer bluesy stuff pretty well too. The bottom end is a little loose unless you spend quite a bit of time EQ'ing. Clean sounds are very good. I can get a good hard-rock crunch that still lets each note of the chord come through. I'm very happy with it.

Not a problem. I bought it used and even the previous owner had perfect reliability from this. I have to give it a ten, even though I've only had it for a year.

I don't know.

It's a great and equally rare guitar preamp. I love it and would trade it for anything except maybe for a Triaxis. These are quite rare, so keep your eyes peeled. Match it up with an effects unit and you have tone and variety. I'm so glad I bought it. It's just the sound I have been looking for, for a very long time. I've played through a lot of gear and this is the best. Pro-Gap all the way.

This single-space rack-mount MIDI controllable preamp features MIDI-controllable gain, bass, treble and output level as well as two programmable parametric EQ's. The unit also features MIDI mapping, a HUSH noise reduction circuit, speaker and full-range outputs, and the ability to phantom-power a pedalboard using a 7-pin (MIDI-plus) cable. Programming is fairly easy; scroll through the parameters and change 'em until things start to sound good. I have to rave here about the HUSH. I'd never play without one again after using this little wonder. It can make all the difference in the world, especially in the studio. It's smart, non-intrusive and clean as hell. I would never sell my Pro-GAP, ever. It's the best rack pre. The closest preamp to it is the Mesa Triaxis, but that's way more expensive. Easy to use.

The distortions range from full-on buzzy Pantera-style stuff to a more mellow Marshall tone. It also does warmer bluesy stuff pretty well too. The bottom end is a little loose unless you spend quite a bit of time EQ'ing. Clean sounds are very good. I can get a good hard-rock crunch that still lets each note of the chord come through. I'm very happy with it.

Not a problem. I bought it used and even the previous owner had perfect reliability from this. I have to give it a ten, even though I've only had it for a year.

I don't know.

It's a great and equally rare guitar preamp. I love it and would trade it for anything except maybe for a Triaxis. These are quite rare, so keep your eyes peeled. Match it up with an effects unit and you have tone and variety. I'm so glad I bought it.

Rocktron Progap Ultra made in '92. It's got great gain for metal. It's solid state so it will probably last for a long time.

I am using it with a BC Rich neck thru Mockingbird and a Schechter Avenger 7string with Duncans. Haven't used the clean channel much. I don't really have a use for clean sounds. The distortion is totally saturated, It's almost out of control. It's great for a high gain metal application.

I have not had any trouble with this preamp. I would like to have a backup just in case. Being that it doesn't have any tubes I can't imagine much can go wrong with it.

I have not dealt with anyone yet but I am playing hell trying to find a manual for free so I will be dealing with them shortly.

I've been playing for about 12 years. I have an old BC Rich Rave Ironbird, a Mockingbird neck-thru,a Schechter A-7 and a Squire Stagemaster 7-string. I am using a rackmount Marshall Valvestate 80+80 stereo power amp and a Behringer surround sound cab with 4 12" Jensen speakers. The Progap Ultra matches up well with the Marshall and the Behringer cab. If this preamp were stolen I would buy another one. It has worked well for me.

Not sure what year this was made but it the Pro Gap Ultra. The front looks like the newer rocktron stuff (not the one with the black & red knobs). Just going through the patches that were on it, it seems to cover a vast array of sounds. Using it with a Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp. I recommend a tube power amp for any pre-amp, but that just my preferance.

Using this unit with a neck thru warlock and neck thru mockingbird. Sounds great with both guitars. Good mild classic rock distortions to VERY gainy metal sounds ala any NWOBHM band (In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, etc.) Can also get the old school Dokken, Cinderella type distortions. It takes a while to get used to the whole pre and post eq sections and how they affect your sound. Distortion is very brutal without being too over the top. The cleans is where this unit seems to lack. They tend to be more of an old broken up low tube gain as opposed to sweet cleans. I play metal, so I didn't take this into consideration when buying the unit.

I am only rating this a 5 since I just got it off Ebay a month ago. For a unit that is at leat 9 years old, It seems very sturdy. No bend in the face plate, LED still looks brand new, all the functions/midi connections/inputs & outputs work fine.

Haven't had to deal with them yet

I really dig this preamp, mainly for the fact that for it's age the sounds I get are still relevant to todays modern guitar sounds. Great chunky distortion without being too over the top. I am trying to find another Pro Gap ULTRA as a back up. If this one died I would be very dissappointed.

Bought it new in 92 for $700 and have used it continuously since. I originally bought this unit because I was playing in a top 40 duo with a keyboard player and sequencers, and needed something I could run direct into the board. At that time, it was the only preamp out there with speaker emulation. Once I started playing in bands again, I worked great both as a pre-amp into a power amp, and as an extra gain stage into another amp. I've used it to play alternative, classic rock, country and blues. Since I already had a midi rig for my effects, using a preamp with midi switching was the next logical step.

