ABOUT THE VPRE-31A VINTAGE GERMANIUM PREAMP
The VPRE-31A is a straightforward Germanium preamp from
the 1960s with loads of power under the hood. Based on the
rare 4-transistor original, this pre is fueled by the special char-
acteristic curve and even harmonic structure only found in
Germanium based designs. A custom UTC input transformer
has been fitted for completing this massive hot rod. Some con-
venient features, namely phase inversion, a continuous drive
control, gain compensation, a linear trim control and VU
metering have been added in the digital domain.
The VPRE-31A can be used as a coloration box to help your sig-
nals sit better in your mixes. Adjusting the input gain will add
saturation ranging from subtle to aggressive and gritty. There
is also a global link feature, that can be used to sync up all in-
stances running in your DAW session.
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THE CONTROLS
Power (Off/On)
Engages or bypasses the entire processing chain altogether.
Gain (0 to 40 dB)
Sets the preamp gain applied to the input signal. The gain is
fully compensated so that you can control the amount of har-
monic distortion generated by the plugin without significantly
affecting the perceived volume.
Phase (Normal/Inverted)
Use the phase switch to select between normal or phase in-
verted (Ø) operation. The signal is inverted at the input.
Impedance (150/600 Ohm) metering mode doesn't account for the gain compensation
that takes place at the output. This mode should give you a
The original unit's input connector could be strapped for dif-
good indication of how much you are actually driving the emu-
ferent input impedance configurations of the input trans-
lation into distortion.
former's primary coil windings. Switching to 150 Ohm in-
creases the input gain by 6 dB internally and yields a slightly
narrower frequency response. The gain shift is compensated
at the output so it's easier to compare the two settings. You
can think of this switch as two coloration options offered at
the current gain setting.

Trim (-18 to 18 dB)

The trim screw offers a linear output level control in the range
of -18 to +18 dB. Use it to apply manual loudness matching in
cases where the built in gain compensation doesn't work well.

Noise (-140 to -60 dB)

This control sets the emulation's noise floor level in the range
of -140 thru -60 dB. Turn the screw all the way counter-clock-
wise to turn off the noise floor altogether.

VU Mode (Input/Post Drive/Output)

The VU meter monitors the signal's VU level in dB. The 0 VU
point corresponds to -14 dBFS. Click on the VU meter to bring
up a drop down menu where you can select between input,
post drive or output level metering. Please note that the drive

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GLOBALLY LINKED GROUPS

Group Icon (None/Group 1..16)

The Link button (located on the lower right of the user inter-
face) is used to assign the respective plugin instance to the se-
lected group. Once assigned, the plugin will synchronize its
settings with all other instances that are assigned to the same
group. Selecting None allows the plugin instance to be con-
trolled individually again. The plugin will restore its previous
settings once it is unlinked again. You may hold down the
modifier key, i.e. Alt (AU/AAX) or CMD/Ctrl (VST2/VST3) in order
to retain the current settings from the link group.

All currently loaded plugin instances can be set to the same

group or unassigned by using Shift+Click.

Hold down the 'x' key while editing a parameter in order to

keep it from synchronizing with its current link group. This way
individual parameters can be edited freely even when a group
is assigned.

NOTE: In some hosts the Global Link feature may be unavailable

because plug-ins are hosted in a “sandbox” so the instances can't
see each other. Also, grouping is only possible between instances
of the same plug-in format, e.g. VST and VST but not VST and AU.

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SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

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KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS PLUGIN ACTIVATION

VST hosts You can test our plugins for 14 days without any restrictions.
Simply click the "Activate Trial" button in the plugin GUI after
Ctrl/CMD+Click: Reset to default
the installation to start your trial period.
Alt+Drag: Switch to circular knob mode
Shift+Drag/Mouse wheel: Fine control
To activate your full license you can purchase a product activa-
tion key on our website. The activation key will be sent to you
AU / AAX hosts
by email once the payment process has been completed, suc-
Alt+Click: Reset to default cessfully. Click "Activate plugin..." in the plugin GUI or the drop
Shift+Drag/Mouse wheel: Fine control down menu below, enter your email and product activation
key and hit the "Activate" button to proceed.
All hosts
Double Click: Reset to default / jump to value
FAQS AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
An overview of Frequently Asked Questions can be found on
• Intel compatible or Apple Silicon CPU our website under the following link
• 2GB RAM
• Mac OS 10.9 or newer (Mac users) https://fuseaudiolabs.com/faq.html
• Windows 7 or newer (PC users)
• A display resolution of 1280x1024 pixels or more Our tech support can be reached via the following link
• A VST2, VST3, AAX or AU compatible 64-bit host (Mac
users) https://fuseaudiolabs.com/support.html
• A VST2, VST3 or AAX compatible 32-bit or 64-bit host (PC
users)