EHX Pre - Samples!

[Halion]

Ben Logan got me a sample of his new Electro Harmonix tube mic pre, and here it is:

http://members.home.nl/vangeelen/ehx...ingbagclip.wav
Approx 5.5 megs.

Any comments Ben?

[Walter Tore]

Hi Ben: I am on dialup, and all I get is a 1/4 second burst of the song, and then like 30 seconds of silence. Can you post it as a downloadable mp3? If you forward it to me, I can ppst it on my soundclick site. It has that option.
What gear did you use from start to finish, did you overdub, isolate, etc? Walter

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/wa...spontobeat.htm

[Lomo]

That sounded warm and crunchy, I'm deffinetly buying one of these! Was every track recorded with this pre? What mics were used?

[Ben Logan]

Originally Posted by Lomo

That sounded warm and crunchy, I'm deffinetly buying one of these! Was every track recorded with this pre? What mics were used?

Thanks for posting the clip I sent you Halion.

Yes - Lomo - I tracked just about everything through the EHX pre. Here's the recipe:

Vocals and Acoustic Guitar: EHX pre and Studio Projects B3 mic
Elec Guitar: EHX pre and SM57
Drums: Just two mics: FMR RNP and SM57 on Bass and Snare drum / EHX pre and SP B3 as room mic
Bass: FMR RNP

I used the 1/4 inch output on the EHX pre. The XLR output, suggested by Joel Hamilton, is supposed to sound better. Next payday I can buy myself a new XLR cable...

When you solo individual tracks you can hear some hum, but in the overall product, the noisefloor seems fine to me.

I'll send an MP3 version of the same clip to Halion so you can access it with dial-up (I'm a dial up guy too).

Thanks for checking it dudes!

[Halion]

Any time

Send me the mp3 file, I have time and space. Maybe you could track a little something with of the same thing with both the RNP and the EHX (clean vs colored)? That would be sweet. Something like acoustical guitar or vocals would be great.

[taperocket]

Ben, it sounds great! Nice job!

[Ben Logan]

Originally Posted by taperocket

Ben, it sounds great! Nice job!

Thanks so much tape.

[diogo]

as i expected..its great!

dang too bad i cant justify one anymore lol

my setup is now totally guetto fellas...recording to a laptop through a potential tascam us122 or a lexicon omega...ill keep the dmp3 till i can come up with some bread for our great little pre...

in a couple of years or so..

dang.

btw, Halion and Ben, can u describe your recordin setups?..im curious...as im thinking that with the machines im going for i cant really justify it..but i might be wrong though..really curious on what u guys are gonna be using with this..

great job Ben...Joel once said that this would get me that "album sound", and from what im hearing here, it couldnt be more acurate. great great quality..

but hey..im sure there's some mixing skills in the works here as well

congrats on the great pre Ben...u have the new one yet?

Halion man, enjoy yours!

ill be in the bandwagon in a couple of years lol
unless something really great and unexpected happens..

tanx!

[gemsbok]

it wont be seen as good unless those gear slutz guys say so.

[Halion]

I don't have one of these, I'm just hosting the samples for Ben.

Here's the mp3 version:
http://members.home.nl/vangeelen/ehx...ingbagclip.mp3

[diogo]

but u're gonna have one soon right?
thats what i understood...unless you're like me...very exicted about it but cant get it right now

[Halion]

Well, I need to get some room treatment stuff first, and then some new computer gear to make it more quiet, and anything that's left will go into a new preamp. I'm currently using a behringer. I was thinking about getting a DMP3 for a long time, but now I'm not so sure I need 2 channels, and maybe 1 channel with more coloring options will be a better choice

Either way, the money's not here yet.

[diogo]

u using the 1953? it sure looks good, but i wouldnt know about the sound..

we're on the same boat then..i do have to get a new laptop...the EH pre will be coming up come december i guess...for now i think im good with the dmp3...2 channels are always handy Halion...i thought about one too, and just the EH pre at it, and something like an ADK Hamburg to pair with it..but 240 dollars for a mic, when i can get a v67 and a 603...for 180...plus i like the acoustic guitar miced with 2 mics..always the main thing in my mixes.

[Decipha]

sounds pretty warm to me... GJ

[Halion]

No I'm not using that pre diogo, I'm using a small one channel mic100 starved plate tube pre. It does it's job, but nothing more.

[Ben Logan]

Originally Posted by diogo

btw, Halion and Ben, can u describe your recordin setups?..im curious...as im thinking that with the machines im going for i cant really justify it..but i might be wrong though..really curious on what u guys are gonna be using with this..

great job Ben...Joel once said that this would get me that "album sound", and from what im hearing here, it couldnt be more acurate. great great quality..

but hey..im sure there's some mixing skills in the works here as well

congrats on the great pre Ben...u have the new one yet?

