what's your favorite NON Mesa/Boogie Preamp??

Hey guys,
subject says it all! What is your favorite NON Mesa/Boogie pre amp? I've got a studio and love it, but want something else to compliment it. I have a 5150 which is great, but I want a preamp so I can go to a rack setup. So tell me which is your favorite, and why! Thanky you

Rocktron Prophesy II. It's my go to amp after the Triaxis.

Vox Tonelab

Johnson J-Station

:lol: :lol: :lol:

But seriously folks... The Soldano SP-77 has a marvelous open, rich gain and a really nice clean as well. It's a great preamp.

Many people rave about Engl preamps (like the E580 or E570). I've never played one. They sure look cool but the sound clips I've heard of them don't do much to make me want one. Still, worth checking out.

jutsin said:

I have a 5150 which is great, but I want a preamp so I can go to a rack setup.

Click to expand...

If you like the 5150 then I'm going to assume you like a ton of gain. the peavey rockmaster preamp has tons of gain and is really tight. 4x 12ax7 1U rack

Danimal said:

Many people rave about Engl preamps (like the E580 or E570). I've never played one. They sure look cool but the sound clips I've heard of them don't do much to make me want one. Still, worth checking out.

Click to expand...

I gotta tell you, if anyone stocked those things within 1000 miles of me I would be checking them out. 20 years or so ago...when rack mount preamps first started coming out, I'm talking the days of the ADA and the ProGap, etc.. Me and my buddy were always on the lookout and never really too satisfied with the rack mount sound. We were in this guitar store and we heard this amazing rock tone coming from the other side of the store. We ran to that side of the store to see what it was. It was the very first ENGL rack preamp thing and it sounded absolutely AMAZING. But expensive as hell. No support. No midi. No presets. We were told by the store they were going to sell this one unit and not carry or support it again. I never heard anything about ENGL again after that for about 10 years to be honest, but I never forgot that moment.

kiff said:

jutsin said:

I have a 5150 which is great, but I want a preamp so I can go to a rack setup.

Click to expand...

If you like the 5150 then I'm going to assume you like a ton of gain. the peavey rockmaster preamp has tons of gain and is really tight. 4x 12ax7 1U rack

Click to expand...

actually, as odd as this sounds, the pre gain on my 5150 is never above 4 or so. the 5150 has a grip load of gain, but i think it sounds really good when you keep the gain in check. i would like something with the same capabilities though

Rocktron Gainiac.

Dewdman42 said:

I gotta tell you, if anyone stocked those things within 1000 miles of me I would be checking them out.

Click to expand...

Again, to be completely fair, I've never heard or played one in person. Given the rave reviews they must have something going for them. Online samples tend to focus on super high gain noise as well, this probably doesn't make for a fair review.

I also forgot another rack mounted preamp which I very often consider in place of the TriAxis - the Randall M4 or the Egnater equivalent. Swappable preamp modules make for an all tube modeler of any amp you could ever want. VERY cool. But very expensive.

Peavey Rockmaster all tube Rack mount 3 channel preamp. I have four of them! (I buy everyone I see locally.)
I also have three 120/120 6L6 tube classic series power amps and two 50/50 EL34 tube classic series power amps as well to run behind them. I never sell stuff and used these things for a lot of gigs over the years when I was using rack gear ( and peavey gear). I haven't even looked at them for at least 3 years. They're all in SKB racks in the band room corner.

ALSO I totally loved the Peavey Tubefex midi tube powered pre-amp too. I had four of those for a while (mid '90's). I don't have any right now but they were very good with the latest 2.0 firmware. (so weird..one of the very few things I've ever sold! BUT I lot large $$ for them..)

I had to pipe up and give both of these products props.

it's older and no longer made but the digitech gsp 2101 is an incredible preamp.

ADA MP-1. Bought 3 of them on ebay a few years back when they were going for $100 each. One of the more underrated amps for a great clean sound. Then it does Randy Rhodes to AC/DC, Metallica and everywhere in between.

ryjan said:

ADA MP-1. Bought 3 of them on ebay a few years back when they were going for $100 each. One of the more underrated amps for a great clean sound. Then it does Randy Rhodes to AC/DC, Metallica and everywhere in between.

Click to expand...

yes! I forgot about these. I've heard a few over the years, LOTS of gain!

Egnater M4

GIG4FUN said:

ryjan said:

ADA MP-1. Bought 3 of them on ebay a few years back when they were going for $100 each. One of the more underrated amps for a great clean sound. Then it does Randy Rhodes to AC/DC, Metallica and everywhere in between.

Click to expand...

yes! I forgot about these. I've heard a few over the years, LOTS of gain!

Click to expand...

Crazy lead tone...sustain for days if you want. But very noisey.

Best pre-amp I ever owned - Marshall JMP-1 - bloody brilliant.

PG.

Rocktron Piranha :mrgreen:

i love the art sgx 2000 black face 1.10 version

I forgot about the Boss GT-PRO. I ran one of these through a Simul-290 I used to have and almost sold my triaxis to get one. Almost. :wink:

Well, I've got a Rocktron Piranha now, and an ADA MP-1 on the way. I still have the Mesa Studio pre as well. I'll have a nice shoot out, and then there will be one or two for sale
The rocktron is impressive. I haven't had it all that long yet, but it seems very versatile. The mid freq control opens up so many possibilities! HUSH built in is pretty rad as well. It's going to be a tough choice.