Tech21 goes digital šŸ˜² Marty Friedman Signature Sansamp

Lysander

Lysander

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So, apparently the new Marty Friedman signature pedal is digital - which, unless i'm crazy, is a first ever for Tech21.

I'm pretty sure it sounds great, but abandoning their analog modelling tech feels wrong somehow šŸ˜„ I always loved Sansamp DI tones.

Just as the original SansAmp was a personal mission to encapsulate tube amplifier sounds in a compact, portable pedal, Barta has long been on a quest to do the same in the digital domain. Never one to jump on a bandwagon, Barta wouldnā€™t ā€œgo digitalā€ until he found a way to replicate the dynamics, responsiveness and fluidity of its analog counterpart.

After many years, Barta ā€œcracked the code.ā€ This happened to coincide with the opportunity to collaborate with Marty Friedman. The result is the Marty Friedman Signature SansAmp.

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www.tech21nyc.com

Marty Friedman Signature SansAmp

An iconic guitarist who eloquently serves up enchanting and tearful melodies, as well as complicated notes that make your head spin, Marty Friedman surprisingly likes to keep his arsenal quite simple. The goal for Tech 21 was to embody his tone in a neat, compact, plug-and-play footprint...
www.tech21nyc.com
 
Yeah I am eagerly awaiting literally anything further on it than that product page. Been following it for awhile. Nothing so far.

I am a big Marty fan though, so hopefully its good.
 
Apparently the designer hasn't tried modellers since the 90's judging by how he describes them here. :bonk

UNDER THE HOOD: CRACKING THE CODE​

As a staunch proponent of analog, Andrew Barta has never had the desire to venture into digital designs. The inventor of the SansAmp tube amplifier emulation technology, which debuted in 1989, Barta has remained loyal to the analog domain. That is, until now.

According to Barta, ā€œTo me, the main drawback of a digital modeler is the feel and the sound quality. It lacks dynamics and responsiveness. It sounds one-dimensional and it isnā€™t touch-sensitive, so the nuances of your playing style get lost. It limits your ability to change the tone by using your volume knob, picking lighter or harder. No matter how hard you hit the strings, the result is mostly the same. Thereā€™s no headroom and it doesnā€™t breathe. You are forced go to a different patch for a different tone. Ultimately, you have to conform to the device and play in a different way. So your artistic expression suffers. Artists have told me itā€™s like being in a cage. You have to wrestle harder to squeeze out the results and their fingers get really tired.

ā€œWhatever device youā€™re using, be it an amp or SansAmp or modeler, itā€™s really a part of your instrument. Your instrument actually consists of the entire signal chain, not just the guitar. Digital is just a numeric translation and isnā€™t capable of preserving the individual personality of the guitar you use. The output is pretty much the same whether itā€™s a Fender or Gibson or Ric.ā€

Just as the original SansAmp was a personal mission to encapsulate tube amplifier sounds in a compact, portable pedal, Barta has long been on a quest to do the same in the digital domain. Never one to jump on a bandwagon, Barta wouldnā€™t ā€œgo digitalā€ until he found a way to replicate the dynamics, responsiveness and fluidity of its analog counterpart.

After many years, Barta ā€œcracked the code.ā€ This happened to coincide with the opportunity to collaborate with Marty Friedman. The result is the Marty Friedman Signature SansAmp.
 
Blix said:
According to Barta, ā€œTo me, the main drawback of a digital modeler is the feel and the sound quality. It lacks dynamics and responsiveness. It sounds one-dimensional and it isnā€™t touch-sensitive, so the nuances of your playing style get lost. It limits your ability to change the tone by using your volume knob, picking lighter or harder. No matter how hard you hit the strings, the result is mostly the same. Thereā€™s no headroom and it doesnā€™t breathe. You are forced go to a different patch for a different tone. Ultimately, you have to conform to the device and play in a different way. So your artistic expression suffers. Artists have told me itā€™s like being in a cage. You have to wrestle harder to squeeze out the results and their fingers get really tired.
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pipelineaudio said:
Itā€™s like hearing paul reed smith talk about tonewood
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... or Paul Reed Smith talking about the "new" [original] PRS Tuning Peg Design and Shape that was so good, it was ignored for 40 years, but now makes the guitar more focused and resonant :)

why .... Why.... WHY OH LORD were we deprived for so long when the answer was there all along .............
 
At $349 I will probably end up grabbing one to check out.

2 reasons why:

1) Core sounds apparently based on Marty's Engl Signature Amp

2) My long time love and use of the Sansamp PSA-1 Rack Preamp.
 
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Iā€™ve been trying to wrap my head around this product for days and it just dawned on me why this product matters. Tech21ā€™s strength wasnā€™t in recreating amps as much as it was making a very tweakable product that sounds good and is enjoyable to play.

When people asked why the Sansamp hasnā€™t been modeled in the Helix, the natural response is that there are already Fender, Vox and Marshall models there.

Only Tech21 is going to care about digitally recreating the exact recipe that makes their products unique. Of course thereā€™s no way for them to market ā€œItā€™s not exactly like any Marshall, but it sure is satisfyingly musical!ā€
 
ragingplatypi said:
Iā€™ve been trying to wrap my head around this product for days and it just dawned on me why this product matters. Tech21ā€™s strength wasnā€™t in recreating amps as much as it was making a very tweakable product that sounds good and is enjoyable to play.

When people asked why the Sansamp hasnā€™t been modeled in the Helix, the natural response is that there are already Fender, Vox and Marshall models there.

Only Tech21 is going to care about digitally recreating the exact recipe that makes their products unique. Of course thereā€™s no way for them to market ā€œItā€™s not exactly like any Marshall, but it sure is satisfyingly musical!ā€
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I Guess If You Say So GIF
 
Tech 21 is awesome. I have to say though, when i think of Marty Friedman signature anything, it's the Kelly and the Blue Voodoo. I saw them so many times in the late 90s when I was a teenager, they were my favorite band for a long time and he used to have 3 or 4 of these amp heads on the stage.

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Desertdweller said:
Tech 21 is awesome. I have to say though, when i think of Marty Friedman signature anything, it's the Kelly and the Blue Voodoo. I saw them so many times in the late 90s when I was a teenager, they were my favorite band for a long time and he used to have 3 or 4 of these amp heads on the stage.
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My man's rocking an Argentinian tee! :love
 
To be clear, I have no idea if the product is any good. Tech 21 has done a lot of good stuff over the years and I'm rooting for them. But that blurb is just the least helpful thing I've ever read.

HOW did he crack the code?

WHY is it different than previous digital products?

WHY go digital instead of analog?
 
Jarick said:
To be clear, I have no idea if the product is any good. Tech 21 has done a lot of good stuff over the years and I'm rooting for them. But that blurb is just the least helpful thing I've ever read.
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Yeah, this reeks of NDSP marketing lingo.

Tech21 stuff is usually solid thou, i have no doubt this pedal will sound very nice.
 
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