With 80dB of gain and a fully discrete Carnhill Transformer balanced signal path, there’s no recording, mixing or engineering task that the WA73 can’t handle.
If there’s one style of preamp that professional engineers would unanimously agree has defined the tone of pop/rock records for decades, it would most definitely be the venerable '73-style of mic pre. '73-style preamps have been massively used in recording and live applications for many years and are still considered to be the “Holy Grail” of preamp choices today. The Warm Audio “WA73 Family” consists of single and dual channel '73-style preamps (with & w/out EQ), that each pay careful homage to British audio history.
When we at Warm Audio decided to release the WA73 it was imperative that it met vintage expectation in both design and performance. The tone and sweet character that vintage '73-style mic preamps impart is so unique and familiar, that we had only the pure desire to release sonically accurate reproductions. After years of R&D, careful reverse-engineering, and countless hours of auditioning, the WA73 has been born!
The WA73 is a “Desert Island” boutique preamp, but it can also be classified as a studio and live work-horse. Classic '73-style preamps are known for being versatile tools that work with all kinds of microphones from Condenser, to Dynamic, to Ribbon. The WA73 equally shines on all types of microphones and sources including; vocals, acoustic/electric guitars, bass, drums, percussion, orchestras, keyboards, and even as a tone shaping tool to run partial or complete mixes through.
Warm Audio WA73 Features
- Single channel, Class A, '73-style British microphone preamp
- UK-made Carnhill transformers
- Hand-wired, hand-assembled
- Resistor stepped gain switch
- Fully discrete
- Polarity switch
- XLR mic input
- Line level TRS input
- TS send/receive insert jacks
- XLR & TRS line level outputs
- Direct in, instrument input
- Output control
- LED level indication
- 19" rack-mountable
- Ground lift switch
- Internal IEC 115V/230V power inlet
- WA73 Single Channel British Mic Pre1
- Gain80dB
- Tone buttonchanges input transformer impedance for varying tone
- Phantom Power48V
- 4 position inductor-based hipass filter 50, 80, 160, 300 Hz
