I have a number of M267s in prep, plus FP42 stereo preamps and FP11 limiter / preamps here

The Shure Level-Loc has achieved vintage / price-gouging / pimping notoriety thanks to a couple of high-profile users. The M267 has a similar Shure limiter in a 4-channel mic pre at a sensible price. They’ve been very popular – everyone seems to like the effect of the limiter, particularly with room mics

The limiter sets a maximum output level from the mixer. After that, any increase in gain just makes the signal denser and more compressed. It’s a neat trick, surprisingly controllable and definitely useable

The M267 is part of a dynasty of Shure preamps which have been used in the USA & round the world for forty-odd years. They’re definitely not audiophile units, but utilitarian devices for small-scale PA & location recording uses. Their appeal for recording lies in the transformer inputs and output limiter

The M267 has transformer-balanced inputs and outputs, low-cut filters on the inputs , a VU meter and a headphone output. It also has a built-in line up oscillator, switchable phantom power and three power sources (DC, battery or AC)

The limiter is post-channel and post-output control and does an excellent job of levelling the output signal and adding huge amounts of distortion. The limiter threshold is adjustable via pot on the underside of the unit

“The limiter on that Shure mixer is awesome. You can get some great Level-Loc type sounds out of it.”

“One cool thing that they do is they have a level loc style of limiting ability when you hit the transformers hard enough”

“I have an M67 and an M267. Both are great color boxes and can make some really nice recordings”

“Whether being hardware or software, what’s your current go-to device to foul all kind of sound sources up beyond all repair?

“Shure M267 microphone mixer. Has transformer love in and out. And features a level-loc style limiter. Nothing subtle about that machine”

“-Also Deltalab Effectron. Its a very early digital delay, with some esoteric A/D conversion, that fux the sound into lofi smile if you turn down the delay. Also it the delay feedback path somehow creeps itself into to the input limiter op-amp distortion, so you can further shape the destruction”

“Been wanting something like a #levelLoc to crush a room mic but dont wanna spend a lot? … #shure m267”

Link to all Shure preamps

In very good used condition with only minor marks. Tested & working 100%. Photos show an M267 sold previously

The post Shure M267 Mic Preamp / Limiter #58 appeared first on BN1studio.

The FP42 was designed as a self-contained mic preamp / mixer for ENG & location work. It has four transformer-balanced mic inputs, stereo output and that famous Shure output limiter. Each input is switchable for mic or line levels and 30 Volt phantom power is available

Each channel has a low-cut filter, level control and pan-pot plus a cue function (see the manual in the Links section for more info)

Other features include overload LEDs, VU metering, a line-up oscillator and battery or mains power

The FP42 is useful as a portable mic mixer and as a colour box to add limiting & distortion to signals. It’s a little cleaner than the M267 but will still deliver the famous Shure crushed & Limited sound when desired. The limiter pins the output signal to a specific level so increasing gain makes the sound denser. It’s a specific sound but, judging by the feedback I’ve had for the M267 and FP11s, it’s one that people love!

In very good used condition with only minor case marks. Modified with an IEC power inlet and belt loop pins on the side panels plus velcro on the top side. Set to 230V for the UK / EU

Pots & switches cleaned & lubricated but may take some time to be noise-free. Tested & working 100%. Photos show the preamp for sale

The post Shure FP42 Stereo Mic Preamp / Limiter #11 appeared first on BN1studio.

• 24-Bit AD / DA converter
• Sample rates to 192 kHz
• 2 pairs of ADAT input & output
• Word Clock in & out on BNC
• Analogue soft knee compressor on each channel
• More switch to double the compression ratio
• 8 x XLR combo balanced mic/line inputs (XLR & 1/4″ jack)
• Input 1 + 2 can be used as instrument inputs
• 8 x balanced line outputs on 1/4″ jacks
• Switchable phantom power
• Built-in power supply

The Octopre has lots of nice features such as a built-in power supply, word clock in & out and two sets of ADAT ports

In excellent condition with minimal marks. Tested & working 100%. Photos show the preamp for sale

The post Focusrite Scarlett Octo Pre Dynamic 8 Channel Rack Preamp appeared first on BN1studio.

