Low Profile and Pedal Board Amplifiers | Are They Really What They Say?

Greetings Dynastar Fans:

Today we discuss ‘pedal board amps’. There seems to be some confusion as to what defines a pedal board amp. Some manufacturers such as Victory, Orange, and especially us here at the mighty Dynastar actually have power amplifiers in their amplifiers, but there is still a difference. When we say that, we are saying that the unit has the electronics built into actually driving a loudspeaker directly. Some companies such as Universal Audio’s ‘Knuckles’, and many others make a pedal that is a ‘simulator’. In other words they require you to connect into a guitar amplifier or a power amplifier which then connects to a loudspeaker. That is different. That becomes a new element in your guitar rig system which will affect the tone in some shape or manner. Simulators are not the same thing as a full fledged amplifier.

Back in the day and even today we still have “Amp heads” in lieu of combo amps. Combo amplifier configurations contain the amplifier chassis housing the electronics, and loudspeaker all in one enclosure or ‘Cab’ for short. This makes it convenient for hauling around, but can get heavy for 100W vacuum tube amplifiers. When you wanted a big sound, you moved on to an amp head, and a large speaker cabinet of your choice. Splitting the two made it more practical for hauling around– especially if you were a bass player… Think Ampeg SVT (Ooh my aching back).. The head alone on those weighed a ton.

So a better concept is why not build a full fledged amplifier head, but now place it in front of you on the ground where you can see what is going on and not have to walk to the rear stage to make adjustments when you are playing during your heat? Yup.. keep it with your pedal board. Hmmm.. Enter the low profile amplifier i.e. LPA (Coined by us BTW)

Now many of these pedal amps have electronics that really are not the equivalent of circuitry in a traditional amp head. They are trying to make them as small as possible to fit on a pedal board, but the problem is, though they sound pretty good, it’s just not the real deal like for instance our own Aileron which is a full fledged guitar amplifier with an analog beefed up power supply, vacuum tubes, power and output transformers and everything a traditional class AB vacuum tube amplifier has. The smaller pedals use digital power supplies, and small audio power chips which have amazing power output but in reality is still solid state circuitry. Booo. The Aileron is the real deal. You know that tasty dish your grandma used to make and no one seems to be able to replicate it just right? The Aileron IS THAT DISH.

Let’s Rock….