Tech 21 Tri-A.C.

5 knobs. A grown-up overdrive without 50 nested digital menus. Heavenly. Editing, 2 clicks. Manual, a handful of pages. Don't even need it.

I love this pedal. I've had a ton. Boss Heavy Metal, the yellow overdrive, the orange overdrive, ibanez tube screamer, even a pearl pedal back in the day Zoom G2, Zoom 505, MXR Distortion+. I've played a zillion amps from Boogie to Crate. I have a degree in music, played on the road, done quite a bit of recording... Using this direct to the digital recorder. A little compression, a little verb. It sounds AMAZING. You can totally cop a funky rhythm sound.... a nice tubey blues... all the way up to some serious boogie overdrive. People who say it doesn't have enough fuzz.... wow. Not sure what they are looking for. This does it all for me. I give it an 8 because it's not a boogie but it's the closest thing on my budget.

I've had it 1 day. Seems solid. I watched the tour of the factory on Youtube. He talks about all their stuff being made in america and that they are serious about making stuff for serious musicians... like the new switch design that doesn't fail.... ever. Andrew Barta is a genius, hands down.

I had 2 questions. Not sure who answered them. This guy was AWESOME!!! He knew everything about every nuance of these pedals. Asked me all kinds of questions to try to get me to what pedal would suit me the best. Friendly, straight ahead.... as opposed to a few competitors. "uhhhm.... yeah.. hang on.... we'll it looks like it does that...." Thanks. I could get that far with the pdf from your site. Tech 21 should give lessons on how to treat customers. Bulletproof.

Rock, funk, blues.... Playing 25 years. All kinds of other high end gear. It comes and goes. This pedal is staying. I would buy another the same day if it were stolen. I love the simplicity and the sound. So sick of digital menus and scrolling thru stuff and forgetting what the settings are that you can't see in the display. This has none of that. It's perfect.

Seems simple enough to use, but it's a bit of a learning curve to get a decent sound out of it. It's just five knobs: drive, bass, mid, treble, and level, but they are incredibly sensitive and interact with one another in ways they wouldn't on an amp. On top of that, the knobs all act slightly different depending on which voicing you choose (Tweed, British, or California). For example, the drive knob on the British channel adds a bright boost when you turn it below noon. Prepare to be frustrated at first -- you may want to tweak the knobs the same as you'd do on an amp, but you probably won't get a good sound doing it that way. Trust your ears and take a little time to hear how each knob affects the tone on each setting. What you come up with will look odd, but it'll sound right.

The manual is short and sweet but very helpful. Tells about some hidden features of the pedal and offers some sample settings to give you an idea of how to tweak it, though these settings don't really sound at all like what they're labeled as (Metallica, Pantera, Mesa Boogie, etc.), but like all presets they're a good spot to start tweaking. When you find the tone you want, just double tap one of the three channel switches to save it. Be careful to tap quickly enough, though: if you take too long, you'll put the unit in bypass mode and lose the tweaks you just made.

It's not rocket science to use the TRI-A.C., but I can't give it a 10 because it takes so long to get a good tone out of it.

I'm using the TRI-A.C. with an EBMM JP6 and a Line 6 M13 through a Tech 21 Power Engine 60. I put the TRI-A.C. in the M13's loop so I can run distortions before it and delays and reverbs after. This is my grab-and-go rig, and for what it is, it works perfectly well. I find the British channel to be the most convincing, especially when warmed up with a compressor. With the drive nearly maxed I can get a good, thick crunch tone, and the TRI-A.C. takes pedals well, so I can boost it with one of the M13's distortion stomps. On just the British channel, I can get everything from jangly cleans to heavy chunk, but the pedal itself doesn't really have enough gain for, say, modern metal distortion.

The Tweed channel is nice too, and I have it as my clean setting on the first switch. But I don't play clean that often, and I'm not terribly picky about my clean sounds. I tweaked it for a few minutes and was able to get something adequate fairly quickly. A compressor here also helps greatly. The Mesa channel is a big disappointment, though. I haven't been able to find a usable setting on that one. It's all either mud or horrible, grating fizz. I know it's not meant to emulate something like a Dual Recto, but even as a Mark I sim it's pretty bad. Can't even find a decent crunch setting on that one. But that's fine -- the British channel was easy to dial in tones for light crunch, mid- to high-gain rock distortion, and a nice thick lead tone. You'll probably want to throw a pedal or two in front of or behind it, but it'll get the job done in a pinch all on its own. Using it with something like the M13 is just like having a full-on rig, but it all fits on a small pedal board and can go straight to the mixer.

Match this up with something like the Power Engine (highly recommended over a standard guitar amp, but use the amp's effects return if you must) and you've got all the bases covered: three channels for three different tones, whatever other effects or stomps you want to throw in, stage volume, and XLR direct out to the board from the Power Engine. Can't give it a 10 because of the Mesa channel, but it gets a solid 8.5 (rounded up to 9).

It's a metal box, metal switches, satisfying heft to it. It's just sitting on my pedal board now, and I don't plan on moving it. For that kind of use, even stomping on it all night, I can't imagine it's likely to crap out. I haven't had it long, but I trust Tech 21's reputation for making really solid gear.

Have e-mailed Tech 21 on a few different occasions to ask questions, always got a quick response that was more than helpful.

I've been playing guitar for 17 years (more than half my life). I play in a cover band, mostly heavy rock, and this pedal is a pretty good fit for me. I still prefer tube amps, but this thing is convenient as hell, so if it's a small gig or if I just don't feel like lugging a big amp around, I'll grab this instead. It's great for those times when there isn't enough room on stage for your amp. Just go ampless -- straight to the board! I like the straightforward approach Tech 21 took with this pedal. Not only does it sound better -- more natural and dynamic -- than digital modelers, but it's totally no-frills. Just three amp tones, and that's it. Get your effects somewhere else. It's really too bad about the Mesa channel, but the other two are great (the British channel is fantastic), and I like having three presets to choose from.

This can get me through just about any gig. I'd probably buy another one if I lost this one somehow, though I'd want to add one of their California character pedals or a GT-2 for more modern distortion sounds. But nothing else they make (that I'm aware of) has three programmable channels, and I need that, so I might end up waiting for the character series TRI-A.C. if this one got lost.

