Amels Audio Packs an All-Tube DI Into a Caviar Tin
Amels Audio has released its debut product with the Osetra, a direct-coupled all-tube instrument DI. Audio designer Dave Amels explains it is made for bass, guitar, and any pickup-equipped acoustic instrument. The first batch comes in a numbered 20-unit Founder’s Tin Edition.
“The first twenty Osetras are built into the object that inspired the name: a caviar tin,” the company writes. “The sturgeon and its tiny ‘DI’ egg are not a costume for the engineering, they are the wink that tells you a person made this.”
The Osetra is built around an all-tube signal path and a Class-A transformerless circuit with no loop feedback. Its input presents a 1MΩ load to preserve transients and deliver a responsive playing feel. The DI has a 1/4-inch input with a 1/4-inch thru and XLR output. It is powered by a 12 VDC filament supply and 48V phantom power.
Hear it on the bass in this clip, which compares it to another leading tube DI.
The Amels Audio Osetra is available now for $425.
Amels Audio Osetra All-Tube DI Features:
| Product type: | All-tube audio path direct box |
| Sound character: | Extremely responsive and clean euphonic sound |
| Topology: | Class-A, no loop-feedback, transformerless design |
| Frequency response: | 4 Hz into the MHz range, only limited by the mic preamp |
| Instrument input impedance: | 1 MΩ |
| Receiving mic-pre input impedance: | 1.2 kΩ minimum |
| Adjustable input level: | −∞ to +2 dB |
| Gain range: | −∞ to +2 dB |
| Noise (EIN): | < −90 dBm |
| Connections: | 1/4″ input · 1/4″ thru · Amphenol XLR output |
| Power (both required): | 12 VDC filament supply at 150 mA · 48 V phantom power |
| Included 12 VDC adapter: | 90–250 VAC input · 3 W universal-input adapter |
| Dimensions / weight: | 4.2″ diameter × 3.1″ height · 150 g |
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
