TECH 21, THE COMPANY
Tech 21 was formed by a guitarist possessing the unusual combination of a trained
ear and electronics expertise. In 1989, B. Andrew Barta made his invention com-
mercially available to players and studios around the world. His highly-acclaimed
SansAmp
™ pioneered Tube Amplifier Emulation in professional applications for
recording direct and performing live, and created an entirely new category of signal
processing. There have since been many entries into this niche, yet SansAmp con-
tinues to maintain its reputation as the industry standard.
With a full line of SansAmp models, Tech 21 also offers effect pedals and MIDI
products, as well as “traditional” style amplifiers for guitar and bass. Each product is
thoughtfully and respectfully designed by B. Andrew Barta himself with the player in
mind. Our goal is to provide you with flexible, versatile tools to cultivate, control,
refine and redefine your own individual sound. Tech 21 takes great pride in deliver-
ing consistent quality sound, studio to studio, club to club, arena to arena.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
The Boost Distortion pays tribute to the classic rock/hard rock distortion tones from
the ‘80s. Very complementary to clean amps, in particular. The Boost Distortion gives
you greater dynamic range and actually cleans up like a tube amp. Additionally, it will
not interfere with the clean amp signal when in bypass. The Boost Distortion acts
as a virtual master volume for non-master volume amps --giving you that cranked
stack sound at lower volumes.
Tech 21’s all-analog circuitry
merges vintage sounds with modern dependability
so you get the same sound, all day and all night long. Designed and built from the
ground up utilizing the best individually-selected, hand-biased discreet components,
the Boost Distortion provides optimized performance with studio-quiet operation.
APPLICATIONS and CONTROLS
Use with any amp --tube or solid state, vintage or modern. NOTE: You can also
achieve the same results using the Boost Distortion in conjunction with any model
of our own SansAmp™ Tube Amplifier Emulators.
LEVEL:
Adjusts the output level of the unit.
TONE:
Very musical, specialized low pass filter that shifts the high cut from
10kH to 1kH. It allows you to remove the high end without losing mids or getting
muddy.
DRIVE:
Adjusts the overall amount of gain and overdrive, similar to when the
output section of a tube amp is being pushed. Highly interactive with the level of
your guitar. For instance, you can clean up the amount of distortion by decreasing
the guitar’s volume (except in very extreme settings) without having to change the
setting on the pedal. Conversely, you can increase the amount of distortion by sim-
ply increasing the guitar’s volume.
SAG:
Adds an expressive, tube-like response to every pick stroke. The higher
the setting, the more pronounced the effect will be.
BOOST:
Adds up to 21dB of clean boost. The Boost function is a true post-
boost to kick up the volume without adding any further distortion. Activated via its
own footswitch, it can also be used independently from the effect.
THE INS AND OUTS
1/4” INPUT
:
1megOhm instrument level. For normal operation, signal level
to
Input
should be close to that of a standard electric guitar (approx -10dBm /
250mV). The input is designed with the same sensitivity and loading characteristic
as a tube amp.
Also switches battery power on/off, so be sure to unplug
when not in use.
1/4” OUTPUT:
1kOhm low impedance output drives long cables without loss
of signal integrity, even in bypass.
