The first 500 series module designed by Rupert Neve, the 517 microphone preamplifier/compressor, brings fantastic sound quality and tone shaping capability to your 500 series rack. True to the lofty standards of Rupert Neve Designs, the 517 boasts transformer-coupled circuitry for untainted sound and an incredibly versatile feature set. The 517's preamp section, which is based closely on the full-sized 5017 design, sports 66dB of gain and an interdependent direct input with 30dB of gain. The mic preamp includes phantom power and phase reverse, and the instrument input includes a ground-lift switch and instrument thru function. One of the things that separates the 517 from other 500 series modules (and preamp in general) is its capability to blend both microphone preamplifier and the direct input together, giving you the option of combining, for example, the sound of a bass cabinet with the direct bass signal as you track. To go