The best analogue guitar preamps and pedalboard amps
Here’s an idea: instead of carting around an amp that’s both as bulky and as fragile as a manosphere influencer, why not use a backpack-friendly analogue preamp instead?
These powerful, neatly sized boxes of tone are catching on. They do the same job as the first part of an amplifier that your guitar’s signal would hit, boosting and shaping the signal before it is amplified (by the next part of the signal chain) to your chosen volume.
Tweak the preamp’s settings – which typically include volume, EQ and various other parameters – then plug it into a powered cab to hear your signature sound. It’s like using an amp head with a cabinet in a stack, but the power stage that amplifies the signal is not included (in most cases). The advantages of a guitar preamp over a head would typically be better portability and the possibility to tap into completely different amp sounds on the go. Some of these options do include a power amp, but this list focuses mainly on pure preamps – which you can then make louder with a dedicated power amp, the FX return on another amp, or by going into a cab sim if needed, and then straight into headphones or the PA.
Digital preamps are also available, but there’s a specific appeal to an analogue preamp that magicks the sonic character (and key components) of a cumbersome transistor or tube amp into a portable package. Perhaps tellingly, the leading brands in this space are not the usual suspects – so instead of the likes of Fender, Blackstar and Orange, we’re looking at pre-amps from lesser-known brands including Victory, EAE and Solar Guitars.
The potted reviews below will introduce you to some of the best analogue preamps on the market, with models to suit a variety of genres and budgets. Let’s find your solution to fill a venue with sweet, analogue sound, without filling the car boot.
At a glance:
Our pick: Victory V4 The Kraken
Best transistor preamp: Electronic Audio Experiments Model feT
Best high-gain preamp: Solar Guitars Chug Pedal
Best versatile preamp: Science Amplification Mother
Best boutique preamp: Milkman x Benson The Amp
Best valve preamp: Two Notes ReVolt
Vest vintage preamp: Victory The Copper
Best advanced guitar preamp: DSM & Humbolt Simplifier X
Best preamp for beginners: Tubesteader Magnezium
Best retro preamp: Tone King Imperial Preamp
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Our pick: Victory V4 The Kraken
Valve preamp meets cab simulation in this monstrously good unit from boutique amplification brand of the moment, Victory Amps.
Unlike many of the best guitar preamps, this model includes a power stage (solid state, up to 180W). Combined with your choice of ten virtual Victory cabinets, this means you can plug straight into an unpowered speaker cabinet and play – loud.
Of course, for analogue aficionados, the big draw to the V4 Kraken is its valve preamp stage, driven by a trio of CV4014s and one EC900. With two gain channels on-board, there’s scope to quest for your own Atlantis of harmonic scuzz. That’s quite a long way to travel without leaving your pedalboard.
Best transistor preamp: Electronic Audio Experiments Model feT
Powerful and replete with EQ and brightness settings, the Model feT is a fantastic homage to the Model T. And no, we’re not referring to the car.
You might know the Sunn Model T amp head for the high-gain sounds that have been cranked out of it by the likes of Josh Homme and Buzz Osborne – or you might be more clued into just how good the Model T sounds clean. The Model fET from Electronic Audio Experiments spans that night-and-day divide in a pedalboard-friendly package.
Like the Model T, the Model feT sounds superb with a distortion or overdrive pedal ahead of it in your chain. Unlike the Model T, it doesn’t cost a small fortune.
Best high-gain preamp: Solar Guitars Chug Pedal
Want to make just about any amplifier or guitar sound chuggy? As its name suggests, this analogue preamp from Solar Guitars will help you do it. It even made a Jazzmaster sound gnarly during our hands-on review.
A true preamp, the Chug Pedal needs to be plugged into a power stage or cab sim. All of the many controls crammed onto the top of the pedal basically give you different shades of chugginess, covering EQ, noise gating and, of course, gain. It’s incapable of sounding even remotely clean, so consider this your dedicated preamp pedal for heavy sounds only.
