PREAMP BATTLE! 4 Classic Preamps Shootout

4 of the greatest classic 2U all-tube guitar preamps battle it out for supremacy. Spoiler They’re all awesome!!!
Soldano X88R
Custom Audio Electronics 3+
Egnater ie4
Bogner Fish
Preamps plugged into power section (via FX Return) of Bogner Ecstasy 101B EL34, I to Bogner 4x12, Vintage 30, SM57 + AT4047, API preamps

[@markw9512]

28:06 Egnater gets switched to Channel 4 but screen caption continues to read Channel 3 afterwards, in case anyone missed it. Great sounds from both channels, all four in fact!! 😊

[@LucaMilierimusic]

all of them are amazing, but the Soldano lead is so cool...

[@altemu]

Certo che un brunetti mille ci starebbe benissimo lì in mezzo 🤟🏻

[@jeremybosch4354]

Michael Nielsen says he’ll “play nonsense” like he doesn’t make some of the best amp videos out there with great original material. And even his noodling leaves me in envy. Nice work, sir!

[@BillVerdon]

He really does an outstanding job with gear reviews...

[@RiffandDestroy]

No losers! Impossible to choose the best one! Thanks for the video Michael!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

They're all good 'uns

[@jcugnoni]

Great video. No wonder why those preamps are still sought after 20+ years later. All their designers have become legends in tube amp building. They have probably learned a great deal and perfected their knowledge in this era where people wanted tube preamps with as many functionnalities as what people expect today from a modeller..

[@jackshittle]

I remember finding out that Bogner & VHT exist because in the back of a guitar magazine from around 1991 they showed Jerry Cantrell's rig & he had the Fish & VHT 2150 power amp. I play bass but I have two younger brothers (who were like in 5th & 8th grade at the time). They ended up getting a Bogner Uberschall & VHT Pitbull Ultra Lead 100 based off the brand of amps Jerry had. At that time period if you were a youngster you probably only knew of a handful of brands (Marshall, Fender, Crate etc.). These "new" brands like VHT, Bogner, Soldano were unheard of & exciting. The mystique of wondering what they sound like and where to even buy them since no local guitar shops carried this stuff. I moved to Seattle in 1996 and got in a band & my guitar player had two Crate heads. I always tried talking to him about getting something better (I had SWR & Eden amp/cabs at the time). One day we went into a studio in West Seattle (NAF Studios) to record and to my amazement I see a Soldano Hot Rod 100 Plus. We recorded with our own gear but I told the guitarist that "before we leave here today, you are going to plug into that Soldano & try it.". He did and a few weeks later he showed up at the rehearsal studio with his own Hot Rod 100 Plus. Amp brands were exciting back then because of the rareness, mystique & name of the brand.

[@snail415]

Might sound blasphemous, but I’d love to see a ‘modern’ guitarist invited over to put these through their paces. Multiscale guitar, Fishman pickups, etc. Not because there’s anything at all wrong with the demo, but to add context that the ‘plugin generation’ doesn’t get. I’m fortunate to have come out of the latest ‘90s with a full-on rackmount system and see myself move completely to a DAW/plugin setup over 15 years. That said, I was lucky to get to play through a CAE 100 head once (using an Anderson Cobra), and I get it. There is no substitute. It’s a shame these tools weren’t easily accessible to the masses, but it underscores the need/hope that these tones can be properly modeled by industry leaders today. Friedmans, Bogners and the like remain out of reach for many, and their tones remain the gold standard everyone wants. Thanks again for taking the time to share these sounds!

[@scottanderson6807]

The Bogner sounds so big, juicy and refined. Love it.

[@MrSimondaniel3]

Out of these 4 sounds , in this video, i gotta go with the CAE for distortion. But i play a Soldano 50 + Marshall modded by Reinhold Bogner : )

[@antoniosaluena]

Great video! Now I remember why I choose the X88R 25 years ago and still play it!

[@chreld]

I remember this back and the day too. It was expensive to get good guitar tone. And yes Guitar was in your face and everywhere. You could not get away from guitar shred in the 80s and early 9s. You hit it.

