Soundgas Type 636P - Guitar/Synth Preamp Pedal

Guitar pedal version of our Grampian 636 mic preamp circuit: no corners cut, all the ragged filthy glory of the Type 636 mic preamp in a handy portable unit.

As seen/heard on the pedalboards of Carlos O'Connell, Mason Stoops, Ben Frost, Ed O'Brien and many more...

If you need one faster, please get in touch as we sometimes have B Stock units available.

"The 636 is a beast used it all over the new FDC album. My favourite overdrive ever!" - Carlos O'Connell Fontaines DC

"I think you’ve really got something special with the 636s… going to be all over my recordings!! Many thanks" - Ed O’Brien (EOB/Radiohead)

"Still the best // purest distortion I’ve ever heard"
- Mason Stoops

See Dan and Mick of That Pedal Show react to the Soundgas Type 636P.

"That thing is a monster" - Ben Frost

"My go to preamp for everything" - Hainbach

"This is the sound i have been looking for my whole life. Thank you." - Andrew Bennett

“It’s a preamp, but it’s got the biggest distortion I’ve ever heard”: Fontaines D.C.'s Carlos O'Connell reveals the secret weapon on his pedalboard – a plain box with one knob and oodles of gain'' Read the Guitar World write up on the interview.

Guitarists can use the twin channel 636P2 and 500 series units via the break in/out sockets to access the exact same circuit.

What is it?

This is the hairy circuit you find in the mic preamp section of the Soundgas Type 636 - based on the Grampian Type 636 - famously used and abused by Lee Scratch Perry and Pete Townshend - and many others since. This is designed and built absolutely in the spirit of the original vintage units - no surface mount components or tone sapping DSP.

How is this version different to the Prototypes?

We have kept the industrial/functional aesthetic of the prototypes with a raw casing and just the footswitch, light and knob on the top. We continually seek to improve/refine these units as we build them, but sonically the circuit is unchanged.

More information:

The unit features a balanced input via combined TRS/XLR socket, vintage germanium transistor circuitry with original Grampian specification Mic transformer, overload lamp, input impedance switch, output 3-way attenuator switch and on/off toggle footswitch. Staying true to the original design, the output is unbalanced on a ¼ inch jack socket and is out of phase.

As with our original 636s, we have put tonal considerations ahead of all else. I was originally sceptical that we'd see a real benefit in using germanium transistors in the buffer section: all our original prototypes had used silicon and sounded great. However Dr Huw insisted that we build an all germanium version for comparison which proceeded to blow all the earlier versions out of the water.

There's more info on the build including photos and demos here.

Soundgas Type 636 Preamp Update: Complete Guide to Design, Build, and Availability

Soundgas Type 636P Manual PDF - Download here

Which Soundgas Type 636 should I buy? Tony explains more in our Hear It In Action video below.

Soundgas Type 636P

*Soundgas Type 636P - Guitar Preamp Pedal