Hudson Electronics Broadcast-AP

The Hudson Electronics Broadcast-AP is a signature preamp pedal built with guitarist Ariel Posen, an evolution of the company's Broadcast designed to integrate with his sound¹. At its heart is the same circuitry as the standard Broadcast: a class-A discrete, transformer-coupled circuit designed to saturate in a way reminiscent of recording and broadcast consoles¹. Two changes set it apart: the germanium transistor of the standard Broadcast is exchanged for a pair of selected silicon transistors, and the Triad transformer is replaced by an OEP transformer¹.

Hudson says those two changes give the Broadcast-AP a darker, smoother, more powerful tone than the standard version, with greater weight in the lows while retaining open highs and upper-mids, giving what the maker calls a "3D" effect¹. It was announced in October 2019, priced at £189 and sold exclusively through UK retailer Andertons², with gearnews reporting it was due out on 1 November 2019²¹³.

What the Broadcast-AP does

The Broadcast-AP is a gain pedal that covers a wide range of drive. Gearnews described it as going "from clean boost to all out fuzz, depending on how you dial it in"⁴. The gain trim control has 12dB more gain than the low-gain side of the standard Broadcast, covering ground from clean boost through to medium gain overdrive tones⁵.

The controls: Level, Gain Trim and Low Cut

The pedal keeps its control surface simple, with a LEVEL knob that controls the overall volume of the pedal and a GAIN TRIM knob that controls the gain level, a LOW CUT switch that activates a low-cut filter which reduces the gain of the low frequencies, and trimmers inside the enclosure, with the gain adjustable via one trimmer and the low cut adjustable via two trimmers¹⁴.

The low cut filter is a 100Hz high-pass at 6dB/oct¹. Position 1 (switch down) takes the filter out of the circuit; position 2 (switch up) engages it¹. On That Pedal Show, reviewing the Broadcast line, Dan and Mick explained the practical use of a low cut: "you can thin out the bottom end a bit, which will make it sit slightly more nicely in a mix"⁶.

Inside the enclosure are three trimmers: one to increase the overall gain of the pedal, and two to fine tune each position of the low cut switch⁵. Gearnews noted the gain trimmer means that if you want more fuzz, you can tailor the pedal to give you exactly that⁴.

How it differs from the standard Broadcast

The one obvious difference on the outside is that there is no high/low gain switch, unlike the non-AP Broadcast³. Inside, the silicon transistors and the OEP transformer change the character. Hudson says the OEP transformer saturates and distorts less below 100Hz compared to the Triad transformer used in the standard Broadcast¹. The guitar.com reviewer put it this way:

Power: 9V to 24V DC

The Broadcast-AP runs at voltages between 9V DC and 24V DC, and Hudson says running it higher than 9V gives more headroom, output level and clarity¹. It draws a minimum of 20mA and uses a 2.1mm negative center barrel plug; any other type may damage the pedal¹.

Versions and availability

The original Broadcast-AP was a limited edition sold exclusively through Andertons². Hudson has since released a Green Limited Edition⁷ and a Blue Limited Run of the same circuit, both with BI Technologies potentiometers⁵⁷; the Blue Limited Run is listed as sold out⁵.

The Broadcast-AP was later joined by the Broadcast AP-II, which adds a dual send and return effects loop, letting the player decide how to route other effects around the preamp circuit⁸. The AP-II was featured in a demo episode, appearing from the 33:58 mark⁹.

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