AMT Brick "Alembic Tube Preamp" pedal

[CC7]

Been getting into tube preamps instead of dirt box's lately.
I've been using a Laney IRT pulse tube preamp which I am really happy with.
But was looking around on AMT's site today and saw these new tube preamps
they have called the "Bricks" series and they have an Alembic bass version.
They also have some cool looking power supplies.

But I'm definitely going to check out one of these little Alembic bass (they also have
an Orange bass model) bricks.
One of these paired with a AMT Pangaea CP100 (IR loader) could make for a
killer tiny direct setup IMO.

Anyone already have/try one of these? I think they are fairly new,
any thoughts or opinions?
AMT Bricks A-Bass

 

[two fingers]

I'll be checking back here. That's a very cool little box in theory.

 

[CC7]

I think so too! Here's a link to the Bricks manual-
Invalid Link Removed

It seems that the preamps can be linked together and turning one on can automatically
turn the other(s) off, among other things.
May end up with both the Alembic and Orange bass bricks?

 

[sunbeast]

I want that Fender Twin one for my Rhodes!

 

[bassbrad]

Is there U.S. Distribution? Seems their products have been hard to get in the past. MF, GC, Reverb and others have older models that are expensive with tax, VAT and import markups even used they are more expensive than comparable products that I have seen.

 

[sears]

those knobs are something else

 

[DosiYanarchy]

ooohhhhhh dammmnnnn I've been gassing for an Alembic pre for a while.

 

[BunchyMutt]

those knobs are something else

don't know if that's positive or negative. I don't hate them. I think the tapered top would be functional in that cramped setup. I'd be totally into them on something that's already goofy, like vintage Danelectro pedals; they would really bring out the Conehead aesthetic

 

[CC7]

Well gas got the best of me and I ordered one from the online store.
Shipping was a little steep to the US, but hopefully it's not literally a
"brick" when it gets here.

 

[BunchyMutt]

Well gas got the best of me and I ordered one from the online store.
Shipping was a little steep to the US, but hopefully it's not literally a
"brick" when it gets here.

Looking forward to your thoughts

 

[CC7]

Gettin' antsy already!

 

[Guzzi Toad]

Gettin' antsy already!

What's under the Polytune?

 

[CC7]

That's a Radial JDI Stereo direct box.

 

[Guzzi Toad]

That's a Radial JDI Stereo direct box.

Awesome. Thank you.

 

[CC7]

Got the AMT A-Bass (Alembic) preamp, actually got it in about 4 or 5 days from ordering!
I was surprised it came so quick, was ready to wait a week or two.
Wanted to mess with it some before posting about it here again.

First, it's built like a "brick (you know what)", really solid, no wiggle in the knobs and the
switches feel nice and tight.
The knobs are tightly spaced but it's a tiny pedal, about 3.625 x 1.75", like someone
mentioned earlier in this thread the domed knobs make it easier to tweak in such a tight
space, they even have extra little grips towards the tops to help further.

There's 3 vertical slide switches on the right side that I didn't realize would be there.
1- Bright on/off
2- Treble shift on/off
3- Mid freq 300Hz or 450Hz
Along with the power input -DC 12v 300ma center negative.
Right now I'm powering it with Cioks DC-5 12volt 300ma output and it works fine.

On the left side there's a horizontal slide switch to choose "Drive" pedal mode or "Preamp"
mode. I've only tried it in Preamp mode so far with just-
Bass (Alembic Epic 4) > AMT A-Bass (Preamp) > Audio Interface > Studio monitors.
So basically direct.

Right away I knew I was going to keep it, I've never played through an Alembic preamp
before but this thing sounds too cool for my use!
Absolutely no low end loss at all, it can even be massively boosted with the bass knob.
I really like the 3 band EQ it's versatile/useful and at the same time not too touchy,
it's hard to get a bad sound out of it.

The Gain knob has a nice wide range from clean fat tube, to just breaking up, to pretty
gnarly overdrive. Love the overdrive sounds and the touch response is great!
It came with an 12AX7EH electro-harmonix Made In Russia tube.

I'm still in the honeymoon phaze but right now I'm thinkin' this will replace the Laney
IRT Pulse on my HXFX board (and I'll most likely add the O-Bass (Orange preamp) later).
The Laney's no slouch either so I'll move it to another board.

Right now I'm waiting for my Vintage Bass Octave to get back from MXR (noise problem)
so I can put the board back together.
The A-Bass will go in one of the HXFX loops where I'm sure it'll work even better with
some bass cab IR's.
Also have some extra tubes to try some tube rolling in it if I feel like experimenting further.

Anyway that's my initial thoughts on the AMT Bricks A-Bass, for me it's a keeper!
Sorry for the long post and I'm not affiliated with AMT in any way, just a happy customer
so far.

 

[BunchyMutt]

Got the AMT A-Bass (Alembic) preamp, actually got it in about 4 or 5 days from ordering!
I was surprised it came so quick, was ready to wait a week or two.
Wanted to mess with it some before posting about it here again.

First, it's built like a "brick (you know what)", really solid, no wiggle in the knobs and the
switches feel nice and tight.
The knobs are tightly spaced but it's a tiny pedal, about 3.625 x 1.75", like someone
mentioned earlier in this thread the domed knobs make it easier to tweak in such a tight
space, they even have extra little grips towards the tops to help further.

There's 3 vertical slide switches on the right side that I didn't realize would be there.
1- Bright on/off
2- Treble shift on/off
3- Mid freq 300Hz or 450Hz
Along with the power input -DC 12v 300ma center negative.
Right now I'm powering it with Cioks DC-5 12volt 300ma output and it works fine.

