bellari Pre's

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kasey
  • Start date Start date
K

Kasey

New member
Im looking at the RP-220 and the RP-520. Besides the VU meters on the RP-520, is there really any difference? Im thinking i can get them for close to the same price. Ive heard good things about the RP-220 but mostly bad things about the RP-520, which is the higher priced model. Is anyone knowledgeable about these?
 
I believe Chessrock recommended one to me

the 220, I think.

Maybe if he's done baiting Alan, he'll jump in here with some info. :D
 
Baiting? Na. If I really wanted to bait, I could do much, much better than that. The RP220 is a unique and interesting thing to have around. Of anything in it's price range, it's still about the closest thing to the really old gear from the 60's and 70's as you're going to get. Input transormer, very low impedence, tube running at full plate voltage, etc.

It's not ideal for every situation or for every person. It's sort of a dirty, midrangy, sluggish-sounding piece that can sound kinda' cool in the right context.

.
 
Also, Matt of Black Lion Audio fame has pointed out that the Bellaris distinguish themselves from the other "toob" pres in this price range by not being a "starved tube" design, which I believe to mean that the tube is not in the circuit just to add some subjectively pleasant "warmth" (i.e. distortion) to the signal.
 
kojdogg said:
which I believe to mean that the tube is not in the circuit just to add some subjectively pleasant "warmth" (i.e. distortion) to the signal.
Click to expand...


Sort of.

That doesn't at all imply that starved plate designs have a tube in the circuit to add "subjectively pleasant warmth."

It can definitely smear some of the detail ... which I don't think is necessarily a good thing in most instances. That actually runs counter to what most people think of as "desirable."

Edit: You are correct about the tube in the Bellari, though. It does serve a gain function in the signal path, and it does so in a way that doesn't just smear detail by adding distortion.
.
 
yes hence the term "subjectively" :)

edit: regarding your edit to your last post, i can definitely attest to the difference that makes having gone from an art tps to a ua m610 as my primary tube pre for tracking. the "subjectively pleasant warmth" or smear as you put it, makes mixing a lot harder if you have a bunch of tracks recorded through that kind of starved tube pre.
 
kojdogg said:
yes hence the term "subjectively" :)
Click to expand...

Honestly, I get tired of that term as it relates to certain things.

Someone takes a pile of poop and smears it in your face, there's nothing "subjectively smelly and gross" about it.

It's a pile of shit. It came out of someone or something's ass, and now it's in your face. You can debate the merits of it ... pretend it smells like a bouquet of roses and use cliches like "One man's lump of shit in the face is another man's treasure." But it just smells bad, and it's really gross ... and you should really get a towel or something really fast and wipe it off. Even by the most liberal of standards of the word, I just don't see how one could call it "pleasant."
 
chessrock said:
Honestly, I get tired of that term as it relates to certain things.

Someone takes a pile of poop and smears it in your face, there's nothing "subjectively smelly and gross" about it.

It's a pile of shit. It came out of someone or something's ass, and now it's in your face. You can debate the merits of it ... pretend it smells like a bouquet of roses and use cliches like "One man's lump of shit in the face is another man's treasure." But it just smells bad, and it's really gross ... and you should really get a towel or something really fast and wipe it off. Even by the most liberal of standards of the word, I just don't see how one could call it "pleasant."
Click to expand...

That's a subjectively funny yet deeply bitter post man :D!

NotCardio said:
Any opinions?
Click to expand...
FWIW here's a review from EM, which is basically a big catalog:
http://www.rolls.com/reviews/rp220rev.html
 
chessrock said:
Sort of.

That doesn't at all imply that starved plate designs have a tube in the circuit to add "subjectively pleasant warmth."

It can definitely smear some of the detail ... which I don't think is necessarily a good thing in most instances. That actually runs counter to what most people think of as "desirable."

Edit: You are correct about the tube in the Bellari, though. It does serve a gain function in the signal path, and it does so in a way that doesn't just smear detail by adding distortion.
.
Click to expand...

Chess have you tried the 220 as a bass DI? I'm just wondering how it would fare to say a GT Brick...
 
dalley said:
Chess have you tried the 220 as a bass DI? I'm just wondering how it would fare to say a GT Brick...
Click to expand...

Pretty damn good, actually. The brick really gets that deep, deep milky smooth sub-bass thing, and I don't know if the 220 gets quite that deep (not many things do). But the 220 is pretty smooth, and has a little midrange growl to it that's great for rock.
 
Well, if you'd stop using a starved plate

you wouldn't get that smear. :D
 
dalley said:
Chess have you tried the 220 as a bass DI? I'm just wondering how it would fare to say a GT Brick...
Click to expand...

I have a modded RP220 and it is the only pre I run a bass through. To me it sounds as good if not better than an Avalon U5. I put a matched pair of GE 5751's in the 220 which worked great with running the bass through it direct to the board.

I've not tried the Brick but from the reviews I've read it sounds like a decent pre. Good luck.
 
ljmaxx said:
I have a modded RP220 and it is the only pre I run a bass through. To me it sounds as good if not better than an Avalon U5. I put a matched pair of GE 5751's in the 220 which worked great with running the bass through it direct to the board.
Click to expand...

Interesting ... & the only mod you did was to replace the tubes?

When you say "direct to the board" are you running another preamp behind it or do you mean direct to the recorder/interface?

Thanks
 
I have a 520 which wasn't that expensive. I love it. I've used for a lot of things. Most recently on vocals for a death metal band that had a lot of that "cookie monster" vocal low end deep stuff. Really turned out nice... I didn't want it to sound all high end. The only thing I noticed was you really have to push it to get a strong signal...I plan on buying more of there stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top