572 Red Stripe
Full Tube Preamp
572 Red Stripe is a pure tube microphone and instrument preamp designed for the 500-series format, delivering a bold sonic footprint with unmistakable analog character. Featuring transformer-balanced input and output using Sowter and Edcor transformers, it provides rich harmonics, depth, and musical saturation. With fully stepped controls, a wide gain range, and a front-panel Hi-Z input, it adapts effortlessly to microphones, line sources, guitars, and keyboards. From clean, detailed amplification to harmonically driven coloration, 572 Red Stripe offers precision, versatility, and classic tube tone in a compact modular design.
Pure Tube Signal Path in 500-Series Format
572 Red Stripe is a single-channel tube preamp built around a true high-quality tube topology, using two double-triode tubes (JJ ECC803S and JJ ECC81). This design delivers authentic tube response with depth, weight, and musical saturation.
Transformer-Balanced for Character and Headroom
UK-made Sowter input transformers and American Edcor output transformers provide excellent isolation, wide bandwidth, and a distinctive tonal signature. The transformer pairing contributes to the preamp’s bold low end and harmonically rich midrange.
Stepped Control and Harmonic Flexibility
A 41-step gain switch allows precise level setting while enabling controlled overdrive of the second gain stage for sweet harmonic coloration. A -20 dB interstage pad helps manage gain structure without sacrificing tone.
Built for Real-World Studio Use
572 Red Stripe supports dynamic, condenser, and ribbon microphones, with +48 V phantom power, polarity control, and a low-cut filter. A front-panel Hi-Z DI input (1 MΩ) makes it equally effective for guitars, basses, and keyboards.
Visual Feedback and Practical Design
A backlit analog VU meter, clip indicator, and phantom power LED provide clear visual monitoring, making 572 Red Stripe an intuitive and expressive front-end for professional recording workflows.
Specifications
| High-Pass Filter | Off, 50 Hz (6 dB/oct) |
| Number of Slots | 1 |
| Audio Transformers | Sowter (input) / Edcor (output) |
| Input Impedance Balanced |
>600 Ω, Sowter transformer |
| Input Pad | −20 dB |
| Output Impedance Balanced |
600 Ω, Edcor (USA) transformer |
| Phantom Power | Yes (+48 V) |
| Operating Level | +4 dBu |
| Maximum Input Level | +16 dBu |
| Maximum Output Level | +28 dBu |
| Dynamic Range | 117 dB |
| Maximum Gain | 64 dB |
| Noise Level | −100 dBA |
| Frequency Response | 20 Hz – 20 kHz (−1 dB) |
| THD+N | ≤ 0.5% |
| Anode Voltage | 250 V DC |
| Power Supply | ±16 V DC |
| Power Consumption | 6.5 W |
| Dimensions | 78 × 166 × 229 mm |
| Shipping Weight | 2 kg |
| Tube Complement | ECC81 × 2 |
| Application | All single-channel studio recording tasks |