Bottom line: simple concept, does what it's supposed to do, sounds better than digital stuff and costs less too. You can't buy a cheap combo amp that sounds as good as this pedal, even if the Mesa channel bites.

This is one of the most simple to use units out there. DRIVE, BASS, MID, TREBLE, and LEVEL. The only thing complex (if I can call it that) is a three way switch for CALIF (California amp model, based on a Mesa/Boogie), BRIT (British amp model, based on a Marshall), and TWEED (amp model based on a Fender). There are three footswitches across the bottom, and any model set with any setting can be saved to any of the three switches. To save a setting, tweak your knobs to the sweet spot, and double tap the switch. Saved! The manual gives you some presets to start from and good instructions for how to use. Oh, and a nice LED function guides you back to your settings if you tweak away from your fave tone. It's got too many OPTIONS to be a "10" for ease of use, but I'll be damned if I can think of any better, simpler layout. How about 9.5?

It sounds completely different with different guitars. Fenders sound like Fenders and Gibsons sound like Gibsons. If you wish to use it live with an amp and want the unit to sound like it is supposed to (as well as function optimally) you MUST plug into the power amp/effects return and use the unit as your preamp section. This is how I use the unit primarily, and it sounds great, plugged into a vintage tube power amp or a solid state power section. It has an all analog signal path and the preamp reacts like tubes to when clipping. Also, it can be "pushed" with an overdrive pedal before it just like an amplifier, and each model responds accordingly. The Tweed, used clean, sounds like a pristine, glassy Fender. The Brit, used in any amount of gain, is sonically charismatic. Low gain settings incur a treble boost just like a vintage Marshall, mid gain settings are as clean or raunchy as your pickups and picking so choose, and high gain settings are chunky but articulate, creating a heavy yet beautiful wall-of-sound. I use the Tweed for cleans, the Brit at noon for a crunch overdrive sound, and the Brit maxed for my high gain sound. And I am more than satisfied with my purchase and use. BUT!
I bought this unit for the California model. I wanted a tight bottomed mid-gain Mesa/Boogie tone, and picked this unit up to achieve an analog modeled version. UNUSABLE. It's almost a fuzz. Low gain settings are a muddy joke (yes even with gentler and more articulate pickups), and the higher gain settings are only usable as a gimmicky fuzz tone. The mid EQ range is set way too low to boost for clarity. I sure hope someone can find a use for that awful Calif model, but it is not me. For this I give the sound a 9. More specifically, the Tweed I give a 9, the Brit I give an easy 10, and the Calif I would give a 4.

I bring the thing back and forth all over the area gigging weekly, and have never had a problem. Battery and standard 9V, that's nice. However, I have gotta admit, I am nervous about it getting damaged someday. It seems pretty solid, but it's no ProCo Rat. I bet it will survive the first drop and the first trample... but I wouldn't suggest using it for self-defense like some pedals. It's not a brick, it's a preamp.

I have heard wonderful wonderful tales, but have never had to ask them for help yet.

I want to give it a 10, but the Mesa model is a serious disappointment. I want to give it a 9 but there are more durable boxes out there. I'll give it an 8.5 and sleep tonight knowing I gave an accurate and fair review. This box has a plethora of VERY USABLE very organic sounds in it. All analog signal path. Very subtle, very dynamic tone. Beautiful Fender model. Astonishing Brit model. Three banks to save to, making it the GO-TO live preamp pedal. Jazz? YES. Classic rock? YES. Metal? YES. Maybe not enough gain for Nu-Metallers, but certainly enough for true metalheads. And it retains and enhances the sound of your guitar- your PICKUPS, the WOOD, and your FINGERS!

Doesn't take a scientist to figure this unit out but the controls are extremely fine; a couple of millimetres could make the difference in finding your tone. Very easy to save your settings; just double-tap a footswitch, the light blinks and you???re done. The manual is brief but helpful and clues you in to features you didn't know the Tri-Ac had.

The sound quality of the Tri-Ac is quite impressive, especially when put into the board and out through the PA (although it's not bad going through the effects return of an amp either).

With the range of tones this pedal is capable of it's difficult to give a blanket description, it's fair to say all three channels provide a responsive, organic sound that's easily tweaked to suit your taste or need. Channel switching is largely smooth and 'pop' free unless there's a huge volume disparity between the channels' volume (which there shouldn't be if set up correctly). There can be the usual line noise when using high gain/vol but nothing extreme.

Here???s a breakdown of the channels and my review of how they sound running through the PA.

Tweed (Clean) ??? using the iconic Fender tone as its starting point, this channel provides a lush, shimmery clean that can be tweaked to something dryer or more robust as needed. Very Fendery for sure...

Brit (Overdrive) ??? based on the classic Marshall, but the cut/boost feature of the tone knobs really lets you tcusomise the sound. Plenty of colour and bite, taut response, more roar than you???ll probably need. Perfectly good for leads but even better at getting me the toppy, dry, scrappy rhythm sound I like without the ???plastic??? tone I've experienced from other units. Incorporates a Bright Boost keyed to the Drive dial to emulate the Marshall tone. Any rock player will find his sound here and it'll sound mighty fine???

California (Distortion) ??? a heavier, thicker sound than the Brit, Cali uses the Mega Boogie as its model and retains the near infinite tweakability of the previous channels. I use it both for rhythm work in the heavier tunes and for most leads as it gets me the sweet, hot and fluid tone I like (somewhere around the Fast Eddie/Dave Murray/Leslie West voice). Plenty of distortion, maybe not as super-saturated as some of the people might think they need but more than enough killer gain for us sensible folk??? ;-)

Bought the Tri-Ac in the last days of 08; since then it's been used at home, casual jams and band rehersals. So far so good...it's taken a few bumps when I've forgotten its in the pack I just casually tossed on the floor but it hasn't taken a scratch and still works flawlessly. No hesitation depending on it

Limited one year warranty. Haven't used their CS yet but have read/heard good things. I did expect to get some confirmation after sending my warranty card but didn???t; not a huge deal.

