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  • #1

    Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

    Anyone have one or played much through one? I've got one, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I like it or not. If you have one and Like it, what did you like about it? To me, it seems to have Two good channels, 1 and 4. the 2nd and 3rd channels are pretty much worthless.

    I think One of my problems with it, is that it is TOO adjustable? If I don't start liking it more pretty soon, I'm getting a Simple Tube Preamp.

    I'd Love to hear some opinions on this thing and what you're playing it through. I'm using a Marshall EL34 100/100.
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  • #2
    Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

    hey, I dont own one of these but I did have a Rocktron unit before... I did own a Voodu valve and I came to a few conclusions:

    1) Get patches from the Internet and play with them.... I can help you there if you write to me. There are tons of things you can learn this way!... use the midi capabilities of your unit!...

    2) Don't get overwhelmed by the thing too soon... the power there is in the parametric EQs before and after the preamp... StuTDavis taught me how to get the max out of mine and I did get some sounds I really liked (he owned a Prophesy actually).

    3) Rocktron units are VERY clean and quiet... good for recording!... this is priceless IMO!... actually Rocktron is a very good company.. the stuff inside their units is well engineered to work together.

    You have a good processor there but I understand how you could be a bit impatient about getting your sound... too much power is not always a good thing to have.. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

    Cheers,

    Rodrigo

    [ May 24, 2003, 07:49 PM: Message edited by: rodrigo_echeverri ]

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    • #3
      Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

      Yeah I owned a Prophesy for a few years. I used mine with a Mesa 20/20. The Prophesy tends to want to be an almost too crisp/clean sounding preamp, and I think it needed the EL84 tubey girth of the 20/20 to darken it up. I had tried it with a VHT 2/50/2 at the time, and the combination was too harsh for even my thrash-laden ears hehe.

      I agree on Channel 2, I didn't get jack out of that channel that I liked at all. Channel 3...well, it's Marshall-y, but it's just a bit (again) too crisp/clear to be real-amp-sounding.

      The Prophesy overall is, I think, very "professional" sounding in its crispness and clarity, to the point of being pretty digital and harsh in general. I'd be glad to help you work on some patches, though...

      [email protected]

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      • #4
        Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

        I had one for about a week, the gain in a way had a slight digital vibe to it, to my ears but nofin major at all... but I guess the main reason I didnt keep was it was just faaaaar too many options for me. I went with a Marshall JMP 1.. and then now look at me Im back to the basic of basics, a combo amp [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] .

        If you have qts or need help, definately ask Stu he's great with those things. Help'd me with mine while I had it.

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        • #5
          Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

          I've been playing one for maybe 4 or 5 years now. At first I played it through a 5150, then a Mesa 295 and now a VHT 2150. I always have the BBE running with it. I mainly use channel 4 exclusively for my main presets. It can seem quite complicated at first, but I just kept going through the manual and you get to understand the preamp after a while. I like it and whenever I buy another preamp to check out I always end up selling it because I like the Propesy better.
          RIP Donny Swanstrom...JCF bro
          RIP Dime

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          • #6
            Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

            Thanks Guys, I guess I'm not alone in how I feel about it. I have learned quite a bit about Adjusting the Pre/post EQ's, and I have gotten some really good tones out of it, but To me, it's not Dynamic enough? Things that bother me, are that I can't roll off the volume on the guitar, and Get it to clean up a bit, that's when it sounds the most Brittle. Also, I don't like I mentioned, I don't have any use for the 2nd channel, and Although the 3rd Channel is better, It seems like it's Lacking something. I DO like the 4th channel quite a bit, but I'd like to get some In between Sounds from the preamp, not just Clean, and Metal.

            Stu, what preamp are you using now? I think I'm going to keep the Prophesy, and Look for a few different Preamps, to do some Comparisons, and keep the Winner. JMP-1 and Triaxis are two of the ones I'm considering the Most, along with the Sansamp PSA-1 and the Rocktron Piranha.

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            • #7
              Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

              Hey man I loved my JMP 1 while I had it, definately very very versatile in Marshall tones.

              I was looking into a Sansamp PSA 1, you might like that too.

              My thought is, if you dont really like the Prophecy, junk it and get a preamp you love. Check out them Egnator modules or the Randal (equivalent of the egnator just cheaper) modules. Or the VHT GP3 Valvulator.

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              • #8
                Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

                That's what I've been thinking too. I hate to though, because I REALLY want to like it, it's got a LOT of features I Do like. I'm probably going to get a JMP-1, and See how that sounds, Decide which one sounds best, keep it, and sell the other.

                I think the GP3 Might be a bit out of my price range, aren't they pretty Damn expensive?

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                • #9
                  Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

                  Junkie,

                  I use the Egnater M4 modular tube preamp, but I don't use it by itself, I've got lots of other goodies in my rack to get me the sound and feel I want.

                  http://hometown.aol.com/stutdavis/page3.html

                  The feel on the Prophesy was the absolute most sensitive and reactive of any preamp by itself I've ever played, and I have tried quite a few of the different rack preamp/effects combinations as well as several rack preamp-only units. So, I'm wondering how you might have your Prophesy set up, your guitars/pickups, and other gear that might be killing the feel for you.

                  One of the biggest tricks of the Prophesy itself in getting "feel" in there is to boost the midrange in the pre-EQ section. I believe I used to crank it around 1440, boost it way up. That should give you a very squishy, responsive feel. And crank that Input knob up there pretty high--enough so you're pushing that level meter way up, but not pegging it into distortion in your cleans (if you use clean hehe). Again, we can email back and forth and work on it if you want.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Opinions on the Rocktron Prophesy?

                    Yup, in my opinion, the Prophesy is the best all-around rack preamp/effects combination unit, as long as you are not looking for "real tubey sound and girth". In that category, I'd give the Voodu Valve the top slot.

                    But, if you want a really tube-heavy sound, the all-tube stand-alone rack preamps are probably the best rack way to go.

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