Amt Electronics SS-11 Guitar Preamp

Not to often do I get this excited about a piece of gear. This unit is one of the best things that is out on the market today. It is a preamp that is basically three channels of tube goodness. This is the best offering that AMT has ever done. I love AMT units and they are so simple and easy to play with. Plus they sound so natural and authentic and the price is always affordable.

Features of SS-11 Design:
- Fully tube-based 4 stage overdrive channel with DUAL TUBE design (2x12AH7 tubes) with high-voltage anode voltage (+300 V).
- Three separate channels: CLEAN / OVERDRIVE / LEAD
- Individual gain sensitivity and output level controls for clean and crunch/lead channels.
- TREBLE SHIFT toggle switch to enter bright mode for that added punch of high end.
- FX LOOP for external effects.
- OUTPUT jack for connecting to both specialized guitar amplifiers with a standard level of 0 dB (GUITAR AMP mode) and a CAB SIM MIXER out with a standard level of -10dB and a guitar cabinet simulation.
- The preamp outputs are equipped with sophisticated solid-state buffers.
- SS-11 incorporates new field-effect transistor-based guitar cabinet impulse response emulator processing. Improved naturalness of sound when connected to line input.
- Special attention was paid to transistors anode power quality: preamp uses a specially designed high-voltage transformer minimizing the penetration of impulse noises into amplified signal.

UTILIZATION

Specifications:
- Tubes: 12AH7 x 2
- Input Impedance Rear Panel: 1MOhm
- Input Sensitivity Rear Panel: -10dB
- Output Impedance: 10kOhm
- Power Voltage: 12vDC (-)center
- Power Consumption: 600mA or .6A

This thing looks intimidating but it really is functionally easy to learn and figure out. The size of it is so impressive. It is basically about the size of a Boss pedal and with the features this thing has is amazing!

SOUNDS

The sound from this pedal is amazing. It really sound as authentic as you can get with out being a full blown amp combo or head. Plugging into a mixing console is so easy and simple that makes traveling to a gig a pleasure. This is a unit that you can throw in your bag and go off to a gig without bring your half stacks. Plus the addition of having an effects loop you can plug your modulation an delays into makes it functionally splendid. All the channel sounds good and very usable. There isn't one tone that it does and the rest of it isn't usable. The entire pedal is usable and worth the money.

OVERALL OPINION

I would recommend this pedal to any gigging musician that need a back up amp or something where sound could be an issue and you need to go direct into a mixing console or house sound PA system. At around $400 for a new one this thing is a steal. I will own one for just simplistic purposes if I ever need something quick and easy on the go. Great for places where you need to kill the stage volume or recording purposes.

Preamp tubes "3" cannaux. I have version B equipped Tung Sol.
- Clean one: there is a volume, three usual corrections (Bass / Mid / Treble) and a gain.
- One that is shared DRIVE settings CRUNCH and LEAD 2 modes, namely a volume and three corrections of common tones, and an independent gain control for each channel. We also note a 3-position switch to naming "GAIN CR. "These are three variants of pre-equalization CRUNCH mode.
Input and output jack 6.35mm (a switch selects the destination of the signal OUTPUT: To Amp or To Mix with cabinet emulation), an effects loop (SEND and RETURN) on the upper edge of the box.

UTILIZATION

Preamp classic design, with the disadvantages associated with crunch and lead channels that share a common equalizer ... never open the manual ... When to get a good sound, it's made for it, but beware it is not a plug & play system, you must spend some time searching ... and hacking ...

SOUNDS

No particular style of music, I just beaoin versatility and versatility ... Use only in a home studio.
Attention AMT SS11 has a relatively modern color, and the color is right for you, or it will look for something else ... In addition, in my case, it does not react very well with some of my guitars mounted P90 or single coil powerful (eko manta and a strat in hot texas tornado ms pickups), too much treble and midrange treble not very pretty and difficult to manage.
With proper guitar, the strong point for me, it is clean and light crunch, very clear, precise and articulated immediately present in the mix without spending hours to equalize the sound ... a fairly neutral color (or modern ...) but results in a very effective home studio. I have not got me to lead channel that I find too modern and too cold for my taste. For this kind of sound, I have a Koch ... But this preamp is very well react humbuckers of jeuns to very high output allowed four octave below ... This amplifier accepts pedals very well upstream or in the loop, but always with this pretty modern color.

