Tom Scholtz, Rockman Soloist Review.

Рет қаралды 18,131

2 жыл бұрын

I would like to share with you my Rockman Soloist that I purchased brand new in 1987. This sound is so familiar. It's the sound of Boston Third Stage and Def Leppard Hysteria and so many others. I will go through all of the features and all of the different sounds this genius device can deliver. I will plug the unit in direct to my DAW with no effects or sound colouring added.
Grab a coffee and sit back, enjoy a little 1980's magic.

Пікірлер: 88

@modscientist9793 8 ай бұрын

I have an original IIB that I refurbished with new caps and an internal power supply. Sounds awesome and so much fun. Great video. Lot's of great memories.

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

Thank you, I appreciate the comments. I just released a new album this week called "THE ROCK", I forgot to use my rockmam on it. Go check it out, you'll love it.

@Terrysoddy 8 ай бұрын

That’s awesome that you still have it after all those years, and even the receipt

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

It really is, thats a lifetime ago and I still have the original box, headphones, belt clip and manual. Such a pack rat.

@garygrasser 11 күн бұрын

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 Pop

@lastdaysguitar 7 ай бұрын

If Tom ever got back into building effects he'd become rich & famo... uhhh... nevermind. Seriously though, I'd like to see him working some projects with a company like Strymon.

@judgegroovyman 5 ай бұрын

Wow you are right. He could even take on a part time consulting role and make a huge difference for Strymon. Anyone else who does analog stuff could snatch him up too

@idamaenman3136 8 ай бұрын

That’s such a cool amp, I’ll be getting one soon since I watched your demo of how this thing sounds. THANK YOU

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

Thats great to hear. It really is cool !!!

@davidbarten7429 2 ай бұрын

Great review and sound chase - Zeppelin through a Rockman? sacreligious....

@OldRunt 8 ай бұрын

In 1979 I went as Tom Scholz for Halloween. Short pants, sleeveless muscle shirt and my usual mullet. Nobody got it. Xanadu sounded awesome.

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

Hahaha, that is so funny, I would have got it. He still looks the same. Xanadu has got to be in my top 5 Rush songs. I remember trying so hard to learn that song from my Farwell to Kings album, last song side 1. Needle up, needle down, repeat about a million times.

@OldRunt 8 ай бұрын

@@stevepopemusic1658 You really got that sound. I thought Alex was using Hiwatts then but I really have no idea.

@jakwebb444 7 ай бұрын

Very cool Steve. Thank you for the history lesson !!

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

It was my pleasure.

@shovington67 6 ай бұрын

Ah, Long & McQuade, they're so huge now in Canada. Many fond memories poking around their Store in Toronto, back in the day.

@stevepopemusic1658 6 ай бұрын

It was always a great adventure to try out guitars and amps, even go into the special acoustic guitar room and play one of those before we got asked to leave.

@RichInternationalAir 8 ай бұрын

Liked and subscribed! Excellent overview and great playing. 🎸

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

Wow I really appreciate the comments. I just released a new album called THE ROCK, if you like my playing here, you're going to love THE ROCK. Much appreciated, thanks.

@bloodstone2k 7 ай бұрын

The sound on the Xanadu piece was spot on!

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

Wow, what a compliment !!!!! I remember learning that in 1978 when I ran to the store to buy the "new" Rush album.

@buzzcrushtrendkill Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the demo. I didn't know it had the distortion sound of the rhythm parts , only assumed it was just the solo sound. Not a bad package. This is the only demo of the Soloist on YT. And none of the Rockman Metal Ace.

@stevepopemusic1658 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment, the rockman has a very interesting sound.

@canuckchris5733 8 ай бұрын

Awesome man Used to go to long and Mecade on Wilson Ave in the mid seventies

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

Cool, I bought mine at Long & McQuade in Winnipeg MANY years ago.

@PhantomRenegades94 2 жыл бұрын

That was great, thanks. I quite like that tone.

@stevepopemusic1658 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, it sounds good , it really does. I especially like the clean/chorus sounds.

@MiddleTNSirens 2 жыл бұрын

thanks for the demo. theres not many good audio samples of a soloist on youtube

@stevepopemusic1658 2 жыл бұрын

My pleasure, like I mentioned in the review, this is plugged straight in, no effects.

@princetonaudio Жыл бұрын

Great sound! Thank you!

@stevepopemusic1658 Жыл бұрын

My pleasure. It sure is a cool device.

