Buzz Audio Elixir 500 Series

There is an overwhelming number of 500 Series mic preamps to choose from, many of which are clones or copies of vintage units. So, as a breath of fresh air, we present the Elixir preamp module that stands apart from that crowd. By using our own True Class A amplifiers and Swedish Lundahl output transformers, we’ve produced a warm sweet liquid sound quality that is unique and a useful compliment in your rack to other “harder” sounding 500 Series preamps.The Elixir has a fast transient response so it is ideal for stringed instruments and percussion – a superb choice for snare drum and acoustic guitars. And as with all our preamps the noise level is as low as possible and there is plenty of gain for ribbon microphones. The instrument jack input has a very special “bootstrap” amplifier design and really does sound huge on bass guitar. controls A 41 detent Gain pot provides up to 70dB of grunt (60dB using the Instrument input). Toggle switches select the 48V Phantom Power on/off, High or Low Mic and Instrument input impedance (IN Z), the 20dB Pad, Phase Reverse and Output Mute. The 1/4″ jack Instrument input is automatically selected when a jack is inserted. A four led peak meter gives good indication of output level, but due to the massive +34dBu output headroom, it is unlikely the Elixir will clip before the next unit in the chain does! rack compatibility The Elixir preamp module will physically fit into all 500 Series racks, but it should be noted the current draw is 150mA, which is double that of most other 500 Series modules. This should not be an issue with most modern racks, but with older 500 Series racks it may mean only one or two Elixirs should be fitted along with other modules.