Rocktron Utopia is the shitz!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lt. Bob
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Lt. Bob

Lt. Bob

Spread the Daf!
I have long been on a quest to have a modeler that'll do the live thing thru a PA without sounding (and more importantly responding) like crap.
I WAY prefer one of my 13 nice tube amps but there are just some gigs that require me to show up and plug my git into a PA.
So years ago I bought the first modeler that I was aware of ....... a thing by Ibanez called the Virtual Amp. Seemed nice in the bedroom but live? ....... eh.
That led to a POD 2.0, a Behringer V-Amp2 (better than the POD IMO ), a J-Station, a POD XT, several Digitechs floor modelers and even a couple of expensive rack mount Digitechs.
All of them just sucked a root live. It's subtle things but usually connected with their lack of response to dynamic changes. And I'm a good tweaker too so I dialed them in as best they could be but they just didn't do it on live gigs for me.
And when I would hear other guys that did like them use them live ... I felt the same way ...... a processed git sound that I loath.
So ..... nice for recording but always unsatisfying live.

Then I saw an ad for Rocktrons' modeler .... the Utopia ..... and since Rocktron always has great sounds and it was only $200 at M.F. I figured I'd try it.
Now I've had it for a couple of months and it's absolutely the most real-amp sounding modeler I've ever heard.
I actually went and sat in with a band last week and just plugged into their PA and it sounded great! Every bit as good as the amps their git players were using. I couldn't believe it.

It's set up differently than most modelers ..... there are no specific amp models. Just four preamp channels -- Clean, Texas, British and Mega. All tone controls are the same for all channels making it really easy to tweak and like all Rocktron stuff ... the FX are great sounding.
And it has an awesome sounding speaker emulation. I set up an amp and a PA and dialed in the speaker emulation until the sound out of the PA sounded virtually identical to my Mesa. You can choose speaker size, mic placement and resonance to get a closed back or open back sound.
And you can run the speaker emulation on only one output so you can have a signal with no speaker emulation for your amp when you use one and another out with the emulation to send to the PA. And if you don't use an amp, then just take the out with speaker emulation and use that alone. Or if you're just using an amp, then use the un-emulated side. Nothing to change at the gig since you've already set it up that way.

The preset access while gigging sucks actually; and I'm gonna call them with a suggestion that would help a lot.
But things like this can be adjusted to and now that I'm used to it I can get around thru my presets fairly well while playing so it's ok, just small buttons that your feet have trouble finding and you always have two button pushes to do to get to any other patch. A bit of a pain in the ass at first but it's ok once you get used to it though it could be better. And you can not read the display on outside gigs with bright sunlight.

But sound is the important thing to me and this unit has killer sound for a very affordable price.
I've had it long enough for the new to wear off and I'm even more enthusiastic about it than I was when I first got it so that's really saying something since I get sick of stuff quickly if it doesn't deliver.

Major kudos to Rocktron and this is worth checking out for anyone wanting a modeler ...... I have a bunch of them and this is, by a large margin, the best sounding of all of them.
 
America's wang........LOL! So you kinda like this pedal huh?
 
I checked out the samples on the Rocktron page, and a couple were pretty impressive!
 
Hey, if Bob says it's the shitz.......take it from an expert......:)
















Sorry Bob, nice review!
 
mikemorgan said:
America's wang........LOL! So you kinda like this pedal huh?
Click to expand...
Yeah I really do ...... I gotta tell ya' I'm surprised even though I've always been impressed with Rocktrons' sounds.
I really have tried hard to like modelers but they really suck live compared to an actual amp IMO.
But the obvious advantages of being able to take my git and a pedal and nothing else kept me trying out modeler after modeler and I'd given up to tell the truth.
If it hadn't been for my being always impressed with their sounds I wouldn't have bothered but I'm so glad I did.
I even programed a bass sound to use as a front end for my bass rig (Crown into Ampeg SVT-410 HLF ) that sounds way better than the bass models in my J-Station or the Bass V-Amp even though it's not a bass modeler.

The cool thing is, for me, that I do all kinds of gigs where I use someone else's rig or have to go thru the PA and now I know that I can always have my sound regardless of what I have to use and since I'll just run a line into a PA channel set flat, I don't even have to worry about the competence of the soundman. I actually use it now even when I'm using one of my amps except for gigs where I really want my very best sound. For those gigs I still use my stompboxes because they still are the best and most versatile but for most gigs it's just so much easier to toss that single pedal out there.

And I'm super picky about tone and I absolutely hate that 'bees-in-a-can' distortion that so many digital processors produce and the clean sounds of most modelers really lack dynamics.
But this one has a true sounding clean sound, and the distortion, while still a little tiny bit digital sounding, is definitely the closest to having a real sound that I've come across. The guys the other night were oohing and aahing over how it sounded and the most common remark was about how it sounded 'warm'. It has no tube BTW.

Really nice modeler except for the preset access. But it's worth putting up with that to get the sound.
 
So I've been checking the audio samples on the website. Pretty cool sounding. I've got a J-Station and a V-Amp Pro too. No Pod. I figured, why bother.

I'm still looking for the right modeller for the same reason as you. Consistency and portability. Do you just monitor yourself through wedges or in-ears?

The cons I've read so far:
no tuner
no uploading/downloading
wah is on all the time?

I know every modeller has it's weak points, but great, consistent sound is number one on my list of must-haves.

Sounds like I must have this one too. Thanks Bob again, great review.
You should post some across the internet too.
 
wah is on all the time if you've selected wah for that preset. I only have one preset with wah on it ...... I don't do wah thatmuch so all my other presets are wahless.

no tuner sucks a little but I have tuners. Still, one thing I wouldn't carry if the damned thing had one.

