Selecting a tube preamp pedal on a $200(ish) budget

#41
lomo said:
Keep in mind More is a very subtle kleen tube sweetener....superb at what it does, but subtle. The UA can do kleen, subtle harmonics right through peach fuzz and full saturation. I'd recommend it before a More if it's the only tube pedal in the chain, as it's faaaaar more versatile, and if you want it cleaner, just substitute a 12au7 for the stock 12ax7. Be warned....sushi is like potato chips......one usually leads to another ;)
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Do you go SMD, or hand-wired?
 
#43
bdhoward27 said:
Do you go SMD, or hand-wired?
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Hand-wired if the price difference is just background noise in your budget or you have to have a particular/ less common finish, SMD otherwise. Differences in sound will be minimal (even equivocal IME), but the components will be better and internal operating current higher with HW. If blinded I honestly cannot hear a difference, and I have 1 of each (HW and SMD UA) on my current board.
 
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#45
JRA said:
you got me with "secret sauce!" i just ordered one: i'm not even a pedal guy, don't care about tone chasing, and i couldn't care less about the tube-vs.-anything-else debates. :laugh: :wideyed:

i'm looking forward to checking it out! thanks! :thumbsup:
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I wasn't a pedal guy either but I love what it adds to the equation. Simple & effective. I set my volume at about 75%. Let us know what you think.
 
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#47
bdhoward27 said:
This is good to know. Do you know where I can find any sound demos of MORE? I love tube low-mid grunt, and it's very tempting want to crank it, but I made a mistake playing through my buddy's Noble a while back. Something about a clean(ish) tube sound is so nice!
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I'll just be honest here. A sound sample of the MORE is not going to do you any good. It is a very subtle effect, it's really something you feel more when you're playing and not something you hear in a recording. I think of it as a tube clean boost. If you want coloration, the UA or Slampegg is what you want.
 
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#49
JRA said:
you got me with "secret sauce!" i just ordered one: i'm not even a pedal guy, don't care about tone chasing, and i couldn't care less about the tube-vs.-anything-else debates. :laugh: :wideyed:

i'm looking forward to checking it out! thanks! :thumbsup:
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I'll also be interested to hear your thoughts. I got the chance to try one briefly in my desk practice setup, but not live. I did try with the Sushi Westinghouse, but that one struck out pretty hard... it arrived extremely microphonic and with a power whine when the voltage control was above 12:00ish, so it went back.

I've been >>this<< close to ordering an Edison for so long... I just keep getting distracted with other stuff.

5sg.
 
#50
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It’s fun to mix and match as well. I have a Finally coming to me soon, which I can’t wait to try on my big board.
 
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#52
lomo said:
Hand-wired if the price difference is just background noise in your budget or you have to have a particular/ less common finish, SMD otherwise. Differences in sound will be minimal (even equivocal IME), but the components will be better and internal operating current higher with HW. If blinded I honestly cannot hear a difference, and I have 1 of each (HW and SMD UA) on my current board.
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The only way one circuit has different current or power handling capability from another is if it is designed to and parts are selected to do it. This is not an inherent characteristic of "hand-wired" circuits. Nothing to do with part quality either. You can get junk parts and high quality versions of all types of parts.
 
#53
skycruiser said:
The only way one circuit has different current or power handling capability from another is if it is designed to and parts are selected to do it. This is not an inherent characteristic of "hand-wired" circuits. Nothing to do with part quality either. You can get junk parts and high quality versions of all types of parts.
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I am not an electrical engineer, don't play one on TB, and didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night ;-), but the electrical engineer who designs and builds Sushi pedals has explained (surely better than I) that the parts in his HW versions are more robust and those pedals run at higher current.
 
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#54
lomo said:
I am not an electrical engineer, don't play one on TB, and didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night ;-), but the electrical engineer who designs and builds Sushi pedals has explained (surely better than I) that the parts in his HW versions are more robust and those pedals run at higher current.
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Gotcha, that comment was specific to these pedals or maybe this one pair of pedals. I didn't catch that.
If that's how those two different pedals have been described it raises a lot of questions about design choices in my mind. Mostly out of curiosity though. I'm sure they are appropriately choosing parts specs to be adequate for each circuit.
 
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#56
I appreciate everyone's input. After considering my options, I think I'm going to go with the UA with the idea of it going last in my chain before my cab sim. Probably going to go with the SMD over hand wired unless I can find one used for a good deal. There could be a day where I go tube crazy and purchase a MORE to go before my drive pedals, but that day will have to wait...

The hunt has given me more GAS than anticipated, as I'm now looking at clean boost pedals and the Pultec- style Spaceman Equinox Pedal. I may have to back off for a while
 
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#57
bdhoward27 said:
I appreciate everyone's input. After considering my options, I think I'm going to go with the UA with the idea of it going last in my chain before my cab sim. Probably going to go with the SMD over hand wired unless I can find one used for a good deal. There could be a day where I go tube crazy and purchase a MORE to go before my drive pedals, but that day will have to wait...

The hunt has given me more GAS than anticipated, as I'm now looking at clean boost pedals and the Pultec- style Spaceman Equinox Pedal. I may have to back off for a while
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Cool. With great pleasure I will spray a whole lotta kerosene on your GAS...because the MORE just might be the ultimate boost pedal....if you sub a 12ax7 into it, it can produce over 30dB of clean tubular gain ;)
 
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