Overall Rating: I play in a blues/ R&B band presently, & have played around NM for over 30 years. I get a lot of compliments on my sound now, and I attribute much of that to the preamps. The only problem I have is with the dirty pots - I need to get ...
Overall Rating: I play in a blues/ R&B band presently, & have played around NM for over 30 years. I get a lot of compliments on my sound now, and I attribute much of that to the preamps. The only problem I have is with the dirty pots - I need to get some spray & clean them out. I'm very glad that I found these, and they will stay in my rig. I do find them noisy, and I run them through a pair of DBX 463 dowmward expanders to hush them when I'm not playing. I would definitely replace them if they were stolen.
Sound Quality: I'm running a synthesizer's stereo outputs into two RealTube II preamps, then into a Mackie1202-VLZ which outputs to a clean solid-state stereo power amp feeding two JBL 12" w/ horn cabinets. It makes the already-good Niacin B3 samples come alive, and the distortion is very musical and useful. Using the Drive channel with a good Wurlitzer sample will get a perfect Rod Stewart "Stay with me" sound, while the clean channel is indeed as clean as you want it to be. Mine are noisy, but they're both pretty old. I'm experimenting with tube brands presently, as $ permits.
Reliability/Durability: I gig with them without backup. I've never had a problem.
Ease of Use: See other reviews. As a keyboard player, I had to come to an understanding of the frequencies of the tone controls. Bottom line: use your ears. It is easy to get good tone out of these. They're very adjustable, and many great tones can be achieved.
Customer Support: Genz-Benz is very helpful; good people there.
Price: $120.00 USD USED
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