Preamps / Channel Strips

Tyneside-based DACS have been building high-quality equipment for people on a one-off basis for years, but now they've launched a range of equipment that anyone can buy. Hugh Robjohns explains why he'd rather buy British.

Two channels good, four channels better — but 4-channel preamps are thin on the ground. Hugh Robjohns has succeeded in sniffing one out.

Pro quality at an affordable price? Hugh Robjohns inspects a preamp with a prestigious name.

Richard Waghorn tests the TL Audio PA3001 alongside some of the best mic preamps available and discovers a good combination of price and performance.

Drawmer's 1960 series leaps into the digital age with the launch of the 1962, which combines a specially designed low-noise preamp, variable tube coloration and audio-sweetening tools with an optional 24-bit output stage. Paul White celebrates the year of the tube.

Thinking of buying a new microphone? Maybe you should consider investing in a dedicated mic preamp instead, to improve the clarity and definition of your recordings without breaking the bank. Dominic Hawken plugs in the mic he likes and checks out the new contender from dbx

Hugh Robjohns takes a look at yet another studio unit designed to partner the new generation of digital 8-tracks, this time from a company new to the UK market.

Some mic preamps are used for the audible effect they produce on recordings, while others are chosen simply to amplify your mic signals as cleanly as possible. Paul White checks out at the third unit in Focusrite's affordable Green range, and finds a quality mic amplifier that falls into the latter category...

ART have followed up their single-channel Tube MP valve mic preamp by developing two more tube designs for both the project studio owner and the audio professional. Paul White huddles round to warm his signals...

Digitech's VTP1 seeks to outpace the competition in the crowded valve mic preamp market by offering built-in 4-band EQ and a digital output. Paul White sees how it runs...

Paul White checks out a couple of all-valve front ends to see whether eliminating solid-state circuitry really makes a difference.

There's more to building a serious mic front end than putting a standard circuit in a flashy box. Fortunately, SPL's circuit design is even more impressive than their custom anodised front panels, as Paul White discovers.

Paul White tries to establish whether a separate mic preamp really does make a difference, using the MX2, the latest in the LA Audio Lite range of signal processors.

Until now, musicians wanting to add that distinctive valve sound to their recordings have had to beg, borrow, or steal to do it. At a mere £149, ART's new tube mic preamp looks set to change all that. Paul White checks it out.

Fletcher ElectroAcoustics' Voice Channel is a modern reincarnation of a vintage classic compressor, repackaged with a high-spec mic amp and an enhancer.

Paul White tries out the new TLA Preamp/DI box, which combines leading edge solid-state technology with vintage tubes in an attempt to offer the best of both worlds.

Paul White plays axe hooligan for a day with the Sansamp PSA1.

SPL have combined their Vitalizer circuitry with a powerful parametric/notch filter and added a low-noise mic preamp to create an extraordinary audio toolbox. Paul White takes the lid off and looks inside.

Paul White compares his console mic amps to the new Aphex Model 107 Tube Mic preamp and finds some interesting differences.

Axe heroes wanting that classic Marshall stack sound without the bulk should check out this floor-mounting DI unit. Paul White put his foot down.

Want that Mesa Boogie guitar sound for a fraction of the usual price — and from a foot pedal? Vic Lennard plugs in his trusty Strat...