Roccaforte Rockie: killer clean or mean

[Fretmaster]

I had a several hour tone fest today using many great amps and cabs. One of the big standouts today was the Roccaforte Rockie. I played it with both a Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul. This amp is the essence of pure and simple but the tone couldn’t be more complex and satisfying. With a humbucker I can get all the overdrive / gain I need and then some with the need for no pedals what so ever. With singles, the cleans are some of the best I’ve heard. This amp really is what the best single channel amps should be all about. An amp you can literally go from as mean as you want to sweet, chimey, amazing cleans all from your guitar controls and change in pick attack. I’ve owned a few Roccaforte’s and loved them all and consider them some of the best amps on the market today. But the Rockie has struck me in a sweeter spot than any of its predecessors. Yes... this amp is pure and simple and is stripped of features but damn does she sound fabulous with every guitar I plug in. And baby does she love alnico speakers. Of course my number one speaker choice is Celestion Alnico Blues with Weber Silver Bell Alnico 30’s running a very close second and at 30 watts I can play her through any of my cabs for “no compromise tone” which really ices the cake for me. Congrats Doug on another world class tone machine.


Steve

[Leonc]

Nicely put. I agree. I've played most of the big Roccafortes and the 18watter. Of all of them, the Rockie is best to my tastes and needs.

Great sparkly top-end. Not harsh at all. Great, smooth midrangey crunch starts really nicely when you get it up to 11:00 or so. The bottom end stays nice and firm and gets bigger as you turn it up past 10:00 or so. The OD is harmonically rich and has a very familiar, classic sound to it. The amp compresses nicely after you get it up around 2:00 or so. I never really play it past there.

I prefer setting it between 11:00 and 1:00 and hitting it with a clean boost pedal myself. I love the Legendary Tones Time Machine Boost for this...drives it into gorgeous, harmonic feedback. But it sounds great w/o pedals too; to each his own.

I've played it through GBs, G12H30s, Classic Lead 80s, Eminence Governor and it sounds great through all of them.

Super simple, not a bad sound in it. My kinda amp!

[Fretmaster]

Originally posted by Leonc
Nicely put. I agree. I've played most of the big Roccafortes and the 18watter. Of all of them, the Rockie is best to my tastes and needs.

Great sparkly top-end. Not harsh at all. Great, smooth midrangey crunch starts really nicely when you get it up to 11:00 or so. The bottom end stays nice and firm and gets bigger as you turn it up past 10:00 or so. The OD is harmonically rich and has a very familiar, classic sound to it. The amp compresses nicely after you get it up around 2:00 or so. I never really play it past there.

I prefer setting it between 11:00 and 1:00 and hitting it with a clean boost pedal myself. I love the Legendary Tones Time Machine Boost for this...drives it into gorgeous, harmonic feedback. But it sounds great w/o pedals too; to each his own.

I've played it through GBs, G12H30s, Classic Lead 80s, Eminence Governor and it sounds great through all of them.
Super simple, not a bad sound in it. My kinda amp!


I knew I was going to like this amp from my previous Rocca experience but it was your clips that were the straw that broke the camels back on pulling the trigger on this amp and I'm so glad I did. All I can say to anyone thinking about this amp is; if you like LeonC's clips then you will love the amp. It's all about pure, simple, awesome tone. Leon, you need to do a sweet single coil blues clip for everyone on the Rockie. I can't believe how good she sounds with single coils too!! It's one of my favorite clean amps. You gotta love that in an amp that has overdrive tones to die for!
:eek:

[Roccaforte Amps]

Originally posted by Fretmaster
I had a several hour tone fest today using many great amps and cabs. One of the big standouts today was the Roccaforte Rockie. I played it with both a Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul. This amp is the essence of pure and simple but the tone couldn’t be more complex and satisfying. With a humbucker I can get all the overdrive / gain I need and then some with the need for no pedals what so ever. With singles, the cleans are some of the best I’ve heard. This amp really is what the best single channel amps should be all about. An amp you can literally go from as mean as you want to sweet, chimey, amazing cleans all from your guitar controls and change in pick attack. I’ve owned a few Roccaforte’s and loved them all and consider them some of the best amps on the market today. But the Rockie has struck me in a sweeter spot than any of its predecessors. Yes... this amp is pure and simple and is stripped of features but damn does she sound fabulous with every guitar I plug in. And baby does she love alnico speakers. Of course my number one speaker choice is Celestion Alnico Blues with Weber Silver Bell Alnico 30’s running a very close second and at 30 watts I can play her through any of my cabs for “no compromise tone” which really ices the cake for me. Congrats Doug on another world class tone machine.


Steve






Thanks Steve for the kind words,
it is an amazing amp.

[nolenuttt]

Has anyone compared the Rockie with the Mojave Sidewinder? They look to be similar amps, and both built by the very best at their profession-I know both LeonC and Fretmaster have owned Mojaves and Roccafortes in the past-What about it guys-Give it up to the rest of us mere mortals.....:D :eek:

[mrmojorisin]

I am sure I would buy one of these if I got the chance to play one. I still miss my old Roc HG50...I just loved its tone an feel but it was SUCH a monster...just too much amp for me. This Rockie may solve that problem however. But 30 watts may still be too much for me.

