Rocktron Piranha

[daveq]

I am currently using a POD Pro for my preamp. I love it but am always interested in trying new things. I checked harmony-central and found that the Piranha got excellent reviews - better than most products I've seen on that site.

I bought one in excellent condition off ebay. I played around with it for a couple days but could never get a good thick sustaining distortion out of it.

I'm running the effects loop on it into my other effects (DSP7500, G-Major, Graphic EQ, BBE 362) and am going direct into my PC (E-MU 1210 - I think). The sound card is excellent for what I need - so it's not even a factor here but my main point is that I'm not using a power amp at all. I use headphones connected to the left and right outputs of the Piranha when I'm not using the PC speakers.

So, is the problem that I'm not using a power amp? I don't think it is because it would seem strange that a preamp would rely on the power amp to add more distortion.

Compared to the POD Pro, the Piranha is just very weak. I guess it might be good for 70's overdrive type stuff but not even close for the heavier stuff I like to play.

I don't expect many people to have one of these things but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.

I forgot to mention - I also put a parametric EQ in front of it to try to help get a better sound out of it but it didn't do much in terms of gettting a thicker distortion.

[Gorecki]

I am currently using a POD Pro for my preamp. I love it but am always interested in trying new things. I checked harmony-central and found that the Piranha got excellent reviews - better than most products I've seen on that site.

I bought one in excellent condition off ebay. I played around with it for a couple days but could never get a good thick sustaining distortion out of it.

Compared to the POD Pro, the Piranha is just very weak. I guess it might be good for 70's overdrive type stuff but not even close for the heavier stuff I like to play.

I don't expect many people to have one of these things but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.

I forgot to mention - I also put a parametric EQ in front of it to try to help get a better sound out of it but it didn't do much in terms of gettting a thicker distortion.

←

Hey Dave,

I don't have a clue about this preamp but thought I'd open my big mouth anyway.

I wouldn't trust harmony-central all that much regarding opinions. Keep in mind it's very likely a major portion of the submissions are by minorly experienced people and may think something is the cat's meow because it blows doors off their Marshall 15w.

Definitely putting it in line with an amp may help, especially if there are tubes added into the chain, the harmonics tubes often add can spice up just about anything.

Have you tried putting the P-EQ after the preamp not before?

In contrast to a POD is probably difficult when it comes to 'think distortion' because frankly the Line6 stuff has some pretty excessive gain control and I've found their gear needing the gain to be turned down more often than up and I'm a gain junkie.

Worth a shot.

[syxxstring]

Having recently read a good portion of Aspen Pitman's "The Tube Amp Book", my thought would be to try some different 12ax7's in there.

Im pretty sure it has a tube in there. If so the gain of 12ax7's can vary greatly according to Mr Pitman. Being the founder of Groove Tubes, I think he's right.

My take away was that 12ax7's were designed for 100x gain, and in the good old days did that. Toady 80's is average, but from batch to batch can be much lower or much higher. On top of that several other tubes will fit that have different gain structures. Check out the book, or GT's site they may have a lot of the same info.

[daveq]

I'm going to try putting in two GT's (12AX7's) - and yes it does have two tubes. I don't know what's currently in there since there is foam wrapped around them.

I don't hold out much hope though since the last time I upgraded to GT's in my marshall's preamp it only changed the tone of it - I don't think it increased the gain all that much.

As far as the POD having too much gain - I do see that on their "insane" channel but the Soldano emulation that I use is almost perfection to my ears.

I was considering looking for a soldano preamp (X-88 is it?) but I haven't completely given up on the rocktron yet.

Have you tried putting the P-EQ after the preamp not before?

Well, technically I guess I did since I have a graphic EQ in my effects loop (see first post).

[Drak]

Not much to comment on since I don't even have mine hooked up yet, but I can offer a few comments:

1) Megadeath used to use these to record some of their classic discs, so I couldn't possibly think it would be lacking in distortion or gain unless you're going for the Nu-Metal sound, which I doubt you are.

2) The 2 tubes in it have some control, but actually it is recommended to dress it DOWN, not up. One of those tubes, when taken down to a 12AU7 or AY7, helps the cleans sound much better.

3) As you already guessed, unless your tubes are -really-worn out, just changing them isn't going to make a world of difference, more a lateral tone move than much up or down. But they could be very worn out, and then you might have your answer.

And if you want to really get tone out of it, I would find a great NOS 12AX7, like a Mullard, Telefunken, Bugle Boy, etc. GT's are just rebranded Chinese, Russian, and Yugo stuff. Not really what I consider the top of the tonal heap.

If I buy an amp and it comes in with GT's (actually just had one a few weeks ago, GT's straight across the board) I pull 'em out and they go out with the next amp I sell, I don't stick 'em in anything of mine I'm going to be using, they're just transitory tubes to me, waiting to find another home, cuz it ain't with me.

[daveq]

I thought Dave M. used the newer rocktron preamp (the one with the mutli-effects built in)?

I actually like Groove Tubes but I guess everyone has their own tastes. I just don't think that will do what I'm after though. I wouldn't want to go with those "cleaner" tubes either since I'm really after a mean distortion.

If you ever get that thing hooked up, let me know what you think of it. Didn't you drive through a snow storm to get that stuff or am I thinking of something else?

[Drak]

I just beat out a snowstorm by an hour to get the G-Major, Furman, and rack unit.

I had bought the Piranha separately a month or so beforehand from a guitarist (Sam King) in a band called Push Down and Turn (pushdownandturn.com)

And as long as you know which tube is which, switching out the 'right' one will not affect the distortion, just helps out the cleans.

I can open mine up and see which one was switched out if that would help you, Sam already did the swap before I bought it and he said it made a helluva difference in cleaning up the cleans.

And Dave M. used the Piranha back in the '80's, (Peace Sells...) he's probably switched preamps several times since then tho, that was 20 years ago.

PS, this may not help much, but I've always found that using HB's makes a difference when using units like that, but I'd bet you are already doing that., or using a pre-amp too...it gives them a much more chunky sound than using SC's, but I'm guessing you already knew that.

[Juan -Infectoria-]

Hey, im new here. I've owned a piranha for almost a year now, using it actively with my band. If you are having trouble with gain or saturated sounds, there could be a problem with your piranha, unless you want to have apocalyptical amounts of gain. The piranha can achieve VERY saturated tones, and add to that the input level control, which further increases gain levels. I used to own a V-amp preamp, and got rid of it for a piranha. Best equipment change ever. I use it through a Mesa Boogie 50:50 and a Carvin 2x12. I love my piranha

The piranha being a tube preamp, it makes amazing saturated tones, and has the high definition that is charasteristic of tube tone.