[@physiciansassist1]

Nice you stuck Landau in there. He really is the king of this toneful magic

[@TechMetalRules]

Dude, that old magazine page of Bradshaw, Holdsworth, Lukather, and Campbell rules so hard!

[@domagojzagorac6186]

That Bogner clean is just awesome and that gain channel. Oooh lord. Reinhold is genius

[@raysmetaltracks6782]

I'll never know where you get all this great gear my good man, but DAMN glad you do! Seriously best channel out. You bring so much great history into your videos, and your knowledge of gear and how it was used is such a unique and appreciated approach! I'd like to pack a lunch and spend a week in your studio. GREAT comparison - as always!!! Thank you Michael!

[@jrwickersham]

Very very cool!! Had a small rack in the early 2000’s. Tube Works Tube Driver rack pre, a Mesa Formula, and an ADA MP1 Into a Peavey Classic 50/50, and a a pair of 1x12 cabs split about 8’ apart. Just wish I had a good switcher for the preamps! Ran a Peavey Valverb for reverb, it was great!! The ONE preamp I wish I could have ever heard with my own playing is a Matchless GPR-1. Side note, anybody ever seen the old Power Systems PSA-1 rack mount amp??

[@markw9512]

Long time out, but you forgot to play effects through the Egnater ie4 clean. 😊 Great vid, thanks for posting!

[@shakeyjonez]

My ears love everything about that Soldano. I own the SP77. It’s my #1.

[@rafamcm]

CAE sounds awesome! Great video.

[@HiHello-ku1fl]

I liked the CAE the most on the clean sounds and the Egnator second. For crunch or medium gain it was again between the CAE and the Egnator....I really liked the Egnator's channel 3 a lot. For lead sounds with effects the Soldano sounded great almost like the effects helped it. But if I had to choose one it would probably be the CAE or the Egnator overall. That being said there was something I liked about the grind on the Bogner Fish. It had a certain character I liked when gained up on the Shark channel I think it was? Bogner sounded great on the higher gain sounds. For mid gain it was between the Egnator and CAE probably the Egnator being more versatile. I'd have to sit with these to figure out which one I liked best. Is the Triaxis even better?

[@lucasdeliramendonca3546]

Man, this is AMAZING! Nice to see another people who use this kind of 80's gear. Thanks for this video Michael!

[@stephamiel8836]

Great test ,i'm lucky enough to own both a x88r and 3+se ,nice to hear dont stop me now from Toto at the end :)

[@b.scottfarthingsworth]

Lukather all the way, my main potato

[@JJDPROMEDIAPRODUCTION]

Bogner -Cleans! 2) Egnater -Position #2 (Mild Gain Crunch).. CAE High Gain!

[@WyattWillis88]

Watched the whole thing twice and still cant decide which one I love the most! haha Gun to my head I'd prob go with the Soldano....but the egnater is Mr. Friedmans first foray into amplification... but the Fish is Early Cantrell....John Suhr! ahhhh

[@WyattWillis88]

Gotta say I really like the egnater after a third watch man I really want one of these!

[@charveljackson6346]

Love the Bogner for versatility!

[@zombiemosher1139]

All great but if I was to lay money down it would be between the CAE & Egnator. The Soldano & Bognor seem to hit the vintage sound better where the other two are more modern.

[@michaeltoren]

I've been waiting for you to do this video. Well done sir!

[@anthonyjacob6252]

Think Bogner beats them all. What a fantastic sound

[@buzzsaw63]

The bogner sounds unreal

[@mika-hp5ch]

Overall I prefer the CAE3+, because of its beautiful clean channel. However, there is something in the Soldano that reminds me the creamy feeling of a JMP, while the others are more JCM800-ish

[@everettnapihaa6111]

They are all wicked sounding and with a good bite!

[@brpadington]

These are all good but the CAE3+ is still my tone. I use the Big Hairy profiles CAE pack on my kemper through my Marshall poweramp.