I'm currently running a Carvin bolt with a Seymour Duncan Holdsworth humbucker on the bridge and 2 Lace Sensor single coils. This preamp does an excellent job of covering every style I've played. I can go from country spank, SRV blues to modern rock with the touch of my foot. The Hush unit works great. The thing is dead silent when I'm not playing. I've owned everything from Fenders, Yamahas, Boogies, Rolands and Pearces and this thing by far is the most versatile. The basic sounds are pretty good, and editing is a breeze.

13 years of steady road work and not one problem. The most reliable piece of gear I've ever owned.

I've never had to deal with them for this unit. I downloaded the manual for my Intellifex for free from their website.

I've been playing 25 years. I use a Rocktron effectron, Digitech DSP128, Dan Electro phaser and Crybaby wah for effects. ADA 200 watt power amp and Marshall 1922 2X12 cab. If this unit were stolen I might buy the Replitone pre-amp instead. But on the other hand, I can pick up another ProGap on Ebay for under $100. Overall, a great product that let's me get the sounds I'm looking for in any situation.

Easy to use, without manual, but having one would really be better. But, again, not really neccessary. Easy to program, manual is informative. Got my preamp from Ebay, but had to contact Rocktron for the User Manual. $15.00 fee to order from them.

Has some excellent sound/patches. Can create everything from a clean tone, SRV/ZZ Top sound, all the way up to a killer, skull crushing distortion. (Dokken, Pantera, In Flames...and much more!)

Not noisy at all, because it has their built-in HUSH System. Which is basically their noise-filter system. But, works like a charm!

Yeah, I can dial in anything and all my favorite artists can be dialed in. Everything from Jazz, Blues, Rock, Metal, and more.

Dependable? Yeah!

Use without backup? Yeah, probably!

Bought it used, had it for a number of years already, and still works 100%!

No comment. Never dealt with Rocktron, except to purchase manual. Which arrived very quickly.

I like to play everything from Blues to extreme metal! Is it a PERFECT preamp??? I doubt it! BUT, it does work pretty damn good! And, has a noise filter built in, and can REALLY do a great job with a WIDE variety of music. Has 25 built in patches from Steve Lukather and Allan Holdsworth. Can't be ALL that bad! hehe :)

If you can find one of these used, in fairly good shape, for a decent price, I'd grab one, give it a shot. Darn good preamp!

Bought used, no manual, I figured it out pretty quickly.
Easy to edit, and program...Nice scrolling digital LED readout/display.

Manual can be bought for $15 from Rocktron. Which is what I did after I bought this unit.

One main "adjustment knob", a couple of buttons...etc Very easy to use. :) Easier than most rackmount units.

My gear consists of: 80's Kramer Baretta, 2 Fender American Deluxe Strats, Laney 1/2 stack.

Unit is very quiet, has a built in HUSH. (Noise suppressor)

This unit can get everything from Alan Holdsworth to some pretty killer nuclear distortion, from such great heavy metal bands as Jag Panzer, Dokken, Primal Fear, In Flames...etc

PLENTY of adjustments to suit any sound you're trying to acheive.

Really a damn good preamp. I honestly can't find much fault with this unit. Pretty clean sounds, yet can get brutal distortion with just a couple tweaks of the knob.

Dependability, I think because this is a rackmount unit, it will last for years. It doesn't get stepped on, or abused, so, there's not much that can go wrong with rack units.

Dealt with them when I bought the instruction manual. Shipped it to me very quickly, but as far as actually talking to them, or technical advice, I really can't comment.

I really like this rack unit. It's extremely versatile, and if you're a metal-player like I am, you'll be pretty happy with what this unit can do. I bought it on a whim, and after really giving it a few hours use, I found myself loving it. As it turns out, it gives some nitro-distortion, and a pretty nice clean sound as well. Not to mention, it has a built in noise-supressor, which is called the HUSH system. Works VERY well in keeping the noise to a minimum!

Not a very common unit anymore, but if you can locate one, I recommend trying one out. And for $75-$80 bucks (used) you'll be HARD PRESSED to find ANY distortion pedal that can perform like this rack unit can!

Pretty simple to use, nice (easy to read) digital display, 3 knobs, 2 buttons.....etc Couldn't be much easier to use. Comes with 5 Allan Holdsworth presets, and 5 Steve Lukather presets. The owners-manual is very easy to read through. I bought my Pro-GAP from Ebay, with NO manual, and still figured it out with ease. Not sure if this unit has been upgraded with any new chips?

