An all-discrete analog distortion enhancement device designed to add extra grit and boost without drastically altering tone.
The Special Cranker picks up where the Speaker Cranker left off. It has the same spongy, dynamic, and touch-sensitive character of the original but with more gain, double the output volume (now with a user-friendly Level control), an added Tone control to shape your signal, and a diode selector switch featuring the original asymmetrical Silicon diodes as well as a hot, new Germanium diode option. The More control goes from nearly clean to a medium gain overdrive when at maximum. This control adjusts the bias of the transistor, so you may hear a little noise as you turn the control.
The gain characteristics are dependent on which diodes are chosen. When the Germanium diodes are selected, the Special Cranker delivers a softer, more rounded response with tamed highs and lower output, while the Silicon diodes add a brighter, more modern edge and higher output. Both are responsive to playing dynamics and offer a high-level of clarity. The Tone control gives the user full command over treble frequencies, cutting the highs when counterclockwise and adding a slight high frequency boost when turned clockwise. The Level control adjusts the output from nothing to nearly double at maximum.
Features
- Gives your signal extra grit and boost without drastically altering your tone and retains all of the natural nuances and character of your amplifier
- Two distinct clipping modes that are both exceptionally responsive to playing dynamics: Germanium and Silicon
- Germanium mode delivers a softer, more rounded response with tamed highs and lower output
- Silicon mode delivers a brighter, more modern response with higher output
- At maximum gain, the Special Cranker can achieve explosive overbiased tones depending on the output of your pickups
- Flexible Tone control to give the user full command over the treble frequencies for excellent tone shaping and clarity
- All-analog signal path
- True bypass
- Silent relay-based switching with Flexi-Switch Technology
- Lifetime warranty
- Current Draw: 15 mA
- Input Impedance: ā5 MĪ©
- Output Impedance: <25 kĪ©
USA Retail Price: $99.00 USD. More info at: https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/special-cranker.
EarthQuaker Devices Special Cranker Overdrive Demo | First Look
Akron's finest make a staple OD nastier, more flexible and more refined.
- Builder Profile: EarthQuaker Devices - Premier Guitar āŗ
- EarthQuaker Devices Aqueduct Review - Premier Guitar āŗ
- EarthQuaker Devices Astral Destiny Review - Premier Guitar āŗ
MXR Rockman X100 Recreates Tom Scholz's Iconic Boston Guitar Sound | First Look
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.But just as decades of advances in listening technology make the Walkman now seem clunky and dated, modern guitar tech makes the Rockman look like old news. Multi-effects units, modelers, and portable interfaces all surpass the convenience of the Rockman in form factor as well as in sheer number of sonic options. But while there are any number of ways to dial up an ā80s-style guitar tone these days, nothingās better than the real thing. The Rockmanās analog tones are still as legit as it gets. Though Dunlop continues to produce the Guitar Ace, Metal Ace, and Bass Ace headphone amps (for a cool $99 street), a pedal version with the functionality of the original would be the ultimate modern package for ā80s fetishists, right? Enter the MXR Rockman X100.
With Tones Like These, Who Needs Options
After the release of the original Rockman, Scholz continued to develop the product, spawning a whole line. But for its pedal resurrection, the MXR team set their sights on the Rockman X100, which used hard-clipping LED diodes for its two distorted settings. The new stompbox version recreates all four modes from the original: cln2 is the default setting, cln1 in the second position is EQād with a mid-boost, edge delivers moderate clipping, and dist is high-gain. All are switchable via a small LED-lit mode button, and a control input allows for external mode switching. Another button activates an analog chorus circuit using MN3007 bucket brigade chips, as in the original.
To drive home the ā80s aesthetic, MXR used sliders for volume and input gain controls. Volume determines output, while input gain is tied to compression. Higher input gain means more compression, which is tuned for slower release on the two clean modes, and a fast release on both dirty modes. The X100 works in both mono and stereo, but to change between them, you have to pop off the back to access an internal switch. Just make sure a TRS cable is used for stereo mode, or else the output will be muted while the pedal is bypassed.
The only things I noticed that are missing from the originalās simple set of features is the headphone output and the echo settings. I donāt know how many players would find value in the headphone jack, and considering that would add circuitry, itās probably best for cost and space savings that it was excluded. As for the echo, you can argue that itās canon, but I find it to be the least essential feature and donāt miss it, personally.
(Much) More Than a Feeling
Since I do not have an original Scholz X100 sitting on my desk, Iām using YouTube videos and recordsāDef Leppardās Hysteria, Huey Lewis and the Newsā Sports, and Joe Satrianiās Surfing with the Alien, for exampleāas my reference points. Those are high bars to clear, and the MXR gets there.
The default cln2 setting delivers instant gratification, with a full-bodied, sparkly tone, no matter what guitar I played through it. And though it provides loads of ā80s fun, itās much more versatile than that, offering a great all-round clean tone that requires no additional processing. Though it might seem odd that cln2 is the default, switching to cln1ās thinner, more mid-focused sound makes the design decision clear. I can imagine situations where Iād need to cut through a mix and cln1 would be preferred, but I found myself sticking with the default mode for all my clean needs.
The distorted modes are differentiated mostly by how much gain they offer. Edge tones live just beyond the point of overdrive, and the input gain control adds a range of extra texture. The dist mode is full-on, pick-squeal-inducing high-gain saturation, with loads of everlasting sustain. These modes lean into the aesthetic much harder than the clean modes, making it a less versatile tool, but for ā80s rock excess, I canāt imagine a better option.
On a couple recording sessions, I plugged the X100 right into an interface and board to deliver spanky direct clean tones as well as tight, saturated distortion. In doing so, I discovered that direct recording is my preferred use for the X100. Thatās not to say it doesnāt sound great through an ampāit does. But plugging into a front end of an amp yields less classic and authentic Rockman sounds, as the amplifierās preamp colors the tone. Plugged through a few Fenders, I found that the treble needed taming, a problem I didnāt have when forgoing the amp. For live playing, I might explore plugging the X100 into the return input on an ampās effects loop or right into a powered speaker to deliver an unadulterated Rockman sound more in line with the original.
The Verdict
MXR nailed it with the Rockman X100 pedal by focusing on the limited options of the original unit and getting them just right. For $229, you not only get a great ā80s rock tone, you get what is arguably the ā80s rock tone, with no other gear required, unless you want to add a little ā80s-vintage reverb too. As a performance tool, itās probably best to think less like youāre using a pedal and more like youāre using the original in a different form, which is to say that plugging straight into an amp isnāt the only way to get the sound you wantāand, in fact, itās probably not even the best way. For recording, itās a perfect tool. PG
