The All-Tube “Black Box” Mic Preamp Now Available
The “Black Box” mic preamp that we highlighted in our AES 2011 recap is now available through Vintage King Audio.
The Black Box Microphone Preamp was designed and built by Black Box Analog Design – established in 2009 by studio owners and audio engineers Eric Racy and Robert Wainscott. This tube pre has reportedly been “designed from the ground up, using the best parts and ignoring all of the standard ideas of how a preamp ‘should work’. The result is an incredibly versatile piece of gear that not only sounds amazing but shatters the idea of what a preamp can do.”
The all-tube Black Box mic pre (introductory price $1,995)
This tweak-friendly all-tube design features continuously variable triode and pentode stages, which puts the tonal character of the preamp in the user’s hands.
According to the product announcement:
“The Black Box enables users to uniquely shape their sound by implementing unconventional methods and such features as an entirely analog audio path, custom, hand wound Cinemag input and output transformers, hand soldered point-to-point wiring, independently controlled Pentode and Triode tube stages (as well as independent Pentode / Triode “Tone Boost” switches), 350v linear power supply and the ability to shape the frequency response without the use of an EQ.
For a complete list of specifications, click here.
Said Wainscott: “I approached the design of the Black Box Microphone Preamp in the same manner I would set up for a mix session. I mixed a single tube with everything plugged into a ‘patchbay’ and all the values that shape how the tube works were fluid. Everything from plate voltage to blocking capacitors could be changed in real time, which afforded me the room to perfect the Mic Pre’s design, resulting in the unit we have today.”
The Black Box Mic Pre (MSRP $2,500) is now available through Vintage King Audio at an introductory MAP price of $1,995.
For more information, visit http://www.blackboxanalog.com.
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