Grace Design m103 Channel Strip: Transparent Preamp, Precision EQ, and Optical Compression

The Grace Design m103 is a powerful channel strip built upon the foundation of the acclaimed m101 microphone preamplifier. Designed for musicality, transparency, and purity, the m103 provides a complete, high-fidelity signal path that includes a pristine mic pre, a precise 3-band EQ, and a smooth optical compressor. This is a channel strip by name and a powerful, surgical tool by design.

Microphone Preamplifier

The m103 features the tried-and-true Grace mic pre circuitry, ensuring musical, transparent, and pure capture with exceptional headroom, detail, and clarity.

• Architecture: Fast and musical transimpedance microphone preamplifier architecture.
• Precision: Updated audio path utilizes 0.5% precision metal film resistors.
• Gain: Features a new 12 position gold plated rotary gain switch.
• Ribbon Mic Mode: Exclusive feature (also great for dynamic mics) that engages relay bypass of phantom power decoupling capacitors, increases input impedance, and locks out 48V.
• Filter: Includes a 75 Hz High-Pass Filter (HPF) and standard 48V phantom power.

Precision Equalizer

The 3-band EQ section is built around a single-stage parallel tuning architecture to minimize circuitry and deliver natural tonal shaping across the entire audible spectrum.

• Frequency Range: Delivers tonal shaping from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
• Bands: Includes a fully parametric mid-band, and sweepable high and low bands.
• Control: High and low bands are switchable between shelving or peak modes. The accuracy of this design allows smaller increments of cut or boost to be clearly heard, providing a greater level of control.

Optical Compressor

The compressor circuit is based on an optical attenuator—the purest, high-fidelity gain control mechanism available—ensuring the dynamics processing is neutral and transparent.

• Function: Provides gain control from gentle limiting to fairly heavy compression, zipping the signal up cleanly, intact, and alive.
• Sidechain & Link: A dual function link/sidechain input on the rear panel allows for inserting external sidechain signals (for de-essing, ducking) or connecting two m103 units together for stereo compression applications.

Features and I/O Flexibility

• Metering: Powerful 10 segment meters for both gain reduction and output level simplify monitoring.
• Instrument Input: Front panel accessed HI-Z input makes this an amazingly high-quality instrument preamp.
• I/O Options: Comprehensive I/O allows the mic pre section and the EQ/COMP section to be accessed independently of each other.
• Signal Flow: The order of the EQ/COMP can be switched for flexible routing.
• Construction: Features a bombproof laser-etched black anodized front panel, a built-in power supply, and is proudly Made in the USA and backed by a Five year transferable warranty.