Tech 21 SansAmp PSA-1 Preamp

Price Paid: US $350 used

Features: 10
Solid state preamp that uses analogue modeling to reproduce just about any other amplifier realisticly. Has eight control knobs on the front, each with 256 incremental steps meaning a total of 1.845x10^19 possible configurations, but probably only ~10,000 user differentiable settings. The control knobs are lockable so that people don't mess with my settings. Up and down buttons to switch between presets are located on the front as well as an imbeded save button which prevents accidentally deleting presets. Save button can be pushed using a pick.

Front and Rear 1/4" input
Stereo 1/4" output
MIDI I/O
Effects Loop with 50/50 switch
Stereo XLR output (very handy)
LED display
Jack for momentary footswitch

I use it for all of my live performances and practicing when I get a chance to bring it home.

100 Presets: 1-49 : Factory Defaults
51-99 : User Defined
00 & 50 : Bypass

Sound Quality: 9
Guitar: Ibanez RGs, Epiphone Sheraton
Musical Styles: Progressive Metal, Hard Rock, Bebop, Fusion, Free
Form

This preamp can do just about anything I've asked from it. When playing my Ibanezs I can get booming, heavy rhythm, screaming leads, shimmering cleans and glassy jazz tones. This thing is the best reproduction of tube quality without actually being a tube amp.

The only problem I've had with this preamp is when I've used it with my Epiphone Sheraton to produce jazz sounds. The tone quality is decent, but I think that particular guitar would sound better through a vintage combo tube amp.

Reliability: 10
Never had any problems, failures or glitches with the system. No tubes to break in the middle of a show and I still get tube quality!!!

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with them, haven't heard anything about them.

Overall Rating: 10
Playing for 6 years.
If this preamp were stolen I would try to find another used one, or just pay the extra money and buy the new model; Sansamp PSA-1.1. It's the same as the original except they've added a master volume knob.

Guitars:
- Ibanez RG350DX w/ EMG 60 (Neck) & 81 (Bridge)
- Ibanez RG1570 w/ Dimarzio Air Norton (Neck), HS-2 (Mid) &
EVO 2 (Bridge)
- Epiphone Sheraton (ES335 style)

Rig: Guitar-> Morley Bad Horsie 2 Wah->Ernie Ball Volume Pedal->
PSA-1 Sansamp (TC Electronic G-Major in Effect Loop)-> Samson
Servo 260 Power Amp -> Modded Peavy 10" cabs
*PSA-1 and G-Major controlled by a Rocktron Midimate
Rack powered by a Furman Power Conditioner

Love: Amazing reproduction of tube quality tones
Hate: Nothing

There is only one thing I would add to this unit which would be a larger LED screen so that the preset names could be displayed. Seeing numbers on the front doesn't always tell you a lot about a preset.

I used my Dad's amps since I started playing and this is the first amplifier that I've personally owned and it may be the last. I spent at least 5 years playing different amps and listening to see which was right for me. I played Mesa, Marshall, Line6, Digitech, Vox, Peavy, Seymour Duncan, Crate... the list goes on and on. When it came to the best combination of versatility, tone and reliability, the PSA-1 came out on top.

For anybody that has had trouble getting a good sound out of this amp, make sure you use a solid state power amp and FULLRANGE speakers. The PSA-1 is designed to be used for more than guitars, so it was meant to be put through PA speakers.

Submitted by Graehme Floyd at 06/03/2006 15:09

Price Paid: US $600

Ease of Use: 6
The manual is very helpful for this product. Editing patches is a breeze, but getting the sound you want out of the unit is tough. Someone said there is no midrange knob, there is! The PUNCH knob! Buzz, Punch, Crunch all determine low, mid, and high distortion breakup. The Drive button simulates Power tube distortion, while the Pre-Amp button simulates tube preamp distortion. The low and high knobs act as a clean frequnecy boost. I suggest wandering thru the presets to see what the unit can do when you first get it. The controls and the way the patches work are quite strange at first and requires some practice to work the unit correctly. Getting a good sound is easy on this unit, but getting the sound you want is tough. Each knob has 256 incremental steps, when you factor in 8 different knobs, that is way over 8 billion different sounds! There is a definite learning curve with this unit, but once you get it, you can get exactly what you want.

Sound Quality: 9
I use this unit with my 5 string bass and I feed the sound from the PSA-1 straight into my Aguilar DB680, then to my QSC Power Amp. You can get many distortions: overdrive, growl, crunch, fuzz, thick thin, insane, anything you want. The unit has an inherent tube sound even though there are no tubes in it. The tube emulated sound is NOT better than the real thing, I must add. But, the sound coming from this unit sounds great! There is some noise on this unit when certain knobs are too high, but what unit is SILENT with distortion? (I haven't found one...). Rex Brown of Pantera, Byron Stroud of Fear Factory, Oliver Riedel of Rammstein, Tony Campos of Static-X, Adam Duce of Machine Head, Paulo Pinto of Sepultura; all of them use this unit to get fantastic bass distortion. I loved all their sounds and I got a unit that can create what they have. This unit is best for distorted sounds (my opinion). The unit can do clean sounds, but I prefer my Aguilar DB 680 preamp over that idea though. The Distortion off this unit is excellent, and NOTHING on the market even comes close to this unit.

Reliability: 10
Very Reliable and easy to use while playing live. I gig without a backup because, hey, I don't have an $600 for a backup!

Customer Support: 8
They have emailed me back on certain questions and have been very helpful.

Overall Rating: 10
I love Heavy Metal and Rock. The unit requires patience from the user. If you want something easier to work with, don't buy this! This unit is COMPLEX, but rewards you with awesome tone if you give it a chance. The Unit keeps the low end of my bass very well. The distortion on this thing is very responsive to my playing and that is by far the best part. The knobs sometimes act "wierd" on you; the knobs may not create a tone change until 3 seconds after you move it. The ability to have 50 presets makes up for that though. If you want a large selection of distortion sounds for bass that sound like your bass heroes, buy this unit. If you never want to use a STOMP BOX for distortion ever again, buy this unit. Stomp Boxes don't even come close to the sound quality of the PSA-1. I will never part with it. $600 is expensive, but worth it!

Submitted by Kevin Glenn at 09/05/2005 13:48

Price Paid: ż 350,-- (euro) used

Features: 9
Great, no unnessary buttons and options. Just what you need and programable too. I use my PSA-1 together with de G- Major from TC Electronics and the X15 Ultra Foot from Art. Works perfect together.

Sound Quality: 9
This is the best I have heard for al long time. I have had an POD XT Pro but that's nothing compared with the Sansamp. The XT "feels" digital where PSA "feels" and sounds analog with lots of gain but clean also very impressive. I'm playing a Blade RH-4 with EMG's wich is a perfect combination. The amp is capable of creating many different sound from very clean to brutal ditorsions. Also in high volumes the sound blows out of your speakers, in my case 2 Marshall 1912 through a Valvestate 8008 amp.

Reliability: 9
No problems yet, seems very reliable.

Customer Support: 7
No idea.

Overall Rating: 9
If it were stolen or lost, I would try to find another one.

Submitted by Tjalling at 06/28/2005 12:01

Price Paid: US $299.00

Ease of Use: 10
It's just knobs,although,you do need to learn how they work together.

Sound Quality: 9
I always give sound quality a 9 'cause it can always be better.This unit kicks ass.It doesn't have a mid control knob,but,this is a different type of circuitry.By cutting the highs and lows you get a shit load of mids,I like mids.There is so much range in this unit that I have my highs less than half way and my lows a little more than half way.I get perfect mids this way.The distortions are clear and brutal,cleans are cleans.I use a Les Paul and ESP BARITONE w/EMG 81's through a Marshall Valvestate power amp and regular cabinets.This unit does sound better through full range speakers and a completely transparent solid state power amp,but,fuck it.My set up still kicks ass.

Reliability: 10
I've had it for three years with no problems.

Customer Support: 10
The Lloyd dude is cool.No matter how stupid you might sound,he'll answer any question.

Overall Rating: 10
For the money,you can't get any better.I play death metal and it's perfect.It does sound like a tube head.I've been playing for 8 years and have tried all the Marshall's,Mesa's,and so on.Trust me,you don't need to slam down 13 hundred bucks,fuck the novelty and fuck the purists.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/25/2004 21:38

Price Paid: US $550

Ease of Use: 7
U NEED to know how to work the very unique controls on this, in order to get the tone u want, so READ THE MANUAL!!!

Sound Quality: 10
this thing sounds amazing!! At first, I was a bit dissapointed, because i matched it up with a SS power amp; like I was told to by someone at tech 21, and I just didnt get the sounds i thought i should (I was running it into a mesa boogie recto 4x12). Then i was told to use full range speakers..... well, I ran it through some cheapo home made P.A cabinet made with radio shack speakers, and BOOM!! there was my sound!! I couldnt believe how incredible it sounded! The mesa boogie's, the marshalls, the fenders(the fenders did lack a little, but still sounded great), all the sounds were there. i was told that guitar speakers added too much midrange and that what was needed was full range speakers. well these cheap radio shack speakers did the job. can u imagine what it would sound like through a top of the line P.A cab? Well, this cheapo P.A cab wasnt mine, so all I had was my mesa cab. i did find out that by running an EQ in the effects loop, u can cut out the mids that are added by guitar speakers and improve the sound greatly. Ultimately, I'd like to maybe build a 4x12 cab with full range speakers, but for now the EQ does the job. Once u see what this sounds like through full range speakers, you'll see what I mean.

Reliability: 10
S.S, so u cant go wrong

Customer Support: 10
I called tech 21 and emailed them several times and I always got and intelligent, honest and professional responses from them

Overall Rating: 10
this is the best preamp for its price range. Hook it up to a P.A cab or any type of full range speakers (radio shack!!) and you'll see just how amazing this thing is. Also try cutting the mids with an eq if you use a guitar cab with it.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/08/2004 08:58

Price Paid: 700 (euros)

Features: 9
fantastic interface. Includes so much control to shape the sound.
low and hi eq settings. no mid but the way eq is designed make this useless. i wish it had a more specifically (intended) direct record output. the perfect gear just to name it.

Sound Quality: 9
PRS CUSTOM 24 goes trough PSA-1- empirical lab Distressor ont the PSA FX LOOP- psa outputs then go to : PDA 9 PALMER SPKR EMULATION (right) GI 100 BERINGHER sPEAKER SIM and then to a mackie 1604 mixer to a Digidesign M BOX TO live (ableton)on a MAC G4 for DAW. I also own a modified JMP-1 preamp that sounds amazing (far better than the original. i've had tons of gear as a hi-tech fashion victim (V AMP PRO, pod XT)But i must admit that this box is, as already mentionned, far far far very far from is so called competitors. Attack is so precise, distorsions are..how to say... the sound you always have dreamt of for tube distorsion preamp (since it has tube). i won't get into details on the incredible sound of this preamp...whatever you think your sound is lacking of (pod, Vamp etc.) with your actual gear is in it. i'm serious. The only reproach i have is for direct recording purpose..i 've forgot miking long time ago. the PSA DIRECT SOUND still very 'trebly and harsh to be recorded direct TO MY OPINION. So i once add a PDI 09 PALMER SPKR SIM AND ON THE OTHER OUPTPUT A BERINGHER GI-100. I highly recommend this set up for direct recording with psa-1. the result is frankly superb. given the price of these box no risk. YOU GET THE TONE line 6, digitech or roland just can't approach and i also use theses box. clean sounds are also fantastic..never thought i could get a SRV sound with a PRS..BUT IT IS. I rate it to 9 just because i have to add spk sim to get that untouchable tone.

Reliability: 10
i've been using it for 3 years now : never the beginning of a problem. It's a tank.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
Playing for 18 years. almost 70's things and this is a must have. the digital craps users should have a try. would buy it again. nothing else.

Submitted by mathieu winckel at 09/14/2004 07:26

Price Paid: US $600

Ease of Use: 8
It's an 8 because sometimes the value lights are not right...
And I have had flakey results with the mapping MIDI presets in the unit... But They really are Minor Issues... It has never failed and sounds the same every day I use it. Ones it's set up to how I like it. It's easy to tweek a setting (If I needs a little more volume) and to and save with a pick.

Sound Quality: 8
Sound is great on this unit. But I liked my old Peavey Rockmaster Better... But... After buying a QSC power amp that changed a lot... Do not use a TUBE amp.
Here is my set up.
Morley Wah -> Diditech Wammy ->
PSA-1 =>EFX LOOP -> EQ -> G-Force <= EFX return
PSA-1 Line OUT => BBE Sonic Maximiser -> QSC-850
PSA-1 XLR OUT => Mixer (for PA/Recording)

Everything is MIDI controled by a Ground Control and the CFX-Looper.
Yeah I am a control Freek!

I find the BBE in to the board is a little too Bassy, And not exactly what I am going for.

I love what the Sonic Maximiser can do to your sound... If your a guitar player, Get one.

Reliability: 9
Yeah. I have never had it not work... And it gets used a lot.
I was recording some stuff and I was hearing this pooping sound...
I thought it was from the PSA-1.. I Riped my Rig apart tring to find it... Well It was my 12 Year old Sonic Maximiser. Bought a new one. and my sound is so clean now...

Customer Support: 10
Fine, I never had a manual it was the store demo unit and the manual was gone??? the sent me a new one. Nice to see that!

Overall Rating: 9
Distortion is killer and the Clean is a little plane, but with the rest of my EFX I can fix that right up... It is a dependable, MIDI, No Tube, Preamp.
One thing I would like to see here is what power Amp is everyone using...

Submitted by Robert Davis at 08/30/2004 08:36

Price Paid: US $700 used

Features: 10
This Pre-amp is for professional users or medium users becose it functíon is different to multieffects. Works with various frecuency and differents controls in the panel.

Sound Quality: 10
My set up is: Yamaha guitar model RGXTT, and RGX820Z, both with Seymor dunkan Pickups, Chameleon 2000 for perfect efects and POD XT PRO for some effects. I love this pre-amp I tried with others Pre-amps: Line6 PODXT PRO, V-amp PRO, Marshall JMP-1, ADA MP1&MP-2, and the best is PSA-1, maybe Tri-axis Mesabooguie is good, Voodo Labs is very good, Prophesy also good, piranha is good, but PSA-1 is more versatyle and the Distortion is vERY VERY BRUTAL...I´m play the guitar in a Fusión Band: Heavy Progressive,Metal Fusión, Funk, some Blues,ETC and PSA-1 is the winner. I tried record direct with PSA-1 and is very Brutal Pre, I´m sessión music, not POD XT is a TOY, NOT V-AMP, is a cheap TOY, Maybe JMP-1 is decent, Triaxis very Expensive, Vodoo Labs Expensive, try with PSA-1 is the best.

Reliability: 9
All OK

Customer Support: 10
Very well, I lost my owner manual and LLoyd send my the manual the next day, perfect.

Overall Rating: 10
PSA-1 is a versatile pre in comparition with others preamps, brutal distortión, clean very well, is a PROFESIONAL PRE. For direct perfect, in studio perfect, Exellent Quality, Exellent Sound, Exellent price, I love it.

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/05/2004 23:08

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
Powerfull simlicity. This thing has 3 buttons, a couple pots, and an array of I/O. Everybody else has explained its features so no use. This is probably one of the best solid state guitar/bass preamps ever made. I give it a nine because I own three of them and they can be a little quirky.

Sound Quality: 9
Clean tone is a little generic, but add a little overdrive and badabing, its sounds good. This thing is also great for bass. The only problem with the unit is that it sounds like the back of my ass when put through a tube amp. You must use a solid state amp for this unit to have it sound good. It has nice thick distortion ( a little noisy) that doesn´t sound aat all solid state.

Reliability: 8
Has some problems everyonce in a while with its pot recal. The blinking lights sometimes don´t seem to guide you in the right dsirection, but works eventually with a little patience.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 8
Good unit but not the best thing to buy for ditortion.

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/02/2004 21:47

Price Paid: US $300 used

Features: 10
Excessive distorsion tweaks, no more no less

Sound Quality: 10
I play this unit throuhg a Behringer 412s box, on my ibanez rg with seymour duncan hotrails.
This preamp is great. for all you who doesnt like it i suggest trying it out with the correcte equipment. full range speakers and a clean power amp. i can get all kinds of sounds of of this little unit. i have tried some other ams, like the peavey 5150 (way too much fuzz) and som mesa stuff (can be emulated =)

Reliability: 10
never fails. i have gigged on it without a backup and i still will!

Customer Support: 10
well they are very nice to help with manuals and questions but thats all i've tried

Overall Rating: 10
if it got stolen i would fetch my rifle.
i got this special model with red front and a real signature. made in 100-ish units throughout europe.
i just love it!

Submitted by Bearwolf at 07/20/2004 06:49

Price Paid: US $399

Features: 10
I bought the preamp for a rack setup for live shows in 2002. Features are standard, really for this type of preamp, except it doesn't do an fx. That's fine with me, I only wanted core tone from my preamp anyway. The place where this unit shines is versatility in tone, and the ability to take a signal to the board with the XLR outs, as well as drive a power amp and speaker with the 1/4" outs. Stereo FX loop is nice.

Sound Quality: 9
Ok. I use PRS CE-22's and McCarty model guitars. THe current setup in the rack is as follows: Carvin UHF Wireless > PSA-1 > TC Gmajor in FX loop > Mesa 50/50 > 2 2x12 Mesa recto cabs. I am a guns for hire guitarist (and sound engineer) so I need to have versatility in my sound. I play all types of rock, blues, jazz, funk styles. It depends who's hiring me for the session/live show. My own project is a mix of progressive rock and blues. This thing nails it all with the live setup. What really blew me away was the ability to take the direct signal and a signal from a mic'ed amp/cab and mix them live and in the studio. Whoa. I was half mast the whole time.

Cleans are impressive and full, moreso than any other direct preamp I've heard, and nicer than some boutique amps I own. I disagree with other posts here about the slight-breakup settings. I find them very workable, and mixed with the signal from the power amp are great. The heavy distortions will kick yoru ass across the room. Tight low end, aggressive punch, and clear definition. It reacts very well to picking dynamics and hands down is the easiest to pull useable on key feedback in all the high gain settings of all preamps I've used.

I've put this up agains my Triaxis, and it held it's own. I'd say it was 98% as good as the triaxis preamp, and some settings were nicer.

As a sound engineer, nothing's a 10 on tone, but it's a very solid 9.

Reliability: 10
I've roaded this live for over 2 years, and it's seen every type of situation from studio work to shit bars and larger venues. I stopped bringing a backup after 6 months. It's solid state, and it's a tank.

I'd say 10 on reliability.

Customer Support: 9
Lloyd is an excellent technician to deal with, and is not only prompt but extremely knowledgeable. He answered all my questions and then sugested settings and gear to work with it. Good form, Tech 21!

Overall Rating: 10
It's a 10 folks. If you can't get it to sound good, you're doing something wrong. Check the surrounding gear or try it direct.

Overall, I give it a 10.

Submitted by David at 07/06/2004 16:53

Price Paid: US $630

Ease of Use: 9
The Sansamp PSA 1 is a very special and serious preamp. It has something for almost everyone which is saying a lot. It is arguably the best professional preamp in its class and also better in some aspects than preamplifiers that cost twice as much.. My experience has been that certain trends in popular gear that tries to cover a lot of sonic ground tends to spread itself too thin and as a result gets passed over by serious musicians. Not so with the Sansamp PSA 1. This unit is setup to be used right out of the box with Presets that are emulations of popular amplifiers or ‘signature’ tones of famous musicians. The Presets differ from many other companies Presets in the sense that these are not voiced just to sound good in the demo rooms and consequently make a sale based on the showcasing ability of the unit; Rather the Presets are carefully tweaked emulations that are authentic sounding and will have real world use.

The easiest way to get started is to dial in a Preset that you like and tweak the sound using the knobs to adjust gain, treble, bass etc. For someone who would like to dive in deep this unit has plenty to offer too. This unit has control pots that are actually digital rotary encoders with 256 increments each. Multiply that to the number of knobs and you can imagine how many possible combinations one can get with this unit. The great part of this part of the interface being digital is that you can store near infinite combinations to memory of which there are 50 banks. Plus you will not have the usual wear and scratchy pots syndrome with these encoders (Controls)
To create your own sounds that are based on real amplifiers, I’d suggest reading the manual to understand the function of each control. The controls are very precise and fast acting, if you are used to dialling in with a lot of movement you may overcompensate! The manual states which controls emulate poweramp distortion etc. Along with the standard EQ which is in the form of treble & bass, you have parametric distortion/tone EQ in which each knob affects a specific frequency of a dialled in tone The rest of the preamp is pure FET based analogue circuitry. I will not go into the authenticity of the tones in this review as I feel that aspect has been covered by earlier reviews and forums instead I’d focus on a few other aspects.
Do not confuse this Preamp with the Physical modelling toys that masquerade as preamps. The Sansamp is a REAL preamp. I do not have anything against digital (in fact I love digital technology) but most of the Physical modelling amplifiers barring a select few just don’t cut it like a real amplifier. The problems lie with dealing with the non linearity’s of physics, optimising and economising algorithms for DSP and the very quality of the software code being written to emulate real amplifiers and effects. A good virgin vinyl record played on a reference grade gear has a bandwidth of 100Khz and a top flight tweaked spool tape recorder around 400Khz! When some folks complain that the CD did not sound as sweet as vinyl they were not kidding! One might argue that since the average hearing is around 20Hz to 20Khz what’s the point in having bandwidth above/below that. The fact is some people do hear above 20 Khz and energy can be felt at lower Hertz. Just because you can’t hear it audibly does not mean its not there! Ignoring the fact that there is non linear physics at work is why we probably have models of 400W power amps in jelly bean plastic boxes that run on 9volts and sound caricaturish! If it were possible to digitally clone a Class A tube amp like a Trainwreck or Boogie or Matchless DC 30 or the likes for $ 200 then they’d be out of business faster than you could say “Yikes!”. In the studio I recorded a clean guitar part and played the same lick using Amp emulation plug-ins and Sansamp in the loop. Although both sounds were good, nearly everyone said the Sansamp had more “bloom” and “definition”. That’s what you get wit

Sound Quality: 9
This preamp works best with Solid state power amps although there are some who may disagree. I heard this with a Mesa Tube power section where I liked the sounds of the distorted Presets but I am not so convinced that the clean sounds are that good. When the power amp was switched to a Bryston 300W Power amp with enormous headroom the entire rig came alive. Distortions were powerful and low ends taut, cleans were sparkly and chime like and overdrives were articulate and had nuance. As with any gear synergy is paramount. Solid state seems better suited to this preamp. Do not use this with Celestion vintage 30s or other wonderful typical guitar cabs. It is designed to be used with full range cabinets which are available from Tech 21 and you can also find others. I use fender US deluxe guitars and Les Paul custom through the Sansamp. Of course you have to change the gain levels while using the same Presets while switching guitars. The Sansamp PSA 1 is a very quiet preamp, even on extreme settings it is much quieter than a Marshall JMP-1 which constantly buzzes and hums at extreme settings. The mesa boogie triaxis too is also pretty quiet. In any case, most of us use noise gates at some stage. Since I use this in a home studio setting, my output is through monitors. I think this preamp sounds best using the FX loop instead of taking a signal output from the Sansamp to a DSP and then to power amp. The serial connections destroy the tone. I suspect that happens when your signal hits the D/A converter of your FX unit. A 50/50 mix sounds good to my ears and there is a neat little switch at the back that allows for this.I will give it a 9.

Reliability: 8
The Unit seems very reliable and I think it should perform well under any normal circumstance provided it is not abused. I think that it does not tolerate voltage fluctuations very well. Sometimes, I have noticed that strange things happen like Blinking lights or non responsive controls which are remedied by restarting the unit. Use a UPS or Line stabiliser like furman.

Customer Support: 10
I did get in touch with the company when I first bought the unit in relation to some voltage conversion queries and power amp that I had, since I live in a country where we have 220 VAC. Tech 21 customer support exemplifies what a good company should be. Lloyd , the Product manager is prompt, courteous, informative and goes a long way to solve your issues even if they are not immediately related to their product. Fantastic company. Morley is another company I think stand out in terms of customer service. I will always buy newer products from such companies because they offer much more than advice and support. I have faith in their vision. I say this because I have gear from Alesis ,Roland, Boss, Yamaha…Worst service ever. Some did not even bother to reply even when I said I had some defunct units that need immediate attention. I guess that is how it is with some Mega corporations.

Overall Rating: 10
My favourite guitarists are Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson, Morse, Abercrombie, SRV, Scofield and David Gilmour of the Crazy saints. I tend to like progressive and blues and the jazz masters. This unit can cover a lot of the tones I hear on the Cds. As a preamp it covers a lot of sonic territory and covers them well. It definitely is not one pointed and is very broad in tonal range although I am sure it cannot please everyone. Check with your sonic goals first. I’ve been playing since I was 16 and am 32 now. I have some vintage pedals and racks, and I am saving up to buy a lexicon PCM 81 or maybe a Lexicon MPX 1 if I can’t save enough!

If it were stolen, I’d become a monk. Learn Shaolin Kung Fu so as not to be violent with the perpetrator of the crime but demonstrate to him how lucky he was not born a brick and buy another unit! This one is a design classic. One point I’d like to make: I hope some companies like Tech 21 never stop making rugged all steel chassis and knobs and gear with that solid feel. It infuriates me to see gear (even expensive ones) nowadays that are made for fairies from lala-land. All those yucky plastic knobs and super soft membrane keys look ok on a Casio calculator. Professional audio gear should have none of that. If the customer pays good money for gear he/she should in no way be part of this “planned obsolescence” corporate jig where the components are known to fail within a certain period. Some of the footcontrollers I have seen are actually made for gnomes.

I compared it with A Mesa boogie Triaxis and Marshall JMP 1 as I was considering only preamps. The triaxis is one of the best there is but I did not like all the distortion sounds, I detected a mid range that was not very pleasing to me plus it is quite expensive. The JMP-1 was great on distortion but hisses too much. The JMP’s cleans were not to my liking. The PSA 1 was a no brainer. Best choice for me.

Anything I wish It had:
It is very difficult to critique this unit as it is so good. Anyway here are my suggestions:

1. A mid range knob would be nice. In all fairness I think that’s not possible because of the lack of real estate on the front faceplate.
2. The PSA 1 really shines on distorted and clean settings, The overdrive is not as spectacular especially the decays. This is only relative though.
3. I wish the unit remembered the patch last used while powering down. If this means the addition of an onboard battery then I can live without the feature as I would not like to live with the worry that the battery has to be replaced every year as most onboard memory batteries are not user changeable.
4. A power on/off switch would be nice. If tech 21 feels real estate is a problem they could make it at the back of the rack like some other units.
5. The Power cord: This one I have a real gripe with. I wish they did not make it connected direct to the unit as power cords often get caught on something or can just get frayed from use. It cannot be easily changed. It would make sense just to have a female socket on board wherein the cord would just need to be replaced. If the size of the rack is a constraint, tech 21 can increase the depth of the unit to accommodate the female socket.
6. I wish the top and sides and screws were aluminium/stainless instead of steel. This unit is a keeper. It should definitely look good for years and not rust as it does. Often screws rust and get locked in and are difficult to remove while servicing.
7. I wish the manual stated the process used to arrive at the tones they programmed. Trial and error iterative process can take up a lot of your time in nailing new sounds.

All these are very minor to say the least, some might say I’m being overtly critical, but hey! You asked for my opinion!

For those who want a summary the PSA 1 has more answers than questions to its credit. Sure it’s not perfect but it is one of those units that you will have longer than most. I dont know of any other unit that does what it doe

Submitted by Goldie at 06/11/2004 04:36

Price Paid: US $300 used

Features: 9
I bought this off of Ebay for about $300 several years ago and have used it extensively on stages/clubs of all sizes and in various recording studios. This has all the features I need or want in a preamp for my live rack setup (where I don't need effects loops and the like in your preamp because I'm using loop switchers for the stompboxes and running the preamp outs through my signal processors anyway). I like my preamps to do one job and do it well... function as the TONE generator for my system. I don't need or desire these preamp-with-FX boxes that try to do it all... I use high-end outboard gear for FX, noise gating, etc. At any rate, the PSA-1 is VERY easy to program, very simple layout, great design in terms of the recessed save button and MIDI memory protect features, switches presets instantly and noiselessly, and fulfills its purpose as a straight-ahead tone-generator flawlessly with no scrolling menus (digital crap!) or endless button pushing (Triaxis!).

Sound Quality: 9
I play primarily PRS Standards and Customs, with the occasional Strat, Les Paul or Parker thrown into the mix. VHT power amps, Mesa Rectifier cabs, TC Electronic signal processing, Electrix Filters, Adrenalinn, custom boutique stompboxes, Axess Electronics loop switcher for all pedal effects, balanced monster cabling throughout the rack, impedance buffering, power conditioning, etc etc. My signal is clean and strong, and anything not being used in a given preset gets automatically switched out of the signal path for ultimate clarity and tone. I'm a programming FREAK with all my gear and an audio engineer as well... spent four years studying how all this shit works and spent way too much time comparing gear in an objective setting to determine it's real capabilities. I'll break this rating section down into two categories:

1. Recording/Direct into PA:
For recording direct or playing live into a PA, this preamp gets a solid 10. Fantastic high gain capabilities, tight low end, brutal aggressive distortion... for metal and hard rock guys this will do the modern rectifier sound better than any preamp I've tried yet in the studio, and also allows you alot more control and versatility than the real thing. Also does lovely spanky or pristine cleans and very good medium overdriven/Fender w/Tubescreamer type of tones. I'm an engineer and a producer and also use the POD in the studio constantly (like everyone else, believe it or not) but this box gets a comparable direct tone with a much more in-your-face aggressive edge to it (and more definition at high gain settings) than the POD can manage. Not quite as "polished" a sound as the POD, which is usually ready to sit in a mix with no tweaking, but definitely in the same playing field. However, this same "polished" hi-fi tonal characteristic of the POD is also what makes it suck so much ass in a live setting, whereas the PSA-1 can actually make a go of it on stage and in the rehearsal studio.

2. Live through a rack setup w/VHT Tube power amp and MESA 4x12 guitar cab (V30s)
I used this preamp exclusively for a while in my live setup and I was very happy with the tight low end, brutal yet defined high gain, and lovely cleans. Cleans arene't quite on the level of a Triaxis or Egnater, but the high gain stuff kills those two all-tube boxes that cost about 3x as much. However, I did find that in a band setting I never could quite get the PSA-1 to really cut through the mix without upping the High setting, which is very sensitive and very quickly goes into "buzzy ice-pick" territory and gives the sound a very "hard" thin quality. And believe me I tweaked this box for many long nights and used a variety of different amps and cabs. Attempts at running an outboard EQ or using the Presence and Gain controls on the Power Amp were not successful, as you can't add in frequency that's not there with some amplitude to begin with without getting all kinds of phase artifacts and noise. There is also this slightly buzzy quality to the distortion, similar to the Mesa REctifier but not NEARLY as bad or pronounced... it's not something that jumps out at you right away but a timbre that wears at your ear after a while and begins to get annoying. What I discovered is this: the main problem with this box is it is really lacking in the all-important mids/upper-mids frequency range, which is where the guitar is strongest and finds its place in a typical bass-drums scenario. So while the preamp sounds great by itself through a power amp/cab setup due to the tight low end and high gain clarity, it really gets lost once your low end gets dominated by the kick and bass and you're left with a very skimpy midrange and a high end that has no punch or cut and which you end up boosting to try to cut through the mix... this is what leads to this overly bright and hard sound. However, this box has proven so reliable, so easy to program, and such a godsend for the

Reliability: 10
Been running this thing for up to 6 hours every day for the last 3 years (and I bought it used), dragging it all over the East coast for touring and recording, and it's never crapped out on me. Every now and then after LONG sessions the LCDs might start bugging out a little when programming tones, but this is quickly rectified by switching presets and then switching back. Never had ANY problems live whatsoever.

Customer Support: 9
Not too sure about this one, but they've been pretty informative the couple times I've called with questions. They're a small NYC outfit, so I gotta give the home team props.

Overall Rating: 10
Purely in terms of value (i.e. - bang for the buck) this preamp absolutely destroys every other preamp I've tried, and that's almost everything out there under $2000. I've owned, tweaked and extensively tested the Mesa Triaxis, Mesa Studio, Rocktron Prophesy, Voodoo Valve, Piranha, Hafler Triple Giant, Egnater IE4, Voodoo Lab Preamp, POD Pro, and a whole host of various Digitech, ADA, and other related crap that I don't care to remember the names of.... not to mention a ridiculously long line of Marshall, VHT, Mesa and many other amps. I've spent countless hours running preamps through line-switchers through identical setups side-by-side for accurate comparison through a bevy of VHT and MESA poweramps and cabinets. My conclusions: If you're into tight, heavy, high gain guitar tones there's nothing out there that does this sound better than the PSA-1 IMHO, and it's clean and medium overdrive tones are very good and useable as well. Great sounds for direct recording, great sounds for live performance (especially if you go direct to the board), and very good sounds through a power amp/cabinet setup. Like I said before, every piece of gear has it's own tone and distortion characteristics, and this box DOES have a "Sound" that you can never really dial out... if you like this type of distortion then you're all set. If not, then keep looking. The PSA-1 is a bit lacking in the punchy mids and smooth low gain overdrive tones that a high-end all-tube preamp will excel in, but at this price with this many great tones it just doesn't get any better. This one's a keeper!

Submitted by Razor at 06/08/2004 14:53

Price Paid: 2000 (R$)

Features: 7
Os controles estăo todos lá. Com nomes subjetivos como, buzz?? punch! etc.
fica faltando um controle de médio, até um medio grave e outro médio agudo poderiam dar mais respaldo a busca do som. Com paciencia vc chega onde quer.
50 bancos para salvar seus ampplis é mutio pouco. ( comece a explorar e verá - jah tive que me desfazer de vários)

Sound Quality: 9
Uma gama enorme de sons, com presets bem feitos, atente só a sua guita. Uma telecaster năo soa como uma Kramer!
excelente para sons limpos e drives para blues e rock´n´roll. Agora pra metal ( que eu toco), deixa a desejar, dependendo do punc q vc espera, năo rola perfeito năo, mas como é um emulador de amplis, qual assim soa?

Reliability: N/A
A assistencia tecnica em osasco é excelente (perto da prefeitura). Comprei uasdo, mandei dar uma revisăo e tá tudo ok

Customer Support: N/A
!!

Overall Rating: 9
pelo preço e as opçőes, este é o cara! năo emula microfones como o Pod e o V-amp, mas pra ligar direto no ampli é o melhor. Dá pau facil no JMP 1 da marshall

Submitted by Roger at 03/31/2004 20:29

Price Paid: US $549.99

Ease of Use: 10
The PSA-1 is very simple to use. Plug it in and let it rip! Some people have said it lacks mid settings, some say it acts randomly...I say boloney! I have been a recording artist for 10 years and find the PSA-1 without flaw. If you know what you're doing, this piece is amazing, if not, then you are an amateur and need not buy this product.

Sound Quality: 10
Absolutely quiet. I have read here that some people say it is a bit noisy, I don't see how it oculd be. I have used POD Pro, XT, Digitech 2112, 2120 and this piece is the most quiet. (Note to those who say it is noisey: Check your cables, connections, and other hardware.) I'm using the PSA-1 in my rig with Furman Rackrider, DOD EQ, Digitech 2112, Ultrafex, and a compressor. Amplification: Marshall SL-X JCM900 head, 2 1960B cabs, Crate GX-900h head, 2 crate 4x12 cabs. The PSA-1 blows the POD and digitech products out of the water. Don't waste your money on BS, get the PSA-1.

Reliability: 10
Dependable to the max. Very durable. Rugged; made for touring. Enough said.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with.

Overall Rating: 10
I perform industrial music and the PSA-1 with my custom ESP guitars and EMG 81 pickups that cuts through any mix with an apocalyptic twisted metal sound. I love my PSA-1. I no longer use my Digitech or Line 6 products as my front runner, they are now secondary units. Direct recording with the PSA-1 is unreal. I CAN SUM THIS PRODUCT UP IN TWO WORDS: SIMPLY AMAZING.

Submitted by D at 03/12/2004 03:21

Price Paid: US $450

Ease of Use: 5
While non-standard for a guitar amp, editing controls are easy to understand and very effective. Unfortunately, there are not infinite-rotary pots, so values abruplty jump from the current to the memorized one. Master volume is stored with each preset, and changes when switching from one preset to the other. No power on switch. Someone could find the latters not so important, but for me they are major shortcomings.

Sound Quality: 10
The sound quality is simply stunning. Devastating distortions, autoritative cleans, loud and incisive bass settings. A different color than my JCM800, but exactly the sound(s) I was looking for for certain pieces.
As for audio quality, it is great. I go direct to the digital recorder, and I've plenty of volume and punch, with the greatest definition.

Reliability: 6
Pots are of the cheapest kind, and the software is buggy (for example, sometimes you turn a pot counter-clockwise, and the "down" value dot indicates this change; but when turning it clock-wise, the original value cannot be restored). The (older) PSA-1 of one of my friends behaves rather randomly. I'm not too confident it can last forever.

Customer Support: N/A
They were very helpful before purchase, but I could not receive answers to the two emails I sent them _after_ purchase. Maybe they simply went lost...

Overall Rating: 9
I play mostly deranged variants of metal. The PSA-1 fits them perfectly. With higher dynamics and much better definition than the POD or the V-Amp, it can be used shamelessly in studio. If broken or lost, I would certainly buy another one, but I'm unhappy of the build quality and lack of essential ergonomic features. However, since I got it I'm started composing a lot. This should be a good testament onm its true qualities.

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/09/2004 06:27

Price Paid: US $380 used

Ease of Use: 8
Just migrated from a Line6 POD to the PSA-1, and I've been wanting one for a while. The PSA-1's controls are a little different to the norm, hence the score. The POD's are like amp - if you can't work them you shouldn't be playing electric guitar. The PSA-1 for one doesn't have a midrange control, which takes you by surprise if you're expecting one! The PSA-1 can do it all, though, and one read through the manual will have you all sorted. Also give it an 8 for that sad power cord, it really couldn't have been so hard to give it a standard, kettle-cord type plug socket to make it easier to standardise one's rack. Useablility issue you ask? Yes, I need to use it in my rack, and that power cord is irritating. It could use a power button as well. Minor design gripes, but they need to be mentioned. At the price these go for new, these should be standard issue in the design. A good number of user banks are available, though, unlike the POD.

Sound Quality: 9
Okay, this is what's all about. I'm playing a 1994 PRS Custom 22 into the PSA-1 as a preamp, straight into the 'effects return' jack of a Marshall JCM900 with a 1960B 4x12 cab. The PSA-1 is DEVASTATING. I haven't played a POD XT yet, but I've owned a POD and recorded with a POD Pro, and the PSA-1 kicks the POD out of the picture - there can be no comparison.

