Educate me on the Soldano SP 77, Kettner Access preamps...

  • Thread starter Thread starter ultimatemetalguitartones
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ultimatemetalguitartones

ultimatemetalguitartones

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I am considering getting either a new amp - or preamp to be using through my mark III + suhr reactive - torpedo CAB. I am only interested in 80s 90s metal - rhythm guitar no leads - cleans. I ve read that the Kettner Access is considered the poor man's triaxis or sth like that, is that the case? How about the SP 77? Will it chug boosted with my VFE Dragon?
Both can be found at about 300 euros.
Thx in advance guys!
 
Just about any high gain preamp will chug through the effects return of a Mark amp with the GEQ.

The SP77 is a good preamp, but there are some considerations before buying.

Is it the Japanese (light metallic purple) or US model? Japanese model is built more like higher end preamps, with chassis mounted pots and tube sockets. Some people think they sound worse though. I've never played that model.

The US model is outsourced with PCB mounted pots and sockets. There's also a batch of US SP77s with bad resistors in R25 and R26 (if they're green, they're bad). This batch started somewhere after serial # 77069 and includes # 77131. I've got a list of mods that would bring an SP77 closer in tone to the X88R or X99.
 
I don;t know about quality but I really liked the H&K when I tried it years ago. Have you considered the CAE 3+SE?
 
The Access is a good sounding preamp but it's loaded with proprietary parts that are no longer made... Maybe in Europe you can still find places to service it but here in the US if it breaks, it's pretty much dead.
I'd look into an ENGL E530. I got one recently and it's killer for hard rock and metal.
 
Thx for the prompt answer guys! Each of them can be found at 300 to 350 euros in Italy. The sp 77 is the Japanese version. As for the cae, I tried one some years ago and it was amazing. However, the cheapest is 1500 euros!
 
guitarbilly74":3eb21vjx said:
The Access is a good sounding preamp but it's loaded with proprietary parts that are no longer made... Maybe in Europe you can still find places to service it but here in the US if it breaks, it's pretty much dead.
I'd look into an ENGL E530. I got one recently and it's killer for hard rock and metal.
Click to expand...
My band mate has one and I love it!
 
I had a Japanese SP-77 ages ago. Mine was with the gray face-plate.
Actually the cleans were good but the drive channel sounded a bit 'hollow' (sorry I couldn't find a better term) and it lacked gain. I remember that I preferred my JMP-1.
I had it paired with a VHT 2/50/2 with two Fatbottom cabs.
The HR50 that I had at some point sounded way better (I believe that the preamps on both devices are more or less the same).
 
JohnRageOn":ohrff2hp said:
I had a Japanese SP-77 ages ago. Mine was with the gray face-plate.
Actually the cleans were good but the drive channel sounded a bit 'hollow' (sorry I couldn't find a better term) and it lacked gain. I remember that I preferred my JMP-1.
I had it paired with a VHT 2/50/2 with two Fatbottom cabs.
The HR50 that I had at some point sounded way better (I believe that the preamps on both devices are more or less the same).
Click to expand...
Thx a lot! I think ur right, from what I 've gathered it does lack gain!
 
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