Blond

With 4 plugins based on nearly impossible-to-find Italian-made hardware from the 1950s through the 1980s, Blond takes you on a fascinating sonic journey through the Bel Paese of yesteryear.

This unique plugin suite that embodies unbelievably rare hardware units manufactured in Italy up to 60 years ago. Some of these have earned an excellent reputation in the pro audio industry over time, while others are known only to the most discerning collectors; as such, they have acquired nearly mythic status.

As difficult to track down as these machines might be, we did exactly that, and sourced these obscure, beautiful machines. Thanks to the Blond plugin suit, you can take advantage of these rare sonic options not available anywhere else, making your mixes sound stunning.

What You Get

Blond includes 2 Equalizer models:

EQ Model A: An extremely transparent 4-band EQ, with 24 line-mic preamps that faithfully recreate the 1970s console experience as intended by one of the greatest Italian designers in music history. We sampled this vintage console at L’Amor Mio Non Muore, a boutique studio near Forlì, a picturesque medieval town in the heart of the Italian countryside.
EQ Model B: A transparent “Sontec-style” 4-band parametric EQ from the 1980s that works wonders while mastering. It’s transformer-based, juicy preamp offers you tons of sonic character to have experiment with.

It would be an understatement to call this module an EQ. We feel that “Pre-Mixer” better describes the creative potential of this powerhouse of a processor. Based on unusual Italian-made studio units from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, its distinct palette of tones will function as a “mojo booster’ for your mix. These basic, solid-state tubes, or FET units, show a heavily non-linear response, which means their effect is big and bold. Warning: Don’t be scared if your analyzer goes haywire!

Did You Know?

The Italian manufacturer of the desk we sampled began operations in the 1940s by building tube radios. In the 50s, the introduction on the market of his iconic tape echo marked a turning point in his career. From that moment, rock legends like David Gilmour, Jimmy Page and other illustrious names started using his tape echo to shape their tones — and the rest, as they say, is history.

Blond Pre overflows with preamp goodness. With 74 different models divided into four banks, the only “problem” you’ll run into is trying to decide which of its fabulous sounds to use on your mixes.

The Blond Comp plugin is equipped with 5 different dynamics processors, including tube, optical, and FET models. The machines we sampled to create this plugin were often produced in minimal quantities, which means that these Italian-made units are as rare as they get.