Warm Audio WA-412

Warm Audio WA-412

Warm Audio WA-412 delivers the vintage magic of a venerable American console preamp. With its fat, punchy bass and sweet, open high end, the 4-channel WA-412 preamp/DI packs the classic sound of rock ‘n’ roll into a sleek 1RU chassis. Warm Audio gear has famously upset the pro audio price/performance ratio, and the WA-412 carries on the tradition with its discrete, transformer-coupled through-hole component topology. Stellar performance, top-shelf parts, and amazing value: that’s the Warm formula – and the WA-412 nails it.

What can the WA-412 do for you?
Need to record dynamic, impactful drums? With a pair of WA-412s, you could track a full multi-miked drum kit. Pack your rack with four of them, and you’ve got a console’s worth of killer preamps to track the entire band. The WA-412 supplies all the features you need. Warm Audio started with their take on a classic schematic. Then they added an output trim to each channel for exacting control and creative gain staging. Another modern innovation is the Tone switch on each channel, which switches transformer input impedance to give you the choice between punchy vintage console tone and a more neutral, open sound.

Quality components make the Warm difference
You know if your front end’s not right, the rest of your signal chain doesn’t matter. Most pro engineers have laid down heavy cash for a top-quality mic preamp; it was simply the cost of entry for world-class sonics. Now, we’re all about performance and value, and Warm Audio has upended that equation. The company doesn’t cut corners on components, but they do order parts and build in quantity, which keeps costs down and delivers amazing value. Each channel of the WA-412 features a fully discrete, socketed op-amp (yes – it’s swappable with other op-amps) with high headroom and low distortion – a defining sonic characteristic of these vintage console pres. Custom vintage-wound Altran USA transformers also contribute to the authoritative sound of the WA-412.

Features

• Based on a classic American console preamp design known for its punchy, bold sonics
• Fully discrete, transformer-coupled, through-hole component topology
• Custom-wound, premium Altran USA input and output transformers on each channel
• Discrete X520 socketed op-amp on every channel
  • May be user-swapped with most 6-pin, discrete op-amps
• 65db of gain; 20dB pad (pads both mic and instrument inputs)
• Inputs: microphone (XLR), active instrument direct-injection (1/4″)
• Outputs: transformer-balanced XLR and TRS.
• Tone button – switches input impedance from 600 ohms to 150 ohms
  • Changes tone of both mic and DI inputs
• Phantom power (+48 volts), switchable per channel
• LED metering per channel
• Output trim knob per channel for exacting level control and sound sculpting
• Internal power supply (grounded, 3-pin IEC power cable)

WA-412 SPECIFICATION