Reyes Amps has released its debut plugin TRIODE, a component model of its own boutique tube amplifier, built from voltages measured on the physical circuit.
The amp is a 4 watt, single-ended Class A design, like a Champ. A triode preamp adds even-order harmonics, a pentode output stage adds odd. The circuit is the 1959 Harmony H303, built on ‘All American Five’ radio tubes from 1950s.
I make a boutique tube amp with a very simple circuit. Then I modeled that simple circuit and the result is very accurate triode distortion/saturation. All the plugins I make have that original tube amp model DSP included in them.
Reyes Boutique Tube Amp
The difference is in how the tubes are modeled. Most tube saturation is “tanh” waveshaping. TRIODE uses Koren and Dempwolf tube models, which account for the tubes’ actual plate characteristics and grid current: authentic transfer curves, asymmetrical clipping, and the bias shift that comes with drive.
TRIODE works anywhere distortion or saturation would normally go: guitar and bass DIs, drum buses, synths, vocals.
Features:
Reyes 303 (Free)
- 40dB Clean Boost: Drives the input stage into saturation.
- IR Chooser: Swap impulse responses.
- Mix Knob: Wet/dry blend for parallel processing.
- Master Output: Final level, independent of drive.
- 4x Oversampling: Reduces aliasing under heavy drive.
- Visualizer: Oscilloscope and spectrum viewer for real-time harmonic analysis.
A fully functional demo is available, with periodic audio dropouts.
The core model is free as Reyes 303: the pure circuit, one knob, Alnico speaker IR. Kill Filter, also free, is a super-resonant DJ-style filter with a kill switch and the same tube stage in its path.
TRIODE is available for $39.99 for VST3 and AU, Windows and macOS, at reyes-amps.com
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