Ideal as a clean, smooth preamp for all sources, but with plenty of gain available to work perfectly with ribbon mics & the Shure SM7B

• Dual-channel mic preamp with classic ISA design
• Lundahl LL1538 input transformer
• Three inputs – mic, line & instrument
• Up to 80dB of gain
• Four input impedance settings for optimal matching
• Eight-segment LED metering with user calibration
• Variable high-pass filter
• Insert send & return

Built-in power supply. UK, EU or US power cable supplied on request. Tested & working 100%. Photos show the preamp for sale

The post Focusrite ISA Two 2 Channel Rack Preamp appeared first on BN1studio.

I have a number of M267s in prep, plus FP42 stereo preamps and FP11 limiter / preamps here

The Shure Level-Loc has achieved vintage / price-gouging / pimping notoriety thanks to a couple of high-profile users. The M267 has a similar Shure limiter in a 4-channel mic pre at a sensible price. They’ve been very popular – everyone seems to like the effect of the limiter, particularly with room mics

The limiter sets a maximum output level from the mixer. After that, any increase in gain just makes the signal denser and more compressed. It’s a neat trick, surprisingly controllable and definitely useable

The M267 is part of a dynasty of Shure preamps which have been used in the USA & round the world for forty-odd years. They’re definitely not audiophile units, but utilitarian devices for small-scale PA & location recording uses. Their appeal for recording lies in the transformer inputs and output limiter

The M267 has transformer-balanced inputs and outputs, low-cut filters on the inputs , a VU meter and a headphone output. It also has a built-in line up oscillator, switchable phantom power and three power sources (DC, battery or AC)

The limiter is post-channel and post-output control and does an excellent job of levelling the output signal and adding huge amounts of distortion. The limiter threshold is adjustable via pot on the underside of the unit

“The limiter on that Shure mixer is awesome. You can get some great Level-Loc type sounds out of it.”

“One cool thing that they do is they have a level loc style of limiting ability when you hit the transformers hard enough”

“I have an M67 and an M267. Both are great color boxes and can make some really nice recordings”

“Whether being hardware or software, what’s your current go-to device to foul all kind of sound sources up beyond all repair?

“Shure M267 microphone mixer. Has transformer love in and out. And features a level-loc style limiter. Nothing subtle about that machine”

“-Also Deltalab Effectron. Its a very early digital delay, with some esoteric A/D conversion, that fux the sound into lofi smile if you turn down the delay. Also it the delay feedback path somehow creeps itself into to the input limiter op-amp distortion, so you can further shape the destruction”

“Been wanting something like a #levelLoc to crush a room mic but dont wanna spend a lot? … #shure m267”

Link to all Shure preamps

In very good used condition with only minor marks. Tested & working 100%. Photos show the M267 for sale

The post Shure M267 Mic Preamp / Limiter #57 appeared first on BN1studio.

I have a number of M267s in prep, plus FP42 stereo preamps and FP11 limiter / preamps here

The Shure Level-Loc has achieved vintage / price-gouging / pimping notoriety thanks to a couple of high-profile users. The M267 has a similar Shure limiter in a 4-channel mic pre at a sensible price. They’ve been very popular – everyone seems to like the effect of the limiter, particularly with room mics

The limiter sets a maximum output level from the mixer. After that, any increase in gain just makes the signal denser and more compressed. It’s a neat trick, surprisingly controllable and definitely useable

The M267 is part of a dynasty of Shure preamps which have been used in the USA & round the world for forty-odd years. They’re definitely not audiophile units, but utilitarian devices for small-scale PA & location recording uses. Their appeal for recording lies in the transformer inputs and output limiter

The M267 has transformer-balanced inputs and outputs, low-cut filters on the inputs , a VU meter and a headphone output. It also has a built-in line up oscillator, switchable phantom power and three power sources (DC, battery or AC)

The limiter is post-channel and post-output control and does an excellent job of levelling the output signal and adding huge amounts of distortion. The limiter threshold is adjustable via pot on the underside of the unit

“The limiter on that Shure mixer is awesome. You can get some great Level-Loc type sounds out of it.”

