Tech 21 Tri-A.C.

Easy to use once you're familiar with the 'lazy pots'. Set the knobs where you want them and then double click the channel switch. Manual gives some fairly good beginning setups. Just click the channel you're already on once and it bypasses the unit easily.

Definitely sounds 'tube-like'. No noise or hum. No popping from switching channels either. Effects are full except for the 'Marshall' setting if you don't set the high, mid, and low correctly. The only drawback I can think of is the Drive knob needs to be able to go a quarter turn farther than it does. If you set the knobs to the sample Metallica setting, you'll probably say it doesn't have enough distortion. It can't duplicate a metal zone sound. (That's why I kept my mt-2).

Very reliable, dependable. Very low current draw as well. Last forever on a 9 volt battery.

Very good if you want a tube sound and don't need to switch delays, choruses etc. when you switch between channels. Simple, portable, fun.

Sounds jump to the knobs new position and they do that slowly with gain and master so you don't get a violent change in volume.
Push butten twice and you have set a new preset. Push the lit preset
button and you bypass. When you bypass there is no speaker sim.

The Fender clean is nice. The Fender overdrive is authentic but kind of pukey sounding. I've got an old bassman head and it overdrives much easier and sweeter than this. But the British is just too damn bright. Nothing but too much treble even with the treble at zero. They even say in the manual that if british gain is below 12 o'clock your tone will be thin. In other words the gain knob
for British is quite useless, you must use your guitar knob to change
the gain in british mode. California mode is fine. But I sent it back because of the british brightness AND BECAUSE when you switch
presets I was getting loud bursts of sound that seemed to blurt out, not a silent shift to the new sound.

Does not have the solid vibe of the GT2 or the Tri o.d.

no comment

Sounds better than your average distortion pedal but the vibe is not
as cool as the GT 2 or the Tri.od. British channel is much to bright.
Loud sound blurps are emitted when you change presets.
This pedal is a very good idea but I think it needs to go back to drawing board as they say.

I ran this either directly into a Roland KC-300 or in the loop of a Boss GX-700 processor. I've heard Sansamp stuff described as sounding "hi-fi". I couldn't agree more. Not that the tone was bad, it just wasn't anything special--kind of dry and lifeless. I've owned the GT-2, XXL, Tri-OD, Classic, PSA-1, and this. All were sold or returned. They sounded okay at first, then the brittleness starts to become evident. Too bad since the Tri-AC is an excellent concept. I think more manufacturers need to think like this. 3-channels and battery operated? Can't beat that. The pedal just didn't work for me. I've grown too accustomed to an ADA MP-1, which responds better to my playing.

Didn't own it for too long but I'd say built like typical Tech 21 gear: reliable. On the other hand, I've been hearing more about quality control issues with the company. A shame if it's true.

John has always been responsive. I've gotten manuals sent to me at no charge. E-mails are almost always returned promptly.

Of all the Tech21/Sansamp gear I've tried--GT-2, Tri-AC, Tri-OD, XXL, Classic, PSA-1, Trademark 10 and 60--I like the Trademark 60 the best. That amp has the warmth that all other Tech21 products seem to lack. The pedals seem to work best in front of a decent tube amp. I used to run my GT-2 in front of a Sovtek Mig-60 for pummeling metal tones. Very cool. Anyway, the Tri-AC was a disappointment. Not a bad review, just make sure it works with the gear you have. In front of a really warm, fat, and clean amp will probably work best.

Man, oh, man! This thing is SO easy to use. Five knobs, one slide switch, three pushbutton switches, one input, one output. ALL 5 knobs and slide switch work for each channel (don't have to figure out what works where).
Even if you never learn to program it, and treat it as a single sound pedal you'd still be ahead of the game. You'd only need the manual for the suggestions.
To program: slide the switch to one of three basic amp voices, adjust the DRIVE, three-band EQ controls, and LEVEL to taste, double-press one of the buttons and you're done. (If at the gig you need adjustments, you just bend down, turn the knob you want, do the double-press, and keep on playing) Just like a single overdrive pedal, only 3 times as useful.
If anyone has tried the TriOD and liked it, you gotta try this. The TriOD had 3 channels but a different amp voice in each. With the TriAC you could program the same amp in all three (or change the order). You are totally free to put whatever sound in any channel (not just lead in channel 3, for example).
To bypass any channel (the whole box), you just step on the channel that's already lit. Real big step up from the TriOD (which was a real step up from the GT2 IMHO, at least in switching).

This thing floats my boat. I may not know tone like some of you others with golden ears around here, but the versatility (and switchability) can't be beat.
You can almost think of Sansamp's GT2 pedal times three. The manual lists several settings, and from the names you can get an idea of the different sounds available.
I've liked the sounds of the TriOD, but upon a QUICK listen, this one slightly surpasses, but I have to admit that it hasn't blown my sox like one old H&K Tubeman I once tried a long time ago and passed on. But this is a real close second to real tube sound (whatever that is, hey?).

I'm not about to open this thing, so I can only judge from the outside. Metal box, heavy duty footswitches, LEDs. Workmanship looks clean. You can see some of the circuit board from the outside, and that looks clean also.
They did say battery life is LONG. Drain is 5 ma. Are you kidding me? How can they get it so low? Man, that's great. Won't have to worry about a wallwart with battery life like this. Pretty impressive. (In comparison, TriOD manual states 10 ma, like some Boss low-drain boxes)
With the TriOD and other boxes you have to unscrew the bottom to change the battery. With this box, there's a battery access door, quick and easy to change (and maybe easy to lose?).
Yeah, I'd play without a backup.

Middle of the road vote here. Sent an email once asking some questions about another of their products and requested info about a manual. Got an email a week later (about 3 or 4 days too late), answering my questions, and said a manual was attached (it wasn't). Sent another follow-up email to clarify and asked where was the attached. It's been about a couple months now. No reply. I guess they're just busy creating new stuff.
Catalog got set pretty quick, though.
Only caveat, WHO besides them would fix these things?

This is the box that SHOULD have been put into a TM10!
Okay, okay, the TM10 is a recording amp with its one-voice-at-a-time ability, but this would have made the TM10 such a great practice and intimate-performance tool. THIS would have justified the hundred dollar increase in the amp's price. Well, that, and a discount on the TM10 carry case.
The manual says that you should put the TriAC into the loop of an amp, but it does concur that you COULD put it into the front of the amp. (You could do the loop thing with the TM10, but you lose the amp's reverb)

Here's the only thing TriODers might miss if migrating to the TriAC: a master output volume control. But that's easily overcome with a post volume pedal.