# New Rocktron WidowMaker and ValveSonic Rack Preamps



## sylcfh (Jan 25, 2014)

Plus a 1590A Hush and an updated Velocity 100.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 25, 2014)

I'm going to take a guess and say that "artist in Europe" is most likely Ola.


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## WarMachine (Jan 26, 2014)

Chances are Mcleanab and i will be fighting over who snags the Widowmaker first  Good find dude!


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## op1e (Jan 26, 2014)

Valvesonic will probly be my 1st purchase on this year. Looks like a heavenly match with my Marshall 9005.


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## minorseventh (Jan 26, 2014)

this is the best NAMM news Ive seen in a long time. these both look incredible and rocktron stuff is solid.
and now, the wait!


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## mcleanab (Jan 26, 2014)

WarMachine said:


> Chances are Mcleanab and i will be fighting over who snags the Widowmaker first  Good find dude!



Ha! I just might! If you get it first, let me know!!!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 26, 2014)

If the Widowmaker sounds like a tightened up Piranha, shut up and take my money.


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## mcleanab (Jan 26, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> If the Widowmaker sounds like a tightened up Piranha, shut up and take my money.



My guess is that it's gonna compete with the Engl E530...


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 26, 2014)

If it's in the same price range, oh yes.


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## sylcfh (Jan 26, 2014)

The Valvesonic will likely be in the ENGL price range. 

The Widowmaker is supposed to be cheaper.


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## op1e (Jan 26, 2014)

^ Solid State = cheaper 9/10.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 26, 2014)

Saw this on their facebook page:



> -Widowmaker - if the Gainiac was on steriods, this would be it. Great crushing tone.
> 
> ValveSonic - take everything you love from the Sunset Strip and those classic guitar tones, throw in some new modern tube sounds, and put them in one beautifully designed rack unit.



This better sound nothing like the Gainiac.

EDIT: Here's Fred giving them a try


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## boltzthrower (Jan 27, 2014)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> If the Widowmaker sounds like a tightened up Piranha, shut up and take my money.



Correct me if I'm wrong but I remember reading that the people that designed the old stuff (Chameleon, Piranha, etc.) quit and started ISP when Rocktron was sold years ago.

Anyone heard a price point for the Widowmaker? Stoked to see more Metal capable pre's being released and just rack stuff in general. Rack out with your cack out!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 27, 2014)

boltzthrower said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong but I remember reading that the people that designed the old stuff (Chameleon, Piranha, etc.) quit and started ISP when Rocktron was sold years ago.



If they still have the schematics, it shouldn't stop them. 

But since it's SS, I don't think it's happening.


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## WarMachine (Jan 27, 2014)

I just wish it came with Rocktron's built in effects  That's a breaking point for some people i know, but Rocktron's got em some mean effects as well. If anyone gets one when they come out *POST CLIPS *


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 27, 2014)

Yeah, I wanna hear both of them pretty badly, especially the Widowmaker.


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## WarMachine (Jan 27, 2014)

What i'd really love to see Rocktron do is make dedicated power amp stacks like what you see in Digitechs/Axe/POD. Im a die-hard Rocktron fan and i know that they have rode out the Prophesy thing forever, which they should because its a bad ass preamp. But i think that if they added the PA stack and lowered their price say to around or a little more than a GSP then i'd bet my last penny we'd see a flood of POD's and even Axe's on the FS/FT section and tons of NGD's. I'd definitely be one of those  Oh, and while im dreaming, make it 1U with a GOOD built in tuner....._*yes*_


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## sylcfh (Aug 20, 2014)




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## Elric (Aug 20, 2014)

$700 is a retarded amount of money for a non-programmable Marshall knock off preamp; versatile or no. There are a million heads out there copping these tones that are so much more cost effective and you don't have to go shopping for a a tube power amp and rack case afterward (buying this for that coin and then smacking a cheap SS power amp after it would be moronic since the power amp is more important than the pre wrt tube tone). Tube power amps are another big overpriced expense these days too. You'd want something Marshally for this thing too. 

I dunno man, from my personal perspective this thing is a solution looking for a problem. If you're into it more power to you, I guess, but I don't get it.


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## eaeolian (Aug 20, 2014)

Eh, for an all-tube preamp with those options, it's not psychotically expensive.  I dunno that it has a market - who needs a single-channel pre anymore? - but for what it is, the price is fair.