Been playing 15+ years, the last nine seriously,

A few years back I was looking for a pedal I could use when playing an open stage setting that would supply preset clean, overdriven or distorted sounds as required. I ended up using a 2nd generation Jekyll & Hyde but was never satisfied with the results (but that's a different review). I just wish someone had told me about the Sans Amp Tri-Ac back then???

A cool thing about this pedal is that it contains some very useful features that are mentioned in the manual but not on the Tech 21 website. They might sell more Tri-Acs if they did but as it is, it feels good to find out the musical tool you???ve just bought contains even more that you thought it did. The 'secret' features are:

Lazy Pot : Thanks Tech 21 for this little bit of genius: like most multi-channel units, (the Digitech EX-7 being a glaring exception) the Tri-Ac remembers the settings for each channel. This is great for maintaining a consistent sound but if you???re jamming in someone???s apartment after playing a gig or rehearsal the night before, you could be in for an unpleasant surprise when you kick in a channel and get your ???Live??? volume blasting out of the speakers. Not a problem with the Lazy Pot feature which inserts a delay on the Gain and Level settings. This prevents your previously set volume from immediately jumping out and killing everyone in the room; e.g. even if you turn on with your Gain and Level at previously set maximum, there???s no sound for a moment. Then, gradually, it bleeds in and slowly climbs to its previously set level giving you plenty of time to adjust the Gain/Volume to suit your location. Simple but brilliant, nice one guys, that???s thinking like a musician.

Bright Boost ??? the Tri-Ac has a capacitor built in to the Brit setting that enhances the high end frequencies; the booster is engaged when the Drive knob is below 12 o???clock.

Comparison Mode ??? as with most multi-channel units, the Tri-Ac remembers the settings for each channel but obviously with three channels to one set of dials, the settings on the dials may not match the channel you???re currently playing. To find where the your pre-saved settings are you just select a channel and move any other dials : the channel light will blink until the dial matches the preset when it stops blinking and stays on, you???ve reached the preset.

LED auto-shut down ??? to conserve battery power, the Tri-Ac???s LEDs automatically shut themselves off after 10 seconds from the last time a dial was moved or foot switch used.

Universal Z output ??? the unbalanced output is designed to be compatible with full and limited range applications.

Speaker Simulation ??? each channel shapes the sound towards the cabinet normally associated with the amp and provides a smooth even response like that of a multi-miked cabinet

Low Battery Warning ??? when you need a new battery the red LED will become noticeably dimmer
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I don't lug amps around anymore; I get can get the same tones or better from the Tri-Ac.
During my pre-buy research I used YouTube to check out the contenders and caught a fairly long posting of a band???s live show where the guitarist was running a Tri-Ac straight into the PA without effects. The band was covering different flavours of classic rock and I was impressed by the Tri-Ac???s versatility but when the guy went into the EVH solo I was sold. Couldn???t believe what a great sound he was getting???
The second thing that pushed me towards Tech 21 was another YouTube sequence featuring a tour of the company???s factory and in-depth interview with main dude Andrew Barta. I thought any company that lets cameras into its manufacturing area must be pretty confident about their products and procedures and the man himself made a lot of sense; sounded like a musician, not someone trying to get you to buy his gear...Kudos Tech 21!

So easy, a caveman could do it.

Fairly quiet unit.
The distortion is nice, but not quite as good a tube amp.

So far...so good.
Seems sturdy.

I hear the company is quite cool.
But I've never spoken with them.

I play classic rock. This unit covers it all.

Easy to use. Period.

Basically there 3 amp simulator modes. Calif, Brit, Tweed. They are accurate simulations of mesa boogie, marshal, fender.

The control for 3 simulators are Bass, Mid, Tremble, Level and Drive. So there is no confusion on that. I like using this piece to have guitar tones in headphone mixes while not having to have an amp polluting my drum mic's. A record the amp simulator as well as the a dry signal. I've had a few a list guitar players opt for the guitar simulator because once if you record, its all digital in the box anyways. SO this box is good enough to get your tones, and textures correct.

no problems, but i take care of my stuff.

never delt with the company.

I like that it does not have a screen. that way you do NOT focus on letters, just the sound.

Update and a tip.
GET A POWER AMP NOW.

I picked up a used Alesis RA-100 Reference Amplifier for $75.
2 ch. and 2 vols. 100 watts mono into 4ohms.

WOW, so rich, thick and chocolaty. There's a 4x12 cab in my
1x12 combo wif dem heavier sample settings. Not my cup of tea, just saying ka-thunk chunk chunk is there.

The sample settings have relevance now.

I'm running SC and HB pups.

My desire was to have a very good 'bedroom amp'. Got it and no
burning up tubes. I'm looking forward to seeing how the set-up
works at band levels.

Couldn't be simpler - dial up the sound you want, assign it to one of the three channels by hitting the relevant footswitch twice quickly and then its stored. You can then tweak each setting by moving the relevant control - the quicker the LED flashes the nearer you are to the original setting, when it stops flashing you are on the original setting, then tweak... but be warned - the settings on the buttons are not relevant to the sound stored - touch the volume control at the wrong time and its possible to blow your head off - not so great for changing settings on the fly while playing live.

Sounds on the unit are endless, from beautiful and sparkling clean sounds to bee-in-a-bottle horrible fuzz. But I think some people get the wrong idea about this pedal. I originally used it with a Fender twin as a means to get three pre-set sounds (clean, overdrive and lead) but it just didn't work - I have sinced changed to a Crate PowerBlock and a Vox 2x12 cab and its the best tone I have had in over 20 years of playing through all types of lovely old valve amps. The Crate doesn't colour the pedal's settings (and sounds crap on its own, it is just a power-amp) and I just use the tone settings on the amp to adjust to different venues - this means I don't have to change any of the settings within the Tri-AC. The tones I get from this unit are just lovely, really warm and responsive, you can break-up just like a valve amp and the feedback works just like using tubes, I really don't feel like I'm using a transistor amp at all.