@idamaenman3136 7 ай бұрын

Well to update you, I got a Rockman soloist for 169.99, and it is the greatest amp I own, and ever will to be honest 😭 you get so much in one small box it’s so good

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

Right on !!!! I didn't use it on my album THE ROCK but it would have fit right in. Do you record with yours ?

@idamaenman3136 2 ай бұрын

I do, I record with it as much as I can! From chorus cleans to full distortion this thing does it all.

@BillKurn 9 ай бұрын

Great demo! I still have my "IIB" (precursor to the X100) from 1983. Recently sent it to B5 Amplification for re-capping and dedicated power supply. Subbed! (BTW, there is no T in "Scholz") Good stuff!

@stevepopemusic1658 9 ай бұрын

I know, my spelling was off.... I feel like a goof for that. Do you use yours for recording ?

@modscientist9793 8 ай бұрын

Dwight at B5 is awesome. I grabbed the internal power supply from him as well. What an awesome and quiet upgrade.

@noamankhurshid3925 Жыл бұрын

I still have it it's a great sounding box

@stevepopemusic1658 Жыл бұрын

It really is a very handy tool, just plug and play.

@BackyardRambo 7 ай бұрын

Envelope filter on Pour not chorus Tone tweak on old Boston tunes and it would be spot on.

@guypatterson7334 5 ай бұрын

There are a handful of electrolytics inside which should be replaced to renew the sound like when it was new.

@Terrysoddy 8 ай бұрын

Sounds great

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

Glad you think so! It really is a cool little device.

@Terrysoddy 8 ай бұрын

@@stevepopemusic1658yea it sure is. I have always loved Boston, and Tom scholz. He is my guitar hero. The man is a genius

@phasevariance258 8 ай бұрын

I still have one that I use for tracking that bright beautiful chorus. The AC adapter is an absolute must for me though otherwise it's 8 double A's and then you have to figure out how to get the battery cover off without breaking things. The other thing is they don't have the traditional plus or negative markings for putting in the batteries, so it can be confusing the first time around.

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

I've never put batteries in mine, I had no idea there were no + or - thats wierd. I bought the adapter when I bought the Rockman. Using it for quick tracking is a great idea, quick and easy. Thanks, I appreciate the comments.

@LeStraTele 7 ай бұрын

I still have the distortion generator.

@kibscott6096 11 ай бұрын

Actually def lep used the rockman x100 and tom scholtz designed the rockman x100 so the average guitar player could get the boston sound. The soloist sounds good and cool but is not the full boston sound as you imply, but it's close, i bought a rockman x100 in 1990 for about 375.00 or a little more, the adaptor was also sold separately and cost about almost 40 dollars, wish i still had mine cause you can sell them for around 600 dollars today if they are in really good shape

@stevepopemusic1658 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comments.

@dcdno_one2393 9 ай бұрын

It's Tom Scholz (no T) and Phil Colleen used the Soloist on Def Leppard Adrenalize noted here kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bNacnJyJubasgmw.html at around 2:18 or so.

@ponraul1221 9 ай бұрын

@@dcdno_one2393 I think Phil Collen was actually referring to the Rockman Ultralight. I believe it's the best overall of the headphone amps. It's the only version that allows you to turn the effects off whilet still keeping Clean 2 (the brighter, fuller one), like he mentioned. The soloist only has Clean 1. I just managed to snag one that was fully refurbished somehow cheaper than most X100s, despite it being much rarer. People are so focused on the X100 that they ignore the other versions.

@agriff4795 Жыл бұрын

The first 2 Boston albums Tom Scholz used a Marshall stack, not a Rockman, as they didn't exist in 1975.

@stevepopemusic1658 Жыл бұрын

Yup, we all know this.

@JohnHorneGuitar 2 жыл бұрын

I had one of these for years. I don’t know when I got rid of it but I must have traded in for something.

@stevepopemusic1658 2 жыл бұрын

What did you get for trade ? I paid a huge amout for it and the adaptor 35 years ago. I thinking of using it on my next album.

@danielquimby4887 7 ай бұрын

your playing and song selection to show many different demonstrations of useable album tones were excellent, here comes the but!!!!! why didnt you do even one sound sample of the rockman being used as a preamp for a guitar amplifier???? tom scholz used it as a preamp live and in the studio frequently.

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

I know, there's alot i could have done.. I think it was designed as a replacement for an amp so everybody could record or play anywhere, even on the go with batteries. I've never put batteries in mine. Thanks for the comments, I really do appreciated them.

