Rocktron Vendetta Head

Please see posts below for specs. I would like to point out that it doesn't have reverb, which sucks because other similar Egnater designs do. Besides the reverb, it's very versatile. I've used it in a midi-thru switching situation and that's convenient. Both loops sound fine. I wish it had a second master volume for an easy lead boost - like the Marshall JVM head has. A built-in tuner would be nice. As far as power, I have a TOL 100 that seems to be way louder. The Vendetta keeps up with my band, but it's not overly loud. Above all, the key feature is having 4 channels.

I'm playing hard rock using a Musicman Axis with stock humbuckers>Weeping Demon> Vendetta with Intellifex in the loop. My cab is an Avatar 2x12 with V30's. The sounds are all very good. I'd say the tones are pretty much all in the Marshall family. Other types of tones are possible but not what this thing is designed for - if you're in a metal or Texas blues band, this probably isn't your dream amp. For those who play in rock cover bands or just like a variety of rock tones, this is a great, affordable solution.

I stepped on the guitar cord too close to the amp and broke that damn input jack, just like other reviewers. Plastic. What kind of quality is that? Otherwise, no problems. Gig without a backup? No, I always at least bring a pod to gigs.

Rocktron has been responsive via email. Jim has replied quickly and thoroughly to several of my questions about other products.

Been playing for 20 years and I've owned a long list of amps. This is one keeper that I'd replace without hesitation. It's so versatile and sounds great. Too bad they left off the reverb, but I get by OK. This is a little-known gem that can be had for not much cash, so it's a great deal. Check it out if you get a chance, and check out the clips on youtube if they're still up.

4 channel valve amp head with MIDI channel switching, series and parallel FX loops, tube bias points.
Channels 1 and 2 have seperate gains and bright switches, but share a set of tone controls. Same setup for channels 3 and 4. Each channel has a 'Voicing' switch to go from vintage to modern modes.
Master section has Master Vol, Master Presence (Hi's), FX Mix and Density(Low's). Very similar in layout to the Randall RM100 (I use the Randall RF-4 footswitch), TOL and other amps designed by Bruce Egnater. These amps are made by Rocktron in the U.S.A.
I A/B'd this amp against a Peavey JSX and a Carvin Legacy and also demo'd the HughesandKettner Triamp and Trilogy, Soldano SLO100, Randall RM100M as well as having just sold a marshall/tcelectronics/mesaboogie rack and having owned other amps such as the mesa dual recto and Peavey 5150. For my tastes, this amp sounds better and can do anything any of those amps could, and couldn't!

I play mostly metal and have humbucker equipped USA jackson/charvel guitars (JJ2 + SanDimas II). My guitars run into Morley BadHorsieII wah and LittleAlligator volume pedals then straight into the amp.
The four sounds im after are
1. a very clean (but not trannie amp clean) slightly effected sound suitable for finger picked ballads and a bit of country/rock/blues.
2. Hendrix/SRV breaking up marshall sound.
3. ACDC/IronMaiden/Metallica/Anthrax Rock/Metal Rhythm sound.
4. Vai/Satch/Petrucci type high gain solo lead sound.
Achieves these sounds so easily I dont know where to go from here...
There is no noise from this amp. Every note is clear as a bell on all channels. Fantastic, though I cant compare it to a handbuilt Egnater, Diesel, Bogner etc...

You can rebias/revalve the amp yourself with just about any tube type you desire. Therefore I dont think reliability will be a problem. My only concern is that, as this thing weighs so damn much the handle on top of the amp has loosened the top bit of the amp a bit, so i now how to carry it with two hands around the sides, otherwise I'd give it at least a 9.

Been playing 16 years, owned lots of stuff, played lots of bands etc.. So far nothing Ive owned or played has sounded this good or been so straightforward. A guitar, 3 pedals, this amp and my 100w 4x12' celestion g12m 'greenbacks' cab. the best sound around. I could play on the G3 tour with this thing, its amazing.

4 channel, midi switching, all tube, all the tone shaping you could need in an amp.

Series and parallel effects loops. Voltage test points on the back.

With the matching 4x12 cabinet, it'll up and blow your head off, but sounds terrific at any volume.

Top notch sound. Every channel is useable, and all have their own unique character, from glassy clean (CH 1) to Vox dirty (CH 2) to modded Marshall, but less brittle (CH 3) to "Total Thermonuclear War" (CH 4).

