The DP3 is a versatile, hybrid-design stereo mic preamp that includes vintage and modern circuits to deliver a broad range of creative tonal options. With the DP3, you’ll get  the mid-range germanium crunch of the mid ‘60s; the low-mid punch and thick sound associated with British class-A preamps from the early ‘70s; and the more modern tones of the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Get vintage color, modern transparency, or even something in between — all in one rack space. The DP3 from TK Audio.

Tons of Tones

While the DP3 includes TK’s proven input stage and germanium circuit from the DP2, we’ve also incorporated a new saturation circuit that — together with the vintage class-A stage — gives you a broad palette of character choices.

The input stage is designed around a high quality Swedish Lundahl transformer and high gain stage, followed by selectable saturation and germanium circuits for even more color and harmonics.

Instead of switching output stages, as was done in previous models, the class-A stage is now inserted in front of the Output level control, letting you drive the transformer harder without overloading your A/D converters while making the output less sensitive to different impedances. The class-A stage uses a heavy, custom-made Carnhill transformer that produces a fat, punchy sound with mid-range character and a warm top end.

Ideal for colorful DI recording

The Hi-Z direct mode function bypasses the input transformer and input stage, and sends the instrument signal directly to the high-pass filter and the selectable saturation and germanium circuits. The dedicated Hi-Z instrument input has a separate activation switch, so you can leave your instrument connected all the time!

Direct mode gain is +14 dB, which is perfect for bass recording together with the class-A stage. The sweepable high-pass filter goes from 30 Hz to 400 Hz for precision crafting of the low end.