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miroslav

Cosmic Cowboy
CLM Dynamics DB400S Mic Preamp 4 Channel with Power Cord | eBay

I have one of these....even at the at $1060 BIN price, it's a great buy...at $800, it's a steal!!!

These are 4-channel pres made in Scotland by CLM Dynamics, which no longer exists as a company, but these have always been regarded as top-notch. They also made a fantastic 2-channel EQ (I have both the pre and EQ).
Anyway...you get crazy gain, built in limiter option, built in M/S matrix option on both sets of channels (1&2 and 3&4)...and you get a stereo link for dynamics purposes also on both stereo pairs.
Very clean preamp...no color to speak of. I use this as my go-to drum pre....I put one pair of channels for my M/S overhead mics, and use the other two channels individually on Kick and Snare.

Just over an hour left...someone needs to grab this!!!
 
no one got it - he relisted at 600 and I just went for it - you like the thing? I have a drum rack with two API 3124+ in it, for 8 channels, and this would bring me up to 12 without having to move stuff around, so this actually could work out well for me.

Do you ever use the limiters? If so, do you like them?

I'm kinda also very interested in the 2U wooden box - I could really use that for moving my converter around, as I'm always doing these days.
 
That was you who bought it....?
Great! :thumbs up:

I saw that it was re-listed for $600 BIN...and man, I was almost going to buy it just so I could re-list if for like $800 BIN since no one was going for it. :p
She had NO idea what she had. It must have been like her ex's equipment, as all the other stuff she sells has nothing to do with audio...plus I got the feeling she just wanted to dump it at any price, seeing how she went down by almost $500 on the original BIN.

It's a STEAL for $600!!! They sold for $2,200 back in 1997 when CLM was in busiiness...but the CLM stuff was little known here in the USA
PMI Audio tried to distribute them in the USA, and I think there was another company too....but I think it was a poor effort, and so they never got them off the ground, then CLM Dynamics closed up shop, and PMI gave up the distro rights.
There is someone now who owns the rights to the CLM designs....but I don't know who, and I don't think they are doing anything actively with that.

I pretty sure you will like it....and if you don't, just post it in the classifieds over on Gearslutz, and I bet you could get $800 for it....I'm sure you could get your $600 back without any trouble at all...but try it out for awhile.
It's a very clean/transparent preamp with tons of gain, so if you use any ribbon mics, it's great for them.
No....I never actually used the limiters, just had no need to, but I messed around with them, and they can to do a good job if needed. It's not a brick-wall limiter....it has a soft clip.
The M/S matrix and the Stereo Link options are really great if you ever use M/S mic configurations. I mean, I know it's easy enough to create that in a DAW, but this lets you do it live at the mics...and you can use the M/S to mess with stereo tracks if you mix OTB.
Also....it likes a hot signal, so you want the peaks hitting up around +3 to +6 on the meters...and don't worry if any get to +9.

If you want a copy of the manual, which comes in handy, as some of the functions/operations may not be quite obvious just from looking at the unit, especially how the M/S and Link options work together....I will be more than happy to provide you with it. Let me know.

Oh...when you get going with it, I would like to hear how it compares to the API pre.
 
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awesome - thanks for the heads up on this.

I have been scouting for a clean 4 channel preamp for a while - I was edging toward the 4 channel Millennia, but those are really spendy (which hasn't been stopping me, I suppose). This sounds like it'll fill the bill nicely. My plan is to use it for overheads and room mics - maybe one room and one kick, and the API for the rest of the drums. Of course I'll try it out on other things.

I do some OTB - hybrid, that is - mixing - I'll have to play with the M/S function, although I'll have no idea what I'm doing. I may take you up on the manual offer - thanks!
 
In a nutshell...when you use the M/S on either channels 1&2 or 3&4 or either pair for any stereo mic setup...if you apply any limiting to the channels, you have to also use the Link button on either of the pairs(channel 1 or channel 3 respectively).
I just link the channels even with the limiter off when I use the M/S.
Oh...you want your Mid mic on channel 1 or 3...and your Side mic on channel 2 or 4.
For other stereo miking...it doesn't matter which channels, as long as you don't press the M/S buttons.

Also, if you want to link all 4 channels with their limiting, there's a jumper inside that lets you do that (like for surround miking)...and then you use both sets of Link buttons (on channels 1 & 3).
Preset Attack is set to 1msec....the Fast Attack button makes it 10 microsec (you may want that for any percussion limiting).

The Fader is your output level...and you have +4 or -10 buttons on the back for each channel.
XLR Pin 2 is + on these.
Also....you have inserts on the back, unbalanced...Tip/Return, Ring/Send, Sleeve/Ground

That pretty much covers the fine points....without the diagrams. :D
For the "WHIP" stereo width management option using the M/S decoder it's a page of instructions...so if you want to know that, I would have to scan it....too much to type out. :)
 
got it today! Near perfect physical condition, which was a surprise given its age, really (despite the glowing ebay description), and I fear it won't stay that way for long in my klutzy possession. I have to go to bed, so I don't have time to do much, but I did test each channel with a SM57 and a Blue Kiwi (a phantom power hungry mic or so I think) - all four channels sound great to me - very low noise, and very clean sounding, and the Kiwi is clearly getting enough juice. Way too many buttons for my neanderthalic sensibilities, but I'll be OK if I just don't touch most of them. Having the mute button on each channel is actually awesome - I found myself reflexively turning them on and off as I moved mic cables around to test.

The only disappointment is that the wooden 2U box that came with it is too shallow for my converter - rather it looks like it was built just for the preamp. Oh well - I might use it anyway and just let the back of the converter hang out some. The preamp is going straight into my rack with the API 3124s tomorrow which takes mic inputs from my drum kit.

Anyway - thanks again!!!! I can't wait to record some drums with it - especially if I can find a drummer
 
Very cool....would like to hear your opinion after you've had a chance to put it through it's paces....but yeah, it's a quite/clean preamp, with lots of headroom.

And like I said....if you feel you need the manual (though I covered most of it in this thread already)...let me know, it's not a big deal for me to scan it for you.
 
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