Rockman (music)

The Rockman line is a series of headphone amplifiers and other equipment, developed and produced by Scholz Research & Development, Inc. (SR&D), a company formed by Boston founder Tom Scholz. SR&D was sold to Dunlop in 1995. Tom Scholz's signature still appears on the units sold by Dunlop.

The first product released by SR&D was not called a Rockman. It was simply called "Tom Scholz's Power Soak". The Power Soak is an attenuator, put inline between an amplifier and its speakers. Once the guitar amplifier has the right sound, the Power Soak can be used to dial in the output level. The first commercial Power Soak was issued at the end of 1980. An updated version of the Power Soak, the model II, was issued at the end of 1981. It has an extra switch made to adapt the Power Soak to solid-state amplifiers. The Power Soak was re-issued in 1992 as a Power Soak model III, lacking the solid-state switch, though the Power Soak III can be used both with solid-state and tube amps. The jacks were also moved to the back of the unit.

The Rockman brand name was inaugurated with the first of the headphone amplifiers. The original Rockman combined multiple effects, portability, along with quality components and construction. It was marketed as a headphone amplifier but allowed the guitarist to plug directly into the mixer on the stage and in the studio. This effectively made the Rockman a DI unit for many guitarists. An example of this is when Def Leppard used the Rockman in the making of their album Hysteria.

The original Rockman was released in 1982. It includes an amplifier simulator, stereo chorus and echo. It has two clean sounds, along with "Edge" and distortion modes. The two clean modes are differently EQ'd, "Clean 1" targets the electric guitar, while "Clean 2" is recommended for a wider range of use, including acoustic guitar, keyboard and vocals. The "Edge" setting produces what is described as "subtle" distortion, that will clean up when playing softly. The chorus and echo are tied together, both being on when the switch was set to normal. The chorus or echo can be disabled, but not both at the same time. The Rockman requires eight AA batteries or an adapter for power. The name 'Rockman' has similarity to Sony's 'Walkman' which had been introduced to the US in 1980, with both devices being breakthroughs in portable stereophonic electronics.

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