Sound Clinic Climax S3

Tube preamp (with AEG Telefunken ECC83 lamps 8) hand made by a German company, Sound Clinic (which has produced 50 models, it seems).
4 channels: clean, crunch, lead and mute (for the tuner).
The three channels each have gain knobs, bass, mid, treble, volume. The clean has a bright switch, the other 2 each have a boost switch. A master fader governs all.
The preamp has a standby, in addition to ON, a soft demarage (which is not very common).
There is a classic IN jack and another format: XLR (XLR output with guitar?).
At the rear, two mono outputs (balanced outputs landless), stereo effects loop with volume control for each (stereo returns and stereo outputs), a tuner output, 2 input jack switch to switch to noon (or switch to connect two classic which case, move from one channel to another) and finally a 7-pin XLR input for the foot controller 4 channels.

UTILIZATION

The possible settings are quite fabulous, actually changes its effective single shot potentiometer.
In short, a delight, from jazz to most monstrous metal (if using a power amp just typed metal: VHT, or other).
The boost switch on the canals of saturation are incredibly efficient, the sound is incredible.
In short, sounds out of this world.

SOUNDS

On a clean Fender Twin sound, mixed with his Hiwatt (the clean sound is closer to that of a HIWATT that the fender clean sound).
The crunch is the best overdrive I've ever heard, then we can not believe it, simply magical (Marshall's typed, rough at will, the grain is superb).
The lead is slightly more saturated than the crunch, more fuzzy, too. Sound like a mix between a Marshall and his EXCELLENT big sound at the Mesa, Soldano.
It has almost no background noise even with high gain.
The tension in the lamps is done demarage sweet.
I did it find any problems of ground loops (even in the halls or installing electric is not top).
With this preamp, you enter the big preamps of the same category as the Bogner Fish (250 models were produced at about the same period as the climax), or the more traditional CAE3 +.
I can not compare with the Bogner I've never had on hand (sniff), but comparing with the EAC, on the whole, he is facing, but really without shame (despite color, lol) .
I was a little surprised that he does it this way there with such brilliance, already seen the quality of the CAE.

The design he is not the same: the lamps in addition, the standby, the loop stereo, etc..
All this and more is not really necessary (though?), But I find the sound of the climax almost more interesting to my taste than the EAC and also in feature: the stereo effects loop, the boost switch on channel saturation, the potentiometer master general, there is not the CAE (this can help change the general volume of the three channels at the same time).
For me, I prefer the sounds of climax, compared to those of the CAE.
The clean is classy, ​​the crunch will take the body, and a substantial headroom, and his lead is couillu and interesting, going more in the mix, as the CAE.

OVERALL OPINION

It is a preamp entirely by hand, quality exeptionnelle: transformer (never seen one like this on a preamp), AEG Telefunken lamps (the very, very good), ect.
All interior components are of high quality.
This preamp is surprisingly little known (even the pros of the profession).
The sound is great, its amazing possibilities, really a product of exceptional quality, with its direct and straightforward, easy to use, it is easy to find sounds EXCELLENT, which will transport you, felt.

This kind of product is usually reserved only for top pros (and therefore should never have to part with it).
As all that is rare and too misunderstood, difficult to get a score with his actual contribution to the quality market OCCAZ (especially compared to the fish, or EAC).


Ps: To those who would also have the preamp (or resembling), there is a little trick to transform 3-channel 4 (see above).

Just insert another preamp send in one of the effects loop and out for the tuner.
Thus, it is possible to choose between the three sounds of climax and the sound of preamp inserted either with 4 channels of the pedals climax (the mute switch controlling the preamp included) or with 2 input jack (to enter switchage noon with my old Nobels 8 ms, for example).

You can have more than 4 sounds if the other preamp has several channels, too.

By inserting another preamp (Soldano sp-77, etc.), we can add a crunch channel is very light, and thus keep its very clear on the clean channel of the climax (which could also have a boost pedal od the clean sound).
I sincerely advise to use the crunch channel and lead the climax wholesale distorted sounds, due to their different sounds.

We can also add a channel to lead extreme, if you search a very large compressed above its lead (for a fan of modern metal), with a preamp for this type of sound (mids with active parameters, a well cold sharp, smooth and expressionless!).
The Crazy MIDI, with their music, as my grandmother would have said.