An octave with additional controls
Download Example 1 Gibson SG, bridge pickup, Roots - thin, all knobs at unity | |
Download Example 2 Gibson SG, bridge pickup, Roots - thin, all knobs at unity | |
Download Example 3 Fender Strat, neck pickup, roots - thick, Fragrance - 2 o'clock, Thorns - 1 o'clock, Merge at unity | |
All clips played into a Diamond Positron with an Emperor 4x12 loaded with Weber C1265s and recorded with a Shure SM57. |
The digital Black Rose is one of 12 pedals in Rocktron’s new Boutique Series of stompboxes. Each of these units features a rugged, brushed aluminum case with laser-etched graphics, logos, and control labels, as well as high-quality jacks, switches, and knobs. The true-bypass Black Rose runs on a 9V battery or an optional negative-tip DC power supply.
Drop It Down
The first thing I noticed about the Black Rose is that it has both Wet and Dry outputs. But you don’t need two amps to use this pedal. The Dry output has a true-bypass signal that can be routed to a second amp, but single-amp users use the Merge knob to mix wet and dry signals, which are routed via a true-bypass circuit to the Wet output. Additional controls include the Thorn knob, which adjusts the intensity of the wet signal, the Fragrance knob, which controls the wet signal’s tone, and a Roots switch, which toggles between a crunchier or smoother signal. Personally, I could do with more functional names and less cute ones. Themed control names can make troubleshooting on the fly a real pain, especially if you’ve got a whole pedalboard of these things.
Functionally, though, this pedal is great. After plugging my go-to Gibson SG into a Budda V-40, I was immediately able to create a nice, standard octave sound with all knobs set at 12 o’clock. The octave signal tracks quickly, and I wasn’t able to play fast enough to out-pace the effect. (Audio samples on Rocktron’s website demonstrate the Black Rose’s octave-tracking capabilities quite effectively.) The Fragrance knob is essentially a mid-frequency boost that you can adjust between low-mid (minimum) and high-mid (maximum) emphasis. The Roots switch, which allows you to select Thin or Thick settings, provides EQ shaping to the octave signal alone, boosting the low-mid register (Thin) or the ultra-low sub register (Thick).
The octave signal itself sounds very natural and preserves the tonal characteristics of your instrument without any obvious digital artifacts. Though I encountered a few pitch-tracking artifacts when playing polyphonically, even subtle bends and vibrato were tracked instantly by the Black Rose.
The Verdict
With its excellent tracking capability and a versatile tone-shaping circuit, the Black Rose is the kind of octave pedal that you can use in small, subtle doses or as an over-the-top sonic warp machine. Separate outputs open up an additional world of options for users who run multiple amps. Yet for all but the most radical octave-pedal users, the Black Rose and a single amp is enough to significantly expand your tonal terrain.
Buy if...
you’re looking for an octave pedal with tone-shaping options and independent wet/dry outputs.
Skip if...
you’re content playing in just one octave at a time.
Rating...
Street $119 - GHS/Rocktron - rocktron.com |
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