Burl Audio B1D 500-Series Preamp  From Burl

With the Burl Preamps (the B1 and B1D), it is really hard to talk about one without talking about both of them.  We aren't the first to approach it this way, but it is best.  Burl set out to make the highest quality 500 series preamp that they could.  With knobs that don't feel cheap, a visual cue for preamp level (the light that changes color as you push) and their own custom transformers; you are getting one hell of a product that isn't the most expensive on the market.

The B1 is the more versatile of the two.  It is more forward, tighter and more detailed than its sibling the B1D.  The B1 is our go-to when you want a preamp that can work just about anywhere, but isn't going to get overly heavy handed as you stack tracks.   For us, this is the sweet spot since most customers are building up 500 series modules over time.  The B1 is a great "first high end" preamp as you can do so much with it.  It isn't a clone of anything in particular, just a fantastic sounding, slightly colored transformer preamp.

The B1D is a bit more heavy-handed.  The output transformer in the "D" model gives it more of the vintage tone, more warmth, more color, but less detail.  This is great for being a secondary preamp that use on things like Vocals, lead guitar and overheads where you are trying to push into the color of the preamp to shape the sound.  The B1D does work on about everything you can throw at it, just keep in mind that it is more heavy handed.  

For us, these are a great one-two punch in that you get loads of versatility with the B1, and then a more heavy-handed approach with the B1D.