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Topic: New Tube Preamp Alert |
Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2009 12:19 pm |
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Coming this spring....
The SMS Classic Tube Preamp.
There has been a lot of demand for a single space, rack-mounted preamp that doesn't have all the bells and whistles of my Revelation and Tonic preamps. This new one is going to be very much like a Twin in a box. No buffers, loops, vari-z's, color knobs, etc. Just pure and simple like the face plate of an old Sho-Bud or Twin Reverb amp. Gain, bright switch (with a dark setting), treble, mid, bass, and reverb. That's it. Mono output, no XLR, nothing. Super simple, all tube signal path, bare bones tone. Built in digital reverb just like the Tonic has.
The parts are being fabricated as I type, and I hope to have them avialable in March if all goes well. I expect to have a demo visible in the Jackson room down in Dallas installed in one of TC Furlong's combo cab's.
I haven't done a full cost analysis yet, so I don't have a price, but I'm hoping to make this one priced around or hopefully less than the Tonic. I'll keep you updated. This preamp is NOT yet on our website.
It'll be a brushed silver aluminum faceplate, 19" wide rackmount, single spaced unit.
Thanks,
Brad |
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Jerry Roller
From:
Van Buren, Arkansas USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2009 1:49 pm
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 It's always good when Brad does something.
Jerry |
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Mike Poholsky
From:
Kansas, USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2009 8:45 pm
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SWEET! Sounds like a road trip to STL.
_________________
Zumsteel 12 Universal
SGBB
ShoBud VP
'64 Fender Twin Reverb/Fox Rehab
Fender Steel King w/BW 1501-4
FX to Taste |
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Pat Carlson
From:
Sutton, Nebraska, R.I.P.
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Posted 2 Feb 2009 10:19 pm
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I have always wished that my Black Box would fit in a single rack space! I may have to upgrade!
_________________
The Lone Prairie Steeler Pat |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 3 Feb 2009 8:07 am
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Hi Brad:
What is the depth dimension of the unit?
Regards,
Lenny |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 3 Feb 2009 11:46 am
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Lenny,
it's a standard single space unit, 19 wide. The faceplate and rack ears are one flat piece. The depth is right about 8". Weight about 5lbs. All aluminum. International power, 2-12AX7's.
Brad |
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Dominic Macrone
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 4 Feb 2009 3:38 am
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| Brad - this sounds like a great product, and I was one of those folks looking for a rack mount pre for my acoustic / electric guitar setup. I did just find a Revelation used and it is on the way. So, I am set for a while! |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 4 Feb 2009 6:05 am
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"Even my bright switch has a dark side,
and my blues are all cloudy all day"...
...hey Sarno - need a theme song? 
Reasonable rates, quick service, and I can even rhyme "capacitor"....
(is the bright switch dark, or is it just a dark bright?)  |
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Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Posted 4 Feb 2009 9:21 pm
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| Hey Brad, another question, will the new preamp have a tuner out jack as the Rev and Tonic? |
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KENNY KRUPNICK
From:
Columbus, Ohio
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Posted 4 Feb 2009 9:49 pm
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That would sound great in stereo coming thru two Nashville 112"s  |
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John Groover McDuffie
From:
LA California, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2009 9:56 am
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| So it sounds like this will be similar in concept to the Alembic F2B...? but with reverb! |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2009 2:14 pm
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John,
I'm trying to fill a gap that the Alembic F2-B leaves open. The Alembic is a killer 2-stage preamp, great build quality, super smart and cool people making it. But it's a clone of the "Normal" channel from a Fender. My preamp will be an upgraded emulation of the "Reverb" channel with the top end sparkle boost, and the 3rd makeup gain stage, and of course, the reverb. Plus we're making a quieter power supply with DC for the heaters. But yes, definitely in the same family of classic Fender inspired devices.
I find that most people use the Reverb channel on a real Fender, even if the reverb is off. That sparkly top end and the added "tubeyness" from having a 3rd stage just seems to sound more exciting.
Brad |
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John Groover McDuffie
From:
LA California, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2009 2:48 pm
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Wow, I never thought about the Reverb channel having an extra top-end boost because the 1st 2 stages and the tone stacks are the same on both channels. I guess it's in the reverb mixer stage. Very interesting.
I like my F2B but if I could get a 1-space unit that included Reverb that would be slick! |
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Gary Steele
From:
Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Posted 6 Feb 2009 6:02 pm New Pre-amp
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I have another new steel coming so i may think of two of these and another MPX-1 with my two T.C. Furlong cabs and have a system for home and one for the Church and to go to the Studio. Brad this sounds great. I had a new Gretch Nashville Steel amp years ago and like the simple Pre-Amp on it.
