Tech 21 SansAmp PSA-1 Preamp

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

never let me down so far...

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

called them once about thier compatible midi pedal. they were nice.

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!

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.

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.

it's solid state... so far so good

n/a

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.

You have to get use to how each knob works with one another, But its not hard.

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.

It seems soild.

They respond to Emails, and answer some questions.

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.

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!

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.

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

No experience and that is a GOOD sign.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

No problems so far.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Never dealt.

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).

It Is pretty hard to use...You have to Dial each aspect in precisely to get what you want!

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?

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?

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

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.

No problems ever. Won't have any.

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.

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.

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.

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.

no problems

it's rocks......Case closed

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.

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

No problems to report

n/a

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

It's very easy to use,just turn knobs.

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.

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

The dude I talked to was pretty cool and helpful.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Seems reliable but I've only had it a couple months.

Don't know..

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.

Very easy to use. Good method of programming. Just twist knobs and store.

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.

Very dependable.

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.

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.

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.

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

it's solid state, need I say more?

these guys are very cool!!!

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!

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.

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.

Only had a couple of days.

Have not had to call them yet. Warrenty rocks.

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

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.

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.

I bought it used last year and haven't had any trouble.

They tend to be quite slow at answering emails. Quite annoying.

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!

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!!!

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.

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

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.

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.