Ashdown AA Preamp review

Pre-shape of things to come

  • £99
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MusicRadar Verdict

A well-made pedal that knows its job and does it very well indeed.

Pros

  • +

    Great for boosting your sound. Input level warning is welcome.

Cons

  • -

    Very few.

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Another preamp pedal featuring rugged design, with a metal and plastic construction (no, those sides aren’t actually wooden), the AA has its own approach to give your passive and active pickups more life and EQ control, with a balanced XLR to send to two sources. 

There’s no mid EQ but instead low and high and the intriguing footswitch marked Pre-shape. This is a preset that can be activated adding bass and treble, but cutting mids for warmer tone. 

In practice it’s useful to have another sound on tap and it really does give your presence a boost. Just be careful with the input levels (it will glow red to warn you to turn down). 

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