I have been using the Tri-AC for over a year now and was very happy until last night when during a rehearsal channel 1 stopped working, I discovered it was the small micro-switch inside that no longer works. Thats the trouble - built like a tank on the outside, big heavy-duty footswitch that presses this diddy little micro-switch inside. Hmmm...

Don't know yet - I have to contact them about this.

This is good for everything, providing you use the right set-up and are not trying to alter an amp that does perfectly well for itself. Funk, blues, jazz, doom metal, its all there - you can get a wonderful clean sound and a completely messed-up Big Muff tone out of it. Best thing about it is I no longer have to carry 3 different distortions about and engage in complicated ballet moves while switching sounds. Worse thing about it is that its just gone wrong.

Extremely easy. Editing is a piece of cake - just be careful with the knobs due to their sensitivity. Manual is pretty useful and offers several basic patches.

My setup is simple - heaviliy modified Tele through SansAmp directly to Yamaha mixing console and then to the soundcard on my PC. This unit makes even less noise than my digital guitar processor. Sure, when you raise Drive knob it may be somewhat noisy, especially on single coils pups, though by bridge Dimarzio Twang King hums moderately even on high Drive settings. Well, and I got Keith Richards sound out of it!

This stomp box looks solid, though I've been using it for onle several days.

Never dealt with them

I am a songwriter making hits for domestic pop stars. This is an absolute match for me, though, even writing pop singles I try to make good bluesy/funky demo versions. I sold my Marshall JCM amp 'cause it was too loud for my stuido apartment. If this was stolen or lost (Lord forbid!) I would definetly buy another one. I think this one is the best decision for direct recording.

Pretty easy to use very straight forward peddle. I have hear some complain that it is to complicated. That's is because they really don't understand it. In terms of controls the peddle has a three band EQ, drive, level, and modeling switch... The settings of which all be saved to three patches. People who say it is to complicated are people who don't want much in the way of options... These are people who are just as happy to simply use the factory presets on their Digitech RP... Which is fine... To each his own. But the reality is this peddle is just not for them. This peddle provides endless tonal possibilities. I have tinkered with this thing for hours and could continue to tinker for the rest of my life to come up with new tones. What frustrates people is the time that it takes to dial in a good sound.

Modeling is a myth! The reality is neither a $100 create or a $20,000 PA system are going to produce the tones that are unique to specific amps. It does not matter who the manufacturer is or what the model is.

That aside the tonal controls on this unit are interesting. A three way switch provides three tonal structures for the controls.

The best part is while the patches can be saved digitally they are a %100 analog. Not really sure how that works but cool nonetheless.

At its heart you can think of the Tri-A.C. as a three channel pre-amp out of a guitar amp. Which is great for use with single channel amps like some of these retro deals on the market because it is essential like adding two channels.

I have noticed a lot of people noting that it is not for use in front of an amp. An opinion I don't share. I think the reason that people say such things is because they use it in conflict with their amp. For example if you have a two channel fender with fairly intuitive pre-amps the reality is this unit will be in conflict with the amp for no other reason then you have three pre-amps with up to three EQs all in one line. Who needs three EQ's? Of course it is going to sound like crap... You have three things all trying to do the same job.
On the other hand if you set all of your amp EQ's to flat it sounds just fine.

This peddle excels at being a pre-amp. So consider your needs. If you have a fender twin or a vox ac 30 both of which have very good pre-amps then you probably would not want to bother. But if you are using something like an Orange Tiny Terror which is a signal channel amp with no EQ then it is great. All depends on what you need. If your primary purpose is to use it as a pre-amp then you have the right peddle.

Now if your primary purpose is to use this as an OD peddle then you might want to find a different peddle. This thing is simply not a distortion peddle... it is an over drive peddle! I know it is marketed as the end all destoraion/OD peddle but not so. If you are looking for that really rich crunchy metallica type distortion this ain't your peddle. I don't care what they say in the manuel. If you are looking for a decent OD then it is good... not the best but good.



7 for OD
10 for pre-amp

It works no problems. Sturdy construction.

No experience but I hear its good.

Good peddle... Nothings perfect this ain't heaven... Shop on ebay... buy it used and save anywhere from 50-100 bucks.

Update with a heads up for how I stumbled upon great clean Marshall tones whilst sampling some tone caps for me axe with SC's. I settled on a 223J 100V. This cap allowed a useful 7/8 range then would kill volume.
Just before drop out is the sweet spot for excellent clean tone out of
fairly high gain British and California settings. If switched to a clean or bypass setting there's no sound.
The tone pot works like a vintage Tweed tube amps single tone pot.
Turn clockwise and the gain just grinds harder.

B4, I could not get a non-shrill clean tone out of the Brit mode, especially with SC's. Prior to this, decent verge of break-up tones, but I'd bypass for un-colored cleans to hear my gits tone. I couldn't get true cleans. That's history now.
This stands true running through my Fender AmpCan! That's just crazy.
I'm talking rich and full jangle, spank, and grind-age.

Maybe I am experiencing what this unit sounds like through a P.A. or
Power Engine. But I'm getting it via git voiced FDR AmpCan w/6" cone!

What may be unique is I use saturated settings to get crystal clear cleans. This thing is acting like a good tube amp! Less the sustain.

Anyway, my approach for settings now is...OK, good balls-to-the-wall setting and save. Roll back the tone knob for jazz, twang, alternative and blues. You get the idea.

Very simple. Took me a few minutes to get used to the flashing leds (they flash at a varying rate when you turn the nobs from the currently stored value).
I am in no way connect with Tech 21, and I think this is an excellent product.

It comes with 3 decent factory presets - the Tweed and California settings were excellent. I'm not such a fan of the British setting - too toppy, but that's just my taste. The sounds are excellent - I pretty much took the 1st and 3rd factory setting (clean and scooped lead), tweeked them slightly and stored them. The other one I set on California, with a slight overdrive, trying to get the 80's Scofield sound.
The sounds are excellent, but as another reviewer rightly pointed out, it's for plugging into a PA or recording console. It will not sound good with an amp. I had the original "Classic" Sansamp, used it with a (cheap) amp and never got a good sound from it. Then I bought a PA system and used it with that and it sounded great. I use the Tri-A.C. with said P.A.
The driven sounds sound like a hard driven amp, not a fuzz box, which is just what I wanted. Clean up well when the guitar volume is lowered. Excellent dynamic response. No extraneous noise.

