Heritage Audio has announced the BritStrip, a single-space 19-inch rack unit that recalls yesteryear’s iconic recordings for present-day engineers.
A British-spec discrete class-A console channel strip with a diode bridge compressor combines a 73-style mic preamplifier, an expanded 73 equaliser, and a discrete class-A DI. According to the manufacturer, ‘the closest equivalent of the BritStrip would be chaining together a 73JR II single-slot 500 Series true 73-style mic preamp module, a 73EQ JR fully-featured 500 Series line input module, and a ‘mono’ Successor –a $3,000 proposition’.
The BritStrip uses the same preamp found in Heritage Audio’s 73JR II, with a new custom input transformer co-designed with British company Carnhill, also responsible for the custom output transformer that completes its all-discrete, class-A, three-gain stage design. Flexible features include -80dB of gain, a 20dB pad, phase reverse and an impedance switch for 1.2kΩ/300Ω input.
The BritStrip console channel strip’s DI is also taken from the design found in the 73JR II, an all-discrete class-A JFET circuit fronting the microphone transformer to provide the colour and weight favoured by present-day recordings. The DI also includes a passive thru output to feed a separate amplifier.
As an expanded 73 equaliser, the BritStrip’s EQ features three Vinkor pot core inductors in the mid-band and high-pass filter sections. The mid band is set for sculpting fat and punchy snare, kick, guitars and vocals. Its inductor-based low-pass filter (directly taken from the 73 design) offers control over out-of-range low end without affecting the quality of higher frequencies. The BritStrip’s High Shelf and Low Shelf settings have been extended to include a bell mode, making them more versatile.
The unit’s compression is optimised for tracking, thanks to the Blend control and elaborate sidechain filter flexibly, giving instruments ‘record-ready’ dynamics. The compressor section provides sidechain flexibility, with five frequency choices and an external sidechain option. Users of two BritStrip console channel strips can link the respective compressors.
Further flexibility allows compression and equaliser routing, with pre-compression EQ making the compression detector more sensitive to the boosted frequencies and less sensitive to those cut, while post-compression EQ makes the compression detector unresponsive to the EQ settings.
The BritStrip is shipping and available now (via RAD Distribution in the US) at an MAP of US$2,499, and SSP of €2,499 (incl VAT) via Heritage Audio’s global network of dealers.
