London-based producer and engineer Peter Katis—whose credits include Interpol, The Von Bondies and Guster—recently purchased Thermionic Culture’s The Earlybird 2.2 mic pre/EQ and The Pullet two-channel equalizer. The Earlybird 2.2 is an all-tube, two-channel preamp employing a balanced push-pull circuit. The Pullet is a passive EQ that was originally designed to complement the Earlybird preamp, but was redesigned so that it can be used with most available preamps.
“I am a proud owner of all of Thermionic Culture’s current products,” Katis states. “The Earlybird is my ‘go-to’ preamp/ EQ for guitars or anything else that requires a never-fail, ultra hi-fi tube pre sound.”
“I felt that it would be a waste not to be able to use The Earlybird in a mix situation, and The Pullet was a great solution,” notes Thermionic designer Vic Keary. “I thought about trying The Pullet in conjunction with other makes of preamp just out of curiosity and found that so far it works with everything we’ve tried—API, Neve, SSL, Chandler.”
“Combined with The Earlybird for its makeup gain, both the boost and cut EQ functions [on The Pullet] are so smooth that it’s a little freaky,” says Katis. “But the coolest thing is the ability to combine it with other preamps for subtle changes in color beyond your EQ decisions. Try it with a pair of old Telefunken V76s and add a little more gain than you need. Running things through tubes isn’t always called for, but somehow this stuff never misses.”
Thermionic Culture will exhibit all of its products in booth #1134 at the upcoming 2006 AES show at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco on October 6, 7 and 8.
For more information, visit www.thermionicculture.com and www.unityaudio.co.uk.