Best-sounding amp I've ever owned - (Marshall, Mesa, Laney, Line6, Fender... etc...).

For the detuners and 7-stringers, the density control is top-notch for chunking the sound up.

Had a broken input jack, much like the other reviewer.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE stop using fragile board mounted input jacks.

Fantastic.

The broken input jack was fixed quickly because Rocktron sent me a replacement in a huge hurry.

Doesn't get any better.

Not only the best amp in the under $2000 class, might be the best amp at any price.

4 Channels gain stacking (each channel increases in amount of available gain) Series and parallel loops. MIDI channel switching all tube amp...WHAT! That was the selling point along with the Rocktron name. In a nutshell how many channels does the Alesis midiverb 4 have 127 presets and 127 user. 254 channels with 4 variations of gain. Priceless

I use a Schecter C-7 custom with Hot Dimarzio pickups and a Michael Kelly Patriot stock. For a cabinet I am using a Behringer Ultrastack with Eminence Swamp Thang speakers in the top and Jensens in the bottom. Very nice transmission of sonic brutality.
I have had a Load of amps, and have used even more. Randall V-max, Randall JSX, Carvin, Rocktron Replitone, Marshall, Fender, Line 6 POD and Old version head. This is the one true amp. If you are into death metal it may not quite have the gain but for all types of Rock and most metal this is the home run.
I am in a all original Hard Rock/Metal band and this fits like a glove. Clean channel 1 is superb for an all tube amp. Not quite the crystal like (glass shattering) most digital amps can be, but very "alive". EQ is vesatile on Channel 1 and 2. Channel 2 has enough bite to be out front and will break up nicely. Decent crunch for blues.
Channel 3 good rythm sound AC/DC etc... and can put out a decent lead sound. Chords ring out and all elements of the chord are heard. Channel 4 killz! Very musical and exact. Notes are clear and very much out front. A little hiss at full gain and high volume but very livable.
This is where an EQ pedal would come in handy. Seems to be missing a BIT of low end. Everything else is AWESOME. NO short commings.
very VERY Loud!

The real deal sealer for me on this amp is the midi channel switching. In Out/Thru. Pristine sound thru the parrallel effects loop. Also has a series loop for noise reduction, compressor etc.
A little extra hair on channel 4 with a TAD more Bass and it would be the best amp I have ever played! I am sure with a tube swap it can improve dramatically.
I am sure I loose great credibility for not having or playing any high end one trick amps.
But I will say this. I don't feel the need to check them out at all now. And that is saying something. after 15 years of searching!!

Don't anticipate any. Built like a brick Sh*t house. No problems with anything that says Rocktron in this life.

Not needed in 15 years. Hope it doesn't change.

I am not tube savy but I know what sound I like and you know what??? It is coming out of my Rocktron Vendetta head that is connected to my 4x12 cabinet! Buy high dollar hearing protection then BUY A VENDETTA.

My Vendetta is brand new. I picked it up directly from the factory/warehouse in Battle Creek, Michigan. The amp is very versatile; whether you're playing country, blues, or death metal! I play harder metal and can get pinch harmonics and deep tones easily. The Vendetta has four channels, I have the footswitch (RM4) so switching is easy on stage. It offers both series and parallel effects loops, sorry... no headphone jack... I love the probes for voltage tests. I have a digital multimeter that I take on the road with me and I always check voltage and make adjustments accordingly. This amp has more than enough power... works great with the Rocktron Cab... I used it with a POS Crate cab and had the crate falling apart... This head gets an A+ from me. I own a Marshal Mode Four 350 and it doesn't sound close to as good as my Vendetta... it sounds good low and high volume!

I'm using a Les Paul with EMG 81/85 combo... active. Works great! Suits my music style great! It's really quiet... of course... I have the Rocktron Hush pedal also... great sound... that's all I can say. I use effects alot... but for the amp as a standalone... you can't beat it!

I've had my share of accidents... and she never stops kicking! You can bring it without a backup and not have to worry a bit! The tubes are rock solid!

The company is very helpful. It helps that I live two roads away... but they are always smiling and welcoming when I have questions. I have toured the facility countless times and have had no trouble with any aspect of their business. I believe the warranty is 2 years... but I may be wrong.

