We've already talked quite a bit about the usefulness of guitar preamps that offer professional quality, even when run straight to line, thus saving us the amp. It's a tricky subject, because what is a guitarist without their amp? Even so, it's true that being able to work direct to line often has its advantages: avoiding hauling or setting up a heavy amp in a quick-turnaround situation, avoiding noise complaints in rooms or spaces not soundproofed for working at any hour, saving on mics and/or on people who know how to set them up and use them (smile) properly, and so on. Any guitarist, however much in love with their amp, will find advantages in a professional preamp that can help them out at certain times.

When it comes to modeling, where is the dividing line between satisfying, acceptable and unbearable?
When I think about a comparison or, rather, about what a preamp has to give us to satisfy us the way an amp does (or as close as possible), I have in mind a good tube amp and what that kind of amp offers, since improving on a mediocre solid-state amp is a very easy task for many guitar processors, even mid-range ones, at this stage of technological development.

I know what you purists are thinking: there's nothing like a gorgeous tube amp. Agreed, I think the same, but I'm also aware that at times I wouldn't have been able to record, rehearse or practice without a preamp with modeling.

The line separating the acceptable from the unbearable is, naturally, drawn by the quality of the preamp. To get decent, acceptable and even (in some cases) super powerful results, we have to go for high-end or professional units. That said, there are small, low-priced gadgets that surprise you with their striking results.

Rocktron Prophesy on the test bench
Our impression on unboxing it was “that's one hell of a preamp, dude”. It looks exceptional: a sturdy chassis, solid knobs and controls and a well-laid-out, practical control panel, designed for rack mounting, taking up two rack spaces.

Before looking at its possibilities and results, let's briefly go over its front and rear panels.

Front:
We have the following controls, in the form of buttons, knobs or switches:

1. Power on/off
2. Preset selection knob
3. Gain knob
4. Bass “ “
5. Mid “ “
6. Treble “ “
7. Presence “ “
8. Master “ “
9. Page control (for controlling on-screen parameters).

On the right-hand section of the front panel are the buttons: bypass, mute, compressor, wah, phaser, preamp, tremolo, loop, modulation, pitch, tap, delay, reverb, delay and mix. There's also the ¼" jack input and the output and input level controls.

Rear panel
Let's look at its connectivity to get an idea of its possibilities.

1. ¼" jack input
2. ¼" jack tuner output
3. Send, left and right. ¼" jack
4. Return, left and right. ¼" jack
5. Main output. Main Out, left and right on ¼" jack
6. Recording output: recording out on XLR
7. Power socket
8. Footswitch input
9. Phantom power output for the “Rocktron MIDI Mate” footswitch.
10. MIDI IN
11. MIDI OUT / THRU

As you can see, the preamp is ready to be used either at line level, going straight to a mixer for recording or listening on monitors, or to send your sound to a guitar amp. These two options make the unit versatile and perfectly usable in any situation.

General overview
I've tried and used a wide variety of preamps, modelers and multi-effects. Many of them (especially the professional ones) had full-bodied sounds. Their preset banks contained really good “programs”, that is, preconfigurations giving us particular combinations of cabinet, amp and effects. At the same time, professional units usually offer good options for “getting under the hood”, that is, detailed variables for reprogramming every single preset to your liking. The Prophesy especially stands out in this area for its flexibility and great control over the sound.

Operation is especially convenient, versatile and quick. Instead of giving priority to presets, it gives priority to direct, quick control of the sound however you like; just look at the layout of the gain, EQ, presence and other controls. It's as if you had control of your amp, in the traditional way, and could also work your trusty old pedals just as you always have. In short, this rack unit nicely combines technological futurism with “traditional” control of your sound.

The presets
I went through each of the presets to save time. That way I got to know the effect combinations and settings Rocktron considered most striking for storing as preprogrammed sounds. A very rich variety that combines every kind of effect you can imagine.

Amplification and cabinet
The unit is based on four basic amp models that form the foundation of every sound you set up. These models are

1. AMERICAN CLEAN
2. VINTAGE BRITISH
3. TEXAS BLUES
4. MEGA DRIVE

Just from the names you can get an idea of this basic branching. We have four clearly distinct types of amplification covering a perfect richness of color. It covers any need perfectly, from crystal-clear clean to hellish saturation.

Within each of these amp models, we always have control over bass, mid, treble, presence and gain at our fingertips. Just like on your trusty old amp.

Now add the enjoyment of technology, being able to switch from one cabinet to another. Simulation (very good, by the way) of speakers of different sizes and of various mic placement/position options. In addition, the “REACT” (reactance) control, which we already knew from other Rocktron units (such as the Voodu Valve), has a great deal of power over punch, generating, as you turn it up, the thickness and attack typical of a real amp.

Conclusions
As you can imagine, the editing capabilities of this preamp/multi-effects unit are immense. Besides its MIDI functions, you have hundreds of parameters and pages to move through on its LCD screen. As I mentioned, this gives you enormous versatility for programming your presets exactly your way, however you prefer. For this reason we could say it's a fully professional unit, very well suited to studio sessions, although the price is pretty hair-raising, so we understand the product has basically been designed for professional musicians or studios. Even so, if you consider that you could save yourself one heck of a tube amp, perhaps it isn't so expensive. With the Prophesy you have a professional amp and multi-effects all in one; the variety of its four amp types and its extensive collection of effects give you everything you could need.

Some of the saturation sounds achieved with the Voodu Valve and the Prophesy have certain things in common. Personally, when it comes to super high gain, I prefer the nuances it achieves in the highs to those in the lows. I see this product as ideal for situations where there's no room for an amp, or where we'd rather avoid one. However, if you have a good amp, combining it with this unit will make you king, although you'll have to make a hefty investment to pay for both tools.