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Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 01:11 AM

I ordered a few things middle of last week and most of them finally got here today. Rocktron Voodu Valve and Velocity 100 50x50 power amp came in today. I will say that so far i am extremely pleased with this setup. I think that you can get any sound imaginable with this preamp. Maybe ill upgrade to a good tube power amp in the future but for now the velocity is doing excellent. Editing patches is extremely simple with the voodu and so far I've made Andy timmons sound from electric gypsy to the point that im satisfied with it, and im picky. Here's a pick of how it stands now, with a few more things coming, namely a power conditioner, and im thinking about gettin one of those BBE sonic maximizers to throw in there too.







 rack_test.mp3 ( 366.1K ) : 253
This is mic'd up with my, you guessed it, headphones mic from my logitech headphones, just laying infront of my 2x12 cab. Recorded into reaper with no post record processing, what you hear is exactly what came out of the speaker, although with slight less bass because the headphone mic doesn't capture all the bass

Posted by: skennington Apr 15 2008, 01:53 AM

Nice! What are you running the rack into? Forgive me, I dont know alot about rack systems.

Posted by: g-forcelover Apr 15 2008, 02:00 AM

I have no idea what those are (or what power amps and preamps are) so all I can say is, Fancy!

Posted by: Smikey2006 Apr 15 2008, 02:25 AM

yea ive always seen ppl with racks.. but i never really understood.. is there a thread that will enlighten those who have no idea what a Pre-Amp does?

basically here is my knowledge

Schecter + patch Chord + Overdrive/phaser/distortion/anyothereffectpedalgoeshere+ Patch chord+ Krank amp = .. id love to have more gear knowledge so i could get better tone ..

looks cool tho! I know pre-amps have gotta do something.. i just dunno what

Posted by: Unleash-The-Shred Apr 15 2008, 02:32 AM

Yeah I'd like to know more about this stuff too, perhaps a lesson on it?

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 02:32 AM

Pre amps in a basic sense make the guitar tones you know and love, and power amps in a basic sense make that sound louder so you can rock your millions of screaming fans. This is a oversimplification of whats going on but it makes sense.The voodu valve is a preamp with effects built in. Some like the Mesa Boogie Triaxis, which i really wanted, are pretty much only distortion sounds from various mesa boogie amps. The preamp with effects in my system takes the place of somthing like say, a pod X3 or equivalent.

My setup goes Ibanez-->Voodu valve preamp-->Velocity power amp--> Avatar 2x12 right now but you can add all sorts of goodies in there.


EDIT @Smikey your setup of guitar-->pedals-->amp does include a preamp but your preamp and power amp both live in your krank together. Rack systems just allow you to mix and match what preamp you put with what power amp you choose. You can still run pedals into a rack preamp the same way you do a normal amp. The voodu preamp has pretty much all the pedal effects built into though so no real need for all of that.

Posted by: Smikey2006 Apr 15 2008, 02:34 AM

so would this be sort of like a custom Head for a cabinet? or would it run into a head. and then to the cab?

also.. if you have all your effects built into your preamp would you use a stomp box to control them all on stage.. ahh i have alot of questons.. sry about hijacking your new gear thread

Posted by: Darfuria Apr 15 2008, 02:35 AM

Would be nice if somebody could cover all of this in the Wiki. I would if I knew anything about it.

Is there much point in a power amp if you're not planning on playing loud?

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 02:39 AM

Without the power amp you wouldn't hear anything, nor would you have a way too hook it to the speakers. The preamp sends out line level(signal) stuff and no actual useable power. you can use head phones on the preamp only and thats about it.

questions pop up faster then i can answer so EDIT again.....
You could run a preamp into a heads effects loop with it plugged in the correct way, but how i have it setup its like having a custom head with built in effects that goes straight to a cab with no amp in a traditional sense like a combo or amp head

as for controling it you can get a midi pedal board and switch presets, effects, and all sorts of crazy things, like for instance imagin having an expression pedal that controlled delay time... 0ms delay at heel down to say 500ms of delay at wide open. neat stuff

Posted by: Darfuria Apr 15 2008, 02:42 AM

Not quite understanding the difference between a preamp and the pickups.

I'm assuming one would go guitar > preamp > effects > poweramp > speakers though.

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 02:47 AM

yes thats basically right, just imagine the preamp + power amp as a normal style amp head, just in 2 seperate interchangeable units. besides the fact that they come in 2 seperate little boxes is about the only difference between a basic rack setup like mine, and a traditional amp head.

Posted by: Darfuria Apr 15 2008, 02:49 AM

Is there any advantage, having them in two seperate units?

Apologises for server hi-jack. Congrats on your new gear. Record a load of different stuff so we can appreciate the sound

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 02:56 AM

Its no problem i don't mind helping people, i actually enjoy it! There are a few advantages of going with a rack setup.
1. expandability- you can make a very elaborate rack rig (see john pettruci's rig for example, or very simple like mine) at any time I can add other rack gear to complement my setup like a EQ for example, another effects processor if i wanted or a whole different preamp if choose to do so

2.Ease of upgrading- im a gear whore so this is the main reason i went with the rack. I have a very cheap power amp at the moment, the velocity 100 is about $230 USD right now. The great thing is, i can upgrade to a VHT or Mesa Boogie all tube power amp whenever i want, or ultimately have the money to do so. Thus upgrading my tone with a real tube amp feel and sound

3. Recording- i wanted to start recording, and the voodu valve has direct outputs so i can record straight to my computer without the use of microphones or really any extra equipment other then some from of XLR input to my computer, which sadly i don't have yet.

these are just 3 pretty broad reason why i went with the rack. If anything needs more clarification, I'd be glad to answer.

