Pure Tone Amps creates high end tube amps for guitar and bass in Crete, Greece. It’s a one-man business and its founder Michalis is a lovely person to deal with. His amps sound great, and their weight defy the law of physics: my 50W amp weights 4.2 kg!
They are entirely handmade, and each one is a unique creation tailored for its customer: when you order an amp, you can choose the colours, knobs, etc. But they all share the same unique look of expresso machine, with the labels handwritten in Greek.
Thank you Michalis for lending me your preamp: I love so much Mini Tone amp that I wanted to check how much of that tube goodness we can get from that more affordable little box. Here's my sincere opinion about the preamp (Pure Tone Amps didn't influence me in any way, except by answering my question. he will discover this review at the same time as you do.
They are entirely handmade, and each one is a unique creation tailored for its customer: when you order an amp, you can choose the colours, knobs, etc. But they all share the same unique look of expresso machine, with the labels handwritten in Greek.
Thank you Michalis for lending me your preamp: I love so much Mini Tone amp that I wanted to check how much of that tube goodness we can get from that more affordable little box. Here's my sincere opinion about the preamp (Pure Tone Amps didn't influence me in any way, except by answering my question. he will discover this review at the same time as you do.
Gain section
The preamp comes with 2 ECC83 JJ (12AX7). Tube swapping is easy. There are a High and a Low input, like on many bass amps, and also a Hiht and Low output which is less common. It provides 4 combinations (Low+Low, High+Low, Low+High, High+High).In combination with the gain knob (labelled « Entasis »), this lets you find very precisely the level of gain you need, with a passive of active bass - from super clean, to a warm tubby tone, at the edge of breakup (super touch responsive), light grit, and all the way to distortion.
EQ
The EQ controls offer an unusual level of flexibility:- The bright switch (« Othisis ») boosts the mids and highs.
- When set to « Pure » mode, the EQ is bypassed but you still have the « Tone » knob and the bright switch to adjust your tone.
- When set to « EQ », the « Tone » knob becomes inactive, but you have the classic Bass, Mid and Treble controls, + a mid frequency selector
Perfect in a recording studio or home studio, Amphibious is equaly great live.My opinion
I’ve owned several tube preamps in the past and still own a few: Sushi Box Space Heater, Night Owl Industry Edison, Mozztronics DI-2, and Jule Monique. The Amphibious is my favorite:- It’s completely silent: no hiss or hum at all, even at high gain levels
- If you just want to add tube warmth to your tone, It really shines: the sound is beautiful, with rich harmonics, a great « 3D feel », and very responsive to the playing dynamics.
- If you want to find the perfect sweet spot between 100% clean and light overdrive, it offers the widest range compared to all other tube preamps I have tried: Monique will always stays clean, and others « jump » very quickly from clean to distortion.
- It has the most versatile EQ section of all, with the « Pure » and « EQ » modes, the Bright and the Mid Frequency switches… With the "Pure" mode, you really keep the natural voice of your instrument and just add some tube warmth or grit, and with the "EQ" mode and the Mid switch, you can color the sound as you wish.
- All settings are usable, you can never find a bad tone with the Amphibious.
- Equally excellent for recording direct in an audio interface, or live in a power amp. It's a little bit too big for a pedal board IMO, but it sits perfectly on a bass head like the Quilter BB800.
We can use this preamp is so many ways, and it’s always rewarding: sometimes I want a no brainer tone enhancer - I just plug, play… and smile. Another day if I feel like exploring different tones, I can dive into endless possibilities and never feel frustrated. And it’s also very intuitive, so if I think of a specific tone for song or playing technique, I know I will find it quickly.
My only slight regret is that the Pure mode sounds a bit louder than the EQ mode, so when you switch back and forth, you have to adjust the gain in order to keep the same output level. That prevents me from using these modes like 2 channels and switch between them in the middle of a song, but it’s not the way I use a tube preamp anyway (I’m more a « set and forget » guy).
Some people will miss the lack of DI out, but I don’t see the point when recording, and you can always add an external DI is needed for live use.
Last, Pure Tone Amp Amphibious works for any instrument: guitar, bass, keys, winds, anything… I know that some of you think they prefer a preamp designed specifically for bass guitars, but it doesn’t matter as long as sounds great with a bass, and it does. After all, the best studio gear is generally not specialised for a single instrument. I see this more like an advantage rather than a drawback, especially for a home studio use, since I can also use it to record any instrument. I thing the EQ works great for a bass guitar, but I will let you judge by yourself in the demo:
Pure Tone Amps Amphibious is one of the best sounding and the most versatile tube preamps I’ve ever tried.
Each amp and preamp is made by hand, and you can customise the finish. Visit the website to see examples, including the Fabbrica, a more compact version where valves and transformer are located outside the box.
Learn more: Pure Tone Amps website