On the left side there's a horizontal slide switch to choose "Drive" pedal mode or "Preamp"
mode. I've only tried it in Preamp mode so far with just-
Bass (Alembic Epic 4) > AMT A-Bass (Preamp) > Audio Interface > Studio monitors.
So basically direct.

Right away I knew I was going to keep it, I've never played through an Alembic preamp
before but this thing sounds too cool for my use!
Absolutely no low end loss at all, it can even be massively boosted with the bass knob.
I really like the 3 band EQ it's versatile/useful and at the same time not too touchy,
it's hard to get a bad sound out of it.

The Gain knob has a nice wide range from clean fat tube, to just breaking up, to pretty
gnarly overdrive. Love the overdrive sounds and the touch response is great!
It came with an 12AX7EH electro-harmonix Made In Russia tube.

I'm still in the honeymoon phaze but right now I'm thinkin' this will replace the Laney
IRT Pulse on my HXFX board (and I'll most likely add the O-Bass (Orange preamp) later).
The Laney's no slouch either so I'll move it to another board.

Right now I'm waiting for my Vintage Bass Octave to get back from MXR (noise problem)
so I can put the board back together.
The A-Bass will go in one of the HXFX loops where I'm sure it'll work even better with
some bass cab IR's.
Also have some extra tubes to try some tube rolling in it if I feel like experimenting further.

Anyway that's my initial thoughts on the AMT Bricks A-Bass, for me it's a keeper!
Sorry for the long post and I'm not affiliated with AMT in any way, just a happy customer
so far.

Thanks for the follow up. Great news about the fast shipping and extra eq options. I'm sold.

Could you expand on what it actually sounds like? What's the base tone like that works with that setup over the Laney?

 

[CC7]

Could you expand on what it actually sounds like? What's the base tone like that works with that setup over the Laney?

Kinda struggled with how to answer for a minute...
I definitely like the eq better on the A-Bass than the Laney. The Laney has a few buttons
on it for eq stuff but it's limited there. And I like having the eq on the pedal as opposed
to using eq's in the HXFX.

The gain knob on the A-Bass has a way wider usable range than the Laney too, I always
had to keep the gain knob super low and never used the HOT channel (too high gain).
But the Laney still sounds really nice when set right.

I recorded a couple of clips while messing around with the AMT. It's just-
Bass > AMT A-Bass > Torpedo CAB (with a Shift Line bass cab IR) > Audio Interface.
No eq or compression added, just limiting to get the volume up a little.
Not trying to say it's the most killer bass sound ever, just something I threw together,
so go easy on me!

On this one I have the AMT in bypass.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

And this one the AMT is on, gain around 2 o'clock.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The AMT has a lot more sounds in it than that, I'm lovin' the clean tuby sounds too!
It's also a super quiet preamp pedal, even with the gain up.
Here's a couple pics of the switches on the sides of the pedal for anyone interested.
4464126[/ATTACH]']

4464128[/ATTACH]']

 

[BrentSimons]

Kinda struggled with how to answer for a minute...
I definitely like the eq better on the A-Bass than the Laney. The Laney has a few buttons
on it for eq stuff but it's limited there. And I like having the eq on the pedal as opposed
to using eq's in the HXFX.

The gain knob on the A-Bass has a way wider usable range than the Laney too, I always
had to keep the gain knob super low and never used the HOT channel (too high gain).
But the Laney still sounds really nice when set right.

I recorded a couple of clips while messing around with the AMT. It's just-
Bass > AMT A-Bass > Torpedo CAB (with a Shift Line bass cab IR) > Audio Interface.
No eq or compression added, just limiting to get the volume up a little.
Not trying to say it's the most killer bass sound ever, just something I threw together,
so go easy on me!

On this one I have the AMT in bypass.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

And this one the AMT is on, gain around 2 o'clock.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The AMT has a lot more sounds in it than that, I'm lovin' the clean tuby sounds too!
It's also a super quiet preamp pedal, even with the gain up.
Here's a couple pics of the switches on the sides of the pedal for anyone interested.

Sounds great! Tight playing man!
Best wishes,
Brent

 

[CC7]

I appreciate it Brent, thanks for taking the time to listen!

 

[TodaysTomSawyer]

Kinda struggled with how to answer for a minute...
I definitely like the eq better on the A-Bass than the Laney. The Laney has a few buttons
on it for eq stuff but it's limited there. And I like having the eq on the pedal as opposed
to using eq's in the HXFX.

The gain knob on the A-Bass has a way wider usable range than the Laney too, I always
had to keep the gain knob super low and never used the HOT channel (too high gain).
But the Laney still sounds really nice when set right.

I recorded a couple of clips while messing around with the AMT. It's just-
Bass > AMT A-Bass > Torpedo CAB (with a Shift Line bass cab IR) > Audio Interface.
No eq or compression added, just limiting to get the volume up a little.
Not trying to say it's the most killer bass sound ever, just something I threw together,
so go easy on me!

On this one I have the AMT in bypass.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

And this one the AMT is on, gain around 2 o'clock.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The AMT has a lot more sounds in it than that, I'm lovin' the clean tuby sounds too!
It's also a super quiet preamp pedal, even with the gain up.
Here's a couple pics of the switches on the sides of the pedal for anyone interested.
3826867[/ATTACH]']

3826869[/ATTACH]']

Nice! Into the Void .. The A-Bass is sounding good. Thanks for posting