avalon 737 vs. groove tubes brick

A

audiophilez

New member
I own a groove tubes brick and I love the sound of it. I wanted to upgrade to a groove tubes vipre though I cry when I see the price tag(about 3K!) I am interested in the avalon vt737. Though I know I wont get that heavy tube saturation found in the vipre, will this be a notable improvement in my signal chain? The brick implements 3 tubes in a single channel giving it a very good saturation though its more of a one trick pony. perhaps I should end up with both, any thoughts?
 
i've used both fairly extensively and REALLY don't think that the extra price of the avalon is warranted unless you're looking for a full channel strip. strictly talking preamps...i very much prefer the brick on guitars and bass on a really consistant basis. vox are kind of a toss up...depends too much on the singer. i think you could probably get a different preamp to give you more variety (the vintechs are close to that price range, or great river), or upgrade something else in your chain that will make a much bigger difference.
 
Brick user

I agree, vocals are a toss up with the brick (sometimes can be corrected with a different mic option). . .but bass, guitar. . .all stunning through the brick.
I've used the avalon. . .nice, but if you like tube saturation go brick.. .
 
If you are looking at solely the preamp, then I would go Brick and save the money. However, the preamp is the Avalon 737's weak point in my opinion. Not that it is bad, just not that great when you factor in price. Then again, the EQ is almost worth the price alone, and the comp is OK.
 
I was in fact just looking into the preamp end of things, So would the supre be better than the brick( again, I know "better" is a sticky word in pro audio) I am looking to spend about 1500-1700
 
Look at a used Pendulum MDP-1 or an A-Designs MP-2A. Great tube preamps for less $$ than ViPre. For even less money you could track down a used Peavey VMP-2 and upgrade the tubes. Very nice tube pre with a great DI and very basic but usable eq.
 
Almost any preamp out there costs less than the ViPre does. The SuPre looks like a real winner though. If it sounds even remotely close to the ViPre, than it will do very well at its price point. Personally, I do not seem to care that much for the A designs stuff, but I really like the pendulums a lot. Pendulum is a good balance between getting a pretty sweet neutral sound, or driving it hard to make it really thick. Good versatile boxes basically. You may want to look at DW Fearn as well:)
 
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