[@elliotmcewen5281]

Excellent! Also, I would have loved to have seen a Mesa Boogie preamp in this review - it would have been interesting to see how that compared to these others.

[@denisrad4339]

I love this! Can't wait for the Trio & Demeter. How about the ADA MP1 & Lee Jackson GP-1000 preamps?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Yep. Those are happening too, for sure.

[@xXRichieDaggerXx]

Yeah I was eyeing that Trio the entire time!

[@thetonetosser]

Mid 90s, had both the X88R and the 3+SE (silver face) in my rack. Hands down the CAE was the better piece of kit for me. Especially ch 1 and 3. X88R couldn't quite keep up. Always wanted a Fish. Never got around to it.

[@jasonstone1046]

The youth today with their new fangled soulless gear lol.. bring back the glorious days of massive wdw rigs and road crew 😂

[@jimyang8824]

That's pretty ignorant given how many people worked their butt off to give us the plugin technology today in the past 20 years.

[@jimyang8824]

@George Michaels kemper is not a plugin. Neither does line 6 make plugins at the moment. Are we talking about the same thing ?

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

Those were the top dogs there... the list of guys who played those is long. Even evh was said to have used an x88r.

[@mickeyguide3112]

apparently EVH actually used Bob Bradshaw's prototype of his CAE preamp on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album, on songs Dream is Over, In 'n' Out...Judgement Day was Soldano Slo. Maybe he even used x88r but I haven't seen that to be mentioned anywhere

[@toddvancleve2797]

Really cool video... Rare pieces to have... Thank you for demoing these unique sounding preamps !!!!

[@ae3062]

Great video. I had a Kasha Rockmod I paired with a Kasha JK150 power amp. Loved everything about it, except carrying it!

[@Matte23Pam]

Michael we need another preamps shootout with ADA Kasha Lee jackson GT trio, so thank you for all the amazing videos you do for us!!

[@tconnell1121]

I'd like to see the non Triple Giant Hafler stuff, like T2 orT3

[@TheDogPa]

My '82 rig was a dean markley preamp dr into a mesa m180 into a pair of evm12ls in a mitchell sand cab. Switched to a mesa dc3 as preamp and now have a univavle as a preamp...and I've been wanting to try something new...so go away! I'm too old and broke for vids like this...LOL!

[@seanghannam9800]

Old Dean Markleys.. the Preamp DR and RM-150-DR, RM-80-DR... ETC.. are killer!

[@TheDogPa]

@@seanghannam9800 I miss that preamp. It was cool, good gain and great sound and I'm sorry I sold it, and the EVM12Ls. Still have the cab and power amp. I tried all the others at the time, Mesa, Marshall...the Dean Markley just sounded best. I miss it.

[@seanghannam9800]

@@TheDogPa I think Dean Markley was ahead of all of them!!

[@marcblum5348]

Very good comparision. Especially the tweaking of each sound gave a good insight on how each preamp/channel reacts. For clean I liked the CAE the most, clean of the cleans. Crunchwise the Soldano showed the most character and most dynamic to me. A true revelation to me the dialed in Bogner lead sound which reminded very much early ZZ Top.

[@go6193]

🤣

[@kostisk8914]

love the video! I'd always heard about pre-amps but never really saw such a great intro.

[@CIRCLEOFTONE]

Great channel. I hate practically all preamps I've tried but it's good to hear these head to head.

[@davemarshall9153]

Dave Marshall works with Dave Friedman as guitar hands and ears, on Egnater IE4. Mostly channel 3 and 4🤘

[@davemarshall9153]

Sounds like the tubes in the Soldano are tired.

[@mathiasmouret5288]

@@davemarshall9153 Ch2 of X88 give the best at high volume.

[@seanghannam9800]

All are great.. but Egnater TOL... the best!!

[@MrDavemiley]

I sure miss my Egnater IE4 . I had the red one just like in this clip. Think Liked the Bogner the best out of this demo.

[@seanghannam9800]

I dug the IE4.. the most versatile IMHO

[@RonynLoneWolf]

What FX were you using on the clean tones? I love it!

