Heritage Audio has just released two new products, the TUBESTRIP all-tube channel strip and the Mix Buddy instrument mixer, and both are now available for pre-order at Studio Economik. They solve very different problems in a studio, but they share the same DNA: real transformers, real tubes where it counts, and a design philosophy that puts tone ahead of everything else.
TUBESTRIP: One Channel, Four Processors, Zero Compromise
The TUBESTRIP takes four separate pieces of outboard gear, a tube preamp, an inductor based EQ, a Vari-Mu compressor and an optical compressor, and puts them into a single 3U all-tube signal path. Heritage Audio built it to take on anything you put in front of it: vocals, drums, guitars, bass, room mics, whatever the session calls for.
The preamp is where the personality starts. It runs transformer coupled with up to 60dB of gain, and the MORPH section lets you blend between Triode, Pentode and UltraLinear modes, so you can dial in warmth and smoothness or push toward something with more bite. From there the signal hits the Type 69 EQ, an inductor based design inspired by the classic Olympic Studios circuit, built for quick, musical shaping rather than surgical correction.
The dynamics section is really two compressors in one unit. The Vari-Mu, based on the Lang P.Lane with the well known Seawell mod, thickens a signal while keeping transients intact even under heavy gain reduction. The optical compressor delivers the smooth, dense character associated with classic fixed mode compression, and it doubles as a natural sounding de-esser when you need it. An output attenuator at the end lets you set exactly how hard you are hitting the next piece of gear in the chain.
The TUBESTRIP uses four carefully selected tubes (NOS for the preamp and Vari-Mu, JJ for the output stage) and four custom wound transformers, all in a 7.6kg chassis built to be a permanent fixture on a session.
Mix Buddy: The Instrument Mixer Built for Synths and Drum Machines
Anyone working with a modern electronic rig knows the problem. Mixers are built around mic and line inputs, and running a room full of synths, drum machines and samplers into one usually means DI boxes, workarounds, and tone that never quite makes it back. The Mix Buddy exists to fix that.
It packs 19 inputs built around Toshiba 2SK JFET circuitry: eight Hi Gain channels voiced for organic and lower level sources like passive basses and vintage keys, six Unity gain channels for cleaner modern sources like drum machines and active synths, a 70dB tube based mic preamp, and a balanced stereo line input for interfaces or computers. Every instrument channel can switch between STEREO and MONO plus THRU, so a source can stay in the mix while simultaneously feeding an amp or an outboard processor, with the THRU output staying fully transparent to the source's natural impedance.
Two independent master outputs give you options on the back end. Master Main Out runs through Heritage Audio's own 73 DI circuit with custom wound transformers for warmth and weight, and it is switchable between line and mic level. Main Out 2 is transformerless and clean, giving you a pure, uncolored version of the same mix. A dedicated headphone amp rounds out a third independent listening path.
The AUX section turns the Mix Buddy into more than a mixer. Each channel gets its own send with pre or post fader routing, and because it is designed to work with instrument level hardware, you can route a vocal or any other source straight into a guitar pedalboard for chorus, delay, reverb or anything else sitting there.
Availability
The TUBESTRIP is expected to ship at the end of August, and the Mix Buddy is expected to ship at the end of September. Both are open for pre-order now.