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Warm Audio TB12 Tone Shaping Mic Pre PreampThe Tone Beast is a great mic pre with loads of gain that can effortlessly capture an array of sources very well. With top notch CineMag transformers and multiple discrete signal paths, it's hard to beat its big, bold, fully-professional sound at its price.
The Tone Beast is a mic pre that likes to be pushed and when pushed will colorize your signal ever so sweetly. The 2 opamps and 2 output transformers at the flip of their switches won't appear to be much different, but as one drives the pre into harmonic distortion, the unique character of each of these components becomes apparent. Additionally the Tone Beast is customizable and allows for other opamps to be sourced and easily swapped into the unit. I've pulled my best tones from this pre right at the saturation point (as loud as I can push the gain before clipping). The output control on the TB12 allows you to limit the signal exiting the preamp even when pushing the gain to really hot levels, giving you maximum control.
The x731 (Melcor 1731) and x18 (Dean Jensen's 918) Op Amps saturate a bit differently. The 1731 breaks up faster and has more color when pushed. The 918 is fairly linear/clean with a smidge of character and does not break-up/saturate as quickly. The 100% steel output transformer colors the signal more than the 50% nickel transformer when pushed. However, both are designed to impart character. The 50% nickel transformer will impart less character and provide greater high and low frequencies. For an ultra clean, character-lacking tone, try the x18 while bypassing the output transformers completely.
Have no fear of hurting the Beast, you can push it very hard into full-on distortions if you wish, and these can sound quite nice on electric guitar, bass or anything else that likes some nice grit.
When hand building mic pres I learned a bit about the "subtle" differences component choices can make. A little change here, and another there often times became a huge deal in a finished mix, but often times is not very noticeable at first take. The different component options in the TB12 are subtle, but when driven into saturation are noticeable and can make a big difference to the way your final mix will sound.
Home-based musicians and professional studios alike will find the Tone Beast to be an extremely powerful and fully professional piece of gear that is capable of warming and shaping signals/mixes in a way that is very pleasing to the ear.
History behind the Tone Beast
In the 60′s and 70′s many console/preamplifier builders hid the operational amplifier (Op amp) stage of their preamps by cramming its components into a small box and then attaching the box to the circuit board. Inside these small boxes, the components were covered in glue to make them hard to disassemble/analyze. Manufacturers of that day felt the character these Op Amps imparted was unique enough to protect.
A trend grew in the industry where the little box the Op Amp components sat in became of similar size and shape between manufacturers. These boxes eventually mounted to the PCB board with the same number of pins, spaced identically, even from different manufacturers. You could remove an Op Amp from one console preamp and place it in another of a different manufacturer without much headache/difficulty.
The TB12 uses this same square shaped op amp and pin configuration as these originals but not enclosed in plastic and glue. The TB12 is designed so that users can remove the stock opamps and replace them with their own. If you are a tone FREAK like me you will love the ability to do this. Beware that Warm Audio may not be able to warranty a unit that has been opened and tinkered with. Below are some examples of 6 pin opamps that can pop right into the Tone Beast!
• Discrete 312 preamp design with coupled CineMag Transformers
• 71db of gain
• Transformer selection provides both Steel and 50% Nickel CineMag output transformers for varying character
• Transformer bypass switch allows for removal of the output transformer from the circuit
• Discrete Opamp selection provides both the classic 1731(vintage) and 918(cleaner) style opamps. These are socketed/swappable with your choice of 2520 6 pin footprint opamps.
• Impedance switch labeled TONE to switch between 150 and 600 ohms input impedance
• Capacitor selection between Tantalum and Electrolytic for different characters
• 80hz hipass filter
• Polarity Reverse
• +48V phantom power
• Output attenuation allowing for saturation flexibility of both the opamps and transformers
• ¼" insert for the use of inline compressors, eq's etc..
• Balanced XLR mic (front and back), balanced TRS line, and ¼" instrument inputs
• Balanced XLR and TRS outputs
• -20db Pad
• LED VU Meter
• 19" rackmountable
• External line-lump 24V AC power transformer for low noise | Buyer Terms | | If you have ZERO FEEDBACK, any deserved NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, or a history of bid retraction you MUST receive our permission before bidding or your bid will be cancelled. Further, we reserve the right to cancel any bid from a NEWLY REGISTERED Ebay Member at our discretion.**** VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT: If using PayPal you MUST be a Verified PayPal Member with a Confirmed Shipping Address.Additional Paymnet Guidelines: If payment is not or cannot be made within 48 hours from time of purchase*, please refrain from buying the item. Additionally, if your payment method does not meet our perscribed guidelines /policies, we reserve the right to refuse to complete the transaction.*(If you contact us immediately upon purchasing the item and other arrangements can be made within a reasonable amount of time, we may extend this term. ) AGAIN - If you do not follow the instructions detailed herein WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL ANY BID OR REFUSE TO DO BUSINESS WITH ANYONE SUBJECT TO SELLER'S DISCRETION. |
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| Return Policy | | Buyer has 14-Day Warranty Period from time item is received to report any issues or problems (however, we request that you please inspect your item as soon as possible upon receipt).Buyer is responsible for all shipping charges. A Re-Stocking Fee of 7-10% may apply (Terms subject to our discretion and will be evaluated on a per case basis.)* *International buyers please be aware! The above policy still applies; however, if there is a problem with the item and a return is necessary:We will refund the cost paid for the item ONLY! Buyer will be responsible for all return shipping charges. NO shipping costs or VAT/ Taxes/ Duties paid by the buyer to import the item will be refunded.
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| Shipping Information
| | **U.S. Buyers Please Be Aware - The Flat U.S. Shipping Rate will be different than stated in this ad for the following: Puerto Rico, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands. Please contact PRIOR to purchase for calculated rates to these locations.** We strive to insure every item we ship is very well packaged to protect as much as is possible against any damage that may occur in transit. This may be reflected in our flat rate for all shipments within the U.S., and especially so for all International shipments.*FREE SHIPPING APPLIES TO ORDERS SENT ONLY WITHIN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. (excludes Alaska and Hawaii, as well as Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands); and may not be combined with other NON-NEW-SCHECTER items ordered.Also, see the Fed Ex Ground Service Map below for Estimated Delivery Times for Domestic Shipments: |
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International Insurance via USPS:
For some countries USPS only allows us to insure up to a certain dollar amount per package. EXAMPLE: To France via either USPS Service noted above they will only insure up to $650 USD. Which means IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO THE ITEM ONCE SHIPPED THIS IS ALL USPS WILL REIMBURSE FOR! If the item/s you are purchasing are valued above this amount, buyer must accept and fully understand this limitation. (* If this is not acceptable, we are happy to ship via another service that does not impose these regulations - for example: FED EX/ UPS - but there will be additional cost to buyer.) | 