[@BCyr1991]

When you turn the effects on with the clean sounds, it immediately made me think "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring haha

[@keithmcnew3664]

My fav was the ADA Mp1 but dang.... mine blew up and the clean channel went out... sob sob sob.... I took the dive to synergy amps. I love your videos, channel. Keep rockin'

[@Dave_Sacca]

Thorough range of demo tones! Thanks for making this

[@irmasil3]

I have 5 different preamps in my 20 U rack. BUT, I can slot up to 8 preamps (rack is loop ready) and up to 5 (again rack loop ready) Fx units......Straight to the same power amp (or 2).....YES, I AM THAT OLD!!!!!!!

[@helenboepple8572]

i would have to assume that the ADA MP-1 was the most widely used of all preamps as for as classic preamps are concerned .... maybe you could demo one someday.....

[@billk9799]

They all sound awesome but the fish is one of my dream preamps.

[@toom6087]

Clean : I bought a SLO100 for that bright tone and it's not a surprise for me… Soldano wins Mid gain : I bought an Ecstasy for his blue channel, and it's not a surprise again... Bogner wins High gain : mmmmh nothing better than a 2 channels Dual Rectifier so not a surprise again... only the Soldano can go to the high gain territory where Mesa rules, but its not as fat as a Mesa can be! I'm not interested in the Egnater.I played the 3+ in the 90's, it was in a shop in Paris (Universal Guitars) : this is a versatile unit, everything is ok here, clinic, but nothing sexy. Don't forget that with preamplifiers, you will change their sound with the tube power amp you will choose to play. Depends if it's loaded with 6L6's for fat bottom, EL34s for wild bite or KT88 for tight low end. A preamp alone is almost nothing, the power stage is everything and the cab makes the EQ. What is cool here, Michael, you played the Telecaster and the LesPaul for mid gain. Who cares the Strat for that? xD

[@buddytickle6858]

Soldano! Glad I ran across this no matter how old

[@frankardos4211]

you got some nice gear dude. just thought I would mention something. I'm not a sub but you seem to touch on interesting "needed" topics we guitarists like to get into. thx bro, FRAN

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Hi Fran. Thanks. you can sub. it's riiiiiiiight there. So close!!! :)

[@herecomesaregular8418]

Oh man do I ever remember the out-of-reach days. Trying to coax high quality tones out of old or lesser gear.

[@TheIpodBass]

That photo of Mike Soldano is epic !!!!

[@seanghannam9800]

They're all great.. but the Vintage Egnater TOL, iE4... the winner for great tone/sound and most versatile overall.. it has a super high gain 4th channel as well!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

It is the most well rounded of the bunch.

[@gabirodz]

Michael Nielsen playing Dont Stop Me Now from TOTO and Too Late To Say Goodbye by Richard Marx.... Nice ones! Hehehe

[@57Techboy]

In the Photo with Ritchie Sambora, the Trace Elliot head on the top of his rig, the clean sound from the TVT 9 preamp is one of the best I've heard. I actually have a 2x12 combo with 2 x 80 watts, OMG loud as snot. The OD sound is not bad either.

[@gioelevio1626]

This is the video I was waiting for

[@sweetrock323]

1- Bogner Fish 2- Soldano SP77 . Both are great preamps , VHT GP3 is another beast .

[@vikramjitbanerjeetuki]

Hey cool video mate,I dig the clean on the Soldano the most, Egnator channel 2 best medium gain imo Best high gain sound the Bogner imo. how about reviewing the triaxias and ADA and my favourite the Chandler Tube Driver Rack preamp

[@rockostiffredi4276]

A big thank you Michael. Your a major asset to the worldwide electric guitar community for taking time to do this. Tones definitely got pretty serious in the 80's. Although these days, racks have been largely replaced by lunchbox amps and digital emulation, the latter being too sterile and cold for my personal liking, but many will disagree. Sort of wish you dialled back the bass EQ, to get rid of some mud during the CAE 3+ Crunch/lead section, maybe a bit more mid EQ for all preamps, but all in all, a excellent comparative shootout. Bogner Fish marginally better for my personal vote, even though I own a Soldano X88R. A Mesa Studio Preamp would have also been great, although the 5 Band EQ takes years to master for most.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

ROCKO STIFFREDI thanks Rocko. It’s a tricky balance of what works as a solo guitar on KZbin, vs what would work best in a track.