!

Diogo,

Thanks a million for the compliments. My setup seems kinda bare-bones to me, but then again, before I started reading TapeOp and messageboarding here and elsewhere with some of the pro's, I thought my setup was semi-lavish.

I've got

M-Audio 2496 USB Card
G4 Mac for recording, Pentium 4 PC with Universal Audio Project Pak for mixing
FMR RNP Preamp
Electro Harmonix Preamp
Studio Projects B3 Large Diaphram Condenser and Shure SM57
Various Rock Instruments

I record in a little 10 foot by 10 foot space inside my garage (my brother and I added two walls inside the garage to make a room within a room). I recently threw some old blankets on the walls for "room treatment." It helped.

So, really, we're dealing with the basically same type of gear I think, minus that new pre. It's made a noticeable difference to my ears. More "open" and "warm" compared to the strictly RNP stuff.

Re: mixing skills. It's really hit and miss for me. I studied and studied all those EQ charts, but I have a really thick skull for that stuff - you know, "notching the guitar frequencies so that the vocals pop out of the mix" e.g. Now I'm just back to trying to get decent sounds while tracking, and doing minor EQ if something's really sounding awful. I just fiddle with knobs until it sounds better. Very uncerebral.

The new pre (the replacement) actually arrived today, but I have to go out of town to move my mom. I'll let you guys know if the new one clears up the hum, next week. I'm also going to buy an XLR to 1/4 cable to try that other output.

[diogo]

Ben,

its incredible, i never would've guessed that we use more or less the same gear (mine aint here yet, but either the tascam or lexicon unit will be more or less the same as what u have), not by the sample Halion showed anyway..i really thought your gear would be ridiculously "good", as in, expensive...

dang, now i can consider the pre again, but only come xmas! its gonna be a hard wait...till then, DMP3 it is, i always heard its not that different in comparison with the RNP..

EQ..u know, ppl that KNOW this EQ thing always told me that if u send a good track in, EQ is almost useless, and something to be avoided altogether im stickin to that when mixing my own stuff..i wont use it unless there's something screaming "EQ me...now"...

i cant imagine not sending a good track in with this pre

do let us know how the new one acts...

u never did tell what the EH folks said about that email u sent them...that would be cool to know as well

tanx Ben!

[diogo]

halion,

i know those..kind of like the ART MP thing right?
the 1953 is appealing, at least when it comes to starved plates..

but we dont need that anymore

cause in a few months...look out.

im waaaaay to excited about this pre...gonna grab some valium..

[Halion]

yeah, it's like that art tube mp.

[Ben Logan]

Originally Posted by diogo

Ben,

u never did tell what the EH folks said about that email u sent them...that would be cool to know as well

tanx Ben!

Those guys as EHX never got back to me with an answer to the email I sent them. I was surpirised about that, because I've heard their customer service is pretty good. I was impressed that they sent out a new pre though, while letting me keep the old one in the meantime.

[Walter Tore]

My pre amp arrived today, after ordering it late thursday(PST). It was boxed in a huge carboard box, and had the wooden case well padded with foam chips, and the pre itself was wrapped in bubble wrap. No way this one could have been busted up.

I plugged it in about 30 minutes ago and recorded a vocal/harp sample with it against my ART TPS preamp. I only spent about 2 minutes messing with the input and output controls on the EH. All I concerned myself with was keeping it from going to the orange overload range. The vocals distorted some when it hit the orange. I had to get real hard on the mic, with the input level really high, to get it to distort. I am excited to mess with it more, but wanted to share the first attempt. I heard no hum at all. I also did a real quick check with it on my 1938 kalamazoo guitar. I put a 414 B ULS on the sweet spot for the ART pre, but it turned out boomy with the EH. I will be messing with mic placement later tonight.

Gear

EH preamp
ART TPS Preamp

AKG 414 TLII - delta 66 soundcard - samplitude master version software - I added a bit of reverb only, with samplitude, then- mastered it through T-Racks, vintage masterII setting, with the high cut turned off.

I heard no hum, other than my computer. I have it inside a big drawer in my desk(it is an old school teachers desk, that has a side door for a IBM selectric typewriter), and it does bleed through a bit, but no more than with my ART TPS. There was some kind of high pitched sound outside, like a machine of some sort, and my dogs moving around the room, their collars ratteling, and chewing on a bone or 2. What do you all think? Walter

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/wa...spontobeat.htm

[diogo]

Walter,

are u really doing the one man band? i gotta say i admire that to no end..you really need some serious talent to pull it off..very cool to see that pic! is that a es-335? gibson?

mean blues u play man..
i want no trouble either

i find the harp very clear and detailed, and the vocals have a very cool warmth, very bassy, i like it. im sure the good mic helps too..

no humm....ben's screwed then
dang ben, its your house man..

i wish i could afford mine right now..dang.

