Joe Meek 1Q - GAP PRE73 - Tampa?

PRE73, OneQ or stick with Tampa?

  • PRE73

    Votes: 6 85.7%

  • OneQ

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • stick with Tampa

    Votes: 1 14.3%
  • Total voters
    7
dickiefunk

dickiefunk

New member
Hi,

I'm interested in finding out how these preamps compare in tone.

I have the Tampa at the moment but find it can be a little harsh in the high frequencies with my mics.

I've read recent reviews on the Golden Age Projects PRE-73 (£229) and it looks very impressive. I noticed that it is a transformer based preamp that responds well to transformer upgrades!

I've also seen a secondhand Joe Meek OneQ (£260) which seems to some with loads of bells and whistles and I noticed it has a switchable transformer stage! I also read that it uses the same preamp as the Toft ATC-2!!??

I will be using the preamp mostly for vocals and I would like something to thicken and warm the tone.

Would you advise me to stick with my Tampa or replace it with the GAP PRE-73 or Joe Meek OneQ?
 
Anyone??

I found out that the Chameleon Labs and Golden Age Projects use the same preamps in their products. In fact, Golden Age Projects had an OEM version of the Chameleon Labs 7602 called the PREQ1 and these are the same inside!

I read that the OneQ uses Burr Brown INA217 opamps which are socketed so I could possibly replace these with something like the THAT 1512 or SSM2019.

I'm really torn as to which one to go for as I've been offered both secondhand!
I've heard SO many good things about the GAP (Chameleon Labs) stuff but not so much about the Joe Meek OneQ?
I love the flexibility that the Joe Meek offers but am curious as to how effective the transformer stage is.

Help!!
 
dickiefunk said:
Hi,

I have the Tampa at the moment but find it can be a little harsh in the high frequencies with my mics.

I've read recent reviews on the Golden Age Projects PRE-73 (£229) and it looks very impressive. I noticed that it is a transformer based preamp that responds well to transformer upgrades!

I've also seen a secondhand Joe Meek OneQ (£260) which seems to some with loads of bells and whistles and I noticed it has a switchable transformer stage! I also read that it uses the same preamp as the Toft ATC-2!!??

I will be using the preamp mostly for vocals and I would like something to thicken and warm the tone.

Would you advise me to stick with my Tampa or replace it with the GAP PRE-73 or Joe Meek OneQ?
Click to expand...

How did you make out with the ART MPA and the NOS tubes? If my memory serves me, you posted on a couple of threads over at Gearslutz about that pre. Did that not work for you? Did you try the Kel HM2 or something like a SM7 to get a warmer, thicker tone? Maybe a different mic would help more than the pre.
 
jaz49 said:
How did you make out with the ART MPA and the NOS tubes? If my memory serves me, you posted on a couple of threads over at Gearslutz about that pre. Did that not work for you? Did you try the Kel HM2 or something like a SM7 to get a warmer, thicker tone? Maybe a different mic would help more than the pre.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I haven't tried my tubes in the MPA Gold yet but will be doing so at the weekend.
The reason why I've been tempted to replace the Tampa is because I recently sold some gear and have a little budget of £120. I'm also selling some software and if that sells tonight I will have around £160.

The Tampa has been ok as a preamp but sounds a little plain partly because I don't use the compressor which is where most of the Tampas colour comes from. Seeing as I already have a DMP3 which is a really nice clean preamp I'm not sure I'd need to keep hold of the Tampa if I'm not using the compressor?

I've recently been offered a secondhand Chameleon Labs 7602 and a Joe Meek OneQ which has made me very tempted and curious.
Since I found out that the Golden Age Projects OEM PREQ1 is the same as the CL 7602 I've also been curious about the GAP PRE73.

Problem is the PRE73 doesn't have a High Pass Filter which is something I use a lot! The Joe Meek OneQ does have the HPF but doesn't seem to get many good reviews for the preamp stage!? The CL looks great but is a fraction more than I have meaning I'd have to sell something else that I might not want to sell.

I really like the tone of the ART so far but find it can be a fraction noisey. Maybe the new tubes will help this?
 
I tried the SM7b which is a lovely mic but I still found the Tampa did something slightly odd with the top end which I didn't get when I tried my Oktava MK-319 through the MPA Gold!

I have thought about the KEL HM-2D but am unsure if it would give me much more than I'm already getting with my Oktava MK-319 and MXL v67g??

I figured if I went the preamp route this would also give my current mics another tone to play with increasing my options?
 
That makes sense...seeing that you like the mk319 a lot, the preamp route may be the way to go. Hope the new tubes in the MPA do the trick for you! I thought the 219 that I used to have was very nice...very smooth. From my limited experience with the HM2D, it's very smooth, but it sounds quite different than the Oktava.
 
dickiefunk said:
The Tampa has been ok as a preamp but sounds a little plain partly because I don't use the compressor which is where most of the Tampas colour comes from. Seeing as I already have a DMP3 which is a really nice clean preamp I'm not sure I'd need to keep hold of the Tampa if I'm not using the compressor?

