Lots of people are asking where to buy this. I don't actually know-the manufacturers sell on eBay every so often, and their website is goat-design.jp/en/ but I can't vouch for legitimacy or security or anything.
I actually bought one of these and I live in the USA. From the time I ordered it until I received it was a week or so but there was good feedback.on how to pay (Paypal). Website is confusing so I ordered just the pedal then had to order the AC adapter but otherwise nothing negative to say. I'm eventually going to do a teardown and sound once I learn a few chords lol
Still wonder who Tom Scholz himself does not release (or has released) a pedal version of the Sustainer. He has the knowledge and the patents to do it 100% correct, and he must be aware that there is a market for it today.
All those patents have expired but Dunlop owns the SR&D and Rockman names. If he wanted to do that he would have to pull a Rupert Neve move. His name went from Neve, Neve/AMS, Focusrite, and then to Rupert Neve designs.
@@dcdno_one2393 Thanks for that info. Does not sound very likely to happen. Maybe the best thing to do today is to load some Rockman sounds into a Kemper ...
Dave Smith and Robert Moog were able to reclaim their original banners and reactivate them. I doubt Tom is so hard up for cash that he could not try getting his own domain back from the Dunlap company.
I read somewhere that some of the internal components are discontinued, and thus not available. So even if they re-issue the design, they cant fill the supply chain.
The Rockman has a fuller and richer sound but that's a side by side comparison. However standalone I don't think anyone would hear the difference in a gig. Since Rockmans are hard to find I'd get the pedal. Nice sound and you did it justice. Some good licks there man!
I think you being too critical of this unit. For all practices and purposes in a gig, the Goat Generator does a fine job. When cranking out these tones in a 100/watt four speaker cabinet, you can’t tell a difference. People my age whom grew up with Boston blaring out on their Pioneer 380 watt stereo systems won’t be able to tell the difference and the younger generation won’t really be able to give much credence to your critical review. Your chops are great and thanks for featuring this new pedal.
I still can't believe it took this long to get ANY kind of Rockman clone. Though you bringing up patents/trademarks is probably what makes it so difficult.
Note Patients have laps long ago its been 40 years since they were filed So any one can clone this and all the other rock modules Big thing is the shear amount of components in the SRD units to exactly mirror the sound and flexibility and that is out of the question given today's SMD tech vs legacy components. So Yea... Best to Just purchase a Classic SRD module get it referbed and go cruising..!! Thanks Taylor always a Pleasure.
@@timmungovan6977 Yup Pretty much nailed it. I will add also some of the components used back then have long been discontinued with no replacements so some components are getting scarce and very expensive. two chips in particular in the units used to cost about 0.45 cents now they cost $12.00 each! Now that dont sound bad but when the unit commands 14 of those chips your going to come out some serious cash! and yes part count is very high on SR&D stuff. A rock man X100 unit has over 200 components crammed in that small case.
Incredible that Tom was able to squeeze 200 parts into a box the size of a peanut butter sandwich and have none of it be digital. Whenever I have discussed with people how come Line 6 and temper have never considered profiling this particular product line, the response is generally hostile. Because the only to easy access examples that anyone is aware of include *Third Stage* and *Hysteria,* anybody that even knows it exists probably considers it a one trick pony. Right, and the Marshall JCM 800 isn’t?
@@Shred_The_Weapon Line 6 just implemented the Boss HM2 pedal, one of the world's most infamous one-trick pony pedals. If they can do that, they can implement all 4 channels of a X100.
The question presents itself whether or not they will though, @@themodernguitarist. Hehehehehehehe! Seriously though, that would be something. It inadvertently does one thing that no one ever thinks about, emulate the Queen tone without needing duplicates of everything used by Brian May. That’s one of the reasons why the tone I’ve created matches up well with the guitar that I had built for me in July 2019, with individual pick up and phase selectors.
