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Description
Transform your sound with the Digidesign Bomb Factory Tech21 Sansamp PSA-1, a versatile distortion plugin that brings analog warmth and grit to your digital audio workstation. Known for its ability to emulate a wide range of classic amp tones, this plugin is a staple in professional recording studios and home setups alike. Whether you're crafting rock anthems or exploring new sonic landscapes, the PSA-1 offers limitless possibilities with its intuitive controls and authentic sound modeling.
Designed for musicians and producers seeking authentic tonal options, the PSA-1 replicates the dynamic response and character of analog tube amplifiers. The plugin's comprehensive interface allows for detailed sound shaping, offering parameters such as Drive, Low, Mid, High, and Level, to fine-tune your audio with precision. Its proprietary SansAmp technology ensures that your tracks maintain a warm, organic quality, even in a digital environment.
Compatible with most major digital audio workstations, the PSA-1 integrates seamlessly into any production setup. Its low CPU usage ensures that your workflow remains smooth and uninterrupted, even when applying multiple instances across your project.
Key Features:
- Emulates a wide range of classic amp tones
- Authentic analog warmth with SansAmp technology
- Intuitive controls: Drive, Low, Mid, High, Level
- Seamless integration with major DAWs
- Low CPU usage for efficient performance
- Suitable for various genres and production styles
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Artist usage
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According to this Premier Guitar interview, Satriani used the Sansamp extensively on Engines of Creation.
Do you have a favorite can’t-live-without-it guitar processor that you used on this project?
It was most likely the SansAmp plugin. I still enjoy using the SansAmp designs, both their plugins and rackmount preamps. Eric [Caudieux] and I would use it here and there to spice guitar sounds up a bit. Sometimes, as in “Until We Say Goodbye”, it was the guitar sound!
Used for No Line On the Horizon, particularly "Get On Your Boots".
Declan Gaffney's go-to processing for Adam Clayton's bass involves Digidesign's Digirack EQ, Cranesong's Phoenix Dark Essence (both top) and the Massey L2007 limiter (below). The Sansamp plug-in was used to dirty up the sound for four bars.
An image of the settings can be found here.
Used for the drum tracks on "Beggin", as described by Alessandro Marcantoni in this October 2021 Sound on Sound interview.
“The main sonic treatment on the drums came from the aux effects tracks: the Drums Ambient, which had a UAD EMT140 for some plate reverb with a small decay and some predelay, and the Drums Amp, with the SansAmp for parallel distortion. All drums go through the MF Drums group track, which has the UAD SSL G‑channel and Avid EQ3 7‑band, for some compression and minor EQ adjustments.
Used for the vocal tracks on "Beggin", as described by as described by Alessandro Marcantoni in this October 2021 Sound on Sound interview.
“All vocal tracks have the same inserts: Avid EQ3 7‑band, UAD 1176 LN, Mäag EQ4, and again the 7‑band. The main difference is in the plug‑in settings and in the sends. The a cappella at the beginning of the song is sent to the Very Large Hall aux with the Avid ReVibe II, as well as the Hall aux with the UAD Precision Delay Mod, and the V Hall which has another instance of the Lexicon 224. I wanted the a cappella to sound larger than the other vocals, which have only the 224 and a send to the V Slap aux, with a delay from the UAD Galaxy Tape Echo.
“The main vocal tracks also have a send to the V Amp track, on which I had the SansAmp, for some more edge. The singer has a very raspy voice, which I think sounds great, and the SansAmp enhances this. All vocal tracks go to the Group track, on which I have two EQs and the UAD Precision De‑Esser. I use volume automation a lot on individual tracks, so if I use de‑essers on them, it can emphasise the esses. For that reason I prefer to have the de‑esser on the subgroup at the end of the chain. It makes it easier to control things.”
Used on Cardi B's vocals for "Bodak Yellow", as mentioned by mix engineer Evan LaRay in this February 2018 Sound on Sound interview.
In his mix of ‘Bodak Yellow’, Evan LaRay used almost identical vocal chains on two auxiliary busses. The ‘Vox 1’ chain includes FabFilter’s Pro-DS de-esser and Waves’ C4 multiband compressor, plus the Waves CLA Vocals plug-in and SoundToys’ Decapitator saturation processor.
The main ‘Hook’ and ‘Verse’ vocal tracks have similar plug-in chains, incorporating the EQ3 seven-band, Waves CLA-76 and Waves De-esser, though the ‘Hook’ also has FabFilter’s Timeless 2 delay. LaRay explains, “The EQ on the ‘Hook’ has a high-pass, around 100Hz, and I’m also cutting 3dB at 300Hz, because the vocal sounded a bit muddy, and again 3dB at 4kHz, because there was a piercing frequency there. The CLA keeps the peaks in check, and the de-esser again takes some higher frequencies out, at 4270Hz, and the Timeless is another favourite plug-in. I think in general the FabFilter plug-ins are extremely dope. I wanted the ‘Hook’ vocal to stand out from the ‘Verse’ vocal, so I used a stereo delay preset, and then tweaked that. The presets on the FabFilter plug-ins are pretty good: you just run through all of them and then choose the best one. In this case I lowered the width and the wet value of the stereo delay preset, and that sounded good and gave the hook its own space. The three plug-ins on the ‘Verse’ track do pretty much the same.