I need everything from clean U2 tones to nu-school metal crunch, and the PSA-1 nails everything - and gorgeously I might add. Playing it is like playing any tube amp, it responds to pick dynamics, pick-up type, you name it. I loved it when I played it in the shop, and after I'd taken it home and the novelty had worn off, it was even better! This pre-amp is NOT over-rated.

I particularly like the tight bottom end on the Boogie-esque tones, I found the POD's bottom end to alway get 'flubby' on the Rec setting unless I played a scooped setting. Clean tones are beautiful, and I also disagrre with some reviewers here - the slightly distorted tones are lovely. But that could be pick-ups, I haven't played a Strat into one yet, just my PRS.

The reason I give it a 9 and not a 10 is because the best clean tone I ever heard was from an old Boogie .50 Caliber, and the PSA-1 hasn't quite got me AS excited as I was on that day. It's gets me very close though. And that .50 Caliber could do half the other things this does. Great Fender tones, great Marshall tones, great Boogie tones, and all in one rack-space - with no tubes to crack, blow or be biased. Schweet!

It is a little noisy on the high-gain settings as some have commented, but no more than the quality amps it's emulating. Just need to get a decent 'gate and I'll be fine. I play without one at the moment and it still rocks, the noise doesn't get intrusive if you know your rig and how to control it.

Reliability: N/A
Yes I can depend on it, look really solid. Just don't like that power cable. Would I gig without a back-up? Yes, because I can't afford a back-up! :)

Customer Support: 10
I stay in Cape Town, South Africa. Yeh, that gives this context. there isn't a dealer here, so I had to e-mail to get a manual since I had bought mine 2nd hand. Requested a PDF manual, and got a response the next day. Very friendly, very prompt and very helpful. I had some e-mail hassles, and Maureen made sure i got what I needed. Kudos to Tech 21

Overall Rating: 10
I listen to, love and play just about everything rock. From pop-rock to nu-metal. Been playing for about 8 years. I play everything from teeny clubs to open-air festivals, and I can't afford a back-up rig, so my rig has to be flexible & rugged. The PSA-1 is as good as it gets as far as I'm concerned. If it were stolen I'd first dish out some vigilante justice and get it back, or failing that find another one ASAP. I would not consider anything else. I can't wait to take this into studio when we record soon!

Submitted by David at 02/06/2004 04:25

Price Paid: US part of a trade used

Features: 8
Not sure of the year since I bought it used. This is easily one of the coolest preamps to ever be created. It has no "channels," but it does have 49 factory and 49 user presets. And may I add, this preamp should win an award for being the first piece of electronic gear ever created to have presets so good you never need to use anything else (while at the same time being extremely "tweakable" to appease those people too).

It's got an effects loop I don't use, and I've never tried the direct record outs, but I wouldn't do that anyway. It's, as said before, a solid state device which sounds almost eerily like actual tubes.

Sound Quality: 8
My setup (like you care) is Ibanez, ESP, and Epiphone guitars to PSA-1 to G-Major effects to Randall RT2/50 tube power amp (amazing amp and I'm surprised there are NO reviews of it here). I mostly used the presets, but also filled up about half the user locations with original sounds as well. The tone was great yet not great.

Someone down the page said every tone it made sounded like it came from behind a wall and I agree. I had to constantly crank the presence to the maximum on the Randall and usually turn up the "high" control on the PSA-1 to get a non-muffled sound. This was a bit disappointing, but no big deal.

I disagree with those who said that this sounds bad for mildly overdriven tones, but wholeheartedly agree with the ones who say the clean and fully distorted sounds are incredible. That they are. This made a "rectifier" sound better than my rectifier and the Marshall sounds were much more interesting than any of the countless other boring Marshalls I've owned in the past. I also agree that it has its own tone and though the sounds are close to the amps they're trying to be, they're not exactly the same.

Reliability: 7
No problems in just shy of a year of owning it, don't plan on having any problems since I actually take care of my gear.

Customer Support: 9
I've emailed them about five times and each time the reply came before the day was done, sometimes within an hour. To me, that's good support.

Overall Rating: 8
This is an incredibly good preamp. Rocktron, Digitech, Line 6, throw them all in the trash, they don't hold a candle. The only preamp which beats out the PSA-1 (and this is my opinion, remember) is the TriAxis, but this comes from a die-hard Boogie fan. The PSA-1 makes remarkably good Boogie tones, but not quite as focused as I like them. Still, the PSA-1 is a VERY close second and will be remaining in my rack as a backup.

Submitted by Dan at 01/27/2004 14:24

Price Paid: US $390.00 used

Features: 8
I rate this an 8, because quite frankly it aint supposed to have a tone of features. It's a straight forward Pre Amp. It has all the basic things you need. 2 in's, stereo outs, effects loop with 50/50 switch(depending on your set up this can be very handy). The knobs on the face are very simillar to that of a traditional tube amp, and are labeled acording to what they do. No nonsense here. The Buzz adds Buzz etc. etc. The only thing I wish it had was more MIDI versitility. E.G. make some or all of the face knobs controlable via midi expression pedal. It would be very cool to be able to vary the "Preamp" or "Drive" with your foot on the fly!

Sound Quality: 10
I play in a top 40 bar band, so i need a wide variety of tones at my fingertips. The PSA1 delivers! I play a 1998 Ibanez RG 570, a 1980 Ibanez Artist, and a early 90's Fender American strat. These run into the PSA 1 with a T.C. Electronics G-Major in the loop. I use a Rocktron Velocity 150 (150w) solid state Power amp into 2 Rocktron Velocity S112 (1x12)75w speakers cabs. I do not run stereo live. I have a Bradshaw switching system to handle the midi functions. The amp and speaker combo is very important. The PSA 1 needs a Clean pwr amp, like you would use for a PA system, and full range speakers, again like that of a PA system. Your traditional 4x12 marshall cab will work but you will get far better results from full range speakers.
The cleans on the PSA1 are amazing even fully cranked, the fender styles are damn near dead on, I even tricked a few people into thinking I was playing an acoustic, when I was using the RG 570 stock!(NO Piezio pickup!) the Marshalls, and Boogies get noisey on the high gain settings....just like the real amps. No complaints here either, a basic noise gate covers that. I get tones for AC/DC, to Metallica and INXS to Simple Minds so it really is the most versatile system I've used.

Reliability: 9
Never Had a problem. I gig regularly with out a back up. I do take good care of my gear though. Shock mount rack etc. etc.

Customer Support: 9
Again the unit seems to be solid but I did talk to the teck support guys before buying. Lloyd was awesome, very helpful.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing 20 years in all sorts of bands. I used to manage a Guitar Center. I have played with all the toys. I did a lot of research before going solid state. This seemed like the best thing going, and I beleive it is. To give you and Idea of just how great I think it sounds. I just sold my Mid 80's Marshall JCM 800, I have no need for it anymore. If it was stolen, I'd replace it in a heartbeat!

Submitted by degenr8 at 12/22/2003 11:34

Price Paid: US $500

Features: 10
I use Sansamp plus G Major plus BBE 462 and plug into my Marshall Valvestate return plug in. I have 3 ibanez (jem, rg and PGM model). I play all styles of music (jazz, blues, rock, mpb and metal). Sansamp is very versatile -> some clean sounds (fender simulation) makes my ibanez sound as a fender, and some heavy sounds (mesa boogie simulation) makes my sound get very closer to mesa distortion.

Sound Quality: 9
I also have a Digitech 2101. Sansamp blow digitech in terms of versatile and distortion. Some people say that this preamp is not good for recording or playing live. Also, tech 21 recommends to use a solid state power amp on it, avoiding tube power amp. I tried one time plugging sansamp in a Carvin power amp (tube power amp), sound was far worst comparing with my valvestate power amp. So I am not totally comfortable with this product It is why I am giving a 9 to this. But tried and you will not be disappointed with this produtct. It is an excelllent machine.

Reliability: 10
I never had any problem with it

Customer Support: N/A
no problems

Overall Rating: 10
Excellent product. Tried first and compare to other pre amps (triaxxis, digitech 2101, jmp-1, rocktron voodu valve). You will see that Sansamp will kick many of the products mentioned above, however, it depends on what kind of tone and sound you want

Submitted by bob rock at 11/24/2003 17:37

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
Alot of features. If you are looking to get one you are aware of them.

Sound Quality: N/A
Ok, First of all I tried hooking this up to my Carvin DCM150 power amp and a Genz-Benz Flex 2x12 cab. It wasn't very impressive. It was dull and all the metal/hard settings sounded too much alike. My Tubeworks Real Tube 9002 reissue is half the price and was way more musical aka not cold. I also tried the PSA-1 thru a combo amp's front end as well as driving it through the return loop with the same results. Yes, I've switched the vol/line setting buttons to experiment. I got online to check out the other reviews to see if there was something I wasn't doing right. Anyhow, the last review written here was the answer. FULL RANGE SPEAKERS! It sounded 90% better. I'm still tinkering with it. The speakers I ended up running it through are cheap so I can only imagine what real PA speakers will sound like. With that said I am still not tripping my balls off with the sounds I can get out of it now. I'm still tweaking and will leave a follow up review.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
Things I like: no power off button(I always turn all preamps, effects,etc BEFORE I turn the Power amp on. It's one less switch to flip. I love how you can hold the up or down button to go thru the presets(speeds up after you hold it in over a second so it's faster than just tapping it one preset at a time). The enclosure is great and looks nice.

The things I don't like: When you power off it doesn't keep the last preset you were at. You can't name your patches. The knobs are plastic.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/13/2003 19:38

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
I have already reviewed this product. This is a second review. Features are great. There's nothing extra that I need other than a tone knob for the mids. And maybe also a presence knob.

Sound Quality: 9
USE FULL RANGE SPEAKERS! This solves many problems. I was using a 300 watt 4x12 cab with celestion gt100s with a solid state pre and I just wasn't cutting through the mix in a band setting. The clean sounds were OK. The high gain sounds were there, but they were undefined and not cutting through the mix. I simply could not coax a good medium to low gain growl out of this setup. Then, after fucking around with this setup for 3 years, I tried sending the Sansamp through the input of an old Roland JC-120 2x12 and *BOOM* - there's the tone! JMP growl, Mesa Rectifier, Fender Twin. It really is in there!

So here's my advice everyone - Use full range speakers with this preamp. Do not expect your typical celstion 4x12 to cut it.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 10
awesome. lloyd rocks.

Overall Rating: 9

Submitted by Anonymous at 09/27/2003 21:27

Price Paid: € (540) used

Features: 8
I got this preamp secondhand on ebay in Germany. Perfect condition.
If your looking for a GREAT pre, and you're not a tube-fan this unit is for you. I play almost every style from blues, to metal, and this baby can handle everything!
The stuff is simple: it has 3 pre (distortion) EQ, 2 postEQ, input level, drive and master volume KNOBS, program-select UP and Down buttons. No more button-pushes to get the sound I want!:-)
Midiable, 49 user and 49 factory programs.
It has a BEAUTIFUL metal case.
Headphones-out, 2 line outputs, stereo fx-loop. The fx-mix is simple, global off or 50-50. It would be better to control the mix with one more knob and save the setting in every program...(-1point)
Wish it had an ON-OFF switch (-1 point)

Sound Quality: 10
I have an Ibanez RG570 with a seymour custom5 in the bridge position, and a Strat fitted with EMG SA set. The guitars go into the PSA1, the PSA1 to my Digitech GSP2101, then a Digitech-Hafler G150 mosfet poweramp that drives two selfmade 2x12 cabs fitted with Celestion Classic Lead 80s.
Wanna get the Gilmour sound? No problem. Wanna play Dream Theater? No problem.
Finally I have an amp that has a very tight and clear bottom-end.
The distortion is brutal, but crystal-clear at the same time (just like in Fates Warning - that was the sound I'd been looking for)...incredilbe.
When I let it ring I feel like a baby in his mother's arms...Warm, clear and round.
I had a Fender RocPro1000 and an ADA MP1 before, but none of that could get close to this baby.
There's no question why does Jim Matheos (Fates Warning), Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings), or Joe Satriani use this stuff.
I showed it to one of my friends today. He didn't belive that this is a full solid state amp. It made him thinking of buying one of these babes instead of a Mesa Triaxis...
I LOVE this stuff!:-)

Reliability: N/A
I only got it for a mounth now...
What can I say? Like others before me: Built like a tank!

Customer Support: N/A
I'we asked them one thing in email, and they replyed next day.

Overall Rating: 10
I play for 10 years, I had a Marshall Valvestate 8240, a Fender RocPro1000, an ADA MP1 before. None of that could reach this thing in sound. Small, light, great sounding...what else do you need?
If it were stolen or lost (how could I lost my gear??) I'd buy another one immediately.

Submitted by GG at 09/03/2003 12:38

Price Paid: US $399 Mint cond including Midimouse+Cable used

Features: 7
Salut Montreal Bob ... enchante ... I concur with Bob Guido's review below. The PSA-1 rackmount is an ingenious tools that rocks for both performing and recording. I picked one up from a cat in CA this week on eBay for $399 including MidiMouse and cable in A++++ shape to replace my beloved JMP-1. This device is definitely straight as forward in-your-face and idiot proof to use as it gets.

Before it arrived, I went to the tech-21 website and downloaded a page (front-back) on each amp type preset values plus the miscellaneous page. Without the manual I created a performance bank (51-60) including:

51 TWIN
52 SRV
53 PLEXI 50
54 PLEXI 100
55 EVH CRUNCH
56 SCHENKER LEAD
57 SANTANA LEAD
58 METALLICA
59 PANTERA
60 MESA LEAD

It took all of 10 minutes. The catch is setting unity gain on all patches to match in real time.

I loved my JMP-1, however, it is utterly incapable of programming Mesa or Fender patches.

The device runs thru a HUSH IIC, into a wet/dry/wet configuration, Left output dualled out into BBE 462 into MOSVALVE MV-462, and right output dualled out into delay+chorus thru another BBE462 into a separate MOSVALVE MV-462. Single 4x12 cab with four inputs one per speaker, G12H80s top, Altec Lansing D120Fs bottom.

I never liked tube power amps, and on the MFG's recommendation to use a solid sate power amp the MOSVALVES are perfect (warm, do not affect the tone, and are solid state). The PSA-1 and BK Butler's MOSVALVES are a perfect match.

This is not my primary performance preamp, although it could easily become one. I also use a Real Tube II preamp, however, my primary rig is rackmounted Mark IV Mesa Boogies. All preamps go thru a rack mixer.

The PSA-1 fills my tone gaps for live and session work where the Mark IV Blues-Rock leaves off. Now I have the best of all worlds.

One thing I didn't like was that the Master Volume is "saved" with the patch. I would have preferred a dynamic global master volume in "real time" depending on venue, and a patch volume saved with the patch that readjusts itself on all patches when the master volume is changed in real time. Oh well ... I give a 7 here, because this is a critical performance feature bout not a critical studio feature. Huge bang for the buck otherwise!

Sound Quality: 10
I have to admit that the Fender Twin is tricky. It "treble pings" at max volume with the MFG preset values. The ping can be dialed out by turning the crunch down to just a smidget beyond midnight, adding 25% punch and turning the Master Vol up to 100 percent. Otherwise, the output levels are too low, and unity gain off-matched to the adjacent high gain patches.

I have played all the REAL high gain amp HEADs modeled on the MFG list. Man this thing really rocks, and sounds smoother than the real McCoys w/o the volume, weight, noise, tubes, and other baggage ... Rectos, Plexis, 5150s etc. I'm stunned. I'm not sure what exactly the Hiwatt and Tele Simulator are. Didn't lik'em at all. Didn't even bother with the MXR Bigg Muff etc. Never liked that crap mush anyway.

I didn't like the Bluesbreaker, but then I don't like anybody's bluesbreaker modeler either. This is the only amp that nobody on this planet has been able to model. The AC30 is close.

Bottom-line, a single performance bank of of good Marshall & Mesa crunch and lead sounds covers a lot of rock genre territory. Line 6 does not even appear on the sonic radar compared to this single-rack device.

The Marshall patches have a more aggressive character than the JMP-1, even with brand new Jan Phillips in V1 and JJ/ECC83S in V2, and I loved my JMP-1 ... and that was MFG'd by Marshall go figure ... nuff said

I owned a GT2 for 10 years that I used for bass in the studio but it used to feedback like hell live on guitar. That little sumbich made any bass amp head or bass guitar sound better: Punchy and in-your-face bass. I am sure the PSA-1 on bass will sound even better.

This is not your jazz music teacher's preamp. This is a solid state aggressive guitar rock machine covering Classic, Hard, Prog, Metal, NuCrap, etc -

Notwithsatnding the really cheesy patches mentioned above, this puppy gets a solid 10 for solid aggressive monster rock tone. I surmise that all MFGs (Lexicon, Eventide, Digitech, etc) always inlcude bullshit patches to prove that their staffs get stoned often are not infallible nor perfect lol

I read this guy's review below who is turning this knob down and that knob down and comparing to a tube head "checking the buzz factor"? What a tweed-head brainwashed moron. Welcome to the 21st century moron ... if you don't and can't understand the technology ... then you just don't get it huh? It is a rock machine, not a blues club panacea to not buying a Victoria Combo. Go buy a fucking hand-built Victoria for $2200.00 with original bassman specs, Weber Q10s, resistors to tolerance, etc etc etc ad nauseum. When you blow a tube in your bedroom or douchebag open-mic talent show in NY or NJ and it fails, I'll be rocking an arena in Europe somewhere with my $399.00 PSA-1 and getting paid for it you fucking loser. Get a life ...

Reliability: N/A
Based on other reviewers -- built like a tank.

Customer Support: N/A
Based on other reviewers -- solid NY MFG that stands behind their product.

Overall Rating: 10
This is truly a wondeful piece of technology. When I get back in a few months, I plan to try it in the studio and experiment with fattening/crunching guitar/bass tracks, and who knows, maybe it has utility on other instruments including vocals?

Would I buy again? Sure, if another deal like this came along. Way too expensive at regular retail prices. eBay has levelled the playing field in that regard. I am past paying retail for anything anymore. You buy a new piece of gear at any music store then its worth 25 cents on the dollar when you try to sell it back later. My sentiment to the music stores and their ignorant non-player lizard sales staffs: Go fuck yourselves ...

Submitted by ROCK THE PLANET!!! at 08/01/2003 18:05

Price Paid: US N/A

Ease of Use: 10
The operation, editing and storing of user programs in the PSA-1 is very easy. The manual is very informitive and outlines the history of SansAmp technology and thier approach to emulation of tube amplifiers using FET analog circuits.

Sound Quality: 10
Recently for a project, my client wanted the best possible clean but tube driven sound. Basically, clean with a bit of that tube compression kind of tone. I ran some extensive tests using a ProTools Recording system with Apogee I/O and A/D convertors before we got started. The front end was a Sure SM57 microphone into a Neve 1073 mic preamp into the Apogee A/D and direct to disk.

This was what we had at hand:

Fender Vibro King custom shop Class A guitar amplifier (fender's most expensive amp)
Fender Deluxe Reverb vintage
Vox AC 30 Top Boost vintage
Vox AC 15
Matchless DC30
Fender Super reverb 1960's model
Fender Bassman vintage
Line 6 POD pro on Vox and Fender Bassman settings
Sansamp PSA-1 Plug-in in ProTools.

I DIDN'T OWN THE REAL PSA-1 RACKMOUNT YET.

I Recorded a guitar track direct through the Neve to ProTools and re-amped it through all of these amps and the POD. All amps had the EQ and volume set to produce the best clean sound. I also set the amps tone controls and levels so that no amp was particularly brighter or bassier than another. Sameness in tone would keep the listener from percieveing more treble or bass as "better tone". They were all miked the same with a shure SM57 on axis pointing at the seam between the speaker cone and the dust cap centre. Standard stuff. So I did all the re-amping and recorded all these amps and the Pod simulations. I listened to the results for a long time. Afterwards for fun I put the SansAmp PSA-1 Plug-in that was in the ProTools system I am using on the original direct NEVE guitar track and holy #$%^! I thought it sounded way better than any of the Amps miked up and the POD. So I wondered...is there something wrong with my ears? Maybe it's getting late and I should get some sleep and listen to it tomorrow. So I invited several musical people over for a little beer and listening party. I gave them each a piece of paper and asked them to write down after I soloed each track whether it was a real amp or a simulator (POD, SansAmp plug-in). They were not able to see my ProTools session as I was in front of the monitor.

Here are the results: Many people confused the POD with the the real amps. But EVERYONE said that their favorite sound was the first one. It was the Sansamp PSA-1 plug-in by Bombfactory on the direct NEVE guitar track. Not one person hesitated to say "what was the first one? It sounded so much better than the rest." It was exactly what I said to myself the day before. I was not alone. The SansAmp Plug-in was the most digital thing out of the bunch but it had the most defined warm tube tone and tightest bottom end as well as a nice round and bell like top end. It was not mushy or muddy, the way a lot of the Amps were. The POD on the VOX setting was thier second choice but it too had a muddy bottom end. So here is what I wanted to know: Does the Sansamp PSA-1 Plug-in sound anything like the real rackmount unit? Is it close or is the Rackmount better? If the Rackmount is better than this plug-in then I have to have it because my clients and friends think the Plug-in has the most real and best tube amp sound even going up against the real thing recorded through a Neve! If the hardware is better than the software version then it will blow them away.

I sent this letter to Lloyd at Tech 21 and he encouraged me to try the real SansAmp PSA-1. I bought one and I have since tested it up against all of my amps, the POD pro and the SansAmp PSA-1 Bombfactory Plug-In.

Conclusion:

The PSA-1 Plug-in blew me away. It sounded better than the POD and any real amp with a SM57 on it. The real PSA-1 goes a step further than any of these. It sounds larger, more in your face, wider and deeper than it's Plug-n emulation and the POD and all of the real amps with a Shure SM57 on them. It has a sound that goes beyond any Amp or simulator. It sounds tighter in the bottom end than a real amp. It is also punchier. When you let n

Reliability: 10
This rack is built to withstand nuclear fallout and has wonderful metal handles on the front that make it oh so easy to install into a rack case or a producer's desk in a studio without scratching any of your other precious outboard gear above or below the home you have made for your new PSA-1.

Customer Support: 10
Tech 21 has the best customer support of any music product manufacturer. They are even better than Eventide who are extremely helpful.

Let me just say that Lloyd at Tech 21 goes out of his way to maintain Tech 21's mission: to make the best professional guitar and bass preamps for the stage and the studio and not flavor of the month products like bright red kidney beans, purple blue and green Droids.

Overall Rating: 10
I am a professional recording engineer/record producer in Canada. This preamp is providing me with an extended sound palette of guitar color that goes beyond what tube amplifiers and the Line 6 POD will provide.

Other devices that are designed to perform the same function as the SansAmp PSA-1 that I have owned and used are:

Line 6 POD pro
Line 6 POD xt
Hughes & Kettner Tubeman Plus
Rocktron RepliTone and Chameleon
Hughes & Kettner Red Box
Marshall JMP-1
ADA MP-1
Johnson Millenium Modeling Amplifier
Yamaha DG-Stomp
SansAmp GT2 and SansAmp Classic
ZOOM 9002
Voodoo Lab Preamp

The SansAmp is unlike any real amplifier or other digital, analog or tube amp simulator/modeller and allows you to carve your own personal sound with it's unique tone controls. It sounds larger, wider and taller than any real amp does with regular micing technique.

Submitted by Bob Guido at 07/13/2003 21:43

Price Paid: US $200.00

Features: 9
Rated 9 because some minor improvements could be made. This is the "tone generator" portion of a rack guitar system. It uses a total of 5 gain controls to change how the tone is created/shaped. The Preamp and Drive controls are like the Preamp and Master controls on a 'regular' amp, while the Buzz,Punch and Crunch adjust the gain for low, mid or high frequencies through the preamp - these 3 knobs control whether the voice you create sounds like Fender, Marshall, Vox or Mesa. There is a Level control that controls the overall output from the unit, as well as a Bass and Treble control.

The output section is VERY flexible, including two stereo F/X loop options. Very sturdy construction, and good rugged feeling jacks.

Learning the "secret" behind the knobs takes a few minutes to get comfortable with, but you don't have to be a genius to make this unit sound good - it simulates a "real" amp, and you have to adjust it like one.

Sound Quality: 10
I don't say this lightly - sonic quality is a solid 10. Please understand, I am a loyal tube fan, and I *LOVE* my solid state PSA-1.
I use the PSA1 as an easy way to get lots of tones in a simple rig. I use a speaker simulator and F/X in the loop of the PSA-1, and run the PSA-1 through a rackmount 15 band EQ, then into a variety of small combo amps (depending on how big the room is). This requires some care (my EQ on the combo amps is usually pretty radical), but is dirt-simple and works great.

To me, the acid test of any rig is how it sounds when it's barely dirty - the PSA-1 does slightly gritty tones VERY well ! I can get nice Vox (TB and non-TB) and Marshall Bluesbreaker tones, warm semi-clean and semi-dirty Marshall tones, big ringing HiWatt tones, growly Fender tones, and a variety of high gain tones (just for fun, really - I don't use high gain tones with the guys I play with). Eventually I'll develop some more settings (Tweed, etc), but for now I'm having more fun playing than tweaking.

I use a 57RI Strat with Duncan lil 59'er mini-humbuckers - these are midway between single coil and HB in output. I play alt-country, classic rock, and eclectic styles.

Reliability: 9
Occasionally on power-up, there will be very low output from the unit (perhaps 1 time out of 200+ times). Turning the rack off and back on solves the issue - it has never been a regular problem, and has never happened other than right at power-on. It's a low noise unit - when I play bass with this preamp (clean only) I'm using about 700W through a Crown amp - it's dead silent, no hum, no hiss, no junk. Hi gain guitar tones will hum or hiss some, but not too bad. There is never any of the crackle or thump noise I often get from preamp tubes in other gear.

Customer Support: N/A
No experience with them.

Overall Rating: 9
I got this during the final clearance sales when Mars Music went bankrupt - $200.00 for this is a STEAL - I lucked out. I probably never would have purchased this at the regular retail price - but I would have missed out.

This unit has essentially solved most of my tone issues when playing a variety of guitar styles. Total tone purists might not be happy with it, but I think a *lot* of players would be. I think that the quality of tones I've heard from it are significantly better than the Johnson, Line6 and Behringer digital units I've played. This unit is a modeler, but it's an *analog* modeler, not a digital one - it's a lot less compressed and artificial sounding than the digital types (BTW, I own and enjoy a Behringer modeler).

Submitted by John Shinal at 05/06/2003 08:45

Price Paid: US $649

Features: 8
They've been covered below. Lots of knobs--maybe more than necessary but I never complain about that. MIDI support was my main concern and it does that well enough--you can recall saved patches but can't modify any paramaters using a MIDI controller. My only complaint was the knobs being out of sync after a preset recall--this can cause problems if a knob is set to a really high value and then a patch is recalled with it in a low value. If you then move the knob the value changes instantly to where the physical knob is, perhaps greatly overloading the next item in the signal chain (I severly overloaded the input stage on my G-Major once). To be fair, the only other way to do it using pots (instead of encoders which are much more expensive) would be to have the knob not do anything until it matches the patch value, which I would have preferred (and which wouldn't be that hard to do).

Sound Quality: 6
First I want to qualify my review by saying that I was using headphones and no power amp with the PSA-1, using my Zoom PS02 as the headphone amplifier. According to the manual, the outputs are suitable for direct recording or as the input to a power amp and cabinet, so my setup should have been usable. That said, the cleans were good, the heavily distorted sounds were okay, and the mildly distorted sounds were poor. As others have mentioned, the breakup characteristics of the FETs do sound like a broken kazoo. This is masked in the high distortion patches by the overdrive, but just after breakup it is unpleasant to my ears. And, while you can't hear the kazoo sound on high gain settings, they are a bit harsh though headphones so I can't give them a high score either. I will grant that the PSA-1 probably does sound a lot better through a power amp and a cabinet, but for direct recording or monitoring with headphones it just doesn't cut it. The cleans were nice but not very warm so I give it a 9 for cleans, a 6 for heavy distortion, and a 2 for mild distortion--average 6.

Reliability: N/A
Seemed well built, but I didn't have it long enough to get a real opinion.

Customer Support: 9
Pretty good. I emailed them for the PDF users manual and they quickly responded and emailed me one.

Overall Rating: 6
I hoped this would be the preamp solution to my MIDI-controlled rack system, but it wasn't. I'm sure it sounds better through a power amp and cab, but I live in an apartment and the whole focus of my rack system was that it had to be silent, which means headphones. I don't recommend this unit for headphone use--only the cleans sounded good to my ears. The basic distortion sound is poor unless you have the gain cranked, and I play blues and classic rock--not metal--so I need a nice mild distortion I can build on. I returned the PSA-1 after about a week of trying to make it work for me, and I decided that tubes were the only way to go. I have since purchased an Egnater M4 preamp which soundwise is exactly what I was looking for (admittedly at a much higher price), but lacks the MIDI control of the PSA-1. Oh well, I can live with the lack of MIDI control on the M4, but I couldn't live with the sound of the PSA-1. For other people with different setups this may be a good product (it must be, given the high ratings some people have given it) but it wasn't what I was looking for.

Submitted by Keith Kotay at 05/04/2003 21:31

Price Paid: US $400 used

Features: 10
Preamp is only as good as the match of its power amp, but this preamp makes up for lacks in many amps. Well, unless the power amp has poor or no tube design. Then this is not a good match, but besides that... super impressive for a tubeless preamp!! It is for begining users as well as advanced, but the on the fly features need to be mastered, once you get a grip on settings, its just as good, if not, better than anything in the sub $1g class.

Sound Quality: 10
Impressive, impressive, impressive. I can say this can be used for more than just guitar and create satisfactory results.

Reliability: 10
HAH, I dropped this thing TWICE. Nobody can tell, it wont die.

Customer Support: N/A
never needed customer support.

Overall Rating: 10
I also own a MB Triaxis and this. I would be crazy to say psa-1 is better than the MB, but I think in a lot of aspects, it IS better. But the flexibility of the psa-1 I think is much better. Of course overall I would rather keep the triaxis of the two, but im not getting rid of my psa-1 anytime soon, it is a bargain preamp, and Im very very very pleased. I am a music teacher at a local HS, and the kids have no problem using this for guitar or keyboards. Along with adults who are serious that play on the side with me. I can honestly say that I can recomend this pre-amp. I cant wait until tech21 makes a next generation amp with every feature this amp has and utilizes tube support. Then I will most likely get rid of my triaxis! That is how confidant I am.

Submitted by Calvin M Rozter at 04/25/2003 02:58

Price Paid: US $599

Ease of Use: 10
i got this unit about 4years ago,
at first sight, it looks very easy to use,
but it was not that easy..
about a years ago, i got GX-700 for additional cabinet simulation.
now, it's really easy to get a good direct tone..
hear my direct recording samples at
==> http://fender.co.kr/mule.html
fender.co.kr is my url but another guys use it for test their page
soon i'll make my own

Sound Quality: 10
i got this unit for direct recording
with this unit, you can't get real direct tone.
use this with speaker simulations and EQ.
Boss GX-700'll perfect
my gx-700 settin'
EQ : low +5 Mid 250hz -10 1(q) high +5
Speaker Simulation : middle, mic 5, mic 100, direct 0
great direct tone i ever heard
i use G-major for digital effectin'
i play for 10 years and i think direct recording need some
secret knowhows.. i think GX-700 + PSA-1 is good start point
to go direct

Reliability: 10
i drop it at top of the subway stair... it falls 50m down
but it's ok work well no problem

Customer Support: 10
i asked them several time
about cabs, power amps and so on
they are very kind

Overall Rating: 10
very good preamp for direct recording
if used with good eq and speaker simulation device

Submitted by arnold moon at 03/04/2003 02:12

Price Paid: 500 (Euro) used

Features: 10
Made in 2000. You can get thousands of very good sounds with this. I play Blues,Rock,Metal.It`s Midi so you can save many presets. It has an effects-loop, and you can choose to pass only 50% or full signal to the loop. It`s something like a parametric distortion device. It has preamp buzz punch crunch and drive knobs which sets the type of distortion you want plus high bass and level (volume) knobs.It`s totally analogic and the Sansamp technology make it sound like tube.

Sound Quality: 10
I play Blues,Rock,Metal.It suits very well with my playing and the factory presets includes FENDER MESA-BOOGIE MARSHALL MXR dist+ VOX VAN HALEN PANTERA SANTANA and many others sounds which i can say are very good.

Reliability: 10
More reliable than tube-preamps thats for sure.

Customer Support: 10
When i asked something about this device, Tech21 replied me few hours later...Very good

Overall Rating: 10
I play Blues,Rock,Metal. I hope this will last forever. If don`t i will buy another one. I hate the fact i haven`t bought this before.I LOVE ITS TONE. Haven`t yet heard something similar at this price.
Hope it helps.

Submitted by martin haaks at 02/17/2003 14:46

Price Paid: US $600

Features: 6
Pretty good parameter features... as mentioned before the "crunch" "punch" and "drive" knobs are alittle difficult to work with, but not too terrible. The patch work i.e. saving and changing is very good. It sometimes get's alittle confusing when you're trying to get into a particular menu due to the fact that it's all displayed via one screen with only numbers on it. For instance to get to the MIDI channel select screen you gotta go to patch 00 and then click the save button once, then select 04 (I think) then click save then dial in the channel number and then double click the save save button, keeping in mind you have no clue whether or not you're doing it correctly because there's no display telling you what menu you're in or what you've selected, all you see is a number. Basically, it's hard to keep track of what you're doing, but not impossible.

Sound Quality: 2
So, I'd read that it had good low end and delivered great distortion and all that stuff, but never got a chance to actually try it out before purchasing so I just bought it online @ MusiciansFriend, knowing I could return it if I was unsatisfied, which I was. I ran my ESP MV-200 with Duncan pickups to the SansAmp, and tried my effects processors, G-Major and Digitech 256XL (Digitech = piece of crap) in the effects loop and afterwards in serial, not happy with the end result. Well, initially I just worked on the SansAmp by itself, running it to my Mesa 2:100 and then to 2 Marshall 1960B cabs, and just couldn't get the right tone. I wanted a very deep, distorted, almost thunder of a tone, with lots of good delay a reverb (think Stef Carpenter's tone on White Pony, very similar to that). All of the levels seemed good, and I even tried running it through a 31 band EQ that I had, but it just always seemed that whatever my end result was, whether it was heavy distortion or clean and bright, it just sounded like it was all coming from behind a wall. None of it stood out, none of the tone was powerful... no balls! So, after working with it for and estimated accumulation of about 20 hours, I sent it back, and got a Mesa Formula preamp, which has more energy and fortitude than anything I've heard, and I had up and running with the right tone in 15 minutes.

Reliability: N/A
Never got to test it's reliability really, but I did have alittle trouble starting like the 3rd day I had it. This was no doubt due to the fact that I had it in my jam space, which that particular day was about 0 degrees, so it doesn't seem to like the cold.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with 'em, probably never will. Besides this unit, which I will undoubtly never purchase again, I can't think of anything from Tech21 that I'd be interested in.

Overall Rating: 2
Plain and simple reason why I ditched this unit: I couldn't get the right tone out of it. Now maybe if I toyed with it for months and supplemented it with lots of other pieces of equipment, maybe it could have sounded good. But, I'm not about to do that, so instead I got a Mesa Formula, used for $300, that took me 15 minutes to get in tone heaven.

Submitted by Russell Best at 02/11/2003 12:06

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 8
The knobs are great and make this easier to use than many other pres out there. Editing patches and saving them is a breeze. Just dial in the tone you want and save it by clicking twice. That's about as easy as it gets. The only confusing part is that there are buzz, crunch and punch (or something like that) knobs which control the amount of "break up" at different frequencies. Cool idea, but not as straightforward as a normal amp. I'd prefer more good tone and fewer options.

Sound Quality: 5
I use this with a celestion equipped 4x12 and a solid state power amp (per Tech 21's suggestion). I play Gibson Les Pauls and rarely use effects. At first, I loved this pre - I was playing by myself in my house, and it sounded great. But when I use the PSA-1 in a band setting, there is too much gain and not enough definition. Nobody else can hear what the hell I'm playing. So, what do I do? I back off the pre amp gain and/or the power amp gain to clean things up. Makes sense, no? But that's when the Sansamp starts to sound shitty. There is a true "Sansamp" tone underneath all the gain, and it's garbage. I think the other reviewers hit the nail on the head when they complained about the "decay". I don't know exactly what decay is, but I can say for sure that the tone gets crappy. No matter how much I tweak this thing, I can't get a convincing tube tone without pouring on the gain. It doesn't matter if I start out with a factory preset that is of the Marshall variety or the Mesa variety - I just back of the pre and then I'm stuck with the shitty Sansamp tone and it isn't pretty or harmonic or musical. The Sansamp has its own unique sound, and that sound sucks. The only way the Sansamp sounds good is ultra clean or ultra cruncy. Don't expect to get any good overdriven "breakup" type sounds out of this thing.

Don't get me wrong, this thing kicks ass when you want gobs of gain. But I guess that ain't my style anymore.

Reliability: 8
Very reliable. Never had a problem. I'd use it without a backup.

Customer Support: 10
Excellent support. Better than 99% out there. I've called and shot the shit with these guys on a number of occassions and they are dedicated and knowledgable.

Overall Rating: 6
Overall, it's a nice pre. It worked well for me at first, but I find myself wanting a rocking sound that isn't so damned gainy, saturated and undefined. I want people to hear what the hell I'm playing.

This amp is great for gain-mongers. If you like more classic rock, british, and overdriven tones, get something else, like a tube head. I've tried to go SS for years now, and I'm done with it. Tubes are the way to go, guys. I hate saying it because I wanted to believe.

I love that you can change patches with a midi footswitch. If it were stolen, I'd get something else.

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/02/2003 20:20

Price Paid: US $200 new!!!

Features: 10
Really unique features on this preamp...specially the way that you can EQ the gain structure. Very cool, and very versatile. The PSA-1 switches by MIDI command, and does so 100% seamlessly with no delays or dropouts.

