Tech 21 SansAmp PSA-1 Review

History:

Purchase: Purchased from the Rock -n- Rhythm department of The Woodwind and the Brasswind (http://www.wwandbw.com) for approximately $550 in summer 1997. I wanted to divorce my sound from dependency upon tubes, and the PSA-1 had the best sound among the available non-tube pre-amps.

Pros: Stores 98 MIDI-switchable presets. Very easy to edit & store. Exceptionally good tone. The device is a pre-amp which emulates various tube amplifiers (e.g., Fender, Marshall, Mesa), both in their pre-amp and power amp characteristics. Even tube enthusiasts are stunned to discover that the PSA-1 has no tubes.



Cons: The effects loop is either 100% in or 50% in. I would prefer a continuously variable mix control. In practice, however, I can control the overall effects mix from one of my other processors.

SansAmp PSA-1 Quality: Very sturdy, single rack unit device.

Tech 21 Summary: I have never been disappointed with this purchase. I still think it is the best sounding pre-amp I've encountered.

Rating of this product: 5

This Tech 21 Guitar Effects Review Submitted By: Steve Swope

Date: 2001-06-27

Usefulness Rating: 4.74 out of 5. 50 reader(s) voted.