Acme MTP-66 Motown Tube Preamp – The year is 1966. In the vibrant and soulful heart of Detroit, a young and ambitious chief Motown engineer is given a challenging task by the legendary producer Berry Gordy: to design a superior method for recording multiple guitar and bass instruments simultaneously, with minimal bleed and no need for isolation.
His innovative solution was the 5-channel Motown input box, affectionately named the “Motown guitar amp” by its creator. This groundbreaking circuit was instrumental in capturing the extraordinary performances of James Jamerson, Dennis Coffey, Bob Babbitt, Robert White, Joe Messina, and many others.
It was used extensively from 1966 to 1972, becoming a cornerstone of Motown’s signature sound. Today, this historic design is brought to life as the Acme MTP-66 Motown Tube Preamp, now available through Acme Audio’s dealers.
As the latest addition to Acme Audio Manufacturing’s series of faithful recreations of legendary Motown equipment, the Acme MTP-66 is a single-channel lunchbox preamp meticulously reconstructed using the original 1966 engineering schematics. It features an all-tube signal path driven by hand-selected tubes that power a Cinemag output transformer.
Beyond its role as an instrument-to-line-level all-tube preamp, the Acme MTP-66 also incorporates a microphone amplifier section derived from Motown Engineering’s original designs. This section includes a fixed-gain pentode stage coupled with an Acme Audio/Triad input transformer.
To enhance its versatility, Acme Audio has included adjustable input and output controls, a modern improvement not available on the original design. These controls allow users to fine-tune their sound, providing the ability to tailor the preamp’s drive and compression characteristics to suit any recording scenario.
The Acme MTP-66 Motown Tube Preamp stands as a tribute to the original Motown engineering excellence while offering additional flexibility for today’s recording professionals.