I have a ton of gear & many effects, but 90% of the time I use either my 1985 Kramer Baretta or one of my new Fender American Deluxe Strats. I play thru an early 80's LANEY tube head, and a Marshall 4x12 (1960A cabinet). When using the Rocktron Pro-GAP, I really can not turn up the volume too much. My whole house shakes. It also helps to have nice quality heads as well.

This unit is pretty quiet. Hardly any humm whatsoever. Of course, musicians should always use high-quality cables.

The Pro-GAP's distortion covers a WIDE array of tones with ease. With a few hours of playing with this unit, I was able to get some nice clean blues sounds, all the way up to massive sonic distortion! I love bands like Priest, Maiden, Ozzy, Jag Panzer, Dimmu Borgir, In Flames...etc And this unit can basically cover all the styles. The gain output is quite good. It may not be a tube preamp, but it sure has some kick to it! I'm very happy with it, considering I'm not a huge fan of Solid-State items.

Overall, it's a really nice preamp/distortion unit. I only give it an "8", simply because there's nothing perfect when it comes to guitar effects. :)

I bought it used, and have owned it for a little over a year, still works great, sounds great, and it's mounted in my rack, so, not much is going to happen to it.

Sure, I'd gig with it....It's a pretty good unit. Of course, I'd always bring a backup unit, just because....

Ordered the original owners manual from them, took just a couple days to get it, and no problems there. But, I have never really needed them for any tech support. Would like to think they are helpful.

My style is mostly metal/progressive metal/death/black/ & 70's rock...etc And, Yeah, I'd have to say this preamp serves my needs!

Been playing for 20+ years, and have owned TONS of guitars, amps, pedals & effects. My current gear includes the following: Mesa Boogie V-Twin preamp pedal, an Electro-Harmonix Tube Zipper, Morley Bad-Horsie Wah, Rocktron Pro-GAP rackmount preamp, Tech-21 Comp-Tortion pedal, Marshall Jackhammer distortion pedal, Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail reverb, ZOOM-505 multi effects pedal, Ibanez dig-delay rackmount, LANEY 50W tube head, Marshall 4x12 cab (1960A), and 7 guitars.

If this unit were lost or stolen, I might look for a Rocktron Pirahna instead of another Pro-GAP. The Pirahna is a better unit. Used by such greats as Dave Mustaine, Glenn Tipton & KK Downing.

My favorite feature on this unit is just the fact that it produces a very good "metal" distortion for the price I paid for it. The Pro-GAP has killer gain, and it can replicate a wide array of different "heavy metal" styles. Which is really why I bought this unit.
Now, my LANEY produces some AWESOME, SWEET distortion also, and I use it often, but usually when I'm jamming to some classic British rock, where a good British tube head is needed! ie. Zeppelin, The WHO, Sabbath, Kinks, Cream...etc

I NEVER use my Rocktron for classic rock. Although, I "can" get a decent classic-rock distortion from this unit, I just stick with my LANEY head for that. It's all you need! :)

Overall, the Rocktron Pro-GAP is a very nice unit if you're a metal guitarist. It covers alot of heavy metal bands' sounds. getting one used for under $100 is a great value. I'm very happy with it.

features - too many to list.
i have owned my pro gap scince i bought it used in 1991.

humbucking and single coil sounds great
it seems to suit me well
choose your weapon
clean as a virgin or dirty as a whore
you pick either or
this unit can sound like anything
i like making my rhoads v sound like a strat
or my ibanez 550 into a tele
it freaks people out
the seamless patch switching ,the dist. gain, and hush make this unit a must in live performance situations.

its great.
no problem
have used in gig with no back up several times.
except when every guitar players nightmare happened.
my whole rack ate a hard floor from atop a 412 cab.
this tragedy left me stranded for a while (broke the knobs off)
but i never had problems after i fixed the poor little bugger.

a little slow
i called the factory several times before i got anywhere
finally i kept buggin the same dude and he sent me the pots for free.

ive played for a long time .
and have several other preamp/fx units
boss, digitech,bbe,tubeworks,korg,zoom,art,
ive played in many bands rock covers,neoclassical shred, blues , some clean acoustical type also this unit is 1 of the best ever produced .
if it had fx it would be on a alter being worshipped.

Rack mount preamp- has pre and post eq, Hush, gain, bass and treble, as well as some sort of a compression type thing when you swith the "curve" to "A". See other reviews for more detailed explanation. No effects.

I play really heavy death metal/hardcore. My guitar is a Jackson DR-3 with EMG-85s. I go into the Progap, into a BBE Sonic Maximizer and into a Mesa Boogie 50/50. The whole mess comes out of a cheapo Ampeg 4x12 cab.
Considering that I've never seen one of these go for more than $100 used, it sounds pretty darn good. I mean, it's no substitue for a Triaxis or anything, but you can get a real heavy sound out of it if you try. I used to have an ADA MP1 and the Progap outperforms it across the board. The Hush is really handy if you're like me and you use tons of gain.
As I said, it's not amazing, but certainly better than anything else you're going to get for the price, especially considering it's got a Hush.