I just got a GOAT pedal…..I think they did a fantastic job capturing the Rockman sound,especially when you consider it’s an all analog circuit,and alot of the parts in the original aren’t available anymore….I am pretty amazed that the Auto Clean works as well as it does in the GOAT,because the special chip that made the Auto Clean work is no longer available…it boosts the high end and bass when you roll your volume down…Those patents have long expired,so it’s just a parts availability thing….If anything,the GOAT is smoother,and WAY quieter….is it dead nuts exact?….No….but it gets so close and really captures that vibe in a package that more easily integrates with modern equipment,that I think it is an amazing pedal…..they are releasing the GOAT Chorus this summer…..I am way happy with the GOAT…it sounds close enough for me..
Pretty good pedal. Years ago I had a Rockman X100. Now I have a Kemper with BHP Rockman profiles which more that satisfy whenever I want that type of tone.
Hey there- i love your passion for the Rockman sound- i think it's one of the most unique and awesome tones out there. Your videos are getting better too- being a Rockman fan myself I've watched a video or two of yours before- good job! Also, thanks for this video because i had seen the goat pedal and was extremely curious. Rock on!
Hey Taylor, thanks for making the Rockman videos. Scholz guitar tone is possibly my favorite and watching you I bought a sustainor earlier this year and love it. Thanks man and keep it up.
GOAT GENERATOR is produced by TC GAKKI (very famous secondhand/vintage guitar shop in Tokyo, Japan) and you can get this via Reverb. Don't worry, they ship worldwide!
Awesome video as always man! Like yourself I was also wondering how the Auto Clean was going to be handled on the GOAT. As you've said it is a boost, but after playing with it and having it be on my board, I think I know why. This pedal was designed and marketed to be played on a guitar amp, specifically a tube amp. This is important, because tube amps naturally can do the very thing the original Auto Clean circuit was meant to emulate: dynamic response and volume compensation. The GOAT's "Clean" knob does in fact emulate the Auto Clean, but only when being used by a tube amp because what happens is that the pre-distortion and output eq is being applied from the GOAT then when the volume is rolled back the only thing that really changes is the distortion gain, but it does in fact sound like the "Rockman CLN sound." However it's not perfect as you need the lead boost turned on to bring up the volume when playing clean. Also keep in mind that as with all Rockman gear, the younger, the better. Especially when in regard to the Auto Clean circuit. The DG is no different. the most sought after year is the 1990 DG as the Auto Clean was about as perfected as it could be without going into REV 20 territory. The GOAT used the first issue 1987 DG when designing the circuit based on my communication with them. With that in mind you get what you get. The '87 is considered by many to have issues with the AutoClean. I'm very impressed personally on their achievements. The Rockman circuits are notoriously complex to work with so shrinking them down to pedal form factor is just impressive. But I do agree with you that there are some things missing when in comparison to the original Rockmodule. I hope this helps! Great video as always man. Keep it up! :)
"...I could not get it to generate a single goat." GOOD! Despite my quest to use standard multi effects generators to approximate the Rockman/Boston guitar tone, my temptation as we exit Winter 2021 is to get my hands on one of these puppies instead. I never had any of the modules myself but I did have an X 100 debt might have been inadvertently discarded when my back was turned. I think this one is a better choice because you can adjust the settings toward something much closer to the tone from the first 2 albums. Because of the fact that it doesn't immediately function as a stomp Box but does include the appropriate input and output jacks that might encourage me to begin using my Pod HD 500 again so I could integrate this into some of the patches.
If I wasn’t satisfied with the equipment that I currently have and still specifically wanted that classic overdrive tone, I would definitely consider purchasing one of these. Just from having grabbed up an X100 during Autumn 2001, I can pretty much say “been there, done that“ with regard to the classic Rockman line. As I have put in earlier comments, I am more than satisfied with the sound of a device like this passing through the signal chain of the JC 120.
