Slate FOX Reference Manual

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Hello

And thanks for purchasing the Slate Pro Audio FOX dual microphone
preamplifier. Our hardware is proudly hand built in the USA and
tested thoroughly for quality control. We guarantee satisfaction on all
Slate Pro Audio products. Please do not hesitate to call us at 323­656-2050 or email us at [e-mail]

The FOX Concept

After starting my pro audio business in 2006, I quickly fell victim to an
unexpected new role amongst my peers: Audio Gear Psychologist. I
would constantly get calls from fellow engineers who were in the
market for audio gear, and one of the most common questions I would
get was about mic preamp purchasing. “Do I get the Neve, the API, or
the Millennia?” would be a common question. No one ever liked my
answer which was, “Get all of them; they are all amazing preamps and
you’ll appreciate having a versatile sonic palette for your microphones
and sources.”

This was good advice. Companies like Neve, API, Millennia, and
other hi-fi brands have been making great mic preamps for years,
and I’ve used them and loved them in countless sessions. So when
I sat down with Studio Electronics, and the Slate Pro Audio
engineering team to discuss our mic pre, my first thought was to
make a mic preamp that could offer several sonic characteristics in
one box; similar to having a rack of various mic pres.

Our first idea was to use one main mic pre circuit with filters and some
various component and circuit manipulations to change the sound.
This worked. Kind of…

Overall, it still sounded like the same preamp with some filters. It
didn’t provide the real experience of having several preamp sounds in
one box.

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We went back to the drawing board and realized the thing we needed
to do was to employ more than one unique preamp circuit in each
channel. This design concept led to two amazing preamp circuits called
VINTAGE and MODERN.

VINTAGE is our take on the classic British Discrete Class A design. It
is thick, rich, warm, and sounds great on just about everything.
MODERN, is a new design based on ultra hi-fi solid state components
that provide a sound that is very precise, clean, and detailed. The
preamp adeptly catches the stick attack of a snare drum or the
crispness of a vocal.

Now we had our two circuits, excellent, but could we expand on this
concept? Yes, indeed. We came up with a rather ingenious idea;
combining the VINTAGE and the MODERN circuits to create new
sounds. With that, COMBO mode was born. In COMBO mode, the input
of one of the preamp circuit is combined with the output of the other
preamp circuit. So VINTAGE/COMBO means the input is the VINTAGE
circuit, and the output is the MODERN circuit. With MODERN/COMBO,
the input is the MODERN circuit and the output is the VINTAGE circuit.
Now the FOX had four great sounding mic preamps in ONE box!

This allows you, the audio engineer, to benefit from ultimate versatility
and precision during recording. You can switch the different mic pre
circuits while monitoring your source live, so that you can optimize the
best sound for that particular source. Listen to that guitar track in the
VINTAGE circuit... Now hear how it sounds in the MODERN... Then try
MODERN/COMBO.. Nope-that’s not it… Now VINTAGE/COMBO… and
BAM! That works!

On behalf of the Slate Pro Audio team, I hope you make inspiring
music with the FOX dual mic preamplifier. Feel free to send me some
audio clips or just say “hey” by emailing me at [e-mail]

Thanks, and Happy Recording!

Steven Slate

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE 5 FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAGE 6 WARRANTY INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAGE 8 SAFETY INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAGE 10 RACK MOUNT INSTRUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAGE 11 OPERATING COUNTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAGE 12 REAR PANEL, MAIN VOLTAGE ADJUSTMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAGE 13 TECHNICAL DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .