Golden Age PRE-573 MK3: The Console Sound for Your 500-Series Rack

The Golden Age Audio PRE-573 MK3 is a single-width 500-series 73-style microphone and instrument preamplifier with a -10 to +80 dB total gain range. It takes the sound and features that made the family's rack preamp so popular and adapts them to the 500-series format, adding a few tricks of its own. The circuit still uses the preamp and output section of the classic console module, so the warm, punchy, sweet, and musical character carries over intact. Drop it into any 500-series rack and you have console tone on a single slot.

Built for the 500-Series Format

The 500-series is a standardized modular format in which single-width modules slot into a powered rack that supplies power and connections. Housing the 73-style circuit this way lets you mix and match it with compressors, EQs, and other modules in one chassis. Because the rack provides power, the module itself is compact and travel-friendly. It is the most space-efficient way to own this sound.

A Wide, Flexible Gain Structure

Total gain spans -10 to +80 dB. A rotary switch handles the core 20 to 70 dB mic range in steps, while a separate toggle adds 5 or 10 dB more for the quietest sources. A line mode reconfigures the input, dropping the level about 30 dB and raising input impedance to around 10 k-ohm for hot signals. Gain is how much the preamp lifts an incoming signal, and this structure covers everything from a passive ribbon mic to a line-level mix.

Two DI Modes for Two Instrument Tones

The front-panel instrument input is unusually flexible, switching between an active high-impedance mode of about 1.5 M-ohm and a passive mode of about 100 k-ohm. In active mode the signal passes through the input transformer for extra character, ideal for electric guitar and bass. The passive mode feeds a later gain stage directly and suits active sources like sound modules. Two DI voicings from one jack give you real tonal choice on instruments.

Reshape Microphones with Switchable Impedance

The mic input impedance switches between 1200 and 300 ohm, which audibly changes the tone of many microphones. Input impedance is the electrical load the preamp presents to the mic, and altering it shifts frequency response and transient feel. It is a tonal option you can reach for before any EQ. Owners of varied microphone lockers will value the two voicings per mic.

Air Boost and a Two-Position High-Pass Filter

A selectable Air mode boosts the response above 10 kHz, peaking around 6 dB at 30 kHz for an open, airy top end. A two-position 6 dB-per-octave high-pass filter with corners near 45 or 180 Hz clears subsonic rumble and low-end buildup. A high-pass filter passes the highs and attenuates the lows below its corner, keeping tracks tight. You can even deactivate output termination to push the Air effect further.

Connect, Insert, and Protect

The balanced, fully floating output drives a 600-ohm load to about 28 dBu, and a rear insert connector lets you patch in other 500-series EQ and effect modules. The insert and output termination are each set by a rear jumper for flexible integration. A soft-start circuit ramps the supply up slowly over about ten seconds to avoid a power-on surge, and tantalum capacitors sit in the signal path. Phantom power and phase are switchable from the front with an LED indicator.

Who the PRE-573 MK3 Is For

This module suits the engineer building a modular 500-series rack who wants classic console color alongside their compressors and EQs. Home and mobile studios that value space will appreciate one great preamp per slot. Track vocals, guitar, and bass, then pair it with a matching 500-series EQ to build a full channel strip. It is the compact, expandable way into the 73-style sound.