[Walter Tore]

Hi diogo: thanks for giving me your feedback. I played the blues for over 25 years, all over the world, with my band, and backed alot of the old blues men(most have since passed). I am looking forward to digging into this pre amp this evening. Yes, I am a real 1 man band. I learned this from Wilbert Harrision, who had the hit Kansas City, in the 50's. He used a bass drum and high hat. I added the snare to the mix, with a double kick pedal. Everything is in the same room, and I do no overdubing. The latest songs on my site are mostly without the drum kit, because 1 of my ART TPS pre amps died, and I was limited to only 2 tracks. Normally I record 4 tracks- vocal/harp mic, guitar, snare/high hat, bass drum. I like the songs Would YOu Fly IN My Spaceship and Surfs Up for 1 man band, and Stealing Cadillac Cars, with my bassist and drummer(I play guitar and harp and sing). I also make all my music up as I go along, thus the name Spontobeat, and recorded approx. 340 full lenght cds, in the last year. I don't spend much time on mixing, because I like to play more. I am going to hook up 2 mics on my 1938 kalamazoo, and one on my vocals/harp, and see what I get. I will use the EH for the vocal mic. I will post them tonight or tomorrow. Walter

PS: the mp3's are at 128 rate, and sound pretty bad, compared to the original wave files.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/wa...spontobeat.htm

[taperocket]

Listening to those two sample's I think the EHX pre definitely sounded more smooth and natural, a little warmer too, I think I might have to get me one of those...

[Ben Logan]

Originally Posted by Walter Tore

My pre amp arrived today, after ordering it late thursday(PST). It was boxed in a huge carboard box, and had the wooden case well padded with foam chips, and the pre itself was wrapped in bubble wrap. No way this one could have been busted up.

I plugged it in about 30 minutes ago and recorded a vocal/harp sample with it against my ART TPS preamp. I only spent about 2 minutes messing with the input and output controls on the EH. All I concerned myself with was keeping it from going to the orange overload range. The vocals distorted some when it hit the orange. I had to get real hard on the mic, with the input level really high, to get it to distort. I am excited to mess with it more, but wanted to share the first attempt. I heard no hum at all. I also did a real quick check with it on my 1938 kalamazoo guitar. I put a 414 B ULS on the sweet spot for the ART pre, but it turned out boomy with the EH. I will be messing with mic placement later tonight.

Gear

EH preamp
ART TPS Preamp

AKG 414 TLII - delta 66 soundcard - samplitude master version software - I added a bit of reverb only, with samplitude, then- mastered it through T-Racks, vintage masterII setting, with the high cut turned off.

I heard no hum, other than my computer. I have it inside a big drawer in my desk(it is an old school teachers desk, that has a side door for a IBM selectric typewriter), and it does bleed through a bit, but no more than with my ART TPS. There was some kind of high pitched sound outside, like a machine of some sort, and my dogs moving around the room, their collars ratteling, and chewing on a bone or 2. What do you all think? Walter

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/wa...spontobeat.htm

Walter! Thanks for the wonderful music! I really enjoyed your performance. I admit I forgot about preamps and mic placement and all that junk altogther while listening, and just got into the experience of your music. Great stuff! You've got heart.

I'm excited that your preamp doesn't hum (and I appreciate the "shout out" in your preamp test: "this one doesn't seem to hum, like Ben Logan's" - that cracked me up). Your recording sound great. That harp of yours sounded downright "juicy" through the EHX pre (forgive the gross adjective, but it's accurate!). Your voice sounded warm and upfront. The ART almost sounded more "accurate," but was less flattering and organic sounding (not that it sounded bad).

My house was wired in the 1940's. I just spent an hour online with a sales rep from Sweetwater getting an education about power conditioners. I went ahead and spent my whole next month's buget on a Furman unit. If it doesn't reduce that EHX preamp hum, I'll send it back with Sweetwater's blessing. Hope I can get mine to sound like yours Walter. That goes for my musicianship too! You've got soul, my friend, and not just because you're playing blues music.

Looking forward to seeing what kind of sounds you can get out of your unit with electric guitar. My signal keeps clipping. I don't understand it! Wondering if you'll get better results...

Keep those EH Preamp sample posts coming...

Ben