Montreal-based stompbox company Mile End Effects has announced the latest addition to its pedal lineup, the Ronald Preamp 150.
Based on the preamp of Roland's RE-150 Space Echo, the Ronald Preamp 150 features NOS JFET transistors – as found in the RE-150 – and a switchable JFET clean boost.
Featuring a similar black, green and silver aesthetic design to that of the RE-150 Space Echo, the unit sports a simplistic control layout of Instrument Volume and Output Level knobs and an on/off footswitch.
Though bias is set during production for optimal operating voltages, it can be adjusted with the pedal's internal trim pot.
Says Mile End Effects owner Justin Cober, “There was always something that I found different about the RE-150’s Preamp, unique even compared to the RE-201s, 301s and others (I later found out that it all has to do with input impedance).
“Coming up short in my pursuit of this sound in a more reliable and compact form, I decided to painstakingly recreate the PreAmp based on the original service notes of the Roland RE-150 Space Echo using the same obsolete and scarce NOS JFET transistors found in the original units.”
The Ronald Preamp 150 is available now for $199 CAD (approx. $159 USD). For more information, head to Mile End Effects.
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Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
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