The ORIGINAL AMP MODELER! Tech 21 SANSAMP PSA 2.0

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[michaelwashere]

Tech 21 made THE go to stuff in the 90's and early 2000's for recording without an amp. It's refreshing to see that, after all the loads of digital modelers, their stuff still kicks ass.

[rowbags]

I've got an original SansAmp from back in the day, and it simply blew me away how good it sounded when I dug it out and tried it again a month or two ago! I'm definitely going to find a place for it in my current setup!

[musicmann]

Back in the day, (WAY back!), I used a prototype of the original unit for a song of mine I was recording in my home studio. It was lent to me by Mick Jones of Foreigner, so that was kinda cool. His former guitar tech was the inventor and the founder of the company, Andrew Barta. I assume Andrew was giving Mick prototypes to check out and give feedback (no pun intended!) The parts I recorded with that unit still sound really good today!

[jnh]

For those wondering (like me): Gain (input sensitivity, set the level going into the PSA), Buzz (boost or cut low-end break-up and overdrive), Punch (boost or cut midrange break-up and overdrive), Crunch (boost or cut top-end break-up and overdrive), Drive (increase amount of simulated power amp distortion), Low and High (shelving EQ, boost or cut 18dB), Trim (global volume control for all presets).

[wakjob]

Great video!
Love my GT2 pedal. The only thing that sounds like it is the Original Rackmount Non-Programable Sans Amp.

[gmcmusic]

You have the greatest gig in showbiz. Saw you recently in Buffalo with BNL which was a great surprise!
Met you a few times at various NAMM shows too.
Well done! Kudos to you!
I just found my original Sans Amp pedal which I got in 1992. Very much looking forward to plugging it in and seeing what it sounds like today.
Cheers!

[kesamek]

The sound of a thousand certified chart albums. Used in more professional recordings than anyone admits.

[marks]

Good stuff, I was already considering the dUg Pinnick bass pedal, now this needs to be considered. The curse of wanting to play both instruments is the cost and bulk of the amps. These pedals and one power amp solves that problem.

[MrSteney]

sounds great. A PT Fly Rig would be killer!

[jerryhatrick]

Sans amp was ahead of its time tech 21 also imo.

[MadScientistGuitarLab]

I'm a long time SansAmp fan. The guys at Tech21 have really good ears. Totally dug your demo Pete!

[davelanciani-dimaensionx]

I still have my "Classic" SansAmp from 1992, an RK5 Flyrig, the CALI Flyrig, and have used them a lot. However, the one common issue I have is that they all seem to be missing that high-end sparkle. Not sure why. Could just be me and my settings. But yeah, Tech21 really revolutionized DI recording. I haven't recorded with an amp since the early 90's.

[gwugluud]

One useful thing this does, is with the "punch" (mid dirt) control, when it's lower than 12 o'clock, you get an American sound for Fenderish or Mesa-ish feel (depending on how much distortion), and past 12 o'clock, the general character of the sound gets more British. I still have the rack mount version of this I bought in the 90s, and I picked up that "trick" from reading it somewhere, probably a Guitar Player mag review or something. Imo, anyone who even just messes around on guitar on a hobbyist "whenever they think about it" basis once every few days should still invest in this.

[truescotsman]

I've been studying this unit I wanted to comment on the Buzz, Punch, and Crunch controls. That part of the unit is basically an active band-pass filter. It allows you to turn certain frequency bands up or down additively driving the signal with those frequencies. The Bass and Treble controls are subtractive so they reduce bass and treble as you roll them off but passively. To me the active controls driving the frequencies you want is perfect. I can get almost any sound I hear in my head where all other amps/preamps have their limits. This thing is amazing I just pulled the trigger on the Rack Unit because I wanted the additional IO. Some guys A/B comparing these two units say the rack unit sounds better. I'm a full blown cork sniffing tube amp snob and I absolutely love the sound this thing gets. I used the protools plugin and was completely blown away.

[SteveRayMorse]

I own one and it's awsome. For class D power and IRs I prefer keeping the cab sim on. It works like a filter and usually works very well. For valve amps it seems to be better with the cabsim off.

[shayeasy]

i prefer the sound of tech 21’s circuits to any digital modeler i’ve heard or used, and the XXL is still my go-to pedal for high gain sounds

[DaveKeeton]

I still have my PSA-1 and still dig it out now and then for recording. Wonderful warm analog sound.

[CreatingMusicandSound]

Melodic guitar parts are not dead 🙏🏻 Oh and the new Sans Amp sounds amazing too

[SaintLuminus]

Wow! That sounds even better than I thought. Thanks for video Pete.

[Ruefus]

I really love how you use speed and longer runs as an effect and not speed for its own sake. You do it in your demos and it's all over your two albums.

You can it never comes out as a Note Salad.