gear giveaway

Preamp Pedals

Updated Pedal: Hudson Electronics Broadcast AP-II

The Broadcast preamp pedal from UK builder Hudson Electronics has a stellar reputation and made several best-of lists when it came out a few years ago. The AP version of it, recently updated to the dual version, named Broadcast AP-II, is an evolution of the original design engineered in collaboration…Click on the title for more

Updated Pedal: Hudson Electronics Broadcast AP-II

Friedman IR-X Dual Tube Preamp

Built by a US company that knows a thing or two about amplification, the Friedman IR-X is a guitar preamp that, thanks in part to the two high-voltage 12AX7 tubes embedded in its circuit, faithfully captures the harmonic richness and touch responsiveness associated with full-sized Friedman amplifiers. Its two fully…Click on the title for more

Friedman IR-X Dual Tube Preamp

DSM and Humboldt Simplifier mkII Amp/Cab Simulator

The DSM and Humboldt Simplifier mkII is an update to a device manufactured by a team of two Chilean builders whose first version took the guitar world by storm back in 2020. An all-analog, great-sounding, stereo amp and cab simulator with an incredible amount of controls and options. Talking about…Click on the title for more

DSM and Humboldt Simplifier mkII Amp/Cab Simulator

Catalinbread Epoch Bias Preamp

The Catalinbread Epoch Bias is yet another circuit derived from what's arguably the company's most successful and consequential pedal to date, the Belle Epoch, an echo pedal inspired by the venerable vintage Echoplex EP-3 tape delay, a device renown not only for its effect, but also for the pleasing color…Click on the title for more

Catalinbread Epoch Bias Preamp

BOSS BP-1W Booster/Preamp

Many relevant electric guitarists from the "analog" years of rock and pop music used some early effect units not (or not exclusively) for their effects but also for the pleasing color and character of their preamps. The BOSS BP-1W Booster/Preamp encapsulates in a compact pedal the preamp qualities of two…Click on the title for more

BOSS BP-1W Booster/Preamp

Electronic Audio Epxeriments The Bard Preamp

The Electronic Audio Epxeriments The Bard Preamp pays homage to the Music Man HD130, a classic guitar amp known for its unique blend of a solid-state preamp and a tube power amp, delivering a rather unique tone. Capturing the soul of these iconic amps, The Bard takes you on a…Click on the title for more

Electronic Audio Epxeriments The Bard Preamp

Source Audio ZIO Analog Preamp/Boost

Boston's pedal builder Source Audio in the last few years has seemed intent in focusing on products that take the most purely "tonal" effects to the next level. After the EQ2, a programmable equalizer, comes Zio, a multi-voice analog preamp/boost designed in collaboration with Christopher Venter, the owner and sole…Click on the title for more

Source Audio ZIO Analog Preamp/Boost

Thermion Freeway Interface Amp

Amp and cab simulators in the shape of a pedal have been gaining momentum in the last decade, but we have never seen something quite like the Thermion Freeway, a tweaker's dream stereo preamp/USB interface/headphones amp with FX Loop and a 6-mode reverb! Looking like a Tech 21 SansAmp on…Click on the title for more

Thermion Freeway Interface Amp

Revelation Effects Revenant Preamp & Boost

The Revelation Effects Revenant is the first pedal by a Canadian company best known for its cables. It's a moderately tweakable, high-headroom preamp & boost circuit with a separate boost footswitch and a 3-band EQ. Working internally at 18v, the Revenant is designed to interact with your amp in order…Click on the title for more

Revelation Effects Revenant Preamp & Boost

Templo Devices REEL DEALuxe

Those among our readers who suffer from "tape nostalgia" should take a look at the the Templo Devices REEL DEALuxe, a dirt box that emulates the color and saturation imparted to the tone by reel to reel machines of yesteryear (or rather, yestercentury!). Tape still gets praised for its warmth…Click on the title for more

Templo Devices REEL DEALuxe

New Pedal: Two-notes Opus Cab Sim

Shaped exactly like their very successful C.A.B. M+, the Two-notes Opus takes things a little farther by offering amp simulation on top of DI/cab simulation capabilities, and an Impulse Response system that lets you recreate any real-life cabinet or combo amp you can put your hands on. Opus lets you…Click on the title for more

New Pedal: Two-notes Opus Cab Sim

DOD 250 Overdrive Preamp

The new DOD 250 is a faithful reissue of an evergreen classic first released in the early '70s by circuit designer David Oreste Defrancesco (aka, DOD) as an attempt to create a pedal that could deliver a range of tones from boost to slightly saturated to distorted, something few pedals…Click on the title for more

DOD 250 Overdrive Preamp