Carl Martin Ampster
For the last 10 or 20 years, we have been watching analog take a supporting cast role when it comes to guitar fx, amplifiers and let’s face it, music gear in general. Some of these digital products are super impressive and fill a need that many guitar players feel is required for the modern musician. When sound becomes digitalized, anything is possible …. wireless control, modelling, harmonizing, layering, double tracking, all in real time etc..all basically at the touch of a button and with little to (hopefully) no latency. But for some of us (like me) guitar isn’t really guitar when it’s digital…guitar needs to be tactile, organic and to react to you as a player and how you play. Guitar needs to be analog! (I know, I know…I’m opening a can-of-worms argument lol). Still….I’m old…
Anyway, this is where Carl Martin lives. In a sea of digital products, Carl Martin remains one of the few companies that has been 100% loyal to the analog signal for about the last 30 years. Whether it be through their many fx or through their amplifiers, they are a decidedly a company rooted in great and timeless analog sound. Enter one of their newest products, the Ampster! Tired of doing the old combo-carry, or the head and cab thing …. or are you flying in to gigs and getting tired of the backline that is being served to you? Well, the Ampster delivers a surprisingly real analog experience in a smaller package than a lot of pedals out there….or maybe not so surprising for Carl!
Imagine plugging into a pedal sized pre-amp speaker simulator DI that behaves and reacts the same way your amplifier does. Master volume and Gain controls, Presence control that actually controls the presence and isn’t just a glorified treble control, plus your normal Bass Mid and Treble controls. The speaker simulator switches between 2×12 open and 4×12 closed through a front mounted foot-switch, with additional low end cap voicing on the back of the pedal. There is a balanced DI output to recording or FoH console, Send and Return for those specific fx that shouldn’t be in front of the amp (modulation type fx usually), a Remote Input for FX Controllers and a Link Input that bypasses the Speaker Simulator to connect your amp or powered monitor….and finally a Ground Lift for those situations where there are power issues. Whew, that is a lot of things packed into a small package. Did I mention all the signal goes through a single preamp tube as well, which only increases the organic feel of the Ampster.
So there are a few things to remember about the Ampster. It is a 100% analog signal, which means genuine zero latency audio. The organic nature of this unit comes from a special 12AX7 Preamp tube which supplies all the natural feel of your full sized amplifier without being boxed in by digital signal inflexibility. There’s tons of headroom …. really, there’s tons of headroom. Why is this important? Not only does the headroom give you a lot of super-clean volume, but also allows the Ampster to handle heavily processed signals without choking. Audiotechnology in Australia describes the Ampster’s clean sound and behaviour as ‘much like a Fender Twin’. I can attest to that having owned a couple Twins….feels a lot like driving a very powerful vehicle…it’s very present and makes you feel like you have endless power. When you introduce the Gain control to this clean sound, you quickly switch from a Fender-like sound to something very much like a Marshall. Heat up that 12AX7 and you will see what I mean. You won’t achieve full ‘overdrive’ as such, but you will get a nice crunch, very reminiscent of a JTM45…nice round bottom with a bright crisp top end. Once again the ‘feel’ thing comes into play depending how you attack the guitar….ease off, and like a good amp it will clean up…dig in and the Ampster starts to bite back.
The connections are also pretty variable. You have a common Input that can come from your guitar or your pedal board. The Link output bypasses the cabinet simulator for a straight signal going to your guitar amplifier. This Output also allows for the simultaneous recording of two tracks in the studio…one amped and mic’d, and the other direct into the DAW. Or, you could simply use the Link to send a signal to a powered monitor on stage, while your main signal goes through the DI Output to FoH. Using the Balanced Output (XLR) would be your standard Output going to a recording console or to a FoH Mixing Console or a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). There is a fairly standard Send and Return circuit for those fx (usually time and modulation) that you do not want in front of the amp, and finally, there is a Remote Output for digital or analog switching devices. The Ampster comes with a power supply, but any PS that can provide a solid 9v DC 1A of power can be used.
The last two features on the back of the Ampster are the Ground Lift…which is used to eliminate unwanted hum and buzz by interrupting ground loops between equipment, and the Voicing switch. This 3-way switch works with the cabinet simulator to adjust the amount of bottom end. The middle position could be considered a bypass setting, just letting the actual signal go through. Switching to the right results in a gentle bottom end roll-off. Switching to the left pushed the signal further into the mids. This switch is very handy to control the sound of the cabinet simulator, but also to clean up overly rich or swampy guitar tones, due to the type of pickups being used.
The Ampster may not be unique in it’s purpose, but it is unique in how it achieves this purpose. The 3 layers of EQ control (EQ, Cab Simulator, Voicing Switch) make this unit not only very guitar amp-like, but also very responsive . I have had mine for several months now, and I refer to it more often than I do my amplifier … there is something about it that is inspiring and fun…and extremely musical. It will not drive a speaker cabinet, but it will provide the signal to any power amp that will drive your cabinets…or just send it straight to a PA or Recording console. Take a look at our Carl Martin lineup here at Solo Guitars. There’s a little something in there for everyone.