@lorenbush8876 Жыл бұрын

is it the same as the Rockman X100, are you able to get the same sounds out of it? Thanks

@stevepopemusic1658 Жыл бұрын

I've never tried the x100, they look almost the same. Let me know what you find out and thanks for watching.

@MiddleTNSirens Жыл бұрын

The X100 has more bite in the mids and in the 4k hz eq area. the soloist lacks the reverb, input level knob, and one of the clean channels the X100 has.

@lorenbush8876 Жыл бұрын

@@MiddleTNSirens Thanks

@MarsHottentot 11 ай бұрын

Just picked up one pretty cheap (especially compared to the x100). Not really sure exactly what the differences are?

@stevepopemusic1658 11 ай бұрын

Nice, let me know how you like it and good for you !!

@MarsHottentot 11 ай бұрын

@@stevepopemusic1658 oh, I know I'll dig it, I have the Sustainor and Distortion Generator half racks - had the Chorus Delay it but seems to have disappeared 😕. Really grabbing it for that sweet chorus! I miss it!!

@dcdno_one2393 9 ай бұрын

The clean sound is different than the X100 (sort of a CLN1 and CLN2 blend) - it's nice though. Also, the clipping in the Soloist are soft clipping diodes in the distortion setting compared to the X100 which are hard clipping LEDs.

@runingblackbear 8 ай бұрын

Got one

@stevepopemusic1658 8 ай бұрын

Do you like it ??

@ronwilkinson6114 7 ай бұрын

I'm guessing that wouldn't work with a bass?

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

Hmm, I've no idea. I'll have to try that. But a bass sounds great going straight into a mixer by itself.

@monmixer 7 ай бұрын

there is no doubt in my mind they used these to record. Not the led zeppelin because the unit had not been invented yet.

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

Alot of people probably did. Just plug it into your board and you're good to go.

@monmixer 7 ай бұрын

@@stevepopemusic1658 I grew up in the 60's and in the later 70's thru the 90's played a lot. Couldn't afford the unit but did use the power soaks which was sort of stupid but we wanted use our 100 wayy marshalls which were obviously way to loud for the clubs. We were still to loud with the power soaks because we were young and stupid. I finally wised up and bought a deluxe reverb. Used for everything from old country to judas Priest and it worked just fine with very few pedals. Boss CE-2 and big box rat peddle, little bit of verb and clean boost is all I ever used. Verb of course with a bit of delay. The chorus did just fine I still have those pedals. Best chirus ever made in a stomp box imo.

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

@@monmixer on my latest album "THE ROCK" i used my mid 70's Garnet mini-bass amp I think 35 watts into a single 12" emenance speaker. The only effect I used was my 1979 boss ds-1 pedal. I really like the sounds, it sounds so 1970's perfect.

@minkorrh 5 ай бұрын

$35 for an adapter in 198X. What a ripoff lol. That's like $80 in todays worthless plastic money. I was around 16 in 1985 and wished I could have afforded one of those. What i loved about analog gear was the fact that generally everything WORKED, and didn't need 40 updates as soon as you plugged it in, and then isn't compatible with your OS, and then needs to have a hack from previous firmware to work, and then only works up to 85% of capability because of said hack, without which you would have an expensive paperweight.

@stevepopemusic1658 5 ай бұрын

Crazy how time flies and money gets worth less and less. It was a very expensive device back then. I started recording on a Fostex 250 , 4 track recorded I bought used for $850.00. I also still have my KORG DIGITAL DRUMS AND DIGITAL PERCUSSION DEVISES AS WELL.

@ZXLNT 6 ай бұрын

Its Scholz, not Scholtz...

@stevepopemusic1658 6 ай бұрын

I know... I really do

@JamieStephens5309 7 ай бұрын

$679.65 USD in 2023

@stevepopemusic1658 7 ай бұрын

WTF are you kidding me ??? That's crazy !!!! Maybe I'll sell mine for a bargain $599.99.

@BackyardRambo 7 ай бұрын

USD conversion not going price… They’re obsolete now.

@rareform6747 2 жыл бұрын

Play into Amps !!!

@stevepopemusic1658 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I could have done that. I've done it many years ago, its always sounds cool.

@dcdno_one2393 9 ай бұрын

Rockman's are designed to be played into full range audio systems like soundboards/recording equipment or PA systems - not guitar amps. Now... anyone can use them anyway they like of course - just saying what the design was.

@rareform6747 9 ай бұрын

@@dcdno_one2393 I run the X-100 into two DSL 100s sounds wonderful .