我今天又多了一條債務, 理論上的債權人是Rocktron, 以下是我留在Harmony-central的review, 因為一時間沒空打中文的感想所以請各位先看看這篇, 過些時候我再追加補充. Ease of use: Playing through the presets is more than easy, of course, but trying to figure out every single function in all the pages in the menu is no piece of cake. i don't mean it's difficult, but I think it'll take whole lot of experiment for me to really get acquainted with this unit. But then again, why would I pay for over a grand for something that looks like or works like a Boss pedal? I think the dufficulties of use is the inherent nature of something complex and versatile, at least for this unit. I give it a 5 because of 10 for versitality and 1 for 'ease' of use. Sound: Top-notch. I think the 12x7tube in the preamp section helps quite a bit. But again you can't expect it to sound exactly like a real quality tube amp. That's why this unit requires a nice power amp for live use (or you can use the record out, with on board speaker simulation nad mike placement---not great, but it'll suffice, IMHO). Some people complain about the background noice on some clean settings, and I notice that myself too. But fortunately, i don't think it's a real issue. Unless you're going solo (with no other sound coming from your band) with a very low volume and the audience is literally sticking their ears on your speaker, I don't think it's noticable. The ADSR system works like a dream too. It really gives you a chance to let your guitar 'sing'. Too much to explain, if you're interested check out their website. I wonder why this system is still in its infancy. For example, the auto wah combined with ADSR control really makes this unit unique. Pre-preamp eq and post effect global eq is yet another nice touch by Rocktron. Many guitarists using seperate pedal before will find it familiar and useful for sure. Assignable Effect loops make this machine even more versatile, and because it allows further compatibility with any exansion of gears you make, this is likely to be a long-lasting product. OK, those are the main features that stand out to me immediately. But about its sound, I think I'm just more than happy to report that it doesn't sound DIGITAL. I once owned a Eventide Eclipse and have played through several other Eventide models, so I think I know hat transparency in effects is. While no Eventide, the effects in Prophesy is more than capable of producing decent sounds. I know I probably shouldn't compare a unit in this price range with other claimed 'all-in-one' unit, like GT6 or Digitech/pod stuff. But I really think there's a distinction between a toy's sound and that of a pro unit. My personal advice for those who are like me, with not much cash but really like to have something decent, is two words: credit card! Some really good players I know are still using units like GT-5 or GT-3 and they do sound pretty damn good too. But IMHO, a real decent unit like Prophesy will easily put them in another league in seconds. Can I get the sound of my favorite artist? Well, pretty damn close, from Metallica to Dimebag, Aerosmith to AC/DC, and Gary Moore to SRV. The only thing(s) lacking in this unit, I'd say, is some more variety of effects, like envelope follwer/filter, fuzz, ping-pong delay...etc. Yeah Rocktron, how about throwing in something more to make this cool unit a GREAT one? Call me greedy, but I think with over a grand and what I expect from Rocktron, it's not too much to ask for, is it? Reliability: Looks tough to me. But I wonder how often I'll have to change the valve. Put the unit in appropriate rack it'll probably never come out again. Overall: It doesn't give you really whacky stuff, but it does what it does more than nicely. I think it really merits the title 'Best all-in-one unit'. My favourite feature will have to be ADSR. if there's something I hate, hmmph, the display, I suppose, oh and I think it doesn't look as expensive as it is (com’on Rocktron, it's 2002 already, can we drop that 1980s look?) I compared this unit with TC G-force (versatile and imaginitive, but too damn digital for my taste), Lexicon (pretty cool effects, but the preamp SUCKS), Boss GT6 (sorry, can't comment on that), POD (sorry, I know how many people think it's a great professional gear, so no comment again in case if I upset any one of you), Prophesy, while no winner in every aspect, stands out as the most practical, usable and versatile all-rounder. It doesn't give you really whacky stuff, but it does what it does more than nicely. I think it really merits the title 'Best all-in-one unit'. If you throw in at least two quality EQ pedal, one compressor, one VERY EXPRESSIVE auto wah, one cool phaser, chorus, reverb, delay, tremolo, oh, and a decent tube preamp (like Marshall JMP-1)...man, that's more than grand definitely, if you're smart enough to add the pedal carry case and quality power supply with good connecting cables, you know you're likely to go over 2 grand. This unit does most of what seperate pedals do (and sometimes better), plus, it saves you from doing the lap dance and give you instant change of patches with a midi controller. I can't complain, really.