Works fine for me. Seeing as how this thing's at least 9 years old I think that speaks well of it.

Rocktron has good support in my experience... I had to order a new power supply, which cost $30 and they got to me in 3 days.

Not too bad at all for metal or rock... The clean sound isn't great, but if you see one cheap it's not a bad buy.

Yeah! It's a cutting blade in my head! This preamp has a very powerful sound and with the hush a very clean one too. A single channel preamp but very great to use. A very good system for editing and controlling manually or by midi. It seems this preamp was born form great metal music, but I've found it very useful for every kind of music. With all its dynamics it sounds very great on clean sounds too. I use all the features of this preamp and they are all very useful.

With my Ibanez js-900 with I had a very clean sound at any level withouy any kind of saturation or noise. Both clean and distorted sounds are very powerful and clean! With my Gibson Explorer the sound becomes a less clean but have you ever tried a warhammer?

I have never had any problem.

In the last 12 years I've never had a so great clean and powerful sound.

Gain, bass, treble, 2 sweepable mid freqs and levels, hush and AGX. Midi includes program mapping, CC mapping, effects loop on/off, with no gaps in midi switching (a trademark for Rocktron products.) Phantom power capable with a 7 pin midi in jack. A full range output for direct recording plus 2 additional ouputs (A and B) that are voiced differently. Also a C1 control jack that can be used to switch other processors 1/4" jacks via midi and a foot pedal jack for those without a midi foot controller to control the pro-gap. It can be switched for a latched or unlatched jack to increment or decrement the presets. Solid state distortion unlike any other unit I've ever heard. Not sure which model I have but mine takes a wallwart. I've seen the upgrade models that have internal power supplies but they skip on the phantom power (!?!?!)

I play hard music using 6 and 7 string guitars with humbuckers. I've played it through just about every amp out there. Sounds great warmed up with a nice powerfull tube amp. This is a standalone distortion pre-amp with no effects. This unit can be noisy without the hush and AGX set properly. I've found that about 34 is the best hush setting for me and the AGX knob barely clamping down on my signal so as not to take away from all the gain I'm used to. For as long as I've played and as many units and pedals I've tried, there has yet to be a preamp that has as much ballsy sustaining crunch that this unit can provide. Even the new units that Rocktron has out, including the Prophesy and the chameleon, can't hold a stick up to it in regards to the wallop of gain you have. I've always wanted too much so I have headroom to back off instead of pushing a preamp to it's limits and still feeling unsatisified. Setting the 2 sweepable mids just right is the key to getting the perfect tone for you. This unit has and probably always will be the cornerstone to my tone. I keeping searching and playing the new stuff out there to take advantage of the newer technologies, but there's something everyone's overlooking that just doesn't compare to this preamps distortion. I must agree that playing clean through this preamp isn't as agreeable to other units. It's certainly not impossible though, for I get really nice shimmering clean playing by setting the distortion to around 13 and boosting the output. Switching your pickups to the mid or neck really makes the cleans jump out nicely. At one point, I stockpiled 3 of these units for backups since they were hidden treasure for $89 each. I kinda started a trend in my area since so many guitarists were turned on to my tone. I ended up selling all of them.

This unit has gone through hell and back hooking up to crappy power outlets on stages everywhere. There's been a few tragedies where They had my side of the stage set to 220 and it smoked it. Rocktron fixed it no problem. A few other times, the bad power outlets made the unit turn off and on repetitively VERY fast and scrambled all my presets to gibberish 2 hours before a show. I was able to reprogram them within an hour and played fine. For all it's went through, It's very reliable, and can take some abuse physically and power wise.

Rocktrons track record with me has varied greatly from quick and helpfull to not responding at all to my queries. I love Rocktron's product, but their customer support is something to be desired.

I've been using this unit since around 1993 or so, and have grown to feel helpless without it. It scares me that with all the new technology out there that not a single new distortion unit has sounded like this one. I recently bought the new Rocktron Repltitone 2x12 combo amp which has distortion simulations from all their current products plus others. Since it is a digital amp with midi capabilities, I was hoping maybe it would replace having to carry a rack of gear (including my pro-gap.) I was once again let down. The disortions were nice and just when I though maybe I just need to get used to it, I plugged my pro-gap into it for comparison. Laughing, I immediately realized there was no comparison to the massive amount of gain that the pro-gap can put out. I'm probably going to have to get a petition of pro-gap users to get Roc