Haven't recorded with it direct though that's kinda similar to running it thru a PA. I'll have to check their samples and see if it sounds like what I'm getting. I'll do that sometime this weekend when I can get the other 'puter set up.
 
i haven't came across one of these in any music shops yet. how about a recording to demonstrate what you like about it?
 
I had the same feeling once after drinking the water in Mexico City. The Tequilla made me feel better though.:D

Thanks for the review. Looks promising.
 
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Lt. Bob said:
That led to a POD 2.0, a Behringer V-Amp2 (better than the POD IMO ), a J-Station, a POD XT, several Digitechs floor modelers and even a couple of expensive rack mount Digitechs.
.
Click to expand...

I've been on the same quest myself and have so far found the VOX Tonelab to be a cut above the rest in terms of raw tone but dont see that one on your list. For Lt. Bob or anyone who's tried them both, how does the Utopia measure up against the VOX?
 
NRS said:
I've been on the same quest myself and have so far found the VOX Tonelab to be a cut above the rest in terms of raw tone but dont see that one on your list. For Lt. Bob or anyone who's tried them both, how does the Utopia measure up against the VOX?
Click to expand...
I've heard the same thing about the Tonelab and, coincidently, there's one at the local music store that the owner said I could borrow and use so I'll probably have some opinions on that in a week or two. I'm happy enough with the Rocktron that it's unlikely I'll buy the thing since he wants too much money for it and I'm broke.
But I am curious since I've seen so many good reports on it.
I'll let you know once I've had enough time to digest the results.
As for soundclips ........ maybe next week I'll try to do that for ya'll. I did finally get my studio set up last week so that'd give me an excuse to test it all out.
 
Lt. Bob,

Thanks for the detailed review. I have a Pod 2.0 and a J-Station and a Bass V-amp. I had thought about the Tone Lab (but bought a AD30VT instead) in part because I have pretty much given up on modeling.

I recently read about the Utopia (like 2 days ago) and it certainly sounded interesting. I guess I'll have to schedule a trip to the music store to try the Utopia.

I don't gig on guitar (I'm a drummer) - but I do lay guitar tracks in my studio - and I'm constantly looking for the holy grail of tone. Since I do much of my recording late at night - I must often depend on modeling (mic'ing a cab at 2 in the morning simply is not an option).

I bought an Epi Valve Jr head base in large part of Lt. Bob's endorsement - and I am more than statisfied - some if Lt. Bob is impressed with the Utopia - that's a valid endorsement in my book.
 
NRS said:
I've been on the same quest myself and have so far found the VOX Tonelab to be a cut above the rest in terms of raw tone but dont see that one on your list. For Lt. Bob or anyone who's tried them both, how does the Utopia measure up against the VOX?
Click to expand...

i'm with ya on the tonelab. when i bought mine it was down to the boss gt-8 and the tonelab. the gt-8 had better effects but i felt the tonelab ripped the gt-8 a new one on distortion sounds...and that's what i was looking for.

i wasn't aware of the utopia when i bought the tonelab. i'd also be interested in a head-to-head review of the two.
 
I found that the Rocktron Utopia was not bad for the price (around the $200 mark). The Utopia sure was better sounding that the POD 2.0 or the Behringer V-Amp2 which is not really saying much because IMHO both those units sound really harsh and brittle, not even close to a good tube amp that has been well miked.
I like the PODxt because you have so many amps and cabs to choose from as well as the mic models and mic placement. Of course 99% of the presets are crap but as far as quality of sounds, the clean sounds are not bad but the mild distorted amps are not that great sounding. The high gain sound is what the PODxt is all about, but some of these are a little on the noisy side. The PODxt also has the most features and flexibility of all of them.
When it comes to the most realistic amp models the ToneLab outshines them all. It also has the least amount of them, but personally I don’t need that many. The ToneLab has that nice tube sound and feel that only a tube can give. The clean sounds are great, the mild distorted sounds are just excellent and the lead sounds are great for country, blues and roots rock but the high gain tones are not as good as the PODxt.
When you get right down to it, it’s about what’s right for you, the PODxt rocks for heavier sounds and some lead work, but it lacks the warmth and organic qualities of a good tube amp, that’s where the ToneLab takes it. I currently own both of them, the PODxt and ToneLab, I just use the one that works better for the song; I guess it all depends on what you’re sound you are looking for.
 
i've been looking for something portable for practice and scratch pad recording stuff. i've already tried the pods (all of em), the v-amp 2, and the various digitech stuff. i tried out the tonelab today. first thing, i killed all the goofy effects, dialed down the gain to an overdrive, and started tweaking the eq. i went thru all the models, changing from clean to overdrive to distortion and tweaked the eq along the way. switching amp models sounded like i was tweaking the gain and eq but each shared a pretty common tonality. i wouldn't have minded the similarity among the amp models had any of them sounded good with my playing style, but the tonelab didn't do anything for me. i wouldn't say it's better/worse than any of the other modeler boxes, just different. for reference, i think those little vox adxxvt amps sound pretty damn good for a modeler amp using the vintage od and 70's models. i went with a valve junior head/cab because it sounds decent, i can tweak the guts to suit me a little more, fix it when something breaks, and it's not a digital gadget that promises the impossible while blurring the truth in frilly effects. it might seem backwards, but i think the adxxvt amps sound better than the valve junior as is. i'm betting with a little tweaking the valve junior will get there though.
 
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