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## Wookieslayer (Aug 20, 2014)

FYI the Widowmaker is already available at $299 - Widowmaker High Gain Guitar Preamp - GHS Music Products


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## wakjob (Aug 20, 2014)

Elric said:


> $700 is a retarded amount of money for a non-programmable Marshall knock off preamp; versatile or no. There are a million heads out there copping these tones that are so much more cost effective and you don't have to go shopping for a a tube power amp and rack case afterward (buying this for that coin and then smacking a cheap SS power amp after it would be moronic since the power amp is more important than the pre wrt tube tone). Tube power amps are another big overpriced expense these days too. You'd want something Marshally for this thing too.
> 
> I dunno man, from my personal perspective this thing is a solution looking for a problem. If you're into it more power to you, I guess, but I don't get it.



You're just spoiled by globalization and cheap Chinese manufacturing. 

Back in the mid-late 80's you'd be lucky to find an all tube preamp for that money. Plus, the dollar was worth much more back then.

Hell, if I remember right, the Peavey Rockmaster was about $700 in '92.
And the ADA stuff was untouchable for most of us working schmucks.


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## Albionic (Aug 21, 2014)

I don't believe the widowmaker is tube I think it's ss making $700 pretty expensive


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## Wookieslayer (Aug 21, 2014)

Albionic said:


>


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## wakjob (Aug 21, 2014)

Albionic said:


> I don't believe the widowmaker is tube I think it's ss making $700 pretty expensive



$700 was stated in the video for the ValveSonic.


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## Fred the Shred (Aug 21, 2014)

Pretty much. The Widowmaker is far cheaper, and I'll be getting one soon, so I'll demo that.


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## Albionic (Aug 21, 2014)

hmmmmm so we are looking at probably £200 for the widowmaker and £300 for the velocity 300 not a bad price for a tranny rack rig i guess although theres some decent competition from floor modellers in that price range

Edit: disappointing lack of midi from a rocktron product was thinking to pair one with an old midiverb


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## Roy (Aug 23, 2014)

mcleanab said:


> My guess is that it's gonna compete with the Engl E530...





*grin*. That's a good one */grin*


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## op1e (Aug 23, 2014)

Thats probably msrp, I hope? Street price of $550-600 just like the Engl. I would buy and run it with a Control Switcher and use sumn else for clean.


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## sylcfh (Aug 23, 2014)

Later in the video he said they plan on releasing other versions of the tube preamp. One with even more gain.


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## op1e (Aug 23, 2014)

sylcfh said:


> Later in the video he said they plan on releasing other versions of the tube preamp. One with even more gain.



...And based on Fender and "California" tone stacks. Tweakable Mesa pre, anyone? Hellz ya.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 23, 2014)

That Widowmaker sounds pretty damn badass.


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## sylcfh (Jan 24, 2015)

Three new ValveSonic preamps.

Top Boost (red), High Gain (chrome), and Plexi (gold)...


Mainline power amp on the top.


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## GoldDragon (Jan 24, 2015)

op1e said:


> Valvesonic will probly be my 1st purchase on this year. Looks like a heavenly match with my Marshall 9005.




Would be great addition to any high gain head.


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## GoldDragon (Jan 24, 2015)

Necro. Still not out.


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## op1e (Jan 24, 2015)

Here we are a year later... And I had to sell my 9005 in a pinch 
Remember when stuff actually came out after Namm? Between Bugera Fryette and Rocktron ya may as well add +4 on the years till its attainable.


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## sylcfh (Jan 25, 2015)

The original ValveSonic became the Plexi model with the gold faceplate. It will be out this spring. It was black but the Blackface model now has the faceplate.


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## VBCheeseGrater (Jan 25, 2015)

These preamps are interesting for guys like me always trying to find a preamp to put in the Pod's FX loop to add a tube "model".


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## op1e (Jan 25, 2015)

^I did that with an HT-Dual and worked pretty good. They should have another model where they double up the Plexi or Cali with the Blackface and sell it for cheaper than buying both by a bit.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 25, 2015)

Good to see they expanded them. I hope the High-Gain is like the Piranha.

Now could they actually release them?


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## op1e (Jan 25, 2015)

Think they said last Namm it was Mesa esque, but the guy in the video above said Diezal and whatnot.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 25, 2015)

If it's more Mesa-like, then yeah, it's a Piranha. 

Really hope it's more like a Mesa. Not a fan of Diezel tones when it comes to brutal high gain.


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## sylcfh (Jan 28, 2015)

The Mainline has an instrument level in so you can use your dirt boxes as preamps.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 28, 2015)

Jeez, all 4 four sound good. Like, really really damn good. Well, can't judge the modern because he only played 3 chords  but they sounded really, really nice.


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## GoldDragon (Jan 29, 2015)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Good to see they expanded them. I hope the High-Gain is like the Piranha.
> 
> Now could they actually release them?



I loved the Piranha. The thing is though, if the new one is like a Piranha, why not just buy a used Piranha? It has a sweepable mid and patches.

