AMT Bricks R/S-lead

The AMT Bricks R/S-Lead is a tube preamp pedal from AMT Electronics, built around the Red-channel overdrive used in one of the most popular hi-gain amps by Mesa Boogie / Soldano, according to AMT's product page¹. It is part of the AMT Bricks series of compact preamp devices and is listed as AVAILABLE NOW¹.

Preamp mode and drive mode

The R/S-Lead can be used in two ways. In preamp mode it connects to the amp's Return, replacing the amp's own preamp section. In drive pedal mode it connects to the amp's Input, where AMT says it gives the ability to use overloaded channels in front of the amp's preamp¹. That makes it work either as a preamp pedal or as a distortion-style drive in front of an amplifier.

Controls and features

Despite the compact design, AMT gives the pedal a full set of regulation knobs: Gain, Treble, Middle, Bass and Volume¹.

The pedal also carries features that go beyond a simple tube drive:

• Noise Gate, as a global setting²
• Delay or Reverb effect selectable per preset²
• 1 IR (speaker impulse response) for both L/R channels per preset²

AMT's media center page hosts demo and review videos of the R/S-Lead dated from 28/04/2018 to 31/01/2022, including "AMT R/S-Lead, Sound Demo (no talking)" and "AMT B-Lead, D-Lead, R/S-Lead, Ultimate In-depth Demo and Review"². A user manual in English is available from AMT².

Connections and control

The R/S-Lead can control other devices or be controlled by other devices. AMT fits it with special CTRL A and CTRL B connectors for this purpose¹, which lets it sit in a larger switching rig alongside other Bricks preamps such as the P-Lead, D-Lead, B-Lead or Vt-Lead.

Circuit design

AMT describes the implementation of either full tube or hybrid (tube + semiconductors) circuit design, with efficient emulation of vacuum triode cascades by semiconductor components¹. The tube stage runs at what AMT calls a really high anode voltage of +250 to 300V¹, a figure well above the low-voltage starved-tube approach some compact pedals take.

Videos

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