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Century

Century

Solid State Preamplifier

Regular price £130.00 GBP
Regular price Sale price £130.00 GBP
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Please note; This is a preamplifier, and not a distortion pedal. Read more about this below.

Based on the Peavey* Decade practice amp.

Provides fuzzy, warm and gritty distortion, perfect for grunge, stoner rock and everything in between. With the addition of a Boost switch, even more sounds are available on tap.

* Peavey is a registered Trademark of Peavey Electronics Corporation.

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About Preamplifiers

This is a preamplifier, and not a distortion pedal. We do not recommend connecting this device to the input of a normal guitar amplifier. Instead, it is best used in one of the following ways:

Connected to the Effects Return / Power Amp Input of a guitar amp

Connect your guitar to the pedal input, and connect the pedal output to the effects return. This bypasses your amplifier's built-in preamp, and the signal goes through the pedal instead.

Connected to a dedicated power amp

Some examples include the Seymour Duncan Powerstage, Harley Benton GPA-100, or the Mooer Baby Bomb.

Connect the pedal directly to an audio interface

For recording purposes, the pedal can be connected to either an instrument or line-level input on your audio interface. Using a speaker cabinet simulation plugin, such as an Impulse Response (IR) loader, to emulate the effect of a speaker cab is highly recommended.

Product Details - Century

Controls

  • Pre - Gain control at the first gain stage.
  • Bass, Mid, Treble - Responsive 3-band tone control circuit.
  • Post - Control the output volume.
  • Boost - Adds additional gain after the tonestack, which drives the last set of diode clippers harder, for a brighter, more saturated sound.
  • Saturate Switch - Switches to the Saturate input path, which adds additional gain and changes the tonal character of the circuit.
  • Active Switch - Engages or bypasses the pedal with a relay (true bypass).

The original

The Peavey Decade is, objectively, a simple and cheaply made practice amplifier. Recognized as being great by absolutely nobody, it wasn't until an interview with Josh Homme in 2021 that he revealed his secret weapon as being the Peavey Decade.

Whether or not Josh was being honest or playing an elaborate joke on his friend and fellow musician Mark Ronson, who was conducting the interview, well… no one knows.

What we do know is that, when we free the circuit from it's awful tiny combo speaker, and feed the signal into a decent speaker, the Decade's circuit really performs. It's the perfect blend between classic Marshall-esque crunch and the fuzzy stoner-rock vibes that Homme is known for. And it sounds just as good on bass (which is probably what QOTSA used it for, anyway).

Features

  • True Bypass with Relay switching.
  • Soft-touch footswitches.
  • Internal voltage-boost mechanism ensures circuit runs at same voltage as the original amp.
  • Rugged 16 gauge (1.6mm) steel enclosure with textured powder coat finish.
  • Solid aluminium knobs.

Technical Specs

  • Power Requirement: 9V DC, 190mA
  • Power connector: 2.1mm center-negative barrel jack
  • Dimensions: 145mm (W) 108mm (D) 61mm (H)
  • Dimensions (with packaging): 185mm (W) 130mm (D) 70mm (H)