$1699...used $999 Emperical Labs Mike E, aka EL-9...

CoolCat

Well-known member
I finally got this thing plugged in and a few hours on it.
The setup and manual are simple and kind of a "just do it" instructions, and it was a "use your ears" easy setup (the manual helps too). after I tried so many preamps last year, the comps became the Mojo, imo.

once you set the gain of the preamp (35db is a safe place) my mic has 28mv , an LDC KSM44. I think with this one theres about 80db gain with the large knob called OUT and theres some under the hood with the other large knob Drive.

FATSO/DISTRESSOR (Saturation and Comp)
clean isnt why someone needs to spend money, so everything was on full blast right away, comp and drive. the Output large knob controlled the system, making it a friendly one knob unit with Mojo.

My best here in this closet studio is a Neve1073/LA2A plug.
The EL9, MikeE..includes the Fatso and Distressor and adds a Nuke (all in) squash comp but its designed to sound good with everything full on and I like that. It makes it drunk idiot proof, it makes the EL9 sound good from Clean to Full MOJO. Then the useful Dry/Mix knob can go from PreAmp only to Fatso/Distressor Tape sat and the kitchen sink.

I love it, it has a sound thats familiar taking from vintage gear ...and really I like this for simplicity.

the only CON i can see goes for all Hardware in general, even the $10,000 LA2A and the $6000 1176's and that CON is "recall and save as".

getting back to reality...the Emperical Labs and its Fatso/Distressor = Mike E (named after his brother) is like getting that NEVE/LA2A sound I got from the plug. Hardware vibe? Mojo lots of it. SOS gave it super high ratings, and many others, they actually use this in real studios with Horns and Drums and vocals and DI usage. Here i dont even need recall sheets. Worked great with the KSM44, I'll probably do some SM58 next and a bass track. Its the best Hardware piece Ive had to date. I think my past overall favorite was the old Joe Meek VC1Q and this one has that cool color but with more clarity and the EL9 is easier to setup.
 

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i could add the common comment that "bass sounds great through it", which seems to be said about everything.
it is what it is. i find my review aligns to all the above on the Sweetwater reviews.....except I dont have a multitude of instruments and singers to test it on. ...but most gearheads know what something does after comparing a bunch of items.

maybe in the next month oir June I can turn it on again and see if the NeveLA2APlugs hold up to something this good.
 
I mean that looks cool, but what does it do that a $100 plugin can't do? Serious question!
 
thats a good question. in other words can the software do the same as the hardware?
its like using a guitar amp or a guitar amp sim...Im thinking.

its like a preamp and compressor in one way, but in another its the difference between a Marshall sound or a Fender sound too.
compressors seem to have some "sound" that imo is more unique than say preamps in general. However if you arent really smashing the compressor, can you hear a difference between any compressor at 2:1?

like if you go for a Reuben maybe, a fast food reuben is more like a frozen microwave reuben that can be good or bad, but there is sometimes some real artwork in the Reuben at a Deli that has some "magic" ingredients that really is noticeably better, however sometimes the Deli Reuben might also be less tasty than a bar-b-que sandwich at the WalMart deli.

so it can be subjective. like even software might have some preamps and comps that can get dirty in good way and others cant.
 
or find a studio with the stuff....look for a Fairchild 670. :thumbs up:
or get a GC unit try it and return it, they dont mind especially if its a used one..like test driving a car right?ahahaha

i recall brandon kept his distressor from EL that makes sense because its cool stuff.
Nola has a point though when its HR and all that and if you can get realtime plugs going without phasy-zzzz latency are we splitting hairs?

once the drums kick in and bass player wakes up from his stupor, a lot of the noises of the washing machines downstairs disappear....when in silence the noise seemed huge.
 
And the other point is that radio fare doesn't need to sound like a home studio. Hha. I just went to pot some coffee and knocked over a milk jug I use to fill the cooler, then I headed to the sink and did the same with the jug #2 sitting there. I did manage to get coffee going, but, as I was attempting to catch the second jug, I burst out in One of These Days Boy (expecting things to get better) ! There some good old fashioned organic effects, for ya.
https://youtu.be/P0C1JVPTB6Q
 
maybe it was meant to be and the milk being knocked over represents more room in your life is needed or at least the kitchen needs more room.

i dont know, i have short attention span...Claptons Crossroads concert is so long, Im thinking what happened to 30-45 minute concerts or powerful Ed Sullivan exciting fast singles.....

its hard to tap your foot for 5hrs...
 
Actually, what that means is more shit on the floor I can't pick up. The second one never made it to the floor, as I realized its cosmic implications : ) hahah Ya, I try to keep my musical movements to a minute or two. The daily battle with old Scratch would be a Robert Johnson thing.

I'm sure he knew shorter songs was more swigs from the jug
 
so # 2 was like a young Bruce Lee movie where he spins and catches the sword before it enters his chest by one millmeter?

but thats off topic.....back to the Rack!!
 

