RETRO Powerstrip

RETRO Powerstrip

- Gear Review -

     Introducing the newest addition to The Submarine. The Powerstrip is an all tube mono channel recording strip built by the good people at RETRO who have been putting out beautiful re-invented classics since 2006, initially starting with the Gates STA Level.

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     From left to right it starts with the usual phantom power switch and phase reverse. Though instead of the input drive on the far left where expected it actually has an awesome Pultec style EQ. With low frequencies up to 100Hz you can either independently cut or boost and also work the two settings together for awesome tone shaping that only the Pultec design does. Up high there's two set of frequency bands. One from 1.5 to 16kHz that can only be boosted with available bandwidth also. Then at the very end is one last band from 5 to 20kHz that can only be cut. Used in combination with the boostable highs is a great tool for taming sibilant vocals with harsh top end. EQ overall is super musical and highly addictive.

Next there's some switches to engage EQ, and another for a subsonic filter with settings at 40 and 90H to roll off excess low end muck when tracking vocals etc.

     And then finally there's the compressor section which is a buttery Var-Mu design. It sounds absolutely amazing.  Compression response is determined by a "time constant" switch with 6 positions ranging from fast to slow. Similar to the famed Fairchild design. Then there's the input drive which actually works the input and compression amount simultaneously. And then the output gain which drives the unit to the desired level before hitting the interface/DAW.

     Overall this piece of gear has been a game changer for vocals (actually anything you put through it). It's a sound that I've looking for forever and now finally we can offer artists this awesome piece of future vintage for whatever style of music.