The new Pop Top Boost from Milkman Sound takes its inspiration from the classic American recording consoles of the 1970s. We designed a discrete Op Amp which fits the standard 2520 footprint and put it into a modern pedal enclosure for use with guitar or any other instrument that uses 1/4” phone connectors.
We designed the Pop Top to run at “unity gain” with the control set at zero. At unity you can hear the discrete op amp color and find a sweet spot without dropping any signal. There is enough headroom inside to use the Pop Top at the very end of a pedal chain even in tandem with other gain and boost pedals.

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Pop Top Boost

The F-Stop brings two effects found in vintage American tube amplifiers into one pedal. The combination of a tube driven spring reverb with pulsating "bias" tremolo was first introduced in the early 1960s and has become a standard sound for guitar players and other instrumentalists ever since.

The F-Stop has been designed to bring classic tube amplifier effects into a small package that runs off of a 9VDC pedal power supply. Internally, the F-Stop has 18v of headroom so it can live as comfortably at the end of your signal chain as it does at the beginning. The spring portion of the pedal is digital, but the guitar signal path and tremolo circuit is 100% analog. 

The sound of bias tremolo and spring reverb is unmistakable, and the F-Stop uses modern electronics to achieve an authentic recreation of these effects with similar circuit topography as found in tube amplifiers.

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F-Stop white

The Amp Stereo is the newest release in Milkman Sound’s series of amplifiers in a pedal format. Following on the heels of The Amp and The Amp 100 we have a newly designed fully stereo amplifier design with many extra features that will surely make this amplifier an essential part of any musician’s toolkit.

There is now an elegant, analog, easy to use end of the chain solution for players using stereo effects featuring our cab sim sweetener, a stereo headphone amplifier and two powerful channels of amplification. On top of the stereo functionality, The Amp Stereo can be run as two independent amplifiers each powering separate channels of audio.

Use the built in footswitches to sum to mono and fix phase issues potentially created by wet/dry guitar setups or cabinets with reverse polarity. The two outputs can run into separate cabinets varying in impedance and wattage – for example a 4ohm bass cabinet can be powered by one side and 8ohm guitar cabinet by the other. The Amp Stereo has been designed to maximize headroom and serve as a foundation for all manner of instruments and effects.

Like all Milkman products, The Amp Stereo is built by hand in California with the finest components available.

Demo by Milkman

The Amp Stereo

What is The Amp? First and foremost, it’s a 50W Guitar amplifier. The preamp is based around a single 12AX7 running at high voltage in a discrete Class A circuit. The tube preamp reacts with a guitar the same way any tube amplifier does: it generates harmonics and the sweet sounding high fidelity tone that tubes are known for. Along with tube EQ. there is on-board reverb and tremolo effects so that The Amp can be used as a grab and go amplifier. Foot switches for bypassing the effects are built in. A Class D power section delivers 50 watts into 8ohms, or 100 watts into 4ohms. The Speakon combination jack for speaker output takes either a standard 1/4” connection or a locking Speakon connector for extra security.

The Amp has an integrated headphone amplifier which sounds identical to the output from a speaker. This is perfect for practice, auditioning pedals, or for those times when noise is not appropriate. The Amp can operate with no speaker attached so it can live on a pedalboard and go wherever the pedals go. Speaking of travel, The Amp has a universal IEC power input. It can run from 100 to 260 VAC. No matter where it is on Earth, it can be plugged into a wall socket and used with no need for additional power accessories.

How about a compact studio quality tube preamp? The internal XLR output delivers a balanced line level output. There is no modeling or simulation involved, no menus or presets to give option anxiety. It is very straightforward and simple to get great tone from the tube preamp of The Amp and use it as the front end for a modeling system, recording setup, or for playing direct on stage.

The Amp also has “pedal level” output where it can be used as the front end of a pedal board or as an amp like effect on the back end of a pedal board. There is no substitute for the marriage between a magnetic guitar pickup and the first stage of a tube amplifier, and this is something that is missing with modern pedal board setups. Using The Amp in front of a pedal chain will add harmonics and tube musicality to the entire signal chain starting right where it matters most: between a guitar pickup and the grid of a tube.

Using The Amp further down the signal chain creates unique tonal possibilities. It plays well with pedals, and it can add extra EQ or reverb to an existing amplifier. The Amp can drive the input of an amplifier as an extra tube gain stage. It can be a backup for a vintage amp needing service, or used in place of anemic backline gear on your travel gig. At 2.5lbs, and with so many different uses, The Amp may be your new best friend. 

The Amp

F-Stop black

F-Stop black von Milkman Sound