I haven't had the Tri A.C. long, but I've had the Classic Sansamp since the early 90's and it still works fine, so I'll rate it based on that.
It certainly looks very sturdy.

Not needed them.

I'm a fusion jazz wannabee, and wanted a clean jazz tone, a thicker sustained tone, and a nasty but natural sounding, overdriven Mesa-Boogie amp sound. The Tri-A.C. performed admirably in all these categories.

It's very easy to use it,you turn right or left the knobs, after you have choosen the preamp you like,till you hear your sound and then you double click and it's saved...

it's not for use infront of the amp,one more time it's not for use infront of the amp ,one more time it's not for use infront of the amp... when i first bought i plugged it in the input of my amp(this is the way i use the classic sansamp that i also own)and the sound was awful. Oh my god i said to myself ''what the ...is this... why did they destroy the sansamp's sound...how can the classic pedal be so great and the triac soundw so awful.''then t used it in the return loop of my amp and what a relief...a great sound came out of it....it's a fanatstic pedal which it should be used only in the return of your amp...i feel pitty for those who didn't try it this way...used it as a distortion pedal... and wrote terrible things about triac. They don't have an idea about how wanderful thiw preamp sounds.if only they could here my samples then they would have hit their heads on a wall because they sold it....
and used it as a distortion pedal...

i have the classic for over 7 years and nothing bad or any malfunction ever happened ,i thing it's the same with the triac

excellent...once i ask them for further information the next day they replied to me ...

i give this preamp a 9!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep up the good work tech21

This is a pretty straight-up piece of gear. One "in" jack and one "out" jack. Three big switches. Some knobs.

Mine didn't come with a manual but I figured out the essentials in sort order. I give this a seven because some useful features aren't labeled on the unit itself. Some examples:
1. If you change a setting, the selected LED will flash. The slower it flashes, the farther it is from the "saved" setting. This is really helpful if you want to know how far you've deviated from what you had before.
2. If you hit one of the foot switches twice while changing settings, the settings will be saved under that switch.
3. If you hit a switch twice while *not* changing settings, you will bypass the effect.

I can't get over what this pedal has done for my franken-strat! It makes me want to play more guitar, which is saying something since I'm primarily a bassist and drummer. I mostly use the TriAC for recording at home. Previously I had two usable sounds: one non-descript clean tone (straight) and one barely-tolerable non-clean tone (using a Rat distortion). Nothing warm. Nothing exciting. Just "eh". I put the SansAmp into the signal chain and WOW! All *sorts* of usable sounds. Now even the most bizarre pickup settings are usable (I added phase flip and series/parallel switches to the strat last year). I LOVE what the bridge pickup sounds like.

Most reviews I've read here say nice things about the clean Tweed setting and the overdriven Cali setting and I concur. I haven't found too much use for the Brit setting yet, but I haven't needed to look that far for tones I like. I find that most sounds tend to be louder than the straight sound, even clean. While there is some noise generated from the distortion sounds, it is at a more-than-acceptable level.

FWIW, I've heard this played side-by-side with a Digitech modeling unit and a real Marshal combo and they all sounded equally good in an echo-y basement. A guitarist friend, who plays considerably better than yours truly, plugged in to my Tri AC and was blown away. He *almost* regretted getting the modeler he purchased because he felt mine sounded a little more "real".

This thing has the hallmarks of good quality: Robust jacks, heavey-duty foot switches, and thick metal chassis. I don't worry when tossing this into a gig bag.

No need thus far.

I got this particular model to fill two needs:
1. Recording at home. I am overjoyed. Everything from fat cleans, to overdriven rhythms, to sweet leads. Makes me sound good, even if I'm not especially.
2. As an amp substitute for jamming. The tri ac shines at this because it sounds really good and has three easily-customizable sounds at your disposal. Three tone settings is all you need live. Really.

There are a few features missing on this unit, namely the on/off axis and the "mod" switches. After trying the SansAmp GT2 in the store (which has these features), I decided that they weren't essential and went with the Tri AC. Live you probably wouldn't notice them and for recording you can compensate with EQ.

If you want spaceship sounds, or even chorus and reverbs, you might consider some of the modeling units out there that will run you $30 to $50 more. I wasn't too concerned about that since I typically add effects later in the recording process.

Easy to use but you do have to tailor the sounds to mach your guitar.

Very Very Good!

Tried with Power Engine 60 - Excellent

also

>>> Mackie Onyx Satellite >>> Logic Audio >>>> Yamaha MSP speakers.... fantastic sound.

Been playing 30 years and have owned all the amps that this box emulates. I've also owned POPOD, ZOOM, Roland and got rid of them all.

THIS IS NOT DESIGNED TO BE PLAYED IN THE FRONT END OF A STANDARD GUITAR COMBO. There are people giving this low ratings because they do not understand that this is a pre-amp. Run a good pre-amp through the input of a toppy guitar amp and it will sound s**t.

A BRILLIANT recording tool and all amp sounds sound good with tweaking. Add reverb, delay and FX and you will not turn this baby off!

I'm giving it a full 10 as opposed to 9 because of those who have given it low ratings because they don't understand this unit is a preamp not a distortion pedal.

Had for 4 years... rock solid. Super long battery life.

Very good, I lost manual and got PDF very quick.

Better pre than POD, Zoom, Boss, Roland.

Piece-O-cake to use, but good sound? hmmm Okay sound yes.

I do not have the manual. No response from Tech 21. doh

BTW, I'll abstain from ratings as it's new to me and I only have tried it thru. the front of my current available SS amp..

1st things 1st, I run thru an old SS Peavey Pacer. My tubers('56 Deluxe Tweed Clone, '62 Ampeg Reverberocket) are too loud for Apt., besides repairs are needed. I planned to get a full-range 12" speaker. The axes have P-90's, overwound and underwound, which typically make anything sound its best.

