Sinvertek MGAT-1 GE Golden Era

The Sinvertek MGAT-1 GE Golden Era is a preamp pedal, what its designer calls a Hyper Preamp, that re-voices the original Sinvertek N5 MGAT-1 specifically around three classic Marshall heads: the 1987X, the 1959 SLP and the 2203 JCM800¹. Where the original MGAT-1 set out to cover five Marshall amps across 19 gain tones, the GE narrows the focus to what Mr Wu calls the Golden Era of Marshall amps, with a new Gold Era filter switch and three channels, OD-, OD and OD, that correspond to plexi and JCM800 voicings²³⁴.

The pedal was announced in November 2023 and released in two limited editions with identical circuits: the DS99, a lighter colourway of 99 units mainly reserved for regular loyal Sinvertek customers, and the First Edition of 250 units, 349 in total¹. Every unit was handmade by Mr Wu, typically shipping from California, at a price of $349 plus delivery¹.

A Hyper Preamp built around three Marshall amps

The MGAT-1 GE is a re-tooling of the N5 MGAT-1 Hyper Preamp, which Sinvertek announced in August 2022 as the fifth major iteration of its N5 series, a line that began with the first Sinvertek No.5 Distortion in 2015³. The original MGAT-1 was designed as a homage to 60 years of Marshall amps, 2022 being Marshall's 60th anniversary, and was described as a full amp circuit in pedal format with 14 controls, three channels and 19 gain tones from clean to ultra-gain³. Wu claimed the tone similarity with Marshall amps reached 95%³.

The GE keeps the same control topology as its stablemate predecessor but shifts the voicing. Guitar Pedal X reported that the OD+ channel is Mr Wu's own idea of Marshall high gain, quoting Wu's description of it as "completely different from the high gain tone of a JCM2000"¹. The GE was also expected to have more classic, vintage amp sag and a beefier low end profile than the original¹.

The controls and three channels

The MGAT-1 GE has three channels, OD-, OD and OD+, which correspond to plexi and JCM800 voicings respectively, with OD+ as Wu's high gain voice¹. Guitar Pedal X's full control listing for the N5 MGAT-1 Golden Era DS99 gives the complete picture of the 14 controls and their switch options⁶⁷:

The most important change from the original MGAT-1 is the Gold Era filter switch, which replaced the previous Mid Range switch. It selects the characteristic frequency response of the three classic Marshall amp heads, and its positions are labeled 1987X, 1959 SLP and 2203 rather than the High, Low and Mid segmentation of the earlier pedal¹. The Gain toggle moves between Green, Orange and Red gain stages, in the manner of the original MGAT-1's GAIN STAGE toggle, which switched between CRUNCH [GREEN], OD1 [ORANGE] and OD2 [RED] channels⁸.

Versions: DS99, First Edition and the MGAT-1 line

The MGAT-1 GE shipped in two editions with identical circuits¹:

• DS99: 99 units, a lighter colourway, mainly reserved for regular loyal Sinvertek customers, handmade by Mr Wu with about six weeks to make and deliver¹
• First Edition: 250 units, the main edition¹

Both carried the same $349 price tag plus delivery, with European buyers paying £369¹. Orders were taken via an email list with PayPal payment, and demos were not expected until mid-January 2024¹.

The GE sits in the middle of the MGAT-1 line. The original MGAT-1 arrived in 2022 as a limited run of 250 units made in three batches from October 2022 to January 2023³, and Guitar Pedal X's reviewer called it "the best Distortion of all time for me"¹. The GE followed in 2023, and in 2026 the line continued with the MGAT-1 EVO, the third variant, which Guitar Pedal X describes as a further improvement: "we got the even better MGAT-1 Golden Era, and now we have the still better MGAT-1 EVO"⁹¹. The EVO shipped in two limited-run editions, a gold-accented Great Era edition and a red, white and blue Abstractionism edition⁹. Sinvertek's line has since expanded further with the SRAA N5 MGAT-5, a Real Amp Abstraction of the Soldano SLO announced in 2025⁵¹⁰.

What reviewers said

Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson, a long-term owner of the N5 series, reviewed the Golden Era line favourably. On the DS99 he wrote¹⁷⁴:

In Guitar Pedal X's 2024 distortion roundup the Sinvertek MGAT-1 took Gold, listed at $350¹¹, and in the site's guide to extended-range Marshall pedals the N5 MGAT-1 Golden Era DS99 was described as "a magnificent 14-Controls long-term favourite that has the highest gain range here and most shaping ability", with the caveat that it is single channel only in terms of output⁷. Karlsson also called the MGAT-1 GE "already incredible" in a 2025 piece comparing it with the Fortin Kali, another Marshall-focused preamp pedal covering similar territory⁴. Delicious Audio added the MGAT-1 to its article about the best Plexi-style distortion and overdrive pedals, noting its two gain and four EQ knobs integrated by switches offering four tone and four gain options, delivering hundreds of sonic possibilities².

The EVO's arrival in 2026 pushed the assessment further. Karlsson's review of the MGAT-1 EVO Great Era Edition calls it "still the greatest MIAB of all time as far as I am concerned", and reports that Michael Aschoff compared the EVO's JCM800 voicing to the JCM800 model on an Axe-Fx III and found the pedal came out ahead⁹.

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