вЂњWe solicited a lot of customer feedback for our product road map and tested other products on the market, which we felt didnвЂ™t do the 1073 sound justice.вЂќ Unlike other manufacturers, which set a price point and work backwards, Black Lion Audio вЂњauditioned different components at each stage to determine the optimal configuration,вЂќ revealed Bierdeman. So what compelled Black Lion Audio to develop a 1073-based preamp? вЂњWeвЂ™ve been researching a 1073 design for some time,вЂќ according to Nate Bierdeman, BLAвЂ™s Assistant General Manager. вЂњAt one point, I just wanted to run everything though it,вЂќ commented the electronic musician, вЂњit just gave the sterile virtual synth sounds that much needed analog cellulite thatвЂ™s desperately missing.вЂќ While our sound designer found вЂњit provided just the right amount of viscosity to explosions and other low-end material for added realism.вЂќ вЂњThe B173 is the answer for any material that requires more meatвЂ¦it provides a very musical, lower grind to the sound that beautifully complements the mid-tones.вЂќ On bass, it adds вЂњa tubbinessвЂќ to the sound without вЂњmud and unwanted debris.вЂќДЄside on Black Lion AudioвЂ™s decision to not include an XLR output on the unit, both our sound designer and electronic music reviewers couldnвЂ™t say enough good things about the B173 on their computer- and keyboard-based material. Our rock evaluator had high praise for the results he was able to achieve with both guitar and bass. The B173 has a 1/4вЂі direct input on itвЂ™s front face, perfect for guitar work. Although the specs call for 2-3 minutes of warmup, our reviewers all recommended вЂњat least 10 minutes to for the signal path to fully saturate.вЂќ Once primed, the B173 is ready to add itвЂ™s вЂњspecial sauceвЂќ and вЂњflavorвЂќ to the sound. вЂњIt can work wonders on certain material, and fall decidedly short on others,вЂќ according to one evaluator. One of the distinctive qualities of the 1073 is its unique colorization of the sound, especially when вЂњdriven.вЂќ To this end, the B173 is not going to be your go to pre for every situation. FutureMusic utilized five different reviewers for our long-term test of the B173, incorporating producers and musicians who specialize in rock, vocals, electronic music, and sound design, as well as a studio owner who fields clients in many different genres. The unit is a pretty simple affair featuring a microphone gain knob in 12 steps from +12 to +80 dB of gain, and output gain control, selectable +48V phantom power for utilizing condenser microphones, a power switch, and a switch for routing either the XLR or DI input to the output transformer. The output is supplied via a 1/4вЂі back plate connector.

For I/O, it features a XLR-3F microphone input as well as a 1/4вЂі high-impedance buffer DI input for connecting instruments such as guitars and keyboards. The B173 eliminates the EQ section, focusing solely on the preamp for their 1073 emulation. TheВ B173В is a single channel mic pre-amp with input and output transformers, 80dB of stepped gain, output level control, phantom power, phase control, and is housed in a 1U, 1/2 rack chassis. However, a new strata of products have entered the market (Golden Age ProjectВ Pre-73, Chameleon labs 7602, Seventh Circle N72), which forgoes the EQ section and focuses directly on emulating the 1073 pre. This has created a vibrant emulation market with many companies such as Vintech, BAE, Great River and Heritage Audio providing their takes on achieving the Neve sound. Throughout its storied history, the sound has always been described as big, fat and distinctly вЂњcoloredвЂќ thanks to its transformer design, which adds very musical sub-harmonics to the signal.Д«lack Lion Audio has focused more on their front panel aesthetics as of late, and it's paying offДЄlthough AMS-Neve produces a modern equivalent of the Class A architecture, sourcing original components to the exact specifications of the original modules and constructing them by hand, at $3400 the cost of the new 1073 is prohibitive to most project studio owners.

The original featured a microphone and line amplifier complemented by three equalizer bands, one fixed at 12 kHz, and the other two as switchable low and mid range bands with cut and boost features, as well as a passive, third-order 18 dB/Octave high-pass filter. Founder, Rupert Neve, developed the вЂњ1073вЂќ design when he was designing the A88 mixing console for the famed Wessex Studios. Launched in 1970, the venerable Neve 1073 is one of the most sought after Class A channel strips available today.

Neve 1073 preamp specs