Golden Age Audio - PRE-73 MK4

Golden Age Audio Pre-73 MkIV: The Console Character for Your Studio
The Pre-73 MkIV represents Golden Age Audio's commitment to democratising classic British sound. This mic preamp is the latest and greatest update to their successful '73 style series. More than just a preamp, it's a true DI box and line-level unit, offering a wide tonal palette from clean and transparent to warm and punchy.

Controlled Saturation for character
For the recording engineer or producer looking for that vintage character, the Pre-73 MkIV excels. You can turn up the Gain knob to get the colour and punch you want. This process, essential for analogue-oriented recording, is made safe and convenient by a dedicated Output control. This allows you to attenuate the outgoing signal, ensuring that you can saturate the preamp for a warm, smooth and musical sound without the risk of overloading the input of your converter.

Maximum power and connectivity
The MkIV is designed to handle any microphone in your arsenal. It provides an impressive 80dB of gain, making it ideal for use with sensitive ribbon mics or other low-level sources.

Connection options are comprehensive:
- Switchable +48v mic input for capacitors and dynamics.
- Line level and Hi-Z (instrument level) inputs for your sound modules, keyboards, guitars and electric basses.
- A handy insert jack allows easy integration of favourite external processors, such as an EQ or compressor, into the signal path.
- Flexible outputs via XLR or TRS and a phase inverter included.

Advanced Tone-Sculpting tools
The Pre-73 MkIV incorporates a number of professional features for sculpting your sound straight from the source:
1. Switchable Air EQ: For effective high-frequency processing, this EQ adds shimmer and presence.
2. Selectable Low Pass Filter: Eliminates unwanted low-end rumble for a cleaner signal.
3. Low-Z switch: Toggles mic impedance between 1200 Ω and 300 Ω. This control is essential for engineers wishing to experiment with how different microphones interact with the preamp load.
4. A -14dB Pad provides additional control over hot input signals.
Classic Build Quality and Integrity

True to the classic preamps of yesteryear, the design of the Pre-73 MkIV emphasises quality and construction. It uses no surface-mount components or integrated circuits. All inputs and outputs are transformer-balanced, using two different transformers optimised for their specific functions. The use of an external power supply eliminates the risk of self-noise.
Housed in a metal chassis in half-rack format, the unit is both robust and portable, offering a high-fidelity recording solution at a contained price.