Tech 21, the SansAmp people, have created a new line of pedals for 2008. They are called the Character Series. There are 4 models for guitar players and one for the bassist. Each pedal is loaded with the tonal DNA for a specific guitar amp and every variation is delivered in the distinctive voicing of that amp type. By adjusting the pedal’s knobs you can get highly sought-after vintage tones or create your own personal ones.Being a genuine SansAmp, each Character Series pedal is much more than a pedal. You can use each pedal as a stand-alone pre-amp to drive a power amp, studio mixer, or a PA system with SansAmp cabinet emulation even straight into a computer soundcard. Or plug them into your guitar amp like a stompbox to give your amp more flexibility for different tones. Controls are for Level, Mid, Character, Drive, Low and High. The 3 band EQ is active and like all Tech 21 products the circuitry is 100% analog.
The four models for guitarists are called, British, Liverpool, Blonde and California. The British produces the legendary crunch of a Bluesbreaker or Plexi and has shades of the 70’s Metalface coupled to Greenback emulation. Liverpool jangles and has the top-boost growl and gets thick with rich, even harmonics. The English Bulldog emulation adds to the flavor of this pedal. Blonde rocks pure American tone into the stratosphere. Sparkly cleans that overdrive with low end rumble become punchy and have a hard pushed tweed tone. Jensen emulation punctuates the American tone of this pedal. Lastly, California delivers chiming woody cleans and the overdrive of a Mark II with supernatural silky lead tones. You will also experience the chunk of a high gain rectifier all with EV type emulation.
All Character Series pedals are operable with 9V battery (not included) or optional DC power supply (Tech 21 Model #DC2). Manufactured in the U.S.A. MSRP: $195.00.