JohnnyGtar
Well-known member
Headfirst Alta P-1 (3 Channel Guitar Preamp)
Headfirst Alta P-1 (3 Channel Guitar Preamp)
thegame
Well-known member
Sounds great. I've been looking for a direct recording device that can double function as a stand alone tube preamp. Thanks!
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
Jason released his Alta preamp a few months ago though I'm not sure when the first preorders started going out. Everything I've heard so far sounds bad ass. If I didn't already have an Alta 100 I'd consider getting one and centering a rack unit around it. An Alta preamp with a couple of Synergy modules would have the making of a great rack setup.
stratjacket
Well-known member
I jumped on the preorder before realizing it had all the Two-Notes features. I have no interest in that although I understand it’ll be great for many. If I could get it with only the preamp and none of the other stuff I would have bought it, but I just let my spot go.
I know it can be used as preamp only, but feel like I’d be paying extra for a bunch of things I don’t need.
I bet it sounds arsinh in person too
I know it can be used as preamp only, but feel like I’d be paying extra for a bunch of things I don’t need.
I bet it sounds arsinh in person too
espquade
Well-known member
Sounds really good, but am I correct in reading that the price of admission is 1999.00 for a single slot preamp?
Is that a bit pricey or is it just me? Maybe it's all relative as I did just score a Soldano X88 IR used for around 1750.00 so possibly this isn't out of line I suppose?
Man , gear is really getting up there these days...
Is that a bit pricey or is it just me? Maybe it's all relative as I did just score a Soldano X88 IR used for around 1750.00 so possibly this isn't out of line I suppose?
Man , gear is really getting up there these days...
JustinCorrigible
Well-known member
I have one. I've been thinking of selling, though. Just not clicking with it.
D
dr_rbg
New member
Sounds great and Jason is really smart and nice guy whom I would totally support, but in now in 2026 after going circles with all sorts of gear: it is either a head with 4x12 for authenticity, vibe, and moving the air or Axe FXIII.
srommes
Well-known member
It looks and sounds nice but I don’t need the two notes emulation and it is hard to justify the price when you can get a Synergy Syn 2 with a couple of modules for more tonal versatility.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
Sounds pretty good!
IS THAT ERRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL I see up there?????????????????
I miss your posts and clips brother, I hope things are going good for you!
IS THAT ERRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL I see up there?????????????????
I miss your posts and clips brother, I hope things are going good for you!
Alexander TVolt
New member
What has been the issue you are having with it? I have been on the fence on ordering one.
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gibsonash
Active member
i d like to know too ..
errrrrl
Well-known member
Thanks bro, its been awhile! Doing aiiight I guess, been doing lots of adulting the last year or so lol.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
Yeah sometimes life has a way of doing that! I'm glad you are doing good and get to play or do what makes you happy interspersed with the adulting! Your Godzilla/Monster Monster Metal clip videos are/were legendary!
You take care.... thanks for popping in to say hello!
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GuitarVacation
Active member
TLDR: Glad to see an awesome preamp on the market. Not for me as far as (perceived) voicing, features I don’t prefer therefore not added value, and price is high enough that it would need to be a match on mostly everything for me to pay up.
But, I think I’m a minority, and this likely has great appeal to those that would be in the rack tube preamp market. Jason/Headfirst is great, and I hope he has such success that we see more new tube preamps introduced by other companies.
My overlong thoughts:
I hope this preamp sells well. I’d be really happy if it promoted other companies to bring out tube rack preamps, but the market doesn’t seem to quite be there.
I’m a fan of Jason, his amps, and particularly admire his openness with the home mod/builder community. He’s a great player too.
Couple reasons this isn’t an immediate buy for me: Jason seems to really favor having that JCM 800-ish top end, and I favor dark/thick Marshall based stuff (Bogner Ecstasy, Naylor etc.).
I think most folks want the kerrang, and I am in the minority, so this preamp and Jason’s other stuff, while it doesn’t seem voiced for my preference, is likely what most folks would want as far as sound.
It might be flexible enough for me to dial my kind of thing in, but haven’t heard any examples of that. That’s reason #1 I’m not buying this first run.
Reason #2 is simple: High price. Not saying it’s priced inappropriately. I think the opposite, it’s priced about right considering it’s a premium product without much competition as far as current products. And it’s got a lot applications, bells and whistles.
Goes into reason #3: I’m not a huge fan of having all the computer brain stuff. Would be cool if there were options for dinosaur model (old school channel switching only), rack guru, a step up with midi and presets, and final form midi plus IRs/Genome. I realize that’s probably a nightmare option scenario for building manufacturing, so no shade on Jason for having one model with all the features.
Side note, I do plenty with IRs, and even the occasional power amp profile (NAM). I don’t prefer Genome. I used it when I got grandfathered in free having ‘Wall of Sound’ but truth be told my tones are way better using specific IRs and NAM for any amp/power amp profiling.
With the Synergy in the game (my current tube preamp choice) and all of its options and expenditures once you get established in the ecosystem: It’s gonna be really tough for newer tube rack preamps to get a premium price.
But, I think I’m a minority, and this likely has great appeal to those that would be in the rack tube preamp market. Jason/Headfirst is great, and I hope he has such success that we see more new tube preamps introduced by other companies.
