high gain rack preamp

[guidedbyechoes]

I'm looking for a high gain preamp in rack form. So far I found a engl 530 which is roughly 500 USD, is there some overlooked jem hidden out there that has a really nice clean and more gain than a rectifier? Used is not an issue but I would like at least 2 eq's I strongly dislike shared eq.

 

[n4p226r]

Originally posted by guidedbyechoes
a really nice clean and more gain than a rectifier?

is that possibly. i think the rectifier has more gain than anyone could possibly want or need no matter how heave your style is.

 

[big hair]

sounds like you need an ada mp2. It has crystal clean and then 80s thrash metal tones, nothing in between

 

[gtr777]

remember the Bogner Fish...that was a pretty slaming rack pre-amp for saturated tones.

 

[oxtone]

Have you tried the Marshall JMP-1? I have one, and it has plenty of gain for big rock tones.

 

[drbob1]

Morin made 15 very high gain preamps in the early 90s (George Lynch's 90s tone) that are all hand done. They sell in the $600 range if you can find one and have more than all the sustain you could ask for. BUT it's only high gain, you'd need to AB another pre for clean sounds/crunch sounds. It does have a lead boost gain.

Aside from that, you'd want to try the usual suspects-Vtwin, Marshall JMP1, ADA, Sansamp PSA1 to see which you liked best.

 

[rwe333]

VHT!

http://www.vhtamp.com/product-news/valvulator-gp3.html

 

[Baba]

Originally posted by wsaraceni
is that possibly. i think the rectifier has more gain than anyone could possibly want or need no matter how heave your style is.

As a Dual Rec user and having owned a PSA-1 preamp, I think the PSA-1 actually has more gain.

 

[p.snail]

Hughes and Kettner Access Preamp. One of the best sounding Pre's I've ever heard. I liked it better than the Triaxis and the VHT. Great Clean tones and awesome gain tones. If you can find one they are worth checking out. I have also heard some guys using PODXT Pro preamps and get awesome results as well. The Engl 580 is another fantastic preamp. There really is a lot to choose from.

 

[p.snail]

Oh yeah I almost forgot. The Randall RM4 Modular preamp is frickin' awesome too.

 

[Phil M]

My favorite is the Sansamp PSA-1. No tubes, but it sounds great. It's all analog, only the switching and saving of banks is digital. Wish I kept mine.

 

[raz]

Originally posted by guidedbyechoes
I'm looking for a high gain preamp in rack form. So far I found a engl 530 which is roughly 500 USD, is there some overlooked jem hidden out there that has a really nice clean and more gain than a rectifier? Used is not an issue but I would like at least 2 eq's I strongly dislike shared eq.

Peavey Rockmaster. Exactly what you describe. All tube, really nice clean, absolutely STOOPID amounts of gain, dual EQ's for 3 channels. The crunch and ultra channels share controls, but the clean has its own. Sub $200 used, and if you look hard you can find them for $100-120. Definitely an overlooked gem. One interesting thing about it is it has separate effects loops for all 3 channels and one master effects loop. Whole lot of options there.

The JMP-1 is okay for the gain, but it's cleans are average at best. Some folks really like the ADA MP-1, I really really don't.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

Originally posted by raz
Peavey Rockmaster. Exactly what you describe. All tube, really nice clean, absolutely STOOPID amounts of gain, dual EQ's for 3 channels. The crunch and ultra channels share controls, but the clean has its own. Sub $200 used, and if you look hard you can find them for $100-120. Definitely an overlooked gem. One interesting thing about it is it has separate effects loops for all 3 channels and one master effects loop. Whole lot of options there.

The JMP-1 is okay for the gain, but it's cleans are average at best. Some folks really like the ADA MP-1, I really really don't.

Yes I heard it was the father of the 5150 basically, but I never heard an unmodded one. The kind of tone I'm looking for is like the rhythm player of killswitch engage distortion wise his tone sounds huge.

I looked at reviews of the acces and I don't think it will have enough umpf for me. I haven't checked out the tech 21 preamp but a ton of gain is not my only concern.

Yes the jmp-1 is not my bag either marshall tends to sound too bright for my tastes otherwise I'd get a ada and mod it but the mp-2 does hair metal and I need sweedish death metal distortion.

I also quite like mids and I play progressive type music so I will need good cleans as well.

 

[Randy]

I went through a bunch of preamps and ended up liking the E530 best for my kind of tones, which is 80's flavored but with a modern edge. I later got an E570 which is even better but not $1000 better.

Some other great preamps that haven't been mentioned yet are the Soldano SP-77, the Groove Tubes Trio and the CAE 3+SE.

The SP-77 has plenty of gain but it's a little harsh and ice-picky - kind of metallic sounding. The Trio is an awesome preamp - some of the best cleans I've ever heard. The high gain sound is very good but I don't know if it's tight enough for modern styles. The CAE I only played once years ago but as I recall all 3 channels were great on that one. It's been at the top of the heap for high gain preamps for years now.

 

[drjenkins]

Adam from Killswitch has used Mesa Recto's, Framus Cobra's, and now H&k Triamp heads. So there are the sources of the tone you're looking for. Just thought this might help in your search! Dont have much experience with pre's except for the POD stuff. Which is what Meshuggah use for their sound in the studio & live.
Dave

 

[gtr777]

Jmp-1 is good for of course Marshall tones but does not really have the high "Rectifier" type of distortion. It's great for classic/hard rock AC/DC type tone.

 

[ChazMania]

I have a Mesa Formula preamp, 2 separate channels, great clean, and the gain channel is quite warm and has a boost option for leads as well. Each channel has indepenant Bass/Mid/Treb, but they share a 5band graphic EQ.

 

[RevolutionMan]

The demeter TGP-3 is the best that I've played, great clean and outstanding crunch channel, and an over the top boost channel too.

Whether it has more gain than a rectifier, don't know about that, but I'd say the gain is more useable overall.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

Originally posted by drjenkins
Adam from Killswitch has used Mesa Recto's, Framus Cobra's, and now H&k Triamp heads. So there are the sources of the tone you're looking for. Just thought this might help in your search! Dont have much experience with pre's except for the POD stuff. Which is what Meshuggah use for their sound in the studio & live.
Dave

yeah thats why I looked at the access hoping it might sound like his mkII but I think he boosts it with his maton either way. I can't afford a triamp otherwise I would just get it.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

Yeah so far the engl modern rock aka 530 is the closest to my budget and tonal prefference, I can't find any demeter amps around. I beleive most of you would think I'm crazy wanting more gain than the amp I currently use, which is the Carvin MTS with high gain JJ's. I like the tone of the amp but if you boost the gain on it the noise level goes up quickly and it goes to mush. A recto pre is out of the question cause it costs too much and I don't love the cleans.