Chasing that warm, saturated, and beautifully imperfect tape sound? The Color Audio Cassette Preamp distills the soul of a vintage Japanese cassette recorder (reportedly, the Porta 2) into a rugged, tour-ready pedal. This isn’t just an emulation—it’s a part-for-part reproduction of the original circuit, right down to the prized NJM2068 and M5218 op-amps, delivering that unapologetically raw character in a modern, reliable package.
Plug your guitar or bass directly in, and the Cassette Preamp becomes an incredibly versatile tone-shaping tool. It can produce:
- Slightly compressed, clean tones perfect for adding warmth and presence
- Dynamic, gritty overdrive that cleans up beautifully with your volume knob
- Fully blown-out fuzz ideal for bass or shoegaze textures
If you’ve been captivated by the lo-fi aesthetic of artists like Mk.gee—who famously uses Tascam tape gear—this pedal nails that vibe. As one user on a forum noted after seeing Mk.gee live: “I’m using it directly into my amp… and it does the Tascam Mk.gee thing that’s popular right now extremely well.”
Built for the long haul with Neutrik jacks, Alpha pots, and soft-touch relay switching, the Cassette Preamp is equally at home on a pedalboard or in the studio. Whether you’re running it direct for authentic tape-style saturation or pushing your amp into lo-fi breakup, this pedal offers a uniquely musical character that’s hard to find anywhere else.