I've flatened the amps EQ and have tweaked away, but all I've gotten are livable clean Tweed, clean Boogie and dist. Boogie. The Marshall is at it's best with EQ maxed, if not maxed, bad shyte pops out in certain frequencies. The Marshall does not find a home on any channel as yet. From what I read, I was certain the Boogie wouldn't.

I got it used and it seems healthy.

2 weeks, no response per my Manual request via email.

I noodle mostly with blues or rock. Goin' on 3 decades of playing. I hate tone loss from effects, so I just use a little. No, I wouldn't buy again. So far, it's toy like. Maybe it would be better if I buy a BBE Sonic pedal or a this and a that?

I am tortured a bit by tone. I tweak and tweak and try to make the best of what I gotts. Previously, J-Station thru. tubes and Zoom thru. RealTube Tube Works pedal into SS amp. seemed to offer more natural dynamics. Going thru. the RealTube using a low-gain tube didn't help this unit.
So, can't find natural tones or dynamics. Wait... nope, just checked again. Actually, I just bypassed and adjusted amp settings to normal and presto, natural, clear dynamics. Just no classic amp tones.

Looks like a sick little micro wattage pure tube circuit is in my future.

This is a follow-up of my previous review. I'm on my second tri-ac and while I've contemplated selling it a couple of times, I always find something useful for it. Here's a few thoughts since my last review...

Try it with a speaker simulation for direct recording or direct-to-PA use. It fizzes like a direct box until you do that. Even the Behringer Ultra-G is an interesting mate, as is a POD with the amp models disabled. I don't care what "they" say- it needs something to tame the fizz. You can pick out the fizz in the demo recordings on their site.

While it seems to have plenty of high end, it doesn't have the same presence or clarity in the high end that a real tube amp has. Heck, some real tube amps don't have it but the good ones do. This may sound like I'm in conflict with myself on the fizz issue, but its not the same thing.

It works great for bass! Great direct bass tracks!

It works great as a backup for your amp at a show.

It works lousy as a distortion pedal in front of an amp. Try it in the effects loop instead.

Built to last. The switch mechanism is very rugged in design. You can't stomp this hard enough to break the switch- it is physically impossible. You'd have to crush the rugged metal box to break the electronic portion of the switch. Brilliant solution and they claim it is properly buffered to prevent loading or other unpleasant tonal issues.

And oh yeah, I'm not selling it. I'm keeping it. Did I mention "Try a speaker sim?"

Very easy to use.

Well, this must be my third review of Tri AC and it's getting better all the time. I have had time to compare this to digital and other analog devices and there's just nothing that comes even close. I've tried Hughes & Kettner Tubeman, Yamaha DG-Stomp etc. but Tri AC is still the winner. And that is mostly because of the super good British channel. Overdrive sound or distortion sound, it's always the British channel. I recently found out that the California channel though not very good for distortion makes an incredibly good clean sound. Far better, in my opinion, than the Tweed channel. During recordings I use all the channels, but live I now only use the British channel (od and dist) and the California channel (clean).

Yes, I would use this without backup. I play this through a tube amp, but the Tri AC is also my backup. If something happens to my amp, I just play throug the PA system.

I think this is as close to perfect as it gets. There is something about the British channel sound that I can't explain. It's so good I could play for hours and it would still sound excellent. I don't know if it's really that much like Marshall sound, but it's an outstanding sound and very much rock'n roll!

I give this an 8 because it's a thinking musicians pedal. "Well I jsut wanna rock!" OK, well the manual is only like 6 pages, read it and you'll know how to twaek this thing till infinity. Still very intuative. Double clicking to save settings is so ingenious.

I may write a proper review later but I just wanted to respond to some comments about the amp modeling:

"You cannot get metal tone out of it simply because none of those amps are meant for metal tones."

Really? Mesas and Marshalls aren't meant for metal?
There were also several reviews suggesting this pedal doesn't have enough gain...?! Well what kind of pickups are you using? I use this pedal mainly *for* it's metal capabilities ( I bypass it for my amp's clean sound, which I could never get sick of.. Sovtek mig 50). I have a Samick PRS rip-off with an EMG 85/81 set and it's got gain to spare. In fact I use it to record direct and have no problem saturating the tape with a high level. Also, a lot of metal players choose something based on a practice volume level... well, fizzy and super saturated isn't going to work well in a big room with a full band(metal zone.. ugh). But for recording this thing can DUMP so much distortion, especially on bass that it sounds terrifying!

Ok, maybe the Tweed amp won't break up as much as you need, but both British and Cali can be pushed way over the top... in fact, sometimes I gotta remember to roll off a tad bit of gain and just tweak the mids to get more 'edge'.

A friend of mine borrowed it for awhile but refused to read the manual. He plays different stuff than me: indie-rock, blues rock, lead stuff like Dinosaur Jr. and he complained it sounded artificial. Well, when it says "set your amp flat and no brite switch" they mean this! Like any tool/pedal/gear it will sound awfull you don't use it as intended! That being said, if you know how to use it, THEN you can abuse it. :) I have used this pedal to get crushing sounds out of keyboards, and on vocal tracks(hint: double track a screamy part and then run one tack thru the Cali channel with lots of gain).

Anyhow I can't say enough about this pedal. I really don't like to endorse stuff because obviouslly everyone has a different sound they are going for, but I was always unhappy with the Boss/Digitech/DOD sounds... this was super affordable for something that sounds boutique but is programable and super flexible. If you own this pedal and are a little unhappy with the sounds just keep toying with it.. it took me about 6 months to find the sweet spots but now I use it on EVERYTHING and for so many things it's not made for.. I've yet to run drums thru it mixing but I bet that would crush too.

Some mp3's featuring it: www.myspace.com/sentinelgrind

Hope this review helps!:)

Built like a tank. Switches are sturdy but I can even switch em easy by hand(for mixing). True bypass or not (I dunno) no unwanted signal gets thru for me.

dead easy to use...3 footswitch, 5 knob, no manual necessary.

it's supposed to simulate fender tweed, marshall and boogie sound. close enough, but a little muddy, and compare to sansamp gt2 it seems lack of gain. maybe an overdrive in front of it help a little to achieve heavier sound.

solidly built

this is a versatile pedal... we can use it as a stompbox distortion or use it as a preamp.

