Mojo Overview
A perfectly clean preamp is perfect for capturing sources that need the utmost clarity and detail, however,
being audio engineers and musicians ourselves - we know that some of the best records ever made had
grit, character, and were recorded on preamps that imparted their own colour onto the signal - that’s
the
sound we all hear when we say the word ‘vintage’.
Transformers are big, bold, and impart a lot of character onto the sound. Both vintage and modern
equipment feature transformers and they can sound great... but transformers can often cause issues.
Transformers are noisy, they exhibit huge phase shifts - as much 90 °at 50Hz (which equates to 5ms) - and
they impart an EQ onto the audio. Also, as transformers are integral to the way that a preamp works - they
cannot be bypassed to reveal the pure signal.
Our Mojo circuit is an analogue emulation of the desirable effects of transformers but without the
downsides such as dramatic phase shifts and excess noise. Unlike transformer-based designs, Mojo’s
effects live on a variable control that can be dialed to taste on some sources, and bypassed for others.
We built a brand-new type of saturation circuit consisting of an array of different filters (some of which are
inductive) and discrete second and third order harmonic generators that allow precise emulation of the
saturation and low-end reinforcement behaviours of vintage equipment. Mojo can even be dialed-in to
well-beyond the point that destructive clipping would usually occur with transformer-based designs for a
wider palette of saturation effects.
By manipulating these filters and harmonic generators; we can create two discrete Mojo styles; Cream and
Thump - both turn the impeccably clean and transparent Camden topology into the fattest, warmest, and
most characterful preamp in your arsenal - all at the turn of a dial.
Mojo Control:
The Mojo control adjusts the level of the Mojo effect that is being mixed-in with the dry signal. The pot is
variable to enable the best possible blend of the Mojo character to be dialed-in. When turned fully
anti-clockwise, the pot switches off in order to
completely
bypass Mojo from the signal path.
Mojo Style Switch:
The Mojo style switch selects which Mojo circuit is currently active; Thump or Cream. Each Mojo style suits
a variety of different instruments in different ways and for different effects.
Camden 500 User Manual [WIP] -Page 10 ©2018 Cranborne Audio Ltd
