ART SGX LT

For a player, it works as a rack mounted multi-effects unit: the preamp shapes the guitar signal going in, and the digital section supplies effects that can be recalled as presets. It carries 250 studio effect presets, with up to three studio effects combinations available per preset¹.

What it is and how it is built

The SGX LT sits in ART's SGX family of rack units. It is the compact sibling of the ART SGX 2000, a guitar preamp and multi-effects processor with tube and analog preamp circuitry in a double high 19-inch rack case², and of the ART SGX NIGHTBASS, the bass preamp equivalent, also in a double high case³. The SGX LT takes a single rack space instead of two, and where the SGX 2000 and NIGHTBASS pair digital VLSI effects with tube technology²³, the SGX LT's preamp is analog solid state¹.

Its published specifications from the maker's manual:

The outputs are single ended (unbalanced) at 1.5K ohms impedance and can provide a stereo or mono signal¹. The Clean Gain control adjusts the input gain of the clean channel, with a control range of 0 to 11¹.

The presets: 250 effects, up to three at once

The unit holds 250 studio effect presets, and each preset can combine up to three studio effects at once¹. The manual's program tables list the program number, preset number, whether distortion is enabled, and the effect's settings: the slapback delay table gives delay time left and right, the reverb with long predelay table gives decay time and predelay in ms, and the echo table gives delay time left and right plus regen in percent¹. Individual programs show the range of combinations available, such as preset 155 (F5), a reverse effect with slapback, and presets 161 (G1) and 164 (G4), slope and flat settings with regen ddl¹.

Each table lists the program number, preset number, whether distortion is enabled, and the effect's timing parameters. For example, the slapback delay table lists program number, preset number, distortion enable and delay time left/right, while the echo table adds regen percentage, and the reverb with long predelay table lists decay time and predelay in milliseconds¹. A few named programs give a sense of what the groups contain:

Inputs, outputs and MIDI

There are two mono inputs: an Instrument Input on the front panel and a Line Input on the rear panel, both 1/4" phone jacks¹. A guitar can be plugged directly into the front panel jack, while the rear input handles line level sources.

On the output side, the SGX LT has LEFT and RIGHT 1/4" phone outputs plus a headphone output on the rear panel, which is a standard 1/4" stereo jack¹. Using both main outputs produces a stereo image; a single output gives mono¹.

MIDI is a five pin DIN jack on the rear panel, and the unit receives program change messages, so presets can be switched from a MIDI controller¹. This is a simpler MIDI implementation than the SGX 2000, which carries MIDI IN, OUT and THRU jacks and accepts MIDI data at all times regardless of operating mode², and the ART SGX 2000 Express, which adds an editable MIDI Program Table⁴.

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