Telefunken V72a Mic Pre (Vintage)

Rich, wide low end. As used by the Beatles in the Redd series EMI consoles. Great for tracks you need to thicken up. Picture is of a stock unit. Yours will look similar but have a different serial number.

The V72 was originally developed by North West German Radio (NWDR), and the Institute of Broadcast Technology of Hamburg between the years 1949-1952. Designed as a microphone and main studio amplifier, the V72 had a fixed gain of 34dB, and was used with a high pass filter as a mic pre, and as a buffering amplifier to make up for losses from a passive fader EQ. When the V76 arrived, the V72 was generally used only for buffering in broadcast applications.

In the mid 50s both the Siemens and TAB companies began manufacturing the units for Telefunken, and the V72 became the standard preamp in German radio stations, while its cousin the V72s was being used extensively by companies like Decca and EMI.

Approximately 25,000 units were built for domestic use in Germany, and many more for export. By 1963, its reign had come to an end, as the age of transistors had arrived, and the V72 was replaced by the V72t (’t’ for transistor). Siemens continued to build the V72 until 1964, and the V72b until 1966. TAB continued to build th(more...)