Focusrite ISA428 MkII – 4 Channel Rackmount Microphone Preamp

The ISA428 MkII from Focusrite is a four-channel microphone preamp featuring Focusrite’s transformer-based preamps. With selectable input impedance, direct instrument inputs and an optional eight channels of high-quality analog to digital conversion, the unit is a perfect front end for the audio professional, whether utilizing digital or analog recording.

The ISA microphone preamp holds a reputation for delivering transparency along with subtle warmth derived from transformer core saturation. The addition of a variable impedance circuit allows users to perfectly match the preamp with any microphone, or to use different settings creatively to shape the sound of the microphone.

The extremely broad frequency response of Focusrite preamps (close to 200kHz at the top end) guarantees accurate phase response across the range of human hearing, with the roll-off point being moved entirely outside of the audible hearing range. Warmth, plus beautifully open, unrestricted high frequencies, is a classic hallmark of the mid 80’s Focusrite designs to which this preamp owes its design.

The optional eight channel analog converter utilizes high-quality Burr-Brown amplifiers and PCM4220 A-D converter chips seated within Focusrite’s custom analog circuitry. Specifications include a dynamic range of 122dB and jitter performance below 250 picoseconds. The card can be retrofitted at any time and due to the convenient 25-pin D-type connector, it integrates seamlessly with most digital workstations, including Pro Tools.

Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC
Exclusively free for Clarett, Red, RedNet and ISA customers
Two of the most revered pieces of recording gear in the history of music production, the Focusrite ISA 110 Mic Pre and EQ, and ISA 130 Dynamics Modules helped to shape the sonic landscape of the 1980s and ’90s. They were key components in the original Focusrite Studio Console, their unique specification, exceptional build quality and impressive versatility delivering a beautifully open sound that found favour among audio engineers the world over. With only ten Studio Consoles ever made, even fewer still in existence, and the original ISA modules commanding sky-high prices on the second-hand market, their very special brand of audio magic has been utterly inaccessible to all but the most privileged of producers… until now!

Designed and coded by the DSP geniuses at acclaimed software house Brainworx, the new bx_console Focusrite SC VST/AU/AAX plug-in for Mac and PC faithfully captures the sound, feel and styling of our original studio icon. Since the plug-in’s launch in 2019, it’s been included for free with every Clarett and Red audio interface. Now, ISA and RedNet customers get the plug-in, simply by registering their equipment online.

Accurately modelling the full signal paths of of the ISA 110 and ISA 130, bx_console Focusrite SC brings all the analogue character and colouration of the Focusrite Studio Console to your DAW-based productions. Offering four bands of parametric and shelving EQ, high- and low-pass filters, compression/limiting, gating/expansion and de-essing, it’s as powerful a sound-shaping tool today as it ever was – indeed, it improves on the capabilities of the original with modifications including continuously variable THD and Gain controls. And with Brainworx’s Tolerance Modelling Technology providing 72 selectable modelled circuits, you can even recreate the subtle timbral variations between channels that you’d get with the real console.

With bx_console Focusrite SC retailing separately for $349, its inclusion for free with all Clarett, Red and RedNet interfaces and ISA hardware is a huge deal, and we’re deeply honoured to see and hear these two historic modules so brilliantly emulated in software. To download the plug-in, simply register your Clarett, Red, RedNet or ISA unit online, log into your Customer Portal page, where you’ll see bx_console Focusrite SC listed in the ‘My Software’ page among your registered products.

Features:
– 4 classic transformer-based preamps
– Switchable impedance for unparalleled mic matching or extended mic creativity
– Includes the classic ISA 110 setting
– Multiple direct instrument inputs on the front panel
– Analog insert points on every channel
– Highpass filters on every channel
– Ultra-precise LED metering (dBfs)
– 2U chassis design
– Optional A/D card provides 8 channels of cutting-edge conversion at up to 192kHz
– 3-year warranty

Specifications:
Preamp Type: Solid State
Number of Channels: 4
Phantom Power: Yes
Analog Inputs: 4 x XLR (Mic), 4 x 1/4″ (Line), 4 x 1/4″ (Hi-Z), 4 x 1/4″ (Returns), 4 x XLR (Aux)
Analog Outputs: 4 x XLR, 4 x 1/4″ (Sends)
Digital Outputs: Optional A/D expansion card available (digital DB25, optical)
Frequency Response: 20Hz-122kHz
Rack Spaces: 2U
Height: 3.5″
Depth: 11″
Width: 19″
Weight: 12.2 lbs.
UPC: 815301005124