I've been playing for ten years atleast. I own alot of Marshall gear. I'd buy from Rocktron again... in fact, I'm looking at some of their smaller amps for at-home use. I love the styling, the durability... and most importantly the sound. I wish it had a headphone jack so I could use it at home... but if that were the case it'd be perfect.

Sweet amp. No point in listing all the features again. One thing of note: Channel 3 is so nice that you don't even really need the other channels, just use the guitar's volume control. I give it a 9 because a half power switch would be nice.

The tone is so nice, even through my awful Peavey 4x12 Sheffield. It is so amazing how you can get thick clean tones, great chruch, nice chunk, sustained leads, and still hear every note played distinctly and evenly amplified. The voicing switches are very effective at changing the sounds of the amp, from vintage to modern.

I give it a 10 here because of the external biasing capability, and the external fuse. Nothing has gone wrong, but if it ever does I could probably fix it because of those two factors. I also think the manual is excellent.

I bought it used and haven't had any questions yet. So N/A for me.

You can't go wrong with this amp. If you can find one used, grab it! I'll give it a 9 here because of my credibility. I have been playing for about 8 years or so, but I have never owned a Marshall or Mesa. This is my first real nice piece of equipment. Mine has JJ Tesla power tubes which do wonders for my 1980's MIA Strat.

This is a 2003 head. I just want to agree with the comprehensive review below by Mario and add a few things. Having 4 channels and being MIDI-ready is great. Imagine buying a Bogner Ecstasy head for $3400 and needing to spend another $400 for a MIDI switchbox and custom cable to the footswitch jack. Absurd! One thing I noticed right away though was the master volume knob ought to have been set apart and made larger or somehow distinguishable. I had to mark it so I could tell quickly which one it was but still it's easy bump the other controls next to it.
I'm a big rack guy, but I wanted a loud tube amp that was easy to take to rehearsal with my band, and the MIDI capability was real important to me. I'm not fond of tap-dancing on multiple pedals and floor switches, and I already had 3 Rocktron MIDI controllers laying around. The amp even provides phantom power to it. Now, I go to practice with the head, plug my one-space rack with a Rocktron Xpression into the loop, plug 1 cable into my All-Access controller, and plug in my Mesa Recto 1x12 cab with a 400W Eminence in it. Done!

I use several 2-humbucker guitars into it, but they are wired with coil taps for clean sounds. I once had an Egnater IE4 preamp and hoped it approached that tone-wise. Well, I don't think the clean chan does. It appears to have less headroom, so I find I need to lower the guitar volume slightly, max the channel volume, then bring up the gain until it starts to break up. Then I bring up the master volume to suit. This forces me to drop the other channel masters WAAAAY down. Set that way the high-gain channels aren't as responsive as they are when their channel volumes are up near 1/2-way. A quiet clean channel is common among tube heads though, and I don't know enough about amps to know why that is. It was plenty loud in my IE4 though... Anyway, I usually drop the mids slightly for a chimey clean tone, but then if I want to pop to chan 2 and push the mids and treble for a good SRV tone, I have to dick with the knobs. You head guys are used to this, but I get slightly annoyed that I have to think about it. I have a hard enough time playing, but then I like technical rock/metal. Wish I could dial it in and hit "save", but the only amp I know that can do that is the Zinky Superfly. Chan 3 is my smooth lead channel, and I love it. Chan 4 is great for chunky rhythm. When I first turned up to practice with this rig and launched into Dream Theater's "As I Am", perfect feedback and all, the guys about shit! I won't give up my rack when I have the space to use it, but this amp rocks for $1k! Ideally, it would have a switchable EQ like a VHT head, for truly brutal sounds. I could put a switcher and EQ in the loop, but haven't yet bothered with the added equipment.

I've owned a dozen different Rocktron pieces and they have never failed on me. It's solid gear. Just let the heat out and you'll be fine. My head arrived new out of the box with a cracked/shorting input jack however. They use these plastic jacks that are PCB-mounted and help support the PCB to the chassis. They do this because it's one less labor step and keeps manufacturing cost down. I replaced the jack with a metal one mounted to the panel, and soldered a short piece of coax to the board. It's called hand-soldering, Rocktron, and is more reliable when done well. I'm all for keeping costs down, but not on the INPUT jack guys...

