H
harddriver
Well-known member
I adore my 2007 Clinch EP-PRE that Peter modded with the early late switch for me, his original pedals ran at 9 DC volts which ran the EP-PRE preamp at about 17 DCV which was close but not exact to the 23-24 Volts the real EP3 echoplex preamps ran at. This directly relates to headroom of the guitar signal for sticklers like me so it was a welcome surprise to hear the new revisions to the EP-PRE. I was also surprised Peter Clinch was still making pedals as I thought he retired afew years ago so it was good to hear he was still building pedals. So if you are in the market for a great EP3 preamp pedal here is a store that sells worldwide and actully keep his pedals in stock with no build times.
https://www.gosiaguitars.com/clinchfxshop
My recent purchase of a Chasetone 2022 secret preamp was disappointing to say the least, and since TIS 58 JFET's are pretty much unobtainium now I don't know what kind of JFET stock Chase tone is using these days but mine didn't sound as good as my Clinch or my original 2013 Chase secret preamp pedal that has an TIS 58 JFET.
Since my old Clinch still sounds and performs great so I kept watching Reverb for Clinch EP-PRE's with the newer early/late switch and I guess Peter's latest revision is to use 12DCV input voltage like to produce 23 DCV exactly like the original EP3 circuits so you can run either 9DCV for 17 volts or Boss ACA 12DCV and get the true EP3 23 volts.
Here's the write up on the pedal revisions:
In the world of EP-3 Preamp replicas, one name repeatedly rises to the top of the pile as making the most accurate version out there: ClinchFX of Brisbane, Australia (though they have a Belgian dealer called Gosia Guitars for those of us in Europe!). Peter has gone to the ends of the earth to figure out what makes this circuit tick, and how to accurately recreate it using modern-day components. Internally, it takes your power source and ups the voltage - at 9V, it goes up to about 17V; but running on a 12V supply, that goes up to about 23V...the same as the original circuit in the Echoplex ran on for accurate dynamics and frequency response.. Plus, Peter uses a JFET transistor that is as close to the old (and unobtanium) TIS58 JFET found in the 70s EP-3s as possible. Apparently (to the best of his knowledge!) no other manufacturer making an EP-3-alike is using this JFET. But there's more! There were two versions of the EP-3 preamp - the earliest was slightly brighter; the later iteration was slightly darker. This pedal recreates both of them, selectable by the toggle switch on the top.
https://www.gosiaguitars.com/clinchfxshop
My recent purchase of a Chasetone 2022 secret preamp was disappointing to say the least, and since TIS 58 JFET's are pretty much unobtainium now I don't know what kind of JFET stock Chase tone is using these days but mine didn't sound as good as my Clinch or my original 2013 Chase secret preamp pedal that has an TIS 58 JFET.
Since my old Clinch still sounds and performs great so I kept watching Reverb for Clinch EP-PRE's with the newer early/late switch and I guess Peter's latest revision is to use 12DCV input voltage like to produce 23 DCV exactly like the original EP3 circuits so you can run either 9DCV for 17 volts or Boss ACA 12DCV and get the true EP3 23 volts.
Here's the write up on the pedal revisions:
In the world of EP-3 Preamp replicas, one name repeatedly rises to the top of the pile as making the most accurate version out there: ClinchFX of Brisbane, Australia (though they have a Belgian dealer called Gosia Guitars for those of us in Europe!). Peter has gone to the ends of the earth to figure out what makes this circuit tick, and how to accurately recreate it using modern-day components. Internally, it takes your power source and ups the voltage - at 9V, it goes up to about 17V; but running on a 12V supply, that goes up to about 23V...the same as the original circuit in the Echoplex ran on for accurate dynamics and frequency response.. Plus, Peter uses a JFET transistor that is as close to the old (and unobtanium) TIS58 JFET found in the 70s EP-3s as possible. Apparently (to the best of his knowledge!) no other manufacturer making an EP-3-alike is using this JFET. But there's more! There were two versions of the EP-3 preamp - the earliest was slightly brighter; the later iteration was slightly darker. This pedal recreates both of them, selectable by the toggle switch on the top.