Heritage Audio MIXBUDDY JFET Instrument Mixer / Compact Preamp

Everything, anywhere, all in the mix

Mixing instruments both live and in the studio has always been a subpar process. Most mixers are built around mic and line inputs with generic front ends that do decent at best with electronic instruments and frankly unacceptable with organic sources. The result is always the same: DI boxes, workarounds and tone you never quite got back.

The MIX BUDDY comes to solve all these problems while adding an additional set of features that turn this little box into a monster.

A wolf in sheeps clothing

With no-compromise tone as the main design rule, the MIX BUDDY has a staggering arsenal of no less than 19 inputs, which are themselves a masterclass of extremely low noise, high class audiophile grade JFET technology. Heavily based on the highly acclaimed Toshiba 2SK JFET series, Mix Buddy marks a new milestone in instrument amplification technology. Every single input was designed around one rule: the tone comes first. The MIX BUDDY doesn’t raise the bar in instrument amplification technology. It redraws it entirely.

Input Channel set:

• The Hi Gain Inputs: (left side, marked ) Eight channels (four stereo pairs) of Toshiba 2SK JFET 12dB gain buffers, slightly colored and specifically voiced to breathe life into organic instruments and lower level sources. Passive basses, vintage Rhodes, Moog Prodigy, Hofner Beatle bass this is where they come alive. Push them harder and they reward you with creamy, musical JFET saturation that adds character rather than distortion.
• The Unity Inputs: (right side) Six channels (three stereo pairs) of Toshiba 2SK JFET unity gain buffers, perfectly voiced for higher level sources that don’t need coloration, just clarity. TR-808, TR-909, 90s samplers, active basses, modern synths clean, fast and completely out of the way of your sound.
• The Mic Preamp: One channel of ultra low noise JFET mic preamp with up to 70dB of gain. Your microphone fully processed without the need for external gear and yes, its beautifully routed into the AUX effects loop for vocal pedal processing.
• The Balanced Line Inputs: (last channel on the right side) One stereo pair of balanced line level inputs for USB audio interfaces, computers or any line level source requiring a clean, professional, fully balanced, noise-free connection.
• The FX Return: Stereo pair of low-noise balanced FX return input, sharing the same topology as the line inputs and conveniently doubling as an extra set of stereo inputs when needed. Inserting only the LEFT channel will automatically pan the signal to the center.

Stereo / THRU option

Every instrument level channel on the MIX BUDDY (both Hi Gain and Unity) comes with a toggle between STEREO and MONO + THRU. A small switch with enormous consequences.

Set to STEREO when using a stereo source that requires both INPUTs, LEFT and RIGHT.

In MONO + THRU mode the instrument stays in your MIX BUDDY mix while simultaneously being sent out to any external destination: your amp, your favourite outboard processor, the front of house desk. The THRU output is completely transparent, preserving the instrument’s natural impedance so whatever it receives it sees the source exactly as it would without the MIX BUDDY in the chain at all.
The applications are immediate and powerful. Send your bass to the stage amp while keeping it in the mix. Capture that perfect guitar DI tone while, at the same time, feeding your amp. Run all seven instrument channels in MONO + THRU simultaneously and you have your full mix in the MIX BUDDY plus seven independent outputs feeding external processors in parallel, opening up a world of parallel processing that would normally require a much more complex and expensive setup.

Two stereo outputs. One solution. Transformer sound.

The MIX BUDDY features two independent master outputs, both balanced.
Master Main Out runs through Heritage Audio’s own 73 single-ended class A output stage DI circuit, the same transformer-balanced DNA that has made our DI boxes trusted tools in studios and stages worldwide. A pair of custom-wound 73 DI transformers sit at the heart of this output, adding that unmistakable layer of warmth and weight that only real iron can deliver. And with a switchable line level or mic level output, you can send the MIX BUDDY directly to a console, an interface or straight to front of house without a single adapter or compromise.

Main Out 2 takes a different philosophy: transformerless, clean and fast. The purest possible representation of your mix, with nothing added and nothing coloured.
Run Master Main Out to front of house. Run Main Out 2 to your monitors or in-ears mix. Record through one while performing through the other. No splitters. No extra gear. No compromises and each with its own independent LEVEL control.

And then there is the headphone output. A powerful, independent headphone amplifier with dedicated volume control sits on the front panel of the MIX BUDDY, giving you a third independent listening path. Whether you are monitoring a live performance, checking a mix or simply listening back between takes, the headphone amp delivers the full character of the MIX BUDDY’s mix with the same uncompromising clarity you would expect from everything else in this box.

One small box doing the work of several with transformer warmth on tap whenever you need it and pure transparency when you don’t.

Creativity with effects. Stereo FX Loop.

The MIX BUDDY’s stereo (or mono) AUX send functions as a fully featured effects loop so you can integrate your favourite hardware effects processors directly into your mix. Each channel has its own AUX send knob to dial in exactly how much of that channel feeds the effects chain, with pre or post fader routing selectable per channel and a global FX on/off switch for instant wet/dry comparison.

From subtle reverb or delay on a single synth to a fully processed send across your entire rig, the MIX BUDDY puts that control exactly where it belongs, at your fingertips.
And one more thing switch the channels to PRE mode and the effects loop turns into a true parallel processor. Your dry signal stays untouched in the mix while the wet signal handles all the heavy lifting.

A microphone preamp where you least expect it

The MIX BUDDY includes a full microphone preamp, and all the new opportunities that come along with that.

Feed any microphone directly into the MIX BUDDY and your voice becomes just another instrument in your mix, sitting alongside your synths, your drum machines, your samplers, all controlled from the same unit. But the real magic happens when you route that vocal signal through the AUX effects loop.

Because the AUX is designed to work with instrument level hardware, your microphone signal can be sent directly to guitar effects pedals: Chorus, Delay, Reverb, Distortion, Octave, Looper whatever lives on your pedalboard can now shape your voice in real time. Processed, blended and mixed back into your performance with the AUX return knob, pre or post fader, with the global FX on/off switch giving you instant access to hear it with or without the effects.

This is the workflow that artists and producers have been chasing for years, vocals through guitar pedals, live and in context, without complex routing, extra hardware, or compromise. The MIX BUDDY makes it as simple as plugging in a microphone.

Built for the studio. Ready for the stage.

Whether you are producing in your home studio, performing live or recording a full synthesizer rig, the MIX BUDDY is the missing piece that brings everything together. Designed with Heritage Audio’s uncompromising attention to signal quality and built to last a lifetime.

This is not just a mixer, this is your creative command centre.