There’s nothing like cranking up a tube amp and getting all the punch, feel, dynamics, and juicy goodness of warm valves. But how do you hit your amp’s sweet spot without ticking off the sound guy or waking up the neighbors? Fryette Amplification has a solution.

The Fryette Power Station PS-100 is a dual-mode amp-top unit that combines a load resister, attenuator, and tube power amp in one package. It allows you to connect your tube amp (up to 100 watts) and crank its Volume knob while playing at lower volumes while retaining that cranked feel. The load resister attenuates the signal to a low level which then gets reamplified by sending it to the built-in 100-watt power amp driven by two 6550 power tubes. The Fryette also allows you to connect a low-wattage tube amp and re-amp it into an arena-ready 100-watt amp. 

The PS-100 also has an impressive range of EQ and tone-shaping controls. The front panel features two rows of Volume, Presence, and Depth controls for the dual-mode operation. This allows you to turn a one-channel amp into a footswitchable two-channel amp with independent EQ controls. Two dip switches allow you to adjust overall response of the power amp section – make the power amp bright and tight, warm and loose, or anything in between.  Another nice touch is the effects loop on the back panel, where you will also find a variety of inputs, outputs, and speaker connection. 

How does it sound? Not very exciting at bedroom levels, but once the Volume control hits nine o’clock, the PS-100 comes to life. Great tube tone and feel at volumes that won’t make your ears bleed. The Fryette PS-100 is an impressive piece of gear that would fit nicely into any guitar rig.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.