REBORN FROM A LEGEND

Designed as a central component to the EMI REDD.51 recording console, the original REDD.47 line amplifier was used to amplify virtually every stage of the audio path (mic inputs, line inputs, echo sends and monitors).

The REDD.47 lent its unmistakably punchy, aggressive character to music recorded at Abbey Road Studios between 1964 and 1968, including many tracks by The Beatles.

ENHANCED FOR TODAY'S STANDARDS

The Chandler Limited REDD.47 Preamp offers many additional benefits to the original design including increased gain, allowing a range of tonal options from pristine clean sound to classic rich, saturated tone with up to 2% harmonic distortion before clipping. The Chandler Limited REDD.47 pre-amp easily reproduces the distortions heard on The Beatles ‘Revolution.

Chandler Limiteds REDD.47 tube microphone pre-amplifier delivers the legendary sound of Abbey Road Studios ‘Holy Grail pre-amp, with extra features to meet todays recording studio standards.

FEATURES

Inputs: Mic/Line (Balanced XLR), D/I (1/4)
Stepped gain: 6db increments
Fine gain: variable +/-5db
Total Gain: +57db
Output control: variable
Rumble filter: Inductor based, switchable (30,45,60,70,90,110,130,180hz)
PAD: 20db, switchable
Phase: switchable
Phantom Power: +48v, switchable
Tubes: EF86, E88CC (input/output)
Transformer balanced I/O (custom wound)
Internal power supply
Handmade in the U.S.A

The REDD.47 was/is the line amplifier component of the REDD.51 desk. It was built to replace the modified Telefunken/Siemens-made V72 amplifiers used in the previous REDD.37 desks, the ones used for the Beatles' first album and part of the second.

The REDD.47 was developed and built by EMI's "Record Engineering Development Department" or REDD for short. While it was created as a replacement for the V72, the REDD.47 was a from-scratch design; Chandler's Wade Goeke explains, "they share no similarities other than they both use tubes." For the full, fascinating story, I recommend Recording The Beatles by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew.

Before we move on to Chandler's take on this mythological beast, let's look back at the original modules. Unlike today's rackmount mic preamps, the modular styles used by AMS Neve, or the ubiquitous 500 Series API modules that offer all of their controls on the front panel, the line amplifiers in the REDD desks were small rectangular selfcontained modules with few to no controls on them at all. They popped into the sides of the REDD desks, where they controlled gain levels for every input and output on the desk, from the microphone inputs to the reverb sends and more. The REDD.51 desk contained up to forty REDD.47 amplifiers!

Unlike the V72 -- which was self-powered, hot swappable, and had a fixed output level with no front side controls -- the REDD.47 drew its power from the desk and needed the desk to be powered down to be changed. It contained a 3-position Voltage Gain switch with settings for 34, 40 or 46 dB output levels, and it also had additional Fine Gain control for the precise balancing of its many possible tasks on the desk. This Fine Gain control was hidden behind a plastic cap and accessed with a screwdriver. All other standard channel controls were located on the desktop, such as further volume attenuation (which on the REDD.51 was an additional 0 to -30 dB in 6 dB steps), a simple bass lift (what we would call a low cut), reverb chamber sends, basic panning, EQ, and more.

While the new Chandler REDD.47 is, on one hand, simply the line amp REDD.47 of old in a new casing dedicated to the task of microphone preamplification, it is not just a straight port of the original. The new unit has been fitted with a few other accoutrements to make it useful in the modern recording landscape, and also sports some extra Chandler-centric mojo.