Verry easy to use and get a good sound
Manual is good. Active controls (cut or boost)

Verry real, analog sound! Fender, marshalls are super.
But you have to amplify them the way its ment to be.
Home recording/ hifi speakers= verry good.
But I own a tech 21 power engine 60. And that's the keyword for me.
I'm going to by another one so I have 120 watt. 60 watt (one power engine 60) is okay but the clean headroom is not that much.
With 120 watt is sounds awesome!
Buy them!

I think so.
I have the unit for only 6 weeks

It's the best there is.
Send them an e-mail.
The next day you have all the answers.

Tech 21 rules!

The tri-a.c. is *extremely* easy to use *if* you go along with it's intended purpose. like all sansamps it is designed to recreate the sound of a complete signal path. it is *not* a distortion/overdrive pedal, and that means that it works best when run thru a full range system, not in front of a tube amp. that doesn't mean it's the only way you can use it, but to get the best results the fastest, use a very clean amp (like a roland jc120 for example), one of tech 21's power engines, or a similar power amp/speaker set up. i have also had luck running to the FX loop return on a few tube amps.

editing couldn't be easier, this has already been covered a million times - dial in a sound, double click the switches, done.

i've been using the Tri-ac in a tech21 oriented direct system for a year or so. for the most part my signal goes directly to the house sound system without any amp on stage. i also use their GT2. a boss line selector is utilized to switch between the two pedals. the Tri-ac provides my main clean and lead tones, while the GT2 is my rhythm sound.

there are 3 Amp choices in the Tri-ac, Tweed (fender), British (Marshall) and California (mesa-boogie). i've a point off here for the California setting, which has way too much low end, in my opinion. the gain range is also not what i'd like to see... it's pretty geared towards "classic" tones. not that there's anything wrong with that, i just don't see a point in limiting the sound. this is not my only tech 21 product so i know they are capable of more gain... they just chose not to, in this case.

the Tweed setting is *very* good. i use this for all of my clean tones. it also *kills* for the "edge of breakup" overdrive sound that so many of tech 21's digital counterparts fail at.

i use the British set for my lead tones, with lots of gain, mids, and treble. with a little chorus and delay i'm set and will play until no one else cares to listen to me. it's the kind of sound that *inspires* you to keep going, and at the end of the day, that's what matters.

the tri-ac also takes pedals *very* well, i'll use fuzz pedals before it and also put modulation & delay pedals after, and i've never had a single issue.

i have never had a single problem with this pedal. ever. it's one of the reasons why i continue to use this setup - it consistently provides me with the sound i want to hear at every show, every time.

there is no better customer support than tech 21. they always respond to emails, generally within a few hours. i've even just shot the shit with them a few times. if you have a question about any one of their products, don't hesitate to email them.

the tri-ac is an integral part of my setup. it sounds good on stage and in the studio. if it were stolen or lost i would absolutely buy another.

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

Super Easy.
The builting presets give you enough hint about this box's capabilities.
You need to remember few points while dialling in a "good" tone. (Though, that in itself is debatable) ;)

1. The amps have inbuilt voicings that you need to respect.

2. You cannot make a tweed amp sound like a marshall or vice-versa. And neither should you try doing that on Tri-AC

3. The tweed channel is more bass and treble heavy. So be a little frugal with those. Boost mids, cut bass and treble for better tones outta Tweed.

4. British channel is very trebly. Just like the tweed it is modelled after. You need to cut down treble to get a smooth tone. You want jangly-twangy tone? Keep treble higher. Sounds very much like the Marshall Plexi.
Boost the mids and bass and cut treble to get a "nice" tone.

5. California channel is uber-bassy and very low on treble. Try to curtail bass and please boost the treble to get sweet overdriven tone of the Mesa-Boogies.

6. The EQs are active. That means above 12 o clock means boosting a frequency. Usual amps and stomp boxes have passive EQ.
Wanna get the same feel? Donot tweak any EQ knob beyond 12 o clock.

Apparantly, the voicings of these channels match the orginal amps pretty well. Ppl who crib about British being too bright or California being too dull should go and check out the original amps too.



How about Editing patches?

Again very easy.
Just play around with knobs and "double click" on any channel. The setting gets stored there.



How is the manual for it (if there is one)?

Manual is super. Infact it gives you tips to get good tones out of the box. Something that I have NEVER EVER seen in any product manual!



Do you know the firmware revision number? Has your unit been upgraded?

Now what is this thing?

Awesome.

Tweed = Fender "tweed" amps
Brisish = Marshall "Plexi" amps
California = Mesa/Boogie Mark-I amps

Thats the key.
This unit is moderate gain one.
You cannot get metal tone out of it simply because none of those amps are meant for metal tones.

You need to put a boost in front to drive the amps harder. The same you need to do here to get more "metal-friendly" tone.


Tweed sounds perfect for slightly overdriven tones. Slight haze/fuzz and it sounds cool.
British also sounds cool in this regime. Infact, for certain jobs it sounds better, due to the characteristic "ovedriven + clean" tone coming out of it.
California sound better in the moderate gain - high gain regime IMO.
At low gain settings it sounds just too muffled for my liking.


The British channel has a wonderful feature (wich existed on the original Marshall Plexi too): the gain kobs also affects the tone. :)
Higher the gain, more thick the tone; lesser the gain, more trebly/bright/jangly the tone.

That means you set and EQ for low gain (rhythm) patch and be assured that the same EQ with higher gain will sound excellent for leads.

+ The fact that British channel is awesomely responsive to picking dynamics as well as guitar volume pot.


The California channel is not that responsive. :(
However, it makes up by giving a sweet Santana-ish overdrive.


This pedal is great for playing blues and hard-rock.


One of the beast features of this pedals is that it sounds fabulous even at max gain (something that even amps fail to do).

However, what I would've actually liked from this pedal is: more gain range.


And hey, this baby does the direct-in job really pretty well. Dunno what is the problem with ppl who said it sounds like shit when plugged direct. Most probably they dont have any idea about how to tweak and get the desired tone.




