The AMT Bricks Vx-Clean is a compact preamp pedal from AMT Electronics, part of the X-Lead/X-Clean line of tube guitar preamplifiers. AMT describes it as an analog preamp covering clean, low gain and high gain settings, and says it is based on the scheme of the legendary VOX AC30 amplifier. According to the maker, it may sound like a clean as well as a typical VOX amp with a light overdrive characteristic1. The pedal is listed as available now1.
Preamp mode and drive pedal mode
The Vx-Clean can be used two ways, and the connection point decides which. In preamp mode, you connect it to the amp's return, so the pedal replaces the amp's own preamp section. In drive pedal mode, you connect it to the amp's input, and it works like an overdrive pushing the front of the amp. AMT lists this ability to use overloaded channels in either position as a core feature of the line1.
That flexibility matters on a pedalboard: the same pedal can serve as the heart of a rig going straight into a power amp or effects return, or as a VOX-flavored drive in front of a conventional amplifier. It sits in AMT's Bricks family of preamp pedals alongside the AMT Bricks X-Lead, AMT Bricks F-Clean and AMT Bricks Vt-LEAD, and the wider range of preamp pedals1.
Controls
Despite the compact design, AMT gives the Vx-Clean a full set of regulation knobs1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | Sets the amount of preamp drive |
| Treble | High frequency EQ |
| Middle | Midrange EQ |
| Bass | Low frequency EQ |
| Volume | Output level |
Circuit and noise gate
AMT describes the X-Lead/X-Clean implementation as either a full tube circuit or a hybrid of tube and semiconductor components, with the semiconductor parts efficiently emulating vacuum triode cascades1. The maker's product page does not fix the Vx-Clean to one of those topologies, so a buyer who needs to know exactly which version they are getting should read the manual AMT links from its media center1.
The pedal also includes a Noise Gate as a global setting, listed by AMT's media center, meaning the gate applies across the pedal rather than per channel2.
AMT states that in a serial chain of X-Lead/X-Clean preamps, turning on any preamp in the chain turns all the other connected preamps off, switching them to true bypass1. If you run more than one Bricks preamp together, they behave as a single switched set rather than independent pedals.
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Questions
Is the AMT Bricks Vx-Clean true bypass?
Yes. AMT states the Vx-Clean runs true bypass when switched off in a serial chain of X-Lead/X-Clean preamps: turning on any preamp in the chain turns all the other connected preamps off, switching them to true bypass.
Does the AMT Bricks Vx-Clean use a real tube?
AMT describes the X-Lead/X-Clean design as either a full tube circuit or a hybrid of tube and semiconductor components, with semiconductors efficiently emulating vacuum triode cascades. The maker does not commit the Vx-Clean to one topology in its product page.
Where do you connect the AMT Bricks Vx-Clean to use it as a preamp?
For preamp mode, connect it to your amplifier's effects return. AMT also allows drive pedal mode, where the pedal connects to the amp's input instead and pushes the amp's own preamp.
Does the AMT Bricks Vx-Clean have a noise gate?
Yes. AMT's media center lists a Noise Gate as a global setting on the Vx-Clean, so it applies across the pedal rather than being set per channel.
Sources (2)
- AMT Vx-Clean, AMT Electronics, 2026
- AMT Bricks Vx-Clean, Media center of AMT Electronics
