Mercury M72s/1 MK3 Mono Tube Mic PreAmp

Studio Microphone Amplifiers

In the mid-sixties, at Abbey Road Studios legends were born. Not just the Beatles or George Martin, but also the REDD.37 recording desk that was used to record most of their earlier work. The very rare amplifiers used in that desk were called “V72s” and were a modified version of the standard Telefunken / Siemens V72 module.

The more common V72 amplifier modules were later modified and have been sold for many years as outboard preamplifiers all over the world. These V72 modules have not been available new for 40 years, and working units have become extremely rare and expensive. It is the uniquely musical tonal characteristics of these preamps have made them the prized possession of many engineers lucky enough to get the vintage modules, and a “secret weapon” for many studio musicians. With that in mind, Mercury Recording Equipment has made a faithful reproduction in the M72s — not only of how the units behave, but of how they SOUND overall. The addition of pad, phase, phantom and gain controls make it even more versatile without sacrificing the most important feature: Musicality.

The most sought after Telefunken/Siemens “V series” modules are famous for being used in Abbey Road’s REDD.37 consoles. These amplifiers were called “V72s” and were a modified version of the standard V72 modules that were much more common. Unlike those vintage modules that had fixed gain, The V72 at 34dB, and the “V72s” at 40dB, the Mercury M72s has variable mic gain from 28dB to 58dB. Also, with the M72s, you have a selectable input pad of -16dB or -28dB for even more control. When the -28dB pad is engaged and it is set at the lowest gain setting (28dB) you can run line level signal through the M72s. This will provide a warm, rich path for mixes, keyboards, drum machines, samples etc… There are also all the modern features we expect on a new piece of equipment: 48V DC (Phantom), Phase Reverse (Polarity) and Direct Input for Bass or Electric Guitar per channel. The Mercury M72s has the rich lows and punchy mids that the vintage V72 modules have but a more open high end. The Mercury M72s Studio Microphone Amplifier has that “vintage” tone and “break up” like the original modules but it is a bit more musical over all (not cleaner… more musical, there is a huge difference).

The Mercury M72s brings that “vintage” magic back! It is truly a new classic for today as well as for the next 50 years!

MERCURY RECORDING EQUIPMENT has gone to great lengths to recreate the pride and passion of the past, both sonically and aesthetically, while offering the reliability of a present day production. The choices made in looks, layout, functionality, features and build quality all answer back to one question: How would “they” have done it today?

Mercury Recording Equipment Co. products are hand wired and/or assembled using silver solder and no-compromise parts. All Mercury products are transformer balanced, inputs and outputs and there are no I.C.s (chips) in the signal path. The chassis and front panels have a very distinctive “vintage” look with custom powder coating finish. They look as good as they sound!

Mic Input Impedance: Approx. 2k Suggested Source Impedance: Approx. 200 ohms Input Impedance with -28dB Pad: Approx. 4k DI Input Impedance: 2M ohms Internal Output Impedance: 30-50 ohms (depends on gain setting) Suggested Minimum Load: 500 ohms Max. Mic Signal Input Level (@ 20 Hz): +34dBu with -28dB Pad engaged / +6dBu with Pad not engaged Max. Output Level: +22dBu Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 0.5dB Harmonic Distortion: All musically related low orders of harmonics, with no significant order above 5th. More info

The M72s sounds every bit as good as an original V72s, imparting that nice pillowy softness that is so difficult to get… Pete Weiss, TapeOp Magazine Read the review The M72 brings the vocal up in your face in a mix. Not only that, when you’re singing, you can distinguish every little nuance. Ricky Skaggs Read the review