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Brand Spotlight: Rockett Guitar Effects Pedals
At ProAudioLand, we love guitar effects pedals. Whether it's from the big name brands like Boss and MXR or the lesser know boutique manufacturers like Analog Alien and Walrus Audio, we love sharing with our visitors all of the great pedals out there. With that in mind, we'd like to take the time to take a closer look at a brand of pedals that fall into the latter camp -- J Rockett Audio Designs. Formed in 2006 by longtime musicians Chris Van Tassel and Jay Rockett, these pedals are built with one simple all-encompassing mantra -- for players by players. Below, we take a look at a few of our favorite effects from the guys at J Rockett Audio Designs.
The 10 Ton Hammer is tailor-made for players who crave those classic 80s metal distortion guitar tones. And while hair metal sounds are definitely its forte, the 10 Ton Hammer is actually able to deliver some very smooth and organic blues type overdrive as well. Thanks to its streamlined settings, dialing in your desired amount of distortion is as easy as it gets. And just in case you're the type of player who loves to experiment, you'll find plenty to like with the 10 Ton Hammer. For example, if you back off of the gain and increase the volume, you can easily get some very smooth blues sound. Turn the gain all the way up and you get what this pedal and you're in full-blown metal territory! A word of caution, this pedal has a very high gain circuit so if you already use a high gain amplifier you will experience white noise -- but maybe that's exactly what you're after! On the other hand, if you play the pedal through a clean amp such as a Fender-type circuit, you'll get a much more balanced sound. Either way, this pedal can go from smooth to mild OD tones to full blown metal tones with ease! So grab your favorite pair of spandex and let your hair down because the 10 Ton is ready to rock Hair Metal style!
If you're a fan of great old school analog and tape echo, then the Alien Echo is for you! And just in case you're feeling a little experimental, it can create some pretty out of this world sounds as well! With the Warble knob, you control a random modulation designed to emulate real tape warble. If you experiment with the warble knob, as well as different time settings, you can find some pretty crazy sounds. In fact, that's what inspired the name of the pedal! Turning the Delay knob to the left will create short, slap-back repeats and turning the knob to the right will create long, lush repeats. Repeat time is from zero to approximately 600 ms. The Mix knob the intensity of the delayed notes. Turning the knob to the left creates fewer repeats and turning the knob to the right creates more repeats. By turning the tone control to at least 12:00 o’clock, as well as the Repeats knob all the way to the right, it will create oscillations. And finally, the Tone knob control turned to the left creates darker, analog sounds and turned to the right creates lush, brilliant tape delay sounds.
A collaborative effort between Josh Smith, Rockett Pedals and Tim Jauernig, the Dual Trem was made with the working musician in mind. Like other Rockett stompboxes, simplicity is what makes this pedal a great tool. The JSDT was designed to achieve the old school sounds of some of the early Leo amps. It is a very musical and functional piece of equipment. You can dial in two identical tremolos but with one set fast and one set slow. Or you can vary the intensity so that the tremolo effect can pop in certain sections of a song, then you simply toggle back and forth! It is very versatile but, more importantly, very inspiring to play! There are rate lights that constantly flash for each side of the tremolo that let you visually know what the current speed. A second LED will light up indicating which side of the tremolo is in use. The bypass light will illuminate when the pedal is engaged. For a versatile and great sounding trem pedal, look no further than the Josh Smith Dual Tremolo!
The Rockett WTF Fuzz was specifically created for guitar players who typically stay away from fuzz. Maybe they find them a bit too muddy, a little too thin, or simply prefer OD or distortion. Whatever the case, this pedal was made to show you that fuzz deserves a spot on that pedalboard. Get mild OD sounds all the way to crazy random octave fuzz. You can achieve sounds similar to a trumpet or trombone as made famous by Paul Trombetta, who created this circuit for Rockett Audio Designs. At the heart of the WTF is the aptly named WFT knob, which allows you to quickly go from a very smooth, soulful and mild OD sound all the way up to crazy, random, low octave sounds. Dial it in just right, along with the gain knob, to achieve those awesome trombone sounds. Another powerful setting is the EQ switch. When switched to the right, the sound goes dark and smooth while the middle setting gives it a nice blast of brightness. This is an extremely useful feature allows the WTF to pair nicely with both Marshall and Fender style amps. If you've given up on Fuzz, the WTF is here to completely change your perception on what a fuzz pedal can bring to the table.