Hi folks... I do now own the generator. No problems purchasing on amazon. High hopes. Took some time of playing with the knobs (tried to copy Taylor´s adjustment.) .... and ended up with the sound of AC/DC or something... (By the way... I can make any guitar or amp sound like AC/DC ;) and the only reason is my poor quality as guitar player) I miss a chorus and a little bit of reverb. The signature sound of a Rockman is hardly to achieve. Additionally the unit causes a low volume chirp. But...the basic sound is one hell of a nice high gain-amp. Next try.... go through a boss GT-100 send/return and add some chorus and reverb. And I will borrow a metal-guitar. Might work then. Taylor, you seem to use the ideal guitar/pickup to get this sound. The easiest way to sound like T.S. is a Rockman X100. But its noise ratio is a nightmare. So... Rockman Sustainor remains first choice. Greetings from Germany!
Thanks Taylor, you are certainly the internets goto guy for Boston tones. If you hadn't had the Rockman sustainor to compare with I would have thought the GOAT nailed it. But in comparison, the Sustainor had a wider/fuller stereo spread and a little more clarity and warmth.
It sounds great..Certainly Tom Scholz uses big DiMarzios but I use DiMarzios P-90s in a Les Paul Special..same Style super distortion thru a Marshall 2×12 combo amp EL-34S. AWESOME GOOD JOB GUY
These guys just released a version of the Stereo Chorus that's pretty damn convincing! They're a bit pricey, but you figure they're still way less than trying to find an original Rockmodule and then having to have it refurbed. ;-)
I'm with you... Some of those tones are really great, some no... a few of the sustain and distortion settings I like... BUT I MISS MY OLD ROCKMAN AND I DON'T WANT TO SPEND A FORTUNE TO GET A REBUILT ONE!!!!! Thanks for the comparison.....
Its the closest thing out there if you dont have a Rockman. He did bring out some flaws,but it gets pretty close, especially if you add other pedals to boost its potential.
I was looking for a Rockman clone (I had an original headphone amp in the 80s and really miss it!), and found this on Amazon. I dropped in into my wish list. They're charging $399.99 for it.
Patents only last 20 years in the US and if they are not defended during that period of time with lawsuits they essentially become void. So my guess is that autoclean is probably straight off of the actual circuit. Trade marks are different and so far they don't claim to be SR&D - so they're going to be ok.
Just a note about the auto clean feature; you mentioned that it was patented and because of that it couldn't be legally replicated. Patents are only valid for ~20 years, and so, this one likely expired about 15 years ago.
I wonder what Dunlop was thinking when they bought out all that Rockman stuff. Instead of upping the world of rock gear to the next level, it just disappeared, basically.
That's goat is incredibly close! Wow. Shame I haven't even seen this pedal come out! Great demo!! I don't know if they explain it, but it does sound to me like there's a touch more gain on the lead switch....but you'd know better based more on the feel.
Seems like they made the lead switch based on today's sense of a lead clean boost rather than what the Rockman was doing. I'll bet by v3, it'll be pretty good.
Imo this pedal has 2 big flaws (especially for the price): it should have, as you mentioned, the option to increase the gain for leads and an on/off chorus switch.
Sorry, Goat generator is electronic sounding like most music is today. The ROCKMAN is definitely Analog classic 70s sound. It's the sounds Tom Scholz invented because they didn't exist at the time. He was and MIT graduate that worked for Kodak company. He was an at night musician and experimented in his basement trying to come up with sounds his imagination produced. That's how the Rockman was invented. He wanted something that could give him the sustain and compression to make the instrument resonate and reverb for an extended period of time while overdubbing a track. This is the genius of his invention. It's too bad Tom Scholz sold the Rockman company. Because the company he sold them to eventually stopped producing the Rockmans Preamps. You can buy them on Reverb or ebay. The Rockman x100 is very popular still. Most of them you will have to replace the capacitors since they only last 20 or 30 years. Some need more extensive work. But they're worth it if you just want to plug your guitar in and get that classic 70 sound like you played in your video. A great video. You can definitely tell when you first started playing through the Rockman that it was classic '70s Analog Sound. Like coming off a Real to Real tape machine or listening to an electronic recording from a thumb drive. Major difference in sound. If you really want to see an excellent video on why Analog Sound is so amazing, watch Sound City. Dave Grohl bought the sound board from Sound City that created so many of the wonderful '70s rock group sounds we listen to today. He had it moved to a home studio that he built by a group of engineers who had to dismantle it and put it back together. The reason why we have so many cover bands, and so many musicians wanting to emulate this 70s rock, is because of the Analog Sound and the composition of these rock musicians that are just not produced today. Again a great video and thank you.
