The LANG 312L, made by Heritage Audio, is a transfomer‑balanced mic preamp whose design is broadly rooted in the old API one, but which, like all the best ‘homages’, brings something extra to the party. The main gain control at the top is a pot, and beneath it there’s button to engage a Cloudlifter‑style booster preamp that’s included within the module. Marked Ribbon & SM7, this not only adds a fixed 25dB of gain (making the gain range a generous 15‑90 dB) but it also changes the preamp’s input impedance from 1.2kΩ to 10kΩ, which means vintage ribbons and moving‑coil dynamics will see a suitable load. The bottom of the four buttons engages a 20dB pad, which makes it possible to accommodate line‑level signals.
The other buttons switch on 48V phantom power and invert the signal polarity, as you might expect. I was a little surprised to find no high‑pass filter option included, to remove rumble or counter the proximity effect, but there is a handy front‑panel Neutrik Combo XLR/jack input. This can accept mic signals on the XLR (potentially a handy shortcut when the preamp’s in a rackmounted 500‑series chassis), or instrument‑level signals on the jack, the input impedance being 2MΩ. And while I’m on the subject of impedances, at 75Ω the output impedance is low enough to drive the 600Ω loads presented by some older processors.
The circuitry is a combination of surface‑mount and through‑hole devices. The input transformer is custom one designed by Heritage and is shielded by a mu‑metal can, while the chunkier‑looking output transformer is again a custom one, but made by Cinemag. Heritage also designed their own op‑amp, the HA‑880, and this is removable — you could substitute it with others, including those used in API’s consoles if you wanted.
I tested this preamp on a number of mic sources, including with some passive ribbons and, since I don’t have an SM7 here, an SM57 and an older Shure Unidyne mic. With all those mics, while I didn’t find that I needed anything like the full 90dB of gain, engaging the booster made the main gain control easier to judge, and resulted in a change (for the better) in tonality, not just in gain. The subjective qualities of a mic preamp are always relatively subtle in the grand scheme of a signal chain, and there’s no attenuation control after the output transformer so if you want to really ‘drive’ this one for deliberate saturation, you’re going to need something after it to take care of that. That said, there’s definitely an API‑ish vibe to the sound — a punch, presence or life if you like, that can be delightful on electric guitar for rock in particular. But the noise is decently low, as befits a preamp with so much gain available, and as with most console‑style preamps, you can attain decent results on pretty much anything. I also tried running some mono stems and mixes through it (I had only one module available), and it did add a certain richness that could be appealing on the right material, which suggests that a pair of these might make a pleasing partner for a passive summing box.
All in all this is an appealing mic preamp, in terms of its technical performance, its sound and its feature set.
All in all, then, this is an appealing mic preamp, in terms of its technical performance, its sound and its feature set. One that should appeal to users of low‑sensitivity passive ribbons and moving‑coil mics in particular, but perfectly capable of amplifying capacitor mics too. The instrument input is a plus that makes a great electric guitar or bass DI. At this price, it’s very tempting.
Information
£364 including VAT.
When you purchase via links on our site, SOS may earn an affiliate commission. More info...