“The ‘Inout’ tracks that are below the ‘Hook’ and the ‘Verse’ are vocal doubles. They are words or lines we use for emphasis and additional power on these lines and words. They come from one of her original vocal takes, which I just cut and cleaned up. Both ‘Inout’ tracks have the Waves RCompressor, just containing these words and lines so they don’t overwhelm the ‘Hook’ or the ‘Verse’ vocal, and then the FabFilter Pro-Q2, taking out some high frequencies, again to make sure it doesn’t clash with the leads, and also cutting below 200Hz. And there’s a delay on these tracks to put them in a slightly different space from the lead vocal tracks.
“In addition to the two ‘Inout’ tracks, both the ‘Hook’ and the ‘Verse’ tracks are also accompanied by an ‘Ad Libs’ track, which were some ad libs Cardi had recorded with Mike over at Krematorium. Mike had also set up a separate aux track for these ad libs, which is ‘Vox2’, and I liked that and kept two of the plug-ins he had on that: the [Avid] Sansamp for some distortion and the SoundToys Panman. I then added the D-Verb and the [Waves] CLA Vocals. I adore the CLA Vocals. I use it on every track I work on. When I don’t use it, the vocals sound completely different. I’d love to know what exactly it does! Finally, the inserts have the Waves L1, just to control the peaks.
“The other tracks — ‘EXF1’, ‘EXF2’, ‘EXF3’ and ‘EXF4’, are because I prefer to create a new track if I want to have a specific effect on specific words or phrases. I prefer doing that to automating the effects on a track. Automation is great, but I tend to only do volume automation. So I copy audio to another track, and then put the effect on that, and in this case I created four different effects tracks with four different delays. ‘EFX1’ is the main one, and has the same three plug-ins as the Verse tracks — EQ3 three-band, CLA76 and Waves De-esser — just with the EQ3 cutting more of the high frequencies. Then there’s an eighth-note ping-pong delay from the Waves H-Delay, and then a D-Verb set to ‘hall’ with 7s decay and a 15ms pre-delay. ‘EFX2’ has another H-Delay delay, ‘EFX3’ the Timeless 2 delay, and ‘EFX4’ again has the H-Delay plus a D-Verb.”
All the main vocal audio tracks go to LaRay’s ‘Vox1’ aux group track. This, he explains, has “A FabFilter Pro-DS de-esser, then the Waves RCompressor controlling the peaks, the Waves C4 multiband compressor boosting the high end and containing the lows in her voice, so it doesn’t cut through too much, and Waves CLA Vocals. Again, it’s really making my vocals sound good. I push the Pitch fader to stereo, spank it on the compressor, also push up the treble to brighten it up, turn the reverb down to ‘tight’, and lower the delay by 9dB because my own quarter delay is my main vocal delay, and it sounds great. There’s also a SoundToys Decapitator, to add more harmonic distortion, and then there’s the Waves RVox. That was supposed to be the final plug-in on the insert, but then I realised the vocal was still peaking too much once she began rapping loudly, so I put on the L1 [limiter] to control that.”
The ‘special sauce’ in Evan LaRay’s mixes comes from a parallel aux channel containing a blend of compression, saturation, EQ and other processors. Key ingredients are Waves’ PuigChild compressor and PuigTech equaliser.
The ‘Vox1’ and ‘Vox2’ tracks also each have a Trim plug-in on an insert, and sends to the ‘Verb’ aux and to the ‘ELR’ (LaRay’s initials) track. “I put the Trim on all my tracks at the end of the vocals, and at the end of the beat, because the vocals actually began distorting in places. These two tracks were too hot, and I wanted to make sure they had a good level before going to the ‘Sub Print’ track. I have the ‘ELR’ aux track in every session. It’s most of all parallel compression, but I also always try out new things with distortion, exciters and things like that, and I label that ‘ELR’. In this case it really is the ‘ELR’ track that makes the vocals cut through the mix.
“The compression on the ‘ELR’ track comes from the Waves PuigChild 670, which is a great compressor, and it’s compressing a lot, so the vocal stays right there in the middle. The signal is then going to the PuigTech EQP-1A, which is boosting some low end to add some warmth to the vocals, and some 5kHz, and then the Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter, set to AX Mix 6, for some added crispness and clarity, then the EQ3 seven-band to control the low mids, and another De-Esser cutting 4398Hz, to finalise the vocal sound. The L1 also helps keep the vocals in the same place. Finally, the ‘Verb’ send on the ‘Vox1’ and ‘Vox2’ tracks goes to the ‘Verb’ aux, which has the Waves RVerb, and that pretty much glues everything together.”
Album Usage
The Digidesign Bomb Factory Tech21 Sansamp PSA-1 has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
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Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Digidesign Bomb Factory Tech21 Sansamp PSA-1, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
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