OVERALL OPINION

A very good product for home recording, efficient, quick to pick up and easy to place in a mix. What I like the most, its neutrality and efficiency, that I like the least, neutrality ....
He just pay a second youth in me, I now use the Direct output to amp input of a power amp section (in 12AT7) a Koch Pedaltone, and there is happiness for me . I keep accurate sound, but a little more modern roots and fat (especially in crunch), adding that whatever brings heat to the poweramp of Koch. The is perfect for my use.
The value for money is good for the gear of this quality. If you play with a Vigier or go for a music man petrucci, this stuff is for you, if you play with a LP Junior or Firebird (it is rather my case ...), I advise you all of the same try before ...
I'm not going anymore. This is not my main preamp, but whenever I use it, it does the job very well, quickly and without headaches ...

Hybrid preamp, transistors and lamps (2x12AX7) in a pedal format.
Three channels, clean, crunch, lead.
Three classic EQ bands.
Separate EQ for clean, common to channels crunch / lead but gain settings, volume and tone boost separate EQ for each channel.
A return effect.
A switch to turn the HP simulation output.

What is missing to be perfect?
- A master volume
- A separate channel for crunch / lead EQ
- A separate simulation output HP

UTILIZATION

configuration is not a problem, it's a classic preamp

The manual ... what manual? No seriously ... no need, it is not a multi-purpose fifteen billion settings, adjustments are made very quickly.

His side ... Are we easily get a good sound? A good sound ... yes ... the sound you want ... not

Two minor drawbacks ...
1) the output level of the pedal goes from nothing to very strong from the start ...
2) the volume of each channel affects the level of the effects loop, it is necessary to review all the effects of dynamic type settings (compression, dynamic delay) if the volume of the channel is changed.

Finally, if you want to use it properly it is necessary to add him in one way or another something to act as a "Master Volume" to exit to solve these problems.

SOUNDS

His side ...

CLEAN

The clean ... TOP ... not much more to say, depending on the gain was very clean Fender, or you can go to the very beginning of crunchy / bluesy ... there really ... a success.

CRUNCH

Dynamics, harmonics and saturation quite significant with microphones having a good level of output (of Tom Anderson for me).

A very beautiful crunch + ...

I'm going to nitpick ... it's been over thirty I'm looking for the GRAIL preamp easily transportable ... so I tried the machines ...

Despite the tone controls it is difficult ... not actually impossible to get a typed his Hard Rock 80s

Funny thing, when we reduced the gain, the mids become ultra imbalance present and in my opinion the sound.

In overall it's still the very very good and certainly what I tried there best in this format.

LEAD

There for me this is a disappointment, we feel the compression diodes, but has lost momentum (not unusual as it is much more compressed) but also the entire harmonic richness ... sniff

In the end my ears it sounds like channel more compressed hands less saturated than the Crunch ...


HP SIMU

For my part I found it quite good and usable on clean and crunch channels. Much better than the simulation of POD types.
The lead part ... it clearly reveals the defects of channel ...

In short
CLEAN + + +
CRUNCH + +
LEAD -

OVERALL OPINION

Interest: Paradoxical

To my taste (all this is subjective) far beyond what I tried better in this format there to clean and crunch better than blackstar particular.

I had two left in the first feedback on the lead channel at all costs, so back to the sender, the second did not have the same power, the "A" no longer appeared in the No. series.

Consistency does not seem to be the watchword of the production of AMT

In the end, I have long hesitated to keep, I think it would have been two crunch channels with gain and volume separated, I would have. But it's very typical (too much for my taste) and the Hard Rock 80 lead channel disappointing ...

Not for me ...