Doug, from the descriptions of the Rockie and clips I've heard, it is a very different amp than your 18. I had your 18 once and though it sounded great, it was a tad too timid for me and I wanted more gain.

I suspect that the Rockie is more than a 30w version of your 18. If this is so, can you do an 18 w version of the Rockie, retaining its basic tone and feel? Is the physics of what I ask impossible? Or is what you get when you try to make an 18w Rockie the 18 you already have?

Ouch...my head hurts. Hope this makes some sense.

Carl

[Leonc]

Originally posted by nolenuttt
Has anyone compared the Rockie with the Mojave Sidewinder? They look to be similar amps, and both built by the very best at their profession-I know both LeonC and Fretmaster have owned Mojaves and Roccafortes in the past-What about it guys-Give it up to the rest of us mere mortals.....:D :eek:

Hey I'm a mere mortal too. I'm just one who's owned a few amps that you might dig :). Unfortunately, a Sidewinder hasn't been one of them. I've never even heard one. The Peacmaker, Coyote and Scorpion are the only Mojaves I've tried.

The Scorpion is like a Plexi with more gain. Its clean sound, while quite pleasing, is nothing like the Rockie's. The Rockie has way more sparkle and chime. All three Mojave's that I'm familiar with are darker sounding than the Rockie. The bigger amps have more gain on tap too, and compress a bit less at higher volume settings. As you might guess, at 30W the Rockie is more usable for club gigs (at least mine).

[nolenuttt]

Thanks, Leon-It seems strange that no one seems to be familiar with, or has even tried, the Sidewinder-Mojaves are incredible amps, yet no reviews on harmonycentral, or this site-Hmmmm.......:confused:

[Roccaforte Amps]

Originally posted by mrmojorisin
I am sure I would buy one of these if I got the chance to play one. I still miss my old Roc HG50...I just loved its tone an feel but it was SUCH a monster...just too much amp for me. This Rockie may solve that problem however. But 30 watts may still be too much for me.

Doug, from the descriptions of the Rockie and clips I've heard, it is a very different amp than your 18. I had your 18 once and though it sounded great, it was a tad too timid for me and I wanted more gain.

I suspect that the Rockie is more than a 30w version of your 18. If this is so, can you do an 18 w version of the Rockie, retaining its basic tone and feel? Is the physics of what I ask impossible? Or is what you get when you try to make an 18w Rockie the 18 you already have?

Ouch...my head hurts. Hope this makes some sense.

Carl




Carl,
the Rockie has a different driver stage,
output stage, and preamp over the Custom 18.
It will do what the 18 does, and go way beyond
it. The EQ is the only thing similar to both amps.
The Rockie has better overdrive, and power.

[mrmojorisin]

I expected you might say something like that based on what I knew about the Custom 18 and what I have read and heard of the Rockie.

So now, the obvious "put you on the spot" question: Can and will you do an 18w version of the Rocky?

And we now all know that an 18 w Rockie is NOT a Custom 18.

I have been wishing for a long time to get one of your agressive amps in a package that is manageable for me. Started with the HG 50. Awesome, but too much amp. Then tried a Custom 18. Not agressive enough for me, but volume level was cool. Then tried a Custom 40. Awesome, but too much amp. Then a Custom 30. Awesome, but too much amp. Maybe a Rockie 18 is the answer for me (and maybe a lot of other folks too)?

Oh yeah, along the way I also owned a Custom 80 and HG 100. Great sounding amps, but it was a choice between them and my hootch.

[riffmeister]

Originally posted by mrmojorisin


.....Started with the HG 50.

.....Then tried a Custom 18.

.....Then tried a Custom 40.

.....Then a Custom 30.

.....along the way I also owned a Custom 80 and HG 100.



Hmmmmmm........I do see a trend here....... :p

You NEED a Rockie! :dude

[mrmojorisin]

WHAT....is your quest?

We seek the holy grail.

WHAT...is the perfect combination of Roc tone and volume?

A rockie 18....uh, no...aaaaaaaaaah!

Well, I don't know the airspeed velocity of an african swallow even to this day, anyway :-)

C.

[Roccaforte Amps]

Originally posted by mrmojorisin
WHAT....is your quest?

We seek the holy grail.

WHAT...is the perfect combination of Roc tone and volume?

A rockie 18....uh, no...aaaaaaaaaah!

Well, I don't know the airspeed velocity of an african swallow even to this day, anyway :-)

C.






its all in the past, present, and future.

[Paul Secondino]

I've only played the big Roccaforte (High Gain 100).Definitely a turbo charged amp. I was wondering if Roccaforte would do something that would get the same amp for the most part only with better clean up. When I want clean, I really want clean.

So I'm kind of interested in checking out the Rockie.

[dbeeman]

an and will you do an 18w version of the Rocky?


No need, just put an attenuator on your Rockie



:D ;)

[Roccaforte Amps]

Originally posted by dbeeman
No need, just put an attenuator on your Rockie



:D ;)






don't do that

[dbeeman]

don't do that



Sorry Doug, just checking to see if you were awake .....

[Roccaforte Amps]

Originally posted by dbeeman
Sorry Doug, just checking to see if you were awake .....






yawn................yep I'm up now!