The RCF instrument preamplifier came from a conversation with a customer about the Alembic preamp. Although it is famous and therefore expensive, the Alembic is simply a note for note copy of a Fender style tube preamp. That is nice in that it gives you what you expect but, unfortunately it isn’t especially versatile. For instance, the middle control on Fender tone stacks are always marginal– the scooped sound is part of its intrinsic character. But what would happen if you made that mids control truly effective? It would allow the user to go from a classic clean sound to a nasty vintage blues sound all with one knob!
This preamp is not only small, portable and light, it is also extremely versatile. It will give any instrument a shine or shade as you like with highs, lows and mids tone stack and an output level control. In addition, the output is low impedance so it can drive long cables, another area where the Alembic/Fender circuit falls short. In all, this is the perfect piece for the studio or stage where a universal instrument preamplifier is needed. It has a great overdrive sound to pair with super clean and everything in between.
Power is 230 VAC and the tubes included are a vintage ECC83 (12AX7) and ECC82 (12AU7). The sale price for this prototype is €450 not including shipping to Europe or UK.