[@rockostiffredi4276]

@@BigHairyGuitars Totally. EQ's behave differently from preamp to preamp, channel to channel, a lot of tweaking to get it right. Really looking forward to Part 2.

[@lancethompson218]

Cae hands down. Is it SE OR ORIGINAL VERSION. IS THERE MUCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2 VERSIONS

[@BigHairyGuitars]

This is original version that was modded to SE spec. I don't know how big a different there is. I've never been able to play an unmodded one.

[@lancethompson218]

@@BigHairyGuitars awesome. It nails that megadeth tone for sure. Obviously it's stereo correct? And what amp did u use vht or boogie?

[@lancethompson218]

@@BigHairyGuitars another thing I had a cae od 100 se head...sounded nothing like that preamp...got rid of it in a week

[@ande047]

Man I wish that cae 3+ wasn’t so expensive and hard to find these days! Sounds killer all around

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I agree. Because of that, I've done comprehensive Tonex and Kemper captures www.tone.net/tonex/collections/big.hairy.guitars/cust3+ bighairyprofiles.com/products/bhp-custe-based-on-cae-3?_pos=1&_sid=ed6ba81ef&_ss=r

[@marshdjmarsh]

Just missing the VHT GP3. Nice to hear all these side by side though :)

[@xthexadvantagex]

Is the triaxis not old enough for this comparison? The bonged wins overall by a long shot but I think the egnater has the best high gain rhythm tone IMO

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

I love rack gear that's older than me and I love these videos.

[@maxmusicacademy8265]

Soldano wins for sure !!!

[@SSomeTeacher]

Nobody loves egnater. But I like egnater. Cause I’m owner that!!

[@seanghannam9800]

I LOVE THE IE4... Egnater TOL... the best. !

[@81giorikas]

Great, but cae/bogner, hafler triple giant kind of overlap. I would love to hear the boogie studio doing its thing in there vs these preamps.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Which Boogie?

[@81giorikas]

@@BigHairyGuitarsBy Boogie studio, I mean the mesa boogie studio preamp. Like a 1U version of the quad preamp, only much, much juicier and at the same time rawer and less cold. For me, it had one of the best lead tones, I mean, next to the triaxis it was like the triaxis "was emulating from afar" and you heard the sound from smaller speakers. Not bad but not magic vs the mesa studio preamp. I wouldn't even care/bother for complete mesa mark amps for example. I think the mesa studio sounds complete on it's own, and frankly excluding the strategy amps, I don't have boogie power amps in very high regard anyway. That thing (the studio preamp) paired amazingly with pretty much any other power amp, in fact it had good tone through big solid state, through peavey 6L6 through most of them... Too bad I didn't test it through soldano. You have the VHT as pinaccle but it's pretty rare in europe! Until then soldano is king in power amps for me (at least from most that I've tried). But yeah, mesa boogie studio preamp!

[@BigHairyGuitars]

@@81giorikas Gotcha! I had a Soldano power amp for a while. I didn't love it. I needed a bottom end or depth control. IMHO. I have a Boogie Triaxis and Studio preamp, I'll show those together when I get some time. Thanks, M

[@81giorikas]

