Tube preamp, plug in for takamine guitars

Takamine Guitars, a world leader in acoustic/electric guitar technology, is proud to announce a thrilling breakthrough in on-board preamp design with the CTP-1 CoolTube preamp. The CTP-1 CoolTube preamp is a true “tube” preamp design that mounts directly inside an acoustic guitar.

“Nothing sweetens a nice clean acoustic guitar signal like a tube preamp,” says Takamine product manager Mike Markure. “It took a couple years, but we found a way to make it sweet, make it cool, and make it fit.”

The CTP-1 CoolTube preamp is a perfect compliment for the unmatched performance of Takamine’s Palathetic pickup system. The new preamp features a 12AU7 tube input circuit, a semi-parametric EQ section and a chromatic tuner. One other new feature is an auxiliary input with a blend control that can accept a second add-on pickup source such as a magnetic soundhole pickup, soundboard transducer, or internal mic.

Like all Takamine preamp designs the CTP-1 CoolTube preamp is interchangeable with every preamp in Takamine’s SoundChoice preamp system. This new system will come as standard equipment on Takamine Nashville Series, Supernatural, and Hirade guitars.

The new Cool Tube fits neatly into Takamine’s “SoundChoice” docking port. The Cool Tube knob at the upper left controls the level of tube effect. It works in combination with the Volume slider on the right similar to the way channel and master volume controls function on a tube amplifier.

The heart of the Cool Tube is the 12AU7 preamp tube. Running at just 3 volts, the tube warms to about 2 degrees above ambient temperature, posing no danger to the delicate tone woods. The red-coded RCA jack on the right is an input for a secondary pickup – mike, magnetic or piezo.