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drkorey « Very nice tones »
Published on 08/17/11 at 09:31The Tech 21 SansAmp GT2 is an analog guitar effects pedal. Kind of the first modeler before there was digital.
The SansAmp GT2 is a direct-in or preamp-in tube amplifier emulator. Basically, that means this product helps the user reproduce that warm, natural sound of a tube amp, all while allowing the tonal personality of the instrument to remain unaltered. To go a step further, the GT2 doesn't just emulate a "generic" tube sound, but instead can be adjusted to emulate the tones of some of the worlds greatest tube amps like Fender, Marshall, and Mesa/Boogie. And the best part is that getting these great tones is easy.
The pedal is analog so it directly cannot be edited with a computer. It has a regular 1/4" jack in and out and a 9v adapter in.
UTILIZATION
It is easy to get a great sound.
The SansAmp GT2 has 4 guide knobs and 3 "Character" switches. The "Drive" knob controls the overall amount of gain and overdrive. The "High" and "Low" knobs are active tone controls. As the manual states, boosting Low and High compensates for the limited range of speaker cabinets and combos. The "Level" knob adjusts the output level without altering any of the tonal characteristics.
There are 3 "Amp" switch settings located on the SansAmp GT2 and each one represents a different style of amplifier. The "Tweed," "British," and "California," represent the Fender-style, Marshall-style, and Mesa/Boogie-style, respectively. The "Mod" switch is used to influence the gain of the Amp-style selected. Clean" resembles a stock tube amp set up, while "Hi-Gain" and "Hot-Wired" push out a more overdriven sound. The last of the character switches is the "Mic" switch. Here the "Classic" setting increases the mid-range and gives greater definition to the notes. The manual recommends this for classic early tube amp sounds and for live applications. The "Center" setting gives greater high mid-range and increased low end, and is recommended for getting a bigger, stronger crunch sound. And the "Off-Axis" setting is similar to the Center setting, but produces a smoother sound with less upper mid-range.
The manual is clear and sufficient.
SOUND QUALITY
The sound quality is very good. There are many options available for it being analog.
I have used it live with guitars and have recorded guitars and bass with it.
The bass recorded and the hi-gain Boogie tones are my favorites and it does pretty good cleans, too.
I didn't like the Marshall tones too much- just sounded a bit thin to me.
OVERALL OPINION
For what this is and what it did before there was a lot of digital modeling, it is a nice piece of equipment. I like the recorded bass and hi gain Boogie sounds the most.
Value for the money is good and they can still be bought used for a good price if you want to experiment.
I think these pedals work best with direct recording and can be used live if you really need to.
I did not try other models before getting this - there weren't too many options back then.
I would make the same choice back then - but now there are so many options for this type of thing like Line6 and Fractal - I would explore the alternatives. So I'll give it an 8 for what it was back in the day and a 5 for this era.
The SansAmp GT2 is a direct-in or preamp-in tube amplifier emulator. Basically, that means this product helps the user reproduce that warm, natural sound of a tube amp, all while allowing the tonal personality of the instrument to remain unaltered. To go a step further, the GT2 doesn't just emulate a "generic" tube sound, but instead can be adjusted to emulate the tones of some of the worlds greatest tube amps like Fender, Marshall, and Mesa/Boogie. And the best part is that getting these great tones is easy.
The pedal is analog so it directly cannot be edited with a computer. It has a regular 1/4" jack in and out and a 9v adapter in.
UTILIZATION
It is easy to get a great sound.
The SansAmp GT2 has 4 guide knobs and 3 "Character" switches. The "Drive" knob controls the overall amount of gain and overdrive. The "High" and "Low" knobs are active tone controls. As the manual states, boosting Low and High compensates for the limited range of speaker cabinets and combos. The "Level" knob adjusts the output level without altering any of the tonal characteristics.
There are 3 "Amp" switch settings located on the SansAmp GT2 and each one represents a different style of amplifier. The "Tweed," "British," and "California," represent the Fender-style, Marshall-style, and Mesa/Boogie-style, respectively. The "Mod" switch is used to influence the gain of the Amp-style selected. Clean" resembles a stock tube amp set up, while "Hi-Gain" and "Hot-Wired" push out a more overdriven sound. The last of the character switches is the "Mic" switch. Here the "Classic" setting increases the mid-range and gives greater definition to the notes. The manual recommends this for classic early tube amp sounds and for live applications. The "Center" setting gives greater high mid-range and increased low end, and is recommended for getting a bigger, stronger crunch sound. And the "Off-Axis" setting is similar to the Center setting, but produces a smoother sound with less upper mid-range.
The manual is clear and sufficient.
SOUND QUALITY
The sound quality is very good. There are many options available for it being analog.
I have used it live with guitars and have recorded guitars and bass with it.
The bass recorded and the hi-gain Boogie tones are my favorites and it does pretty good cleans, too.
I didn't like the Marshall tones too much- just sounded a bit thin to me.
OVERALL OPINION
For what this is and what it did before there was a lot of digital modeling, it is a nice piece of equipment. I like the recorded bass and hi gain Boogie sounds the most.
Value for the money is good and they can still be bought used for a good price if you want to experiment.
I think these pedals work best with direct recording and can be used live if you really need to.
I did not try other models before getting this - there weren't too many options back then.
I would make the same choice back then - but now there are so many options for this type of thing like Line6 and Fractal - I would explore the alternatives. So I'll give it an 8 for what it was back in the day and a 5 for this era.