It wasn’t until last year, that I finally purchased a mic-pre. I was always too stingy. I figured the preamps on my interfaces sounded good enough. Then I heard about the JHS Colour Box. I was stoked. It was a NEVE clone that didn’t cost over a $1000 dollars. I bought one at the beginning of 2016 as a late Christmas present to myself.

I thought I would use it more for microphones, but it added too much of a fuzz. I did enjoy the grit it adds, but the box became a one trick pony. I always ended up just using it for guitar and bass. I did get some great sounds for vocals out of it, when I re-amped takes I had already tracked. I was hesitant to let it go, but I didn’t use it enough. I knew I could get at least $300 for it.

After I heard some samples of Warm Audio’s TB12, I listed my Colour Box on eBay.

The day my Colour Box sold, I bit the $600 bullet and ordered the TB12. It showed up yesterday. I wired it all up last night after work. I love it! I haven’t yet tested it as a preamp. I have it routed as a plug in. You can really push tracks through it. It gives everything a little “oomph”. You can even slam the gain and get some fuzzed out grit.

My only gripes with the TB12 are its aesthetics:

• That tacky “TONE BEAST” font.
• There 3 different fonts on the front panel that don’t match. (5 if you include the logo)
• & They chose to paint these things the ugliest orange.

Now it’s time for me to get a patch bay. I need to be able to switch around my compressor in the signal chain. I worried that I would miss my Colour Box. That great fuzz and those gain stages it gives you, but the Tone Beast can do all that and more.