Doug Turkel
Liz Atherton
Joel Snyder
Tom Antonellis
Marc Preston
A Sweetwater exclusive, the V55 packs two of Avalon’s innovative V5 preamplifier/direct box/re-ampers into what looks like — from the front and top — one chassis. Take a gander at the rear panel, however, and you’ll see that it’s actually two V5s in a clever rack kit with a single 19″ silver faceplate and black top plate. Nestled inside, the two V5s maintain their autonomy (and electrical isolation). The V5 takes a fresh approach to signal routing, giving you a phenomenal mic pre, instrument DI, and re-amping matrix. And with the V55, you have two of them, doubling the impressive versatility the V5 brings to your studio.
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High-voltage operation and Tone Shaper network
It’s easy to wax poetic about the V5’s technical details, from its 100%-discrete, DC-coupled, pure Class A amplifiers to its sealed silver relays and ultra-high-performance rotary switches. But you won’t be thinking about any of that when you hear how good it sounds! That has a lot to do with the V5’s extremely high-voltage operation, which provides plenty of headroom for hotter signals and the gain needed to push even the most subdued sound sources. And to assist you in dialing in the perfect tone, you just can’t beat the V5’s incredible passive Tone Shaper network.
Serious signal-routing workhorse
When Sweetwater says you can plug anything into the Avalon V5 and get excellent results, we’re not exaggerating. That’s because Avalon built the V5 to accommodate a massive range of signal types. On the input side, you’ve got two microphone impedances to choose from, including lo-Z for high-output condensers and a hi-Z setting that lets you get the most out of sluggish ribbon mics. There’s also a 10-Mohm direct instrument input with zero impedance loading that’s perfect for active and passive pickups alike. And thanks to the combination of an ultra-clean line-level input and a transformer-isolated hi-Z output, you can even use the V5 as a complete re-amping solution, making it an invaluable studio super-tool.
Tons of tone-shaping options onboard
Controlled by a single rotary switch, the V5’s Tone Shaper circuit provides you with a fast, effective, and musical way to sculpt your sound to perfection. Included among the V5’s 10 Tone Shaper options are six presets taken straight from the award-winning Avalon U5. Among these 10 presets, you’ll find two of Avalon’s most popular Air-Lift passive vocal processing filters, which add extra life to your voice. And to top it all off, Avalon built both a passive lowpass filter and a hiss/buzz filter into the V5, allowing you to get the clearest possible audio.
Avalon V55 Sweetwater Exclusive 2-channel Preamp Features:
- 2 V5 preamplifier/direct box/re-amping units in a single chassis rack kit
- Amazing all-in-one microphone preamplifier, DI, and re-amping box
- Top-shelf parts using all-discrete, high-voltage, Class A components for pristine sound
- Dual hi-Z and lo-Z microphone inputs accommodate anything from low-output ribbons to high-output condenser mics
- 10-Megaohms direct instrument input with zero impedance loading accommodates any instrument with active or passive pickups
- Transformer-isolated re-amping output lets you send signal back to an external guitar amp for re-amping
- Passive Tone Shaper provides 10 tone presets (including 2 Air-Lift vocal settings)
- 6 Tone Shaper settings adopted from the Avalon U5
- Built-in lowpass filter and buzz/hum filter ensure the cleanest possible sound
- Large VU meter provides easy and accurate monitoring