Sound Quality: 10
I bought this preamp on a whim...just walked into Mars Music and they had a deal on it I couldn't refuse. After playing it for 10 minutes, I bought it. Thats not the usual way I buy gear, but I really liked this thing from the start. I'm using this with a Tech 21 2x12, a G-Major, Mosvalve 1160, and Furman for the power. This is the ideal setup IMHO. At first I used the PSA-1 through a 5150 cab, and I've never heard tone so bad in my life (except maybe my first amp...a 10 watt Squier). Then I got a Tech 21 cab...the difference is so dramatic that you wouldn't believe its the same amp! The PSA-1 is AMAZING through the right gear. I see alot of people on here rave about how good it is through a regular guitar cab. If they think thats good, try it through a Tech 21 cab! The Tech 21 cab actually is loaded with full range speakers, instead of normal guitar speakers which cut certain frequencies. The cleans on the PSA-1 do not bounce like a tube amp, but with the right guitar and pickups, and a little reverb/chorus, you've got GREAT clean tone, and its very very usable. The mildly broken up tones are done suprisingly well on this preamp. SS amps usually fail in this area, but the PSA-1 pulls it off better than any SS amp I've heard. There is a little buzz when the notes trail off, but it is still very usable. The high gain stuff is where this unit shines. It just amazing how much grind this thing generates. And the best part is that it stays very very tight even in hi gain situations. Flip to the neck pickup for some smooth soloing, and to the bridge for crushing rhythm with great bite. Of the stock presets, 26 is my favorite...though I've come up with even better ones. In short, this preamp is amazing, and it can't be judged by plugging in through some shitty power amp and then into a guitar cab. Thats not the way it was meant to be used. Try it with a Mosvalve 1160 through a Tech 21 cab, and prepare to be blown away by how good SS can sound!

Reliability: 9
This thing is solid, and I can't see it breaking. Nothing is perfect though so I give it a 9.

Customer Support: 5
Well, I emailed them a few times about the cab (before I bought it), and got no response.

Overall Rating: 10
This thing is a great piece of gear. With some good effects, the right cab, and the right power amp, you will have tone that is sure to impress. This rig replaced a Egnater MICA TOL 100...yes its that good.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/22/2003 09:44

Price Paid: US $375 used

Ease of Use: 9
The only complaint that I have is the way to save your presets. I'm a bass player and I have to keep a pick around just so I can save any changes. Other then that, just a quick flip of the manual and I used up almost all my user banks.

Sound Quality: 10
All I use is the PSA-1 through a power amp and my bass gets any tone I want. Its not just for guitars. Sweet tube over drive sound, perfect grinding distortion and smoooooooooooooth jazz tones.

Reliability: 10
You could throw it againt the wall and it'll still work

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to deal with them yet

Overall Rating: 10
I'm always experimenting with my tone and this is the only pre amp i've owned thats been able to not only keep up with me but raises the bar on what a good pre amp should sound like. I can't imagine why someone wouldn't like this thing.

Submitted by Adam at 01/21/2003 09:17

Price Paid: US $650.00

Ease of Use: 7
Difficult to program on the fly live. In order to see what the preset parameter was you have to turn the knob till the little dots tell you. Meanwhile you have the last parameter the knob was turned to when you begin to move it. Saving is a hassle because the button is recessed and you need a pick to actually press it. I guess it was a good idea on paper but for those of us who have been using programmable gear, it's kind of an insult to our intelligence. Just give us a regular button. We'll be careful.

Manual is good, explains everything.

Sound Quality: 7
My setup is an Ibanez 3120 (loaded with Bill Lawrence L500XL and L500R pickups)- PSA - Korg A1 - Marshall 9100 power amp - Marshall 1960 Vintage 4/12 slant.

It's reasonably quiet unless you crank the gain. No more noisy than most others I have owned.

This unit is clearly made for shred. Many on this review page have given it rave reviews, and think that this accurately reproduces any amp. The FET distortion has it's own quality that is present in every patch, and due to this quality, it is unuseable for the cleaner/bluesier sounds. To explain, one of the tests I use for distortion quality is simple. Back the gains off on the device till you get the equivalent of a light blues patch with a clean breakup (unless they already have a preset)and with the guitar wide open hit a chord and let the sound decay away. A good distortion will fade out smoothly. This unit will decay with a crackling noise that sounds like a broken diaphragm in a kazoo. That is the overdrive characteristic intrinsic to the device. Now when you open up all of the gain knobs, preamp-buzz-punch-crunch and drive knob that emulates the breakup of a tube output stage, there are so many cascades, that the decay is smoother so you don't notice the crackle. Unfortunately that thin buzzy crackle will begin to get on your nerves because that is the basic building block of the unit's tone and all of the EQ shaping in the world can't remove it. Unfortunately, that's solid state.

If you try this unit, do this test just so you are aware and see if you can live with that sound it. Some folks don't care, and actually like it. To each his/her own.

As far as getting my favorie artist sounds, Most of the bluesier patches have more OD to cover up the crackle. when you back off the gain to approximate the artists tone, it gets ugly. The Petrucci style tone as well as the death metal stuff can be gotten on this unit easily, but as far as cleaner OD, forget it.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 7
I play all styles of music, live and studio. This unit is flexible in shaping the basic tone of the FET's, but for my ears and needs, limited in actual function(see above).

I have been playing for 20 years.

In all fairness Tech-21 suggests a SS power amp, so I have also ordered a Mosvalve and will try it out with that instead of my 9100, but the crackle is there when you use headphones, so I don't expect there to be much improvement. If the Mosvalve sounds as good or better than the 9100, I'll keep it and replace it in my rack to save my back.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/18/2003 18:20

Price Paid: US $500

Ease of Use: 7
it takes some experimenting to really know how to use this correctly. I think a lot of the people who bash this thing, really just don't know how to use it correctly. READ THE MANUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sound Quality: 10
I bought this on the reccomendation of someone at guitar center. I was going to buy a pod pro, but the salesman told me that the PSA-1 sounds more "real", more "organic". Well, I really liked how the pod pro sounded, but I LOVED the way the PSA-1 sounded! It's just straight up tone, no efects or bells and wistles, just awesome tone!

Reliability: N/A
it's solid state, so I can't imagine it would be too problematic.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
I still cannot believe this is sold state!!! It really does sound much more "real", than the line 6 stuff, which can sound kind of artificial. It really does sound like a tube amp. In fact, the rectifier setting on this sounds better to me than my old rectoverb. This is just my opinion, so check it out for yourself.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/01/2003 21:19

Price Paid: US $130 used

Ease of Use: 9
Only 8 knobs.. all are straight forward... the only thing that sucks is the save button being recessed into the console, but hey it's still easy to use. Another thing that does suck is scrolling through presets one at a time until you arrive at your custom one.. but nothing a midi footcontroller cant solve

Sound Quality: 10
I use a modified Ibanez RG w/ DiMarzio Evolution and Air Norton pickups, as well as a Standard Fender Stratocaster... I also connect this badboy to an Alesis Midiverb 4 going into a Fender Deluxe Hot Rod amp... all i can say is WOW. The sounds are amazing. There is so much gain- enough to make Pantera turn their heads! The versatility is also excellent... from lush blusey sounds to hard rock, this thing does it all. Manual says it sounds too compressed going through a tube, but sounds great to me!! Gotta get a cab soon and try it out that way.. if it sounds good now, imagine how great it'd be w/ a full setup!

Reliability: 10
built like a tank

Customer Support: 10
I emailed them because I got this unit at a closeout sale, without a manual or warranty card, etc. They quickly got back to me w/ all the info- manual, how to get the warranty, etc. Even suggested setups on how to use Midi with it and how to use it live! Very nice!

Overall Rating: 10
I play mostly progressive and instrumental rock, so tone for me is CRITICAL- listen to guys like Vai, Satch, Petrucci, and Eric Johnson.. I get very close to these guys' tones, and have my own special tone... very well made preamp, and I'd have to get another one if it were gone!

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/28/2002 18:16

Price Paid: US $325 used

Features: 9
This is a very versatile preamp unit. 49 factory presets and 49 user presets. User presets are a cinch to store. The unit looks cool too. I wish it had more room for preset storage. 49 doesn't seem to be enough. All in all a real versatile amp that can cover a whole bunch of styles. I play mostly rock and modern pop music.

Sound Quality: 9
I play an Ibanez S540 w/Dimarzios or Ernie Ball Luke model or my Fender American Strat w/Van Zandts through the PSA-1. My power amp is a Mesa Boogie 50/50into a BBE 482 Sonic Maximizer and I use a TC Electronic G-Major for effects and all are controlled with my Rocktron Midi Mate. They are all wired with /George L cables. I use Carvicn Legacy 2x12 cab w/Celestion 30's.
This unit will cover just about any music style you could imagine. Can go from Fenderish super clean(there's actually a preset called Fender Super Clean) to over the top Mesa Dual Rectifier sounds. And they're pretty convincing too. This preamp only gets noisy when you turn the gain way up as does any other amp. Generally it is very quiet though. And the distortion can be very brutal but sensitive at the same time to the volume control on the guitar. Many of the factory settings may go a bit overboard on the gain, but you can use the volume knob on your guitar to control that a bit. You can always adjust a preset to your liking and reduce the gain and save it. I like the fact that you just have to turn knobs to get your sound, just like regular amps. The knobs may seem to be a bit tricky to figure out at first but it all makes sense.
My favorite clean presets are the Fender Twin and the Mesa clean. For distortion presets, well... they all rock. Especially the Mesa sounds. I own two other Mesa amps and the PSA-1 has more gain, if you can believe that. The Marshall settings are cool too, but I don't really care for the Marshall sound.
There are so good many sounds in the factory presets alone and you have the ability to tweak 'em all. And it's all controllable via midi.
They recommend powering up this unit with a solid state amp because using a tube amp will make it sound too compressed. I don't know about that, sounds pretty awesome with my Mesa 50/50. I tried connecting straight to the PA and it sounded pretty good there too.
This unit fits all my needs and then some.

Reliability: 10
Looks pretty reliable. no tubes, so no worries. Never broke down on me yet. But I always bring a back up to any gig regardless.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years. And I'v had all kinds of gear thoughout the years. I've always liked Mesa Boogie sounds but couldn't afford a Triaxis. I read the reviews on HC about the PSA-1 and thought I'd give it a try. If the Triaxis is the reigning king of preamps, then this must not be far behind. It is just as versatile and costs way less. I would definitely get another one if it got lost or stolen.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/25/2002 07:35

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
this is an update of my review that i posted a while back. my opinion of it hasnt changed, but since my last review i've gained a lot more experience.

Since my last review, 2 new things have been added to my rig: an outboard eq courtesy of my new TC Electronic G Major (read my new review for it!) and a proper poweramp. i bought a jcm 900 head and cab, and am now running the psa-1 into the fx loop return of the head, effectively bypassing the head's preamp section and making it into a mono poweramp.

i'd just like to say that with the help of these new items, the unit has REALLY come into its own. particularly with the added control of the mid frequencies that the parametric EQ of the G Major gives me.

i'm more psyched than ever about my tone. i can honestly say that this thing DOMINATES 99% of all the tube amps ive tried, the last 1% being a couple of presets on my friend's triaxis. i URGE you to try one of these, or even better... buy one. and i urge tube purists to wake up and smell the FET's.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Garroch at 12/17/2002 09:01

Price Paid: US $300 used

Ease of Use: 7
how difficult is it to turn knobs and push a 'save' switch with a pick? could be a problem for finger pickers, i suppose.

what is difficult, and quite the pain'dela arse, is that there is no bypass except for patches 00 and 50. i always like to a/b the effected and uneffected sound - how else do you know what the darn box is really doing to your tone? they could have at least put a jack in the back for a bypass foot switch. pretty lame imgpo. it really sucks to scroll from #78 to #00 just to check yer tone.

my other beef is the limited number of user presets considering the vast sonic capabilites and sensitivity of the unit. this unit is very dynamic and needs to have it's own patches for each one of yer guitars. what sounds great with a strat can't be used with a humbucking axe, and that's as it should be considering the goal is a range of expresive tone from your personal attack. i am a tweaker and love to fiddle and create tone and for this the psa-1 is excellent. the problem is... you've only got 49 spots to store your creations without midi swapping.

now the good stuff. this thing sounds so good and is so easy to create great sounds through - just twist the 8 knobs and drive away! i bought this to compensate for the weakness of the ods and distortions in my korg a-3 and it sure does the trick. i call it the 'dial a crunch', because there are so many ways to tweak your tonal color. too bad there aren't more patch locations to keep more of them.

Sound Quality: 10
my work horse axes are: an 80's white jap strat with stacked double coils equipped with splitters and a floating kahler bridge with the nut lock off, a 90 sunburst gibson howard roberts(like a semi-hollow f-hole les paul) that someone put a stop tailpiece on, a 60's or 70's block neck jaguar that was refinished in orange and gold glitter by and had humbuckers added by my old pal homesick james - (i have added a single coil in between that can be phase reversed and the mix is controlled by the alternate tone/vol of the jag - one for the single the other for the humbucks. each p/u can be turned on/off and reversing the phase of the single has a subtractive effect as you roll it up.) i bought this primarily for recording, but it also sounds great though my 70's fender deluxe reverb and my seymour duncan 100w convertible. my recording is monitored through makie 1604 and tascam tm-d1000, powered by a hafler pro1200(great amp! get a hafler!), out of tannoy 6.5s(sweet).

this thing sounds great! i wanted a better preamp and i got one in the psa-1. this unit has 98 patches - 49 factory, 49 user, and 00 & 50 as bypass. i find the factory settings useless due to their vast gain range. traveling from patch to patch is way too extreme without backing your volume pedal amp or mixer down. too bad i can't write over these.

i don't judge by 'it sounds like a 'blah, blah' it ain't a 'blah, blah' and no two players hands can make one good single 'blah, blah' sound the same. i just want it to make the sounds that I like. i don't care about biting anyone elses sound verbatim, but if you do, i'm pretty sure you can get close with this.

i tweak patches for each guitar and this unit responds with great sensitivity to the personality of your pickups. i like the depth that tube amps offer, and this unit gives you vast abilities to construct the quality of that depth.

Reliability: 10
never let me down so far...

would i gig woithout it? my amps sound good all by themselves.

Customer Support: 9
called them once about thier compatible midi pedal. they were nice.

Overall Rating: N/A
i play blues, reggae and soul - with an occasional clash tune thrown in. i've been playing guitar for 23 years and am still learning. recently i have been studying with jazz maestro larry luger. i have a project studio with both outboard gear and computer based softsynths - gigastudio and reality both rock!

i'm not sure if i'd get this same unit again. i needed a preamp for a good direct sound and my pal, r&b/jazz player gil parris, sold me this one.

this unit sounds great. it does what it should.

my next tool in my arsenal looks like it's going to be the 'adrenalinn' - that little blue box sounds nasty - it's either prove of intelligent life on earth, or we've already been invaded by the ufos!

Submitted by lyle sande at 12/09/2002 10:19

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 6
I suggest you just pick a preset u like and tweak it. The controls on this are VERY unique and the manual does explain how to use this thing, but I can imagine some moron discarding the manual and claiming they can't get a good sound from this. This is unlike any programmable preamp I've ever used and it does take some getting used to, so be patient, read the manual and you'll find your sound.

Sound Quality: 10
This thing sounds great, u just have to know how to use it. At first I used it with a mesa power amp and mesa 4X12 cab. I LOVED the sound! my god, the distortion sounds in this are unreal! The cleans are good enough for me, but I can imagine some tube purists bashing the cleans... whatever. I think the difference in the tones u can get in this unit and the amps they emulate are so miniscule, that only YOU will hear it, if you really look for it. I got tired of lugging my heavy rack, with the power amp and effects, big heavy 4x12 cab, etc... Now, I just plug the PSA-1 into the P.A and get a consistantly awesome tone. A good effects processor and a sonic maximizer for that extra sizzle and low end(if u want it; this thing has plenty of low end)and you're all set. Well, at least I am.

Reliability: 10
it's solid state... so far so good

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 10
I'm implimenting the less is more approach, or maybe I'm just to lazy to move all that heavy gear around, but I know what I like and thats the sound of the PSA-1 direct through the P.A. I'm very satisfied with my tone and i can't imagine using anything else. To those who haven't tried the psa-1 through a P.A, try it.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/02/2002 23:56

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 8
You have to get use to how each knob works with one another, But its not hard.

Sound Quality: 8
I've used a few guitars and poweramps with it. Also a couple of different cabs. It does a decent clean, Rock distortion, and Metal distortion.

Reliability: 8
It seems soild.

Customer Support: 8
They respond to Emails, and answer some questions.

Overall Rating: 8
Like I said, it sounds pretty decent, but didn't get the sound I wanted. It would get in the ball park of what I wanted, but just wouldn't do it. It was also kinda sterial sounding. Its not bad, just not for me.

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/02/2002 17:48

Price Paid: US $300.00

Ease of Use: 8
It is easy to use because it is analog, but you often really do have to tweak because of the interaction between controls. There are multiple factors that affect gain - buzz, punch, etc - and a little can go a long way on each setting. So it's not that it's "hard", it just that it is versatile. To my ears, versatility is actually missing from digital emulators - they have lots of patches and variables but the there is a "sameness" that permeates each digital patch (Boss, Line 6, Yamaha - it doesn't matter).

You can sound like 20 different setups with the PSA-1 if you want. I think this is great!

Sound Quality: 9
This is where the unit shines! If you want to see how much, do a side by side comparison to a Line 6 or Boss (or whatever) unit and you will be amazed.

I recorded an identical slow A minor blues progression (with some slow solos and a couple of quick legato licks to showcase both sustained notes and chords along with some fluid lines) on separate tracks in Motu Digital Performer. I used a Line 6 POD, a Boss GT-6, Yamaha DG Stomp and the PSA-1. I recorded dry signals, adding an insert reverb after on one set of tracks. I also recorded a second set of tracks with the internal effects of the Digital amp emulators to showcase their best sides as well. I used a TC G Major with the Sans Amp in the latter set.

WOW! WOW! WOW! The digital emulators all sounded OK, but the Sans Amp track seemed to literally JUMP OUT OF THE SPEAKERS at me. It sat beautifully in the track, required no EQ boosts or cuts and sounded so present and full. Ballsy and clear. Each note rang true and clear in a chord, and I could use distorted jazz chords without farting out and sounding mushy.

To ensure it wasn't bias (remember, I DO own digital equipment and an NOT a "digital basher) I played the recordings to a dozen listeners separately and did NOT tell them that I was testing direct recording gear - I just asked them which track sounded the best. All 12 people independantly selected the Sans Amp track!!!!! Effected and un-effected!!! It was immediate. Everyone said immediately when they heard it. "Oh yah, that kicks ass!" was one comment. "It doesn't sound lame like the other ones". The bassist in our band was really struck by it because he has been recording direct with PODs and was just shocked at the realism.

So why not a 10? Because I also recorded my Les Paul through a JCM 800 Mark II 50 watt head into G12-65's and THAT is a 10. You cannot replace the feel and response of tubes on fire, beating the crap out of Celestions, vibrating the walls. It makes you PLAY differently, act differently and think differently.

It also is a pain the ass to record the JCM800, hard to do at 4 in the morning, causes divorces, breaks backs, is a pain to fix etc. The Sans Amp is easy to record, does so at 4 in the morning, restores marraige vows and is light. You can get outstanding results with this. You could record 90% of your tracks with this, and use your JCM (pick yer poison!) for those special moments.

With the PSA-1, your direct recorded tracks won't sound like mush.

Reliability: 10
Had it for 7 months and no problems so far. Looks and feels very sturdy.

Customer Support: 10
No experience and that is a GOOD sign.

Overall Rating: 10
It rocks. Whether or not it sounds like tubes (face it, a LOT of people don't know what that really means anyway). You can get deadly sounds to tape (disk) so quickly that stand out in a track - not get buried in the digital malaise.

A word to the wise. Just like a good tube amp, if you suck it will show. it is difficult to mask lousy performance with analog technology. The notes will be clear and pronounced. So are your mistakes.

Remember to not just listen to this dry. Of course it will sound dull compared to a chorused, flanged, reverbed and delayed POD or GT-6. Add a little reverb to the PSA-1 and you probably sell your POD.

Submitted by Ace at 10/22/2002 10:14

Price Paid: Ł255 (UK) used

Features: 7
I AM USING THIS IN A BASS RIG.

See reviews below for full run down. I do however wish the fx loop was switchable via midi, I wish it had a mid control on the eq (but this is obviously just achieved by cutting treble and bass then boosting level). It's level control is applicable only to each patch, it would be very useful to have a global output level control. I wish that the controls were labelled in some sort of practical and easiily understood manner, but then that's what the manual is for ;-)

Midi swtiching/features are very good, barely any audible noise when switching and no delay whatsoever. There is some noise introduced by the "memory" operation of the controls for each different patch (expalined in previous reviews), the flashing dot to indicate where the control is in relation to the pre-set makes an annoying clicking noise untill the change is saved to a patch. This is not really a problem for me as I tend to save any changes pretty much immediatly, however if you just want to fiddle a bit half way through a gig without bothering to save patches then it'll annoy you.

Bearing in mind I use this for bass, it has two XLR outputs for a superb DI sound to go FOH and two unbalanced jack outputs (the same signal). Levels of these outputs (-10db or +4) are selectable.

Sound Quality: 10
My set-up is as follows:-

Shuker 6 string Bass, EMG single coils + 3 band eq wenge body, wenge/maple neck. (normal tuning)
PSA-1
TC-Electronics M-one in the fx loop
Matrix STR1500 amp
ACME low bII cab

Musical style is generally sort of hardcore, heavy, weird stuff with some funk thrown in - it's irrelevant what I play this pre=amp can handle anything but perhaps total clean and transparent sounds for Jazz/fusion, it seriously colours your sound (in a good way IMO)

In one word, this sounds WARM - very convincing tube typre sounds with real character and depth.

It can get pretty noisy on high gain patches or those with a fair amount of treble boost but not really any more than other pre's I've tried. In fact when I replaced my old set-up (which used the PSA-1) I concentrated on getting pointless crap out of the signal chain and using quality cabling, this reduced most of the psa-1 noise that I was seriously unhappy with.

This has 10 bass pre-sets to get you started with. The SVT setting is so convincing it's unreal, just tweak to your liking and you are away. You do tend to return to these pre-sets to just get an idea of how all the controls interact with each other.

Expect to spend a lot of time getting to know this pre-amp, the options are limitless (so it would seem) I've been using one for over 18 months now and still find new little nuances with the settings and interaction of the controls - it really is fantastic for bass.

Distortion - absolutely hands down the best distortion sounds you can possibly muster up for bass, the misc. pre-sets throw up a convincing Big Muff and Fuzz Face sound and making your own is a piece of cake anyway. In fact, there is so much gain available in this pre-amp that distortion sounds are far easier to get (or at least a lot less work) than cleans.

I cannot recommend this piece of equipment highly enough for bass use, particularly if you like the soud of the sansamp bass driver DI and rackmount RBI version - this has midi control and far more available distortion wise. It goes from just a mild overdrive akin to tube saturation, to full on rediculous levels of fuzz and distortion and all will maintain your low end signal integrity no problem at all.

My reason for purchasing this was to replace an Ashdown RPM-1 whose switching capabilities were useless to me (in design: not a dodgy unit). The ability to call up any number of patches for different sounds opens up a whole new world in flexibilty, something that most bass players are not all that accustomed to. I have about 10 patches in there - half of these are distortion/overdirve patches, a bit easier (and better sounding) than 5 different pedals!!

Reliability: 10
This is the second unit I've had (first was stolen), and it seems pretty solid. Both were bought used and had obviously had a fair bit of use so I would say that reliablity is pretty high. All analogue circuitry should be pretty resiliant so maintenance is not an issue. Has never crapped out in any gig or rehearsal situation.

Customer Support: 10
Not really applicable as I bought it second-hand and have had no reason to contact them. Would have liked to see the manual before buying but it's not available on the website, however there are samples of it being used for both guitar and bass which was very useful. Folks on the bass forum who've dealt with them have had nothing but praise for them though, in dealing with repairs and simple requests for manuals and literature. So from others feedback I'll give it full marks.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 7 years now, this is the best souding set-up I have come accross. As soon as I plugged it in I was grinning like a cheshire cat - made my little bedroom combo sound like an SVT!! (well as much as you can with 10 watts!)

It DID get stolen first time around and was the only piece of gear alongside the power amp that got replaced to be included in a new set-up. In fact it was the first thing I looked for.

There are some features I wished it had (see features section) but generally these would push the price up further anyway so I understand their not being included.

There are very few places in the Uk which stock these, so I bought it on the strength of reviews and the website samples. Other pre's I tried include the Ashdown RPM-1, Warwick CCL, Ampeg SVP and bass pod. It's close to the ampeg in clean/overdrive sounds available; only with the midi control there's no limits on the PSA-1. Distortion pedals soon got abandoned too.

If you are looking for a warm sounding pre-amp with real flexibilty at the press of a (midi) switch then look no further, there is simply nothing else on the market that will do it for you as far as I'm aware. This gets my full thumbs up. Look used though as a few guitarists don't like the results and sell up in favour of other pre's :-) this was half the price of any othe pre I looked at thanks to some bargain sellers so keep your eyes peeled.

Submitted by Graham at 10/21/2002 02:18

Price Paid: US $550

Features: 10
This preamp is absolutely stellar. Has 100 presets, 50 user and 50 factory. Midi switching for all channels, and very easy midi mapping. Awesome amp modeling capabilities via its unique distorion breakup modeling circuitry. Sounds like a million bucks. Not lacking in anything I've tried to do with it yet, which is, um, playing through it. Record outs are very useful, large numeric display is crystal-clear even from a distance. This baby isn't tube and doesn't have to be. Used in my rack, wouldn't think of selling it.

Sound Quality: 10
I use it w/ a Washburn Dime333, B.C Rich NJ series Warlock, Fender Custom Shop Strat (one of those $1800 jobbies), and it sound incredible with all of them. Also in my rack you will find a nady wireless, rocktron intellifex, korg dtr-1 tuner and qsc power amp. Through all these and my wah and phasor pedals, this preamp sounds like a preamp should. I play all types of rock, and this thing pulls through, whether its grand funk railroad, STP, early metallica, sponge, collective soul, satriani or SRV. All presets are incredibly convincing - no cheap ultra-processed sounds like you get from a million-effects-in-one unit like a digitech rp20. Clean presets get just a tad distorted at high volumes, but i also have the input gain on my intellifex up pretty high.

Reliability: 10
Well, I haven't really used it as a doorstop or played baseball with it or anything, I try to take care of it, but throwing my rack around in a van has done it no harm. I most certainly would gig w/ it w/out a backup. Have yet to have any problems with it, sound quality is still absolutely cherry. Midi is also fully functional and hasn't let me down.

Customer Support: 10
Got it as a floor model w/out a user manual, so i emailed sansamp and they emailed me a psd manual the next day. i call that some good service. Haven't needed to repair it, and doubt i ever will.

Overall Rating: 10
Been playing for eight years, tried a marshall jmp-1, mesa boogie tri-axis, floor units, rocktron gainiac, fender amps, and a couple pedals.... and i would never use anything else again. even the triaxis gets a run for its money from this bad boy, and for half the cost, you'd be silly not to buy it. I'd highly recommend checking one of these out if you want all sortsa versatility and quality. Its midi capabilities also make it superior to a lot of other gear. somethign as simple as a single-button footswitch can put you in control, or a midi controller like the rocktron midimate will make you feel like god w/ this preamp.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/06/2002 21:37

Price Paid: 599 (Pound Sterling)

Ease of Use: 3
You get great, great presets and at the mo, I just plug and play. So on that scale, the unit should score a 10.

However.....

If you try and tweak things then it gets ugly very quickly. There are no less than 5 knobs that control the gain. These are called things like fuzz and punch etc.
Now this is great for options I guess but I have trouble with just bass, middle and treble. The sound has too much bass. Do you back off on the bass or up the treble? Then there is not enough middle, so do you up the middle or lower the bass and treble?
See the permutations you can get from just a three band eq?

On closer inspection of the manual it doesn't get any easier. Maybe it's because i'm a plug 'n' play kinda guy. I don't know. What I do know is that terms such as "this controls the low end preamp gain" and "this controls the high end post amp gain" confuse the hell out of me! It's supposed to be the key behind the Marshall tones and the Boogie tones etc. But if you can't use it then it's not very useful is it?
All I want to know is how to go from a light crunch to balls heavy screaming gain. I don't care about post or pre amp gain.
The instructions make some controls sound like EQ as it talks about bass, mid and high levels. But if this is the case, why don't they just mark them as such?
I had a bit of a tweak but get lost. I even looked at some of the settings in the book and on the webpage to get some hints but they don't help either.

If any one wants to email me and talk me through how to use them, please do!

Sound Quality: 10
Unbelievable!
And the reason why I don't need to tweak with the settings.
You can hear my Tech21 on my bands website at www.bornjovi.com/mp3.htm.

It imitates Marshall, Mesa Boogie and Fender and it is amazingly accurate with all of them. Just go to the Tech21 website and DL some of the audio clips. I love the all star jam where they do Schencker, Hendrix and Van Halen. Spot on!

When I got rid of my 5150 I was looking for a similar balls heavy amp. The problem with my 5150 was that the gain was causing lots of feedback problems and noise hiss (and this was with a HUSH unit!).
I wanted a Soldano but couldn't afford one. You think they are expensive in the US. Try getting one over here in the UK!
I tried a Pod and as good as it was, I could hear the digital quality and though the audience wouldn't tell. I could and that narked me.

I was purposefully avoiding rack equipment as they had never compared to true all valve equipment. Anyway, one day, a friend just sent me the mp3 "psa-hvy" and what spat out of my speaker was fierce Boogie riffing. It was amazing and had the balls that my 5150 had. I begged him to tell me what it was, expecting the words: Soldano, Custom, Boogie, $10,000 to be uttered.
He told me what it was and amazed me even more when he told me it wasn't valve. I could not tell. No way at all! And when he told me the price, well I think that was when I fainted.

At home I MIDI it up with a Rocktron Intellifex amd then run it into a hi fi power amp and a Mashall 1936 2X12 cabinet. And it sounds gorgeous. Live I go direct into the PA (which is why I don't have my own dedicated guitar power amp and use the hi fi when at home).
My guitars are an Ibanez RG570 and an Ibanez Jem 77FP.

Patch 5, Hi Gain Marshall and patch 24, Mesa Boogie Rectifier are my main patches and they are awesome.

The low end on the rectifier makes the room shake and spits out single string, palm muted runs with immense power. Imagine the riff to Bon Jovi's "Lay Your Hands On Me" and you will be there. You just won't need 6 multi tracked guitars to achieve the power! I love this sound and it allows my licks to cut through in a live setting without having to stomp on my lead channel all of the time.
Patch 5, Hi Gain Marshall has less bass and is not as 'muddy' as the typical Boogie sound. This is very Soldano - ish. Very reminiscent of Van Halen and his hot rodded Marshall Plexi. There is a Van Halen patch, 8, but that is not as good,IMO, as patch 5.

The clean settings are crystal, nay, sparkling and just cry out for lush chorus and reverb!

As I say, I have had no need to alter any of the presets. Normally the presets are wank. But these were very useable.
Likewise, I have had no call to use the bass settings so I cannot comment on them.

Reliability: N/A
No problems so far.

Customer Support: 10
I have emailed a number of times with questions (no doubt stupid ones) about the presets and what not. I have always had a quick and polite response. Especially from Lloyd Schwartz.

Overall Rating: 10
This unit should cost 100 quid more, and even that is good value.
The unit is brilliant.
It was a toss up between this and a Digitech 2120. I amnot saying it is better. No doubt the all in one of the Digitech would suit a techno phobe like me much better than farting around with MIDI and cables like I am at the moment.
What I can say is that I love what I have and amn ot wanting anything.
Any tone you want from spartling clean, to bluesy crunch, to hi gain modern rock. It is all there.
Hendrix, Clapton, Van Halen, Schencker, Metallica, Pantera. They are all there.

Submitted by Justin Briggs at 10/04/2002 07:42

Price Paid: US $347 used

Features: 9
I was able to get Marshall, Mesa and Fender dirty and clean sounds out this thing that all sounded and felt very different through all of my guitars, of yeah they also all sounded and felt great. This unit is very responsive to my attack and everything my fingers do on the guitar. It has midi control for switching channels and only takes up one rack space.

Sound Quality: 10
I found it to be simply awesome, but what does that mean if my only other previous experience has been playing through crap equipment? I don’t know you can decide for yourself here’s some of my other equipment: Marshall 8080 valvestate, Johnson JM-120, Boss VF-1, POD (forget which it was a friends, he took back), old Fender squire practice amp. I play a Carvin bolt w/ 1 humbucker 2 singles Wilkinson trem, a new Ovation tangent acoustic/electric and a Gibson SG Special. I use the PSA for direct recording using the Boss VF-1 and an old Digitech RP-1 for various effects. For live (just a jam band at parties with my brother on bass and a drummer) I run the PSA into either my Marshall 8080 or Johnson JM-120 with these amps set to be very clean with the Bass on 0, Mid on 5 and High on 0, so these are just used for power amps and speaker cabs, they provide little to no color on the sound. I also have a Mesa 20/20 rack mounted tube power amp and ran the PSA into that then into a Carvin 2-12" speaker cab. I didn’t notice much of a difference in any of those 3 setups other than how loud they could get, the Mesa/Carvin cab option was the loudest, but to my surprise they all sounded about the same and felt good when playing to me and the band.

Reliability: N/A
Bought used, shipped to me, so far so good no problems. I don’t gig out much, maybe a party or two a year, but use every week at my studio for the last 6 months. The guy I bought it from had it for over 2 years.

Customer Support: 8
Sent an email to tech-21 wondering about how to use phantom midi power from it to power a foot switch. They replied the same day with some schematic/elect. engineering charts, I could’ve taken these to one of my local repair shops and had them make a modification to it I guess. Also tech-21 offered to make the mod for $40-50, but this would kill the warranty. I ended up just using my RP-1’s midi out into the tech-21’s midi in to switch channels.

Overall Rating: 10
I noticed that many people who trashed this item didn’t give details on their entire setup. The sound you get outa this baby’s gonna depend on your guitar, PSA-1 settings, power amp, speaker cabinet, effects and how you’ve got them all tweaked to work together. I used a few different amps/preamps and this one was the easiest to tweak (it’s all just turning knobs no silly scrolling through screens etc..) and took the shortest amount of time to get great sounds (just by tweaking the presents I had GREAT sounds in under 20 minutes). I love this thing and can’t believe it’s been out so long, way before all the current "Hot" amp modelers were and in my opinion the PSA smokes them all for versatility (tons of sounds, great for live and studio work), ease of use and most importantly to me the responsiveness to your pick/attack/fingers. Also it responds great to all of my guitars volume and tone knobs. I’d highly recommend this unit to anyone who understands all the parts involved in getting a great guitar sound for both live and recording environments. Look at the price that you can nab one of these used for and I don’t think you can really loose, if you don’t like it you can always sell it for what you paid if you get a good price like I think I did.

Submitted by Dave H. at 09/16/2002 17:02

Price Paid: US $600

Ease of Use: N/A
I posted the review just below this one and this is just a follow up. The follow up concerns the repair side of the service and how they are very very rude and nonservice oriented. buyer beware when it comes to repair.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: 2
I had it for five months and it crapped out. Turns out it was the internal clock and was covered by warranty...or so I thought.

Customer Support: 1
I have had a change to deal with they product manager and the secretary there. One thing about this place is make sure you call between 9-5 Eastern time...they have no hours posted on their answering machine so you dont' know exactly when they are in. But I got a hold of them at 3 so that seems to be a good time.
I sent the unit out for a malfuntion and payed $50 bucks to have it shippped there for warranty work. I get a call three weeks later that is is ready but I have to pay $30 bucks. That was about enough to make me flip out but I took a breath and sent them the e-mail receipt that musiciansfriend sent to me(I lost the paper one long ago). I fax this document to them and they call me back to tell me that this is not enough. Well, why isn't it enough? She tells me I need to call Musiciansfriend and have them fax me an "official" receipt to them. At this point I tell them to just keep it...I am completely fed up with warranty crap. I have a Brian Moore go in for a 2 Month repair job(they picked up the shipping and all repairs too) and a Fender Twin for a complete fucking year didn't work. So, I get turned over to the Plant manager or the coffee boy one and he assures me that all I have to do is tell Musiciansfriend to fax them a receipt. Why should they have to get involved? He says he needs an official receipt. I tell him I got this one of their website(because they have a accounts area you can check and print out your past orders). Then he says that the document proves that I bought it there and that it is covered by the warranty I STILL need to have an official invoice. I thanked him for the information and told him to enjoy his new PSA-1. So, just remember that if your unit breaks and it probably will that have some money set aside(at least 100 bucks) so that you can get your eqipment working again. I am through with their products for this one aspect of their business. Since Fender And Brian Moore stood behind their products and incurred the charge I will be faithful to their product line. To hold a 600 dollar piece of equipment in leu of $30 repair bill is just stupid and they can keep it.

Overall Rating: 1
They have lost a repeat buyer. The sound was good through a Fender Twin or direct into a recorder but since they have no trust in their customers and are so cheap in their customer service\repair department I won't buy again. I was actually looking at dropping another 400 dollars on their stuff( wanted the Acoustic DI and the Tri A.C.) but will find something else with better reviews. It just goes to show that a product is only as good as the people that stand behind it and the amount they care for the purchaser.

Submitted by Shawn Wellman at 09/13/2002 13:26

Price Paid: US $600

Features: 10
This amp is very very impressive. I play many styles from originals to covers to metal. This unit covers it all. Yes it does take some time to tweak it out and make it sound good but all and all darn cool. I wish it had an off button up front but oh well.

Sound Quality: 9
I run a Brian Moore i.2 or a strat into this unit and both come out sounding great. I then run the sansamp into a Fender Twin amp. It can get a bit noisy in some of the metal settings but this can be taken care of by setting the output to -10db on the back panel. Brutal...I think as brutal as you could ever possibly want and the best thing is that in a push of a button you can get the cleanest clean....and all solid state at that!!!!!

Reliability: 5
Here is why I am writting this review, though I have wanted to write one for a while. I have owned the unit for about 8 months. I had my twin in the shop being serviced and recently bought a new amp. When I plugged my sansamp in and got ready to play is came up with the letter 'A' and no sound. I got in contact with Tech 21 and they are going to fix it. It makes me wonder how reliable this unit is. I will get it fixed and see if it makes it a year and repost.

Customer Support: 10
Now they do rock in this area. I had some questions early on about midi controllers and they were very quick and very knowledgable about the ins and outs of this unit. They even told me how to get the best sound out of the unit when playing it on a combo amp such as the twin. For the repait they are going to take care of it all I have to do is send it to them. They said it sounds like a microprocessor went bad so hopefully I will have it back in a few days.

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing for 15 years and this is the only distortion that I will use. I am going to purchase the Sansamp TRI A.C. just because it would be easier to carry around for small little jam sessions and what not. I am actually considering have the sansamp set inside my Twin so that it is always with me!!!!!!! Just an awesome piece of equipment for anyone who plays a lot of styles. Hopefully when it is repaired it will never break again but electronics can be very unreliable. Always do your best to play something like this though because everyone is just a little different and like different things.

Submitted by Shawn Wellman at 08/20/2002 19:06

Price Paid: US $600 (my wallets aching)

Features: 8
This is a totally solid state MIDI controlled preamp. This preamp doesn't have channels, it has presets. I wish that it had a dedicated headphone jack and a post-gain mid knob.

