Manley Force 4 Channel Microphone

Manley Force 4 Channel Microphone

Manley is found in top recording rooms throughout the world. Their microphone preamps grace the rack of tracking rooms, and the massive passive EQ new compressor shaped nearly every hits in the last 20 years. They have continued their line of preamps with the addition of Manley Force, a four-channel,feature-rich tube preamp. This preamp channel is different from the Voxboxandthe 40DB preamp, and Manley has replaced the tube output stage with a specially designed MOSFET stage.

The Manley FORCE contains four channels of real High Voltage vacuum tube microphone preamplifiers derived from the hugely popular and award-winning Manley CORE, housed in an exquisitely gorgeous chassis, and meticulously hand-crafted in California by America's premier high-end studio gear manufacturer. The Manley Force Box is solid with a thick Front panel. The knobs are solid machined aluminum giving a sturdy look. The great thing about this multi-channel microphone preamp like the Force with four-channel one can do a lot of microphone configuration.

The Force is a four-channel vacuum tube microphone preamp based on the company's CORE circuitry, which was created for maximum headroom, extended frequency response, and low noise. Each channel contains a mic input with a hand-wound Manley IRON transformer and a front panel DI housed in a two-rack space chassis. High/low gain, 120Hz HPF, Polarity, +48VDC phantom, 7-segment LED meter, and a conductive plastic pot for level adjustment are among the controls per channel. The XLR audio I/O connectors on the rear panel and the 14-inch DI jacks are gold-plated.

In reality, the level control is an attenuator. Because the gain switch is set to Low and the attenuator is turned as near to clockwise as feasible, the best S/N performance is obtained by setting the gain switch to Low and turning the attenuator as close to clockwise possible. The gain switch adds 10 dB of amplification when set to High. The maximum gain can be increased to 60 dB by moving an internal jumper, resulting in a modest rise in the noise floor.

In Class-A operation, four Sovtek 12AX7WAs are used (one per channel), and unlike some "tube" preamps, they are powered from 300-volt rails for more headroom—and the Force flexes plenty of it. The red LED on the LED meter indicates output level; when it illuminates at +24 dBu, the preamp has around 8 dB before clipping.

The MANLEY POWER power supply is an innovative design created by a global class team in this field led by Bruno Putzeys specifically for Manley Labs, specifically for High Voltage vacuum tubes, and specifically for audio. This power supply features 300 Volt DC rails to run the vacuum tubes, robust 6 Volt lines to power them up, as well as many other voltage rails for phantom power and different solid-state control voltages, as proven reliable and musically superior in the Manley CORE®. High voltage equals much headroom. Any 500-series design will not come close to this level of sonic performance. You can rely on us. This is Full FORCE audio brilliance, and it all starts with the power supply. All lines are important controlled, low impedance, efficient, and super-quiet in this low radiating high-frequency architecture. Traveling with the FORCE is a breeze because of the universal mains input, which accepts any voltage or frequency from anywhere on the planet.

The four-channel Vacuum Tube preamp features a high voltage design with high headroom and fidelity. The Manley Force features some of the same technology found in Manley's core channel strip, but in this case, there are four straight ahead vacuum tube preamps that have been optimized for details, punch, and dynamic response. It is very simple to operate. There are four identical preamps inside the chassis, and each one has its controls. In the far left, there is Gain selection; in the low position, there is 40 DB maximum gain, and in the high position, there is 50 DB maximum gain. One can also configure the Force to have 60 DB maximum gain using an internal jumper. Next is the high-pass filter that switches between flat and 120 Hz roll-off. The polarity invert and 48 phantom power are also connected. Each channel has a direct-in for guitar or line-level signal such as keyboard, and at the back, there is a microphone input. The microphone input pass through a Manley transformer. Each channel on the Manley Force features its level meter. The curved row of LEDs looks great when tracking. Using the Force is different from the other microphone preamps. Typically with the preamp, the setting keeps the gain turned from the lowest position until a suitable amount of gain is acquired. But with Force, Manley recommends starting gain turned up and turning the control down. This is treated as a pad to maximize the signal-to-noise response, ensuring that one gets the cleanest gain.

The power supply sets apart the Manley Force. It is configured to deliver 300 volts of power to each tube, which gives plenty of headroom, emphasizing the clarity and the detail in the signal. While completely respecting the transients, the Force's headroom never flinches, giving the impression that it will never distort. There are separate feeds for phantom power and for running the LEDs.The Force stands out as the only 4-channel mic pre in the middle of the pricing range with a design dedicated to tube amplification and no tone controls or A/D conversion.

Features of Manley Force Preamp

• LOW versus HIGH 120Hz High Pass Filter switch,

• 7-Segment LED Peak Metering

• Switch to reverse phase

• Power switch for 48V phantom

• Attenuator for incoming signals (Variable Pad)

• Controlling the volume of the input signal in a silent manner (Variable Input Pad)

• DIRECT OUTPUT OF 1/4"

• This all-discrete solid-state circuit with 10 Meg Ohm input impedance is excellent for guitars, basses, keyboards, and other instruments and is similar to the DI in the Manley SLAM! and the Manley CORE.

With its thoughtfully structured controls, silky and bulletproof rotary potentiometers, positive latching feature switches, and accessible Direct Input 1/4" jacks, the Manley Labs Force 4-Channel Microphone Preamp is an ergonomically designed microphone preamp. A double-inlay CNC-milled accent enhances the seven-way LED metering for each channel, which gives fast visible feedback for audio levels.

 The microphone signals are sent directly into the MANLEY IRON Mic input transformer through gold-plated XLR connections. The front panel 1/4" Hi-Z 10 megOhm jacks accept line level or instrument level guitars and keyboards before reaching the input level control, serving as a Variable Input Pad. Here in the circuit, Phase Reverse and 120 Hz High Pass filters can be used, and then we're onto the 12AX7 dual triode amplification stage, which, of course, operates in pure Class A. The front panel controls may set the amount of GAIN for each channel to 40 dB or 50 dB. Internal jumpers provide an additional 10 dB of increase.

The power supply is an innovative design created by a world class team led by Bruno Putzeys specifically for Manley Labs, specifically for High Voltage vacuum tubes, and specifically for audio. This power supply features 300 Volt DC rails to run the vacuum tubes, robust 6 Volt lines to power them up, as well as many other voltage rails for phantom power and different solid-state control voltages, as proven reliable and acoustically superior in the Manley CORE. Any 500-series design will not come close to this level of sonic performance. This is Full FORCE audio brilliance, and it all starts with the power supply. In this low radiating high-frequency architecture, all lines are important controlled, low impedance, efficient, and super-quiet. Traveling with the FORCE is a breeze because of the universal mains input, which accepts any voltage or frequency from anywhere on the planet.