Let it be stated again: The PZ Pre is a two-input preamp. The first thing you can do is connect two instruments with the possibility of switching form one to the other, or just one instrument that has two outputs that can be blended/mixed. This adjustment is made with a small switch accessible with a pointy object through a small hole on the right side of the device. The two-instrument option lets you use the PZ PRE for a second instrument. The mix option will be very useful for those who have a guitar with an independent piezzo and pickup. One thing to note is that there’s a phase reverse just in case. A second small switch lets you have a special preamp that’s specific for piezzos without integrated preamps. Since I didn’t have such an instrument at hand, I wasn’t able to test this feature.

The input selection is made with a footswitch with two bright leds, one yellow, the other red, letting you see which input is active. Above this switch, there are two volume knobs for each input which allow precision adjustment and mixing of both inputs. It should be mentioned that in spite of the crowding of the knobs and the extra cost of this second volume knob, this solution is better and more precise than a balance knob, especially in a live setting where you can change the volume of one instrument without effecting the other.

There’s also a lo-cut filter which can be activated or switched to 80 or 200 Hz. To this, is added a 3-position notch Q filter (bypass, normal, deep) and a frequency selection knob. These filters, which are active on a narrow frequency, are designed to get rid of feedback. There’s one curious thing: the switch is called « notch Q » but it seems to be designed to adjust the gain of the frequency to be cut, and not its bandwidth. This filter is efficient and apparently lets you cut an unwanted frequency without changing the sound too much.

Since we’re talking about filters, the 3-band EQ should be discussed. There’s a bass and a high with a simple gain adjustment and a semi-parametric mid adjustment (frequency and gain). Even with extreme settings, it doesn’t alter the tone, which keeps its natural sound (as natural as a piezzo can sound). The highs can be pushed quite high without it becoming screechy, while the lows cans give a lot of body to an instrument that’s lacking it (like a dulcimer) without provoking the cotton aspect that often happens when accentuating these frequencies. As for the mids, it really lets you sculpt the sound with precision, maybe a little too much. I almost wish that it worked on a slightly wider bandwidth. But this is really splitting hairs since this EQ is very efficient and musical; definitely one of the numerous strong points of this product.

The last knob (the first one on the left) controls the boost volume. In fact, one of the footswitches lets you activate the boost, the effects loop, or both (set with the dedicated 3-position switch).

The last footswitch is a general mute switch that cuts all outputs except for the tuner. There’s not much to say about it except to say that the output level is sufficient enough to get a good reading from a tuner (whatever the settings may be). Judging from the quality of the rest of the device, it would be surprising if this wasn’t the case, but it might as well be noted, because it’s just the type of weak point that could be really annoying when using it.