Sound Quality: 10
I play a Fender Standard Stratocaster's bridge pickup into this fucker. I play thrash/death/black metal and am going for a fat, cutting, clear, defined, articulate, percussive, tight, and punchy distortion sorta like a dimed Plexi meets a JCM 800. Think Slayer but less boutique-ey, if you understand what I'm saying. It sounds absolutly wonderful even on tape, but it doesn't cut as much as I hoped, but I should've remembered to back up on the gain a step and add more mids and treble to the guitar tracks. As for clean, that isn't perfect, but I think a tad bit more treble and mids in the mix would make it cut more and less gain.

Reliability: 10
Listen, it's made in NYC. Do you want to fuck with that? No tubes so very little to worry about.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt.

Overall Rating: 9
If it were stolen, I'd buy it again instantly. I seriously wish it had a post-gain mid knob and that the knobs were aligned better (they're half a step to a whole step off).

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/18/2002 21:23

Price Paid: just demoed

Ease of Use: 3
It Is pretty hard to use...You have to Dial each aspect in precisely to get what you want!

Sound Quality: 4
The cleans were too high and most other sounds were sounding like they came out of a tin can! Slim! But I was using it for direct recording! I don't know what it sounds like through a good poweramp?? It must sound better considering all the good reviews?

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 3
Not good for direct recording, but maybe it's better with a full setup? I have been playing for 15 years, and am into bands like Dimmu Borgir/Soilwork/Iced Earth/etc. I have the Rocktron Voodu Valve Online which I like a hell of a lot better! And I hear the Piranha is better than that? JMP-1=Junk I heard the new Rectorecording preamp is Phat...we will see?

Submitted by Lorde at 08/10/2002 03:00

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
This is just an update as I have had the PSA-1 for several months now. My previous review was based soley on how it performed recording direct. I was previously playing the PSA-1 direct into a P.A. but now have upgraded my gear....read below.

Sound Quality: 10
The PSA-1 smoked before, and although I thought it impossible, it sounds even better now! I am playing a Jackson DKMGT Guitar into the PSA-1, through a Mosvalve MV-962 and then into a Marshall 1960 4x12. The sound I get is absoulutely amazing and is huge! My band plays Metallica's cover of "The Small Hours" at gigs and when I am hitting solid drop-D in that song it sounds "none more black" - Spinal Tap

Reliability: N/A
No problems ever. Won't have any.

Customer Support: N/A
Everytime I email these guys they get back to me within a day. It is unreal. They help me with extra things like what type of fuse to get if the PSA-1 ever blew, etc. Always helpful.

Overall Rating: N/A
I try not to be too critical of people, but when I read some of the reviews below it amazes me. It is almost like we were not playing the same gear. I agree with a guy below about the importance of additional equipment, etc. Everything along the chain has to be good. One piece (pickups, bad cord, sorry power amp, etc.) and you won't have it. Just a sidenote, I played through headphones once with the PSA-1 and hated it. Trust me, when you are going into a recording studio, etc. it sounds awesome.

Submitted by Mike Puskas at 08/06/2002 23:37

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
I just tweak the presets and I can pretty much find any type of tone I need. the controls are very sensistive, so take it easy. It's easy to get a bad sound out of this if you don't know what you're doing. Just read the manual and the descriptions of each control. Start with a preset you like and tweak away. You'll find your sound in no time.

Sound Quality: 10
I bought this for the distortion. It's BRUTAL! I play a PRS from the late 80's and a Jackson custom shop soloist. Let me emphasize something: THIS UNIT NEEDS TO BE HOOKED UP TO A GOOD POWER AMP AND A GOOD CABINET!! If you use a shitty gear with it, you will not get a good tone. That goes for any preamp. I have a Mesa 50/50 and a mesa recto 4x12 and a marshall jcm800 4x12. Quality gear= quality tone. It's a very simple concept.

Reliability: 10
no problems

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
it's rocks......Case closed

Submitted by Anonymous at 08/01/2002 00:11

Price Paid: US $550

Features: 10
I get every sound I need from this, from clean to nu metal

Sound Quality: 10
Ok, this unit has recieved some bad reviews(probobly from a disgruntled guy who bought this and didn't know how to really utilize it; I think he even left multiple bad reviews) and I'm here to tell you that this thing rules! I use this with my mesa 2:90 power amp, my recto 4x12 and a sonic maximizer in the effects loop. My sound is HUGE!! You can get so many incredible sounds from this, you just need to match it up with the right poweramp/cab combo and a sonic maximizer for extra balls. I'm a very picky guy when it comes to my tone and I'm very happy with my setup.

Reliability: 10
No problems to report

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 10
I love this unit, it's all I ever asked for. I can get all my super heavy sounds and some nice clean sounds.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/30/2002 01:52

Price Paid: US $299.00

Ease of Use: 10
It's very easy to use,just turn knobs.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Les Paul Studio with stock pick ups[excellent],PSA-1 of course,Marshall power amp,and a marshall jcm 900 1960b cab.Perfect tone.I don't know what those two tube geeks below this review are talking about.I've got great tone.Very very unique and original.I've noticed tube lovers are picky as hell.Every tone I've ever thought of,I can get out of this.I'm finally happy.

Reliability: 10
I've had it for a year,no prblems.

Customer Support: 10
The dude I talked to was pretty cool and helpful.

Overall Rating: 10
I play with a Faith No More,Primus,Pink Floydish,Mr.Bungle type feel.I'm also a huge Beatles,Doors,Frank Zappa fan.This unit is so versitle that it has inspired me in a whole new way.I've been playing for a few years and I've never been happier.Remember though,it's all a matter of opinion.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/25/2002 22:21

Price Paid: US $695

Features: 7

Sound Quality: 5
I felt the PSA-1 was OK for shredding and thrash but that I could never dial in a softer distortion or overdrive, and I spent probably at least 40 hours trying. It was always noisy/hissy and its decrescendoing sound as it would fade out would kind of crackle and sound rather solid state to my ears. Keep in mind I ONLY ever tried it via headphones, and NEVER through a cabinet -- since I was mainly interested in it for recording purposes. So while it has plenty of controls that you'd think would allow plenty of versatility I could never get a punchy sound without excess noise/hiss/crackle. As I recall, though, it's cleans weren't too bad, and the cabinet simulation was decent.

Some comparisons (all through headphones): Rockman Sustainor or XPR distortions were much smoother, less noisy and no crackle -- much more akin to what I wanted (although Rockman units have proven to be a bit bright and presence heavy for me compared to my current love the VOX Valvetronix AD120VT). POD Pro 2.0: Smoother distortions and much more flexible (but I found the POD Pro to have too much of a "veiled" sound, like putting your hand in front of your mouth when talking, and like others say it didn't feel like a tube amp to me). VOX Valvetronix (again, ONLY through headphones at this point): Creamy, versatile, smooth, tubey. It *can* do shred pretty well, but it can also do smooth OD or pop-rock, etc., and it also contains a decent set of programmable modelled effects. Granted, I changed the tubes to NOS Mullards right away but even stock this amp (through headphones) sounded great and I was able to quickly dial in very good sounds.

Reliability: 9
Solid metal chassis, plastic(?) knobs seemed quite sturdy, rack-mountable so should be pretty reliable. Always worked fine. But my experience is too limited to be of great use.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A
I kinda feel this unit is a two-trick pony: Noisy shred or metal and reasonable cleans. It's definitely heavy and ballsy, but IMHO pretty noisy. But even if those are the two ponies you want to ride you still might test out a different unit (like the POD Pro). Or, if you need an amplifier that can double as a direct recording device check out a VOX AD120VT or its 30W little bro' the AD60VT.

Submitted by kevinsha at 07/23/2002 15:11

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
You can do lots with this preamp, it is very versatile with many ways to connect it for playing, recording, etc.

Sound Quality: 6
The previous review captures my exact opinion of this preamp "Still has a screechy solid state sound to it"! The distortion sounds very cheesy and you can dial everything out except the cheese. I would compare this closely to the Boss MetalZone MT2 in pedal form. Loads and gobs of distortion but always a hair off from what your ears want to hear. Sounds OK at frist but eventually you get a headache from it. I have not heard anything from this preamp that I would call good. If you like PODs and the MT2 then you probably will like this but if you like tube distortion, forget about it. Go back to the ADA MP1 because this doesn't hold a candle to it! I have played bass and guitar through this preamp and with several speaker combos to no avail.

Reliability: N/A
Seems reliable but I've only had it a couple months.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know..

Overall Rating: 6
Flat, solid state sound to screechy solid state sound. Nothing else matters. A million ways to use flat tone is still just flat tone. My solid state Crate G60 from 15 years ago actually sounds better in my opinion.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/19/2002 10:42

Price Paid: US $500 new

Ease of Use: 10
Very easy to use. Good method of programming. Just twist knobs and store.

Sound Quality: 6
Sound quality, depends on what you want to use it for. If you play in a cover band and need a wide variety of sounds then this preamp is for you. If you want your own perfect, defining tube tone get a tube amp. It's good for copying and getting a rough idea of what the sound should be, Still has a screechy solid state sound to it. For example the high gain sounds, at best, are reminiscent of really really bad Chinese 12ax7 tubes.

The cabinet simulator is good for DEMO quality work, don't expect fantastic tone from long hours of miking placement either. Like I said this is for a cover band guitar player.

Reliability: 10
Very dependable.

Customer Support: 7
Had a problem with the MIDI out. It worked, then it didn't. Sent it to sans amp checked out fine. But still would never work after that. Just ended up using processor to control it instead of vice versa. Never gave out seems pretty indestructable.

Overall Rating: N/A
I've been playing 15 years and have owned practically every amp it's supposed to copy, so I can say close but no cigar. I had to have something that was excellent for recording so I switched to a Soldano preamp with a Mesa 50/50 power amp for dirty and a 70's twin for clean.
Like I said if your set list includes The beatles and metallica and you don't want a perfect sounding, huge rig with morley A/B boxes and old DOD masterswitches get a PSA-1.

Submitted by Dave Gruber at 07/13/2002 18:18

Price Paid: US $570.00

Features: 10
It's VERY versatile. My GOD is it versatile! I get everything from a heavy ass nu metal distortion to crystal clean.

Sound Quality: 10
Ok, here's the deal: ALL YOU IDIOTS WHO FAVOR TUBES OVER SOLID STATE, GET OFF THE BANDWAGON AND OPEN YOUR MINDS A LITTLE! This is the 21st century, you don't need tubes to get a tube sound anymore. I own a dual rectifier and a jcm800 and they sit in their road cases, because I like this better. I was using a mesa 2:90 to power this, until it crapped out on me(tubes...ugh). I bought a used mosvalve power amp off of ebay, to use until my mesa is fixed and I like the way this combo of psa-1 and mosvalve power amp sound. The 2:90 sounded awesome, but i can't deal with the headaches.

Reliability: 10
it's solid state, need I say more?

Customer Support: 10
these guys are very cool!!!

Overall Rating: 10
with the exception of my Les Paul custom, this is the only piece of gear I've ever been entirely happy with. The key to making this unit sound awesome, is in matching it with a good poweramp and a decent speaker cab. I got the idea from another reviewer to put a sonic maximizer in the effects loop. Smart guy, it makes this thing sound UNREAL!

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/10/2002 03:22

Price Paid: US $599

Features: 10
Brand New. Just bought it at SAM ASH Music in PA. I can not believe all the sounds you can get out of this amp.

I have a music store in my studio, GSP-2101, Mesa Triaxis, Mesa Dual Rect, Marshall TSL, Peavey Profex, 5150 Head, etc.... If it comes out I buy it (my wife's a doctor). This amp does all of those and then some.

Sound Quality: 10
I primarily use Ibanez guitars and Music Man Axis.
I play all sorts of music from blues and jazz to rock to metal.
I can not believe all the sounds you get out of this little preamp. I can immitate all the other amps I have and I can not tell the difference. Either on tape or live.

The Mesa settings are amazing...I dig the Pantera setting right out of the box through the Mesa 290 power amp on Modern it straight up rocks.

Reliability: N/A
Only had a couple of days.

Customer Support: 10
Have not had to call them yet. Warrenty rocks.

Overall Rating: 10
All I have to say is I can not believe all those sounds come from one amp with no tubes!!!!

Submitted by Jeff at 07/02/2002 16:20

Price Paid: US $350 used

Features: 10
Not many people realize this, but Tech21 will provide anyone who asks, some firmware that will allow the PSA to respond to MIDI continuous controller data. It isn't an official part of the product because Tech21 says that it causes 'zipper noise'.

Anyway, at first I thought this thing was too limited, but then I realized that it truly is meant to do one thing and do it well! So in terms of a guitar preamp, it has great features (lack of effects is absolutely irrelevant)

I don't know if this is true, but I also hear you can use the effects loop to achieve an output that bypasses the speaker cab simulation in its output section. That is good if you want to use a dedicated simulator or go to power amp and cab.

And the particular type of controls this thing has are fantastic. It has two controls to mimic pre and post gain. It also has these frequency shaping controls (labeled buzz, punch, and crunch) that have quite an unusual powerful effect (similar to pre-EQ perhaps).

Anyway, enough about features - let's talk about sound.

Sound Quality: 10
Here is my setup:
Ibanez 540S with DiMarrzio Evolution in bridge
PSA1
ADA Microcab
BBE 482
TC M-One Effects Processor

My style of music: Rock instrumental (Vai, Satch) and contemporary/new age instrumental

First let me say I record direct. I don't like how the PSA sounds direct. I need to do a lot of EQ tweaking to get a nice direct sound. So I use the ADA Microcab and it makes this thing sound amazing direct. Sometimes I get goosebumps when I play this setup.

I used to have a Marshall 4x12, but I sold it. I tried using the PSA with a Hafler P3000 power amp and I just didn't like the sound that much. But in a music store, I tried it with an Ibanez Prestige S Series guitar, some sort of Mesa power amp through a Mesa cabinet and it was the most amazing sound I have ever heard. I wish I remembered the exact combo of gear I used. Anyway, the point is, with the right power amp and cabinet this thing will smoke anything on the planet.

Lately I have been comparing the PSA to two reputable amp plugins - NIGEL (works with the UAD DSP card) and Amplitube. They don't come close. Enough said.

The lead tone on this thing is so damn sweet. I used to have a Johnson Millenium (which cost over $1000) 250 head, and it sounded pretty harsh (especially harmonics). There is no harshness to the PSA. It has a very rich, complex sound. Very full. Ludicrous amount of gain. Usually I have to crank premaps all the way to come close to getting the gain I like, but I can have this thing at 75% and that is plenty!

And another thing - this thing will experience feedback much like a 'real' amp. That goes to show you how responsive its signal chain is.

If you want to hear how this thing sounds in my setup, check out my recordings at

www.guitar-dreams.com.

All recordings made AFTER Dec 2001 were done with the PSA and Microcab.

Reliability: N/A
I bought it used last year and haven't had any trouble.

Customer Support: 5
They tend to be quite slow at answering emails. Quite annoying.

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing about 13 years. This is my favorite sounding setup (not that I have had many). People tell me they really like my tone with this setup. Other modelers don't compare (POD,etc). They are not capable of the versatility of tone that the PSA has.

I am moving to Germany this summer and am bringing this bad boy with me!

Submitted by Brian Huether at 06/09/2002 20:46

Price Paid: US $275.00 used

Features: 9
Extremely versatile. Easy to dial-in whatever you want. No effects but that is ok since the sounds aren't masked by a wall of effects. I am still not use to the lack of an "on'off" switch.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a variety of guitars - Fender 68 RI Strat, Music Man Super Sport Axis, PRS Custom 22, and a Gibson Les Paul Custom. Everything sounds great thru the PSA-1. I am extremely satisfied with the cleans and the distorted patches. I run it through a Peavey Classic 50/50 eith the TC Electronics G-Major for effects. Awesome!!!

Reliability: 10
I purchased the unit used and it has never had a problem. Despite it's flawless record I would "never" go without a backup.

Customer Support: 10
Immediately after purchasing the unit I e-mail Tech 21 with a couple of questions. I received a reply within the hour. Very impressively!!! They seem like a friendly bunch of people.

Overall Rating: 10
I also have a Carvin Quad-X preamp in the same rack but this is my main sound unit. If this was stolen or lost I would definitely get another one. I have compared this to the POD Pro and the JMP-1 and the PSA-1 blows them away. An increadible bargain when purchased used.

Submitted by pcs2000 at 06/07/2002 10:09

Price Paid: about 600 (UK Pounds Sterling)

Features: 9
I thought i had written a review for this a while ago but i guess i havent. anyway, here goes:

This thing is versatile as hell. its a midi preamp with 49 user presets and 49 factory presets. its all solid state, but it uses FET's rather than transistors which allow it to provide a more organic tone. it also uses its FET's configured in a push-pull circuit like that of a class AB tube amp, unlike other solid state units. this makes the tone a lot more responsive.

NOW, what gives this thing the real kick in versatility is the use of BUZZ, PUNCH, and CRUNCH for controls. this is NOT bass, middle, and treble. these knobs adjust the amount of BREAKUP in low, middle, or high frequencies, respectively. a tight modern sound, for example, calls for LESS buzz and more punch. this allows you to rework the very tonality of the simulated amp, giving changes in character that are similar to those you would get with mods to the respective amp. this feature also allows you to shape the tone in a way that other modelling amps most definitely do not.

the way you adjust the actual amount of frequency in there is with the LO and HI knobs. my ONLY beef is that there is no mid knob. it's still possible to make a scooped or raunchy, nasal sound without it, but it requires more tweaking. adding a mid knob would make it easier.

FOR REFERENCE: my setup is as follows:
Guitars:
-Ibanez RG7420 7 string, stock
-Cort Solo w/ EMG 85 in the bridge

Poweramp/cab:
-none. i run this into the input of my marshall valvestate combo set to a VERY clean sound with the EQ knobs all at 12:00

Sound Quality: 10
i bought this thing by faith, because EVERYONE at a store recommended it over the JMP-1 which i intended to buy. since i could return it, i figured what the hell.

when i first plugged this thing in, i have to say i was disappointed. the sounds were all a tad bit scratchy and harsh. i soon found out, however, that this is not an amp that sounds good out of the box. this may sound cliche, but you really do have to tweak it. i've made several killer presets, anywhere from a mesa recto without the muddiness, or a marshall jcm-900 without all the harsh treble, to a gained out, hot rodded plexi.

this thing sounds EVEN BETTER on stage than it does in the bedroom (not something you can say for most solid state units :-D). some of the harsh treble which comes through mine gets lost in the mix and it sounds really killer. i'm almost positive, though, that this treble is my fault for running 2 preamps in a row (the psa-1 followed by the preamp in my valvestate). yes, the distortion IS brutal. yes, the gain IS powerful. and yes, the clean IS beautiful. this thing can model 49 different amps so your tonal pallette from which you build your presets is just immense.

i have noticed some hiss at high volumes, but it doesnt get to me.

Reliability: 10
i got this thing christmas of 2001 and it hasnt gone down on me yet. one potential problem is that there's no on/off switch. however, the manual says it's not a problem, and that recording studios that use these things leave them on 24/7 with no problem. sounds good to me. i flip off the power switch at the wall at night just in case tho ;)

Customer Support: N/A
havent had to deal with them yet

Overall Rating: 9
im really pleased with it. i've been playing for almost 5 years now. if it were stolen or lost id DEFINITELY pick up a new one. i did compare it to the marshall JMP-1, and decided against it because the marshall only makes 4 sounds, whereas this makes 49. one of those 49 happens to be a JMP-1 preset, which is a very good representation imo. again, i wish it had a mid knob but i can do without it. if you cant, you may want to invest in an EQ pedal or a rack EQ of some sort.

Submitted by Garroch at 06/04/2002 12:39

Price Paid: US $400 used

Ease of Use: 10
Very easy to setup, the sounds are great, there is basically no need of manual, although it is well written and comprehensive. I love this unit, as pretty much anything else SansAmp puts out

Sound Quality: 10
Excellent sound quality. It has pretty much eq tailoring (low and high) and buncha other contour knobs, what it lacks is a mid eq knob, though. Aside from that it rules.

Reliability: N/A
no probs with it yet

Customer Support: 10
great cust support

Overall Rating: 10
I play mainly metal. This amp has been a godsent - the best frigging distortion. I run it thru Peavey 50/50 classic tube power amp and it sounds killer. Some of the clean setting are not that helpful, but I bought it mainly for its distortion sound and this is great!
For the price new it might be a bit expensive, but I got mine used and I think it is a great value. Definitely easy to use and in sound quality it beats all the amp simulated effects, like the POD pro.

Submitted by Anonymous at 06/03/2002 12:16

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 9
A VERRY GOOD pre-amp, it's verry easy to save your presets, controlling it with any midicontroller...
Just say it's verry nice!!!
Has midi in/out, 2* outputs xlr and 1/4 jack.
I use it with a mesa simul 2:ninety and it souds KILLER, i previous had a Dual REctifier and i've sold it cause this setup sounds MUCH BETTER, believe me.

Sound Quality: 9
I use it with a gibson sg Standard with EMG-81 pickups in it.
I Play in a band called FULL COURT PRESS www.fcponline.net and we play hiphop infleuenced hardcore.
It just has a killer brutal sound or else the verry good clean sound of a fender etc.

Reliability: 8
Good

Customer Support: 9
Verry Good, they always answer your mails directly.

Overall Rating: 9
I've bin playing for about 6 years now and use the sansamp with the mesa Simul 2: ninety, behringher ultrafex pro sound modulizer, tc electronic G-Major, and i use a Korg DTR-2 Rackmount tuner.
My guitars are a Gibson SG Standard with EMG 81 pickups, and i gonna buy myself a Gibson LesPaul Smartwood.

Submitted by Anonymous at 04/19/2002 11:02

Price Paid: US $100.00 used

Features: 7
I would have to agree with most of the posts here on this baby!
Its is the hottest pre amp I or any of my freinds have had the chance to pleasure!
Unfortunatley, while its the best sounding unit.. and i have had almost every avbailable pre amp made in my 15 years tenure as a guitarist.. But the features are awful..
I dont want to have to MAP my presets to channels 50-55 etc.. It would be much better if the user presets were the first block of 50 and vice versa..
Big let down there..

Sound Quality: 9
The crunch is pure brutal!
I Love it..
But.. again i would give this a 10 but cannot:
Does the terms LOUD AND OBNOXIOUS white noise and hiss/hums offend anyone else?
Well, thats about all this does at "real" volumes if you even pause/break for a millisecond..
Even with my Rocktron Super C Hush and an additional gate from my compressor it does this and can not be remedied.
I am very unhappy about that!
As for clean tones..
Its pretty bad too.
Oh, they sound great! but they cant be set up to match the levels of the gains..Not unless you throw your dc mix all to heck..
So you go from blistering loud crunch to an acoustic sound that is drowned out by the drummer and singer on stage.
Real dissappointed in that too.

Even with my lower ratings, I still beleive its the absolute BEST pre amp on the market in its class.
I would rocommend it to anyone!

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 9
They guys over at Kaman are pretty nice. I spent alot of time with them trying to figure out how to get thru the above mentioed issues..
Ultimately, they said there was no way around it and it was the characteristics of the unit.

They were helpful.

Overall Rating: 9
this is a great sounding pre amp.
I say the best!
if you can get past the problems i have with it or just dont care as much about them as i do, Then you will be one happy cat!
I highly recommend it!
As for giving this or any other unit a 10.. the unit would have to be absolute perfection in all aspects...No piece of gear will prbably ever merit such a level.
Your ears may tell you that now, but in 2-4 or even 10 years down the road.. these opinions always change as does the gear....

Submitted by Scott at 04/12/2002 21:26

Price Paid: US $350

Ease of Use: 8
This is not a ten because (1) there is no "mind-to-circuitry" connection (you actually have to turn the knobs with your hand or feet) to shape your sound, and (2) the terms "buzz", "punch", "crunch", etc. aren't used much on units by other manufacturers-- but these terms ARE in guitarists vocabularies and in MHO descriptive and cool.

It is so easy to record with this. I don't have to mess with micing an amp. And most important is that there are no compromises in tone.

Sound Quality: 10
I consider myself a tone afficionado. Cut to the chase: This rack unit rocks my world completely. I write songs and have a pretty amazing home studio. I also have a choice collection of guitar pedals. With the PSA-1 you can dial in with fine detail just about any guitar tone that a multitude of amps would otherwise require. For the past several years, we have heard so much propaganda about having real tubes for getting the best tone. What a load of marketing crap! This unit is solid state. No tubes. It is all analog, too. It sounds extremely responsive to your playing and very organic. It can shred, do SRV, country-- any style.

My setup: My main axe is one I never heard anyone else having. It's a Ibanez Roadster (this spelling is correct). There are nonstock EMG's in there. I bought it new in 1980. It is a strat copy that I suspect was too close so it disappeared quickly (my theory-- could be wrong). This guitar goes into the Empirical Labs "Distressor" (the most awesome compressor ever made), then into the SansAmp, then into the Ensoniq DP/4 (one of the best ever delays-- by the way, it is digital and very WARM sounding; putting guitar, vocals, whatever through a bit of this will easily warm up otherwise thin sounds that are a result of recording digitally), then finally into the Lexicon LXP 15 II. You come out of the Lex in stereo at the end of this chain, and you will be in heaven. You will feel that whatever pro sound you want, you'll be able to get. There-- there are all my secrets just handed to you on a silver platter (well, maybe not all...).

I have other guitars, like a Fat Tele, and they all sound fabulous in this chain.

I might add a pedal in this chain, depending on what I'm going for. Maybe a Ross Phase Distortion, Guyatone Wah Rocker, whatever, for that special sound.

Reliability: 10
The original review for the PSA-1 appeared in Electronic Musician in October 1994. You can still buy this all these years after. Obvious to me is that this is a modern classic piece of gear and a reliable, time-tested design. I bought mine used several years ago and I have been around the world with it. It is completely reliable. I never had a problem with it.

Customer Support: N/A
I have never dealt with them. I guess they are in NY, NY I believe, so I'd expect an attitude.

Overall Rating: 10
Overall, if you are really picky about tone and have gone through various pedals searching for what will give you the sounds you want, get this for a million different guitar sounds. Get your head straightened about about needing tubes; the PSA-1 is soooo organic and responsive and tube-like. You won't miss your tube amp! This makes life sooo easy for recording. Once you get comfortable with the controls, you'll feel like god, in control of the Universe of Guitar Tones. I went through half a store load of different gear before finally finding this and I wouldn't want to play guitar without it. One caveat, though, is that I AM talking about the sound I get through the chain mentioned above. But just the PSA-1 and the Lexi coming out in stereo is heaven, so you don't need the expensive compressor to sound great with this. Overall: This thing will go down in guitar gear history!

Submitted by Anonymous at 04/07/2002 12:51

Price Paid: US $720

Features: N/A
There are 49 factory presets which sound like heaven and 49 user presets which are left for you to program. It's solid state and the Buzz Punch and Crunch controls are awesome! They alter your tone in ways you never thought possible. (and normally wouldn't find on other amps). This is what makes the PSA-1 sound so incredible and Flexible at the same time. This baby can rumble like a Boogie or sparkle like a Bogner

Sound Quality: 10
I took the damn thing apart and i can't find no tubes in it! There must be something wrong! It's warmer than most tube amps out there, save the boutique ones.

Reliability: 9
Hey SS. No tubes.

Customer Support: 9
Support was quite good, responded a day to my query and even explained to me the reason why it sounds great running it through a solid state poweramp and all.

Overall Rating: 10
I let my pal with a Boogie dual rec try it out and he prefered my Rectifier setting to his actual one. Hmm.... The cleans are good but it's the distortion settings which steal the show. The Plexi setting sounds as good as my own Plexi, though slightly different. Great product. The XLRs out prove useful for recording direct.

Submitted by Anonymous at 04/03/2002 05:35

Price Paid: US $409 (with shipping from CA to HK) used

Ease of Use: 9
Even a baby can play it without a problem. Just turn the knob to your favourite tone and click "save" twice. The only problem is the 2-digit LED, not enough to inidicate all the info in Special Function mode. 50 factory presets and 50 user presets. Seems not many but enoguh for me already.

Sound Quality: 10
I am using Ibanez JEM 555 (all Evolution), Epiphone Les Paul Classic w/ Dimarzio PAF Pro (neck) and Air Zone bridge, a Japanese Epiphone SG 61 Reissue. I put my PSA-1 into my Boss GX-700 effect loop. I have a rubbish Crate amp, which I never use after I bought my PSA-1. It is hard to beleive this is a solid state preamp. The tone is warm. It is not just a distortion box, sparky Fender clean tone can be produced too. The presets are incrediable, you can play thru them without adjusting anything, of coz I modified many of them and save in user presets. Some of my friends do not believe how great is this box. They are tube lovers and they only know Mesa Boogies stuffs for their heavy tone, mostly becoz not many ppl use Sansamp here (Hong Kong). It is lack of advertisment. I put PSA-1 in the effect loop of GX-700, the variation is infinity. I remove the distortion and preamp in GX-700. I use PSA-1 as preamp and go thru EQ delay and reverb, I put speaker sim in the end, that really rocks, even now I play with a headphone only. I am thinking to buy a Fender Champion 30 later on. Originally, PSA-1 and amp modelling stuffs is ideal with a power amp. That cost me too much and it is very hard to buy power amp here. For home use, I choose a good clean tone amp for a substitution. I think the tone are much more killer after play thru this Fender amp. At least I heard my friends Sansamp GT-2 sound very awesome in this Champion 30.

Reliability: 7
Mine is 2nd hand, some of the knob have some buzz...

Customer Support: 10
Excellent. I emailed Tech 21 few times before I bought it. They reply everytime and very fast. My PSA-1 does not comes with a user manual, I asked Tech 21 email me a copy in pdf format. They really did!! Thanks!!

Overall Rating: 10
It beat many real tube amp. Even the tone are not 100% same as them, for a box with million of great tone, it is worth, even I think the price is quite expensive for a new one (that's why I bought a used one in ebay). I think if all the knobs in PSA-1 can be turned 360 degree, just like the one in my GX-700, it is perfect. I have one problem now is that I cannot change both PSA-1 and GX-700 presets at the same time, I am going to buy a MIDI foot controller. Without a foot controller, GX-700 cannot send ot MIDI command by itself. It is quite trouble some for me to change presets one by one...

Submitted by William Wong at 03/30/2002 23:09

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 1
For a simple layout, they managed to screw it up by calling things not by their names, but their tweaky marketing terms. For Christ's sake call bass bass, midrange midreange, etc :P Pathetic

Also it is EXTREEMELY difficult to get a usable tone from this thing - it's not like you get a wide range of useful sounds. No, it has ONE good sound - a grindy heavy distorted thing. If you need any other sound, get something else as it doesn't compare to tubes. Even the distortion, it is onlyinteresting becasue it's a little different than you will get from a typical pedal or tube amp, but it's not necessarily better, and certainly it is far less versatile.

You can spend hours with this thing never get a usable tone if you don't know what you're doing. It's very touchy.

Sound Quality: 1
Heard one of these at a music store the other day. You know what they sound like? They sound like a keyboard sample of distorted guitar, or a synthesized guitar - like something you'd see out of an analog synth or a korg modeller or something. It's a synthetic tone. It's an interesting sound, but it's not versatile at all. Cleans absolutely suck on this unit - no body whatsoever. If you think so, you need your head examined!

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 1
This is a toy like they say. Some things are 'pro' in feel and versatility and whatnot. This strikes me as a patent type product like bose - it's crap, good for one thing (bose is good at very low volume if you ahve no space and don't want to see anything). This thing has one good distorted sound, and the rest is pretty much a joke. If you are looking to make your guitar sound like a synthesized version of guitar - a sampled guitar kind of sound, get this, because that is what it sounds like.

It blows my mine that ANYONE would pay over a grand for this thing, ever!

Submitted by hellothere at 03/29/2002 11:46

Price Paid: US $500

Features: 10
The preamp was made in 1997. I bought it used from eBay. But it looks like new, no optical faults. It is the version with a red front-panel.
Looks nice, even if I would have prefered the silver one.
The preamp has got a lot of features. With Buzz, Punch, Crunch and Drive-Knobs you can get a lot of different Sounds. You just got a Low and High-Knob. No Mids. This is explained in the other reviews.
It features Midi ( be careful at eBay -older ones aren´t midi-able and programmable) and you got 50 very good factory-presets and 50 for own presets. I play it with a Rocktron Replifex and a Velocity 120 in a 4x12 Hughes&Kettner cabinet. No tubes in this preamp, but read on...

It has XLR Outputs and (!) normal 1/4" Outputs. The stereo effect-loop can be switched in 100% or 50/50. The "wetness" of your effect can be adjusted in the effect-processor. You got 10db-boost at Outputs and on the rear-panel Input. The Front-Input is at instrument-level ( -10 db). Via the "special-page-functions" you can reach Midi-mapping-functions, all knobs inactive etc. Nice!
It came with a software ( Mark of the Unicorn | Unisyn) to get the possibility to programm via Midi through a PC or Mac. Never tried so far, but seems to be good...

Sound Quality: 10
The PSA-1 has got Marshall, Fender, Mesa Boogie, Bass and Misc ( 10 of each) factory-presets. For example you got Hendrix-Preset, Recifter-Preset and a Panthera-Preset. Really nice ones! The Marshall presets sound like Marshall ( I always hated Marshall-Sound) - crappy.
It is not very noisy. Some noise in hardly distorted presets. I kill this easily with the HUSH in my Replifex. The Mesa-Boogie-presets are killer! I like it so much... Fender ones are nice for clean tones. Never tried the bass-presets with a bass-guitar. The Miscs-presets are nice too: Big Muff, Pignose, Panthera etc.

If you are listening to it with closed eyes: You won´t believe that this preamp has no tubes in it. I heard that the tubes in other preamps like the VoodooValve or JMP-1 are just like a fake. They don´t really work for your sound. This is just for some marketing reasons. But I also tried the Mesa Formula Preamp: You hear the tubes. No fakes here, but too expensive... ( about 1500 US-$).

Great sound from Jazz, Blues, Rock, Metal and even NuMetal. Nice clean and crunched sounds. Distortion-sounds ( i.e. Recifter-Preset, Metallica-Preset, Santana-Setting...) are very nice sounding. A lot of distortion in this preamp with tons of bottom-end... Check it out!

Reliability: 10
Never had any problems. Seems like i won´t get any, ´cause it has no tubes in it to replace and it looks built for the road and stage...
I gig without a backup...

Customer Support: 10
I mailed them for a digital User´s Guide. I got it within 24 hours!
I tried the same with Line 6 - no answer after 1,5 months...

Never dealt with them with any problems. But I guess they are helpfull and FAST!

Overall Rating: 10
This is no fake review from Tech 21. You can mail me, if you got any questions. I am from Germany, so excuse my thrash-english...

If you are searching for a versatile, nice sounding preamp: Check this one out! Nice vintage-sounds and great modern heavy distorted Sounds for hard stuff ( even NuMetal). Very versatile. I get every sound I want ( with the PSA-1 and my Replfifex). If Tech-21 would say, that it has 4 tubes in it, you would believe it!

Submitted by jan_m at 03/25/2002 03:52

Price Paid: 1200 (Aus)

Features: 8
I have had my unit for 7 years and I think the concept of tone colouring with knobs bets the push button menu navigating facility. You intuitively get to now the characteristic much easier and have quick access for blending tonal qualities.

Sound Quality: 7
Sound is a comparative judgement. In my case I have the following additional preamps I run through my mixing desk. Tubeman2, Tubeman plus and Ensoniq DP/4+ (contains some preset effects modelling pre amp). The PSA-1 is more thinner sounding. If I am looking for a solid state sound it usually delivers better than the others. For a meatier lead sound like a boogie or marshall I think the tubeman pre amps do it better. So in my recording experience it is an important part of my studio offering its range of guitar sounds. I do use it from time to time to run synth module sounds through it like an effects unit to dirty up sounds or add some punch. This is not always successful and requires a lot of tweaking, sometimes abandoning the effort.
I do like the way the buzz punch and crunch colour the distortion and the pre amp is very useful in shaping the sounds. I think the eq section could be expanded beyond high and low to include mid range tweaking.

Reliability: 9
Recently, the internal fuse went. It was a simple matter of openning the unit and relacing it myself.

Customer Support: 9
When my unit failed I emailed Tech 21 and they advised me that the fuse may have gone. The only other communication was regarding Midi Quest editor librarian software. To have the psa-1 supported I needed midi implementation details to forward onto the software vendor, Tech 21 did provide documentation but it was not the full spec. We tried?

Overall Rating: 8
I like the unit simply because it only relies on knobs giving you quick access to shaping the tones and gains. It does have useful sound voicings but as a stand alone pre amp it is probably is not the be all. It works well with stereo effects and I do use the XLR connections with my mixer.

Submitted by Theo at 03/20/2002 21:31

Price Paid: US $599.99

Features: 9
Look at other reviews or the tech 21 website for this info. Does everything it's supposed to very well and at a good price. The only thing I wish it had is an overall level.

Sound Quality: 10
I have a Ibanez Artist(80s) and an Ibanez Les Paul (80s bolt on neck) both with dimarzio pickups. My set up is this:
boss tu2 tuner
dunlop 535 wah
axess electronics MIDI footcontroller
psa-1
t.c. electronics G-Major
mesa 20/20 power amp
marshall 1960 4x12 sealed cabinet

This set up is very loud Everyone in the bband I'm in is blown away by this setup. This amp will make almost any sound you want it to. I can get these tones from this set up: Tony Rombola(godsmack), Adam Jones(tool), SRV, I can get close to Jimi's sound on purple haze using the Fuzz Face preset, Mike Enziger(Incubus) these are the only ones I've tried so far. The psa-1 also gets great clean sounds you just have to keep the pre level down because, it works as a gain. Fender cleans are easily to get. The gains are amazing. This is the first amp I've ever owned where I don't run the gain cranked. I don't have to.

Reliability: N/A
Too new to tell

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for about 12 years now. I've owned a Fender Twin Reverb, a Marshall TSL 100, and a Marshall jmp-1 and some pedals. The jmp-1 sucks ass in my opinion. And for the TSL100, it can't hold a candle to the psa-1, mesa 20/20 combination either. In fact, our singer uses the Marshall now to help out with some of the rhythm parts.

I love this preamp and it didn't cost too much. I can't compare it to the triaxis because I've never heard it. But, this costs half as much.

I bought mine at the Guitar Center in Cincinnati, OH. They had the psa-1 set up through a mesa 20/20 and a 2x12 rectifier cabinet. The worker there hooked it up and I was amazed. A week later I bought it and to this day I am still amazed. Also, I've recorded this thing on a tascam 4 track with an sm58 mic and it sounds great.

