tone
VintagE Sound
WorKbEnCh
PRODUCT REVIEW
Preser ver
By STEVE oUIMETTE
Many of us own vintage amps. Along with the
classic tones they produce comes responsibility
and maintenance. We make sure they’re loaded
with quality tubes and get cap jobs done to
keep them healthy and happy. Some of us even
use Variacs to reduce the line voltage from our
wall to meet the specifications the amps were
originally built to work on—usually quite different from the typical 125v coming out of our
AC outlets these days. But Variacs are big and
heavy, and they’re also dangerous in the wrong
hands. Bump the big voltage knob and you’re
pushing more than 125v to the amp; back it
down too far and you could run into a different kind of trouble. Unless you’re a brave soul,
brining a Variac to the club for your gig is flirting with disaster, since who knows what could
happen in a dark and drunken environment! For
those who care to go the extra mile (and you
should if you own any vintage amp that requires
less than 120v) the good folks at Vintage Sound
Workbench have created the Tone Preserver.
a 4-Amp fuse. The red knob is a 3-way switch
that allows you to switch between the standard
AC voltage coming from the wall or a - 6 or -12v
reduction. So if your AC power is coming out at
125v you have the ability to run it at 125, 119 or
113v. The VU meter always shows you an accurate readout of what the voltage is.
determine the voltage exactly without too much
squinting and math. A big red mark at 120 on
the meter would be nice, so you’d know where
you are with regards to the target voltage.
the Final Mojo
Aside from those small issues the Tone
Preserver is a winner and a must-have for
anyone who wants to maintain the life of their
vintage amp. It beats the heck out of a Variac
for a safe way to power the amp, and it’s a lot
lighter and simpler. You’ll also like the tone,
because your amp will be operating much
closer to its intended optimal voltage.
Rating:
you own a vintage amp.
Buy If...
The Tone Preserver is a dedicated line voltage
reducer built to lower the voltage from your
AC outlet to provide proper voltage for your
beloved vintage amp that was build to run at
110 or 115v. It is heavy duty—built like a tank. I
opened it up to see that it was neatly designed
and beautifully built, definitely a labor of
love. All of the labeling is done on black front
plaques with engraved-looking white lettering
and white sides. Very classy. Built in what looks
like a military gray metal box with a large VU
meter and a red chickenhead knob on the front,
it’s decidedly simple to use. Plug it into the
AC outlet, plug your amp’s power cable into
the Line Out and you’re set. On the back are
a Power switch, EIC Line In, AC Line Out and
So, how does it affect the way your amp
sounds? It’s subtle at best, but that’s not exact-
ly the point. The point is safety, and anything
else is a bonus. Using my digital meter to check
the voltage assured me that it was in fact being
reduced as stated by the VU meter (accuracy
was within about 1v). Knowing my ’ 67 Plexi was
safely running at 113v made me feel good and
the amp sounded fantastic. You can never be
too safe when running older amps. Let’s just
say it was a lot simpler, lighter and safer than
running a Variac for a club gig, which is exactly
what I used to do. The Tone Preserver is small
enough to fit inside your accessory bag. When
you pull it out, you don’t have to worry about
the setting of the voltage knob, just flip the red
knob all the way to - 12 and you’re safe.
Skip If...
every amp you own runs on 120v.
There are a few things I would do to improve
on the unit. First, I would add a light to the VU
meter. As it stands there is no light at all and
playing in a dark club without a flashlight (you
do have a flashlight in your gig tool kit, right?)
could make it tricky to see the settings. This
could be a backlight on the VU or somewhere
on the unit to help illuminate the front panel.
The second thing I would do is to have more
targeted markings on the VU meter. The meter
on the Tone Preserver has indictors for 0, 50,
100 and 150 volts, with lines in between designating 5v increments. This makes it difficult to
Vintage Sound Workbench
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vintagesoundworkbench.com
[What’s this? See page 8.]
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