The History of Tech 21’s SansAmp™
Tech 21, Inc., introduced SansAmp “Classic” (the original pedal design) in 1989. Our propri-
etary F.E.T. hybrid-based circuitry pioneered Tube Amplifier Emulation for professional
applications.
Engineered for direct recording and live performances, SansAmp delivers consistent quality
sound --studio to studio, club to club, arena to arena. Players, engineers, and producers can
now obtain a wide spectrum of warm, natural tube amplifier sounds from one convenient unit.
Available in various formats, each SansAmp is suitable for any music style, from jazz to metal,
and can be used with a variety of instruments --guitar, bass, keyboards, samplers, even sax and
vocals.
The SansAmp Classic was conceived and developed by a guitarist who possesses the unusual
combination of a trained ear and electronics expertise. The technology is designed in the true
tradition of tube amplifiers in their
totality
—with a pre-amp stage and an output stage. It
incorporates the harmonics and sweet overdrive characteristics unique to tube amplifiers—
largely caused by what is referred to as “push-pull” symmetrical clipping. (A single tube is
physically incapable of accomplishing the same results.) SansAmp captures these characteris-
tics, and does so even at low volume levels.
SansAmp gives you the most coveted trademarked sounds and the flexibility to refine and
redefine your own. Each model responds to and interacts with the dynamics of your individual
playing style, your individual musical style, and your instrument’s individual tonality. All of
these factors play an important role in the resulting sound, which will ultimately be yours
alone.
Designed & Manufactured in the U.S.A.
TECH 21, INC.
I
NTRODUCTION
SansAmp PSA-1 maintains its superior tone with our exclusive, 100% analog circuitry. Only
the programming and memory sections are digital. The results are easy to hear: punchy,
responsive, powerful sounds that bring out the best in an instrument—the kind of tones that
characterize the original SansAmp Classic, SansAmp Bass DI, SansAmp GT2, and SansAmp
Rackmount.
The SansAmp PSA-1 can be used for a variety of applications. In the studio, you can record
direct to tape, enhance existing tracks in mixdowns, as well as add interesting touches to any
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instrument. For live performances, it can be used as a pre-amp direct into a power amp with
guitar or bass speaker cabinets, as a “monster direct box” to a P.A. system, (or both simultane-
ously), and as an outboard processor.
The SansAmp PSA-1 features MIDI capability for calling up programs and storing program
data. There are 49 factory presets and 49 memory locations to store your own custom sounds,
plus two bypass programs. When you switch between programs, there is no lag time, or “cut-
ting out.”
The controls on the SansAmp PSA-1 work very much like those found on a sophisticated
amp. You don’t need special training or a degree in physics to operate your unit. Storing and
recalling programs is simple: set your tones and push the
Save
button. Like the SansAmp
Rackmount, you just turn a knob and hear the difference immediately --in real time. There
are 256 incremental steps in the rotation of each control, so increases and decreases occur in
a smooth, gradual, linear fashion.
The SansAmp PSA-1 is designed to provide you with the flexibility to find almost any con-
ceivable tonal personality within the tube amplifier sound spectrum.
Q
UICK
S
TART
I
NSTRUCTIONS
Here’s how you can get your PSA-1 up and running before you read the entire manual.
1. Plug your instrument into the front-panel
Input
jack (on the left side).
2. Plug one end of a cord into the rear panel’s left
Output
jack, and plug the other end into
the input of a mixer or an amp or power amp.
3. Plug the AC cord into a wall socket. The SansAmp PSA-1 is now on.
4. Turn on your amp or mixer. (If the mixer is patched into a monitor or recorder setup, make
sure the power amp and speakers are turned on, too.)
5. Turn up the input level on your amp or mixer. If the signal is too “hot,” resulting in
unwanted distortion, or too weak, check the amp’s or mixer’s input control as well as the
Output Level Switch
on the back of the SansAmp PSA-1.
6. Play your favorite riff or chord changes, and you should hear a sound coming through your sys-
tem. If not, recheck your connections, and make sure your guitar’s volume control is turned up.
7. Select programs by pushing either the
Up
or
Down
buttons. The first 49 presets (01-49)
are factory settings (refer to the list on page 22), and the second 49 programs (51-99) are stor-
age locations for you to keep your settings. Note that the unit is shipped with programs 51-99
as duplicates of presets 01-49, and that 00 and 50 are bypass settings.
If you need further guidance in setting up your SansAmp PSA-1, check out the diagrams and
information on pages 12 through 14.
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PSA-1
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PSA-1
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