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/10/2002 14:17

Price Paid: US $350 used

Ease of Use: 8
Well it's time to submit my review... I waited a few months because I wanted to give a very informed review. It is very easy to get a good sound out of this unit, but the manual is a must becuase you can't just look at it and know exactly what the knobs do to the sound. They're not standard amp knobs, but what they allow you to do is shape every factor of the particular tube amp you are emulating, or create a completely new sound. The Manual is very straightforward, and not insanely long like the manual for my digitech 2120. I'm not gonna give it a 10 for "ease of use" but that's not something I necessarily want. Any so-called "plug and play" amp is gonna limit your tone to a certain pre-determined sound, and I like to tweak every little factor of my sound. This is also why I like rackmount setups. One complaint I have is that the Effects loop is NOT PROGRAMMABLE!! this is why I don't use it, I just go straight from the right output of the PSA-1 into the input of my 2120 which allows me to control all levels, solo boost and gives me additional EQ where necessary.

Sound Quality: 10
Here's my rig: Ibanez S540fm and RG7621 >> Dunlop Hendrix Wah >> PSA-1 >> Digitech 2120 (preamp sections bypassed) >> stereo out to my tubeworks Mosvalve 962 power amp. I love this power amp with the PSA-1, in comparison to the Mesa 295 all tube I used to use. This tells me that the PSA-1 IS effectively emulating tube power, because the 295 added too much compression to it, and the Movalve 962 is perfect since it's an FET based (like the PSA-1) solid state power amp. If you get the PSA-1 seriously think about powering it with the Mosvalve, maybe a Marshall valvestate power amp, or some kind of tube power amp with high-headroom tubes like KT-88's.

It does not have any effects built in (the best preamps don't) so you're gonna want at least some kind of simple effects unit to run with it.

"Can you get the sound of your favorite artists? Well, yes, but I use my own presets primarily for originals with my band, Profane Oath (www.profaneoath.com). I usually used a modification of the recto preset or the "metallica" preset, with distortion in the punch and crunch knobs. I have found that for ultimate low end response (which this unit does well) you can't have saturated gain, especially with another guitarist. My lead tone is very Petrucci-ish, creamy fluid sounding with a hint of analog delay.

That said, I am building a bunch of my own presets based on different artists like early and later Megadeth, Iced Earth, SRV, Cream bluesbreaker, Iron Maiden Plexi, Black Sabbath and they are VERY accurate. One thing that I REALLLY like is the "input" knob which acts alot like the volume knob of a guitar, controlling the output.. and its programmable. That lets me dial up the sound of say a recto being pushed by the lower output guitar like a les paul or something. very cool. I do with it had more than 50 presets for the user to work with, but realistically that's probably plenty. With enough tweaking and research as to the rigs of ANY artist. also, some reviews have said this thing can't get a really clean sound, which is ridiculous, you just have to roll off the "input" knob... of course you can't get a clean sound if the input knob is set to where a set of EMG's would be.

Okay, let get away from these questions I'm supposed to answer (which seem to be more geared to an effects unit and not a preamp), and talk about why this thing sounds good, in my estimation. I have used digital modelers, Johnson millenium and Line6 and the PSA-1 sounds much better, because it is not a "digital modeler". Instead it uses FET's (similar in their signal response to tubes) to simulate the entire signal path of a tube amp.. pre and power. This allows it to simulate not only the sound of various tube amps, but also the dynamic attack and feel.

Anyway, I am more than happy with the tone of this unit, after 3 months of tweaking, rehearsing and gigging. My bandmates agree.

Reliability: N/A
I haven't had it long enough to make an informed judgement. It is well built, and since it's SS less chance of failing.

Customer Support: N/A
no experience here.

Overall Rating: 10
I play prog-metal, it's the perfect match for my style and rack setup. I have owned varous heads (Triple recto, carvin Legacy, JCM 900) and rack preamps (Marshall JMP-1, Bogner triple giant) and this thing with the Mosvalve 962 is the best tone I've ever had, with great versatility. I'm always getting compliments on my tone.

Submitted by Spencer Morgan at 02/26/2002 20:25

Price Paid: US $499

Ease of Use: 7
Rather easy to dial up good sounds. I must say I was a bit confused by the knob labels, until I used them. Once you play with it, it becomes very clear. Midi mapping is easy as well.

Sound Quality: 9
Ok I hate reading other player's setups in here, but I should at least explain what the other equipment around it is. Rack looks like this: Psa-1 > BBE Maximiser > Line 6 Echo Pro > Mesa 50/50 power amp, with both outputs "Y"-ed together into one 2x12 closed back speaker cab, also a mesa. I play a PRS singlecut, and a Frankenstein Vantage I've rebuilt with PRS pickups and new hardware. I bought this to replace the previous pre I had, a pod pro (I don't know what I was thinking.) Before that I had a mesa Formula preamp. This has more sustain and tons more life and reaction to pick dynamics and fingering. The heavy distortions are very pleasing, and the cleans range anywhere from shimmer to spank. Does this sound exactly like the presets namesakes? no. no matter what I do, I always find it sounds like itself a little. but it does sound killer all it's own. if you're looking to sound like something, go buy that amp. if you want to generate very good tones on your own, get a psa-1. it's hella cheaper than the triaxis, and sounds 90% as good.

Reliability: N/A
it's damn near bulletproof. Hell yes I gig without a backup.

Customer Support: 10
never dealt with them. I did however like how fast they shipped out my order to the store. 4 days! Who can beat that?

Overall Rating: 9
My rack grows and grows every 6 months. I plan on adding a rack tuner and a mod pro from line 6 (I like their effects simulators, just not that damn pod.) I use the sansamp midi mouse to control both the psa-1 and the echo pro. very easy to setup, and nice stompbox format. This thing is core for great tone. it's warmed up nicely by the mesa power amp, as I have the outputs "Y"-ed together, I can dial up slight power tube breakup, and that helps the tone as well. I've heard this thing goes best with a solid state amp, and I disagree. I play all original music with my band, and this always makes its mark on the tone. If it were stolen, I'd curse the jackass that stole it, and buy a new one. If it were destroyed (being run over by a tank is the only way I see) I'd replace it without hesitation. Damn fine.

Submitted by David at 02/15/2002 12:41

Price Paid: US $400.00

Ease of Use: 9
Very easy to use by starting off with the high-quality presets. It'll take some time to tweak your own sounds, but well worth it.

Sound Quality: 10
Gibson Les Paul Standard into the PSA-1 straight into a PA System. Finally, I have found the tone and clarity I've been looking for. If you're looking for no mud, excellent distortion, and clarity of all your notes, this is it. I'm a tone freak & very difficult to please, but this has met & exceeded my expectations.

Reliability: 10
Yes. Very reliable.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
Perfect.

Submitted by Paul Lee at 02/07/2002 22:46

Price Paid: US $299.00

Ease of Use: 10
It's very easy to use.

Sound Quality: 9
Sounds good .I use two different channels.A clean Fender and a dirty Marshall.If you like heavy music it's good for that.The presets are good if you like The Who.I give it a nine because nothing is perfect.

Reliability: 10
I dropped it and it didn't break.It was a pretty bad fall.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't had to deal with them.

Overall Rating: 10
I give it a ten because,I dropped it and it didn't break.By the way,I don't work for Tech21.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/19/2002 13:37

Price Paid: US $499

Features: 9
Brand new amp! I play a little bit of everything, and this amp covers it all. From pristine B.B. King to raging Death Metal tones, this amp absolutely covers every base. There are 50 preset channels and I think you can make 50 of your own. There is a recessed "save" button which is cool so you don't wipe out your presets, etc. Eight knobs controls on the front cover your gain, tone, etc. and there are two "up" and "down" knobs to go through presets. There is an effects loop, regular "outs", XLR "outs" and even a decibal control button. I have not dug too deep into the features yet, but there are a good amount. There is no headphone jack, but I think plugging into the "out" covers that. The unit is very small. In fact, when I opened the outer box from Musician's Friend, I thought they sent the wrong thing. The box was so small that I thought they sent me a footswitch or something. Very light. Surprising, since it sounds like it has a pack of tubes in there. As far as missing features go, I would really like to see them include footswitches with the unit. Even if it is the cheap one. Also, I wish there was reverb built-in....but, that would probably ruin the unit and jack up the price. Probably better to just buy a separate one. Manual is small and simple but you really don't need much more than that.

Sound Quality: 10
I got an Epiphone "Ace Frehley" Custom last week, so that is what I plugged into the PSA-1. To be honest, I have not put good pickups in the guitar yet, so I really didn't expect to get mindblowing sound out of the PSA-1.....I was wrong. This amp is the answer to my prayers. I have tried so many amps, effects units, etc. Pedals had good crunch but bad tone. Amps had good tone, but not enough gain. The list goes on and on. Everytime I tried out something, it didn't have enough gain. I actually had to turn the gain DOWN on this thing!

The crunch on this thing is unreal. The absolute best preset on this unit to me is #24 Rectifier. Once I turn to that, I tweak the drive button a bit and can capture Metallica's Black Album or ...And Justice for All tone. It really does sound like this thing has tubes. This thing is not an "emulator" like a POD or J-Station. It is a SOLID STATE preamp. Probably the best comparison is an ADA or Rocktron rackmount of some kind. If there are any POD users reading this, the PSA-1 can capture the Dual Rectifier setting that the POD does so well. The sound of the PSA-1 is more "in your face".

I had a Tech 21 Trademark 120 amp, and I can tell you that the combo amps from Tech 21 and this thing are like night and day. Those amps are not a "PSA-1 with speakers". You can fine tune your sound so well with this thing. The knobs PREAMP, BUZZ, PUNCH, CRUNCH, and DRIVE all help you tailor your sound. They affect your picking attack and other things in ways other amps can't change on the fly. The amp only gets noisy with everything cranked to "10". Trust me, you don't need everything up that high. You can cover any musical style with this thing. Distortion is the most brutal. I love this thing!

Reliability: N/A
TECH 21 stuff seems to be real solid. I was a bit paranoid when I opened the box because the "up" button was recessed at bit. But when I pressed on it, it popped right back into place. I think it moved a bit during shipping. It is a nice solid little box, and I can't imagine it every breaking down, etc. I guess you can only "wait and see" with stuff like this.

Customer Support: 10
I have been in contact with someone at TECH 21, and he always has responded to my emails when I had questions about my TRADEMARK 120. When I decided I wanted a PSA-1, the company was real helpful in telling me what power amps would be good with it, etc. By the way, people say this things smokes through a P.A. system.

Overall Rating: 10
I pretty much know right away if I am going to keep something for the long haul. This amp has the reliability of solid state amps I have owned with the tone of a good overdriven tube amp. I know that you can't capture the sound of a tube amp completely, but I was really surprised at this thing. I researched this thing to death before I bought it, and downloaded soundclips, reviews, etc. Almost everyone who buys this thing loves it and thinks it is worth the money. While researching, I found out that a lot of famous people use this unit. Geddy Lee from Rush has been using one for his bass sounds for years. If you want a great sounding unit right out of the box without a lot of tweaking, etc. then this thing is for you.

Submitted by Mike Puskas at 01/18/2002 00:59

Price Paid: US $350 used

Features: 9

Sound Quality: 10
Update to an earlier posting. This unit never stops amazing me. Here is my current signal path... Parker guitar - PSA-1 - effects processor (Behringer DSP1000P Virtualizer Pro) in the loop - BBE - Carvin VT50 tube amp (in the power amp in, only using the power amp (EL84) not the pre) - Marshall mini stack (looks like a small full stack with two Celestion G10L-35 speakers). This set up is absolutely amazing. I have A/B this with many different setups including the Carvin VT50 by it self and the PSA blows everything else out of the water. This rig is simply the best I have ever heard. Spanky Fender clean, rich clean with a little hair, JC120 clean for funk or jazz, blues in every color, SRV, EJ, Hendrix, Old school rock, New Rock, Metal... everything!!! I would gladly put this system up against anything in a blind test. A friend with a Bogner tried it and dialed up a tone he thought was very Bogner like but better !!! This is the most versatile and tuneful system I have ever heard. Not only is there a million great tones in the PSA-1 but it responds so well to volume control and picking dynamics that there is infinite variations within each patch from your guitar. I can go from a nice almost clean rhythm sound to a searing SRV lead tone using only the guitar volume knob and picking dynamics. I no longer have a need for tube amps!!! This sounds better. Well I am using a tube power amp because I like the sound. Did I mention this this sounds great for bass and recording. I have been searching for my tone (SRV, EJ, Via, VH, Ford, Knoffler, me, more...) for 15 years and here it is. I think the G.A.S is finally over :>) Try one out and give it some time. I was not that impressed when I first got the unit but after some tweaking... WOW. Note: there are a lot of variations in this unit, you only need to more the knobs a little to have a whole new and great sound. This unit is the shit my friends, try it. Thanks.

kfa888@hotmail.com

Reliability: 9
Never had an issue... can't say that about the Line 6 stuff i have had!!!

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know :>)

Overall Rating: 10
Awasome.

Submitted by Kelly at 01/17/2002 09:21

Price Paid: (A gift from my lovely wife)

Ease of Use: 7
It does take an effort to use this unit; it is not set up like your typical amp/preamp. It's not a problem though, I find that if you start with the presets and tweak away, you'll find your sounds.

Sound Quality: 10
I'm using this with a Mesa/Boogie 2:90 power amp, a BBE sonic Maximizer and an old Alesis Quadraverb. My cabinet is an old Marshall 4x12 with EV speakers. I got this preamp to replace my Mesa triple rectifier that was loaned to a friend and then accidentally destroyed by a rowdy crowd and an overzealous bouncer. Anyway, my wife (god bless her) went to Sam Ash Music and consulted with one of the sales people and he reccomended the PSA-1. For the first few weeks, I didn't have a power amp, so I ran it through my P.A and it sounded insane! Finally, I got a mesa 2:90 power amp and could not believe how tremendous this thing sounded! I prefer this preamp/power amp combination over my old triple recto(R.I.P). I play in a Hardcore band and this thing gives me all the distortion I need and then some. I usually just use a tweaked version of preset 28 (a mesa setting called too much gain), but I also like the Marshall plexi setting. My guitars are Les paul standards and customs with emg's in them. All I know is that my setup sounds great.

Reliability: 10
It seems pretty reliable, it is solid state.+-

Customer Support: N/A
never had to deal with them.

Overall Rating: 10
I love this thing. I've been playing for over 15 years and this is by far the best tone I've ever gotten. This is only my opinion, so check it out for yourself.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/11/2001 14:58

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A

Sound Quality: N/A
This is a response to the rant below concerning solid state vs. tubes in pre-amps. I repair, mod, and build clones of vintage amps as a hobby and occasionally make a little cash in the process. I do not work for Tech21, but I couldn't let this blatantly ignorant bash slide. Let me tell you guys, the only place tubes make a large differance in sound for guitar is in the power amp. It is the interaction between the output tubes, transformer, speaker, and power supply that makes a tube amp rock - not the pre-amp. When is the last time you listened to a pre-amp (tube or not) direct . . . without a speaker or power amp. What do you hear? A thin irritating buzz. It is the power amp that gives an amp the thick, punchy, heavy sound. A __properly designed__ solid state preamp through a __properly designed__ tube power amp is nearly indistiguishable from an all-tube unit.
I do not own a PSA-1, but I record in a studio that uses one. I agree, the Fender cleans sounds just aren't as "bouncy" and "full" as a real Twin. I believe this is due to the compromises that had to be made in the circuitry for it to also have a great distorted sound. But once you add just a touch of dirt (all the way up to Metallica grind) it sounds FANTASTIC . . . as long as it is being pumped through a good power amp and speaker combo. I know that Tech21's instructions tell you to use a solid state power amp, but this is wrong (in my opinion). We use a either a modded Marshall SL-X FX return into a variety of 4X12's for distorted tones, or a Boogie Classic 50 into a 2x12 open back cab loaded with Jensens for cleaner stuff. It sounds like GOD . . . much better that the Marshall pre in the SL-X. As soon as I convert my stuff to .WAV's it post a couple.
I think most people that have problems with the PSA-1 either don't take the time to learn to operate it or are trying to plug it into the preamp input of an amp. It will sound like crap in front of another preamp.
I challenge anyone on this board to do an A/B test. I will bet that as long as you keep the tones a little dirty (what the PSA is designed for) your fingers and ears will be unable to distiguish between a __properly set up__ PSA-1 and a tube preamp.
Unlike the other persons post, I will give my real email for comments. If you agree (or disagree), send me your comments at ballsybottom@yahoo.com .

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Rich B at 11/30/2001 11:06

Price Paid: US $570

Ease of Use: 9
If you are familiar with Combo amps, then you'll find this really easy to use. Get to know the different characteristics - given the names of buzz, crunch, punch etc. - and you'll find it very easy to get the sounds you like. The manual is very easy to understand and will help you get to grips with the programmable and MIDI aspects of the unit. I would have given this a 10 if there was a Mono output option.

Sound Quality: 10
I use an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, and a Digitech 2120 for the effects only (the digitech has its own preamp which just didn't do it for me. so I bypass it).

No-one believes me when I say it doesn't have any valves!! I find it very easy to create sounds ranging from bluesy Hendrix/SRV tones to driving rock tones to saturated metal tones. On the cleaner side, I can have glitzy bright sounds as well as smooth, warm tones. I play many different styles - it seems that whatever you play, you can get it out of the PSA-1.

Reliability: 10
Hasn't done a single thing wrong yet.

Customer Support: N/A
Wouldn't know.....which is a good thing!

Overall Rating: 9
I love the versatility of the PSA-1, it's the only preamp I need to play a plethora of different styles. I've owned it for nearly 2 years and it hasn't let me down. I would definitely use my insurance money to buy the same unit, if it were stolen or lost. Like I said, I would give it a 10 if I could have a Mono output.

Submitted by Jesse Duley at 11/29/2001 10:32

Price Paid: US $550

Ease of Use: 10
The PSA-1 is basically set up like a guitar amplifier, although I noticed it does require a bit more effort to dial in a new sound from scratch than my Fender. Then again, it can produce a much larger variety of tones. That said, operation is very straight forward. You have eight knobs and you twist them until you like what you hear. Saving patches is easy, although my unit was inexplicably shipped with some weird settings (pots were disabled, write protect was turned on). I just reset it to factory settings and everything was fine from then on.

Sound Quality: 9
I use this with a Gibson Nighthawk, a Fender P-bass, and a Danelectro 12-string electric. One of the reasons I like it so much is because it has settings that work very well with bass guitar. I have it plugged straight into my Mackie 1402 VLZ. From there, it's into my PC via an M-audio Delta 44 sound card. An Alesis MidiVerb IV is patched into the Mackie's send. It sounds pretty sweet on all settings I've tried. Some of the distortions are noisy, but then again so are guitar amps so no points off for that. One inexplicable thing is the factory patches 48 and 49. When you scroll past those, make sure your levels are down or else you're liable to blow your speakers. Why they programmed these particular presets I'll never know. Overall, I'm in amp heaven. I sold my Peavey Stereo Chorus 440 last week, and I'm selling my Fender Hotrod because I don't need it any more. The PSA-1 doesn't sound exactly like the Fender, but it comes darn close.

Reliability: N/A
I have had it for about a week, so I can't speak to the reliability yet. Seems like a pretty solid unit, I'm pretty confident that it will be in my rack for a good long time.

Customer Support: 10
I did e-mail Tech 21 support about the first and only problem I had with being unable to save patches. They responded in a timely manner and their solution worked beautifully. So far, so good.

Overall Rating: 10
I play all kinds of music, from indie pop, to punk, to 60s garage rock, to reggae or whatever I feel like that day. This unit seems to cover the spectrum quite nicely. It really is like having a collection of expensive amps right in your rack. I was hesitant about replacing my "real" amp with a "preamp", but now I see that this is not just a preamp. Not only that, if I ever get into another band, I can just slap my PSA-1 into a hardshell case, pop it on top of a Tech 21 PowerCube 60, and bam! I can go live, and I'm already dialled into my favorite tones. Plus, it will be cheaper than buying a new amp. Overall, this is one of the best pieces of gear I have ever bought. I would definitely replace it if lost or stolen because I've never heard anything else that can do what it does. I can jam the full on Black Sabbath riffs while my 20-month-old son sleeps upstairs. That, and there's no tubes to replace! I've been playing guitar for 24 years, and I can tell you, the PSA-1 is a keeper.

Submitted by William French at 11/21/2001 10:18

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
I know quite a bit about audio electronics, so I just thought I'd take this time to explain why the PSA-1 doesn't have a mid EQ. It uses a different type of tone circuit than most amps. The traditional tone circuits found on Fenders, Marshalls, and the like are limiting in that they cannot actually provide any midrange boost. That's right, even if you turn up the mids all the way, turn the bass and treble all the way down, and boost the volume to compensate, you will NOT actually boost the middle. That's because of the way this tone circuits operates. The bass and treble knobs also affect the midrange, and since you can only cut, not boost, there is no way to boost the midrange. Also, this also makes fine tuning your sound more difficult, because any adjustment to one tonal range will also affect the one next to it, and you are limited with what you can do with the EQ. The main reason this type of circuit is used is because it makes simple adjustments, like rolling off the treble for a jazz tone or cutting the mids out for a metal tone, easier. The tone circuit on the PSA-1 is a bit more complicated to use, but it is far more versitile. The bass and treble controls can both cut and boost, and they only affect the bass and treble, respectively, not the middle. The way to change the mids is by boosting or cutting the highs and lows and turning the volume knob to compensate for the change in overall leval. The advantages of this circuit are that you can boost the midrange and it allows for far more flexiblilty in terms of perfecting your sound through the use of EQ. The disadvantage is that it takes a while to get used to and isn't as good for quick changes, although with practice it is just as simpleand fast to use as a normal EQ. Hope this clears up any confusion about the EQ.

Sound Quality: N/A

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/20/2001 23:14

Price Paid: US $350 used

Ease of Use: 8
Easy, read the manual to see what's up.

Sound Quality: 10
I hate writing reviews but this unit is so good I thought I better :>) I have a totally wacky setup right now because I am really set up for recording and not live so I an using a combination of stuff to get a live sound and have really stumbled across something. I have had my PSA-1 for about a year now. Here is my setup... Parker guitar (awesome), Tech21 PSA-1 (a cool purple one), Berhinger effect processor in the loop of the PSA-1, BBE (love those also) into a Fender Blues Junior. The Fender does not have a poweramp in so I have to run in right in the pre. I can't believe my ears!!! What the *%$#! I can get some amazing, thick, 3D, sustaining, blues, rock, hard rock, metal... pretty much anything I want. I am a certified gear nut and swap gear all the time to try different stuff so I have tried almost everything, this unit (as everyone else will tell you) is amazing. The only place I could knock the PSA-1 is in it's truly clean sounds. Not as rich and articulate as some tube combos including the Blues Junior. This may be the setup I am running. I am going to look for a 100 watt tube combo 2-12 with poweramp in or a 4-10 cab and power amp and see just how good this can get! I have used it for recording and it does a great job there also. Much more real and dynamic than my POD and other Pre's. Speaking of dynamics this is one of the most dynamic units I have ever used. You can use a fairly distorted sound and switch your guitar to a milder pickup config and roll off the volume and in most cases get a great clean sound. Not the muddy rolled off treble sound you usually get. The unit itself has a huge range of tones and then coupled with the control from your guitar you can go from spanky clean to raging distortion and never touch anything but your guitar. I love that! Want more? This thing is awesome at bass sounds. I can get better recorded bass sounds from this than miking some top brand bass amps (and I know how to mike!!!). Great distorted bass sounds also. Bottom line, buy one and never sell it. This unit has so many different things it can do and do them all well your crazy not to get one. At the $350 you can get them for used nothing else in any price range will do so much for your tone on so many levels. Great for blues, country, jazz, metal (crushing distortion and sustain), pretty much everything except maybe super nice Fender twin like tones. I have never found anything that quite duplicates a good old twin for that good old twin sound. You can however toss all your Mesa's, marshals, Orange's, Hi Watt's, Blue's, everything but the Twin and maybe a Dumble :>). Seriously one great unit. I don't write reviews and have had so much equipment it takes a lot for me to be inspired to do so. I was not all that thrilled with the unit when I first got it and thought is was like a nice distortion box until I spent some time with it. This is an indispensable tool for many things. Great unit, great sounds, and bullet proof to boot. Nuff said.

Reliability: 10
Yep

Customer Support: 9
Not needed

Overall Rating: 10
$350 for all this thing will do... get outa town man.

Submitted by Kelly at 11/17/2001 09:57

Price Paid: US $550.00

Features: 10
If you're looking for a preamp that goes from clean to metal, this is the puppy for you. You won't believe the variety of sounds you can get from this thing!

Sound Quality: 10
I love this thing. In my opinion, it has the most articulate and BRUTAL distortion of any preamp out there. The only thing that can match or beat it would be the mesa triaxis, but I refuse to dish out that much money for just a preamp. I play in a metal/hardore band and I needed an amp with crazy, heavier than heavy distortion. I walked into guitar center after a few bong hits(I don't reccommend making any major purchases while high, but in this case, I'm very glad I did) and asked the guy,"what's the heaviest distortion based preamp you've got?" He took me to see the PSA-1. I still can't believe there are no tubes in this thing!! I power it with a mesa simul 2:90 power amp and also use a bbe sonic maximizer to add even more sizzle. I run this all through a mesa recto 4x12. I am 100% happy with my setup. I read some guy trashing this thing, saying that the ones leaving the good reviews were all tech21 employees. What an asshole. He's probobly running it with some crappy amp or something. Anyway, I don't work for them and will tell you that this thing rules! Oh, I forgot to mention the clean sounds! Yep, they're pretty cool too, although I must admit to being more of a distortion guy, so I can't be an accurate judge as far as clean sounds go, but I know what I like, and this I like.

Reliability: 10
no problems yet.

Customer Support: 10
These guys are so polite and helpful, and they really know their products, inside and out. If you don't believe me, just give them a call and you'll see. The kings of customer support!

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for about 18 years and I've owned a lot of guitars, amps, effects, cabs, etc. As far as amps/preamps go, this is the wisest investment I've ever made. The only other amp I've been this happy with was my mesa tremoverb, that was stolen from a club. I was going to get another one, but decided to check out the PSA-1 which was suggested to me by Kenny Hickey (Type O Negative). He said he loved his PSA-1, so I checked one out and the rest is history.

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/05/2001 23:41

Price Paid: US $350 used

Ease of Use: 10
Very easy to get so many sounds. The presets are so nice I won't have to make too many patches. I got no manual and will never need one.

Sound Quality: 10
I have a Ibananez RG going right into the PSA-1 with my Digitech RP-20 in the effects loop at 50/50. The RP-20 also changes patches on the PSA-1 through a MIDI cable (Very Cool!) The PSA-1 then goes into my BBE Sonic Maximizer and then into my Electrix Repeater, and then right into my bands Carvin PA with 15" Avatar Cabs. The distortion is so awesome, I can tweak lots of eqs on my Digitech processor if desired for even more control on the sound. The clean is just amazing. With my effect processor I actually use tubes to give it some extra warmth and to make the volume as high as the distortion patches. I have a nice Ampeg Reverberocket tube amp with a killer clean that I no longer use. (One less thing to drag to shows) I've never had such great guitar tone and I'm not even using a guitar amp for now.

Reliability: 10
Bought it used and it still looks perfect. Solid state so I feel very comfortable using it.

Customer Support: 10
never dealt with. They had sound samples of the unit on their website and even short songs. That is a major plus! All manufacturers should do that. Not everyone has a huge music store to play with everything nearby.

Overall Rating: 10
This is one of the gems I will have for a long time. So many sounds, I picked five presets that I programmed to my RP-20 (Mesa Clean, Rectifier, Too Much Gain, Pantera, and Metallica) if this product was limited to just one the distortion patches it would be worth $350 to me. I bought a ToneBone Hot Brittish and a Soldano SP-77 before this and this can match them both and get hundreds of other sounds, and its midi controllable. I like this so much I actually got my lazy ass to write a review for it. Im sure the actual amplifiers sound better, but for the price I paid, the sound is amazing. And I can keep a whole studio of amplifiers in a convenient 1-space rack. Fantastic Value.

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/03/2001 07:35

Price Paid: 500 (UK pounds (ex dem))

Features: 9
I got this new in 2001. It has all the features I require of it, except perhaps that it could do with a mid range EQ control. You can get a pretty good sco just by turning the Lo and High controls up, but a Mid would just finish it off nicely. Also, the ability to switch the FX loop in and out would be cool.
It is extremely versatile - able to produce most amp sounds. It is fine with guitar speakers or straigh to PA. It is fine with or without a separate speaker simulator.

Sound Quality: 10
I play most styles from Jazz to Death Metal, but mostly progressive rock. This preamp can cover all the bases. I use it in the FX loop of a Boss GX700 processor. I was getting tired of the amp sims in the GX and felt like treating myself to a realy top quality preamp. Well I tried the Triaxis, but it always sounds like a Boogie, and the user interface is not great. This theing is just so versatile. The user interface is great. Teh factory presets are actualy very good! It does verything from bright, punch cleans, through creamy blues to hard, aggressive metal, to singing leads. And its not just a mater of gain. The three pre-distortion EQ controls give huge cvariety in charachter. Also, having controls for preamp gain and power amp drive is cool. It does Marshall Plexi on 10, Fender Twin, Boogie Mark series and rectifier sounds, Vox AC30 and anything else in between. But it's not just a modeler. If yoyu want something with the midrange punch of a JCM800 and the singing top end of a Mark IIc, this can do it.
All sounds are very touch sensitive and responsive in a 'valvey' kind of way. This is what I missed with the GX. The versatility of solid state and the tone of tubes.

Reliability: N/A
Fine so far, but I haven't had it for long.

Customer Support: 7
Tech 21 Emailed me a manual when I was looking for a preamp. But the manual that came with this Ex-demo unit is just a print out from their website. So poor service from the UK dealer.

Overall Rating: 8
I've been playing on and off for 17 years. This with my Boss GX700 is just about the most flexible and best sounding rig I have had, or probably will ever have. I can get any guitar sound I can imagine.
I use it with a Godin LGX-T amongst other guitars, and control it from a Yamaha MFC10 MIDI pedal board.
If lost or stolen, I would definitely buy the same again. I compared it with the Marshall JMP-1 (excellent, but too limited), the Mesa Boogie Triaxis (Too expensive, too much like hard work). Everything else I have discounted due to previous experience. I love the sounds and the versatility. And I love the user interface. Real knobs! The problem is that you cannot see what the parameters are set to in each patch, without zeroing each knob, which is a long process. So the best way to get your own sounds is to start with a preset that is close and tweak from there. The controls are interactive and some are very sensative. You have to read the manual and you have to get used to what each control does. It is very easy to think 'more treble in my clean tone' and reach for the Crunch knob, only to have your head ripped off by extreme treble distortion. You need to adjust the controls in small increments to get those cool inbetween sounds, just on the warm edge of breakup. But it can do them, and better than any other solid state amp I have heard.

Submitted by Nik at 10/26/2001 04:49

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
Single channel preamp. I play a lot of styles and the SansAmp PSA-1accomodates them all. I run it in stereo with and it satisfies at all volumes. The effects loop isn't tweakable so make sure your rack effects have vol. in & out.

Sound Quality: 10
The variety is formidible. I use it with all the usual suspects and it delivers. It responds very well to distortion/boost and/or compression in front of it , like a tube amp does. I've had tons of pedals and front ends - nothing has given me the tones and flexibility of this box. I have finally stopped buying amps!

Reliability: 10
Never have had a problem.

Customer Support: 10

Overall Rating: 10
I bought thePSA-1 after getting their Tri-OD pedal which also has beautiful distortion. I've played sinc '62, gone through tons of rigs, and stopped here. Love this box.

Submitted by Paul Robinson at 10/26/2001 00:04

Price Paid: US $300

Ease of Use: 1
Difficult to use because no great sounds can be had from this unit no matter how long you tweak it :P

Sound Quality: 1
This is in response to all the INSANE and DISSHONEST reviews of this product. I get the feeling all these reviews are posted by employees of Tech 21 (the sans amp mfr.) in order to help sell these trashy things and drive the prices up.

LET ME MAKE THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR - THIS UNIT SOUNDS ARTIFICIAL, OVERCOMPRESSED, AND RELATIVELY LIFELESS COMPARED TO TUBES NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. IN ADDITION, IT ALWAYS - A L W A Y S - HAS THIS FM INTERSTATION NOISE QUALITY MIXED IN WITH THE DISTORTION.

An electrical engineer told me the noise mixed in the distortion is shunt noise from transistors - something tubes are not as prone to. Anyway, this preamp is a TOY! It is the kind of thing a keyboardist would use to spice up his industrial or dance track, but it is absolutely not suited to quality metal or rock - perhaps Goth or Industrail though - as they tend to go for a fake tweaked up sort of wound rather than a 'complex and 3D' sort of sound.

I am still laughing my ass off that anyone could think this thing sounds 'complex and 3D' It sounds like a Boss, with less gain. If you want a useful fake sound like the sansamp products, get yourself a boss preamp (roland - same thing) - they have the same sounds, and more gain :)

WHEN I WANT REAL TONE - I USE TUBES !!! I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING AND WOULD LOVE IF TRANSISTORS OR COMPUTER PROGRAMS COULD DO TUBE TONE - BUT SO FAR NOTHING HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO EMULATE THE QUALITY TUBES CAN GIVE YOU!!! IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT.

When anyone finds a real, accurate emulation of good tube tone, like a program or transistor based product, let me know I will buy it!!! :) I tried this thing out - the sansamp - from a colleague, and it is a piece of crapola! It is junk! It is a &(#^&(#&)% TOY!!!!!!!!

Have fun! :-D

Reliability: 5
Who cares.

You may find this interesting, but tubes are not unreliable. They simply require certain handling and conditions. You don't throw your computer in the pool. You don't jar tubes.

Tubes will last DECADES if used in accordance with their design.

Customer Support: 5
Who cares. If it breaks, use it to pummel the salesperson who confused you into buying this piece o crap LOL :)

Overall Rating: 1
This thing is a FRAUD PRODUCT - like Bose - they LIE about what it sounds like and what it can do for you. It is ALL LIES. It does NOT sound like they say! It will NOT, absolutely NOT NOT NOT give you that cool groovy bounce and grind that tubes will! Not gonna happen, no dice, sorry :P

Submitted by Hey write me if you don't believe me :) at 10/24/2001 17:26

Price Paid: US $350 used

Features: 9
Lots of knobs (Smile). A little confusing on the naming but once you read the manual and figure out the controls the thing is amazingly flexible. You can get most any sound you are dreaming about if you have the super decoder ring and know what knob to twist. The only thing really missing is a mid knob. This is a guitar possessor and should have a mid knob! One of the other reviewers mentioned having trouble with getting scooped mid death metal sounds, that's because there is no mid to scoop!!! Anyway I like the stripped down twist a knob set up. Works excellent. Lots of nice routing options on the back and a -10db switch.

Sound Quality: 10
Sound? Why yes, it has sound... Yummy, creamy, sustaining, complex, sounds. This thing is amazing. I bought one because people rave about them. I had not even seen one in real life and just bought one off the internet. No mistake, the raves are true. Let me put it this way, the fact that the PSA-1 has no effects and is strictly a stripped down pre is a testament in itself. Ever tried turning off all the effects on a digitech or other such pre / eff. and listening? Sounds like shit huh. This one is super complex and 3D sounding. If you know what that means than this thing is for you. I have a very goofy set up at the time as I am mostly doing recording right now. I run my Parker thought a BBE, PSA-1, Fender blues junior. Have you ever heard Jimmy Vaughn play through a matchless? That's complexity in tone baby, and I can get that sound in spades at bed room levels with this set up. How about a good thick rectifier sound? I can make this thing sound better than the rectifier I had. Now the Fendery sounds are in there but there is more to the Fender sound than the preamp. It is in the quality of the reverb and speaker. If you have the right set up this pre will make the sounds you need to dial the rest. Simply put this unit can peg the Twin, Plexi, Matchless, Mesa, etc. and do it with feeling and dynamics. As touch and volume sensitive as any amp I have owned (and that's a lot). I love tube amps but they have always been frustrating to me in that they sound so different every time you turn it on or move it or whatever. I would have my tone dialed and then come back two days latter to practice and it sounds different. This thing is rock solid and consistent. It really is a winning package. Flexible, super tonefull, reliable, etc. Oh, did I mention it does an amazing job on bass sounds. I have used it for recording bass and wow, what a great sound that sits perfectly in the mix.

Reliability: 10
Never had an issue.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know.

Overall Rating: 9
Can you tell I like this unit? works great for many types of music and instruments. An amazing tone shaping tool with a soul. Jazz, blues, country, rock, funk, metal (with an EQ), etc. all are here. Works great with any guitar and bass I have plugged into it. Retains the original instruments inherent sound. I am going to get a nice tube power amp and 4-10 cab and be dripping wet with the tone oozing out.

Hey, I have to say it in light of what happened in NY 9-11-01 and because of where we are headed as the human race, lets work on being better people and tolerance for others. We need to live up to our vision of a civilized species and work together so things can be good for everyone. Judge people for who they are not for what there parents happened to be and do you part to make sure there is something good here for our kids to enjoy. Piece.

Oh, and don't forget to crank that amp and loose yourself a couple of times a day. :>)

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/07/2001 11:37

Price Paid: 1250 (AUD)

Ease of Use: 9
If you know what kind of sound you are looking for, then this unit is pretty easy to use once you get the hang of how the knobs interact with each other. Otherwise it can take a bit of time, but is well worth the effort. Make sure you read the manual first!!! Very Important. Once you have read the manual, editing pathes is a breeze.

Sound Quality: 10
First of all, I play bass, and I use distortion most of the time with my band, and I am strictly a finger player. I use a Warwick Streamer Bolt-on, with a Behringer Compressor, a Peavy power amp, and a Peavy 4x10 box. For what I do, this is the perfect pre-amp for me. It is possible to get a really tight, good distorted sound ala later Napalm Death. Even though I use fingers and not a pick, I have still managed to get a great distorted sound. It is a bit noisy when you crank up the gain (what unit isn't?), but the noise gates on my compressor take care of that problem. Like I already mentioned, I mainly use distortion with my band, but there are times that I use a clean sound, and I have found it to be punchy and super smooth. I don't slap very often, but I have found the slap sound to be okay. I can't comment on how well it works with effects as I don't use any. The only thing I use in the effects loop is one of the compressor channels. I use the other channel in between the PSA-1 and the power amp.

Reliability: 10
I haven't played a gig with it yet(but I will be soon), and I have only had it for two months, but it seems to be pretty reliable. No problems so far.

Customer Support: 9
I have only had to e-mail Tech 21 once, and I received a reply within a couple of days. They were very helpful.