Posted by: Darfuria Apr 15 2008, 03:03 AM

Excellent - that explains a fair amount of it.

So, your effects processor - it's a multi-effects processor, right? How do you select an effect, store it, switch to it from another, etc.?

Hope you don't mind me asking.

Also - is there a special name for the rack. I just did a bit of searching around to find some info and prices and such, couldn't find the actual rack/cabinet thing.

Posted by: Smikey2006 Apr 15 2008, 03:07 AM

yes this really helps me too ive never even considered preamps and such things but they really seem like they could be useful i love the sound of my Krank tho.. so perhaps ill just use it for effects if i do more research

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 03:10 AM

yes it is a multi effects, right now im turning around in my computer/guitar chair and tweaking knobs to change effects and presets, however you can get a midi footswitch and program buttons on it to switch anything effects wise.

My rack itself is super cheap and made by a company called On-Stage $31 shipped to my door.. the box reads table top rack stand Model# RS7030

on another note im adding a sound clip to the original post now

Posted by: Darfuria Apr 15 2008, 03:17 AM

Sounds cool. I'd love to sit down and have a play with one, see the sort of sounds I could get and such.

The recording you did sounds pretty cool.

Thanks for all of your information. I think I might look into this. More stuff I can dream of getting

Posted by: skennington Apr 15 2008, 03:53 AM

Thanks bmh1109, darfuria and smikey2006. I'm enlightened now on racks. Seriously man, you should start a wiki on the racks. I played through a Marshall half stack til I got my toneport and now I hardly even plug into the Marshall. I'm in the process of getting some good studio monitors to really hear what I'm laying down. Never even considered a rack system.

One more question though,if you dont mind. Is the vodoo's models pretty close to the actual tone of what it's emulating? I think the Toneport is close but not bang on but there are so many diferent configs you can use with it. No pedal though and confined to the desk.

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 04:09 AM

The voodu doesn't "model" the same way line 6 products do. Theres no setting called marshall plexi or whatever else amp modeling. Sure you get sounds like that out of it but it isn't specifically trying to model one type of amp at a time, however you can dial in just about any amp sound you desire. Like for example that clip i uploaded to the main post was a preset called Alex Lifeson, guitarist from Rush.. and all i did was ad a touch of delay. Now Lifeson uses Hughes & Kettner Trilogy amps but in no way does that preset try to model that amp, just his sound, if that makes any sense. The only amp model i know of is the Twin which is i guess a model of a Fender twin and thats on the display while i took the picture coincidentially and it sounds great. If your recording, if the model of tone port you have as 1 or even 2 XLR min/line level inputs like the UX1/UX2's do, you can record the voodu direct into your computer, and with stereo effects if you have the 2 XLR input model.

Posted by: Darfuria Apr 15 2008, 04:14 AM

I do find having a lot of effects quite overwhelming at times. So many options, so many things to choose from, how do I get the sound I want!? >.<

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 04:16 AM

patience

Posted by: audiopaal Apr 15 2008, 07:32 AM

Nice gear mate

You should write some reviews when you've tried it out for a while

Congrats on your new gear

Posted by: Trond Vold Apr 15 2008, 07:37 AM

Congrats on some great pieces of hardware

I got that same poweramp myself.
My trusty 8008 broke down, and i had to take a chance on one of the Rocktrons since i got a good deal on one.
It was way better than i expected.

Posted by: MickeM Apr 15 2008, 07:58 AM

Niiiiice setup! Honestly, I was browsing that exact preamp and poweramp for a while just rescently.
I also looked at some other stuff like the G-major, Digitech DSP1101, ENGL E530. But in the end I came up with the POD X3 Live.

Still I could very well think of hooking up my POD to a Velocity 100. If you like, please tell a bit more about it, is it well suitable for home use?
More likely though is a small PA but none the less... I'd like a rack

Posted by: Trond Vold Apr 15 2008, 08:06 AM

I can vouche for the Velocity 100. It sounds good on both low and high volumes. The integrated fan makes a bit of a noise though, but thats a minor issue. Atleast for me.
All in all, great for home usage.... and it's also cheap

Posted by: Toni Suominen Apr 15 2008, 08:17 AM

Nice new rack gear, congrats!

Im more of a tubehead amplifier kind of a guy, but I can still appreciate good rack preamps!

Posted by: MickeM Apr 15 2008, 08:24 AM

that sounds good to me

Posted by: Danilo Capezzuto Apr 15 2008, 10:43 AM

Nice gear man...please post some review as soon as possible!

Posted by: Juan M. Valero Apr 15 2008, 01:34 PM

yeah, it's a good stuff mate !! I really love rocktron, it has a good quality/price, so congratulations
I hope you would be so happy with this gear

Posted by: skennington Apr 15 2008, 01:44 PM

Thanks man, I see now. I have the UX1 with the line 6 gearbox software and have quite a few tones that I like. I'm fixing to upgrade to this package along with the toneport.

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-AMS-RSP5

Posted by: bmh1109 Apr 15 2008, 02:51 PM

yeah the velocity actually did suprize me. I honestly wasn't expecting a whole lot from a sub $300 solid state power amp, but i can say that it does sound pretty dang good. And im going to agree with Trond, the little fan does make some noise but its not a big deal really

Posted by: Nemanja Filipovic Apr 15 2008, 04:00 PM

great piece of equipment,review would be great .