Fetish Audio

FA38 Aubergine Console Colour

$100.00

Full Kit
Step by Step Guide
Supported
$50 Repair Policy
Beginner

In 1971 Trident Studios found themselves in need of particular console that nobody else could provide. So they designed their own. The result was the rarest, most mythical range of consoles ever made. Only 13 of these purple consoles were ever delivered, but the beautiful sound of its preamps and EQs was enough to cement their place in recording history.

The FA38 is a loving recreation of the most colorful circuitry from this console’s channel strip. Everything that passes through this class-A transistor circuit sounds a bit fuller, wider, and more finished. And at very high gains, the circuit breaks up beautifully with a wooly, bass-heavy saturation.

The FA38 is designed by Ken Pearsall of Fetish Audio who has spent years working on and repairing these famous consoles in world-class studios.

FEATURES

Actual circuitry from the console channel strip
Signature class-A transistor sound
All components hand picked to match the console
Compatible with the Colour format
Purple PCB
Full, step-by-step assembly instructions and support

Samples

Resources

Maybe my fave console colour. A bit noisy past ~60%.

The FA38 is great on so many sources. I particularly like it on electric guitar and synth sub-mixes. So sweet. And I dig the way it warms the cold edges of some digital bass synths. A little goes a long way, too.

It does add a little noise when turned up past about 60%, so, experiment with input levels if that's a problem. That's the 1-star ding. I have a pair I use in a Colour Duo on stereo sources, so it isn't just a wonky component on a single unit. Both modules (purchased Dec 2025 & Jan 2026) exhibit the exact same behaviour. It is definitely a quirk of the FA38. The other console modules I own are quieter by comparison.

Having said all that, the quirk doesn't bother me. I generally run the FA38 below 50%, and when I want to really crunch something up, the noise becomes a "feature" and is totally lost in the mix anyway. It's much quieter than, say, the hiss of an amp or the hum of a single coil pickup that we all just live with and call "charming".

Awesome in small doses

I have built and used all of the colour cards, except for Fuzz. This one, along with TM79 and Colourupter, is my favorite. Extremely useful both as a digital signal heater and for adding mix bus coherence.

One of the best!

I think 1-star guy doesn't want these to ever go out of stock, or he clicked one star by accident and didn't notice. 5 STARS!

Easy build. Forward sounding

Really has that A range sound

Put together 2 CP5 preamps with these FA38s as the color module, really impressed with the sound of these things. The build was super straightforward, the first PCB kit I've ever put together in fact, and it only took a couple of hours and worked on the first test. On low settings where it's not audibly distorting it really adds that forward punch and weight, especially on drums. At higher amounts, it distorts very pleasantly and is extremely nice on bass, vocals, and guitars I've found. I hope to get a couple more CP5s with the FA38s in it eventually to have a solid 4 mic-pre trident setup for drums or whatnot.