Thermionic Culture Early Bird 2.2 Dual-Channel Tube Preamp

The tonal sweetness of an all-tube design matched with incredible versatility

There’s nothing that sounds quite like a great tube mic pre. The Earlybird 2.2 stereo mic/line preamp and EQ from Thermionic Culture uses a unique balanced push-pull circuit to provide loads of headroom and minimal distortion, all with an exceptionally low noise floor. Coupled with Earlybird’s switchable input impedance and optimized transformer design, this circuit provides incredibly natural, transparent audio quality with virtually any sound source and microphone combination. The built-in active “Varislope” EQ plus available permanent connection for the Thermionic Culture Pullet passive EQ enables a huge range of tone-shaping and sculpturing possibilities.

Unlike many mic pres, the Earlybird 2.2 is also capable of adding sonic character after tracking with line level inputs available for mixing and mastering use when you need that extra little bit of personality to make your tracks truly come alive.

The commitment of Thermionic Culture’s founder, Vic Keary, to high-quality tube audio gear dates back to the first studio he built in the 1950’s, and his company has taken the best of what tubes have to offer, updating the circuits for the low-noise and distortion levels required for modern recording. Solid-state components are confined to power supplies so that the audio path is pure tube musicality.