AMT is a Russian company that makes good quality and affordable amps, cab sims, pre-amps, effects, power sources, etc, and the AMT E1 is no exception. Part of the Legend Amps series, the AMT E1 pre-amp pedal emulates the ENGL Powerball's lead channel and uses only analog circuitry. It's more effective when used as a pre-amp, but can also be used as a distortion pedal. The Legend Series emulates some well known legendary amps (hence, it's name). The E1 is part of the first series and there's already an E2 (from the second series). Basically, the differences are the addition of a clean channel and a clean boost, all in the same form factor. The E2 is a little more expensive, costing around 150€ and the E1 costs around €111.
This pedal is true-bypass, so when you have it disconnected, your tone won't be affected in any way. One feature that stands out is that it has an integrated cab sim, with a dedicated output. While in some circumstances this might be useful, I find the tone is thin and doesn't sound like an ENGL at all. There's other much more effective ways to connect it to a mixing board... But that's beyond the scope of this article. The controls are simple, but allow total control of your tones. You have Level, Gain, Low, Mid and High knobs and that's more then enough. A red led lights up when the pedal is on. You can power it with a 9V battery or a standard 9V power source. And there's, of course, the true bypass on/off switch.
The most effective way to use this pedal, as stated above is as a pre-amp. That's what it was designed for. So instead of connecting it in front of your amp - because that way you would be using it as a distortion pedal and it wouldn't sound the same, as your tone also goes through your amp's pre-amp section, effectively altering the pedal's tone tone -, you connect it in the return of you fx loop. This is when it will sound in all it's glory, like an ENGL Powerball (or very close). Just like in a real valve amp, if the Level is low, you won't get much distortion out of your Gain. But as soon as you start cranking that Level up, the gain and saturation appear, with full force. If your amp doesn't have a volume in the amplification section, then the volume is purely controlled by the AMT E1's Level knob. In this case, you might find that in certain situations, you might have to play a little loud in order to get the amount of distortion you need. Nothing that a good overdrive pedal cannot solve. Check out my review on the Maxon VOP-9 Vintage Overdrive Pro.
I like solid state gear, as it is extremely reliable and not as heavy. I understand people who prefer valves. I love their tone too. But valves degrade over time and you will only notice it in your tone when the degradation is high. That's why when you change valves, you get that wow factor when you realize that your favorite tone has come to life again. Plus, valve equipment is more fragile and costs more. There's a reason for many pro artists touring with high quality emulation units, like the ones made by Fractal Audio and Kemper amps... This small and affordable AMT E1 pre-amp pedal takes that same philosophy and makes it available for cheap. There's more of these pedals available to emulate several other highly known and sought after amps, so check them out. If you like quality and affordability, all in one nice sounding small package, then the AMT E1 or any other pedal in the Legend Amps series is right for you. Try one! You can't go wrong with these...
Links
AMT electronics - http://amtelectronics.com
AMT E1 - http://amtelectronics.com/new/amt-e1/