Rockman Headphone Amplifiers

ROCKMAN

The Power Soak was probably ahead of its time. In 1980, it was just normal to play with huge 100W stacks with 8 12' speakers. Cumbersome, but normal. The Power Soak had therefore a limited impact: the average amateur guitar player was not really interested in this expert's tool. The Rockman has helped killing the myth that only a big amp could deliver a big guitar sound.

The Rockman, born two years later, arrived right on time. Before this magic black&blue box, practice gear sounded crappy, and the correct gear was clearly stage-oriented. Nothing in-between. If someone wanted effects, he had to collect a series of stompboxes, tweak them, plug that into his amp and hope the sound would be correct.

Everyone was dreaming about something compact, handy, enabling someone to "plug&play" (this expression didn't exist in 1982). All the effects have been invented in the seventies, but it was time to pack that in a convenient manner. Time to leave the experimental era, and enter the maturity age of guitar gear.

How did this little black box manage to become a revolution in guitar sound ? The Rockman was called "headphone amp". Fine, playing with headphones is interesting when you practice at home. But music is usually played in a band, or at least with a second player. The Rockman can be connected with another one, allowing two players to jam, still with headphones. But you don't make a revolution with just headphones in a bedroom!