If these are priced at $500 they will sell a ton.


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## SnoozyWyrm (Jan 29, 2015)

What's the name of the switcher he uses to go from preamp to preamp? Is it a rocktron product as well?


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## sevenstringj (Jan 29, 2015)

GoldDragon said:


> I loved the Piranha. The thing is though, if the new one is like a Piranha, why not just buy a used Piranha? It has a sweepable mid and patches.
> 
> If these are priced at $500 they will sell a ton.



Was it 100% tube (aside from the effects, of course)? It only had 2 tubes. That's usually indicative of some sort of digital or solid state tones in the mix.


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## GoldDragon (Jan 29, 2015)

sevenstringj said:


> Was it 100% tube (aside from the effects, of course)? It only had 2 tubes. That's usually indicative of some sort of digital or solid state tones in the mix.



A 12ax7 has two gain stages, so it might be possible to do it with just those, but there were probably some ss gain stages like a pedal.

The thing that really sucked about the design, the reason I sold it, was that the input gain did not have digital control. Its great that it had a pot to do it at all, but it kinda defeated the purpose of making it programmable, so if you had it cranked up for a high gain patch, you couldn't have it lower for a low gain patch. 

I think the mid control was both level and frequency (there might have been a Q as well, dont remember), so it was really versatile.

The ADA MP1 had two programmable gain stages, I believe one of them was pre(input) gain. The MP1 had a hot marshall tone, more open, the Piranha was more like a Peavey. But I loved it and played it for five years.


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## jonsick (Jan 30, 2015)

I have a Marshall EL34 100/100 and a Rocktron Intellifex that's begging to be used again.

I'm definitely interested if they do it well. I can't view the videos at work though.

In fact, if they could remake the Xpression with:
- Everything in the Intellifex
- Take off that bloody blue light
- Easier to edit on the panel
- Some new cool modulations and time based effects would be quite neat

then I'd preorder!


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## op1e (Jan 31, 2015)

Seems like the Blackface could cover everything. Appears it goes from Twin to Soldano. Only problem is can it switch between the two with a footswitch/relays or is it all front panel.


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## ArtDecade (Oct 28, 2015)

Were these Valvesonics ever released? I can't find them on the Rocktron website.


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## sonofabias (Oct 28, 2015)

I've searched for about a year since seeing the NAMM video , so far nothings happened . I'll continue and hope they release them soon !


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## ArtDecade (Oct 29, 2015)

Crazy, right? I've saved enough for all of them at this point. Who am I kidding? I spent it all on beer and strippers.


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## sonofabias (Oct 29, 2015)

ArtDecade said:


> Crazy, right? I've saved enough for all of them at this point. Who am I kidding? I spent it all on beer and strippers.



 Our rehearsal studio's owned by a guy who also owns a strip bar , it's down stairs ! You can guess what happens after rehearsal LMFAO


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## sylcfh (Oct 31, 2015)

I posted on Rocktron's FB page and got no response.


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## sonofabias (Oct 31, 2015)

I decided to phone Rocktron yesterday to find out when or if there would be a release date for the Valvesonic preamp . I called somewhat late , it may have been after buss. hours but a gentleman named Jim answered all my questions candidly . The delay in this case was caused by an apparent switching problem they're having with the units built which they'd hoped were ready to ship but everything was returned to the factory just recently . When I heard this my immediate response and question was : is the factory in China ? Yes it is , we then had a slightly lengthy conversation about Chinese factories and quality control ! I work with a custom boutique road racing bike builder as a test rider / racer who's frames are built in China . The owner of the company had to go China biyearly to monitor the progress and precision in their manufacturing process , this was after similar problems had occurred with improperly sized carbon frames and or parts . I told him Rocktron really needs someone to monitor quality control at the factory or you may have this problem repeatedly until they get it right . The owner of our company had to show them exactly what and how he wanted the frames and parts built down to the m.m. ! Jim also said the price point's 700.00 , my last query was sadly , " I guess this means it could be another year before an announced release date " , which he responded with " I hope not but it's likely " ! F.....k ! My mom said patience is a virtue ...time to be virtuous .


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## op1e (Oct 31, 2015)

That's ridiculous, get it together Rocktron. And $700 is a bit much for a preamp, let alone one made in China. I had high hopes, but I'm better off investing in MTS modules next year.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Oct 31, 2015)

Welp, that price killed my hype.  Was hoping to see these around $400 - $500.


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## vick1000 (Oct 31, 2015)

See if you can find an old with doctor Voodu Valve, made in the USA.


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## ArtDecade (Nov 3, 2015)

That's pretty pricey considering where it is being made... Oh well. I guess the Lee Jackson preamp will continue as king of the rack.


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