Thermionic Culture Rooster 2 2-Channel Valve Preamp with EQ and Attitude

The Thermionic Culture Rooster 2 is a 2-channel all-valve preamp combining mic, line, and DI input capability with a comprehensive EQ section and Thermionic Culture’s Attitude harmonic distortion control. A 12AX7 double triode input valve provides smooth gain after the balancing input transformer, and the Attitude section uses a 5654 valve to introduce variable harmonic content—operating below 0.1% THD at low settings and scaling up to warm, musical valve coloration. Triode mode adds predominantly 2nd order harmonics for warmth, while Pentode mode shifts toward 3rd order harmonics for a more aggressive character. The EQ section provides a broad range of tone shaping through bass lift, mid/high lift, mid cut, bass cut, and LPF controls, all feeding a PCF80 output valve and a Sowter custom output transformer.

Key Features

• 12AX7 input valve — double triode provides smooth gain stage after the balancing input transformer; accepts mic, line, or DI input per channel
• 48V phantom power — individually switchable per channel via toggle switch
• DI input — high-impedance unbalanced input that bypasses the input transformer; suitable for direct instrument connection
• Attitude section — 5654 valve distortion — below 0.1% THD at low settings; Triode mode produces predominantly 2nd order harmonics (warm, musical); Pentode mode produces 3rd order harmonics (aggressive, valve character retained)
• Bass lift EQ — varislope curve — continuous control peaking at 60Hz; Thermionic Culture’s unique varislope design becomes more extreme as the control increases
• Mid/high lift EQ — bell curve at 2.5kHz or 4kHz, or varislope curve peaking at 12kHz; frequency selected by switch
• Mid cut EQ — bell curve centered at 700Hz with continuous control over the amount of cut
• Bass cut EQ — 5-position switched control; progressively higher HPF curves transitioning into a shelving character; designed to interact with the other EQ controls for full-range tonal shaping
• LPF (low pass filter) switch — cuts high frequencies to smooth harsh harmonics when using high Attitude settings
• PCF80 output valve with Sowter transformer — balanced output via Sowter custom-made transformer
• 3-LED output display — output level indication per channel

Specifications

• Channels: 2
• Input Valve: 12AX7 (double triode)
• Distortion Valve: 5654
• Output Valve: PCF80
• Attitude Modes: Triode (2nd order harmonics); Pentode (3rd order harmonics)
• THD at Min Attitude: Below 0.1%
• Inputs: Mic (XLR, balanced); Line; DI (high impedance, unbalanced)
• Phantom Power: +48V (per channel)
• EQ: Bass lift (varislope, 60Hz); Mid/high lift (2.5kHz/4kHz bell or 12kHz varislope); Mid cut (700Hz bell); Bass cut (5-position); LPF
• Output Transformer: Sowter custom
• Metering: 3-LED per channel