Overall Rating: 10
For what I do, the PSA-1 is perfect for me. I play in a groove oriented death metal band that also utilises ambience and progression at times. I used to use an ADA MP2 which sounded okay, but found that it didn't have quite enough bottom end. It just didn't sound right. I really can't complain about the PSA-1 at all. Keep in mind that this is just my opinion, and I realise that the PSA-1 won't suit everyone. I love the tonal flexibility that this thing has. When trying it out, I also tried out the Ampeg SVP BSP and the SWR Interstellar Overdrive, but I wasn't happy with the distorted sound. It was too much like 70's fuzz (which the PSA-1 is also capable of achieving). That is why I resorted to a guitar pre-amp in the first place. This is like a guitar/bass hybrid pre-amp,but don't be put off by this fact as the bass factory presets are pretty awesome. In my 11 years of playing I have played many styles and I feel the PSA-1 can cater for all of them. Like I already mentioned, I mainly play and listen to metal, but I also play jazz and prog rock on occasion. If this was stolen or just suddenly "disappeared", I would buy it again without hesitation. If you want anymore info about my thoughts on the PSA-1, feel free to contact me. Happy playing.

Submitted by Iain at 10/03/2001 22:47

Price Paid: US $380-the value of an included 2-space rack ($40?) used

Ease of Use: 9
This unit is very programmable, and comes with a detailed manual. However, unless you are used to building amplifiers, it is moderately difficult to get useable sounds from your own programs. This, then, deserves an 8. The presets, however, are amazing, especially those -impossible-to-emulate Fender sounds, which are nailed (and useful for me). The Mesas and Marshalls are also great. This gets a 10. So...

Sound Quality: 10
I record direct with this, and use it to play straight into PA systems. I have a Taylor acoustic, a Schecter A7 seven-string, and an Ibanez S-something ---> through a Visual Sound H20 into this. I also play a Carlo Robelli 5 string through this direct. The sound is unbelievable... almost as good as owning fifty billion vintage amps. All the simulations are excellent, you can make very usable tones with a little time, and even the bass sounds - sort of a courtesy concession - are better than what most heads under $2000 can offer. Perfect score.

Reliability: 9
It's pretty solid, but I would recommend keeping in a rack - rackmountable tools are often a little bit more flimsy than would ordinarily pass inspection. Knobs, buttons, all perfect though.

Customer Support: 10
Super friendly - told me how to find out what OS I had (I forget now though), explained to me about accessory options, etc. Their web page even has trial sounds, if you're considering buying one but can't make up your mind.

Overall Rating: 9
Beautiful box: very useful for a variety of styles I play (metal, progressive, rock, funk, techno, pop, etc.). I wish it had effects, but a lot of the time the amp simulations suffer on similar units because of onboard effects; overall, this is by far the best package in amp modeling/effects. I would recommend this to anyone interested in a cheap alternative to a studio filled with old, rusty, yet tonally rich tube gear. This packs all the punch of the amps it simulates, and more.

Submitted by Anonymous at 09/20/2001 19:51

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 10
A baby could figure this out,that's what's so cool about it.

Sound Quality: 9
I run it through a marshall 8008 power amp and a crate cabinet.It can be a bit noisy when you crank it,but really, that's any good amp.In my opinion,it sounds awesome.Every sound I like,I can very easily get.

Reliability: 10
I would use it without backup.I haven't had any problems so far.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
I play very hard rock.I don't like Korn or any of that nu metal crap.I like Faith No More,Janes Addiction,Pearl Jam,Frank Zappa,more of those sort of styles.This pre amp is great for that.

Submitted by erikg. at 09/07/2001 19:20

Price Paid: US $599

Ease of Use: 5
THERE ARE LOTS OF STUFF YOU CAN GET OUT OF THIS. WITH A BUNCH OF KNOBS ON YOUR POWER AMP AND A BUNCH OF KNOBS ON THIS THING, YOU CAN GET A MILLION DIFFERENT COMBOS. I PLAY BASS AND MOST OF THE TONES I GOT WERE OVERDRIVEN TONES. THERE WAS NOT A WHOLE LOT THAT THIS THING CAN OFFER A BASS PLAYER, GET AN OVERDRIVE PEDAL AND A TUBE COMPRESSOR AND BANG YOU GOT THE SAME THING. KEEP IN MIND I AM A BASS PLAYER, I THINK YOU GET A LOT MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK IF YOU ARE A GUITAR PLAYER. THE MANUAL TELLS YOU HOW TO DO EVERYTHING. IF YOU HAVE THE TIME YOU CAN CHANGE IT'S SETUP ALL AROUND. IT IS JUST A MATTER OF DOING IT..I DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME.

Sound Quality: 9
NO NOISE, I HAVE A COMPLETE GALLIEN KRUEGER SETUP. 4X10 CABINET 1X15 CABINET AND A 800 RB HEAD. THIS THING WAS QUIET FROM THE GET GO AND PRETTY USER FRIENDLY JUST HATED RUNNING THROUGH ALL THE GUITAR SETTINGS TO GET TO THE BASS ONES..FROM READING THE MANUAL YOU CAN CHANGE AROUND ALL THE PRESETS TO DIFFERENT NUMBERS BUT I JUST DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO TO SIT AND MAKE THIS THING WORK THE WAY I WANT IT TO.

Reliability: 10
I WOULD NOT USE IT ON A GIG BECAUSE IT'S JUST TOO MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT WHEN PLAYING..I LIKE IT SIMPLE. THIS THING IS RELIABLE AND BUILT SOLIDLY. I WOULD NOT WORRY ABOUT IT BREAKING DURING YOUR SET.

Customer Support: 10
EMAILED THEM AND GOT A RESPONSE 20 MINUTES LATER. THESES GUYS ARE GREAT AND VERY HELPFUL, IF NOTHING ELSE I WOULD BUY THEIR PRODUCT BECAUSE I KNEW I COULD GET AHOLD OF SOMEBODY TO FIX IT.

Overall Rating: 5
I PLAY EVERYTHING...FROM SLAP TO HEAVIER STYLES. I COULD NOT USE THIS THING FOR ANY OF MY PLAYING, THAT IS WHY I RETURNED IT FOR AN AMPEG SVT PRO. OTHER BASS PLAYERS MAY FIND SOME USE FOR IT BUT THIS THING WAS MADE FOR GUITARISTS. HOPE YOU GUYS FIND THIS HELPFUL AND NOT ABOUT DISSING THEM..THEY OFFER A GREAT PRODUCT, JUST NOT FOR ME. THEY WERE TOTALLY HELPFUL AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF OTHER STUFF TO OFFER PEOPLE. DEFINITELY CHECK THEM OUT.

Submitted by DAN WITHERS at 09/07/2001 10:25

Price Paid: N/A used

Ease of Use: 8
I must say it is easy to use. I liked the fact that it wasn't hard to change the parameters. Just a few knobs to turn. I got mine used and it didn't come with a manual. But you can figure it out very well without a manual.

Sound Quality: 7
My setup is: Ernie Ball Volume Pedal >> RMC 1 Wah >> PSA-1 >> G-Major mfx >> Sonic Maximizer >> Return Effects Loop of Carvin 4x12 speakers.

I expected to use this preamp as a source for all of my distortions, both rythm and lead, and I was little dissapointed. I read all of the reviews saying that you could get any distortion you wanted. I don't believe that is true. I've spent hours trying to get some artists distortions, and I haven't been able to do it. Another thing, it SO NOISY at high gain settings it's enough to make me not even use it anymore. I'm the lead guitarist in my group, I need something smooth and quiet when I want a high gain crunch and drive. I just can't seem to get it quiet, even with my noise gate working overtime. Now, for rythym stuff, this is a great preamp. It has a nice sound to it. Plenty of crunch and bite for many different styles. Just to noisy when it's cranked.

Reliability: 9
It seems quite reliable in my opinion. "Built like a Tank" as they say. No problem there. I would use it without a backup, even.

Customer Support: N/A
Haven't dealt with them.

Overall Rating: 8
I'm going to give it a 8 here because I think it was partly my fault for not trying it out first and thinking it was something it wasn't. I just saw a good deal, (395 IS a good deal) and I saw the good ratings, so I went for it. I'm not saying anybody else's reviews are inaccurate. They simply had a different opinion that I do. In MY opinion, it wasn't all I thought it should be. I hate to think that I have to fork out the money and buy a Triaxis or go for individual stompbox distorions (C*R*I*N*G*E*) I really hate the stompbox idea. Maybe I could layer the PSA-1 with a TubeScreamer, Fuzz Factory, DS-2, or something similiar for my leads. So in conclusion, good for rythym, not so good for lead. I hope this helped! Sorry if I didn't. But remember, this is just my 2 cents worth. I'm sure a lot of people disagree with me. This just my opinion.

ALWAYS TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT!!!!!

Submitted by Daniel at 08/21/2001 12:56

Price Paid: US $550

Features: 10
The Sans Amp PSA-1 is one of the most versatile and user-friendly pieces of studio equipment I own. The need for other amplifiers and speaker cabinets is all but gone. Once in a great while, I will need to use a vintage cabinet/head combination to get a certain sound, but the PSA-1 has most sounds and styles of music covered, guitarwise.

Sound Quality: 9
The PSA-1 has a variety of settings, which makes it useful for all kinds of musical guitar styles, from blues to metal to anything you can dream up. In my studio, I have used it with many different artists, and each one was able to get the sound he needed from it - myself included. Guitars ranging from standard Strats, Teles and Les Paul style guitars to Ibanez, Kramer and Peavey Wolfgang guitars are no challenge for the PSA-1. Whether the pickups have been hotrodded or toned down, the amp can bring out the best sound in any axe.

Reliability: 10
Haven't had a problem yet (knock on wood) - which is more than I can say for my "road" amplifiers. It is a tuff little unit!

Customer Support: N/A
Havent needed repairs yet...

Overall Rating: 10
I have been a musician for 20 years and playing guitar for 15 years. I have a very modest home studio (everything I need to record is mounted in a stand up cabinet - monitors and subwoofer included) that would not be complete without my Sans Amp. It has all the amp sounds I need and mounts right in the rack with the other components.

One drawback is that it has no onboard effects - I have to go thru an Alesis Midiverb for those - but that is also part of the beauty of it too. No Bullshit, straight ahead power and crunch for my guitars. The absolute best thing about it in my opinion is that it has KNOBS! I love knobs and faders and anything else that allows you to tweak the tone without having to page thru menus for hours on end. The PSA-1 is as easy to use as a Marshall Stack or a Peavy Bandit, but much less bulky. The price is right, too.

Submitted by Michael Hicks at 08/16/2001 14:06

Price Paid: US $550.00

Features: 10
This is all I will ever need as far as versatile tone goes. I put a BBE sonic maximizer in the effects loop and it sounds amazing! I was weary at first, because I've been brainwashed into thinking that if it doesn't have tubes, it won't cut the mustard. Well, maybe the guys at Tech21 have made a pact with satan, because this is a solid state preamp that sounds and behaves like a tube preamp. The controls on this thing will allow you to get pretty much any sound you need. The only sound I am not able to get is a super scooped death metal type sound, but in all fairness to this unit, I don't know of any amp or preamp that can provide this sound without an outboard EQ. So, I run an EQ in my rack and now I have that death metal tone, if I want it.

Sound Quality: 10
I think the previous paragraph answers this question. Yes, it does sound awesome. The only other preamp I've played that can compare to this one is the Triaxis. But for what you pay for a Triaxis, there better be sex involved!!

Reliability: 10
It's solid state, so already it's more reliable than something with tubes in it. A tube amp (or preamp) requires constant maintainence, and I just don't have the patience for it. Not only that, all kinds of things pop up unexpectedly with tube amps. I don't need the hassle. Solid state= hassle free.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 9
The only reason I don't give it a 10, is because nothing is perfect. This thing comes pretty close though.

Submitted by Chino Cochino at 07/11/2001 00:59

Price Paid: N/A

Features: N/A
This is an update to my previous review. I just have a few words about reliability:

Basically, I started having a bit of trouble with the PSA-1 not switching to new presets from ones I was currently editing. In other words, go to a preset, twist a knob, switch to another preset. What the PSA-1 should do in this case is ignore your edits, and switch to the new preset. However, mine was keeping the same settings, and then blinking its "editing dots" at me to tell me I hadn't saved my edits. Saving the preset didn't help, nor did power-cycling the unit. It was acting hosed.

I e-mailed tech support, and was told that sometimes the knobs rub against the faceplate and should be pulled out slightly to make sure they don't make weird grounding problems which might cause the unit to act up. Worst case, I was told, I'd have to back up my presets, do a full reset, and load them back in. I didn't bother, since the problem seemed to disappear the next day.

Last Friday, it reappeared, and was really getting on my nerves, because I was in the middle of recording. I decided to backup, reset, and reload my presets, and follow the suggestion of pulling the knobs out slightly. I started at the right, pulling gently on the knobs. At the 2nd knob from the right, I heard a "click" sound, and the stem of the pot came out in my hand! Doh! I was screwed. No way to get it back in, it's 11:00pm, and no Radio Shack open in the area. I opened the unit up, took the faceplate off, disassembled the pot, put the stem back in, buttoned everything back up, reset the unit, and it's working great.

A point: Beware, the pots in this thing might not be all that durable. I did NOT pull on the knobs with much force, and I wouldn't expect to have a pot fall apart like that. On the other hand, Pulling on them is kind of a weird thing to do, I admit that!

Another point: The PSA-1 was on while I was doing this, and worked fine, even with a knob shaft missing. That's pretty impressive, I reckon.

Another: Tech support was pretty helpful in a way, because the full reset solved the original problem. Plus, they're sending me a new pot. They seem pretty cool.

One more: This thing is a MOTHER to reassemble. If you decide to take it apart, have a short, fat screwdriver on hand with a u-joint and a magnet on it. Dang...

Sound Quality: 10
This thing really kicks butt! I still like it.

Reliability: 8
Well, I have to take a point or two off here, because "10" would mean it's totally reliable, and anything electronic fails on that score.

Customer Support: 9
They're great!

Overall Rating: 10
I'd go out and buy another one of these if this one got lost or stolen, or, God forbid, I pulled the knobs off the front and couldn't get them back in.

Submitted by Kelly at 06/26/2001 14:26

Price Paid: 450 (pounds )

Ease of Use: 10
Its as easy as it gets to use.......the large knobs give you amp-like control of all the parameters,making it easy to use and tweaking patches whist playing is a possibility (unlike some of its competetors-Marshall JMP-1).Patch editing is also really simple, you just set your sound like you would on an amp an press the save button!

Sound Quality: 10
I play an ESP LTD M-350 and a Gibson les-paul,through a rack set-up- PSA-1->>A big fat old analogue delay unit(for some silly noise!!!)-->>Marshall 100watt power amp,all into a Laney i use for my effects an electro haronix Q-Tron+ a small stone,Jim Dunlop Cry baby,Korg Ax1000g "cheap but surprisingly good" multiFX.I play in Rock/Grunge pearl jam like band i like nice warm tone with a really big ballsy sound with nice solo/clean/rythm sounds. I also play in a NU-Metal and a Hardcore band(...not my main bands but like need different sounds for all of them).Basically i need to be able to get all different modern rock sounds, which i get from the PSA-1 without a second thought...as far as tone,sound and gain goes i never want more,i feel i could get an amp sound to suit any sort of music.Also as it is a dedicated pre amp you are able to get as extreme sounds as you want, so dont worry if you want to go from light blues drive to extreme rectified madness or even beyond.

Reliability: 10
Reliablity never comes into the question.....it always does what you want it to.Spose of you dont put it in a rack it would break??!!!You wont need a back up.....unless you are planning on attacking your amp with a chainsaw as part of a solo.

Customer Support: 10
Havent needed it....hasnt broken....manual explains everything you need to know even though you can work it out without the manual. However as i am in England Tech 21 are not a large make so i dont know what would happen if i tried to sort anything out......but i havent tried and i presume they have a UK helpline or distributor so i am probably talking crap!I am giving it 10 for this one cos i love it so much!

Overall Rating: 10
I bought this pre-amp when looking at the Marshall JMP-1, the Tech 21 PSA-1 crapped on the JMP-1, you wouldnt know it wasnt a valve powered preamp.I cant stress more, this preamp does everything! Guitar sounds that i get are like those of Stephen Carpenter(Deftones),Mike McReady(Pearl Jam)but you could literally play anything else you wanted.All i have to say now is DONT BUY THE MARSHALL JMP-1 BUY THE SANSAMP PSA-1.(PLEASE)

Submitted by Jonathan at 06/04/2001 06:22

Price Paid: US $250 used

Features: 10
Nice wide range of tones. RTFM. I.e., learn how the knobs affect your tone. Use the presets as a foundation, and you can get killer tones.

Also, the effects loop rocks. Contrary to some opinions, it is not just 100% on or 50% on.

The 100% setting acts as an insert function for insert-style effects (like a wah) or where the blend is adjusted in the external effects processor.

The 50% setting acts as a blend function where the output of the effect is adjusted to adjust the amount of blend of the effect. For example, setting the effect output level to zero blends no effect, setting the effect output to 10 blends 50% effect and 50% dry. Thus, the PSA-1 preserves the signal quality of the dry signal. Good setting for delays, chorus, reverb, etc.

Sound Quality: 10
First off, when A/B'ed with the POD, thie PSA-1 kicks the POD's ass. Also, A/B'ed with the Roland COSM simulators. IMHO, the PSA-1 is better.

Second, the PSA-1 does a great job of emulating a variety of amps, from Fender to Marshall to Mesa/Boogie.

Third, the PSA-1 is a bit noisey on the higher gain settings (as with most decent guitar amps).

Reliability: N/A
Purchased it used, dirt cheap. Got one that was really abused on the road. Some of the LED's aren't working. However, it sounds great and I have not clue what actual abuse was inflicted. Therefore I won't submit a rating.

Customer Support: 10
I have e-mailed and telephoned Tech-21. Excellent support. They quickly mailed me a replacement owners manual at no charge.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for over 20 years and have owned Mesa/Boogies, Fenders, DigiTechs, an ART, BOSSs, a PigNose, Peaveys, and other guitar amps. The PSA-1 rocks when compared to all previous amps.

I would definiteley replace my PSA-1 if lost or stolen, even if I had to get one for $600 new.

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/30/2001 13:08

Price Paid: US $575

Features: 9
This thing is cool! I can't believe it's solid state. If you read the manual and learn which knobs(yes, knobs!) do what, it's a piece of cake.

Sound Quality: 10
This is by far the best investment I've ever made. I needed something that was versatile. I was going to get a Mesa Recto, but the recto amps are strictly for metal type sounds. Nothing wrong with that, it's actually perfect for the style I play, but I also sit in with some jazz guys and do acoustic stuff too and I needed an amp that would be able to go from nice and clean to way too much distortion(there's actually a mesa boogie setting on the PSA-1 titled "too much gain"!). My first test was to compare the mesa sounds with the real mesa amps(this is a wonderful way to piss off the salesman at your local music store). To my surprise, they were about equal, give or take a little. I actually prefered the mesa rectifier sound on the PSA-1 to the actual mesa amp itself! So, that sold me right away. I then compared the marshall settings to a real jcm900 and the fender settings... you get the picture? Anyway, after comparing for almost an hour and pissing off this surly salesman, I decided to take it home with me. When I got this home and mtched it up with my solid state power amp (strictly for P.A use), it actually sounded better than with the tube power amp in the store! I guess this makes sense, match up a solid state preamp with a solid state power amp, right? Anyway, it sounded better; to me anyway. Now I need to get me a good solid state power amp!! I was on a roll, so I hooked up my bass players sonic maximizer in the effects loop and I almost wet myself! I didn't think this thing could get any better, but the sonic maximizer did just that. Now I have to get a sonic maximizer! So, the bottom line is this: It sounds awesome!!

Reliability: 10
no problems here

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
Yes, I know nothing is perfect, but I don't ever remember being so fully impressed by a piece of gear before!!

Submitted by Anonymous at 05/27/2001 23:19

Price Paid: US $400 used

Features: 10
Not too many features. It just does one thing: generate distortion tones. It has all of the appropriate inputs and outputs, FX loop, etc. that you would expect a full-featured preamp to have. It does NOT have a cheap-sounding chorus, delay, reverb, flanger, "vocalizer", pitch shifter, or any pretentious modelling amp junk on it. It's simple. Simplicity breeds versatility.

Sound Quality: 9
Lots of big-name people use this for everything from guitar to drums to vocals to flutes, but I've only used it on guitar and bass.

I also have a Rocktron Piranha, which is similar to the PSA-1 in intent and form factor: Both units are 1U analog preamps with MIDI control. However, the Piranha is a simple high-gain tube preamp with a speaker simulator, where the PSA-1 is solid-state, and goes a lot farther than just simple preamp activity. It's not a bogus/pretentious "amp modeller" however; It's a distortion box that gives the highest possible level of control over the content of your distortion tone, with a user interface that even a guitar player can understand(hee hee).

As far as sound goes: I record direct, with this running in the FX loop of a GX-700. I like the Piranha's ability to get a good, agressive distortion tone in this setting. However, that's all I could ever get the Piranha to do. I didn't care much for it's clean sounds, so I never used them. And believe me, I tweak and tweak. The Pirahna didn't strike me as being particularly versatile as a result. I was hoping the PSA-1 could get better clean tones, and I wasn't disappointed. They're great! It has a lot more teeth than the Piranha too. The distortion tones can get as fuzzed out as you want them, but you can still hear every note. You can get really thick-sounding tones from this solid-state preamp, thus forever putting to rest (for me) the idea that you have to have tubes to get the tone you want. You don't! The EQ on the PSA-1 is simple very effective. I can dial in vocal-sounding lead tones, colon-loosening low end, and sparkly-sounding highs. Of course, it's possible to get a horrible sound, but that's what you get with this much flexibility. The presets are okay, but can be improved upon.

I've been playing for 23 years, and have used/owned every non custom-made preamp out there, and this one is the most flexible. I love Tech 21 gear. It sounds great, and is very practical to use. I'll give it a 9 instead of a 10 because I haven't had it for that long yet, and, let's face it: it's just a preamp.

For bass, same story. I can get my favorite bass sound out of it: The 9-foot-tall-500-lb.-Geddy-Lee sound. Plus a lot of others. And that's with a set of strings that's almost a year old!

Reliability: 10
I would say I could depend on it. I also own a Trademark 60 and a GT2 from Tech 21, and their stuff has been very reliable for me. I would gig without a backup, because I'm just a careless kind of guy, and I don't make a living gigging.

Customer Support: 8
I've e-mailed them with questions, and they always responded within a day or so. I e-mailed them and asked for the online version of the PSA-1 manual. I got back a bunch of JPGs of the manual scanned in sideways, which I thought was kind of useless. I e-mailed them back and suggested they put the manual on the site in HTML format so people could read it, and the guy was really receptive to the idea. So at least they're not jerks! They get an 8, because a 10 seems like something you should give them only if they drive to your house to help you play your guitar through a piece of their gear or something.

Overall Rating: 8
Overall, I think this thing rules! It's cool looking, well-built, easy to use, sounds great, and plays well with my rack. One other thing I forgot to mention, it has a good FEEL. I like the way a good tube amp responds to playing dynamics. This doesn't respond like that, but it has a good feel nonetheless. For the record, I really despise the way modelling amps respond. They're like playing a recording of a guitar amp on a specific setting. Not this one. It's a little pricey (even used), so I can't give it a 10. It's really cool though.

Submitted by Kelly at 05/21/2001 16:00

Price Paid: US $600

Features: 8
Pretty straight forward. No frills, no extras, just straight up tone and lot's of it!

Sound Quality: 10
I can't believe the sounds I can get out of this thing, simply amazing. For the first time in my life, I am completely satisfied with my tone. No complaints here!!

Reliability: 10
no problems yet

Customer Support: N/A
n/a

Overall Rating: 10
I love this thing. I was looking for a versatile preamp with major crunch capabilities and that's what I got. I play mostly hardcore and punk and it was essential that my preamp provide me with an aggressive, heavy, full sound. All I had to do was tweak the factory presets a bit to choose one! Yes, I had the luxury of choosing between full blown heavy ass Marshall or Mesa Boogie tones!! Not to mention nice clean Fender, classic Vox, Hiwatt...You get the picture? I think it's only a matter of time before the word is out and everyone with a penchant for tone will want one. Get one now, while the price is still good.

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/27/2001 21:13

Price Paid: US $250

Ease of Use: 10
It's very easy to use IF YOU SPEND SOME TIME WITH IT. At first it takes awhile to get used to the "parametric distortion", the Buzz, Punch and Crunch knobs. These three knobs are what sets this preamp apart from any other preamp. They are distortion knobs for low, middle, and high frequencies, allowing you to tailor your distortion sound to your exact specifications. If you don't take some time to discover how these knobs interact with one another, then you'll have some problems getting the sound you want, but with a little experimentation you'll soon be getting the best and most varied sounds you've ever heard from ANY amp or preamp

Sound Quality: 10
this is simply the best preamp or amp I've ever heard. I use it not only for guitar but also for bass, organ, harmonica, and even sax (distorted sax is a unique sound). You can nail any tone in existence, as well as any tone you can dream up.

Reliability: 10
no problems here

Customer Support: 10
I asked them some questions via e-mail and had a response within 20 min!

Overall Rating: 10
why are you still reading this? go out and but one! I don't work for this company, but I wish I did! The only way this could be any better is if it came in a head w/ power amp and built in reverb and chorus

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/20/2001 20:39

Price Paid: US $599

Ease of Use: 10
Well, it's pretty darn easy. Especially compared to modeling amps and boxes like Pod and the J-Station. It may take a while to actually get the best results, but the path to your is nothing but easy... just turn the knob!

Sound Quality: 9
Thank you to all of you who have posted reviews on this box. I bought it on faith mostly from YOUR reviews and I have not been disappointed! This unit certainly has lived up to it's billing. I've had mine less than 24 hours, yet I have been going crazy playing with this thing! It has all the smooth even-order harmonics you could ask for. I'm certain that with a small amount of time I can get many good personal sounds from this unit. It certainly is the nicest sounding "distortion box", or "amp emulator" I've heard. It doesn't have a perfect sound, because perfect would almost imply that nothing else (that is imperfect) would sound as good. At least with guitar. As far as I can tell, as a bass preamp this thing is superior to ANYTHING I have tried... and I have been looking for that sound for quite a while!

I only do direct recording, and I have been using a Johnson Millenium for almost all of my guitar parts over the last two years. I have been able to get some VERY impressive sounds out of that unit. Of course, that is a fairly complicated unit to learn to get the most out of! While I have no doubt that the PSA-1 acts much more like a real amp in that the sound is created along the signal path like a real amplifier, hence it is more sensitive to attack, pickup type, and other variables, the fact is that there are some situations (in my material, anyway) where it isn't necessarily the better choice.

First of all, this is much more of a compliment to the Millenium rather than a knock on the PSA-1. I'm only saying that there are different solutions to the same problem, and the PSA-1 is only one of them. But the PSA-1 is such a sweet sounding unit. It's really cool how many more tones I now have available to me. It seems to me that there are some overdriven situations that the Millenium has it's place. Maybe as I get better with the PSA-1 it will eventually displace my Millenium, but for now I just like the new variety of tones that are available to me.

So, for those who want to know what the differences are between this and amp modeling, I'll give it a shot. The PSA-1, as recounted on this page many times, is more of an amp emulator. What that means is that the signal travels through an analog path through the unit. It uses transistors (FETs) which are wired up in a similar fashion to class AB tube amplifiers, which is a push-pull configuration. Essentially, in an AB amplifier, one tube amplifies a signal in the positive direction, such that the tube is "on" half the time (50% duty cycle). As the signal swings back to the other side of 0 volts into the negative direction, the first tube turns off and the second tube turns on. When the switching occurs, it doesn't do so in a perfect manner... there is some inherent distortion during the crossover phase of the amplification process, and as the circuit is turned up and drives harder and harder, we hear the pleasing even-order harmormonics become prevalent, which is much (but not all) of the sound associated with a nice tube amp (hence, it's called "crossover distortion). Tech-21 has created a very innovative design which copies this process using transistors, or FETs, instead of tubes, but they have also designed in so many parameters to tweak the sound that it is literally possible for you to make many decisions about yor sound by tweaking a knob... decisions that Fender, Marshall, Mesa-Boogie, etc. were forced to hard-wire into their amp designs. FETs are soooo much cheaper than tubes and it's so much easier to work in the low-voltage domain that Tech-21 was laterally able to make all these parameters available to you for tweaking! And tweak you will.... this thing has a range of adjustability that is astonishing!

A modeling amp like the Johnson Millenium, (or "ugh" the Line 6 Pod) use a very different, but viable path to get to tube glory. These guys go out and buy a Marshall, a Mesa, a Fender, t

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 9
Best sounding tube amp I've heard for home studio purposes. Even though it has no tubes!

Submitted by dan parsons at 02/23/2001 11:35

Price Paid: $800 (Australian) used

Features: 8
This is basically a tube amp emulator, a handy DI device that can be used as a pre-amp. previous to this I had a Marshall Valvestate that sounded bad. Now I use the Sansamp as a pre-amp, into the Valvestate. The PSA-1 has fully tweakable controls, an effects loop, It is easy to use, It sounds good and I'm glad I bought it.

Sound Quality: 8
I play a lot of styles and so this is excellent for me. The Fender presets have the nice clean sounds, and the Mesa Boogie and Marshall presets bring tha noise. It is extremely easy to use, even a complete imbecile will enjoy it. The Best thing about it is how tweakable it is. Although it comes with 50 presets, you can fiddle with them and change them to your tastes. However, when setting presets, If you use too much gain, it gets noisy. Unfortunately my guitar sound still isnt brilliant, especially with distortion, as I am running the PSA-1 into a Marshall Valvestate. That's not the PSA-1's fault however. It is great to sit and fiddle with the presets until you find a really inspiring sound. I especially like the Fuzz Face and Big Muff Emulations, and the Tele preset. This is a good bit of musical equipment to have, I'd imagine session players would use these the most. It also has great bottom end. You can get huge low end sound.
I'm not used to that, having used a Marshall Valvestate that has absolutely no bottom.

Reliability: 10
It hasnt broken yet and I bought it second-hand. Hopefully it'll keep on kicking.

Customer Support: 9
I emailed Tech 21 to ask what power amps go well with the PSA-1. They very promptly emailed me back with tips and suggestions. Good customer service.

Overall Rating: N/A
Basically I wanted amplification with the warm sound of tubes. The PSA-1 does this very well. I play a Fender Strat with EMG active single coils into it, and use a Marshall Valvestate as power amp and speaker. Because of this my sound still isnt totally killer but this is not the PSA-1's fault, Its the awful Valvestate. Kids, dont buy a Marshall Valvestate amp. I plan to get a good solid state power amp and put it in a rack with the PSA-1. Then I'm going to get a two by twelve speaker box to run it into. A quad box would just be too loud and overpowering, besides I dont think I could fit one in my car.
I love that it does sound warm and tube-like, without the hassle of tubes.

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/20/2001 04:44

Price Paid: 1100 (Germany)

Ease of Use: 7
hm.....considering the ease of use i must admit that it lasted quite a while till i was able to get the sound i wanted, to be more precisely: i won this thing now for 2 years and i'm still searching and dialing.....the useful combinations of Buzz, Punch, Crunch, gain and preamp are just too much for me! (by the way: there are many combinations which sound really horrible)

Sound Quality: 8
my setup: Mesa 50/50, T.C Electronic G-Force, H&K 4x12 Cabinet and my Sansamp. through all this stuff, i play with my beloved universe (7-string from ibanez).
hm....what to say.....hm......well, first of all i want to disagre with most of the review submitters: it is NOT possible to create tubelike sounds, it is NOT possible to create a boogie or a fender by simply dialing around.......this unit has a great sound, but it's not a chameleon...
when you listen to it very intense you'll hear the unit's own sound..in every preset....it's not a tube base, it's transistor and you hear it! but that doesn't mean it's a bad sound. this unit has great distortion sounds, much pressure, from simply cruch till agressive heavy distortion. i don' really like the clean sounds...this unit simply lacks of compression.....considering the clean presets i would prefer a real tube preamp....but i seldom use clean presets so i don't mind. from all my friends and bands in my town i won the most powerful distortion sound.....combined with my mesa 50/50 it's a killer machine, designed to destroy everything on it's way! never heard so much pressure again! i do NOT agree with all the opinions to solid state amplification....my power amp is a tube amp and i'm happy about it....i tried out a solid state amp and the louder it gets, the more horrible it sounds...i don't really like solid state with high volumes and i give a shit to tech21 saying, i am to use a solid state unit for the PSA-1!
considering all the facts i would spend this unit an 8 because of the cool distortion sounds and, i have to admit, it IS quite good in imitating sounds.....very versatile.....but to hear something boogie like, you have to buy a boogie!

Reliability: 9
it's on night an day and never left me!
i think this thing is made for eternity....

Customer Support: N/A
-

Overall Rating: 9
i play for 15 years and i am still willing to buy a TriAxis...but for the long years of waiting that i finally will be able to buy this unit it's the best choice for me! i think i won't ever sell it, because the direct recording possibilities are quite cool....it sounds really ok to me...cannot be compared with a mike-recording, but in my opinion it sounds ways better than a Line 6 POD!

Submitted by Simon at 02/15/2001 05:59

Price Paid: US $550

Ease of Use: 8
If you know how the controls work, it's easy to get a great sound out of this unit. Just read the manual and experiment. The presets are a great reference point. Just mess around with the presets and you'll eventually figure this thing out. It also helps to read the manual, which is very easy to understand. Here's a tip: the controls are extremely sensitive. Turning a dial just a little will result in a whole new sound. Keep this in mind. Also, learn how the controls ineract with each other. Once you figure out which dial does what, you have arrived!

Sound Quality: 10
Ok, here's my setup: PSA-1 -furman PQ3 parametric eq(It's good enough for Dimebag!)-T.C electronics G Force- BBE sonic maximizer- Carvin 600 watt Solid state power amp (lots of headroom). I run my rig into an old measa boogie 4x12 with celestion greenbacks. This rig in my opinion is the be all end all. I play very heavy music (Snapcase, Pantera, Hatebreed) and I get that really heavy mega crunch that I need. My guitars are a Gibson Les Paul Studio and a DC studio both with Duncan JB's. The only other preamp that comes close to the PSA-1 is the Triaxis, but I refuse to drop a small fotune on just a preamp. The PSA-1 sounds great by itself, but with the Parametric eq scooping the mids, it sounds completely insane! Everytime I finish a gig, I'll always have some guy come up to me and compliment me on my sound. One guy described it as "really heavy, but in a crystal clean way". I think he just meant that the distortion isn't at all muddy. I really love this thing. Here's a perfect example of how versitile it is: I filled in for a buddy of mine who plays in a top 40 band. The set list consists of everything from Foo Fighters to the Beatles to The Ramones to The Monkees. I was able to program all the different guitar tones I needed (it took me all night to get them done!!) to make it through the gig. I was very proud of my PSA-1!

Reliability: 10
Never had a problem. I have my POD as a backup, but never had to use it.

Customer Support: N/A
never had to deal with them

Overall Rating: 10
I have nothing bad to say about this thing. Case closed.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/25/2001 00:46

Price Paid: N/A

Features: 10
If you are looking for vesatility in your pre amp, then this is an amazing piece of gear. I am a professional musician and require many different quality tones from my amp. The PSA 1 has all of the tones most sought after from some of the industries leading amplifiers. The Marshall High Gain lead tones, Marshall Classic and Fender Twin clean tones, and Mesa Rectifier all passed the A/B test out of the box. I recomend going to the Tech 21 site and listening to the pre sets that are available. The features that really sell this pre amp other than sounding truly authentic is the MIDI control and the stereo effects loop.

Sound Quality: 10
I play a Jackson Soloist SH2 (Seymour Duncan's JB4 bridge & SH 1 '59 in the neck). I play covers in the styles of Satriani, Malmsteen, Gilbert, Petrucci and Vai. I tone model all of these players dead on with a Digitech RP 10 in the effects loop (bypass the pre amp). The EQ plays a vital role in dialing in the tones of each of these players. The pre amp offers the authentic AMPLIFIER tone of each player as a starting point when writing tone modeled patches with the RP unit.

Reliability: 10
I have heard good things about the reliability of this pre amp. I have had no trouble with it.

Customer Support: 9
The customer support is awesome. I Emailed for a manual and the next morning they ZIP filed a manual. Thanks Lloyd!

Overall Rating: 10
This is one piece of gear that will remain in my rig for a long time. I have been playing for a long time and have trial and errored many pieces of gear. This is by far the best pre amp I have had the priveledge of playing through. The amp is pretty expensive new, but for the quality and versatility it offers I think it is a super deal!

Submitted by Jimmy at 01/24/2001 20:11

Price Paid: US $535.00

Features: 9
Nothing I can say that hasn't already been posted for this unit. It's a straightforward solid state pre-amp. Has a supremely simple layout with rotary knobs for all adjustments. Has rear ins and outs with effects loop and MIDI footswitch jack. The only real complaint as far as features go, is that I wish they included a footswitch, and also built a power switch on the front panel to turn the unit on and off. Luckily, I have a rack mounted power supply, so this is no biggie for me, but it would be a little more convienent.

Sound Quality: 10
I use an Ibanez RG-470, a Kramer Baretta, and a Jackson Soloist through the pre-amp, which goes to a Carvin HT-150 power amp to a Marshall 4x12 Valvestate cabinet. I tend to play heavy stuff mainly, but sometimes use clean for ballads. The pre-amp has (by far) the best dirty sounds I've heard! If you get too crazy with the gain it can get a bit noisy though.(nothing worse than the ADA MP-1 I used to own though!)
I've owned about every Marshall and Mesa head made, and I feel that this pre-amp has them both beat sonically. It continues to amaze me how much more it sounds like a tube amp than an actual tube amp does! In the store the unit was run through a Mesa Boogie 50/50 tube power amp into a Crate stereo 4x12, so I thought when I got it home into a soild state power amp all of the sound would be lost, but it still sounded great. I also bought this unit for direct recording, and I run it directly into a Boss BR-8 digital 8 track. It sounds much better than anything I can get from miking up my live rig with. I was surprised, because everything else I've ever tried to direct record always sounded like a swarm of pissed off bees. (I sould note that a patch that sounds great live does not sound the same direct. You need to tweak the preamp a little to get your patches to sound the way you like direct. I have 2 different sets of patches, one for live playing, and another set for recording. I can say that I can get the same live sound direct with a little tweaking.)

Reliability: 10
I would guess that this thing is pretty durable since it's solid state. The music store I tried it out at, had it mounted in a rack that was constantly plugged in.(And since this it has no power switch, it means it was on constantly day and night.) I have been to the store on and off over the past year, and they say the unit has never been turned off, so this is a pretty good testament to it's reliability.

