Features:

• Sowter transformer balanced mic & line level preamplifiers (Sowter 999 input and 92H4 output transformers)
• 3-Band inductor based EQ (switchable in or out of circuit) with +/- 15dB gain per band
• High Frequency band selectable at 3.3k, 4.7k, 6.8k, 10k, & 15kHz; switchable out of circuit
• Mid Frequency band selectable at 270Hz, 390Hz, 560Hz, 820Hz, 1.2k, 1.8k, 2.7k, 3.9k, 5.6k, & 8.2kHz; switchable out of circuit
• Low Frequency band selectable at 33Hz, 56Hz, 100Hz, 180Hz, & 330Hz; switchable out of circuit
• Low Pass Filter selectable at 18k, 12k, 8.2k, 5.6k, & 3.9kHz; switchable out of circuit
• High pass filter selectable at 27Hz, 47Hz, 82Hz, 150Hz, & 270Hz; switchable out of circuit.
• Polarity reversal
• All discrete circuitry
• XLR mic & line level inputs, XLR +4 dB outputs, 1/4" jack instrument level DI's, 20dB Pad & transformer balanced outputs with output attenuators in a 2-space rack are standard
• One year rack component warranty and six-month module warranty
• Fourteen-day satisfaction guarantee
  
  

Here's another example of a fine vintage British preamp/EQ not well known to the many engineers. In the 70's and 80's, Calrec, who is still located in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire in Great Britain and is currently very well known for their digital broadcast consoles, made absolutely brilliant consoles that were generally commissioned by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Basically, in the 1970's, when Neve couldn't complete orders fast enough to meet a growing demand from not only the BBC, but the rest of the world, the BBC commissioned Calrec to build broadcast consoles for them, just like Audix and a few other console makers of time. Some were built to the same specs as Neve, and generally had a very similar architecture. These modules are based on the Neve (3)3114 and (3)3115 modules generally found in the Neve Melbourn and other Neve consoles of the mid 70's and are also all discrete with a very nice 3-band inductor based EQ. All features and frequencies on the modules are the same as the aforementioned Neve's and the specs and circuitry architecture are very similar.

These are some absolutely incredible sounding micpre/EQ's. The low end is tighter and punchier than Neve and more in the direction of API, while the highs are much more in the direction of Neve than API mic preamps. They are very open and have a brilliant and silky top end to them. They are relatively fast and tend to be a bit more "aggressive" sounding than their (3)3114 counterpart. The EQ section on these is absolutely beautiful. When doing additive equalization, it adds that certain sort of smooth "harmonic fuzz" to the tone that older Neve EQ tends to do. The bandwidth on the EQ is very similar as the 33114, also helping give it a similar EQ tone and presence. It’s absolutely killer on guitars and drums, especially with the output attenuators. You can play around with distorting the Sowter input transformers to varying degrees and then attenuate the output a bit to Pro Tools. The EQ is also very effective when used in a more moderate manner. The sound quality of the preamps is excellent and they have a very large and warm presence. Again, these are a real steal considering what you will pay for other comparable preamp/EQ's racks.