OK,今天起床後又搞了兩三個小時,可以再做些補充. 這台multi-effect/preamp最屌的地方我覺得還是他的ADSR(attack, delay. sustain, release)控制系統, 因為它可以針對吉他發聲的四個階段分別作效果. 譬如說, 我可以把tremolo颤音的效果放在delay以後的階段, 讓聲音在剛出現時都能保持原來的tone, 或者是設定attack範圍來讓pick的力道決定何時wah要出來, 而讓hammer-on的音能保持在另一個頻率---很不錯呢. 至於聲音本身, 我想我也不能太過貪心, 畢竟天下沒有白吃的午餐, 但是就all-in-one的效果器來說, 這大概是我個人覺得最自然的了. 一般來說這台應該要外接一台power amp, 不過我現在用它的record out (left and right, XLR) 接到我的mixer/digital recorder, 配合上他本身的speaker simulation 和 mike placement, 從我家裡的hi-fi(非專業監聽喇叭)放出來的確是不錯的了. 錄音時的效果和實際聽到的聲音完全沒有落差, 我想這是這台的另一個優點. 至於到底和真的tube amp比起來究竟差了多少, 我我想我很難給各位一個答案. 只能說它有自己的特色, 至於好不好則是件主觀的事. 我自己是覺得雖然它並不特別突出, 卻也沒什麼可以挑剔的. 若真要挑剔, 我想則是在某些clean tone setting埵乎有些許的高頻雜音. 我猜想是ADSR的副作用,但是老實說, 真的在彈的時候是很難注意到的. Effect來說, 我有些不大一樣的評價... 1. Hush (noise reduction): 我個人覺得這是我用過聽過最好的消音裝置. 啟動時幾乎完全不會影響到原本tone的frequency. 嗯, 真不曉得他們是怎麼做到的. 2. EQ (pre-preamp, preamp, post-distortion, post-effect and global): 基本上這台有四五個不同的階段可以讓你設定EQ, 其中某些好像還是6 band, 很不錯. 感覺上好比單顆串接時的setting. 3. Wah: OK, 就我所知他不是可以用踏板控制的. 不過, 老實說, 絕大多數的人都有自己喜歡的wah了吧. 所以基本上這個wah是用來做auto wah的. 就他本身來說, 我覺得還不錯---不是超屌, 但是也很難抱怨. 4. Compressor: 控制上來說只有threshold, attack, release 三個control, 算是頗陽春的. 不過倒也夠用. 5. Pitch: 嗯, 這就是這台效果中的最令人不滿的地方. 它並不是intelligent pitch-shift, 雖然聽起來很順. 但是應用上來說就有限了. 就台幣五萬多的價格來看, 好像有點說不過去, 是不是? 6. Phaser, Tremolo, Flanger, 4 tap Chorus, Ducker delay, Reverb: 我個人覺得我想用的東西都在了. 雖然不見得做的出太奇怪的效果, 但是就實用性來說, 我已經覺得很夠了. 之前曾經用過一台Eventide Eclipse 卻完全領會到什麼叫over-powerd. 7. Stereo effect loops: 可以讓使用者自己設定在系統內何處要放外接效果. 很方便. 整體來說, 我覺得prophesy很適合我的需求, 價錢雖然不是很便宜, 但是就他的彈性和功能而言, 至少我知道這會是我的設備中的一顆常青樹, 不大可能會被換掉. 就購買新設備來說, 我想這是一個很實際的考量. 嗯, 報告完畢. 希望我的一點使用心得可以幫到大家一點忙. 明天又是星期一了, 大家好好加油吧! 祝 好