Customer Support: 10
I e-mailed these guys some pretty stupid questions a couple of times before I bought it, and I always recieved a response within 2 days. Their replies were very thorough and personal. Other than that I have yet to need anything further from them. (knock on wood:)

Overall Rating: 9
I have been playing for the last 15 years. I was away from music for the past 3 years.Marshalls were all that I owned. When I began shopping again for a new amp I immediately went to hear the new Marshalls, and was really dissapointed. They are still God-awful expensive, and the sound was horrible. I was very happy years ago with my JCM900 50 watt head, and mainly used it for the distortion. With the PSA-1, I can not only dial in the sound of the JCM900's, but I'm not stuck with just that sound. I also like the idea of never having to buy and replace tubes all the time. Oddly enough, I e-mailed Tech 21 before I bought the unit to ask what power amp they reccommend, and every one they listed was a solid state. They do specify that you check the frequency range of the power amp you choose and make sure it's within 20-20k, and also make sure you check the impedance rating of the amp and the speaker cabinet you use, because a mismatch will result in poor tone.
The only thing that I can find fault with, is the fact that this unit is pretty expensive for it just being a pre-amp. If it were'nt for the sound of this thing, I would have taken a pass on it based on it's price ($600!) A lot of guys looking for that "Marshall sound" can pick up an entire combo amp for that price! (Hence the 9 rating) As it was, I was not looking for a rack setup when I bought this thing, I mainly wanted head that had "the sound" I was looking for. As it turned out, to use this thing, I had to buy a rack ($80)and a power amp ($350)to use it, which puts me at the cost of a Marshall/Mesa head! I also would like to see them make a head out of this unit with a built in power supply for guys who don't want the hassles of a rack/power supply to mount this thing in.

Submitted by Doug at 01/13/2001 12:39

Price Paid: US $499

Features: 9
Digital/analog pre-map. Has 49 preset and 49 user programmable patches. Has some new and unique anolog style knobs for a pre-amp. I used to like an amp that had a million buttons and lights on it, but I really appreciate the simple and intuitive layout of the front panel. My only complaint here is that when switching patches, the knobs need to be turned down to reset them. It offers channel switching via MIDI port in back. Has a unique feature for input jacks. It has front and rear input jacks and ,per the manual, the front input jack is for guitar, and the rear is mainly for rack use. When using the front input it automatically bypasses the rear. There are enough reviews on this to really get the idea on functions, but it prides itself on being a 100% analog processor with digital programmability. This is only a pre-amp, with no other built in effects. Kudos to Tech 21 for not throwing in more crap than most people want or need. I have had other amps with built in effects (Line 6 & Johnson) And I always ended up getting an external effects rack anyway. The effects loop on the rear has a 50/50 switch for mixing effects. They claim you need to run your external effects 100% wet, and to control the amount of the effect with the effects output. My biggest complaint is that there is no on/off switch anywhere on the unit. You either connect it to a switchable power source, or enjoy it's glowing LED's forever.(or until you unplug it)

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Ibanez RG 470 with stock pickups,a MosFet 50 power amp into a Marshall 4x12 cabinet, for gigs, and I also run this direct into a Boss BR-8 for recording. I must admit I am still stuck in the 80's/90's metal trap, therefore I still look for the Dokken, Yngwie, Pantera sound. This pre-amp has them all...and then some! It's hard to describe, but the unit not only sounds like a tube amp, but it sounds BETTER! It has a tube growl that I was only able to get from my old Marshall Artist head. (But the Marshall did'nt sound as good as this thing!) The unit comes with a list of preset styles, but I guarantee you'll make your own that sound a million times better. I played any and every amp being made currently at my local music store before buying, and this by far has the most flexability and best sonic qualities of anything I have ever owned. The unit sounded excellent in the store, and even better at home. The pre-amp can cover just about any tube amp sound you want. Since I don't play clean much, I really can't comment on the clean patches, but the distortion is almost too good to be true! I did notice that you need to be careful with getting too crazy with the distortion, because you get a good deal of hiss on high settings. The manual even warns about the noise.One thing that's been stated here before, and I must concur, is that you definitely need to use a quality power amp for this unit to really shine. I played the unit in the store through a Crate 50 watt solid state power amp, and then through a Mesa Boogie 50/50 tube power amp, and the difference was night and day! The solid state Crate power amp sounded thin and paper like, whereas the Mesa unit sounded like a wall of warm sound no matter what patch was being used. So, if you can donate a kidney or some gold fillings to afford one, try to get a decent tube power amp.

Reliability: N/A
This is the first Tech 21 product I have ever owned so I can't say too much yet. I have only had the unit for about 5 months now. It's solid state, so I don't anticipate any problems.

Customer Support: 8
I did give the folks at Tech 21 a call to ask some questions about the recommended MIDI pedal setup, and they were very friendly and courteous. If I ever needed help, I feel confident they would be there for me if I needed them.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 15 years now. I have owned Randalls, Peaveys, Johnson, Line 6 and a lot of Marshalls. When looking for a new amp after being away from music for the last 3 years, I made sure I played every amp at my local music store. I initially was hell-bent on getting a Marshall, and tried out the DSL 100 head, and I think Jim Marshall should be ashamed of himself for putting out such high priced pine box tube radios these days! The salesman at the music store said "these are meant to be played loud, that's when they sound the best..." So I turned that puppy all the way up and listened. It sounded like a really nasal, thin, buzzy amp with the volume turned all the way up! Right as I was getting my keys out to head for the door, the saleman mentioned that he had a rack mount pre-amp that had an excellent distortion, so I decided to give it a try. If you are looking for a warm and versatile sound, give this one a listen. The main benefit I have seen with this unit so far is that I have a tube sound better than any tube head I have had before, and I don't need to keep replacing tubes to get it to sound the way it did the day I took it out of the box! My only concern was that this unit is pretty expensive for a rack pre-amp, when compared to the cost of complete amplifiers. If it wasn't for the sound quality I would have taken a pass due to the price. (I guess you get what you pay for...:)

Submitted by Doug at 12/30/2000 21:10

Price Paid: 700 (Australian) used

Ease of Use: 10
Very simple. I have owned a number of multi effects and the part I have always hated is programming them. I always tended to lean towards stomp boxs because they have knobs. So this is a real godsend for lazy people like me. The descriptions of the knobs are a bit weird but reading the manual puts you on the right track. You can also plug in a momentary footswitch (Keyboard sustain pedal) and you can loop through a number of presets. I think this is neat and keeps it simple.

Sound Quality: 10
In the past I have been a real tube head. I am getting back into playing after a 2 year break. I shopped around and tried a number of amps. I would run into the usual frustrations: The clean sounds great from a fender but the distortion sucks, love the ditortion on a marshall but hate the clean and so on. So what i have done is purchased a Yamaha EMX 660 PA and I plug the PSA-1 into that.

The advantage with this is that you are getting an accurate depiction of how it sounds. I also havwe the Sans Amp GT2 and I used to plug it into a tube amp. I found that becuse it is an amp emulator when plugging it into a real guitar amp it turns mushy. I also play bass so I can use this as a bass rig and it sounds really good.

I think it sound terific. To be honest when I am playing I only use 5 sounds. I like a unit that does one rthing and does it really well. I tried the POD and I thought the SANs sounded a lot better.

The distortion sounds are unbelievable and unlike other distortion units it interracts with how you play. If you back off your pick attack it responds if you lower the vol on the guitar it doesn't drive it as much. The presets are are great starting point but it is worth tweaking them to suit your gear. The clean are really nice. I used to own a Fender Twin reissue and this goes close. Close enough for my ears anyway.

Another thing which is good if you are playing in small venues it is easy to get a good solid sound. I have found in the past that while a fenser amp sounds OK on stage you can be killing people in the back of the room with volume. With the setup I use I know that what I am hearing is waht will be heard in the room.

Reliability: 10
So far so good

Customer Support: 9
I purchased it S/h and sent tech 21 an email and they sent me back a scanned manual the next day. The really should put a manual in PDF format available for download. I was impressed with their prompt service and my questions aboute the footswitch.

Overall Rating: 10
as far as an amp emulator goes I think it kills everything else on the market. I have been playing for 17 years and have owned enough gear in that time to open a guitar shop. The only thing is in Australia our dollar is in a bad way and anything imported is expensive. I would buy another second hand, but new they are quite expensive. (I envy US buyers)

I am looking into a Tech 21 Midi mouse as a foot controller it looks really neat.

At the moment I am playing in a sequenced trio and playing stuff like stevie wonder, disco, blues,. I am also playing in a 3 piece rock band and it does the job in both cases. I would reccomend it to anyone.

Submitted by Richard at 12/30/2000 16:06

Price Paid: US $600

Features: 10
Recently purchased from Musician's friend after reading the reviews in Harmony central and doing a search for comments on the internet. I was trying to buy a Rocktron Piranha, but decided to get this instead because I noticed from doing my research that a lot of professional studios uses this unit to lay tracks, even major artist like Joe Satriani. WEll known major band are using it in live gigs. Mine was probably made in 1999 or 2000. I read a review from a user of this unit complaining that when he switched from one patch to the next the level is not the same. I have to agree, but don't think it is the unit. It has more to do with the guitar that is plugged in. The hot pickups has a lot to do with the level. Just do some minor adjustment to level of the patches that you want to use and you are set. This preamp is very easy to use. Knobs, and knobs and knobs, I prefer it over push button to adjust the sound. My previous set up was using a Peavey Rockmaster through Rocktron Intellefix, then to a Peavey Classic 50/50 stereo amplifier. I became unhappy with the Rockmaster after I changed tubes and it started to do a slow death. For some stupid reason, changing tubes made the overdrive level drop about 95 percent. I thought it was the Sovtek tubes at first, so I switch back to the original and the level drop is still the same. Since I have a gig in about a week. I decided not to fool around with the Rockmaster and drop $600+ dollars into the PSA-1. Now I am running the intellefix through the effects loop of the PSA-1, and it rocks!
No one in my band could tell that I am not using a tube preamp. Because it sounds just like a crank tube amp! It blew everyone away.

Sound Quality: 10
I am using a music man axis and I play every thing from 70's to 2000 rock-n-roll, so I need a very versatile amp. I had a Peavey Rockmaster before and felt that I was playing John Cougar Hurt so good in Metallica mode, because I could not dial in classic tone on the fly. With this PSA-1, all I have to do is stomp on a MIDI pedal to change the sound. Let's get to the sound. Let just say awsome. All the characteristic of a tube amp, warm, dynamic, responsive, great harmonics. I couldn't get over it. I was using the Van Halen I setting last night and the sound it just like a heavy modified Marshall. A little bit of cream, metal, and thrash. There's a little bit of white noice when the gain is high, but a little hush should take care of that. It is still way quiet and a lot of tube amp. Definitely much quieter then a 5150 for the gain that this thing can crank out. I can go from fendery clean to megadeth distortion. I have one word that describe this preamp. AWSOME!

Reliability: 10
Don't know about reliability. I have a friend who had their products for years and it still work. So I am not worry at all. PLus the great thing is I don't have to change tubes. I may eventually replace my Peavey Classic 50/50 with a Mosvalve Solid state power amp.
I heard it sounds even better with a SS amp, plus I am tired of dealing with tubes. It's heavy to lug around for gigs. While in the middle of a gig, I am constantly worry that the tubes my die in the middle or go microphics on me. I just want my setup as compact as possible while sounding huge.
As far as reliable is concern, I am going to go with knowing someone with Tech21 products and they are very happy with it.

Customer Support: N/A
Have not use customer support yet.

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing for about 15 years. I am not an impulse buyer. So I always do some research before buying it. I have thought about buying a Marshall JMP-1, but I heard the gain isn't that great and you would only sound like a Marshall. I need something more versatile. I looked at a Boogie Triaxis, but could not justify dropping $1500 for just a preamp, plus I like real knobs instead of buttons. My Rockmaster was good, but the PSA-1 is even better. I am extremely happy with this purchase. It is simple to operate and the tone is unreal!

Submitted by Sy at 12/15/2000 07:21

Price Paid: US $590.00

Ease of Use: 9
This unit is great you can plug your guitar in turn it on and no matter what preset your on it sounds good. Editing patches isnt really hard just read the book. The manual is not long but theres not much to this unit besides turning knobs so how hard can it be.

Sound Quality: 9
I use a Parker nitefly and Parker deluxe I have a line 6 but i dont really use it much anymore I pretty much just use the preamp and my mossvalve power amp, sde-300 roland, 535q wah, and my pitch shifter pretty simple setup but its perfect for me. It gets a little noisy on the pantera and number 28 patches but you can eliminate that pretty easy. Its very transperant everything is really clear but i really dont use that many effects(so once you run more effects you might be able to tell a differance). I can get several sounds i can get a good john petrucci type sound without paying for his 6 mesa's. I can get good evh and plexi sounds. I would not recomend using distortion pedals with this there is no need to it adds very little and makes it very noisy. I play alot of fusion and progressive stuff dream theater, satch, vai, spocks beard, and all and all this unit sounds great.

Reliability: 9
I havent used it at a gig yet. But it looks really dependable i plan on using it next time we play.

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: N/A

Submitted by Shea Stevenson at 12/11/2000 21:49

Price Paid: US $525

Ease of Use: 8
The controls on this thing were a little foreign to me, but once I got used to them, I had a lot of fun creating all kinds of cool tones. If you want to learn how to use this thing, I mean really learn how, read the manual. It's pretty straight forward, easy to understand. If you just understand and learn what each knob does, you're all set. Have fun!!

Sound Quality: 10
I love the sounds I get from this thing! I play mostly Hardcore/metal and I can get all the insane sounds I need to get and then some. I'm using it with a Carvin solid state power amp(recomended by Tech21) and a Mesa Rectifier 4x12 cabinet. I can't believe this thing is solid state!! It sounds sooooo damn good! I also use a BBE Sonic Maximizer (don't leave home without one!) and an old Parametric EQ that I use to scoop the mids for that really heavy out of control sound. For the first time in my life, I am truly happy with my set up.

Reliability: 10
No problems here.

Customer Support: 10
I've only dealt with them on the phone a few times and they were great. Very knowledgable, very friendly.

Overall Rating: 10
This thing is the future of guitar tone; in my opinion. Let's face it, you don't need tubes anymore to get a good raging guitar tone. I use this live and with my home studio for direct recording. I used to use a POD for recording, but the PSA-1 sounds much more organic. I can't see messing with tube amps anymore. I think I'm set for life with this thing. Thanks Tech21!!

Submitted by Anonymous at 11/27/2000 23:40

Price Paid: US $600

Ease of Use: 8
You'll have to get used to it, but once you've figured out how to operate it (which isn't realy difficult) its easy to get any sound you wnt

Sound Quality: 9
Cool, Actually I use it as a Pre Amp for my Bass, but it sounds just great. Youn can get sound of a SVT or a Fender Bassman. Even the distiortion sounds are really good and don't kill the punch in your sound unless most other distortion effects.
But sometimes it is a little bit noisy.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: 9
Every Email gets answerd within a day

Overall Rating: 9
It's quite useful for Bass as well, especially when you use it as an editional effect unit within another amp

Submitted by Armin at 10/23/2000 12:18

Price Paid: US $525

Ease of Use: 8
It's quite easy to get a good sound out of this unit. The presets themselves are very good and usually require a simple adjustment of the Bass and Treble, when switching guitars. Now, here comes the downer. The controls on this thing are unlike anything else I've ever experienced, so it can be kind of a chore to edit patches. It isn't impossible, it just takes getting used to. Read the manual, that's what it's there for! Once you do understand how these unique controls work, you will have opened up a pandora's box of great tones! Unlike most preamps that merely adjust the parameters of the tone, this thing goes beyond that. It adjusts the overall sound, from Raging distortion to crystal cleans to bluesy overdrive, to whatever. Very, VERY versatile. Just a little difficult to program, but if you're willing to put in the time, you will be rewarded.

Sound Quality: 10
I'm using my PSA-1 with a carvin solid state power amp and I'll tell you why; The tech at tech21 explained to me that since this thing is a tube amp emulater, all the tone comes from the unit itself and anything more may muddy it up. A tube amp would add too much compression and therefore limit your headroom. Anyway, to make a long story short, it was recommended that a solid state power amp with the least amount of coloration be used, i.e pure clean power. Well, I replaced my old poweramp with the solid state one and woe and behold, there was my tone! Incredible! I still can't get over it. So, the moral of the story? The least amount of coloration will bring out the animal in this thing. Trust me!

Reliability: 10
no problems at all

Customer Support: 10
Tech 21 are the kings of customer support, just check them out for yourself!

Overall Rating: 10
I love this thing, I really do. I can't imagine ever wanting anything else. If you hook it up to a clean solid state power amp and a good quality cabinet, you'll fall in love! Trust me!

Submitted by Anonymous at 09/04/2000 23:24

Price Paid: $500 (Canadian) used

Ease of Use: 10
I've had the PSA-1 for 5 years now with no sign of getting bored. Has about every knob you'd want on a preamp--great tone shaping framework. Effects loop is clean with no audible transients or loss of signal integrity. Also like the 50/50 wet/dry switch giving me more tonal flexibility when blending effects into my sound.

Sound Quality: 9
Straight off, it has very good sounds, when compared to what else is out there. Personally, I like the Marshall(1), Plexi(4), and the Twin(15)presets to build my sounds from. The Boogie presets are also nice. If you are a fiddler and tweaker (don't forget to get some playing in) you'll love this unit.I sometimes sense a nasalness on certain settings, and the clean, although tight and full, lacks character. I've dealt with that somewhat by running it through a good 4X10 tube combo (Fender BF Concert). I love how the PSA-1 can drive the front end of this amp, giving me wickedly pretty harmonic feedback on command in the high gain settings.

Reliability: 9
No problems.

Customer Support: N/A
No need.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been a semi-pro player for 20+ years and have owned and tested (stage and studio) reams of guitars, effects and amps--and have also sold off many of them. I'm a firm believer in the inescapable fact that everything in the chain of sound will affect the outcome. An earlier reviewer complained about how the PSA-1 needs to be adjusted for each different guitar, thus disappointing him in live venues. That challenge is a fact of life for guitarists no matter what you plug into. It's not a problem with the unit, rather its a planning problem. The PSA-1 has enough custom patch space to address that(should you choose this mission, Jim...). You really have to think "gear relationships" when building your rig/sound. I like gear versatility, so I'm not much into brand name guitars. My two frankenbabies are strat based, each with different wood (resonance)which influenced how I changed the guts. The first was built from an American ESP Custom--I installed three first generation Virtual Vintage Dimarzio strat pickups (low output duckbuckers and quiet!!!)and a Fishman strat vibrato bridge with peizos. Its a great Blues/R&B/Funk/Country and Southern Rock axe. The second (my work horse)was built from an early Kramer American. It still has the Floyd (back braced and fine tuned to float like "buttah") but I've ditched the lock nut for a graphite one with Sperzels. The guts are 1)Tom Anderson HM2(yellow) in the bridge, A Duncan vintage rail in the middle and a Cool Rail in the neck. The neck was custom built by a local luthier to be wider at the nut. The work horse is amazing for all rock forms, jazz, and all that textural eighties stuff guitarists did to hold their own against blaring synths. Both guitars are markedly different in tone and output, yet can be handled by the PSA-1 with proper planning. In the effects loop I run an old Korg A-3 with my own presets. Everthing is midi mapped with switching silent and fast through a floor controller. Its a very versatile setup for live and studio applications. The only other toys for the rack rig are an old DBX half rack compressor (modest setting)and a Crybaby 535. I use a couple of different rigs depending on the application and venue ranging from rack and processor to small tube combo with a couple of stompers. I'd definitely get another PSA-1 for the rack if this one were lost or stolen(might try out the Triaxis first). It's versatile, quiet, and cuts through in live applications.

Final soap box comment, it ain't in the hands--they're just following orders. Its in the head and soul, and tone alone is not enough--find your musicality. Great stuff has been played on crappy guitars and amps.

Submitted by M Vukas at 08/11/2000 13:31

Price Paid: US $400 used used

Ease of Use: 9
Well, it has knobs. Nothing complicated about this. Some of the midi features may take a little work but otherwise anyone capable of turning a knob should be able to make this thing do whatever they want with very little effort. You can edit patches in your sleep. The manual is very good. Also, the entire manual is available on their web site in addition to the knob settings for all of the presets. I found this to be incredibly helpful when creating my own sounds because it gave me an idea of what different combinations of knob settings sound like without having to start from scratch and figure it all out for myself.

Sound Quality: 9
INCREDIBLE distortion sounds. I'm playing it through a Mosvalve 962 which is quite possibly the best solid state guitar power amp that has EVER been made!!! I'm using a les paul, a strat, and a custom made plexi/acrylic body guitar. Also a digitech gsp2101 artist strictly for effects. You can get the sound of pretty much any amp you can think of. Marshall, Fender, Boogie, Randall, Peavey, Soldano, and any mod you can think of.... Metal, southern rock, classic rock, jazz, blues, rockabilly, funk, guitar rock (vai, satriani, etc...)...you name it, they are all there. Also, the presets are incredible. Use the "santana" preset(one of the coolest presets on it) with a bit of reverb and a hint of delay and WOW!!!!!!!!! The Marshalls actually sound like Marshalls, the Fenders like fenders and the Boogies (and the Pantera preset at full volume) can bring down an entire building!!! The miscellaneous vintage sounds (fuzz face, pig nose, etc....) are also amazing!!! EVERY single subtlety of playing through an all tube amp can be found in this unit (at least through my setup). The overtones, the singing sustain, the dynamics depending on how you hit the strings even on the highest overdrive settings...incredible. I used the psa-1 to replace an ADA MP-1 (which I still have but just got tired of) and found that the PSA-1 is much quieter, + I can get all the mp-1 sounds and about a million more with absolutely nothing lost. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because I'm still in search of the ultimate clean tone. Don't get me wrong, the clean tones you can get out of this thing are pretty amazing, but as with most clean tones I've heard they lack what I would call depth. They are as clean and transparent as you can imagine, but they are still lacking a little bit of...well...it's hard to describe, but it's a certain timbre that I've simply never been able to find....the search for the ultimate clean tone goes on I guess........ To be fair, I wouldn't call this a flaw because i've really never been able to find this tone in any amp/preamp combination, or amp that I've tried. Guess I'm just too damn picky about clean tones.

Reliability: N/A
I've only had it for a short time so I really can't comment on this.

Customer Support: N/A
Same thing I said about reliability. However, their website has great info on it.

Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for about 12 years. Everything from progressive (dream theatre, rush, etc..) to metal, to jimmy buffet, cat stevens, to ozzy and anything in between. Primarily original music covering all of these styles. This thing is great for anything you can possibly play. I'm currently playing in a cover band and it has EVERY sound I need and then some. That's saying a lot because we do everything from 50's to disco to metal to new stuff like Lit, Blink 182, Bush, to country and southern rock... I've used a bunch of other amps and preamps over the years, ada mp1, tubeworks realtubeII, digitech stuff(crappy distortion), ART stuff(also real crappy distortions) Marshalls, Fenders...you name it... The PSA-1 combined with the right power amp is right up there with the best of the bunch. One thing to remember, it is just a preamp. You DO need to make sure you have a good quality amp and good effects if you use effects. If you have a bad amp, it will suck all the tone out of your sound and no matter if you have a PSA-1, a JMP or a Triaxis, it will sound like total crap!! I would recommend a Boogie, a Marshall Monobloc(if you can carry the damn thing) or a Mosvalve if you can find one. By the way, If anyone has found the ultimate clean tone and would like to let me know what they did to get it, please e-mail me at dirofmis@aol.com.

Submitted by JJ Coz at 07/18/2000 21:19

Price Paid: US $525

Ease of Use: 10
Once you get used to the unique controls on this thing, you're on your way to creating a wide spectrum of tones. The best way to become familiar with them is to simply select a preset you like and play around with the dials. In no time at all, you'll figure this thing out. Bear in mind, the control panel on this thing does look a bit overwhelming at first, but so does anything else you're not familiar with. Also, the dials are very sensitive, so take it easy. Turning a dial just a little will result in a whole new sound. Like I said, select a preset and tweak away. You'll have this mastered in a day. Editing patches is a breeze; just tweak till your happy, press save twice and your done. It doesn't get any easier. It also helps to read the manual, which is very informative and easy to understand.

Sound Quality: 10
Here's my setup: A Mosvalve 962 power amp, a Rocktron IIcx Hush, a BBE Sonic Maximizer362, a Furman PQ3 parametric EQ, an Alesis Q2 and then finally, the crown jewel of my rig, my Sansamp PSA-1. I play Jackson and Gibson guitars. This thing can get a little noisy at high gain settings, but show me a preamp that won't and I'll buy you an Ice Cream! The Hush unit cleans this up just fine though. Ok, what can I say about the PSA-1...I don't even know where to begin. This is by far the best preamp I've ever owned. I've owned an ADA mp-1, a Rocktron Piranha, a Marshall JCM800, I've played through alot of amps and this thing beats them all hands down. I can't get over the fact that this is a solid state unit! Yes, solid state! Take your precious tubes and stick 'em up your ass, because this thing kicks! The only sound I can't get out of this (not yet anyway) is a swept midrange sound, but that's what I have my good old Furman PQ3 for. Besides, I don't believe in an all in one unit. Half the fun of putting together a guitar rig is mixing and matching units. I do believe that it all starts with the preamp though. A great preamp, a great poweramp and a great speaker cabinet and you're good to go. Other than that, I have no complaints about the sounds I get out of this magic box. One reviewer said that the PSA-1 doesn't respect the natural tone of the guitar. I must state that this guy is just plain wrong! In fact, everytime I plug a different guitar into it, I need to adjust the highs and lows on the unit. So tell me again how it doesn't respect the tone of the guitar? I don't know where else to go with my review of the sound quality, it's all there: crystal cleans to raging distortion, Marshall to Mesa to Fender to Vox, Metallica, Pantera, it's all in there and then some! Oh yes, one more thing; the Tech21 website recommends the use of a solid state power amp with the PSA-1. It allows for more headroom. My Mosvale is solid state, so I can't really say whether or not this is the case, but I'm pretty sure they know what they're talking about.

Reliability: N/A
I've only had this unit for a short time. So far, so good.

Customer Support: N/A
I've spoken with them over the phone and the guy I sopke to seemed very nice, very helpful and very knowledgable. I emailed them with a question and I'm still waiting for a response. It's been over a week now. Maybe they're backed up?

Overall Rating: 9
I play very heavy metal/hardcore and this unit (along with my PQ3) suits my style to a T. I'll give this unit a 9 and I'll tell you why. The effects loop is not active. I run my Parametric EQ in the effects loop and this just kind of sucks. If I need a raging death metal tone for one song and a regular modern distorted tone for another, I can't just step on a midi floor controler. I need to walk up to my rig and click off my parametric EQ. Like I said, this just plain sucks! The effects loop gives you the option of running whatever you are running in the effects loop at 100% or 50%. But it's either on or off manually. C'mon, what were they thinking? Anyway, I give the overall sound quality a 10. This thing really is a dream come true.

Submitted by Joey Bag o'' Doughnuts at 07/11/2000 23:44

Price Paid: US around 450 used

Features: 9
Made in `98 i think. This baby works wonders for everything i play. Mostly i play anything from rock, some jazz, to metal maybe even a bit of country ( i like the twangy guitar thing lol)But mainly i focus on metal and find myself regularly using the Mesa presets. But dont get me wrong, the clean sounds are all excellent and lively, the blues sounds great outta this unit. 49 presets and another 49 for your own. Read more about it at tech 21`s sight. Its a blessing that this unit has no poor quality effects in it like most preamps do. If your worried about duplicating that exact Mesa or Marshall sound with this unit and you are frustrated that u cant exactly get it, believe me, no one in the crowd is gonna notice it. i mostly use the psa-1 in bedroom or at friends place with my servo 120 power amp and my 535Q and a cuple effects boxes. 9.5 on features

Sound Quality: 10
I have a beautiful setup(at least in my opinion) I use an ESP LTD V250 with EMG/HZ hums.(very excellent guitar)the esp runs into the psa-1 while in the effects loop i have a 535q,boss ce-5 chorus(nice pedal)
and have the psa-1 hooked up to a servo 120 power amp into a mesa 2x12 recto cab. The sounds can be totally mind blowing and brutal with this setup! Perfect metal bliss. Although i do use the clean tones very much. Everything is just so great sounding, i cant really ask 4 more. Yes it does get noisy when you crank all nobs up to ten, but dont be an ass, read the manual before u act all tough guy with this unit. id give this thing a 20 if i could!

Reliability: 10
I dont trash my stuff, `nuff said

Customer Support: N/A
never dealt

Overall Rating: 10
I have been palying for 4 years now. Long enuf to know the difference between shit and heavenly gear. I wud definettly buy it again if lost or stolen. Then i would buy (or steal) a shitty zoom 505 and kill that sucker with it! I kinda wish there was a power off and on button, but since i dont have a traditional amp this has all my tones in it and it is on all the time. Very easy to save and delete presets. very very wide range of tones, turn a nob a 16th of an inch and youll come up with something completely different! Be sure to check this box out before even considering something else.

Submitted by Chris at 07/11/2000 10:14

Price Paid: US $529.00

Features: 10
THE BEST ! STRAIGHT FOWARD, SIMPLE, FUNCTIONAL, NOT A BUNCH OF DIGITAL CRAP YOU'LL NEVER USE.

Sound Quality: 10
SOUNDS BETTER THAN ANY PRE AMP ON THE MARKET. MAKES THE MARSHALL JMP 1 AND LINE 6 SOUND LIKE TOYS.

Reliability: 10
TOUGH

Customer Support: 10
FAST N FRIENDLY AND THEY KNOW THEIR STUFF. RESPOND TO E-MAILS WITHIN 24 HOURS.

Overall Rating: 10
NONE BETTER ! THIS THING SOUNDS BETTER THAN 90% OF REAL TUBE AMPS ON THE MARKET TODAY. LINE 6 ? JUST A FAD. TECH 21 ? HERE TO STAY. THE ONLY THING WE NEED NOW IS A TECH 21 POWER AMP AND 4X12. A MUST BUY, SHOULD BE THE ONLY AND LAST AMP YOU EVER PURCHASE !

Submitted by LINE SICKS at 07/09/2000 01:02

Price Paid: US $450 used

Features: 10
This is a Midi switchable, FET-based guitar pre-amp. See their website or other reviews for features, I don't need to repeat them! There is no feature I wish it had, instead I praise tech 21 for the features this unit does NOT have such as cheesy horrible chorus, noisy, crappy compression, cheap quirky noise gates etc. Build quality seems excellent. Knobs feel nice and solid to turn, and I'm always a sucker for a thick, brushed aluminum face plate. Even has rack handles on front. Storing pre-sets by pushing your pick into the slot is a simple stoke of genious and another indication of how much care and passion went into the design of his unit. I see some folks ranking on its user friendliness. I disagree. The fact that this is hands down the most versitile pre-amp in the world is no reason to give it a bad mark just because you need to read the manual and become very intimate with what each knob does. I would only give it a bad mark if was un-necessarily complicated to do anything and that's not the case. Having only nice old fashioned knobs to turn with NO scrolling and peering into a LCD and scratching your head over computer lingo is a major blessing here. I could not possibly think of anyway that such an unbelievably vast range of sounds could be offered from such a simple and intuitive interface.

Sound Quality: 9
I have only played my one guitar into it which is a 50's type strat with very sweet, low output Duncan alnico2 type pickups. I fondly remembered playing this thing in a rack at a music store years ago and always remembered how uterly transparent it was capable of being to a stratocaster. My favorite tone is a singing, sustaining distortion that still allows the acoustic tone of the guitar to come through un-changed and responds to every nuance of your touch. When I came across one of these used about half a year ago, I bought it on the spot. Before this, I was in hell with a mess of stomp boxes going into my stock old Marshall...pretty decent lead tone, NO crunch, NO clean and frankly, my best day with stomp boxes was just not that great compared to ANY day with the PSA-1 into my Marshall. I want to make one preachy statement before I go any further: Tone starts with your fingers. With an appropriate guitar, this pre-amp, a decent delay/effects unit into a good power amp(I definately recommend a good tube power amp) and a good sounding cab (I use a very old vintage Marshall straight cab) there is just no excuse for not being able to come incredibly close to the sound of your favorite player. Playing with CONVICTION,SOUL and ATTITUDE will close the gap between what you WISH you sound like and what you DO sound like every time. This pre-amp really does not have any one characteristic and pervasive tone that you are stuck with. This is NOT the case with virtually every other pre-amp I have ever played. ALL of the lower priced, alleged "tube" (more on that later) ones have a honky, nasal sound and a certain raspy, very unmusical distortion that never goes away no-matter how much you fiddle with the knobs. Also, those few that can generate a tolerable saturated distortion always sound lifeless and dead at anything less than massive gain settings. NOT the case with the PSA-1 which does a mild break-up so well. Also, I often found that the clean sounds of most other pre-amps don't "match" the dirty sounds, meaning switching back and forth sounds so abrupt. Again, not the case with the Sans-amp. I should be honest and not gush too much ever. The finest, cost no object all tube pre-amps that I have played such as the motorized Soldano for instance, do have a sweeter, finer, more focused and articulate distortion at their best. However, none have anywhere near the tonal flexiblity of the sans-amp, and I'd bet in the context of a live band and a good player, you would never be able to tell a Soldano or whatever from a similar tone dialed in on the PSA-1. That being said, I need to state the following:
I can think of several reasons why players might turn their nose up at this unit: First, lots of companies have tried to do what this unit can do for the last 15 years at least, and failed miserably. THis is not a cheap digital simulation of amp tones. IT's a full-blown FET(which have quite a bit in common with vaccum tubes and clip just like them) pre-amp and despite my loyalty to all things tube, this thing sounds more like tube generated distortion than tube generated distortion! Second, and most important: if someone were to walk up to this thing in a music store and start twisting knobs without knowing what they're doing, the sound they would most likely get is a very buzzy, ridiculously distorted and very "transistory" tone. However, the PSA-1 is capable of the sweetest or nastiest distortion, the most sparkling clean tones, and virtually EVERYTHING in between. If you're the type of player that is never happy with your tone two days in a row, this is YOUR pre-amp! No matter what might not sound right...there is a knob that can be turned to fix it. This is the last thing to mention to anyone who may have had a bad experience with it: Each knob is incredibly sensitive and the range is huge, vastly more than any other pre-amp or amp. Turning just about any knob a mere 1/8 of a turn in any direc

Reliability: N/A
No glitches yet, I don't really bounce this thing around. It basically just stays in a rack in my practise space so can't say much here.

Customer Support: N/A
I have not needed to contact these folks so again I can't give a good opinion here. The website looks well maintained so that tells me they are on the ball.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing since the 70's and believe me for you guys that weren't around back then, you have no idea how good life is for a guitar player now! Back then if you were one of us regular kids, you had a Peavy practise amp, a Les Paul copy with strings 3 inches off the fingerboard and got a sound so horrible you just about quit to take up the flute instead. As for being able to get a sound anything remotely like your favorite guitar player...forget it, you didn't even dream that such a thing could be possible.
I notice others raving about this unit seem to have a long history and have owned lots of other gear too. That says a lot for the PSA-1. If it were stolen, yes I would definately find another one. Despite the flexibility and vast array of sounds the unit is capable of, it can NOT make a bad guitar sound good. It also cannot make a bad guitar PLAYER sound good! (If you fall into that category, please don't pour your money into any more gear, save your money put your energy into your playing first). Also, be realistic: Don't play it into the front of a Marshall Major full stack at 145 decibels and act surprised that the "Fender Champ" pre-set doesn't sound like a Fender Champ. (The pre-sets are not very flattering anyway).
I guess the only other pre-amp it could compare to in its price range would be the ADA mp-1 which I owned back in my embarrassing 80's metal-head days. I recently played one and remembered why I eventually dumped it. The sound I tried to get always seemed to be in between the very crude choice of settings...everything was either too much or too little. That unit did have a pretty articulate distortion however, and like the sans-amp was capable of a very BIG tone, not the thin crappy sound you hear from most other pre-amps.

To put everthing above in perspective; you will not get a sound EXACTLY like a Vox AC-30, Marshall plexi etc. Instead, realistically, it sounds more like a Vox, Fender vibrolux, Marshall or whatever plugged into a load box that is then plugged into a straight power amplifier. The way in which it falls short of the real thing really has more to do with the attack, it's not as explosive and full sounding from top to bottom as going straight into a full amp, but frankly, the control and balance I get instead makes that a good thing for me. Also, being able to instantly switch between so many fantastic and really "organic" tones is just heaven. I agree that it is not a plug and play unit. I also agree that you will have to fiddle with it to sound the way you want at every volume setting and with every guitar and space you play in. You may want to try just one toy with it for a more personal sound, which is a cheap MXR Dyna-comp. Don't use it to overdrive the input, there's no need for that. Use it very subtly and at unity gain to enhance string attack (humbucker players probably won't need it). You should definately run some good reverb or mild delay with it, dry is ok, but frankly, a bit of "magic dust" from a good processor is really necessary to stay happy with it. A crappy speaker cabinet will make any amp sound like crap. Please, please, please, invest in a glorious vintage Marshall cabinet, a good power amp and you should be set for life. Last comment: If you are still turning up your nose because this thing does not use tubes, my advice is to get over it. Most other "tube" pre-amps use solid state devices to clip anyway. Also, let's face reality for a minute: Do you know one person who gets a raging classic Marshall tone and does NOT use a stomp box in front of it to create 90% of the distortion you hear?(try Van Halen in his glory days, and all the old timers including of course Hendrix etc). Please don't tell me about the newer Marshall amps "all tube distortion". They are the nastiest, most un-musical sounding amps I've ever heard and I know for a fact that they use clipping bi-polar transistors to get th

Submitted by max at 06/22/2000 03:52

Price Paid: US $450 used

Ease of Use: 9
Easy enough ....

Sound Quality: 10
I've been using PSA-1 for last 4 years ...with other various digital fx-unit, finally Boss GX-700. This gear is core part of my guitar sound. I'm using PSA-1 with Marshall Valvestate combo. I can make sound all I want with this incredible unit. This preamp beats everything. Mesaboogie settings make finest modern metal sound, ... covers all stage metal sound... from Motley Crue to Metallica ... Fender clean/crunch settings also provide rich sounds. Most of presets, "almost" same to the originals .... Michael Schenker, MXR+, Santana, Queen, Pantera(earlier tracks..), Metallica(3rd album), JMP-1,.. ... I made some presets for my own purpose,... but 49 presets are already enough. I can't imagine myself playing without this gear. Direct recording sounds good, but miked sound is better.

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 10
Also I've tried Line6 for three hours at store... Line6 was a joke ... (even though I admit three hour is not enough time to make decision...) I've tried Flextone, POD(every presets), spider combo, ... but their sounds are too DIGITAL and ARTIFICIAL, ... (But spider combo was impressive at its price.) I play for various music instrumental rock to thrash metal. This preamp covers most of them except "Death Metal sound (I make it with Boss GX-700 ^.^) . This unit is very versatile. There is no substitues now at market, I think. When I read line6 brochure, Line6 seems to be .. but it is not. Yes, of course, I will buy again this unit if I lost it.