My overlong thoughts:
I hope this preamp sells well. I’d be really happy if it promoted other companies to bring out tube rack preamps, but the market doesn’t seem to quite be there.
I’m a fan of Jason, his amps, and particularly admire his openness with the home mod/builder community. He’s a great player too.
Couple reasons this isn’t an immediate buy for me: Jason seems to really favor having that JCM 800-ish top end, and I favor dark/thick Marshall based stuff (Bogner Ecstasy, Naylor etc.).
I think most folks want the kerrang, and I am in the minority, so this preamp and Jason’s other stuff, while it doesn’t seem voiced for my preference, is likely what most folks would want as far as sound.
It might be flexible enough for me to dial my kind of thing in, but haven’t heard any examples of that. That’s reason #1 I’m not buying this first run.
Reason #2 is simple: High price. Not saying it’s priced inappropriately. I think the opposite, it’s priced about right considering it’s a premium product without much competition as far as current products. And it’s got a lot applications, bells and whistles.
Goes into reason #3: I’m not a huge fan of having all the computer brain stuff. Would be cool if there were options for dinosaur model (old school channel switching only), rack guru, a step up with midi and presets, and final form midi plus IRs/Genome. I realize that’s probably a nightmare option scenario for building manufacturing, so no shade on Jason for having one model with all the features.
Side note, I do plenty with IRs, and even the occasional power amp profile (NAM). I don’t prefer Genome. I used it when I got grandfathered in free having ‘Wall of Sound’ but truth be told my tones are way better using specific IRs and NAM for any amp/power amp profiling.
With the Synergy in the game (my current tube preamp choice) and all of its options and expenditures once you get established in the ecosystem: It’s gonna be really tough for newer tube rack preamps to get a premium price.
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GrimTrigger
Active member
Great write up. Agree with everything you wrote. I’m very happy with mine so far except a few minor things.
I would love for my unit to be able to do the chewier, lower mid, darker, modded Marshall thing as well. Understanding that it won’t be as good as doing something at the component level, do you think an eq in the pre-loop could help?
I’m seriously considering grabbing a TC1140 parametric eq to go with mine. In any case would be fun to play around with.
G
GuitarVacation
Active member
Thanks for the info, confirming that the preamp is voiced with what Jason normally goes for.
I wondered if it was super flexible, and able to get in that ‘chewy’ territory like you mentioned. Be cool if flipping a couple of switches got there, but understandable that may be an unrealistic expectation.
I think an EQ could definitely get you more flexibility to approximate that type of sound. I usually use EQ as more of a scalpel, carving out a stray frequency or two once I’m in the ballpark (or to allow different guitars to get similar sounds).
My sledgehammer approach to getting a bright amp thicker is putting a well chosen dirt pedal into the amp/preamp. This is just as much for EQ properties as it is the pedal’s distortion character. Distortion is often dialed in fairly low for this effect.
My long time go to pedals for this are an Ibanez/Maxon SD-9 with the tone knob almost all the way down, or a BK Butler tube driver. These are couple of my favorites, but honestly a tube screamer or Boss SD-1 can do a more than passable job, just have to bury that tone knob more than usual to really thicken things up.
On one hand, you want a high dollar preamp like that to get there without adding pedals, but on the other hand it’s pretty common to see a boost in front of many high dollar amps to tighten things up.
Most guys doing this are doing the super heavy chug thing, but l find a similar approach (with adjustments) can also be game changers for the thick stuff I go for.
Interested in hearing what you’re able to get out of any approaches you try. Hell it’s a good Marshall based preamp, so I think you’ll be able to get what you want with some pedal ingenuity.
Look forward to hearing you success laying down of some thick self indulgent solo tones haha
I wondered if it was super flexible, and able to get in that ‘chewy’ territory like you mentioned. Be cool if flipping a couple of switches got there, but understandable that may be an unrealistic expectation.
I think an EQ could definitely get you more flexibility to approximate that type of sound. I usually use EQ as more of a scalpel, carving out a stray frequency or two once I’m in the ballpark (or to allow different guitars to get similar sounds).
My sledgehammer approach to getting a bright amp thicker is putting a well chosen dirt pedal into the amp/preamp. This is just as much for EQ properties as it is the pedal’s distortion character. Distortion is often dialed in fairly low for this effect.
My long time go to pedals for this are an Ibanez/Maxon SD-9 with the tone knob almost all the way down, or a BK Butler tube driver. These are couple of my favorites, but honestly a tube screamer or Boss SD-1 can do a more than passable job, just have to bury that tone knob more than usual to really thicken things up.
On one hand, you want a high dollar preamp like that to get there without adding pedals, but on the other hand it’s pretty common to see a boost in front of many high dollar amps to tighten things up.
Most guys doing this are doing the super heavy chug thing, but l find a similar approach (with adjustments) can also be game changers for the thick stuff I go for.
Interested in hearing what you’re able to get out of any approaches you try. Hell it’s a good Marshall based preamp, so I think you’ll be able to get what you want with some pedal ingenuity.
Look forward to hearing you success laying down of some thick self indulgent solo tones haha
JustinCorrigible
Well-known member
Just not my sound. It's well built and the two notes functionality is nice, but I end up going back to my Diezel.
