Tierra Audio Flavour Preamp Vanilla 2022 - Yellow

I’m selling one of my Tierra Audio Flavours preamps, the Vanilla version.

Tierra Audio’s Flavours series consists of compact analogue inline preamps that not only provide additional gain but are also deliberately designed to offer their own distinct sonic character. The Vanilla is one of the warmer-sounding models and, to me, is particularly interesting when a dynamic or passive ribbon microphone could benefit from a little more body and colour.

It provides an additional 31 dB of gain and features a high-quality Lundahl input transformer. Sonically, the Vanilla has a slight emphasis on the midrange, introduces odd-order harmonic overtones and deliberately softens transient response. The result isn’t a drastic effect, but rather a denser, rounder and slightly creamier sound.

It works particularly well with microphones such as the Shure SM7B, SM57/58, Electro-Voice RE20 or passive ribbon microphones like the Beyerdynamic M160. Especially on vocals, acoustic guitars, strings, bass and other more organic sound sources, the Vanilla can add a very pleasing touch of analogue colour.

Compared to a more neutral inline booster like a Cloudlifter, the Tierra isn’t simply intended as a solution for microphones that need more gain. Its real appeal lies in the fact that, along with the additional gain, you also get some genuine analogue colouration and the sonic character of the transformer.

The signal path is entirely analogue. Power is conveniently supplied via the 48V phantom power from your audio interface or mixing console, so there’s no need for an external power supply or batteries. Phantom power is not passed through to the connected microphone, making the Vanilla perfectly suitable for passive ribbon microphones as well.

The output remains a balanced microphone-level signal, which can then be connected to the microphone input of your audio interface or preamp as usual.

Tierra Audio manufactures its products in Madrid, Spain. The Vanilla is compact, robust and a great way to introduce some genuine analogue character into a relatively simple recording setup without having to add another full-sized preamp to your rack.