HLabs have released a preamp built around genuine Studer console parts, and it is every bit as special as it sounds.
The HLabs PRE169 Willi Limited Edition is the kind of release that stops the scroll.
This 500 series mic preamp uses original transformers taken from vintage Studer 169 and 269 consoles, parts most people only ever read about and rarely get the chance to hear in their own studio.
Those consoles shaped countless European recordings from the late seventies onward, valued for a sound that stayed open and musical without pushing itself forward.
HLabs know these desks inside out. Years of servicing and restoring Studer hardware clearly inform this design, which feels grounded in experience rather than nostalgia.
The transformers are the heart of the story. They bring a sense of weight that comes from hardware with a real working past.
The output trim lets the preamp stay clean and composed or move gently into colour, reflecting how these consoles were used in everyday sessions rather than treated as precious artefacts.
HLabs built only eleven units, each assembled by hand in France.
That alone sets this release apart from most modern gear.
It feels less like a product launch and more like a rare opportunity to work with a piece of recording history that is becoming increasingly difficult to access.
The PRE169 Willi Limited Edition speaks to engineers who care about lineage as much as results, and who value where a sound comes from just as much as where it ends up.
So before they’re gone, check them out here.
