Grace Design BiX

A compact, yet high-quality preamp/DI with basic controls.

October 1, 2025

Colorado’s Grace Designs makes high-end preamps tailored specifically for acoustic instrument pickups. Channeling its background in studio mic preamps into stage-worthy pedal formats, the company offers four acoustic preamps with both single- and two-channel designs. We checked out the flagship dual-channel FELiX shortly after it was introduced about a decade ago, and recently featured the simpler two-channel MOXi, as well as the high-end single-channel ALiX. In this video, I demo the BiX, which is Grace’s entry-level acoustic preamp.

Even though the BiX is the smallest and least expensive of Grace’s preamps, it offers the same professional build and tonal excellence as its more feature-laden siblings. As with every Grace preamp, the heartbeat of the unit is a high-quality transformer with better-than-30VDC internal voltage for transparent sound and gobs of headroom. And while the features on the larger FELiX, MOXi, and ALiX units can be intimidating, the BiX is about as simple as a preamp can be. Four knobs control Gain, Low, High, and Boost, two footswitches select Mute and Boost, and the rear panel has four ¼-inch jacks (instrument input, effect send and return, and output) and a single XLR output. It won’t have you staying up late with the manual. A trio of small “dip” switches select ground lift for the DI-output and let you choose transition frequencies for both the Low and High EQ controls. The BiX operates on nine volts of external power. A small wall-wart power supply is included, and it can also easily be operated by many common pedalboard power supplies, which makes it simple to integrate into an existing board.

I shot the video demo of the BiX on the same day as my recent demo of the ALiX, using the same L.R. Baggs Anthem SL-equipped Martin OM and Fishman SA330x mini PA. This setup confirmed that the BiX has the same open and dynamic quality as the more sophisticated unit. While the BiX doesn’t have the ultra-flexible parametric EQ and shelving options that set the larger Grace preamps apart, the fact that its Low and High controls allow 15 dB of boost and cut rather than the ALiX’s 10 db are testament to the fact that Grace didn’t simply take features away, but instead created a very efficient tool. For players who only need basic tone-shaping options, the BiX is a fabulous way to keep their rigs simple while enhancing any pickup’s signal. This includes players who work in controlled environments, and those who have the luxury of playing venues with dedicated sound engineers where solving problems on stage is a less common issue. The unit’s Boost function provides up to 10 dB of volume change to support sections where more sound is required, and could also be used to toggle between two instruments with different output levels. The mute option included in the BiX means you don’t need to rely on a tuner pedal to cut the signal while changing instruments, etc.

While the lower cost is attractive, the BiX really is more than just an entry-level Grace. It offers the same great sound while eliminating features that not every player needs to have. Major kudos to Grace for making a professional-quality entry-level preamp.

Grace Design BiX