Tech 21 CS-LV SansAmp Character Series, Liverpool Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have had this pedal for a few months now. While no product on Earth will actually be able to fully replicate the nuances of a real tube amp with 100% accuracy (not even an AxeFX), this pedal certainly get you close enough in any live context. I own the Native Instruments GR3 program with the Rig Kontrol, which I have gigged with extensively and have tweaked to create a great live AC30 sound with my guitar. That "tweaking" literally took me several months to get right. With the Liverpool, it took me an afternoon.
Here are some observations I would offer to would-be purchasers:
-- It is useful to remember that this thing is an AMP simulator, NOT a distortion pedal. That means it is meant for DI, not the front of a typical guitar amp. If later reviewers slag this unit as poor sounding and you read that the reviewer is using the pedal in front of an amp, dismiss the review and reviewer out of hand. Think of it this way--if you had a real AC30 mic'ed up, and then fed that mic'ed up signal to another AC30, the second one would sound awful. That's what putting this thing in front of a guitar amp would be akin to doing--pumping an already colored sound into another colored cabinet. Tech 21 adds to the confusion by suggesting that this would be a fine application of their product, but I disagree. Unless you have an amazingly clean and uncolored amp, or are running FR speaker cabs as your backline, using the Liverpool in front of an amp is a bad idea. The whole point of this pedal is to REPLACE an amp, in this case a 70 lb. 212 combo with a one pound pedal. Embrace this concept and you'll get the most out of this product.
-- Fortunately, the Liverpool takes other pedals more or less exactly like an amp would. Drop it in your FX pedal board right where your amp would go in the signal chain and you can leave your amp at home. Lots of input headroom. The volume knob on you guitar also works very well with the Liverpool when you have the gain managed correctly: dialing volume back cleans things up nicely, and every little bit of volume increase adds just a bit more dirt and Class A compressed warmth.
-- I found that the most accurate, or at least the most pleasing, part of the tone is the high-mid range, where Andrew Barta and his crew really nail the "chimey" sound of the Alnico Blue Dog speakers. That part of the sound is even slightly better than my GR3 rig's modeling and on par with any samples I've heard from Line 6's HD stuff or even the AxeFX. Both of those modeling systems are great and both may give a technically more accurate sound overall, but the "Vox Chime" tone/character in the Liverpool is hard to beat. The Beatles freaks out there are using these clean with Rickenbackers and Gretches and are achieving very good results.
-- The low mids and mids are a bit round and smooth compared to digital modelers I've heard. The snarl is great and very useful, but less accurate than a high-def modeler in these ranges, in my opinion. Live this would never be a problem, but in recordings one has to compensate a bit for that. But then again, ZZ Top used a Rockman direct in the 80's to multiplatinum success, as did Def Leppard, so the smoothness is not a deal-breaker by any stretch. Just something to be aware of.
-- Like all Tech 21 products, the knobs are CRAZY powerful and interactive. You can dial in great tones or massive amounts of "suck" if you don't know what you're doing. Also, turning a knob a fraction changes the sound a lot. You'd better make very accurate charts of your best tones in case some drunk idiot screws with your knobs between sets!
-- One of the blessings/curses of this unit is the fact that the cab emulation is not defeatable. You get the chime whether you want it or not. If you don't want Blue Dog chime, don't buy the Liverpool.
-- For Brian May tone freaks, ** don't use the Tech 21 recommended "mid boost" setting.** I think Barta added that for Strat players who want to get a BHM tone, and for them it's a nice feature, but if you have an authentic Trisonics-loaded Red Special it will be too muddy and midrangey for you. Rather, use a Covington/Cornish/Fryer or similar treble booster in front of it with your RS and set all the knobs on the Liverpool to about 10 o'clock. You'll be pleasantly surprised at just how close you are to the real thing right off the bat. I have also discovered that I can completely forego the use of a treble booster by just adding more drive, rolling the knob up to about 3 o'clock. This cuts down on operation noise considerably vs. using a standard TB and creates nearly the same effect, so long as the "character" setting is not too high. While raising up the level on the "character" knob adds more mid warmth and sweet even series harmonic distortion, it muddies up the "chimey" nature of the pedal. I found that keeping the "character" knob at about 10-11 o'clock gave me enough fat mids while keeping the Blue Dog "chime" prominent, which I like.
-- U2 fans will have no problem getting Edge tones out of this unit, and Tom Petty/Beatles fans will also be in tone heaven. In fact, there is a YouTube video of a guy nailing a U2 tone going through the Liverpool into an AxeFX. The fact that this guy used the Liverpool for the preamp sound and used the AxeFX only for effects should indicate how good this little pedal is.
-- Obviously digital modelers will have a thousand additional parameters to twist and tweak, and dozens of other amp models to choose from. Also, there are goofy and complex resonances to a guitar cab that a digital modeler will fake better than this unit. I find those pop out when playing leads with lots of vibrato as you push in and out of one of the cabinet's "sweet spots". But if you are enamored with the AC30 sound as I am, this pedal is by far the best bang-for-the-buck product EVER for getting the Vox sound live. It's not even a contest.
-- I suppose it should also be mentioned that an analog pedal like this one has absolutely zero latency, as the signal never undergoes an AD/DA conversion. Pedal board freaks and analog-only snobs will appreciate this.
-- Even if you are running a Pod HD series or an AxeFX modeler, you still should buy this pedal as "gig insurance." Leave it in your guitar case with a fresh battery. If your main system crashes for some unknown reason seconds before you go on, you will limp through the gig just fine with this baby. You may even get compliments on your tone! Seeing that "the show must go on!", having a Liverpool at the ready to save your bacon is a good idea, and for $149 street, it's really a no-brainer. But make sure you've done the homework to dial in your best tone beforehand.
So I have to give this thing 5 starts out of 5. Best value in Vox tone on the market for the price, period. An AxeFX will best a Liverpool, but for $2k with the controller, you'll be paying dearly for the slight tone upgrade. The cab sounds of the Pod HD series are overall more realistic, but still at 2-3x the price. This thing is the real deal.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Tech 21 CS-LV SansAmp Character Series, Liverpool

Explore and custom tailor tube amp tones from '60s Liverpool to '70s Bohemian Rhap. Use as a pre-amp, stomp box, and to record direct.