All of Tom Scholz patents have long since expired. Patents are only good for 20 years. Besides, the circuits he used in his boxes were chained effects created 20 years before he ever combined them.
I'm pretty sure "carry on my wayward son" was out years before any rockman devices were available. lol. Both Cary On and the first Boston album were recorded 1975 and released 1976. AFAIK Tom Scholz had nothing to do with the recording of Cary On. Rockman as a company didn't exist until 1982. BTW: "Stone In Love" was released in 1981... also probably without help from Scholz... but the riff sounds good still.
its pretty close dude. But yeah, you can tell a difference in the GOAT and an Original Rockman. But some of the originals are 700 bucks now. so this would be a decent alternative.
To my ears, the GOAT generator didn't have nearly as much harshness as the Rockman does. I don't know if this is just in the settings, or if it's in the EQ or what harmonics are being generated with the distortion.
Is it just me, or does the GOAT just have a bit more of a FUZZ sound to it's distortion? I'm not a big fan of fuzz, so I have to say the original Rockman sounded better to my ear. Thanks for the excellent side-by-side.
Excellent video, I've always been fascinated by the Rockman tone and would like to get some Rockman gear. I was wondering if the GOAT pedal can be connected direct to a mixer/PA/FRFR speaker, i.e. does it have speaker simulation on the output? I think the real Rockmans were designed for connecting direct to a mixer, PA etc.
That's basically why I make my own Amp Sim presets of the Boston sound. I bought that Satriani Amplitube 4 'Boston 100' Rockman sim. I liked it - but, it was WAY too limiting. I want to be able to mix and match mics and cabs to adjust to my 30+ guitars. So, it didn't work out as well for me. Plus, I REALLY don't like Amplitube's Equalizers (other than the pedals) because they just don't work very well. Working with the Parametric EQ on Amplitube is like trying to get a hat stand with a shorter leg to stop wobbling. Adjust one thing, it throws something off. Adjust that thing, it throws something else off. UGH.
The other reason I make my own presets is because people are charging an arm and a leg for Rockman stuff these days. They act like it's made from the finest unicorn horn powder. No thanks. I'm not making some thief rich.
I’m doing much the same thing, or at least attempting to. Since 2018, I’ve been shooting for it with my Boss ME-80, on which I use the Metal Zone sim w/ gain between 0 & 1 and EQ# just right of noon for the Plexi tone. It interestingly comes very close to approximating both the early Boston tone and the later one. For your straight-up signal chain, you don’t need to go much further than having the Roland JC 120 model with the inherent compressor and chorus settings. I’ve also seen videos of people getting a whole lot closer with a GT-1000.
@@Shred_The_Weapon The EQ is THE major component in the Boston sound, in my opinion. Tom Scholz used 2 of them before he developed the Rockman. From an interview I read of his, he said that they were blowing through a full set of tubes on tour every other show. That gets expensive real quick! So, the Rockman was the solution. I like the Rockman and I don't like it. It's good to be able to dial in the Boston sound. But, you definitely STILL need an EQ and maybe a Sustainor. That can get VERY expensive. So, I make my own presets for everything I own: Guitar Rig 5, Amplitube 4, Bias FX2, Peavey ReValver, and my new NU-X MG300 effects processor. I also use BGelais's BGDoubler. It mimics Tom's double-tracking which widens the sound.
There is something which is bothering me that may have been on my mind since the 2000s, @@Axess-sv8nq. Is the EQ supposed to affect your clean tone as well as the distorted one? I might be thick as a brick, but that issue is always confusing me.
