Hughes & Kettner Cream Machine II preset

Verified · 86/100 confidence. Complete schematic. All component values readable. Parameters derived directly from the circuit.

The Hughes & Kettner Cream Machine II is a 1990 hybrid guitar preamp. An NE5532 input buffer feeds a 12AX7 used as two cascaded gain stages with a gain control, then half a 12AU7 as a further stage with master volume, while the other half drives a small output transformer into a speaker output. Op-amp speaker-simulator filtering, a tube bypass and several outputs let it feed a power amp or go straight to tape with creamy overdrive.

• Made in: Germany
• Channels: 1
• Preamp tubes: 1× 12AX7, 1× 12AU7

Tags: german, preamp, hybrid, crunch.

Schematic-derived preset files for 16 Fractal and Line 6 modelers: Axe-Fx II/XL/XL+, Axe-Fx III, FM3, FM9, and the full Helix family (Floor, LT, Rack, HX Stomp, HX Stomp XL, Native).

Gridleak extracts amp parameters from original circuit schematics using AI vision — component values, gain staging, tone stack topology, tube types — then generates native preset files for every supported modeler. Every extraction is scored 0–100 and the score is published.