gear giveaway

Preamp Pedals

Blue Colander GT420 – Pre/Power Amp Distortion

Blue Colander Stompboxes is a Poland-based builder of guitar pedals. Their GT420 is presented as an "emulation of some desirable vintage amp that’s actually never existed," which is somewhat refreshing. It features a Rangemaster-style boost (left side) followed by a two gain stages distortion circuit: the first one is a…Click on the title for more

Blue Colander GT420 – Pre/Power Amp Distortion

Sunnaudio NU-1 Nucleus Two-Channel Preamp/Overdrive

The Sunnaudio NU-1 Nucleus is an elegantly designed, compact and versatile boost/overdrive featuring a two-gain channel circuit. The different gain stages have different levels (Hi/Lo) but can also be controlled through separate knobs and toggled through the HI/LO Gain footswitch. LO gain setting ranges from crystal clear to overdrive while…Click on the title for more

Sunnaudio NU-1 Nucleus Two-Channel Preamp/Overdrive

Pepers Pedals Dirty Tree Boost, a Secret Metal Weapon

Beginner metalheads who wonder if there's any point in buying a boost pedal may want to check out what heavy players in the videos below have to say about the Pepers Pedals Dirty Tree Boost, a pedal hailing from New Zealand that seems to have resonated with the community of…Click on the title for more

Pepers Pedals Dirty Tree Boost, a Secret Metal Weapon

Sunnaudio Rabbithead RH-1 Preamp/Dual Overdrive

The Sunnaudio Rabbithead RH-1 is an analog, transformerless Preamp/Dual Overdrive accepting both instrument and line in signal and providing an exhaustive array of controls to fine-tune your tone. It's also a speaker simulator with two 1/4” outputs, one of which is a balanced speaker sim output. The preamp section features…Click on the title for more

Sunnaudio Rabbithead RH-1 Preamp/Dual Overdrive

Harley Benton Custom Line Thunder 99 50W Stereo Amp

Those of you looking for a compact, stereo (!!) pedal that can replace your amp head (!!!) should take a look at the Harley Benton Custom Line Thunder 99. This tiny thing delivers not one but two channels of 50 Watts of power at 4 Ohms via two 1/4” jack…Click on the title for more

Harley Benton Custom Line Thunder 99 50W Stereo Amp

Victory The Kraken V4 Preamp Pedal

Those in need of a helluva portable, two-channel tube preamp for heavy tones might have found what they were looking for in the Victory Amplification The Kraken V4, a device developed in collaboration with UK's one and only Rabea Massaad and created with heavy, progressive and extended-range overdrive tones in…Click on the title for more

Victory The Kraken V4 Preamp Pedal

Aclam Windmiller Preamp (Grampian’s Type 636 Reverb Emulation)

In 2019, Spanish boutique pedal builder Aclam surprised many with the release of the Dr. Robert Overdrive, a pedal inspired by the Normal channel of the Vox UL730, dear to the Beatles. At Believe in Music 2021 (the virtual event that's replacing NAMM due to the COVID-19 pandemic) the company…Click on the title for more

Aclam Windmiller Preamp (Grampian’s Type 636 Reverb Emulation)

Thermion Zero Stereo Pedal Amp

Henning at EytschPi42 is freaking out about the Zero pedal amp by Spanish company Thermion. While major pedal companies are busy trying to reduce the size of pedal amps to the compact stompbox format (i.e. the size of a regular BOSS pedal), Thermion has taken a different approach, focusing on…Click on the title for more

Thermion Zero Stereo Pedal Amp

Nocturne JR Barnyard Pre-War Hot Preamp V2

From San Diego, CA, hails Nocturne, a family company that hand-builds pedals, amps and preamps led by a self-described "ol' American rockabilly boy true to old school heritage ." The JR Barnyard is their take on the vintage 1930's-40s octal tube amp circuit found in early Gibson and Dickerson amps…Click on the title for more

Nocturne JR Barnyard Pre-War Hot Preamp V2

Whimsy Machines Short Stack Preamp

The Whimsy Machines | Short Stack is a lot more than meets the eye: it's a Preamp/Boost that provides guitarists with a lot of options to reach that fleeting tone they hear in their heads. The four knobs already provide three stages of gain (Volume, Level and Gain, which is the…Click on the title for more

Whimsy Machines Short Stack Preamp

Strymon Iridium Amp & IR Cab

One may say that black is the color favored by rockers. Although the Flint gets close to it with a very dark gray, a truly black pedal was missing from the collection of Strymon devices until today, the day the Californian company unveiled its first Amp and Cab emulation stompbox,…Click on the title for more

Strymon Iridium Amp & IR Cab

Chase Bliss Automatone Preamp MKII

When Joel Korte of Chase Bliss Audio touched down in Portland, Oregon and began peppering his Instagram feed with pictures of him noshing with Chris Benson of Benson amps, there was much speculation to be had. That speculation manifested at 2019’s NAMM show with the Preamp MKII, a slider-equipped brushed…Click on the title for more

Chase Bliss Automatone Preamp MKII