Why amplify vocals and instruments with a loud, blurry mixer? The sonic unadulterated dbx 286s mic preamp has all the features you need, including extensive input gain control, switchable +48V phantom power, and an 80Hz high pass filter to eliminate low frequency hum, rumble, or wind. Use the patented dbx OverEasy compressor to transparently equalize uneven acoustic tracks or deliver the classic vocal performance "in your face" that only a dbx compressor can provide. Eliminate tuning fizzling and high-frequency distortion from instruments like cymbals with the frequency-tunable de-esser. Fine-tune the Enhancer HF Detail slider to give your tracks shine and freshness, and adjust the LF Detail slider to give vocals and bass instruments richness and depth while cleaning the muddy low mid frequencies. The separate Threshold and Ratio controls on the expander/gate allow you to subtly reduce headphone leakage or radically noisy guitar amps with the gate. The dbx 286s offers a complete range of measurement and status LEDs that visually guide you to the right sound. The floating balanced XLR microphone input accepts balanced or unbalanced inputs for easy connection to professional and home studio microphones. The additional 1/4" TRS line input can record balanced or uneven signals to process live electronic instruments or tracks already recorded during mixdown. Use the insert jack as the interface between the mic preamp and the signal processing sections to "loop through" to external processors or to mix the mic preamp's signal to an external destination. The cost and effort of putting multiple processors together for use on one track can be frustrating. The dbx 286s gives you all the features you need for microphone processing in one box, with the shortest and cleanest signal path to make your music sound great.