PSA1000 Jr

No wonder the hardware inspiration of the Nembrini PSA 1000 plug-ins has had such longevity among studios and enthusiasts. It’s basically the archetype of modern amp design. Now, finally, I understand the difference between preamp (PRE AMP knob) and power amp (DRIVE knob) distortion. The signal topology is similar to the super flexible Mesa Mark series amps. The low (BUZZ), mid (PUNCH), and high (CRUNCH) EQs are pre-power amp distortion. So, you shape and fine tune the signal before it hits the power section and whatever level of distortion you have dialed in. Depending on the combination of PRE AMP and DRIVE levels, the output can have radically different results. You can tilt the distortion one way or the other, solving particular problems in the mix or simply accentuating a desirable characteristic of the instrument sound. Add in the pre and post power EQs and you have an incredibly flexible tool at hand. I know some people don’t like the simple two band post power EQ, but I’m finding it’s fine for touching up the final sound and you can always output to a multiple band EQ. There’s just so much control over the signal going in that I’m not having any trouble so far with two bands and I like the simplicity. Nembrini has included an incredibly wide range of both useful and wild presets that show off how versatile this plugin can be. Some of the wilder presets that I would never think of dialing in myself turn out be particularly useful when feathering in the WET/DRY knob. So, now I have yet another tool available besides primary amp tones. I’m currently using this plug-in on drum and bass tones out of the Korg iMS-20. Once recorded into the DAW (GarageBand in this case), I’m stuck with those hard baked iMS-20 recordings. Because it’s an external instrument, there’s no reasonable going back into the iMS-20 to iteratively fine tune the sound in the mix itself. The PSA 1000 Jr allows me to process what are essentially DI tracks from the iMS-20 and help it fit in with a high gain guitar sound. The Nembrini plug-in gives me additional character bite where needed, plus helps the iMS-20 tracks fit in the mix. Already, the PSA 1000 Jr is an essential part of my workflow and I’m just getting started with it. I admit that I’m now tempted to get the stereo PSA 1000 version and hook it up to Nembrini’s IR Loader that includes an amp model. I’d fake out quick and dirty doubled high gain guitar sounds with the included widener in PSA 1000 using different settings for the left and right sides. Maybe pair a Marshall sound for the highs with a Diezel or Recto sound for the mids and lows (a la Tool) without having to hook up multiple amp and cab simulations. It would be great for prototyping unique guitar tones. Gets you thinking . . ..

I certainly owe an apology to Nembrini for dropping stars on my past review for a wrong reason: A few months back none of Nembrini’s apps supported AUV3 parameter automation, however I checked today and this has definitely changed. When? No idea, I was sure it hadn’t but clearly I was wrong. Ultimately, this was literally Nembrini’s only problem. Your money is well spent here and will save you lots in terms of spending on hardware, definitely an incredible purchase. I do have to say that the price ranges are a bit steep with some of their apps but ultimately they are top notch quality and really there is not much to compete with in the AUV3 realm. Maybe someday there will be a cheaper option, but for the moment Nembrini not only is top quality, but remains your best bang for buck for good amp sounds on iOS especially since it supports AUV3. Say goodbye to interapp guitars, which regardless of how nice the programs like Jamup Pro are, have become kind of useless imo ever since they decided not to support AUv3. I’m also quite sure these AUv3s sounds far better than those apps so I’m glad I don’t ever need to use those again. Congrats and thanks Nembrini, brilliant work.

Thanks!