Best versatile preamp: Science Amplification Mother
If you’re shopping for a preamp that’ll give you great sounds in just about any situation, this versatile, dual-channel model based on the Mother MKIII amplifier would be a great pick. Whether you work it into your pedalboard or plug it straight into your amp or recording interface, it’ll give you the best of tube-like FET transistor tone.
One of the keys to this preamp’s versatility is its choice of two outputs: one that’s made for hooking up to a normal amplifier, and another that provides a full-range response to feed into a neutral power amp. It’s designed to sound great with both electric guitar and bass.
Best boutique preamp: Milkman x Benson The Amp
This pedalboard-friendly collaboration from Milkman and Benson puts analogue at the heart of everything, with tube-driven preamplification and EQ. There’s a fine balance of classic tone and contemporary convenience here, with options to send your signal straight out to your big, old cab, or through a new and immaterial cab sim via XLR.
Above all, what you need to know about this preamp is that it sounds exceptional. Plugged into a cab, it delivers glorious dynamics and chime, and our reviewer was pretty besotted with the on-board reverb. You won’t get much change out of a grand when you buy The Amp – but you will get something special for the money.
Best valve preamp: Two Notes ReVolt
Three-channel, fairly priced and packed with adjustable parameters, the Two Notes ReVolt could well be the ultimate accessible option for valve amp sounds. The 12AX7 vacuum tube behind its little window on the enclosure might look a bit like a museum artefact, but it makes itself heard in the ReVolt’s natural overdrive and crunchy, Marshall-like valve sounds.
Whether you’ve plugged the preamp into your amp’s effects loop or sent its signal out via the headphone or XLR outputs, you’ll find power, warmth and nuance in the ReVolt’s sound. We see it as a full-blown amp substitute; not just an addition to your pedalboard.
Vest vintage preamp: Victory The Copper
For guitarists on the prowl for vintage character in a practical package, the Copper from Victory is a surpassingly classic-sounding option. It’s all-valve with two CV4012s and two CV4014s, and the sounds at your disposal range from chiming cleans to raucous overdrive.
There are plenty of settings to play around with, including a standout, footswitch-operable treble boost that’s ideal for playing spiky lead parts or solos, a la Dave Davies in ‘You Really Got Me’. You can feed it straight into your amp, although we’d tend to plug it into the effects loop input for a more focused sound.
Best advanced guitar preamp: DSM & Humbolt Simplifier X
Touted as the most advanced analogue amp simulator ever, the Simplifier X builds impressively on the legacy of earlier DSM & Humboldt gems including the Simplifier DLX (which is still worth considering pre-owned). It boasts an assignable AUX input (either for your headphones or output to PA), true stereo sound and standout multi-stage reverb.
A preamp-lover’s preamp, the Simplifier X gives you granular control over your sound, with two separate, switchable channels incorporating preamp, power amp and cab sim stages. There’s an abundance of knobs to get your head around, but the layout is intuitive – and the analogue sounds on offer merit the exploration.
Best preamp for beginners: Tubesteader Magnezium
If there were such a thing as a guitar preamp for beginners – and that’s debatable – then the Tubesteader Magnezium could be it. There are two channels delivering Fender-like and Marshall-like overdriven sounds respectively, and tapping into them is as simple as selecting your channel and tweaking the gain and EQ to your taste.
Proudly analogue, this preamp celebrates its 12AX7 valves with a peek-a-boo design. Just be careful if using it while wearing stilettos. There are two output modes tailoring the signal to different setups, so you can plug straight into a regular amplifier, or send a beefier signal to a power amp or cab sim instead.
Best retro preamp: Tone King Imperial Preamp
This preamp looks and sounds straight out of the 1950s, serving up a soda fountain of classic sounds powered by three 12AX7 preamp tubes. It’s based on the Tone King Imperial MKII combo amp, and that’s pretty much what you’re getting (minus a few elements like, erm, a speaker) in a pared down, large format pedal.
The sounds on offer are decidedly vintage, paying homage to ’50s and ’60s Fender amplification classics, as well as 1970s British rock tone – and the on-board tremolo and reverb complete the mood perfectly. Something decidedly more contemporary is the Imperial’s power amp simulation, which enables you to plug it straight into the PA or recording interface.
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