Drawmer 1970 Dual FET Compressor & Preamplifier

While the Drawmer 1970 shares a similar feature set and control layout with the Drawmer 1960, it boasts significant improvements and enhancements. The D.I. EQ has been fine-tuned for greater accuracy compared to its predecessor.

Whether tracking instruments through the dedicated D.I. input, recording vocals with ultra-clean mic preamps, capturing a guitar cabinet with two microphones, accommodating a singer playing guitar, or utilising stereo bus compression with comprehensive linking and mix facilities, the Drawmer 1970 is the ultimate versatile tool for any studio or live event.

The Drawmer 1970 uses the latest THAT Corporation technology in its two mic preamps to deliver ultra-clean, transparent, and precise recordings, ready for processing later with your preferred warming method, whether it be saturation, valve, transformer, or tape. Each channel offers up to 66dB of gain and features switchable mic impedance for accurate mic matching, ensuring the best performance from any microphone used. Additionally, the Drawmer 1970 includes phantom power, phase reverse, and a high-pass filter.

You may be familiar with the general rule that the impedance of the preamp input should be 10 times that of the mic to ensure an appropriate input impedance and to avoid loading the source. However, it’s less known that mismatching can create interesting tonal differences, which can be used creatively. The Drawmer 1970 offers three impedance settings per mic input: 200, 600, and 2400 Ohms, allowing you to explore various tones. The resulting tonal changes will depend on the microphone used, as some mics will exhibit obvious differences while others will hardly change, and on the material you’re working with.

The dual compression section includes threshold, ratio, attack, and release controls, along with Drawmer’s exclusive Big and Air features on each channel. It can be used as two separate mono tracking compressors or as a stereo bus compressor using a link switch.

If desired, the Drawmer 1970 can provide an ultra-clean microphone signal via the THAT Corporation mic amplifiers by utilising the fully balanced hard-wire bypass. This connects the input source directly to the output without passing through the compressor FETs, the mix, or gain controls.

Incorporated into each channel of the 1970 are the ‘Mix’ controls, which function as a ‘parallel compression’ effect. These controls blend the wet (compressed) and dry (original) signals, providing a simple and precise way to manage the amount of compression used with just the turn of a single knob.

One common criticism of compressors is the potential to over-compress and ruin a mix. The Drawmer 1970 addresses this with the Mix control, allowing you to mix in less of the wet signal and more of the dry signal to avoid over-compression. Conversely, you can add more compression by increasing the wet signal. It’s that straightforward!

Features

• Two THAT Corporation ultra clean mic pre’s with 66dB of gain with phantom power and switchable mic impedance for accurate mic matching.
• Separate Line & Mic input XLR’s.
• A pro quality instrument DI input with low and high EQ.
• Can be used as 2 mono tracking compressors or 1 stereo buss compressor (avoiding image shifting) via the class leading comprehensive linking facilities.
• FETs can be bypassed altogether to provide ultra clean outputs.
• Standard controls such as Threshold, Ratio, Attack & Release, with 8 LED GR Metering on each band.
• Rear panel Sidechain insert points provide even further control.
• ‘Big’ and ‘Air’ Modes Help to preserve the very deep lows and enhance the sparkling highs.
• Variable Wet/Dry Mix plus Output Gain knobs on both channels give a ‘Parallel Compression’ function without the need for external mixing devices, providing complete and effortless control over the amount of compression used and output levels.
• Two backlit Analogue V.U. Meters with Switchable +10dB Rescale Mode. Time delay relays on outputs for clean power up/down.
• Internal Low Hum Toroidal Linear Power Supply with Voltage Selector Switch.
• Classic Drawmer build quality with rugged steel chassis and aluminium front panel.
• Designed and Handmade by Drawmer in the United Kingdom.