Rocktron Prophesy / VHT 50/50 Power Amp

[brandondrury]

Originally Posted by mainly

hello brandon , i just read your review of the 2502 power amp and, i guess a little of the topic of recording but...


are you still using this rig? i saw it was quite some time ago you submitted the review

i just ordered the 2502 myself and will be using it with a rocktron prophesy , like yourself. (just got it, version I, with the metal knobs, with prophesy II presets downloaded from rocktrons website) i really like the prophesy so far, suprisingly ****, organic sounding preamp for a digital unit, i was also suprised at how well it sounds into the front end of an amp (fender supersonic). most other effects processors ive tried: digitech gnx4, boss gt5, boss me-50, -- all sounded cold and harsh to me, the prophesy seems to be different... and at high volumes too! at that i was very suprised.

anyway, i was wondering:

how would you say your rig: prophesy --> vht 2502 compares to the typical stand alone tube amp ( head/cab or combo)?

so far i have the prophesy sounding remarkably close to the sound of my supersonic (when bypassing the prophesy and comparing it to the preamp on the fender.)

i also use a pure sixty four 212 cab(awesome cab but expenssive) and disconnect the 112 in the fender.

- hows the stereo chorus sound coming out of two cabs? i cant wait to hear it,


any tips you could throw my way id really appreciate

thanks in advance


chad

edmonton alberta, canada.

This was sent to me via PM. There are no naked pictures, so I decided to make it public.

Brandon

[brandondrury]

are you still using this rig? i saw it was quite some time ago you submitted the review

Well. That's an interesting question. Some people are married to their single guitar amp. Others have a small concubine that they use when the need strikes.

I have came very close to selling my Prophesy on a number of occassions but have never actually done it. I do like the effects section quite a bit. For a "processor" the distortions are very good. With that said, I have a 1971 Marshall, Rivera Knucklehead, 5150, and Fender Bronco. These are all the real thing, top of the line amps. Is the Prophesy's distortion as good as the real thing when the real thing sound is necessary? I don't think so. Now that I define the sound of my super expensive amps as "usable" ( makes it sound not so exciting) I define the distortion sound in my Prophesy as unusable. That may be a strong word.

Let me put it this way. I'd rather run a distortion pedal through my Fender Bronco (cost me $175) than use the distortion in the Prophesy. Of course, the Bronco is BAD ASS amp regardless of price. I'm 27 years old. When I was 22, I would have NEVER understood this. I had no idea that the sound I had been looking for (for over 10 years) would come out of a little bitty Fender from the late 60s. BALLS BALLS BALLS!

Does this mean you can't get a great guitar sound out of a Prophesy? Not at all. I'm sure a big boy could make a Prophesy sound unbelievable. However, I find it easier and faster to get what I want with my "real" amps. With that said, I'm about due to try it out again. I may discover some magic qualities in the Prophesy that I have been missing for some time.

I remember debating between buying the Prophesy or getting a Marshall JCM 800. My Prophesy cost me $1400. My VHT Poweramp cost me $800 (I got it at cost). A JCM 800 would have cost me $650 at the time. I could now sell that JCM 800 for at least $1,000. Maybe more. I can now sell my Prophesy for $550 and my VHT Poweramp for $650-700. So, my Prophesy rig lost lots of value. The JCM 800 gained in value.

The lesson from this is the digital stuff isnt' as desirable in the long run. Digital has some sort of shelf life because it usually relies on trendy marking or fancy reviews. The Prophesy does have the best distortion I had ever heard on a processor when I bought it. That's why I bought it. However, I regret buying it now that I realize just how little use the effects are.

The effects are more valuable in a studio situation. Most bands I record have their sound down, but sometimes want weird parts. The Prophesy is GREAT for this.

I hate to burst your bubble in this review. The Prophesy is a very good rig these days especially if you get it cheap. However, for any guitar player I know, multi-effects is a complete waste of time. A pedal or two and a killer amp is all you need.

