The Foxgear Plex 55 is a miniature power amp plus preamp built into a pedal format, announced in January 2021. Unlike a preamp pedal or an overdrive pedal that feeds the front of a guitar amp, the Plex 55 is designed to be the amp: it carries its own 55-watt output stage and can be connected straight to a speaker cabinet. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described it as "not a regular overdrive simulating a Plexi amp, but an actual miniature, 55w power amp + preamp in pedal format"1.
What it does
The Plex 55 models the behavior and harmonic content of classic Marshall amps, in the way a Plexi-era head is understood by players. Because it includes a real power amp stage, the signal that leaves the pedal is meant to reach a speaker directly. Delicious Audio's guidance is that you can, and should, plug it into a speaker, and that no pedals should be placed in the chain after it1.
That placement rule matters for how you build a board around it. Time-based and textural effects such as delay or reverb pedals, which players normally put in an amp's effects loop after the preamp, have no loop to go into here, since the Plex 55 is the last stop before the speaker. Anything that shapes your core tone goes before it, as it would into the input of a conventional amp head1.
"This means that you can (and should!) plug it directly into a speaker, and definitely not place any pedals in the chain"
Power requirements
The Plex 55 needs a 24VDC supply rated at 4A with positive tip polarity1. That is well outside what a typical pedalboard power supply output provides, so it runs from its own dedicated adapter rather than a shared daisy chain or a standard isolated brick output. Players moving it between setups should plan for that supply the same way they would for a small amp head.
Videos
Alberto Barrero
Jam Bumanlag
Questions
Can the Foxgear Plex 55 be used like a regular overdrive pedal?
No. Delicious Audio describes it as not a regular overdrive simulating a Plexi amp, but an actual miniature 55W power amp plus preamp in pedal format. It is meant to be plugged directly into a speaker, and no pedals should be placed in the chain after it. Pedals that shape your tone go before it, the way they would go into the front of an amp.
What power supply does the Foxgear Plex 55 need?
The Plex 55 requires a 24VDC 4A supply with positive tip polarity, according to Delicious Audio. That is a higher voltage and current draw than a standard 9V pedal supply provides, so it needs its own dedicated power adapter rather than a shared pedalboard power brick output.
Sources (1)
- New Pedal: Foxgear Plex 55 Amp, Delicious Audio, 2021-01-29