J Rockett Steve Stevens Rockaway Archer

The J. Rockett Audio Designs Steve Stevens Rockaway Archer is a signature overdrive pedal built around a Klon-style circuit, with a 6-band EQ added on top and a greatly extended gain and output range. It was announced in February 2017 as J. Rockett's first new product of that year, and it was developed for guitarist Steve Stevens as an all-in-one solution to his overdrive and EQ needs¹².

What it does

The Rockaway Archer belongs to J. Rockett's Q Series, a line of products designed with the influence of a host of top players¹. Where the standard J Rockett Archer Select is a straight Klon-style overdrive, the Rockaway version adds a 6-band graphic EQ section, giving the player control over the frequency balance of the drive rather than a single tone knob. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson described the circuit as "very much a Klone style pedal - but not really a Klone as you know it as this goes pretty far beyond those accepted" legendary capabilities².

How it compares to the Archer

The Rockaway Archer is best understood as a developed version of the J Rockett Archer. Karlsson called it "very obviously Steve Stevens' advanced take of the J Rockett Archer - of course honed with 6-Band EQ, as well as" a greatly extended Gain and Output Range². The underlying Archer circuit has a strong reputation of its own: in a Premier Guitar roundup of Klon-style pedals, the reviewer wrote, "The Archer is this roundup's most reassuringly solid stompbox," noting a similar heft to the original Klon build³.

What reviewers said

Reviewers have been positive on both the concept and the sound. Karlsson, reviewing the pedal alongside other J. Rockett releases, found it the easiest of the group to get a good sound from quickly²:

He went on to call it one of the best Klone pedals out there overall².

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