Pre-73 MKIII Mic Line Preamp

Sound fantastic clean, and sounds great on the right source when driven a bit harder. I've had good success coloring overheads, snares, and bass in particular, and the subtle compression when overdriving the preamp is usually quite nice. I've also played out with 2 of these wired up as an insert on a master bus, and on the right track it can sound fantastic. For those unfamiliar with the workings of this pre, the dual knob control layout might be slightly confusing from a gain staging perspective, but the included documentation provides a clear explanation for beginners. My main bass recording chain has been a tube preamp into this preamp before my interface, and it's been a very reliable and versatile setup. You can't beat the price, and my experience has been totally positive with no noise issues in either of my two units.

It would seem from other reviews that some have encountered QC issues. Thankfully, this has not been the case for me. There’s a lot of competition in this market space, but most of the competing products are both a.) more expensive, and b.) have fewer features. I’m very pleased with this preamp, and find that it is an excellent match for sources that require more gain than the preamps in a recording interface simply can’t deliver. For other applications it can certainly add a coloration reminiscent of the design it was derived from- albeit not quite the same. This can also be overdone. Overall, a great addition to the home enthusiast’s toolbox, and something to inspire more creativity and exploration. Frankly, I’m inclined to think it would even be suitable for professional applications. From my perspective, the build quality is reflected in the price. Do better options exist? Perhaps. But you won’t get them at this price point, and they’ll likely be missing some of the features found here. Highly recommend.

Worth every dollar. The box it came in was a complete turn off however the unit was in perfect condition. Everything sounds..."expensive" now.

Absolutely perfect for what I was looking for. When you are looking for a preamp you need to know what type of color you are looking for (because everything analog adds color) and what you need it for. This Transistor-based preamp is a discrete preamp (as stated, it works phenomenally in that capacity) it works great with Guitar, Bass, Vocals even Synthesizers! It has become the workhorse of the studio and all of my clients are in love with it. They refuse to record without it. I chose this over a Tube-based preamp as my main microphone is a Tube Mic and i wanted a more transparent preamp that doesnt further excite sibilance like stacking multiple instances of Tube-based equipment in the same signal chain would. All in all, sound quality is great! The transistors when cranked sounds great too. Real solid old-retro 50s transistor radio effect. Definitely going to remain a dominant tool in my recording signal for a long while.

Some users have noted possible quality control issues, but I have none of that with my unit. Nothing but stellar performance for money from this Chinese behemoth. I use mine as both a DI and to give extra drive to an SM7B. It allows for extra gain that slightly colors the signal, as much or as little as you’d like. You can turn the gain down and crank the output, turn the output down but crank the gain, or anywhere in between! I will update if the unit fails me, but I hope to hold on to her for a long time.

Sounds great, quality is legit. It does what is asked and looks pretty freaking Cherry.

was great for a while but now the hum has increased. Reached out to the manufacture for any kind of worth wild help the unit sounded great when it worked. Tested with an anylyzer and the hum from 0 to 900k. buy a decent sound card for your needs instead.

I LOVE IT. I highly recommend this product to everyone.