The Ethos Clean-Fusion Preamp is a preamp built to the footprint of a large stompbox, carrying a clean channel and a separate overdrive channel aimed at Dumble-style tones. Premier Guitar's review describes it as offering "fine faux-tube tones and vast sonic flexibility," with a US street price of $379 at the time of the review1.
What it does
The Clean-Fusion is a stompbox-sized preamp built into a standard BB enclosure. Its clean side gives you a tube-style preamp for your amp or recording chain, while the extra overdrive channel is where Ethos aims at the D-style market: Premier Guitar describes it as delivering "Dumble-like tones with molasses-thick saturation"1.
A second 1/4" output means the pedal is not tied to an amp. You can connect to a guitar amp as normal, or use that second output to play through a PA or record direct, with the pedal's speaker emulation doing the cabinet work. Premier Guitar's reviewer tested it with a Parts guitar fitted with P-90s into a Universal Audio Apollo audio interface, and summed up the emulation in three words: "The speaker emulation is excellent"1.
The controls
The Clean-Fusion stacks several tone-shaping stages, which is the pedal's main selling point and its main learning curve. The layout, as described in Premier Guitar's review1:
| Stage | Controls | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Clean preamp | Gain control plus wide-ranging 3-band Pre-EQ | Sets clean gain and shapes the EQ before the overdrive stage |
| Tone stack voicing | Three toggles | Offer a choice of six dramatically varied tone stack voicings |
| Soft drive | Soft drive switch | Provides natural tube-like compression and four additional tone-shaping controls |
| Overdrive channel | 3-band tone control plus additional gain and level controls | Shapes tones post-distortion |
The three toggles are worth dwelling on: between them they give six dramatically varied tone stack voicings, which is how one box covers a range of preamp characters without a model selector or menu1.
What reviewers said
Premier Guitar's quick-hit review is the published verdict on record. Its pros list reads: "Super-compact. Good sounds. Sonically flexible. Well made."1
The one caution the reviewer raises is dial-in time. With gain, Pre-EQ, voicing toggles, soft drive and post-distortion tone all in the chain, the review notes: "With all those tone-shaping stages, it can take a while to dial in optimal settings for your gear and style." The payoff, in the reviewer's words, is that "after some acclimation you can concoct quality tones for any guitar"1.
The Clean-Fusion's many stages mean it rewards patience: the reviewer's stated con is simply that getting the perfect tone can take time1.
For context on where the Clean-Fusion sits, it is a preamp with a built-in overdrive channel rather than a straight overdrive or distortion pedal, and its speaker emulation and direct output overlap with what dedicated speaker simulation pedals provide1.
Videos
Tim Lerch
Questions
How much does the Ethos Clean-Fusion Preamp cost?
Premier Guitar's review lists a US street price of $379. As with any street price, the figure reflects what the pedal was selling for at the time of the review rather than a fixed manufacturer's list price, so what you pay from a dealer may differ.
Does the Ethos Clean-Fusion Preamp have speaker emulation?
Yes. The Clean-Fusion includes speaker emulation, and Premier Guitar's reviewer called it excellent. Combined with the second 1/4-inch output, that is what lets the pedal run straight into a PA or a recording interface without a microphone on a cabinet.
Can I run the Ethos Clean-Fusion straight to a PA or recording interface?
Yes. You can connect the Clean-Fusion to a guitar amp as usual, or use its second 1/4-inch output to play through a PA or record direct. Premier Guitar tested it into a Universal Audio Apollo audio interface and found the speaker emulation excellent.
What does the soft drive switch do?
According to Premier Guitar's review, the soft drive switch provides natural tube-like compression and brings in four additional tone-shaping controls, adding another stage of shaping on top of the preamp's gain, Pre-EQ and tone stack voicing toggles.
How many tone stack voicings does the Clean-Fusion offer?
Six. Three additional toggles on the pedal offer a choice of six dramatically varied tone stack voicings, letting you reshape how the EQ stages interact without changing the pedal's basic gain and level settings.
Sources (1)
- Quick Hit: Ethos Clean-Fusion Preamp, Premier Guitar, 2016-06-09