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Get that classic 70’s British console tone with the Golden Age Project PRE-73 DLX PREMIER, a single-channel vintage-style preamplifier for microphones, line-level signals, and Hi-Z instruments. The signal path in this unit has been expertly handcrafted to give you an authentic recreation of classic 73-style tone, with each signal path transformer-balanced with its own Carnhill transformer optimized for its own singular purpose. Attention has been paid to everyway component, from the polystyrene capacitors to the relay switches, all for a pristine sound through and through.
This preamp is designed to give you a warm, punchy, and sweet tone right out of the box. However, you can change the tone of your sound source in a variety of ways. A 73-style inductor high-pass filter lets you roll off some low end, while a selectable air-band EQ can give you a bright, expensive-sounding lift around 30 kHz. You can change the overall tone of a miked sound source with the selectable impedance button, which lets you switch between 300 and 1200 Ohms. On the output, you’ll find a selectable pad, placed after the output transformer, so you can drive the character of the pre hard without overwhelming the output level.
This preamp sports Neutrik XLR-1/4″ inputs, as well as dedicated XLR and 1/4″ outputs. You’ll find a front-panel 1/4″ DI jack for instruments, and this can be selected to either a Hi-Z or comparatively Lo-Z setting to suit instruments and line-level sound sources alike. There’s even an insert path for integrating your favorite outboard processor into the preamp’s signal. The power supply has been kept separate to ensure the cleanest possible signal path.
Key Features at a Glance
- Vintage-style electronics
- No integrated circuits in signal path
- Hand-soldered, connector-free internal design for the purest and most reliable signal path
- UK-made Carnhill mic input and line output transformers and highpass inductor
- Marconi and fluted-style knobs
- Polystyrene capacitors in addition to tantalum capacitors for pristine audio quality throughout circuit
- Relay-switching to bolster pristine audio path
- Line input uses a custom transformer and the circuit board is prepared for the Carnhill tone
- Balanced, fully-floating output can drive a 600-ohm load up to approximately 28 dBu
- Traditional 23-position 1073-style gain switch also functions as mic/line selector
- Combo XLR/TRS mic and line input jacks and separate output XLR and TRS jacks for flexible connections
- Neutrik XLR/TRS combo jack with gold over nickel plated bronze contacts for mic input
- 80 dB max gain for passive ribbon mics with quiet sound sources
- Switchable impedance on mic input (1200 or 300 ohms); changing load impedance changes mic tone
- -20 to + 10 dB line input gain range
- Active instrument input for guitar and bass that passes the signal through the mic input transformer, with selectable input impedance (Hi-Z or 100 kilohms), by an internal jumper
- Switchable phantom power and absolute phase
- Traditional gain switch plastic knob and metal knobs for the other controls
- The phantom power can deliver up to 10mA according to the specification standard
- 6.8-kilohm phantom power resistors are matched to within 0.1% to maintain good common-mode rejection in the circuit
- Selectable 1073-style inductor based highpass filter at 50, 80, 160 or 300 Hz, with a slope of 18 dB / octave
- Selectable two-position AIR EQ with a boost of about 3 or 6 dB at around 30 kHz
- Insert jack for inserting EQs and other units
- Insert jack can be switched in/out from the front panel
- Internal jumper can select if the insert jack always has an output signal or not
- Output level control makes it possible to make fine gain adjustments and also to overload the main gain stage for more character, and then lower the signal to a suitable level before the output stage
- Output pad allows the user to add character by attenuating the output signal after the output transformer by -7, -14, -21 or -28 dB for overdriving the output stage and the output transformer by adding gain and then lower the output signal to a suitable level with the pad
- 4-step LED output level meter
- Switches on the back panel for 600-ohm output termination and ground lift
- Relays are used to control internal switching for phantom power, mic low-Z, insert and DI for shorter circuit board signal paths
- Power supply with separate regulators for the audio circuit and the relay and LED circuit
- External power supply to avoid interaction with the audio circuits and transformers
