Humboldt Preamp Deluxe

Parallel Compression / Preamp / Clean Boost

Niche Devices' Humboldt Preamp Deluxe  is 100% analog circuitry and offers optical compression in parallel with a high-headroom pre-amplifier. Designed to be low noise with transparent gain staging and a huge clean sound thanks to the headroom provided by the built-in charge pump circuit.

The compressor portion is a classic two knob style that is forgiving, natural and warm. The preamp section has a tasteful shelving equalizer to cut or boost high frequencies subtly without affecting the tone of the compressor stage.

Fully blendable signal from 100% compression to 100% preamp and everywhere in between; providing a wide array of parallel compression options for any situation. Humboldt brings the studio to your stage rig in an intuitive and user-friendly package.

The reclaimed-vintage 1:4 step up transformer in Humboldt Deluxe is deployed in a unique way to emphasize its rich tonal characteristics. The usage of this component in such an unorthodox way truly helps the Humboldt Preamp stand out from the crowd and adds a subtle but unmistakable richness, detail, presence, warmth and volume boost.

Features a GÓRVA softer click true bypass footswitch. Easily bypass the transformer with the face mounted mini-toggle. Bypass the high impedance JFET input buffer with the top mounted toggle - giving access to soft, vintage inspired 70k Ohm input impedance (pedal must be directly connected to instrument with no buffers in-between.)

Humboldt Preamp Deluxe features a powder coated chassis, durable UV printed graphics and a bounty of high quality through-hole components, painstakingly hand soldered. Each Humboldt Deluxe is hand made in the same way they have been since the start of Niche Devices.  

Assembled with love in Perry, NY USA

*BASS PLAYERS PLEASE NOTE*

The transformer can saturate below 200Hz if amplitude is high enough. We highly recommend making the Humboldt the first pedal in your chain and not using onboard preamps or active pickups since the pedal already amplifies the signal greatly pre-transformer.

 Active pickup or pre-amped bass users might instead consider our Dakota model which is the same circuit with no transformer.