Retro Instruments Powerstrip

The Retro Instruments Powerstrip is a versatile valve channel strip capturing the essence the best of valve mixing desks and includes a Pultec-style valve EQ and a British Tube compressor.

The Retro Powerstrip recording channel features a Class A Tube microphone preamp capable of providing enough gain to every mic or instrument, delivering anything from a clean sound to the obviously coloured valve sound akin to 1950’s RCA consoles. The preamp features phantom power, phase reversal switch and Hi-Z input. In addition, the Powerstrip features a line level input so it can be connected to your DAW during mixing.

The preamp is immediately followed by a Pultec-style passive EQ and similar to Retro’s excellent sounding 2A3 EQ. It features LF boost and cut at 20Hz, 30Hz, 60Hz and 100Hz and just like a Pultec, but Boost and Cut can be used simultaneously resulting in the famous Pultec resonant filters. Similarly the HF Boost and Cut can be used together and affect frequencies at 1.5kHz, 3kHz, 4kHz, 5kHz, 6kHz, 8kHz, 10kHz, 12kHz, 14kHz, 16kHz. In addition the Powerstrip features a switchable 40Hz, 90Hz as well as a HF cut settings at 5kHz, 10kHz, 20kHz.

Completing the Retro Powerstrip is a vari-mu valve compressor inspired by the legendary EMI RS124 valve compressor made for Abbey Road Studios. The circuit includes six selectable attack/release time-constants and four position high-pass side-chain filter. Unlike more traditional compressors, there is no threshold controls and gain reduction is achieved through increasing the gain.

The Retro Powerstrip is designed to impart colour but can also yield some clean results by turning the output gain all the way up and bring a little input gain. EQ and compressors can also be independently bypassed.

Built to outstanding standard, the valve channel strip is designed to minimise tube heat generation and sit ins an extremely rugged steel chassis. Like other Retro units, the Powerstrip is self-biased ensuring that the unit performs at optimal settings even when valves have been replaced.