VHTStark
Well-known member
Ordered this a few months ago after a helpful discussion with @WizardSouth-JP
I have had enough time behind it now, that I can give a review. Even though I feel the MC's, MTL's and Hellrazor's will always be the popular Wizard order and most discussed, hopefully this sheds some light on this less popular....but equally amazing, Wizard!
OVERVIEW: According to Rick, the Rock Standard is in the same "family" of amps as his Vintage Classic and W800 models. It is a single channel design, with 2 inputs. It has the same control layout as the MTL model, minus saturation control. On mine, a 2024 RS 100 model, the 3-way mini togel is replaced by a push/pull tone stack mod on the treble pot and a Foot-Switchable bright control, which also increases the gain.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE: the MTL control layout makes this amp an incredibly versatile beast with an overall Vintage delivery. This thing can get suuuuuper bright and kerrang-y; I keep both the sweep and bright in the 3-4 range on this amp. On my MC1, I typically have the bright up around 1 O'clock or so.
Like any Wizard, it has a tight and immediate response, with next level clarity and punch. Like the W800, the RS has a bit more bounce/chew/give under the fingers compared to my MC1 or the MC2 and MTL I tried. That said, all of those amps have more overall gain on tap. They also have a decidedly more aggressive tonal signature overall. With the depth up, boost/bright on (or a boost) and some tone stack tweaking, you can absolutely make the RS get nasty, but it never gets in to what I would call "modern high gain". It really excels at vintage voiced medium to high gain rock and metal tones and you can really fine tune it to any cabinet or room.
Super happy with it! There is some overlap between this and the W800, but they are still different enough I am keeping both. My MC1 100w with "C" transformers is a different beast altogether.
I have had enough time behind it now, that I can give a review. Even though I feel the MC's, MTL's and Hellrazor's will always be the popular Wizard order and most discussed, hopefully this sheds some light on this less popular....but equally amazing, Wizard!
OVERVIEW: According to Rick, the Rock Standard is in the same "family" of amps as his Vintage Classic and W800 models. It is a single channel design, with 2 inputs. It has the same control layout as the MTL model, minus saturation control. On mine, a 2024 RS 100 model, the 3-way mini togel is replaced by a push/pull tone stack mod on the treble pot and a Foot-Switchable bright control, which also increases the gain.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE: the MTL control layout makes this amp an incredibly versatile beast with an overall Vintage delivery. This thing can get suuuuuper bright and kerrang-y; I keep both the sweep and bright in the 3-4 range on this amp. On my MC1, I typically have the bright up around 1 O'clock or so.
Like any Wizard, it has a tight and immediate response, with next level clarity and punch. Like the W800, the RS has a bit more bounce/chew/give under the fingers compared to my MC1 or the MC2 and MTL I tried. That said, all of those amps have more overall gain on tap. They also have a decidedly more aggressive tonal signature overall. With the depth up, boost/bright on (or a boost) and some tone stack tweaking, you can absolutely make the RS get nasty, but it never gets in to what I would call "modern high gain". It really excels at vintage voiced medium to high gain rock and metal tones and you can really fine tune it to any cabinet or room.
Super happy with it! There is some overlap between this and the W800, but they are still different enough I am keeping both. My MC1 100w with "C" transformers is a different beast altogether.