Good Deal.
Gary Steele |
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Jack Stanton
From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
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Posted 6 Feb 2009 6:09 pm
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Brad,
Throw in a presence knob and a basic effects loop, and I'm there.
(I do love my Black Box!) |
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Mitch Druckman
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 7 Feb 2009 9:06 am
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| Would you go into some detail about the built-in reverb. Digital reverbs are all so different. Is it like an RV-5 or Holy Grail? |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 7 Feb 2009 10:31 am
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| John Groover McDuffie wrote: |
| Wow, I never thought about the Reverb channel having an extra top-end boost because the 1st 2 stages and the tone stacks are the same on both channels. I guess it's in the reverb mixer stage. Very interesting. |
John,
exactly. It's right there before the 3rd tube stage where the reverb and dry mix together. Fenders use a 3.3Meg resistor with a 10pf cap across it. This creates a bit of a sparkle on top that you just don't hear on the "normal" channel. Plus the 3rd stage brings in yet a whole added set of rich harmonics.
Mitch,
the reverb is the same as what I put in the Tonic. It's a high quality digital medium/large hall reverb algorithm. I find it much more realistic and high resolution than what's in an RV-5. Maybe closer to the Holy Grail's Hall sound, but still a different flavor. It's set at a fixed decay time of just under 3 seconds, and is a nice, all round, steel-friendly reverb with pretty realistic depth and resolution.
Jack,
no effects loops for this preamp. That's what the Tonic and Rev are for. This one is for ultra old-school setups. You could always run the output of this pre to an effects unit, but the loop thing proves to be a bit complex since I like to use "parallel" loops. This makes it tricky for some to configure their effects units properly. As far as a presence control, well this one does have a bright switch, but no variable control for the ultra high frequencies.
Gary,
you know where to find me. 
Brad |
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Gary Steele
From:
Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2009 8:27 pm Preamp
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Brad, Would the MPX-1 Work good with this new unit?
Thanks,
Gary Steele |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 14 Feb 2009 1:03 pm
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| John G MrD. took the words right out of my mouth ....An Alembic with reverb ...I haven't had the chance to hear the reverb on the Tonic , but I like the idea of having reverb, and the layout of the "Reverb" channel on the new pre ... Pure tone coming from a simple pre ...Yeah , that's the ticket ....I'm liking the sound of this new pre already !!...... Jim |
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Danny Naccarato
From:
Burleson, Texas
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Posted 15 Feb 2009 7:13 pm
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Brad,
Will this have a wall wart?
Danny |
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Tommy Shown
From:
Denham Springs, La.
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Posted 15 Feb 2009 7:20 pm
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Brad,
Sounds great,but would work with the Stereo Steel system? I have a Studio Quaud effects rack with it. And I would like to hook it all together.Tommy |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 4:19 am
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Brad,
As minimal as you are going to keep this pre, please at least add a balanced canon combo output that will allow either +4 or -10 .......It will only need one as I am asuming that this will be a mono pre .....Thanks, Jim |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 8:22 am
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Danny,
this will not have a wall wart. It's got a real-deal 320V power supply that will run the tubes at real vintage Fender voltages. Also the heater supply is DC for low hum, plus there's a supply for the reverb. It uses a typical IEC AC power cord, just like a computer or typical rack gear.
Tommy,
I the Stereo Steel is a great unit. If you're wanting to add a bit of the tube sound to that rig, you may be better off using a Black Box and also using the whole Stereo Steel rig.
James,
I may consider offering the line level balanced XLR output option at some point, but it would be a custom job. So yes, that is feasable. I don't know if they make combo jacks for outputs. I thought they only made input "female XLR" combo jacks. But it's easy enough to just add a plain ol' XLR jack.
Brad |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 8:57 am
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Brad,
Yeah, that would work ....An XLR of even a 1/4 inch R/T/S setup ....Either one would have to be balanced for me to record or to play out with, or go to the studio with ....So you don't plan on making the output balanced on the standard units ? .....Thanks, Jim |
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 1:56 pm
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Jim,
no balanced output for the standard models. Trying to keep it pure and simple and affordable. The good, mu-can shielded transformers for balanced outputs are expensive. But I'll consider it for a custom option. T/R/S would be easy too.
There are a number of preamps that simply take the hi-z output off the last tube (thru a cap) straight to a 1/4" unbalanced output jack. The Alembic and Boogie pre's are like this, to name a couple. When feeding a relatively short cord to a typical power amp, this type of connection typically doesn't present any problems.
Brad |
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