Brandon

[mainly]

ok, i guess i sort of expected that. i got my prophesy for 570, and downloaded the prophesy II presets and it made a huge difference! the version I presets were absolute crap. hopefully the vht will make the rig USABLE for me, im totally happy with the tone of my fender supersonic WITHOUT a pedal. as its the switchability issue that was the reason i chose to go with the prophesy/power amp/midi foot controller. ex: i found myself onstage wanting to go straight from a clean sound with delay , chorus and a little reverb, to a dry screaming distortion sound with no effects. and i couldnt do his in any less than 3 foot stomps. with the prophesy i can do it with 1 foot stomp.

[brandondrury]

i found myself onstage wanting to go straight from a clean sound with delay , chorus and a little reverb, to a dry screaming distortion sound with no effects. and i couldnt do his in any less than 3 foot stomps. with the prophesy i can do it with 1 foot stomp

This was also my logic for buying the Prophesy rig. If I were to play live, I simply wouldn't use chorus and reverb. I just wouldn't care. I've noticed that extremely few live bands bother with this sort of thing. I'm talking about the big boys. (I remember when Queensryche played Silent Lucidity. The guitarist didn't even bother to move his Strat from the bridge pickup when playing the main pretty riff in the verse.)

I'd just keep it as simple as possible. In live sound, it's a wonder that anyone even notices you are even playing. If they do notice you, it's a wonder they can even hear your instrument at all If they can hear your instrument, they still won't be able to tell much of a difference anyway. The damn room is adding about a Gigaton of reverb and the comb filtering from the PA speakers combining with the sound of the guitar cabs is probably creating plenty of chorus. Of course, guitar players who strum too hard knock their strings sharp for the first second or so a chord is held out and most guitar players can't hear it because you can't hear shit on stage anyway.

This is my view anyway. Again, I'm much older and much more opinionated. Mostly I've lost my pursuit for the utopian live sound because it's rare to hear a major label big boy band that doesn't sound shitty, much less a local band. In live sound, the most important things are the crowd, beer, and fun. After that, the rest is just kind of a background thing. If you are thinking about your chorus in live sound, you may not be having enough beer and fun.

Feel free to keep up the utopian dream, though.

Brandon

[mainly]

interesting commets there

[brandondrury]

The word is "jaded".

Brandon

[jdaug]

On a tangent to this discussion, I have this question:

Since I have been living in a cave for the last 10 years in terms of guitar and guitar amp technology, what do major label guitarists use for amplification on stage and in the studio? Do they just plug their guitar into a couple stomp boxes then into a high end amp with cabinet? or do they have a gigantic rack unit with all kinds of standalone preamps, digital effects processors, power amps, then into a 4 x 12 cab? Im mostly talking about modern metal guitar sounds.

the reason I ask is that I have been using the same digital/tube stereo combo amp for the past 10 years, and I can emulate most of my favorite metal guitarists tones pretty closely in my studio (capturing in a recording is a different story). I have messed around with some good heads and cabinets in guitar center, and was not overly impressed with their tone compared to what I can get out of my Johnson Millennium. maybe my ears are shot and I just cant tell the difference between good and great.

[brandondrury]

what do major label guitarists use for amplification on stage and in the studio?

The right answer is "WHO KNOWS!!". I've never seen a band with tons of rackmount gear. Of course, it's often difficult to know what they are really using. The bands I have seen in the smaller clubs in my area are almost always using high end heads of some kind.

I do remember being very impressed with the Johnson Milennium when I was 17, but I didn't know a damn thing back then. At 27, I can't imagine any digital simulator getting it right for my needs. Your needs / tastes may be different.

Brandon

[kyle barton]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

If you are thinking about your chorus in live sound, you may not be having enough beer and fun. Brandon

okay, THAT was funny

i have a big gonza rig with a million sounds and effects and during every live performance (which is the occasional block party or somesuch) i end up just playing dead clean with zero effects and two different settings, blistering fender clean and slightly dirty.

it's just so i can hear myself live. usually the beer solves all sound problems for me.

[brandondrury]

it's just so i can hear myself live. usually the beer solves all sound problems for me.

A gig when you can actually hear yourself AND have beer is a GREAT gig. Nothing else matters.

Brandon