Mixed bag here. They do answer the phone, unlike VHT!, and I've got small replacement parts and cables fast enough in the past. But I once had an issue with my All-Access and needed a EPROM update, which I was promised but never received despite multiple phone calls. From my point of view, it appeared they didn't feel it was worth their trouble: "yeah, we'll have to get a tech to do that for you..." Yeah, well then just f'in do it! Isn't that your job as a service rep? Or at least respond: I'm sorry, we're unable to fulfill that support request. Don't just leave me hanging there!

With a louder clean chan I'd love it. Don't get me wrong, this clean channel sounds better than most high-gain heads I've heard, it could just be louder before breakup. Maybe I can learn which tube to swap out to make that happen. I love it's high-gain tones. It's got MIDI. It's a lot of amp for the money. A great value.

This is a new 2003 head. Very unique and flexible. 4 Channels, midi switching, and tone. I purchased this due to the fact that my Egnator TOL head died and I needed an amp for upcoming gigs. I know that the Vendetta is based off of the Egnator TOL with more modern voicing and more user friendly features such as external biasing control, two sets of FX loops (series and parallel), and the midi switching capability. At 100 watts it has more than enough power. Each channel has its own bright switch and master control, and each pair (1/2 and 3/4) has its own voicing switch (vintage and modern). The master volume is very linear in that you can crank it up but it really won't start getting super loud until you reach 11 o'clock. No reverb, but I never really use it at all.

Here's where the amp shines. I would put this amp in the category of the boutique amps. It show none of the obnoxious brightness of Marshall amps or the buzzy / grainy character of Mesa boogies. This amp had four channels. One is like a Vox / Fender in character. Two ups the gain to offer a very smooth british tone like a Vox / Marshall. Three is super hot Plexi style. Four pushes the gain more but not as thick as channel 3, great for metal. All in all, the tone of this amp is incredible, very lush and detailed. Complex chords hold their integrity without getting lost in mush as so many amps do now. I'm really suprised that there aren't any more review of this amp. The tone is very similar to my Egnator TOL. The TOL is a little more old school in tone and thick. The Vendetta is more modern sounding with more mid crang, chime, and punch. THIS AMP GOT THE GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE EDITOR'S PICK !!! That says it all.

Hopefully it will last long. I've only had it for a few days.

I've had problems with Rocktron in the past but I hear they've really gone up a few notches in this area. I think they were getting bashed too much and decided to do something about it.

I've been playing for a LONG time. Jazz, fusion, rock, classical, etc. I've owned tons of amps and this amp along with the Egnator TOL are my all time fav's. Lots of tones and 4 channels controled by midi. How many amps do you know of that are all tube, and you can control your channel switching and effects patches with one midi pedal? Other than the Egnater and Vendetta, I don't know of any other than rack mount systems. Mesa Boogies Rectifiers and Marshall TSL's cost more, aren't as smooth and dynamic (think super hot Matchless type of smoothness and clarity)and not as flexible. All the posers can keep their Marshalls, Crates, Mesa's, etc. I like that my amp is unique and not very well known and kicks all their asses.

Made in 2000.
extremely versetile amp with 4 channels,midi switchable,all tube,parallel loop and series loop.It has everything I ever wanted in a amp including a global master volume for all 4 channels allowing you to get awesome bedrom level volumes.I use this head at band rehearsel loudly and at home for practice and recording.

I use my carvin dc135 with a humbucker and two single coils and it gives all the big tones clean and dirty.I play rock and semi guitar hero shred and hot blues styles.Channel one will stay clean if you want it to or get a nice breakup at whatever volume.Ch. two will stay semi clean and when you bring up the preamp volume it gets a cool old marshall ac/dc sound.Channel three is a fantasy JCM800 brown sound.I use this for lead playing at home and rythyms.Ch.four is all the gain you want or need and is a liquid fluid lead guitar dream.I use ch. 4 all the time for crunch rythym and lead with my band.Distortion is pretty brutal if you want it to be depending on your eq settings

I have had no problems whatsoever with this amp.I would gig and have many times without a backup

I live in michigan where they are made and I got fast friendly results when i called rocktron about the list price and features of this amp.Check out rocktron.com for a photo and more details about the best amp I have ever owned or played through.Ps. i have seen these on ebay brand new for around 2 grand.This is a crime for the working class musician.I got mine brand new for 1350.00 out the door from Rit central in Grand Rapids Mi.There number is (616)243-7867

I have been playing for twenty years and have had em all .I would buy another in an instant.