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if 6 wasnt 9

garrw how do I say it...hmm...the cartoon version is very good.
maybe on Saturday mornings the cartoons are even more enjoyable. the ability to store, add reverb to the chain and noiseexpandergate and any other effect with a click instead of rerouting wires and bringing in my reverb rack mount thing is tough. I'll post a clip to see if you can see the difference.

the professional-one is probably the best channel strip Ive owned, after having the cartoon neve/la2a the game is up to a level of more comp squash with the potatoe and clarity. I have the $1000 Symetrix sitting there with 10 minutes on it, on a box, as if its time to sell mode again due to GC not offering crap for about anything, 60% of 50%...not very good, (GC is good however for a test store where I buy stuff then try it out and return it for full refund.) I like that Ronin dude who records pro bands and stuff he does some gear talk and many at that level know the EL distressor, EL fatso Saturation/.... even Brandon kept the Distressor after selling off the majority of the farm. Its that sound most people are looking for I think (1176ish LA2Aish...the MikeE has that in the strip and not by accident).

my problem is maybe I cant hear a big difference to the cartoon version I have already and my sons HR stuff into a $50 Shure PG 58 with techno FLoops sounds better, younger , fresher and more energetic...his stuff sounds like 30yrs younger.... and crisp and clear and sleepy isnt a goal yet. Somehow he can pull off noisy like the Ramones and distortion and techno clean doesnt inhibit the rust that never sleeps. I only maybe do one recording a year these days the logbook shows, really, and thats not finished. I enjoy gear more as in a technical level. but thats waning after 20 preamps sounding the same.

the repair shop said my car must have been out with the prostitutes....engine is blown. good news is last night it was pummeled with hail dents so this check might pay for the new engine. it wont look pretty but thats ok for a work car.

Ill be on Reverb...:cool:
 

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Ya, my last recording was March 26th, and I'm just trying to see if I can get audio sync with the webcam I bought. After many tries, it gave me something in sync, so I don't want to be messing with it. hahah Probably go back to being out of sync next time ? https://youtu.be/_u5sN3EyDF4

My lan connection keeps going out and I lost half the reply.

Anyway, our gears seems more reliable than the automobile
 
where does your Lan go to when it goes out?
I prefer the movies now and then if theres no noisy kids or smartphone addicts nearby. sometimes I take the dog out but only if the neighbors arent standing around.

hail hail rock n roll...
 
That's a nice piece of gear! I made the same kind of obscene investment in a pair of Distressors last year. They are amazing, but I'm sure that I could get 90% there with a software plug. I still wouldn't sell or replace them unless I was down and out. Maybe not even if I was down and out...maybe I could stack them together and use them as a pillow as I sleep under a bridge. I love them, they just have a mojo that might be mostly psycho-acoustic, but I love them just the same. At very least, they're solid pieces of gear that won't ever let me down (except for the one that went on the fritz and I had to send back to Dave for repair). Just like the Mike-E. It's just a solid piece of gear that'll be there for you time and time again.
 
yeah the Distressor's seem to be the big shoe for the line.

I agree with the 90% too on the high end maybe 80%. the Outboard for Inboard debate and how much cash does one have? Its an investment right? haha...better than Enron stock.

for real scope and latency and clarity the outboard wins, sure, but how much does one pay for this 10%-20% benefit of clarity and true zero latency?

SOS mentions-
Leaving the compressor on a 1:1 setting so that only the saturation stage is working allowed a subtle richness to be added to the sound, building as the Drive control was advanced progressively into a much more grungy distortion — all very easily controlled and generally very musical!

I think thats the typical preamp "color" people seek with the basically overdrive sound.

so the MikeEL9 preamp is super clean and quiet specd' and also the DRIVE knob can put you in, clean preamps dont have the DRIVE knob it seems where the "1073 types" do.

toasty and warm..
 

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in the junk in the garage I find this Vocal Channel worthy Digital Delay rack gear with 2015-maybe earlier dust all over it. whats cool is its the same color scheme as the ELmikeE9. which matches the Distressor and Fatso and Lil Freq...of EL

the 3.6DelayUnit has the infamous "doubling" effect for simulating doing a double vocal as the old reel to reel days started.....and it has the Flanging- that was born of the whirlying Lesley Speaker rotating sounds with the vocal pinkfloyd- beatle-ish late 60ish flangy-gurgle effect thing...
and of course Delay/Reverb ish sounds and a feedback knob with Mix knob (dry or wet) and In level and out level..headroom and good stuff from Digitech found for $35....ish.

now theres even more color.

it seems to sound cleaner after I wiped the dust off it. maybe placebo effect?

together now the ELmike9 and FX 3.6 unit...its more of a "loaded potatoe" sound versus a plain potatoe sound.

$35 (though some try to sell them at much more.)
 

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Ok, new pot on. I might of been interested in that 3.6, but I went whole hog on the $80 Kastle noise generator Friday. Might be here on the 3rd - 4th ? Basicalyl some knobs and board sitting on a 3) cell AA battery holder
 
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