We modeled a classic external '63 spring tank placed in front of the amp, so the springs hit the preamp tubes first and break up with your guitar. It's straight from Neil Young's playbook—and exactly why his reverb roars instead of politely shimmering.
Dig into a heavy low-E chord and the low-end collapses into a sputtering, gated crunch. We modeled an undersized output transformer pushed past its limits—it chokes the bass while the mids and highs scream through, for volatile compression that feels dangerous.
What do the knobs actually do?
Sets the volume and drive of the Normal channel. Thanks to the modeled shared circuit node, it isn't independent—it actively fights the Bright channel, shifting the whole gain layout even when you're not plugged into it.
Sets the Bright channel's volume, adding a crisp top-end bite that cuts right through a heavy band mix.
A single shared high-end bleed. Its response shifts with your volume settings—from a subtle smoothing tool to a dramatic bite shaper.
Pick your path: Normal, Bright, or Jumpered. Jumpered links both preamps so your guitar runs through both channels at once—the ultimate high-gain vintage patch.
Universal architecture
These are the ideas, design philosophies, and shared technical choices common to every Smear Audio amp. They are not one-off product notes or model-specific feature lists, but the baseline assumptions behind how we build our amplifier plugins.
Instead of running our software through a single, compromise-heavy digital grid, every individual tube stage is calculated independently in real time.
Getting a software plugin to feed back naturally without a roaring 4x12 cabinet physically vibrating your guitar strings used to be a pipe dream. Our proprietary Ghost Bloom engine changes the game by emulating physical acoustic feedback with breathtaking realism.
An extraordinary amplifier needs a real environment to breathe. Our unified speaker platform offers six distinct, classically voiced cabinet models, paired with an intuitive three-dimensional mic room.
In the real world, the perfect alternative or shoegaze tone almost always starts with a great pedal slamming the front end of an amp. We have hardwired two switchable, analog-modeled boost circuits directly into the top bar of every interface.
Fender and Deluxe are trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Neil Young is not affiliated with, and has not endorsed or sponsored, this product. Zuma 5E3 Deluxe is an independently developed product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or licensed by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation or any related parties. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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