@@BigHairyGuitars I wouldn't disagree at all, in the sense that I have an avenger, depth mod is standard. If you take it off, it sounds almost sterile, thin and harsh of sort. Even so slightly on and forth helps you mate the amp to the cab and for it to be more alive...so I can imagine your power amp not playing particularly well with some preamps and the depth knob to be of blame, they are supposed to have fixed depth (like the knob is at a preset value) but in the end it is just a standard better built JCM power amp (soldano). Mike soldano's design, has by the way, a relatively bass heavy and not so tight preamp feeding such a power amp. Friedman prefers the opposite, a tight preamp plexi style feeding a looser power amp. All of that before taking into acount choke properties etc. If you decide to do the experiment (boogie feeding the soldano) and you go through the loop before the tone stack which how it is on stock soldanos, then either take the graphic or dynamic voice (on the triaxis) off, or dime the mids on the tonestack to make it go flat to allow for the graphic doing its thing on the boogie. In my oppinion it's better to take the graphic out, because on the soldano you have a relatively trebley pressence and maybe depth control pretty much doing what the graphic does anyway. So you can have the tonestack for extra adjustments. One of the best sounds I liked personally ever was a mesa f-30 feeding my avenger but without its graphic (well contour, pretty much v curve like the graphic via transistors (again like the graphic, d-voice etc) enabled. I have a stock loop. Hope you do the test!

[@carlloftin2850]

ADA preamp was attainable and used by some hair bands in the late 80’s - the band white lion comes to mind

[@Dejoblue]

All I hear's Pornograffitti!

[@Nghilifa]

Kirk Hammett used one for his tones on the Damaged Justice tour & Black Album Tour as well.

[@JJDPROMEDIAPRODUCTION]

Yes, but it was a One Trick Pony..

[@carlloftin2850]

JJDPRO MEDIAPRODUCTION agree - not much of a fender sound

[@ezquimal]

I remember soldano made a crazy preamp I think that come with faders electric motorized and midi sync. But the preamp from 80 was the triaxis.

[@eskemeldgaardkrogh4145]

ezquimal Yup, you’re right - that was the Soldano/Caswell X99... and teenage me wanted one SOOOOOO bad.

[@ezquimal]

@@eskemeldgaardkrogh4145 a lot of hum more when the motors moving.

[@Burkhimself]

Killer vid. I own a modded SP77, just ordered a 2 channel SLO clone pre amp (Myasnikov)....I did briefly own a triple giant (poor man’s fish).....Marshall 9001 (little weak), a triaxis (twice!).....I’ve always gone back to the Soldano. Killer vid.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I had a Triple Giant. There's a lot to like in that pre. I've always wanted to try a Marshall 9001. Love the Triaxis.

[@Burkhimself]

I had a triaxais twice....I felt like I couldn’t balance high gain with dynamics.....I always went back to the Soldano....it just mixed well with everything...early on, my singer had a 50w Marshall 900 head....later on, it was the lack of dynamics....I liked the 9001, but it always needed a drive pedal in front of it to “get it there”....I was never really a fan of this egnater stuff....haven’t heard much about it until recent years....

[@dyonight]

Great stuff! Have you heard of the MGP-1A preamp made by Black Widow Audio Design? It is an analog modeling preamp that switch the internal circuit to match different preamp topologies and tone stacks. Marshall, Mesa, Diezel, Engl, Vox AC30, etc. Reviews are hard to find but the few I found show that this thing seem very legit! Maybe the designer would agree to let you borrow one? He seem very cool and is based in the USA . I would LOVE to see a video of you giving it a shot! Cheers!

[@davehill9951]

I have owned a Jackson JX3 single rack pre amp and a Digitech 2120 tubed pre amp from new. Yes I am dated but still own them and play them regularly. Guess you can say I know them inside and out and can find any particular sound I want. Still great fun showing up to gigs and the younger guys go what are you using there? Some great tones going on there and fun video to watch..TC

[@primechaser3071]

first of all: great video michael! one question: what kind of pickups are in that sunburst les paul? sounds great!

[@lukasschwengeler8094]

Bogner wins for me

[@cmath8577]

Started to miss my 3+. What was the wide chorus effect you added at the start of the cleans?...or the end leads? the delays..gonna guess PCM-80?

[@robflewell7706]

What chorus are you using on the clean tones?

[@kierenmoore3236]

Soldano FTW !!!! 🔥😎

[@julioMiguel2145]

I came here because of the Hairy dude! Whats up Mike . Lol

[@BigHairyGuitars]

:) hi!

