Value-packed, Classic “73” Mic/Instrument Preamp The Golden Age Project has come out with a boutique version of their popular Pre-73 Jr preamp (itself a little brother to the company’s acclaimed Pre-73), and we couldn’t be more jazzed. Like its siblings, the Pre-73 Jr Premier single-channel microphone/instrument preamplifier boasts the requisite vintage bone fides. After all, the family inherits their epic sonics from their parents’ infatuation with the legendary “73” — the console module that wrote the book on characterful preamplification. In due fashion, the Pre-73 Jr Premier employs a discrete, Class A signal path with transformer-balanced I/O. As in those vintage boards, the high-quality transformers are made in the UK by Carnhill, and they play a major role in producing the Pre-73 Jr Premier’s authoritative, big-iron sound that’s highly reminiscent of those ever-coveted large-format British desks. If you need a character- and value-packed preamp for mics and instruments, you’d be