TK Audio

The TK Audio DP3 is a versatile, hybrid-design stereo mic preamp that includes vintage and modern circuits to deliver a broad range of creative tonal options. With the DP3, you’ll get the mid-range germanium crunch of the mid 60s; the low-mid punch and thick sound associated with British Class A preamps from the early 70s; and the more modern tones of the 80s and 90s. Get vintage color, modern transparency, or even something in between — all in one rack space.TONS OF TONESWhile the DP3 includes TK’s proven input stage and germanium circuit from the DP2, we’ve also incorporated a new saturation circuit that — together with the vintage Class A stage — gives you a broad palette of character choices. The input stage is designed around a high quality Swedish Lundahl transformer and high gain stage, followed by selectable saturation and germanium circuits for even more color and harmonics. Instead of switching output stages, as was done in previous models, the Class A stage is now inserted in front of the Output level control, letting you drive the transformer harder without overloading your A/D converters while making the output less sensitive to different impedances. The Class A stage uses a heavy, custom-made Carnhill transformer that produces a fat, punchy sound with mid-range character and a warm top end.IDEAL FOR COLORFUL DI RECORDINGThe Hi-Z direct mode function bypasses the input transformer and input stage, and sends the instrument signal directly to the high-pass filter and the selectable saturation and germanium circuits. The dedicated Hi-Z instrument input has a separate activation switch, so you can leave your instrument connected all the time! Direct mode gain is +14 dB, which is perfect for bass recording together with the Class A stage. The sweepable high-pass filter goes from 30 Hz to 400 Hz for precision crafting of the low end.FEATURES:Stereo microphone preamp with vintage and modern circuitsHi-gain input stage with up to 80 dB of gainSelectable vintage Class A stageLundahl and Carnhill transformersSelectable germanium and saturation circuits for more color and harmonicsSweepable high-pass filter, 30-400 Hz, 12 dB/octaveInstrument input with 2 Mohm impedanceOutput level placed after Class A stageHeadroom meter with eight LEDs

It’s designed to cover all the needs of every producer/engineer who wants to maximize their use of mid-side processing for enhanced stereo width; tight, focused mono-bass, and more. Its four discrete functions are divided across two linkable control sections for intuitive use, and its advanced cue section makes monitoring a breeze.Parallel insert with M/S function: With the insert section you can insert an external processor like an eq, compressor, distortion unit etc, and then dial in a mix between the processed signal (wet) and the unprocessed signal (dry). For maximum precision the blend control has 16 steps from dry to wet. If you activate the M/S function your signal will be coded into mid (L+R) and side (L-R). The mid signal normally contains all the center info such as bass, kick drum, lead vocal etc and the side signal contains all the panned parts of the signal. In M/S you can process the center signal and side signal separately with different types of processors. With the blend split function you get separate blend controls for the mid and side signal. In M/S mode the blend function takes place before the signal is decoded back to left/right. With the insert cue function you can monitor the L or R signal after the blend control separately, mid or side if M/S is active. This section can be used with it’s own balanced inputs and outputs.Elliptical Equalizer: With the elliptical EQ all frequencies below a selected frequency will be made to mono. This function can make your low end more focused. It’s an old technique used when mastering for vinyl. Too much low end in the side channel (vertical) can make the needle bounce slightly and cause distortion. By using a 12dB high pass filter in the side channel you set the frequency under which the signal will be processed as mono. As a HPF introduces phase shift to the signal, a phase correction is added to the mid channel keeping channel separation as good as possible. The EEQ has 16 frequencies from 36Hz to 302Hz. With the EEQ cue function you can monitor the signals that are mixed between the channels.Stereo width control: By adjusting the amount of side information in the stereo mix, the width can be adjusted incrementally from mono to extra wide. With this control you can fine adjust the stereo image after you have used the M/S insert.Cue function: With the cue function you can monitor the left, right, mid or side signal separately. By pressing the cue sections Insert switch you can cue the parallel inserts return signal by pressing L or R. (this can be done even if you run the two sections separately at different locations in your chain) By selecting the EEQ switch on the cue section you can monitor the low frequencies fed from left to right or right to left. The cue section is a passive design using relays to select the cue source.

Limited version with silver panel. The TK-lizer 2 is a Baxandall type of EQ, high and low bands are selectable between shelving or peak, very useful for tuning of your low’s, mid’s and high’s.The TK-lizer 2 also has a built-in M/S function which let you process the mid and side signals separately.You can also affect the stereo width of your music by using the level controls in M/S mode.

The BC1-THD provides smooth bus compression that applies for both mixing and tracking. Engineers call it “The Magic Glue” when the BC1-THD’s transparent compression strengthens mixes without compromising clarity. The built-in blend control makes it easy to apply parallel compression by adjusting the blend of dry and compressed signal. A switchable sidechain filter can be applied which makes the BC1-THD less responsive to low frequency energy. The THD function adds more harmonics to the signal and the “grab” mode selects a harder threshold knee on all four ratio settings. Smooth and transparent compression will never go out of fashion.

The T-Komp has a unique design that offers a modern take on the old vari-mu ratio curve. The ratio is level-dependent and increases with the signal level, a feature that will give you numerous possibilities. To make the T-Komp more useful it has two ratio ranges. The first one goes up to 20:1, perfect for instrument tracking and smashing drums, etc., the second, 2:1, is a more narrow range which makes it more suitable for bus compression.The T-Komp can be selected between feed-forward mode for a punchy, modern response or feed-back mode with a smoother, more musical response. The RMS detector has five settings, four from fast to slow where number four, the slowest, is similar to the old 160VU. The fifth position is a program-dependent adaptive mode.

The TK-lizer 2 is a Baxandall type of EQ, high and low bands are selectable between shelving or peak, very useful for tuning of your low’s, mid’s and high’s.The TK-lizer 2 also has a built-in M/S function which let you process the mid and side signals separately.You can also affect the stereo width of your music by using the level controls in M/S mode.

The Transceiver is a four channel insert station. The main function is to convert +4dB balanced signals to unbalanced and back again. Each channel has a send level, the return has a gain control and a polarity switch. Among other things you can use The Transceiver to do the following:It's an insert station. Insert unbalanced gear such as guitar pedals and old echo fx into your DAW or consol.It's an active DI-box with up to 20dB gain. Plug your favourite instrument into your collection of vintage gear via The Transceiver.It's a re-amping tool.It's a Swiss Army Knife on stage. Hook up balanced gear on stage between your instrument and amp.