Arturia 1973-Pre British Iconic Sound of the 70"™s

British Iconic Sound Of The 70’s

The iconic vintage sound of the world’s best studios, perfectly recreated for the modern producer.

The subtle nuance and tonal flavor added by a vintage preamp can have an amazing overall effect on the music you create.

For years, top producers have coveted the sound of the venerable 1073 preamp. Now - through the power of Arturia’s advanced TAE modelling - you too can have a taste of that harmonically rich, classic tone in your DAW.

Devised by visionary electronics engineer and pro audio legend Rupert Neve, the preamp became a staple of the world’s top studios, and added its unique tonal flavor to countless hits. It was a revolution in 1970, pioneering the use of reliable high-efficiency transistors to replace the temperamental vacuum tube technology of the time. The sound of the preamp became an instant hit with record producers, sound engineers, and artists the world over, cementing its place in music history.

Continuing that revolution, using their exclusive TAE technology, Arturia have recreated this phenomenal piece of music production history. Capturing and recreating its distinct musical color, its pleasing analog distortion, and its sweet-sounding tone controls, you’ll be able to start your virtual signal chain with one of the best sounding pres ever created.

Rediscover An Industry Legend

Beautifully simple, yet stunningly effective, the 1973-Pre offers simple controls that pros will feel right at home with, and newcomers will quickly learn to love.

3-Band Equalizer

Creatively shape your signal with low, medium, and high band controls of +/- 18dB. The low band lets you perfectly balance the bass content in your signal, the mid band can add presence or cut the mud, and the high band can add shine and air, or remove any unwanted sharpness.

Input Gain

Controls how much of your signal is sent through the circuitry. Subtle levels will introduce that flattering brilliance that the 1073 is known for. Pushing harder will introduce harmonic distortion, adding presence and fatness.

High Pass Filter

Cuts the super-low end, inaudible rumble in your signal. Switched on, this can give your mix more headroom and energy. Left off, it lets through the bass you feel, rather than hear.

Output Trim

A fully transparent volume control to give your DAW exactly the level of signal you want.

It’s fair to say that in the 50 years since unit #3392 was built, the music industry has seen some changes. To bring this legend up to date, we’ve also included some optional enhancements to make the most of your DAW.

• Automatic gain control intelligently alters the output volume based on the changes you make to the input gain.
• Continuous controls, rather than stepped, for extra creative precision.
• Switchable transformers, letting you choose between the original Carnill and the modified Marinair components, so you can easily choose which hardware voicing sounds best on your signal.
• Self contained mid/side mode, so you don’t need to use additional convertors to use this advanced studio technique, your audio will sound amazing in both mono and stereo.

To top it all off, we even recreated the vintage style of the interface in a glorious, high-definition GUI. Every aspect of the 1973-Pre has been meticulously put together, ready to take your music to the next level.

Hear it for yourself

Talking about sound is like dancing about architecture. We’ll let your ears be the judge.

Without going into too much detail on how the 1973-Pre shapes your sound, you’ll find that its unique tonal flavor, its powerful equalizer, and its pleasing harmonically rich distortion will give you a solid, time-tested foundation on which to build your tracks. When each channel of audio is given the 1973-Pre top-studio shine, mixing becomes a breeze, and your music will take on a vital, iconic character. Don’t take our word for it, listen for yourself.

• The 1973-Pre characteristic tone, combined with the power of M/S processing, add strong character to this live drum track.
• The 1973-Pre presence mid bell EQ adds fine tone edge for a crunchier feel in this vocal example with less mud.
• The thick and compact low shelf filter preset of the 1973-Pre improves this not-so-well recorded kick drum, adding strong body and low end.
• This setting warms up this bass guitar example with an amplifier style buzz and resulting harmonics.
• The 1973-Pre analog clipping is clearly heard, favoring the high mids crunch of this hip hop loop.
• Here we transform a rather flat empty snare hit into a rich and resonant sound, increasing its perceived volume in the mix.