Analog Preamp Love | What's Your Poison?

Your in the uk but since it's not eu, there would be taxes and such...I'm the one interested in rockmasters, jmp-1,ada mp1 and currently even piranaha (rocktron or something).
Ah no problem.

Im not sure how much taxes would be for you, but fair enough.

Bloody Brexit 😓
 
Ah no problem.

Im not sure how much taxes would be for you, but fair enough.

Bloody Brexit 😓
You can name your price so I can calculate what it would cost me. I have money to spend at the end of the month, not now. Bloody christmas 😀
 
I have engl e530, e570, jmp1, amt ss-20, victory countess and kraken. But the best is metalzone waza of course.
Engls go to Engl e850 power amp left and right, jmp1 into jvm410 loop and the rest to EVH 5153. Sometimes I rewire Countess to Marshall. Before I had everything into everything setup - all preamps including heads to switcher that goes to poweramp switcher. So any preamp could go to any poweramp. Once I started reamping I no longer need fx loops so simplified to just switching heads.
 
I have engl e530, e570, jmp1, amt ss-20, victory countess and kraken. But the best is metalzone waza of course.
Engls go to Engl e850 power amp left and right, jmp1 into jvm410 loop and the rest to EVH 5153. Sometimes I rewire Countess to Marshall. Before I had everything into everything setup - all preamps including heads to switcher that goes to poweramp switcher. So any preamp could go to any poweramp. Once I started reamping I no longer need fx loops so simplified to just switching heads.
Thoughts about jmp-1 marshall tone vs kraken channel 1? I have a kraken preamp pedal and I like it quite a lot. How does ss-20 compare to kraken?
 
I like Clean from SS-20 really, really like! High-gain, I honestly don't remember. The cranch - that's how I do it: gain like noon or 1 (pretty high) then I take Solar 8 string and roll back volume. It's very nasty and dark sounding. Not like not enough high frequencies but like mood is dark,
Green Kraken is somewhat Marshally but jmp1 is Marshall. I think 19th standard jmp preset is jcm800. Sounds gorgeous into jvm loop! I tried it before into savage poweramp (6550 iirc), 5153 6l6, modelers and just wanted to sell it. Then I plugged it into SC20H - omg. Then buddy asked to try SC20H and just gave me money =0 instead of amp (he has jmp1 too). I bought jvm 🤷‍♂️
When I bought kraken it was my second (after amt) tube preamp and I was really impressed (to the point I have immediately bought a box of those small tubes just in case =)). Heard somewhere it was inspired by 5153 so I bought 5153 🤷‍♂️ Then many amps and preamps later I can't say it stands out for me. I have too much stuff and just don't remember how it all sounds :-(.
That being said I think I will buy full Countess (Jack) head. Its high gain structure is very different from what I have.
 
As an alternative to all the digital modelling units out there, I guess this fits best in the pedal section.

I got myself a Kuro Exegol ("boutique" Model T preamp) last year, and I honestly believe it was one of my best gear purchases ever. At 18V, running it into a power amp input or FX loop return feels like I actually have a real vintage Model T sitting right there. It has tons of headroom, takes any pedal like a charm, and is surprisingly versatile. The inclusion of a dedicated line-level output and a presence knob made me buy the Exegol, rather than the (acclaimed) EAE Model FET.

Since the journey never ends, and I'm a huge QOTSA nerd, I gave in to the craving and ordered the new (downsized) Acorn Amps Solid State Preamp this weekend. Definitely looking forward to this one, I guess it'll be a lot of fun for spanky/jangly/rhythmic riffing and broken fuzz toanz.

I also have an older Catalinbread SFT (V2, no "stoner" mode) which is pretty cool, but it can be a noisy PITA in some situations, so I hardly ever use it anymore. Feels much more like a dirty overdrive than a real preamp to me, fwiw.

So, any love for all-analog, simplistic amp-in-a-box units and/or preamps here? What's your experience, any "secret" go-to single- or multi-channel pedals you feel like rambling about? The Koch Pedaltone II seems really nice, for example. I'm sure any power amp would instantly fall in love with that one.
Yeah, by all means. I like the simplicity with great sound of the Carvin X1 Tube Preamp. About the same size as a floor modeler. It gots two 12AX7 tubes in the preamp section, 2 channels, master volume, 5 band EQ, effects loop and a "cabinet voiced output." So lotsa knobs, sliders inputs and outputs and old school controls that I'm familiar with instead of scrolling and pulldown menus. A large variety of great sounds from clean to metal.


CarvinX1.jpg
 
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I like Clean from SS-20 really, really like! High-gain, I honestly don't remember. The cranch - that's how I do it: gain like noon or 1 (pretty high) then I take Solar 8 string and roll back volume. It's very nasty and dark sounding. Not like not enough high frequencies but like mood is dark,
Green Kraken is somewhat Marshally but jmp1 is Marshall. I think 19th standard jmp preset is jcm800. Sounds gorgeous into jvm loop! I tried it before into savage poweramp (6550 iirc), 5153 6l6, modelers and just wanted to sell it. Then I plugged it into SC20H - omg. Then buddy asked to try SC20H and just gave me money =0 instead of amp (he has jmp1 too). I bought jvm 🤷‍♂️
When I bought kraken it was my second (after amt) tube preamp and I was really impressed (to the point I have immediately bought a box of those small tubes just in case =)). Heard somewhere it was inspired by 5153 so I bought 5153 🤷‍♂️ Then many amps and preamps later I can't say it stands out for me. I have too much stuff and just don't remember how it all sounds :-(.
That being said I think I will buy full Countess (Jack) head. Its high gain structure is very different from what I have.
I used to use an SS-11a, with an ADA GCS3 analog cab sim, direct into the PA and I loved it.
 
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