The only way a preamp and EQ can remain coveted for over half-a-century is by checking all the boxes: a sonic character that still stands alone, strategic control and design choices that prioritize results over complexity, and reverence—that persists to this day—from world-class engineers.

The 1073’s EQ and preamp by themselves embody excellence, but combining the two creates magic. The way the EQ processes the fat, warm, inviting preamp sound is the key to the 1073’s enduring success.

With precision analog modeling of the original’s behavior—tweaked to perfection by Grammy-winning mixing engineer Andrew Scheps (Adele, Metallica, Jay Z)—Scheps 73 keeps the legend alive.

Equalize with Analog Musical Color

Faced with analog’s limitations, engineers had to refine EQ designs for maximum musical impact. The 73’s combination of high and low shelving, midrange bell, and high pass filters always seem to give exactly what you need.

Add Beautiful Harmonic Distortion

Transformers are signal processors, but not all transformers respond similarly to saturation. The Marinair audio transformers are widely credited for the 1073’s graceful transition into harmonic distortion and saturation.

For the First Time Anywhere: The Lost EQ Band

A 10 kHz frequency band in the midrange EQ was included in the 1073’s original schematics, but appeared only in the rare 1078 channel strip. The Scheps 73 restores this useful frequency range to its rightful place.

M/S Processing and Monitoring Added

After perfecting the original’s sound, we’ve added features for today’s studios: independent left/right and mid/side processing, stereo/mono/ dual mono modes, and monitoring for left, right, mono, or stereo.