[@MrJingres]

I'd keep the Bogner.

[@darklinkduck2275]

That bogner is what was used on rust in piece by Megadeth

[@2204as]

Thanks a lot, great video

[@JavyonVISION]

Ahh my brother, I know just where you are coming from! "Wow, guitar was as important as autotune is today" - I hate how true that statement really is. Okay, so my Marshall JMP1 is not amongst the preamps in this video, but I do love it. It was like a fantasy come true when I got mine, awesome tonal spectrum and midi switching. My unreasonably heavy rack still sits loaded and ready for the next time I need two full stacks to get my aural point across. :)

[@notsure1135]

Same. Love mine, finally got it last year.

[@lukessoundhouse9903]

Only soldano have the juicy and glitchy tone that i love

[@robertritzenthaler6618]

Michael, what FX unit were you using on the clean channel? Awesome clean tone that reminds me of Pyromania!

[@larslevinberget9558]

Great test! Your choice of output is pretty unforgiving, thus showing the real character of the preamps. For recording an album I would typically have chosen something like...Peavey Classic 60 power amp, 412 cab with Celestion G12M25 speakers, the SM57 paired with an AKG C414 or Sennheiser 421 with a Neumann U89 or whatever for a sweeter sound altogether, especially when layering guitars and adding efffects. Problem is - then all 4 would sound mostly the same ^_^

[@BigHairyGuitars]

HA! Yes exactly. It's a tricky balance. I want them to sound as good as possible, but that means finding some middle ground between sterile microscope and flattering.

[@FlashGrover]

I Love my CAE 3+ but oh god, that Soldano!! Awesome video

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I love the CAE because of the Luke tones, but CH3 of the Soldano is just righteous!

[@kurtbader9711]

These things are insanely expensive. Plug a Hafler Hellrazor into the front of a 2204 and you can get everything from rich cleans to scorching metal and save a few grand. Sims are for kids, people who don't know better or are too lazy to lug around a good tube amp. If you can't afford a 2204 there are plenty of less expensive tube amps available, like Peavey VTMs and Music Man HD130s, even though they're ss preamps they're epic. Since you can't find any Haflers anymore it's ok to reveal tone wise they're the best bang for the buck ever. BTW, after listening to these I've heard better in my practice room. Don't waste your money, learn to listen. It will serve you well and throughout your life.

[@knikk77]

The tone at 31:34 was a Dan Huff tone... hmm maybe he didnt use the Peavey Classic amp after all?

[@afterthefox7]

All the clean preamp sounds sound alike

[@elephantcup]

You forgot the Carvin quad. Yes, I know it lacks the overpriced panache of the boutique amps you have lined up, but it sounds as good or better. In the '90s I would do laps between the Mesa Boogie store on Guitar row in Hollywood, and the Carvin store a few doors down. Played all of the stuff they had at MB, then the Carvin quad. Back and forth. Bought a quad. Still have it. 12 x 12ax7 tubes. Nothing comes close.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I tried on at the Carvin store many years ago. I thought it sounded good. I've never seen one since.

[@brianmcgonigal229]

Where is the Peavey Rockmaster???

[@sbadolian]

Brian Mcgonigal shhhhh. Be quiet!!

[@brianmcgonigal229]

@@sbadolian No way man.still got one...works and kicks ass!

[@vaughanmacegan4012]

What is this great plug-in you are talking about? Please give me the name? Does it produce the tones that I seem to enjoy like that of the Digitech GSP 21 Legend? Please be more specific!?!

[@JuniorRossetti]

CAA😍🥰... amazing..!

[@desmondtutu7916]

This is an excellent video but ... what about the groove tube trio? You have one right there in the rack on the bottom right hand side of the screen.

[@BigHairyGuitars]

I’ll get around to it. 5 preamps seemed like too many

[@somanythings9074]

Great vid dude, what do use as a power amp for these?

[@BigHairyGuitars]

Into the FX Return of the Bogner Ecstasy. So it's the Bogner's EL34 power section.