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Rocktron Austin Gold
List: $115
Rack FX colossus, Rocktron, is enticing the drive pedal enthusiasts with the glitter of gold. In likeness to its (British) automobile counterpart, the ‘Austin’ moniker evokes a sense of rustic but blissful appeal. The Austin Gold (AG) here possesses vintage simplicity but this pedal aims to lure drive pushers through its timeless tone.
Construction/ features
As evident from the depiction above, the AG’s length is in excess of the average BOSS unit’s pedal board-friendly measurements. Nevertheless, weight-wise, the AG treads on the less massive turf, virtually a feather-weight ware compared to the Digitech/ LINE 6 pedal offerings.
The 3-knobs affair is by now a typical presentation of the pedals of this ilk; it’s all about minimum tweaking & maximum tonal enjoyment. The AG thankfully features an underside battery compartment, made easy by a flip-type cover so no screws removal necessary. The recessed knob vicinity is another time-tested feature in preventing accidental knob displacement knocks. Also on the flip-side, 4 rubber, corner relegated buffers ensure slip-proof applications once the AG is floor relegated.
The only gripe in this otherwise excellent conception is the power supply access which is consigned to the right side pedal width, just adjacent to the input cable access. In addition to the issue of convenience, majority of the daisy-chain extensions do not address this placement, length-wise.
Rating: 90%
Tone
Be warned that despite the enticement of ‘gold’ here, the drive type on offer is the restrained, Tubescreameresque variety. The authoritative knob in this trio line-up is the LEVEL control which adds measures to DRIVE. Having this set to its minimum markings, would render the drive too weak for a real presence. As such, for this audition, it was set to a minimum of 1 o-clock placement.
The drive definition is not a wide sweep but as one sets it closer to its maximum capacity, the tone gets gritty & departs from the smooth, spongy affair inherent in Tubescreamer units. You’d also note by now that a proper TONE control is absent, in lieu of which exists a PRE-BASS manipulator. As the label suggests, it functions as a variable for lower frequency adjustments & has no access to the midrange & treble spectrum. The manufacturer believes that major repulsion (tone-wise) from many drive-type boosters lies with the bottom end definition more than the other frequencies.
The AG remains transparent to your guitars’ inherent tone; it serves to rectify your amp’s voicings. It is suitable for both solid state & tube units but more ear candy can be had from the collaboration with the latter. As a stand alone unit, the AG is as competent as any mild drive type pedals available in the market. It does blues crunch well but many of us would deem it to be too mild to even stand up against a BOSS Blues Driver. Nevertheless, it’s a gem in use with a driven amp. If yours is lacking a resonance control, the AG isn’t an external substitute but a down-right respectable emulator.
The PRE-BASS offering here is really a love/ hate affair. Some of us would agree with the manufacturer that the bottom end attack/ deprivation are all an amp needs to better sculpture its tone. Nevertheless, this frequency concern isn’t universal & varies with the type of amps in use, it gets acute with the type (& number) of speakers employed.
If you are thinking of employing the AG as a drive booster for your favourite drive pedal; it is quite adverse in this application. As the manufacturer would have preferred it to be, the AG works best with an amp.
All in all, the AG is surely one of the least background hiss inducing unit in the market today.
Tone test equipment:
• Guitars: Fender Highway1 Strat/ Ibanez S1620/ Edwards E-LP85SD
• Amplifiers: Marshall JVM/ Ibanez ValBee/ CRATE Power Block
Rating: 75%
Conclusion
Rocktron has a firm contender in the overdrive domain; the AG is a pleasant unit to be had. It would have been excellent if the manufacturer offers a typical tone control rather than relegating the frequency tampering to the bass end exclusively. This is in light of the various amplifiers (& drivers) out there which are not typically problematic in this frequency. The gold finish is eye-catching but having a yellow LED is surely an oversight as this device becomes invisible due to a lack of contrast.
Overall rating: 79%
Likes:
• Easy to use
• Minimum noise in use
• Chicken head knobs promote grip
• Not heavy
Dislikes
• Side located power supply access
• Yellow LED (against a GOLD housing)
• BASS-only tonal adjustment
• Doesn’t work too well with other drive pedals
Worthy contenders:
-Ibanez TS808
-BOSS OD3
-CMATMods Tube Slammer
-Digitech Tone Driver
-Carl Martin Crunch Drive
PS: Thanks to all @ Ebenex for the review invitation
