Color Audio Cassette Preamp

It’s New Pedal Company Day again, folks – today, we’re checking out the first release from Color Audio, coming to you all the way from fine Finland! The Cassette Preamp takes a portion of an old classic, rips it out, puts it into pedal form and modernizes it, for a unique and intriguing new device. Five knobs + a three-way toggle = wide tonal range and sonic exploration for days…

The Cassette Preamp is the channel strip of a vintage Japanese cassette recorder in pedal form, with some additional features to make it more versatile. Though originally designed as a mic/line preamp, its unapologetically raw character works beautifully with guitar or bass plugged straight in. From compressed cleans to blown-out fuzz, it delivers a wide range of DI tones while also serving as a versatile preamp in front of an amp. The HPF and LPF functionality really opens up the sounds you can create, tweaking the sound until it fits your style and setup perfectly.

This circuit is a part-for-part reproduction of the original unit, right down to the NJM2068 and M5218 op-amps. Modern manufacturing and added features enhance reliability and reduce the noise floor without compromising the character of the original design. Built for the demands of touring musicians and studio professionals alike, the pedal features Neutrik jacks, Alpha potentiometers, a rugged aluminum enclosure and knobs, reverse- and over-voltage protection and soft-touch relay switching. Every detail is designed for long-term reliability.

We do a pretty good deep dive in the demo below, finding all the sounds hidden in the nooks and crannies of the Cassette Preamp, much to our delight. This design from Jarno Takkumäki is simply brilliant, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him and Color Audio. Be sure to visit their website and grab a Cassette Preamp for yourself, and don’t sleep on that demo, you’re gonna want to hear what this unit can do…cheers!!