“One cool thing that they do is they have a level loc style of limiting ability when you hit the transformers hard enough”

“I have an M67 and an M267. Both are great color boxes and can make some really nice recordings”

“Whether being hardware or software, what’s your current go-to device to foul all kind of sound sources up beyond all repair?

“Shure M267 microphone mixer. Has transformer love in and out. And features a level-loc style limiter. Nothing subtle about that machine”

“-Also Deltalab Effectron. Its a very early digital delay, with some esoteric A/D conversion, that fux the sound into lofi smile if you turn down the delay. Also it the delay feedback path somehow creeps itself into to the input limiter op-amp distortion, so you can further shape the destruction”

“Been wanting something like a #levelLoc to crush a room mic but dont wanna spend a lot? … #shure m267”

Link to all Shure preamps

In very good used condition with only minor marks. Tested & working 100%. Photos show the unit for sale

The post Shure M267 Mic Preamp / Limiter #56 appeared first on BN1studio.

The FP410 has 4 inputs, each switchable between microphone and line levels, and dual outputs. It also has a monitor output – with 1/4″ and 1/8″ phone jacks – and a back-panel monitor input. Mic inputs have switchable phantom power (14 or 48 Volts), a switchable low-cut filter and an auto setting for auto-muting in a conference setting. Each channel has a level pot, high-pass filter switch and a peak LED

The dual outputs have PPM / VU metering and the usual Shure output limiter, plus a 1K tone oscillator & battery-check switch (battery pack not included). As usual, inputs & outputs are transformer-balanced. Power input is 220V AC for use in the UK / EU. Includes a rackmount adaptor

In good used condition with some case marks, a missing corner buffer and no battery pack cover. Shure 1U rackmount adaptor included

Tested & working 100%. Photos show the item for sale

Link to all Shure preamps

The post Shure FP410 Mic Preamp / Limiter #1 with rackmount appeared first on BN1studio.

I couldn’t resist the urge to tinker with the 400 and the revamped unit now has:

• Altered EQ points
• Low frequency turnover point is now lower ~ 60 Hz
• Mid centre frequency is lower ~ 700 Hz
• Hi frequency turnover still ~ 5 kHz
• Revamped power supply
• 220 Volt power for UK / EU
• Recapped throughout
• Larger value bipolar caps in the audio path

I have four model 400 channel strips in stock and will modify them as required

The 400 combines a very clean mic preamp with a simple three-band EQ with fixed frequencies and compressor / de-esser / expander / gate. The expander & gate are not as simple as they seem – there’s a description in the owners manual (see the Links tab) but the simple explanation is that the expander / de-esser & compressor work together when switched to Comp and the gate works alone when switched to Gate

The preamp and eq feed the back-panel insert send and a parallel preamp output. The insert return then feeds the compressor VCA and output stage.

In use the 400 sounds clean & clear with plenty of gain – too much for line level signals. If you want to use the mic input for line-level signals, and have the benefit of the EQ, I suggest using an inline 20 dB pad. The additional back-panel line level input is post-eq.

The gain structure of the 400 is a little complex: at unity gain the compressor is triggering on peaks. Increasing the compressor gain – to get more compression – raises the overall level, requiring the output gain to be lowered to maintain unity gain

When pushed the compressor dives deep into Dynamite territory with huge, pumping compression & explosive release available on higher settings. The compressor has Heavy, Normal and De-ess settings and a fixed ratio of 20:1. Release time is program-dependent

I have one Model 400 ready now and more to follow. Photos show the first completed unit – the others look similar

Tested & working 100%. Manual available here

The post Valley International 400 Channel Strip, Mic Pre, EQ & Compressor (Recapped & Modified) appeared first on BN1studio.

I’ve had a couple of FP11s out on loan and feedback from users is that it sounds very like the Shure M267– which means you can go from relatively clean right through to full-blown distortion just by increasing the gain

These are designed for use with mic-level signals: pad the signal down if you want to use the XLR input with line levels

I am contemplating building a 2-channel rackmount version with mains power, switchable phantom power for the mic input and line input on a combo XLR / jack connector. Please email if this sounds interesting

These are sold individually. I have multiple units in stock. Photos show two of the items I have in stock – others may look cosmetically different. Battery not included

The post Shure FP11 Mic Preamp / Limiter appeared first on BN1studio.