Problem is the PRE73 doesn't have a High Pass Filter which is something I use a lot! The Joe Meek OneQ does have the HPF but doesn't seem to get many good reviews for the preamp stage!? The CL looks great but is a fraction more than I have meaning I'd have to sell something else that I might not want to sell.

I really like the tone of the ART so far but find it can be a fraction noisey. Maybe the new tubes will help this?
Click to expand...

If I was in your shoes I would get rid of the Tampa, since you already have a pre that's so similar. Yeah...definitely if you don't need the compressor, it's just going to waste, and you can sell it and put the money towards something else. If I was in your shoes I would go with the GAP or the 7602. Others will have to chip in on the OneQ. Like you, I've not read anything special about the preamp section.
 
Yeah if the GAP Pre73 had a High Pass Filter I think I would go for it but unfortunately it doesn't :(

The Chameleon Labs 7602 looks like it could be the ticket but is outside my budget :(

How would you describe the difference in tone between the Oktava and Kel HM-2D?
 
I'll be getting the HM2 very soon. I'll know more in a couple of days. From the little I've heard...thick and midrangy. The Oktava is the most natural sounding mic I've tried...definitely more refined. The Kel for rock or "rootsy" stuff, as they describe in their advertisements ...Oktava for softer stuff like a jazz or country balad.
 
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Got the HM2D sooner than expected...just a quick test...very dark...sounds like a dynamic, as they say in their advertisements...but darker than the Heil Pr35 or the other dynamics I tested. I think I prefer the brighter PR35 or the D3800 on my own voice. I have to give it some more time before I decide whether or not to keep it. Nothing at all like the Oktava! Not like apples to oranges...more like apples vs. pizza!
 
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jaz49 said:
Got the HM2D sooner than expected...just a quick test...very dark...sounds like a dynamic, as they say in their advertisements...but darker than the Heil Pr35 or the other dynamics I tested. I think I prefer the brighter PR35 or the D3800 on my own voice. I have to give it some more time before I decide whether or not to keep it. Nothing at all like the Oktava!
Click to expand...

Hi thanks for the reply!

I've decided to keep the Tampa for the moment. It's actually quite a decent preamp and whilst it doesn't suit the main vocalist I'm working with I've got some decent results other vocalists.

I just tried my ART MPA with the Telefunken and their is definately an improvement in tone. I'm actually digging the tone of the MPA Gold. There is a little noise I can hear on a solo'd track but I'm not sure if my mic is picking up the fan on my computer.
In the past I've used my Tampa with a Studio Projects B1 (very bright mic) and recorded the vocals in a different room that has had some treatment and the recordings have had no noise at all.
I'll be doing some proper recording on Tuesday so I'll give the MPA Gold a proper try out!

I am tempted to possibly sell more stuff (maybe my Yamaha MLA-7) and get the PRE-73 or KEL HM-2d but I won't be selling my Tampa now as I realise I've had some decent results with it in the past!
 
Had some more time with the HM2D....liking it more and more. It definitely is darker than my other mics...not better or worse...but a different flavor. After having some time with the Kel and the D3800, I think I'll probably get rid of the PR35 and keep one of the other two. I prefer a little darker tone on my voice. The D3800 lies somewhere in the middle...darker than the Heil...brighter than the Kel.
 
The Kel would definitely give you another flavor option without having to get another pre. After spending some time with the HM2D, I'm really liking a darker mic on my voice, and I think I will sell the Heil. I was going to bid on a used v69 on ebay until I saw the frequency graph...it's got a huge boost centered around 8-10k, I think it was...also, it seems to get mixed reviews. If you get one, I'd like to hear what you think of it.
 
dickiefunk said:
I'm actually digging the tone of the MPA Gold. There is a little noise I can hear on a solo'd track but I'm not sure if my mic is picking up the fan on my computer.
Click to expand...

I would bet you that's what it is. the noise from any preamp including the mpa gold (which I use all the time) isn't something you'd ever hear normally. on multiple tracks or with the gain cranked up you should hear it when your monitors are turned way up too. but not under those conditions. I've certainly never heard it like that. but with condensors you will definitely heard your computer etc. I hear my hard drive clicking with a 179 on omni anywhere in the room and the gain at a fairly high setting in any preamp. ya need to silence that computer somehow! get a silent psu for it and a whisper cpu fan (I have both, worlds of difference: $150 later...)

cheers,
Don
 
You're right. Most of the noise was coming from the computer!

However, there is an annoying hum with the MPA Gold on the Output which becomes noticeable from 12 o'clock upwards!

I've tried changing cables, different mains sources, isolating the MPA Gold, checking the insides and nothing seems to be sorting the problem.

As a result I've decided to replace the MPA Gold for the Golden Age Projects preamp!
 
Thought I'd report back and say I ended up going for the GAP PRE-73 and am glad I did!

This preamp is great sounding and way better the the ART MPA Gold that I had. I also prefer it to the Tampa!

Am really happy I decided to get it!!
 
dickiefunk said:
Thought I'd report back and say I ended up going for the GAP PRE-73 and am glad I did!

This preamp is great sounding and way better the the ART MPA Gold that I had. I also prefer it to the Tampa!

Am really happy I decided to get it!!
Click to expand...

Great! now is it stock or is it modified?




:cool:
 
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