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 commercially available to players and studios around
the world. His highly-acclaimed
SansAmp
™ pioneered Tube Amplifier
Emulation in professional applications for recording direct and per-
forming live, and created an entirely new category of signal processing.
There have since been many entries into this niche, yet SansAmp contin-
ues to maintain its reputation as the industry standard.
Each product is thoughtfully and respectfully designed by B. Andrew
Barta himself with the player in mind. He continually strives to offer
player-friendly, truly useful, flexible, multi-functional, roadworthy, work-
horse products. In a world of planned obsolescence and constant up-
grades, many of our products have changed little, or not at all, and are
still in production today. We take great pride in delivering consistent
quality sound, studio to studio, club to club, arena to arena.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
The original SansAmp Character Series was introduced in 2008. These
pedals commemorated a range of eras within specific amplifier person-
alities, of which there were 8 in total. By simply twisting a few knobs,
you could build the most sought-after tones and hot rod your own.
From rare vintage classics to roaring modern icons, every variation was
delivered in their own distinctive voicings.
We wanted to broaden the range of tonal options and took that con-
cept a step further to include effects. Because there’s a certain chem-
istry between specific pairings that will forever be a part of history.
Think Ralph & Alice. Fred & Wilma. Lucy & Ricky. Abbott & Costello.
Bonnie & Clyde. They all made a lot of noise and they all had a lot of fun!
The Character Plus Series celebrates the unique chemistry between
specific historic amplifiers and specific historic effects, and cleverly
unites them together in single packages:
Screaming Blonde = Fender-style + Tube Screamer-style
English Muffy
= HiWatt-style + Big Muff-style
Fuzzy Brit
= Marshall-style + Fuzz Face-style
Mop Top Liverpool = Vox-style + Rangemaster Booster-style
With an abundance of knob controls, the 2-channel Character Plus
Series pedals are easy to use and feature our proprietary,
100% analog
SansAmp technology.
You can explore and tailor various eras within
each amp style simply by turning a knob. Each continuously-variable
Character control sweeps through an entire tonal range, spanning
decades of sounds. The Character, EQ controls and speaker simulation
are individually voiced to reflect the specific personality traits inherent
in each amp style.
Additionally, each of these multi-function pedals is like having a stompbox
within a stompbox. (BOGO anyone?) You can use the amp emulation on
its own or just the effect on its own.
The Character Plus Series pedals offer significant flexibility and value at a
nominal price. Whether you’re frugal or extravagant, you can focus on the
one that is your personal favorite or collect them all --and trade them
with your friends!
APPLICATIONS
AS A STOMPBOX with a guitar amp.
You can connect the Character Plus Series pedals in-line just as you would a
standard distortion pedal. If the pre-amp of your amplifier is imparting too much
of its own character on the pedal, plug into the low level input and set the pre-
amp as clean and neutral as possible. As most amps tend to be on the bright
side, you may need to start with High below 12 o’clock; adjust as necessary. You
can also plug into the effects loop return (if your amp has one). This will disable
the entire pre-amp of the amp for a truer representation of the sound. NOTE:
the master volume on your amp will be defeated, so be sure to have the volume
control down on the pedal.
AS A PRE-AMP driving a power amp.
The 1/4” output of the
Character Plus pedal has enough juice to drive a standard power amplifier. Sim-
ply connect the 1/4” output to the power amp input and adjust the Level con-
trol accordingly. You will probably not use the bypass mode of the pedal in this setup.
AS A DIRECT RECORDING DEVICE into mixer or com-
puter.
All of the tone shaping and cabinet emulation needed is already incor-
porated into the pedal, giving you the perfect sound “right out of the box.” The
Character Plus Series pedals automatically convert your guitar signal to Low Z
allowing you to plug into a variety of inputs that would normally load down your
guitar’s signal. These pedals can be plugged into mixers (live and studio), work-
station/recorders, and even directly into the sound card on a computer.
THE INS AND OUTS
1/4” INPUT:
1megOhm instrument level. For normal operation, sig-
nal level to Input should be close to that of a standard guitar (approxi-
mately 250mV).
1/4” UNIVERSAL OUTPUT:
Unbalanced Low Z output. This
output can be connected to High Z amplifiers (or effects) as well as Low
Z mixer and computer inputs. Output level is unity gain when pedal is in bypass
mode. It also drives long cables without loss of signal integrity, even in bypass.
BALANCED XLR OUTPUT:
Balanced Low Z output.
NOTE: Both outputs can be used simultaneously.
For exam-
ple, 1/4" Out to your amp and XLR Out to PA mixer.
UNIVERSAL POWER SUPPLY
The Character Plus Series pedals are
shipped with a power supply set up
with a U.S. prong assembly. To change
the prong assembly to one of the in-
cluded European, UK or Australia/
New Zealand styles, be sure the
power supply is unplugged and follow
these instructions:
Press the PUSH switch to release the
prong assembly. Slide the assembly up
(about halfway) to align the side tabs of
the prong assembly with the slots of the power supply housing. Then pull
up to remove the assembly. Choose the new prong assembly, align the side
tabs with the slot of the housing, slide down until it clicks into position.
NOTE: You cannot
slide
the prong assembly all the way out or
all the way in.
2
1
!! WARNING !! DO NOT run the speaker output of
any
amp directly into the SansAmp input.
Severe damage to the amp and/or the SansAmp will result.
Summary of Contents for Character Plus Series
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