Louis Leviel has been building in France, independently, since at least 2022. He is one of the few French workshops doing custom stereo preamps.
Two lines
The first is a defined model, the Standar 5W4U: mono, five way. The second is fully custom, in stereo, designed case by case with the sound system ordering it.
Alongside the preamps he builds 1U effect modules — delay, reverb — and valve distortion.
The technical choices
- Fully analog, no DSP in the signal path.
- Four band fully parametric EQ, with adjustable Q — you choose the width of the band, not just its frequency and level.
- Balanced outputs, which matters as soon as the control position sits away from the amps.
Adjustable Q is the practical difference from a semi-parametric. On a semi-parametric you move the band; here you also decide whether it is wide or surgical. That is what lets you chase one resonance in a room without touching the rest of the spectrum.
Where you hear them
- Jah Chalice — a custom 5 way stereo, delivered two days before Dub Camp 2023.
- Tropical Dubwise — 2025.
- Chaka Chaka.
Ordering
There is no online shop and no public price list: contact goes through his Facebook page, and the unit gets discussed before it gets quoted. That is consistent with a production where almost everything is specific.
Who it is for
A sound that wants custom stereo, already knows what it is after, and is happy to talk before ordering rather than pick a reference off a product page.
→ All dub preamp manufacturers
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