Rocktron Piranha - Any good?

armdias · #1 03-04-2002, 11:17 AM

What do you guys think of the Rocktron Piranha? I have the chance to buy it CHEAP in a auction but i can't try it first...

Is this a good pre-amp? Good clean and high-gain tones? Can it rival it the mighty TriAxis, JMP-1 or MP-1?

Comments, please.

Thanks!

jem777az · #2 03-04-2002, 01:45 PM

Depending on how much you are paying, the Piranha is a great preamp. *I wish Rocktron still made them. *It blows away the JMP-1 (so does everything else IMO), especially since the JMP-1 is solid state, don't be fooled by the fact it has tubes - the gain is solid state. *You can get some very heavy sounds from the Piranha that come quite close to a boogie. *For the price, go with the Piranha. *The Triaxis is nice, but way overpriced IMO. *I love the MP-1 and have used one for 11 yrs now, but I am thinking of picking up a Piranha again just to have one.

Also a nice thing about the Piranha is its made in the good 'ol USA. *Rocktron discontinued these before they sold the company to GHS (Rocktron units are now made overseas).

If you do grab it, the first thing I would do is put in some high quality tubes. *Electro Harmonix 12AX7's or even some 12AT or 12AU7's for less, but smoother gain.

Good luck!

Greg RG7 · #3 03-04-2002, 03:37 PM

I have sworn by and have been using the TECH-21 SANSAMP PSA-1 rackmount preamp, myself. *it goes for about
$550-650, *which i guess is alot, *but the way i figured was, *of all gear to invest the most money into, *your preamp
should be #1. *

I have tried all rocktron gear, and its just not what I would use for a preamp. *I know one thing for a fact : the PSA-1
has WAY WAY WAY more gain than a Rocktron GAINIAC. *I was SO disappointed when i tried the Gainiac.

I have tried all others and seen guys using rocktron stuff, like the chameleon, *but its just thin, *non-tube sounding.

Try the PSA-1 sometime and tell me that isnt the most tube sounding 100% analog preamp you ever tried.

best part about the PSA-1, *the gain staging is WAY WAY DIFFERENT. * first *off : it doesnt have just one "GAIN"
knob that you just merely crank and get distortion. *it has 5 DIFFERENT KNOBS all dealing with the gain of your tone!!

each knob assigns gain to SPECIFIC FREQUENCY MARGIANS!! *talk about endless combinations! *I have even noticed
a change in feel from one small little adjustment of one knob. *its sensitive, but once you got "THAT SOUND", *save it
and no longer worry about it. *

Oh, if you need celebrity backing, *I read how one of Queensryche's guitarists has a PSA-1 in his rack as a BACK UP in
case his BOGNER EXSTACY (sp?) head dies on stage!!!! * quite some shoes to fill!!!!!

jem777az · #4 03-04-2002, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Greg RG7 on 5:37 pm on Mar. 4, 2002
I have tried all rocktron gear, and its just not what I would use for a preamp. *I know one thing for a fact : the PSA-1
has WAY WAY WAY more gain than a Rocktron GAINIAC. *I was SO disappointed when i tried the Gainiac.

Greg,

You mentioned the Gainiac, have you tried the Piranha? *Its quite different sounding than the Gainiac, much better IMO. *

The PSA-1 is decent probably the best sounding S.S. preamp I have heard, but I still prefer a good tube preamp coupled with an all tube poweramp. *Nothing beats this combo IMO.

gkelm · #5 03-04-2002, 09:48 PM

I've been really happy with my Piranha...got a good deal as well. *Extremely tweakable. *For versatility, it surpasses the JMP-1. *IMHO much better than the MP-1. *And the Triaxis?...You'll probably pay 2-3X for one of those vs. a Piranha, so I hope it's better.

*
Greg

vwall · #6 03-05-2002, 01:06 AM

well, i have had all the above mentioned pre amps and i must say, the one i still have and love the most is the Tech 21 PSA 1.
SS.. yes, but *its actually better because in no *way can the triaxis pull off the gains that the PSA 1 can.
I used to really dig the Pirahanna when it first came out but after getting *one I realized how limited it was..
As for the others mentioned... They are pretty good pieces too... Alot of guys swear by them.. The MP 1 and 2 sound great but are severely limited in the live application use..

Tye lesser rocktron stuff is all cheese but hey... go for it if ya want. Most Pro GAP's and Ganiacs can be had from 50-150

Hope this helps...

Scott

Oh yes, I forgot to comment on the JPM1..
A great piece too.. I would scale it just a hair above the Pirahanna..

One to avoid is the Boss/Roland GP 1.. *or is it GP 100.....

(Edited by vwall at 11:09 pm on Mar. 4, 2002)

armdias · #7 03-05-2002, 01:06 PM

I'm going to pay $300 buck for it, wich, considering i'm in Portugal, it's a steal. I have an MP-1, wich i like very much, but it's sounds are stuck in that 80's/early 90's era, and i want something more modern sounding.

And a TriAxis here in Portugal? We don't even have a Mesa dealer in here. And if i bought one used it could easily go to the $1500...

gkelm · #8 03-05-2002, 09:24 PM

All things considered, might be worth a shot...there's a good chance you could sell/or trade it locally if you decided you didn't care for it. *I think over the MP-1 you'd really like the clean tones.
Greg

armdias · #9 03-06-2002, 05:40 AM

Gkelm, do you think Piranha has better clean tones than the MP-1? All the reviews i've read about the Piranha is that it has some nice distortion tones, but the clean ones aren't that great (they aren't very clean...). And having an MP-1 too, i really like the clean tones of the MP-1, so if the Piranha has better clean sound than the ADA i will be in tone heaven!

gkelm · #10 03-06-2002, 08:03 AM

armdias- I can get extremely clean tones out of mine. *Most of the distortion presets are set with the output level high...so to get the clean presets up to that level, the gain usually has to be set high as well resulting in some distortion. *You'll have to back down the output level on your distortion presets so that you can get your clean presets adjusted to a comparable level with lower gain. *I have a Word doc with a bunch of my presets on it...email if you'd like to see it. *Tweaking possibilities are almost endless with this preamp.

I can't remember if I had this and the MP-1 at the same time...not sure if I did and A/B, but I recall finding the Piranha to have more presence, a more lively tone. *I thought the MP-1 excelled in smooth, tight type distortion. *As I'm sure you know, tone is very subjective...this has been my experience. *You may not like the Piranha after all! * All the best in your decision.
Greg

Scott of Actual Time · #11 03-06-2002, 02:42 PM

i've extensively demoed the piranha twice, with a Mosvalve solid state power amp and with a Boogie 50/50. *it is very flexible and has some great sounds in it, but i couldn't get a good super saturated, high gain crunch out of it. *i could get great clean tones, using the same method that gkelm mentioned above. *the high gain tones were ok, but just barely not enough gain [i use a ton of gain], and i couldn't EQ out flubbiness in the low end.

that's only my experience, which is definately colored by my guitars, pickups, speaker cabs, and my ears - yours might be completely different.