I can get Stevie Ray Vaugh and BB king's tone (somewhat similar).
Eddie Van Halen's (almost), AC/DC (spot on!), Lynyrd Skynrd (kinda spot on!), Santana (amlost spot-on!), Jimy Page (almost) .........

You get the picture. These are/were the artists using the same Fender Tweed or Marshall Plexi or Mesa/Boogie Mark-I amps in real.


The reason why am giving it 9 instead of 10 is because if you listen to the samples of Tech21 PSA-1 on their website, you realize that PSA-1 can deliver even more superior tones than TRI-AC
x-(

:((

Solidly Built.

However, I haven't had much issues till now + its been only one/two months.

If you've dealt with the company, how helpful/friendly were they?


Very much. I mailed them and they replied promplty all my queries.
Infact the person told me specifically how GT2, TRI-OD and TRI-AC are different (tonal, voicing, etc wise)

GT2 and TRI-OD are better for more modern tones.
TRI-AC is better for classic rock kind of tones.

I play Blues, Classic Rock, Rock'n'Roll, Hair Metal, Thrash metal.
Except thrash, this pedals covers everythign else pretty well.

I have one KORG AX100G too. Whcih I now use as FX bank :)


I did a comparison with few other products like:
Tech21 TRI-OD
AMT Distortion Machine
Rocktron Silver Dragon
Toadworks Deathrattle
etc

Ultimately it was combination of features + availability that prevailed.


Actually I wished initially that it should have more gain.
But then the purpose is lost!

This pedal is meant for more laid-back classic tones.

You want more hi-gain stuff?
Buy GT2 or TRI-OD or AMT distortion Machine.

Depending on your setup, it can take some moving around in your setup to get something that sounds good. I'm running into a 50 watt EL84 driven amp. i settled on running it direct in line with Compression, EQ, and Wah in front of it and Delays and Modulation after it.

Programming one of the switches couldn't be easier...tweak the pots and double click...done.

be careful how you run power into it...i daisy cahined it and it wasn't getting enough power...so i run a dedicated Power Supply.

i don't use it for nor would recommend using it as a DI.

I like the quality of the 'Tweed' and 'Brit' sounds. the 'cali' sound does not work through my set up...too muddy.

I would say if you are depending on this or any 'distortion'pedal for your main tone, then you will be unhappy. leave that up to the Amp.

'tweed' - i use this setting for a slightly driven sound. almost clean. one of it's better sounds

'brit' - i have the other two buttons on this setting. One is for my open chord/arpeggio sound. this sounds great. The other is a palm muting power chord sound...sounds good, i don't hit that much. i use my lead channel on the amp for that....

add the clean channel and this pedal is a great way to add three sounds to your setup.

be patient and tweak it slowly. i'm very impressed with the quality of the pots and a little goes a long way. I'll admit that i was a bit unhappy when i took it out of the box and plugged it in for the first time....i spent an hour really tweaking it with my amp and found some tones i'm happy with.

Very simple design
it's got a choice spot on the pedal board

I play a wide variety of music on electric guitar. i was looking for a way to add several more lead sounds to my rig with one pedal. this looked like the best bang for the buck and i think it still is. Its three pedals for the price of one.

it does what i wanted - light warm distortion and bright open chord distortion....the metal sounds are not very good with this pedal.

You can't get much easier. Almost any setting can provide a usable tone, and the controls are calibrated nicely, not too sensitive but offering plenty of range. Aside from an occasional difficulty with volume control, I rarely find myself adjusting knobs hair by hair.

Speaking of volume, the one "problem" is that changing any of the controls requires adjusting the level to match volume. It would be nice if the device could autolevel. Yes, I know that's borderline impossible, but I'll knock off a point for it anyway.

The three-patch memory system is bee-yoo-tiful. It's a lot nicer than constantly fiddling with knobs, or sacrificing analog tone to have the memory of a digital modeler. Still, it doesn't have the nigh-unlimited memory of its big brother, the PSA-1, so I'll knock off another point.

The sound is great, all-analog stuff: rich, organic, and responsive. It really does wonders for even clean tones, adding subtle warmth and size without turning the sound muddy. The distortions are rich and full, and are flexible enough to find a home in any genre of music. However, unless they've got super-hot guitars, metalheads will find this to be a poor primary distortion (too weak), but a wonderful preamp/boost/coloring unit. Also, jazz/blues people may find it too harsh to use as a DI (though it may go beautifully with an amp).

That said, it doesn't sound a whole lot like the amps it supposedly models. It's got a very unique flavor to it, so if you're looking to imitate someone else's tone, you're probably out of luck.

A quick note on which speakers/amps to use: the TriAC softens tone and adds color, so those with muddier guitars and amps may find that they need to swap their amp for hi-fi speakers. In my case, I alternate between hi-fi speakers and my amp, depending on what kind of tone I'm aiming for.

Here's my typical signal path (I got tired of complexity): Kramer Focus guitar or Ibanez BTB505 bass -> TriAC -> Sansamp Programmable Bass Driver -> KRK V4 nearfield monitors and Fender Frontman 25B bass amp. I've found that the Bass Driver can add great oomph and bite on occasion, a discovery fomented by the fact that I'm primarily a bass player.

To explain the Focus and the Frontman, I got very lucky with both and got the best of both models. I've yet to find a guitar under $500 that sounds better than my Focus (quieter and easier to play, sure, but not better-sounding) and an amp for guitar or bass under $1000 that sounds better than my Frontman (louder and more fully-featured yes, but not better-sounding). Yes, I've looked. I'm recovering from an absolutely ghastly case of GAS.

It's surprisingly light, but it seems rock solid. I'd definitely gig without backup, but I'm pretty easy on my gear so YMMV.

Never used 'em.

IMO, there are basically only two excuses not to own one of these: the Sansamp PSA-1, or a $1000+ of boutique distortion pedals. I mean, what's not to like? The TriAC is as easy to use as your average Boss stompbox, is flexible and programmable like a digital unit, and yet has pure, analog tone that sounds as good or better than any boutique distortion pedal in the same price range.

It's not perfect, sure, but it's pretty darn close.