MXR Rockman X100

The MXR Rockman X100 Analog Tone Processor is a preamp pedal from MXR that revives the sonic character of Tom Scholz's original Rockman X100 headphone amp in pedal form¹. The original Rockman X100, a portable headphone amplifier from the early 1980s, put amp sound and effects for silent guitar practice into a unit that could also be connected to a recording console¹²³. MXR debuted the pedal version at NAMM in January 2025, and Guitar World described it as bringing "the same rig-in-a-box tones that the original did" but this time fitting on a pedalboard⁴.

Guitar World reviewed it as a standalone all-analog pedal⁵, and the chorus circuit uses a Bucket Brigade MN3007 chip³.

An 80s Rockman preamp in pedal form

The original Rockman X100 was a headphone amp with recording console connectivity, tone tweaking features and built-in effects, and it "revolutionized guitar recording in the early 1980s"³. Delicious Audio calls the new pedal "a compact, modern homage to Scholz's design," a stereo preamp whose sound is reborn from that 1982 device⁹. MXR's manual describes the pedal as reviving the signature sonic character of the original in pedal form⁶.

What that means for a player is a rig-in-a-box: four preset amp tones, a built-in compressor, and a chorus, all in a box the size of a standard pedal. MusicRadar's reviewer found the overall sonics "very compressed with a bright top-end and some bottom-end roll-off"², which is very much the character the original was known for.

The controls and modes

The Rockman X100 features four modes: two clean and two dirty⁹. MXR's manual says the MODE button cycles through four tone presets, two differently equalized clean modes with high-power sustain and two dirty modes⁶. The built-in compressor adjusts its release times to match the selected mode⁹.

Guitar.com's reviewer found the clean settings "extra-crisp and noticeably compressed, with two distinct but equally usable EQ profiles," both better suited to humbuckers than single-coils, and the distorted modes "brilliantly nasal and cutting, with proper high-gain heroics available in the fourth mode"⁷.

Stereo chorus and connections

The pedal ships in mono, but the output can be switched internally to stereo, which MusicRadar's reviewer found gives "really spacious chorus"². Setting it up:

1. Remove the bottom plate to reach the internal mono/stereo switch⁶.
2. Flip the switch to stereo mode at the OUTPUT jack⁶.
3. Connect using a TRS splitter cable⁶.

In stereo mode, the selected MODE preset is split evenly to both channels, while an engaged chorus is varied left and right for a more spacious effect⁶. Delicious Audio notes the stereo channel option is a rare feature in preamps, making it versatile for live and studio setups⁹. The chorus itself is an analog effect built on a Bucket Brigade MN3007 chip³, and MXR also supports optional external mode switching via the CTRL jack⁶.

For players who find the top end too bright, MXR's manual suggests running the pedal into the return of an amp's FX loop or a full-range, flat-response speaker system for a subtler high-end response⁶.

What reviewers said

Reviews were broadly positive on the concept and tones, with one consistent criticism: noise⁵⁷.

• Guitar World found "some unwanted hiss and noise when running at high volumes, less so than the original units, but still enough to be noticeable"⁵.
• Guitar.com listed a "high noisefloor" among its cons, saying "the level of background hiss, even in the clean modes, is hard to ignore"⁷. On the plus side it called the pedal compact and cleverly designed, and concluded: "If you want those 80s sounds, then yes, this is surely the easiest way to get them"⁷.

Price

Published US prices disagree. Guitar World and MusicRadar list the pedal at $229⁵², while Guitar.com and MXR's own store list it at $245.99⁵²¹¹. UK prices are given as £249 to £249.99⁵¹¹. For comparison, an original X100 in good shape was already going above $100, sometimes $150, on the used market back in 2008¹⁰.

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