Submitted by H.C. at 05/27/2000 05:24

Price Paid: US $350 used

Ease of Use: 7
For the specific input, outputs, knobs, and whatever, see the other reviews or check out Tech21’s web site. In theory, this unit is easy to program; in practice, it is not. The presets are programmed really loud. I find this a bit annoying. I adjust one preset, save it, then move on to another preset and have to remember to turn the volume down before I hit a note. Also, turning a knob can drastically effect the volume and/or sound too dramatically. I couldn’t imagine making on the spot adjustments in the middle of a gig. Manual is very informative, however.

Sound Quality: 9
I give this unit such high marks but only through my Boss GX-700’s loop. I find the dynamics a bit weak without hitting the front of the unit with the Limiter setting on my Boss set just so. But when I made the proper adjustments…WOW! This unit rewards those that willing to tweak until they are blue in the face. I didn’t find it nearly as difficult to adjust the sound to taste when recording direct or using headphones. This may mean that the unit's presets would sound better through a power amp with a lot of headroom. I use a humbucker equipped Strat into the Boss with the PSA-1 in its loop then into a JC-120. First, clean sounds. There are plenty. I love the Marshall clean (Limiter makes a huge difference by letting the notes bloom) with both humbuckers on. It sounds almost as good as my Laney LC-30, almost identical to a Marshall DSL-401. I don’t care for the Fender cleans too much. They are really trebly—ice picks on the ears. Slight overdrive: I like the BB King. My pickup (Anderson) takes it a bit further than the preset would otherwise. I also modified the AC-30 preset for a Phil Keaggy sound. Crunch: plenty of good crunch sounds. I go with the Plexi and Vintage Marshall primarily. Metal sounds galore. This is where this unit really shines. The Mesas and Marshalls are awesome. What I like about this unit is, like the real amps, you don’t need supersaturation to get very cool, bass thumping metal. There is quite a bit of pop or attack when the notes are first struck. Does Petrucci to a “t”. One finally warning, since the unit itself is capable of producing such volume, you might want to watch speakers with low ratings.

Reliability: N/A
I've never had a Tech21 product go south on me. I hear scratching when I turn the knobs but I don't think it has anything to do with the pots themselves. I would trust it without backup under almost any conditions. Haven't really abused it so I would rather not give a rating here.

Customer Support: 10
Tech21's staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I talked to John(?) a few times and he definitely takes the time to explain stuff. By the way, there is a modification for the PSA-1 that will provide power to the MIDI Mouse so that the controller stays on all the time. They will either send you the instructions or they'll do it for $25, I think.

Overall Rating: 10
I play just about everything and that's why I like this unit. I can't imagine any sound you couldn't dial in. Of course, some will please you more than others but you get solid state dependability, fantastic tube sounds, and versatility. Where can you go wrong. I would buy it again. I don't want to change tubes on two amps.

Submitted by Eddie at 05/16/2000 19:54

Price Paid: US $545

Features: 10
This amp has more features than any stock tube preamp, and sounds as good if not better than many of them. The features on this amp are nothing short of amazing. By rotating the knobs you can go from country to modern metal (something that most amp modelers, namely Line6, can't do easily) Versatile is EXACTLY what this box is!

Sound Quality: 10
The amp sounds AMAZING. I tried the amp out at West LA Music, and ran it through a cheap fender solid state amp. I was immediately blown away by the sound of this thing! The second I plugged my Strat into the input, I was greeted by the warmest clean tones and brutal distortion tones that I had ever heard. I tested it against various other tube amps that were sitting around the store, an old JCM 900, a Twin Reverb, etc. Although the amp does not sound EXACTLY like these amps, it was close enough to convince me that this wasn't just a gimmick.
If you do decide to buy this little wonder box, don't settle for the presets. If you have a good ear, you can dial in tones that sound just like your favorite recordings, which is something that the pod cant do because the POD just gives you the sound of stock amps. With this preamp, you can also get the sound of heavily modified amps, which was a real plus if you're interested in just about any type of music.

Reliability: N/A
I've only had the amp for a couple of months, but i decided to wait this long to write the critique in case the novelty wore off. It seems relieable enough, and although it's a rack unit, it is very solid.

Customer Support: N/A
I've never had to deal with customer support.

Overall Rating: 10
This preamp has great tone. It's as simple as that. A lot of people whine about how it isn't the same as a REAL tube amp, but they're probably angry that people can sound like they're playing through expensive gear for just 600 bucks! Like i said before, dont settle for the presets, I've tweaked the amp to give me a very nice Yngwie Malmsteen "Rising Force" sound, as well as a great Joe Satriani lead tone! If you would like to know any of my settings, feel free to Email me.

Submitted by NUMB at 05/13/2000 11:29

Price Paid: US $500ish

Features: 10
Go to the Tech 21 website.

Sound Quality: 10
100's+ of sounds in here....Tweak and ye shall find

Reliability: 10
I've had it a year w/ no problems

Customer Support: 10
See "RELIABILITY"

Overall Rating: 10
I waited one year before reviewing this PRE-AMP in order to stay objective.....I am lucky enough to own a Blackface Twin and a Blackface Pro Reverb, both of which have been tweaked to original specs....Recorded, the PSA-1 gives me these sounds and much more....

Submitted by Joe Novack at 04/05/2000 20:49

Price Paid: US $379 used

Ease of Use: 10
very easy to get a great sound out of it. It has nobs. turn 'em. If you cant turn them, get a life! Manual is simple but you really only need the presets supplied with it.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a washburn-->to 535q---> to Boss Chorus ensemble into my crate 30 amp. It gets a tad noisy on high gain but nuthing to bad. The distortions sound great. Even the vintage stomp boxes they throw in are great.

Reliability: 8
yes i would depend on it. But i don't know about gigs, since i am looking for a band. Been playing for 4 years so i need to get the ball rollin.....

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt

Overall Rating: 10
everything is great! Buy this thing!

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/22/2000 05:55

Price Paid: US $455

Features: 10
This is the most versatile preamp I 've ever used .I've been playing 23 years and have good ears.I'm more interested in geeting the perfect sound for a particular song than emulating hard to find amps.
this is the only unit that can do both. I wish there was a floor version with realtime control and a tuner. If it had realtime control ,you could crossfade between programmed clean and dirty for several sick in between sounds,which this unit has in spades. It's all over my new album.I play everything exept country,thought I find some country playing inspirational. I use every feature on this preamp
and it rocks-live.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a yamaha pacifica 112. Oddly enough many of the samples on there website use this guitar. Two singles/one humbucker.Stock.
If it sounds like God with this guitar,imagine what your Les Paul or PRS would sound like. Tweak it to work with your guitar.Read the manual,because if you know how to tweak it, It will never bore you
with how many things it can do . It's like dating five really nice girls. I can always find the right sound quickly, without thinking about what amp I want it to sound like. Just use your ears on it's one programmable channel.

Reliability: 10
I haven't had a problem with it yet . It's very consistent .
Backup is a good idea in general . I use the Sansamp Tri-OD 3channel pedal thru the power amp as backup.

Customer Support: 9
I called them about realtime control. They explained why they can't do it very well. But If they could, they would kill everthing on the market. Nice people .easy to reach and matter of fact.

Overall Rating: 10
I compared this to the Line 6 ,and for me,the anolog circuitry of the Sansamp feels more natural. I also feel I have more control over the sound than Line six. I could see using a small Flextone for small gigs. I 've tried every preamp and this one is the only one whose tones are flexible enough and easy enough to get that it won't become obsolete. If you need your presets handed to you, and you only want Rectifier sounds, get a Line 6. If you understand how to create the sounds on the Psa-1, you will be one deadly mother.

Submitted by Anonymous at 03/18/2000 06:58

Price Paid: US $489

Features: 10
One of the best most versatile preamps on the market. Midi capable,Unlimited tweaking for favorite overdrive/distortion/clean settings, effects loop, balanced outs(line or instrument level).
Extremely usable preset sounds right out of the box.

Sound Quality: 10
I'm using it with a Gibson LP standard with coil tapped neck humbucker. I have the PSA-1 mated to a samson 1u power amp into a crate 2-12 cab.The clean sounds are lively. They have excellent definition and clarity and react to every subtlety you can deliver.
Overdrive and distortion settings are perfect. Blues and vintage creamy distortions are easily obtainable. Modern high gain chunky rhythm distortions and sustain for days toneful leads also achievable.
The clarity and definition are also there in the distortion settings.
If you want accurate tube amp tone this is it. I've played tube amps that don't have this much tone.For those looking for examples:SRV, Metallica, Santana, ....like it advertises Mesa,Fender, and Marshall even a few vintage pedals to boot. It can easily be tweaked for any style. Jazz, Blues, Rock ,Punk, Metal......... I can't say enough about the sound. It's not nasal, honky, midrangey...just great tone.

Reliability: 10
Based on my experience with Tech21 products I have never needed to call them.

Customer Support: 9
Never needed

Overall Rating: 10
Bought for 489 new. Probably can get it cheaper. Been playing for 20 years. I chose the PSA-1 about 5 years ago when I tried it in a local music store. Been dreaming about it ever since. I finally got the cash for it. For someone who likes to adjust their core overdrive/distortion sound this is it. IT is not a tube amp simulator/emulator, it is a Sansamp. It is not a Marshall,Fender, Mesa, Hiwatt, Ac30,...It is all of them and more. I am in no way affilliated with the company although I wish I were. I'm just giving much deserved praise to an excellent product and an excellent value.

Submitted by Mike Karaz at 03/08/2000 09:25

Price Paid: US $350 used

Ease of Use: 10
All you do is find a preset that you like and twist some knobs to tweek your sound. It cant get any easier than that. Everything is on the front and self explanitory..If you cant get a good sound you should give up the guitar.You are an idiot!!!

Sound Quality: 10
I have been playing guitar for more than 20 years. I have tried every new thing that has come out over the years. Nothing even comes close to what this thing can do.. I play very heavy metal so Im what you would call a tonefreak. Although it gets a bit noisey when you crank the gain, I throw in a hush unit.Problem solved. I also use an outboard eq and a Rocktron poweramp thru 4 4x12 cabs. The punch and clairity is unbeliveable.When recording in my studio, I go from the PSA to eq to hush into a ADA cab emulator to the board, with a lttle compression in the loop. The result is incredible. WAY BETTER than micing a cab. My recordng equip. is digital ,so going direct is the best choice for guitar. I get store bought sound quality every time. And doing live shows I run the xlr out to the board and put a mic on my cab.All I can say is...BALLS and PUNCH.

Reliability: 10
I have had this unit for about a year and have had no problemswith it..Im a very happy camper!!! I wuold and have used it on about 85 gigs without a backup and no problems.I have been thinking about getting another one just in case..You never know..

Customer Support: 10
I did e-mail sansamp before I got it to ask some questions and they responded very quick. Very helpful and n the mark.cool dudes..Thanks....

Overall Rating: 10
What else can I say..This is the best unit I ever owned..I would buy another. I compared It to aot of other units,such as marshall jmp-1 roctron prophecy,digtech,,ect . And this was the best choice for the style I play.I dont use any effects so I dodnt need the other crap..Even if I did I would use a seperate effects unit instead of an all in one..Those tend to lack on the quality of everything in the unit. I forgot to add,,I use Gibson Les Paul's and custom made Neal Moser guitars. Thats about it in a nut shell..If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me...Later,,,Rob

Submitted by Rob at 02/06/2000 10:51

Price Paid: US $300 used

Ease of Use: 4
Well, it has knobs. The only time you have to refer to the manual is for the more esoteric functions like MIDI. However.... A sensible amswer in this catagory should deal with how easy it is to get the sound you want at a gig, in a hurry, under pressure, and for this I have to give it as low a rating as any menu-driven processor I've used. Here's my experience: I practice in the studio where I get exactly the tone I'm looking for, and I'm psyched for an inspired gig. I start playing with the band and I'm like, "Who's been screwing with my patches?" Very different nuances to the sounds at a higher volume in a hall. So I start tweeking knobs, which are very sensitive and interactive, and before long my tone is worse than it was to begin with. So I go back to the saved patch which I endure until the break, blowing my concentration trying to decide what to change when I get the time. Less than inspiring, to say the least.

Sound Quality: 6
This preamp is capable of terrific tone, but it's also distressingly easy to get horrible tone from it. Like most units, I suppose. The thing about this one is that it will ambush you: the setting that was perfect in one room at one volume will sound like hell the next night. The setting that makes one guitar sing will make the next sound dead. I've tried it with different power amps (Peavey Clasic 50-50 and a Carvin, which Tech 21 mentioned as a good choice) and all of my dozen guitars, through several cabinets (Celestions and EV's)and I have to say I've never gotten through a gig feeling satisfied. This is partly because I'm looking for the clipping power tubes tone -- big sustain without much break-up -- which is perennially the hardest for a solid-state device to emulate. Thing is, when I have time to tweek, I can get it, at any volume, with any effect, with any guitar. And I'm pretty sure that if I had enough time at gigs there wouldn't be any problem. But time is what you don't have at gigs, even if you're lucky enough to get a proper sound-check. Hence the C rating here.

Reliability: 7
I don't know. It's never crapped out, but it's scared me a few times, freezing up and needing to be rebooted.

Customer Support: 10
Tech 21 is a great company. As helpful a staff as any I've dealt with. The PAS1 has never needed repair, but I had trouble with an XXL, which they fixed for free even though I think the warranty had expired.

Overall Rating: 7
I really wanted to love this thing. I bought it because I've been impressed with a friend's Tradmark 60, and I assumed this would be even better. I gave it the benefit of the doubt for over a year because it CAN be so good. But I've had enough; the Fender's coming back out and screw the guys if that think I'm too loud at the sweet spot. In the final analysis this is a studio tool -- a great preamp if you've got the patience to work with it.

Submitted by Anonymous at 01/22/2000 19:40

Price Paid: US $625

Ease of Use: 9
This unit is very straight forward. The face has a series of knobs. Twist a knob, change the sound, nothing to it. 3 inputs, 4 outputs. I particularly like it because it has both balanced and unbalanced ins and outs. I actually use both depending on where in the chain I place the unit. Saving presets are a snap.

Sound Quality: 9
I have a PRS with Tony Ionni pickups and an old Jackson with Seymour Invador pickups. I don't own any amps (see Overall Rating for explination), so only take the following information to heart if you looking to do direct recording. The hardest part about getting the sound you like on this unit is determining the relationship the preamp and the distortion knob have on your sound. Like the manual says, the wrong settings here can give you noise, but I will submit that this only happens at the most extreme settings. If you take the time to learn the role each knob plays in shaping your sound, you should be able to avoid noise and still get the sound you need as far as distortion/overdrive/power saturation goes. As far as the types of sound I've been trying to obtain, those sounds that came from the early 90's, forever known as grunge, alternative, industrial as well as the thrash, heavy riff, palm mute sound of today. If your looking for examples Pumpkins, NIN, Metallica, Korn, Static X .... If your looking for a speaker emulator for heavy sounds, this definiately worth a look. It's pricey but you get what you pay for.

Reliability: 7
This one is hard to judge for me. I've owned mine for 3 months and I did have a problem with it very recently. I sent it in for repairs. Based on the other reviews, of which I read berfore I decided to buy mine, this seems rare. It is built very tuff and solid, and I expect not to have any more trouble with it.

Customer Support: 10
They were very helpful when I called about my repair. They listened and were unassuming (if you have called other companies, you know this is not always the case). After an exhaustive search, the tech guy determined a capacitor was malfunctioning. Replaced under warranty and back in a week as good as new.

Overall Rating: 9
I'm probably the only guitar freak without an amp and cab. Since the beginning, I've been trying to get the real quitar sound without being real. I spent alot a time, and more money trying to perfect the recording direct-in thing. Preamp this, DI box that, POD this, EQ that (dbX 576, BSS DI, POD, direct into Mackie mixer, Pedals of all kinds, digitech RP-6, BOSS GT-5 ....). So far this is the only unit that gave birth to the sounds I was looking for. It helps to spice this piece up with other gear, but it definetly stands alone as well. Is it a preamp or a DI, or both, I don't know and don't care but presently I could not live with out it. I would definately buy it again. It's rich, bright, full, thrashy, crunchy, whatever you want it to be. It responds to how you play, and has a dynamic reponse. Will it work for you? Depends on what your expecting. If your a hard core tube amp nut, this (and nothing else for that matter) is not for you. If your looking for something close for recording direct-in this is the best thing I've run across for you to use so far. Like I said before, I like my music heavy and with and edge, and that's what I use this for. However I am in the process of getting a power amp I am definately looking forward to using this thing as a pre-amp in the real world of sound. Although this thing can be used for both direct-in and preamp purposes, my ratings only reflect it's abilities to direct-in record.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/16/1999 13:08

Price Paid: US $499

Ease of Use: 9
It is very easy to use. Programming your own sounds couldn't be easier... you just turn the knobs until it sounds how you want it, then hit store. The presets are so good, though, that I haven't even really fooled around with making my own sounds.

Sound Quality: 10
I've never been happier with the sound of a new piece of gear than with this box. Quite honestly, it sounded pretty raunchy at the music store... their rack was configured in such a way that I could only play through the PSA-1 dry with no other effects, plus there was a myriad of ambient noise (as is usually the case). I played around with it for a while, but eventually realized I was just going to have to buy it on faith... I had read the reviews here that raved about the great tones from this box, plus I'd had a SansAmp GT-2 pedal for a while and was quite pleased with the sounds I got from it. I'm running the PSA-1 through a Digitech 2101, and as I said before, I'm currently just using the presets. The Marshall and Boogie presets just blow me away. I sometimes come in the room, plug in, punch in preset #21 (a really heavy Mesa Boogie), and just sit there hitting power chords over and over again, in total bliss. It's that good. However, there's something wrong with that Stevie Ray patch... I call up that preset, but I still sound nothing like him. ;-)

Reliability: N/A
I've only had it for a few weeks, but it seems to be built quite solid.

Customer Support: N/A
The only experience (though indirect) I had with customer service was to go fetch the user manual from their web site. I needed it because I bought the store's last PSA-1, and it was a demo model (hence the reduced price) with no box or manual. Anyway, I love it when companies make the manuals of their products available online.

Overall Rating: 10
My previous preamp, a Mesa V-Twin, sounded great in a live setting, but just didn't seem to have any "life" to it in the direct recording environment in which I now do almost all of my playing. I just can't get over how wonderful this thing sounds, though I only play through headphones so I can't speak for how well it sounds running through a more traditional guitar rig. It seemed a little pricey at $599, but I was ready to pay that much anyway... but the demo unit in the store's rack was the only one they had left, so I got $100 off. Now that I've had a chance to really play through it, it was worth every penny and then some.

Submitted by Mike Caswell at 11/26/1999 18:54

Price Paid: US $549

Features: 10
I bought this unit today and fell in love with it right away. I just plugged the SansAmp into my JazzChorus, it was exactly what I had been looking for. It's a killer preamp... Kind of like a MONSTER rackmounted distortion stompbox. You can dial in almost any sound you want.

Sound Quality: 10
I'm using a 1992 American Standard Telecaster with stock pickups. I have to cover many different styles in my various bands: Jazz, rock, disco, motown, country. Although I have not yet used it on a gig (just bought it today) I feel confident it will perform beautifully. It's the most promising piece of gear I've tried in years.
What really blew me away is that the presets actually sound like the amps that they are intended to emulate. The Marshalls sound like Marshalls... the Boogies sound like Boogies. (esp. impressed with the "Mark I" and "Boogie Clean" settings.) The distortion can be as subtle or as brutal as you like.

Reliability: N/A
Appears to be very solid.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing for 19 years. I had been using a Zoom 9002 with my Telecaster and JC-77 for 8 years, and got finally got sick of the Zoom's hollow digital tone.
I tried a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, a Rivera R-55, and a Rocktron Chameleon 2000 before trying the SansAmp. I don't like using tons of effects when I play, and I love the clean sound of my Jazz Chorus. I just needed a killer preamp section. The SansAmp is exactly what I needed. Even at maximum distortion settings, I can still hear the notes I'm playing. It "sings."
It gets a 9 in the overall category because it doesn't include a footswitch or a power switch.

Submitted by Neil Laferty at 08/01/1999 19:00

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 9
To start with, I'm a bass player. I don't need an arsenal of different sounds, especially live. This unit has 49 factory pre-sets with 10 dedicated to bass, with the capability of another 49 which you sculpture and add into the 49 other open memory banks. Changing patches is very easy if you read, READ, the manual. The manual is dead on. Also there's a footswitch for your 3 favorite sounds.

Sound Quality: 10
I use the PSA-1 in my rack with a SWR SM-400 Bass Amp for live. I used an Ampeg SVT from 1972 all throughout the '70s. Then scaled down, due to weight, to Fender Dual Showmans then the Showmans with the tone-ring cabinets. Size was still a drag. So enter my SWR system, it's great but man did it lack all that tube stuff. Now I run the PSA-1 into the face of the SWR and I can get all my favorite analog bass tones from SVT balls to bassman smooth and a lot of cool sounds in between. Only drag is it's a little noisey but hey I play a Jazz Bass with single coil pickups so I can live with this. Plus live you never hear it. I hope I don't piss someone off but the sound is as close to perfect as it gets.

Reliability: 10
I've had this same unit for 5 years now and it has never left my rack.

Customer Support: N/A
I would like to think that the elves over at Tech 21 are over there working even as I type this stuff. I did find them to be very helpful at times in answering my anal questions.

Overall Rating: 10
It's not cheap but neither am I when it comes to my tone. I still own 3 Fender Blackface Showman and Dual Showman amps and cabs., a 1962 Ampeg B-15N, a GK 400 RB and a SWR Workingman's 12, but live for me it's the SWR with the PSA-1 running thru a SWR Triad cab with E.V. pro speakers (1-15" & 1-10"). Every tube head on the planet with ears should own this unit, not just the bass players but the GTR players also. I've heard this unit with all types of amps and speakers and it usually sounds great. My tone, so players TELL ME, frankly is some of the best tone ever, now if my playing was half as good as my tone, I would really have something. Tube heads, check it out.

Submitted by Dar at 07/10/1999 15:42

Price Paid: Canadian $599.00 used

Ease of Use: 10
This thing is just oozing with great tones!The manual is straight to the point and well done.The PSA-1 is very user-friendly!

Sound Quality: 10
I recently purchased the PSA-1 and am absolutely amazed with the sounds that this thing can produce.I've owned this thing for over a month and I still get a charge out of how bad my amp sounds when I bypass the PSA-1 and go direct to my amp.Without the PSA-1 my amp sounds boxy and flat with really bad midrange.For the longest time I was certain that I had a really good tone until I plugged the PSA-1 in.The PSA-1 adds sparkle,tone and character in spades!I don't know what kind of Voodoo these guys are using but whatever it is,it's working!It's far and away the best piece of gear that I've purchased in the last twenty years,it has radically improved my sound.I play a Gibson LesPaul Standard and a 70's Fender Strat thru a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 and a Fender Twin Reverb and the sound is amazing.What versatility too! Dollar for dollar,pound for pound this is the best sounding product going.I no longer have any use for my distortion stompboxes,which were multiplying and causing alot of clutter.Things are so much less complicated with the PSA-1. My favorite band is ZZ Top and though Billy Gibbons has used a vast array of distorted tones through out his career I can get really close to alot of his tones with the PSA-1.Very versatile and very impressive indeed!This unit is pretty quiet except when using an insane amount of distortion. It does a great job emulating tube distortion,very nice and warm sounding.And the clean sounds are to die for as well I might add.

Reliability: 10
I bought this as a demo in a music store.It seems well built,no problems so far and I don't expect any.At $1200.00 Canadian(new) I don't think you could buy another one just for a backup,I know I can't!

Customer Support: 8
I've communicated with them thru email and they seem to be very nice to deal with.I've also heard alot of good comments from other people as well.

Overall Rating: 10
I play mostly 70's style rock(ZZ Top,Led Zeppelin,etc...)and also try my hand at blues.The PSA-1 gets great tones for any of these styles.I've been playing for over twenty years.I would replace it if it were stolen.This thing is all about TONE and combined with it being programmable,it just can't be beat!I love everything about it.It's very easy to use and it helps you make music with very little fuss,have mercy!

Submitted by Charles Arsenault at 06/06/1999 18:15

Price Paid: US $550

Features: 9
I got this in 1998, but it hasn't changed since, as far as I know. The is an extremely versatile unit, and my main 'amp.' All solid-state, and that's fine by me. I have a Lexicon MPX100 in the effects loop. I put it through a home PA/monitoring system, allowing me any sound I want at any volume. A great option for people who record *and* play and want the same sound in both situations. Lots of knobs to use to hone your sound, and presets to store the ones you like. I don't give it a 10 because while the offer a footswitch, they don't include it, and because while there's a 50/50 switch on the effects loop,it should be variable. Also, I would have prefered a power switch.

Sound Quality: 9
I use a PRS Swamp Ash Special and a PRS Custom 22 with this unit, as well as a Carvin DC127 from time to time. I play a lot of rootsy rock and blues, as well as some Pink Floyd-influenced 'airy' rock. The sounds available from the PSA-1 are wide ranging and solid. Not every single sound is tonal heaven, but a few are for me, especially with the Lexicon's reverb. Huge variety available, from crushing heavy metal to sparkling clean, from bass heavy to ice-pick-in-the-ear treble. It's also very quiet until the you get crazy with the gain. I think it shines on medium-distortion sounds, allowing you more variety in that realm than anything else I've tried. And it sounds great with my Fulldrive 2 in front of it, too, just like an amp would.

Reliability: 10
Rock solid, never had a problem. Sold casing, all analog. Not a lot that can go wrong or require maintenance. I love it.

Customer Support: 10
I was very impressed with the people at Tech21 whom I emailed before making my purchasing decision. I also have a SansAmp Classic, and they were helpful (and dead on) about comparing the two unit's respective sound capabilities and strengths. They responded promptly, too.

Overall Rating: 9
I've been playing for 6 or 7 years (I lose track). I would definitely buy another if it were stolen. I love the versatility and the presets. I hate the lack of a power switch, but that's about it. I've compared it with preamps form Mesa, ADA, and Lexicon, and I'm still very happy with my choice. I consider myself set for an amp for quite a while.

Submitted by Matthew Ivaliotes at 06/03/1999 07:34

Price Paid: US $365.00 used

Ease of Use: 10
The PSA-1 is very easy to use and the manual is very well explained. It is very easy to get a good sound out of it by turning the knobs. Most of the distortions presets are alright but I specifically like the clean presets. I use the clean presets but I made my own distortion patches because I like a lot of low end distortion.

Sound Quality: 10
I use a Boogie Strategy 500 with a PRS guitar and a Gibson Les Paul. I get some huge distortion tones out of PSA-1 with this setup. The low end is incredible! The cleans are very pristine and warm as well. The PSA-1 is about the most quiet preamp I have ever heard. I can get any sound with the PSA-1. I like to play heavy stuff but I like to mix it up with nice clean tones.

Reliability: N/A
I have only had it for 6 months and I have had no problems.

Customer Support: N/A
N\A I have never had to deal with customer support.

Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing for about 10 years and this is the best preamp I have ever played through. I usually play stuff like Filter and stuff with lots of punch. I like everything about this preamp and just because it doesn't have an on\off switch, who cares. Turn off the power conditioner if you don't want it on. I aslo like the fact that there is a input jack on the rear. I would swear that this thing is all tubes but they say there aren't any but I think it is a down right lie. This preamp is very easy to program and is very easy to use with a midi pedal. I have tried the Pirhana and the JMP-1 and the PSA-1 out tones them with my setup. I do think the power amp has everything to do with it though. I would recommend getting an all tube power amp. I would buy the PSA-1 again in a heartbeat if it were stolen after I killed the F@#$% for stealing it.

Submitted by Bryan at 04/23/1999 01:42

Price Paid: US $495

Ease of Use: 9
It's knobs, so it couldn't be easier to use. You just twist 'em until you get the sound you want, then save it. There are 50 locations, so lots of room there. The manual is fine, and the presets are good. You can pretty much just plug in and go.

Sound Quality: 7
I traded in a Mesa V-Twin pedal for this thing. The V-Twin was nice, but a little too midrangey for my tastes. There's a lot more tonal control with the PSA-1.
I use the PSA-1 almost exclusively for direct recording of guitar and bass, no mics. It's very quiet with clean and semi-distorted patches, but a little noisy when you crank up the drive, though no noisier than other boxes I've heard. There are some pretty good presets. In fact, I've only programmed a few of my own sounds (admittedly due to laziness).
This is a full-range unit, so it sounds great on guitar and bass. The distorted bass tones you can get from this thing are amazing.
Of course, it is a cabinet *emulator*, so don't buy it expecting a completely realistic sound. You can use it as a preamp through a real cab, though, and it sounds damn good that way as well.

Reliability: 7
I've only had it for a few months, but it's given me no trouble. I must gripe about the fact that there's no on/off switch, though. As soon as you plug it in, it's on, and the only way to turn it off is to unplug it (unless you've got it connected to some kind of power strip).
And speaking of the plug, I'm also a little bothered by the fact that the plug is permanently connected to the unit instead of being one of the removable types. But hey, at least it's not a damned wall wart.

Customer Support: N/A
Don't know, never had to call. Their Web site is pretty straightforward.

Overall Rating: 8
I use the PSA-1 in a rack with a Quadraverb II (for chorus, verb, and delay) and a Behringer Composer (for compression and gate), and it's a sweet box. I play a strat-style Steinberger (not the box-shaped kind) with stock pickups, and I get great metal tones, Van Halen-ish to Dream Theater-esque. It emulates Marshall, Mesa, and Fender pretty convincingly for the price. Like I said earlier, it can get a bit noisy with high-gain settings, so a gate of some kind is highly recommended.
For bass, I play through the same rack setup with an "I-been-had" (Ibanez) SoundGear 5-string, also with stock (read: crap) pickups. Even with those lousy pickups, I can get a really nice rock/metal tone with as much distortion as I'd like. I can't get a great slap sound out of it, but that might be due to the pickups on the Ibanez.
I'd recommend this unit for just about any style of music, except maybe death metal. You can't get those really killer swept-mid tones (at least I haven't been able to).
I would definitely buy this unit again, but not for much more money. I don't think it's overpriced, but I wouldn't pay any more than $500 or so for it.

Submitted by Bob Thing at 06/08/1998 23:04

Price Paid: US $595

Ease of Use: 8
This unit is very easy to use. Unlike other programmable rack preamps which require using buttons and data wheels this unit only requires that you turn a few knobs to get the sound that you want.

Sound Quality: 10
Unbelieveable! This is the best pre-amp I've ever heard for the price. You can get anything from from nice clean tones to heavy ground shaking distortion (check out the Rectifier setting!). I use this pre-amp with an Alesis Quadraverb and run it through an ADA Microtube 100. It is very quiet even at high volumes. Using this really brings out the life in my pickups and helps give me sustain that will sing for days.

Reliability: 8
So far so good. I haven't had any problems with this unit and I've had it for about a year. It never leaves my rack so it really isn't put under any wear and tear.

Overall Rating: 9
This is the pre-amp I've been searching for. Very easy to use and does everything I want. I only created one additional setting because the presets have all the tonal range I need (yes it's that good!). The only complaint I have is that there is no on/off switch on it. That means I either have to unplug it or shut down the power conditioner that it's plugged into. If your not in the maket to spend about $1500 for something like a Mesa Boogie Tri-axis then I would highly recommend the PSA-1 for all your pre-amp needs.

Submitted by Anonymous at 04/20/1998 12:52

Price Paid: US $549

Features: 9
I use this preamp for recording only. The unit has XLR connectors and can run +4db. This unit can also accomodate a bass very nicely and I have started using it thusly in my studio. I never use the effects loop (stereo return) or the midi functions. The unit has impressive control of totnal character and drive/distortion.

Sound Quality: 10
I am stunned at the tube realism (considering there aren't any tubes in the unit)! I had been using an ADA MP1 for the past few years and the PSA-1 blows it away tonally (from crystal clear to ultra-grunge). This unit is also 5 times quieter than my ADA ever was...I rarely have to use my noise gate anymore! There is an enormous amount of sonic flexibility available the user by tweaking the front panel. DON'T SETTLE FOR THE PRESETS!...THIS BOX IS CAPABLE OF MUCH MORE!

Reliability: N/A
No problems so far but I've only had it for a month or so.

Customer Support: N/A
**see reliability**

Overall Rating: 10
For the $$, I am really impressed with this unit. As I said above, the PSA-1 is capable of an amazing variety of sounds/tones and they all sound good...from clean to screaming. The box runs very quiet (this may not be fair since I am used to an MP-1...a noisy mess which didn't have XLR/balanced connectors/lines) and I am overjoyed with the tracks which has been showing up on my digital recorder. The PSA-1 has a purely analog signal path and this is the why it sounds so warm and punchy. Thus far, I would higly recommend this box for recording applications.

Submitted by Stefan Kozlowski at 02/26/1998 14:45

Price Paid: NOK 5000

Ease of Use: 10
This thing is GREAT! Sounds like tubes all the way!! Flexible as hell, A million preamps in one (or something!) Easy to edit patches, 256 increment-knobs makes a lot of combinations. A very good, simple and easy manual.

Sound Quality: 9
I use this unit with an alesis midiverb 4 into a Marshall valvestate 8008. This is what I need. The preamp is sensitive and reacts to how you pick your strings. This works with blues, rock, pop, heavy, whatever, no problem. It's no problem to simulate Stevie Ray Vaughan or Steve Vai on this thing. The only thing that is a problem is that the eff. loop is nonprogrammable! You have the option of 50% direct/50% to eff.pros. or 100% into eff.pros. It wold be nice to be able to not have to use the bypass on the Alesis to have the PSA-1 stand on it's own.

Reliability: N/A
No problems so far, it seems reliable!

Customer Support: N/A
No experience in this area!

Overall Rating: 9
I Play everything from heavy, and blues to pop and rock, and it does a VERY good job. I would buy this unit again, it's brilliant! I wish it had a programmable effect send/return loop, like i've previously commented: I control it with a BOSS FC-50, and it's really fast, it shifts instantaneously. Check it out Today!

Submitted by Hans J Pande at 12/16/1997 04:06

Price Paid: NOK 5000

Reliability: N/A
No problems so far, it seems reliable!

Customer Support: N/A
No experience in this area!

Submitted by Hans J Pande at 12/16/1997 04:06

Price Paid: US $600

Ease of Use: N/A
There is no on/off switch. If the unit is plugged in, it is on. This is unacceptable!!! It doesn't cost that much to provide power switches and removable power cords. Get with the program manufaturers!
The knobs work in a truly bizarre fashion. If you work with patch #1, setting the pre-gain knob to the 3 o'clock position, then change to patch #2, which was saved with the pre-gain at the 9 o'clock position, the knob is still at the 3 o'clock position. Before you can adjust the knob for the current patch, you have to turn it until the indicator displays that you are in the correct position. (The sound changing while you do so). This means a quick adjustment is not possible, because the knobs all start in the wrong place. Bizarre? Yes.
Getting a sound is relatively easy. The manual makes it easy to understand why the Fender sounds are different from the Marshall sounds.
The manual is very useful, explaining the controls thoroughly.

Sound Quality: N/A
SansAmp into IntelliFex Into home stereo.
The unit is pretty quiet. With both the pre and post gain turned all the way up, the unit makes a good bit of noise, but the distortion is just raging at this point. (Like running two distortion pedals back-to-back.
The unit succeeds in making convincing amp sounds! The fender presets sound like fender amps to me. The marsall settings sound like a marshall. The direct sound is pretty good, especially the low end control, which just makes the sound seem a little warmer. Not muddier.

Overall Rating: 8
Overall, an outstanding unit. Its not a big enough improvement over my Piranha to warrant the extra 600.00, but it is causing me to rethink some of my settings. I'm considering running an overdrive pedal in the loop on my piranha for those times when I just need a pile of saturation (something the Piranha itself can't do).
For distortion, the dual gain controls are happening! The Fender clean presets are convincing as well.

Submitted by Chris Hurley at 12/05/1997 05:35

Price Paid: French Francs 2900 used

Features: 7
Good midi preamp, with great clean and crunch sounds... No EQ's, but a great variety of sounds, just a little hard to program.

Sound Quality: 6
I play it with a Alesis Quadraverb, Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp and a 2x10" Mesa cabinet. The disto is much more than heavy, no hum, it's great. But it doesn't seems to respect the character of the guitar. You can play everything but Rock... I can't find a sound very crunchy and powerfull.

Reliability: 10
Never broked down, easy to used. Cool !

Customer Support: 10

Overall Rating: 7
Sounds great on every amp, it is THE preamp for out of money men like me. But where are the tubes ? The sounds are not so punchy that with areally tubed preamp...

Submitted by Fab at 12/02/1997 19:16

Price Paid: $795 Canadian

Ease of Use: 10
Since I was a former ADA MP-1 user, the front panel on this unit was very liberating. I had full control, in real-time, of all the tone- shaping parameters. You can edit existing patches on the fly...just turn the dials until you get THE tone. It took a little fooling around to get familiar with the dials...they've got interesting names: buzz, punch, and crunch. The manual was very well done.

Sound Quality: 9
If you take the time, you should be able to dial-in any tone you want. On top of the tone-shaping parameters, you've got Low and High eq controls. The unit isn't any noisier than other amps/ preamps that I've tried. It seems to be quieter than my ADA as far as I can tell. Unlike a lot of other preamps out there, there are no effects in the unit...but when you dial-in these tones, you won't need to effect them to sound better. This is an amp *simulator*, and isn't designed to compete with the multi-effects horde of pro- ducts. I was able to create some very nice clean-tones with a hint of overdrive if I hit hard with my pick...it's very sensitive to your pick/volume knob. Tons of distortion tones are available.

Reliability: 10
It doesn't seem like a whole lot can go wrong. I would use it on a gig without a backup. As long as the ac power cord doesn't go bad on you, you should be fine.

Customer Support: N/A
N/A

Overall Rating: 10
I would definitely buy this unit again. It is so easy to use, and you can duplicate any sound you want. I've already re-created all of my favourite patches from my ADA MP-1. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about preamp tubes going microphonic (I've got a Mosvalve power amp as well). I didn't want the hassles of a real tube amp. Patch switching is instantaneous. One thing I do miss is the ability to switch the effects loop out of a patch. If I don't want a particular patch to be effected, I have to hit the bypass switch on my BOSS SE-50 (bypass doesn't colour my tone so much as disabling the effects within an SE-50 patch). I haven't made use of the XLR outs for recording, but if any of you are familiar with the Sansamp Classic direct-to-tape, this unit does just as well. This unit makes it very easy to create music (if you get over the option-anxiety stage -- their are sooo many tones available). This is the perfect tool for recording and live performance. For live performance, I've even used it straight into a mixing board and it sounds incredible...no more mosquito-tone (unless you dial that sound in).

Submitted by Ronald J. Rapanan at 12/02/1996 11:01