@@Shred_The_Weapon Well, some people get around that with an A/B switch and they use 2 amplifiers/racks. I never did that when I gigged. I just had the one amp and my pedals. I would switch the distortion on and off and it would even out. You just make sure that your clean tone is as loud as your distorted tone. And chorus sounds excellent when set the right way with distortion. It will also bring life and color to your clean tone. So, like I said, it evens out. It's all in the levels and knowing your gear.
This thing is incredibly noisy. The more you dial up the harmonics and sustain settings the noisier it gets. I was able to tame the noise fairly well with a gate and it does get close tone wise. Is it worth it? If you really want to get close to the Boston sound it gets you in the ball park without much effort. Just be prepared to gate the hell out of the thing.
I am not crazy about the Rockman sound. I wonder if it would sound better with a Two Notes Torpedo Cab M or other Cab simulator. I think it might be worth looking into.
Do you then play these through an amp? I bought a DG and it makes a lot of white noise through an amp. I havent plugged it in in years as a result. Dunno what I'm doing😢
Hi Taylor, great stuff. Two questions: 1. If you did not have a Sustainor and the Chorus/Delay unit - and needed to get one thing to get the Boston/Scholz sound without breaking the bank or buying 30-year-old tech on the internet...would the GOAT get you most of the way there? And 2a. Which Sustainor do you have? 2b. If you have the 200, do you know how the GOAT compares to the 100 and 100A circuits?
OK I went ahead and pulled the trigger and I'm super-stoked about it so far. I just ran it through my Deadbeat Modulation Station and my Deadbeat Echolation Station and it just works for me. I'm sure the purists would scream but thanks to Taylor and MartyMusic and especially RJ Ronquillo, I can't afford a "real" X100 or the Sustainor 200 (or any rockmodule, really). This is 110% fun getting 90% of the way towards a Tom Scholz sound. :D
Unfortunately the fixed wah sound of the first (and second?) albums wasn't included in the Rockman, only his later heavily processed sounds. I bought one when it was released and was a bit disappointed. But it's good for what it does.
Thanks, love your playing/sound - Really takes me back. I was in a band that pretty much covered everything you just played... and it was those circles of friends that lead me to Parallax. Rest was history.
Aaaahh... nobody asking where to buy this baby. Weird. All you can find on the net is a failed fundraising project. Taylor, you own a working speciman. Where is it from? Additionally... problems with patent laws? Very mysterious video. ;) I´m just interested to purchase. This gadget might solve so many problems. Thanks for introducing.
You can get it on Amazon (hit or miss) or on the guys website. They are made to order FYI and they do cost quite a bit. Literally as much as a restored Rockman rack unit.
LOVE THIS! ahhahaahahahaha. "couldn't get it to generate a goat". You WIN the internet today! Subbed, would love it if you came and checked out my channel! (i have a rockman sustainor demo on my channel too...although I got it for free, second hand and pretty beat up, so had no idea how to use it)
@@dawnpoint - I'm referring to the ONLY thing the Goat does, wise guy. Which is to say, it's basically just distortion. The wide doubling effect you're getting is coming from the Rockman Stereo Chorus. Now, be a good boy and admit it.
@@ShadovvV This might be the funniest thing I've ever heard. Of course it's doubling through the Stereo Chorus. Says it right in the video. Anyone who knows about Rockman modules and guitar signal path in general doesn't need that explained.
@@dawnpoint - Yeah, that's a crock of shit. The ONLY decent sound you're getting is coming from the Rockman. That Goat distortion box is just basic distortion, nothing more to it. Honestly, it sounds like an old Yamaha distortion pedal to me. It's really dry and flat. The width comes from the Chorus.
@@ShadovvV Don't know why you've got your knickers all in a twist again. Yeah, the width comes from the Chorus. That's literally its job. Everyone knows that.
Because they can play lead guitar, and because they know how important mid-range frequencies are for placing a lead guitar sound within a mix, or in a live band context.
@@Chester_Cheese Well, I certainly wouldn't know anything about that. LOL! Hmm, I wonder how all those guitar heroes got along before (and after) Rockman came along. They must have sounded awful. I'll be switching my sarcasm pedal off now.