10 Ton Hammer
The 10 Ton Hammer is tailor-made for players who crave those classic 80s metal distortion guitar tones. And while hair metal sounds are definitely its forte, the 10 Ton Hammer is actually able to deliver some very smooth and organic blues type overdrive as well. Thanks to its streamlined settings, dialing in your desired amount of distortion is as easy as it gets. And just in case you're the type of player who loves to experiment, you'll find plenty to like with the 10 Ton Hammer. For example, if you back off of the gain and increase the volume, you can easily get some very smooth blues sound. Turn the gain all the way up and you get what this pedal and you're in full-blown metal territory! A word of caution, this pedal has a very high gain circuit so if you already use a high gain amplifier you will experience white noise -- but maybe that's exactly what you're after! On the other hand, if you play the pedal through a clean amp such as a Fender-type circuit, you'll get a much more balanced sound. Either way, this pedal can go from smooth to mild OD tones to full blown metal tones with ease! So grab your favorite pair of spandex and let your hair down because the 10 Ton is ready to rock Hair Metal style!
Alien Echo Reverb
If you're a fan of great old school analog and tape echo, then the Alien Echo is for you! And just in case you're feeling a little experimental, it can create some pretty out of this world sounds as well! With the Warble knob, you control a random modulation designed to emulate real tape warble. If you experiment with the warble knob, as well as different time settings, you can find some pretty crazy sounds. In fact, that's what inspired the name of the pedal! Turning the Delay knob to the left will create short, slap-back repeats and turning the knob to the right will create long, lush repeats. Repeat time is from zero to approximately 600 ms. The Mix knob the intensity of the delayed notes. Turning the knob to the left creates fewer repeats and turning the knob to the right creates more repeats. By turning the tone control to at least 12:00 o’clock, as well as the Repeats knob all the way to the right, it will create oscillations. And finally, the Tone knob control turned to the left creates darker, analog sounds and turned to the right creates lush, brilliant tape delay sounds.
Josh Smith Dual Tremolo
A collaborative effort between Josh Smith, Rockett Pedals and Tim Jauernig, the Dual Trem was made with the working musician in mind. Like other Rockett stompboxes, simplicity is what makes this pedal a great tool. The JSDT was designed to achieve the old school sounds of some of the early Leo amps. It is a very musical and functional piece of equipment. You can dial in two identical tremolos but with one set fast and one set slow. Or you can vary the intensity so that the tremolo effect can pop in certain sections of a song, then you simply toggle back and forth! It is very versatile but, more importantly, very inspiring to play! There are rate lights that constantly flash for each side of the tremolo that let you visually know what the current speed. A second LED will light up indicating which side of the tremolo is in use. The bypass light will illuminate when the pedal is engaged. For a versatile and great sounding trem pedal, look no further than the Josh Smith Dual Tremolo!
WTF Fuzz
The Rockett WTF Fuzz was specifically created for guitar players who typically stay away from fuzz. Maybe they find them a bit too muddy, a little too thin, or simply prefer OD or distortion. Whatever the case, this pedal was made to show you that fuzz deserves a spot on that pedalboard. Get mild OD sounds all the way to crazy random octave fuzz. You can achieve sounds similar to a trumpet or trombone as made famous by Paul Trombetta, who created this circuit for Rockett Audio Designs. At the heart of the WTF is the aptly named WFT knob, which allows you to quickly go from a very smooth, soulful and mild OD sound all the way up to crazy, random, low octave sounds. Dial it in just right, along with the gain knob, to achieve those awesome trombone sounds. Another powerful setting is the EQ switch. When switched to the right, the sound goes dark and smooth while the middle setting gives it a nice blast of brightness. This is an extremely useful feature allows the WTF to pair nicely with both Marshall and Fender style amps. If you've given up on Fuzz, the WTF is here to completely change your perception on what a fuzz pedal can bring to the table.