OmniTec-67A is a new plugin emulation of the Altec 1567A vintage tube mixer, originally released in the early 60s as a rack-mounted tube mixer. It was reliable and had a simple two-knob EQ and enough gain (up to 97 dB) to also work as a microphone preamp.
Black Rooster Audio’s OmniTec-67A preamp plugin is a way to add a gritty character with an overdriven, colorful tube sound to modern mixing. There is a choice of either an emulated mic input impedance or line level impedance. Each input has a different frequency response and I liked that the gain is automatically compensated when switching between inputs.
Using any of the three Tube Types, A, B, or C, is a way to switch between three different brands of the modeled 12AX7 and 6CG7 tubes. Sometimes it is subtle but I hear it especially on the sound of the distortion and overall tone. The biggest jump in level is when selecting Low or High for tube Bias. Low is great for most processing and switching to High Bias is like a turbo boost with much more distortion and level!
Lastly, I found the three-band EQ with up to +/-12dB of boost/cut with separate controls for 50 Hz, 400 Hz and 1 kHz very useful for sculpting the finished sound. I thought of the Phase switch as a way of thinning out nearly all the low frequencies of a bass guitar when I rotated through the Wet/Dry range.
Overall, I can recommend OmniTec-67A for producing just the right touch of filth! It works great on vocals, bass and guitars—actually just about on any source! The OmniTec-67A sells for $99 MSRP.
