Rocktron Blue Thunder

Seems VERY interesting. I wonder how the distortion sounds & the other FX track? Also, how many can be used at once & their adjustability capabilities...

~S~

 

L,

TEN! How does it sound & does it keep the sound clear enough(hiss free, etc) to replace all the pedals I generally use for those FX? Again, I really wonder how the dist sounds? Is it set up like the Rockrton Gainiac pre or ???



~S~

 

Bump!

I'm kinda interested in this thing too. I'm currently looking into my options for a rack mount effects processor with reverb, chorus and distortion at least. Anyone have any info here or can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

when i googled 'rocktron blue thunder review' i found a thread from another bass forum (i don't know if i'm allowed to link to it) with someone who had only good things to say about it.

 

Here is one review:

Thats from Dann Glenn over at basslinks, another bass forum I am a part of.

Here is something from Harmony Central about it:

 

I picked one up a few months ago. I like it and it complements my SVP-Pro very well.

As a preamp, it has a very nice, well-rounded sound which, though obviously digital, is pretty transparent. The EQ on it is also pretty versatile.

As for the effects, this is my first multieffects unit and I haven't gotten into the mire of programming my own presets yet (I use only the factory presets thus far) but they sound very, very good and there are almost too many things that you can do with it.

The unit is very quiet; however, with the unit on +4db and the gate off, if your pickups are noisy that will come through.

I tried recording direct from the BT into my Minidisc and it was dead quiet, even with the switch set at +4db.

Downsides? Well, the only quibbles I have are minor ones. "That digital sound" just may not be your thing (it is mine). The input jack is on the back, which is a bit of a grumble for me, but makes sense if you're using the unit solely as an FX unit. Also, that blinking blue LED has the potential to get annoying, as there is no way to turn it off.

All in all, a ridiculously low price for such a versatile unit. YMMV of course.

 

I still like it a lot! This unit really is quite a bargain.

There are several presets that combine chorus and reverb. IMO, all of the effects are studio quality, although a few of the presets fall into the "what were they thinking?" zone.

The overdrive sounds pretty good, but it's not as warm-sounding as an analog unit.

If you're only interested in the effects, you may want to look elsewhere, but IMO it's the extra stuff like the preamp features, compression, gate, speaker simulator etc, that push this unit over the top.

 

@thrash jazz,

Can you eq the fx you choose?

Does it keep all the lows or filter them out?

Does it have a footswitch/board to change channels/fx while you're playing?

thanks,
~S~

 

Yes, you can EQ the effects! The EQ on it sounds pretty good, but not as versatile as some other, more straightforward units.

There is a low-pass filter for the effects - but you can adjust that to the setting you like (IIRC, the selections run from 80-300 Hz, but I'm not 100% sure about that), or turn it off. The effects sound excellent IMO, even on the low B.

The unit is MIDI-controlled - it doesn't include a board, but Rocktron does sell a compatible unit (as I recall, it's about $200 CDN). I don't own the board so I couldn't tell you much more than that...

Hope this helps!

 

@thrash jazz,

Thanks!

~S~

BTW: Where did you get yours from?

 

You're very welcome!

I got it from Club Bass in Toronto. The price has been reduced to $399 CDN.

www.clubbass.ca

 

dunno anything about this, but I use a Rocktron Replifex and absolutely love it. Great sounding effects -- digital or not. It sounds amazing on bass. My only complaint is that if you send too much low end through it with the fx on it will scream a little, but that can be a good sound too.

Special bonus for rocktron customer service and manuals, which were great at least a couple years ago.

--JES

 

if the US prices are similiar to that canadian price with the curent exchange rate...the unit seems like a bargain! esp for being a good rack multi efx unit with compressor, delay, para-eq (esp since the unit is supposed to be transparent and clean) and chorus, and the occasion phaser doesnt hurt

add to it a vol pedal and wah, and you're set...i might have to forgo a digitech bnx3 if i can try one of these out somewhere

 

I'm still on the quest for the perfect rackmount bass preamp w/ effects. The Blue Thunder is the most likely contender right now but I can't find one in any stores to test it out. Here's what I'm looking for.

1. Truly wicked distortion. Right now I'm using a Rocktron PRO Gap with the gain turned up to about 63 (out of 70). Most distortion units don't have enough gain. I'm not looking for overdrivey/edgy/fuzzy/driven tone. I'm looking for hellish ammounts of mountin moving terror gain. I used to use a Danelectro FabTone if you know what I mean? I like how the Blue Thunder lets you blend in the clean tone with the distorted tone but I need lots and lots of gain. What do you think?

2. Fast MIDI switching between presets. Our sequencer does all our patch changes for us during the songs (lots of dynamic quick changes) and I can't have a noticable pause or hiccup when I'm going from some faux disney quiet part to soul shattering loud part.

Ok, what do you think?

 

I ordered mine and should have it in a few days (France, 399€). I'll post some feedback in this thread after I come back from Vatican City on the 26th.

Why did they not include a pitch shift function in the Blue Thunder though?

Any thoughts on Eventide stuff for Bass? I thought of Eclipse or H3000SE, the latter being cheap to get now ...

 

I finally got the unit, here's some feedback after about 2 weeks of Rocktron use, but with the following disclaimer: I only used it with Genelec 1031A monitors and headphones, I'm lacking a poweramp right now ... but this will be fixed in about 10 days and I'll tell you how it sounds through an EBS 410!

Construction: seems sturdy, subject to scratching though, the knobs are painted plastic and the front is plexiglass. Powered by a big wall wart

Ease of use: fairly straightforward, read the manual though, some features/labeling are not clear on the unit.

Features: there's a lot for the buck, fairly decent EQ (GT6B seems slightly better), distortion (more like fuzz), compression (a bit weak there, you can't set the compression ratio & it lacks character), delay, reverb (no predelay setting ), tremolo, cool phaser, decent flanger, nice chorus (GT6B is better), decent speaker simulation (better than GT6B imho, let's say more useable)

Overall the sound is less digital, better rounded than on the GT6B, and you don't have to crawl on all fours to set your sound. If you compare the digital signal without effects to the "true hardware bypass", there is no audible difference which is amazing! It seems very useable on the Genelecs, but better compression and a few more parameters wouldn't hurt. And I could not find an octaver even though I looked hard

I've emailed Rocktron about the software quibbles above, hope they're still planing new firmware releases and have enough rom to add a few things.

I'll give it a good test on Friday during rehersal, this time on a (modest) rig.