Rockerbox Ruby Head Preamp

The Rockerbox Ruby Head Preamp is a preamp pedal that is full analog, according to a reader review published on Pedal of the Day. Its defining feature is how it handles the signal: it splits the signal in two, a clean one and a preamped one, so a clean signal always comes by the output. For a player running other effects or a long chain, that means the preamp's coloration never has to be the only thing on the board.¹

Controls and what they do

The pedal can control highs, lows and gain, so it works as both a tone-shaping preamp and a gain stage. The reviewer described what happens at the top of the gain range: "If you turn the gain knob to it's maximum point, it will give a nice tube overdrive sound." That puts the Ruby Head in territory that overlaps with an overdrive pedal as well as a straight preamp.¹

What reviewers said

The Pedal of the Day review came from Mart\u00edn Toro, a working player who described the pedal from the standpoint of live use: "As a musician that is always playing live, it is very important for me to have a warm tone." His verdict on the Ruby Head was strongly positive: he described a warm tone that pushes the guitar out of the mix without muddying everything else, and said that he would not be buying another preamp for a long time.¹

Videos

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