SeriesTech 21 Character Series

This is an analog pedal, a pre-amp that seeks to emulate the Marshall sounds of old. There is simply a 1/4" input and output, as well as a D.C. adaptor input. This is different from most pre-amps in that it is a pedal, and can only be used when the switch is depressed. UTILIZATION Getting a nice sound out of this isn't too difficult. I've found that it's a pretty easy device to use once you've found your sound. There are six knobs on this pedal. Level, Low, Mid, Hi, Character, and Drive. Other than character, they are all pretty self-explanatory. The character knob is interesting, I have never seen that name applied to this effect, nor have I heard a pedal with this kind of adjustment. A salesman explained it to me this way; the pedal sounds more "modern" the more you increase the character knob. More on this in a minute. The user manual is very helpful and is refreshing, since it actually is written in a natural, conversational way. SOUND QUALITY I have tried this pedal with a few guitars, and I've actually found that my Favorite combo is with a Fender Twin and Les Paul. This is because the pedal is supposed to emulate Marshall sounds, and it just sounds strange when using an actual Marshall. I liked the pedal for what it was, but I found that I was a bit disappointed with it overall. For one, adjusting between sounds is tough, because simply adjusting the gain or lo/hi knobs would seem to always require adjusting the character knob as well. Also, I don't really like the later Marshall sounds very much, so the higher character settings didn't really work for me. Considering that it did rob me a bit of my Fender Twin sound that I love so much. Basically, this thing is cool but only if you really need a bunch of different sounding Marshalls, without actually buying them. OVERALL OPINION I like the range of sounds you can get with this thing, but I find mostly that it is really just a cheap Marshall knock-off. If you need that sound for a few things (like a one-off gig or two) but don't feel the need to actually buy a Marshall, by all means look into it. However, most of the time you would prefer the real deal.

Tech 21 is known for their popular line of Sansamp rack mountable units. With the new technology of bass amplification out these days not many guys are using racks, yet rather smaller amp heads that still need a little kick in the pants in the preamp section that Tech 21 is known for delivering. My friend ended up not using his and let me borrow it to play out with my live rig to see if I dug it. New they cost right around $130. They are very popular right now and pretty tough to find in stock, if you are on the fence grab one, if it is not your cup of tea I am certain you can easily flip it for close to what you paid. It gets you into the ballpark of an Ampeg SVT tone for about $1000 and 100 pounds less! It can easily be powered by any 9 volt power supply. You can add just a little grit to simulate some tube breakup or you can this thing into full overdrive mode similar to an Electro Harmonix Big Muff. I was hoping for just a little more in the sub low end department. They can really make or break you if you are playing a room with big ceilings and concrete floors. I wish there was an XLR out on it. BTW I have seen mods for this, I just have not done it myself. A tough aluminum box, a red LED light to let you know if the pedal is on or off. The knobs starting from the top left and moving to the bottom right: Level, Mid, Character, Drive, Low and High. The finish of this is a nice powder coat, if kept well it should last a long time. A simple and effective way to spice up your bass tone. A great unit to toss in your gig bag in case you need to use a house amp, yet still keep the integrity of 'your tone' This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The character series from Tech 21 has really gone after some of the most highlighted amplifier manufacturers in the world. We have seen a Fender, Mesa Boogie, Vox, Marshall, and several updated version of the Liverpool and the Mesa Boogie. These amp manufacturers are probably the leaders as far as the most used and most recognizable amplifiers in the world. This particular pedal goes after the voicing s and tones of the famous Orange Amplifiers. These amps have a familiar British character to them but unique on their own. They have a tone that is closer to the Marshall amps and yet has been able to separate itself quiet well with their out of the box high gain amps. Most Marshall amps need to be modified to have the tones you heard in many records or the 70's 80's 90's and today. The Orange amps had that crunch straight from the factory much like the Hiwatts had. Still the tone of the Orange amps in distinct and unique on its own. UTILIZATION Tech 21 SansAmp Character Series Oxford Amplifier Emulation Pedal Features at a Glance: The classic tone of '70s era Brit-rock and psychedelic movement Creamy, Vintage 30-style 4x12 speaker emulation Speaker emulation defeat switch for use with a real amplifier Level and Drive controls act like a traditional, well-equipped amp's Active Low, Mid and High EQ controls let you dial in your sound Continuously-variable Character knob moves seamlessly between different voicings SOUND QUALITY This has to be one of my favorites of the character series from Tech 21. My favorite has to be the Mesa Boogie simulator which is called the US Steel or the California. The tone from this pedal is very rich and sounds extremely close to those Orange amps from the 70's. Well at least as close as you can get from a distortion pedal. I like this pedal with a Gibson Les Paul or another guitar with a humbucker pickup installed. I find that it reacts t the nature of the pedal better with the thicker double coiled pickups. OVERALL OPINION These pedals are great for going straight into a recording session as they suffer a bit in front of a tube amp. At new these pedals come in at around $169, which is a decent price for this pedal. I would recommend this pedal to those who want that creamy orange distortion tone and don't want to shell out $2000 for an Orange amp. This pedal will not sound like an Orange amp or have that feel of the tubes but the voicing is pretty close to the style and tone.