Joe Meek VC3Q

[DaleVO]

What are your thoughts and experiences with the Joe Meek VC3Q?

The good, the bad, the ugly? Compressor too heavy handed? Too dark for vocals? Tricky to dial in? EQ any good?

Primarily, I am looking at it for the pre.

Thanks in advance.
Dale

 

[moresound]

My money is on the Joe Meek TwinQ - Gets me where I want to be just about every time.

 

[MOFO Pro]

Wow... there must be magic in on less Q, sometimes less is more

 

[DaleVO]

Thanks for the replies.

More:
Do you find the Pre to be clean and quiet on your Twin? I think they both use the Burr Brown. I have read about the VC3Qs and see discussion about the warmth and color is only delivered when the compressor is in, and that it can be a bit aggressive. I am curious about how it may sound and have never had the opportunity to try one.
Any thoughts?

My reason for asking is, I have a lead on one that I may be able to get for my price ;-)
I am an advocate for MY money.
Dale

 

[Richard Monroe]

As far as the twinQ, which I own and use- clean and quiet? Yes. It's very neutral. The compressor is usable, and you can dial up that old-school optical compressor sound with a bit of practice. No, it's not as "warm" as the old Joe Meeks. "Warmth" is a result of subtile distortion. When we like it, we call it "warm". When we don't, we call it "muddy". The EQ is pretty good. Overall, the twinQ is more clean and versatile than it is warm. The "iron" switch engages the transformers, which produces a slightly older preamp sound that is hard to define, except that it makes it sound a lot like my Avalon AD2022, a clean, solid state preamp with big-ass transformers. Overall, the twinQ has served me very well over time, and is a very useful multipurpose preamp.

 

[DaleVO]

The compressor is usable, and you can dial up that old-school optical compressor sound with a bit of practice.

The "iron" switch engages the transformers, which produces a slightly older preamp sound that is hard to define,

Richard,
Thank you for the in-depth review. Your description of your Twin is similar to what I have read on the discontinued VC3Q, even though its hey-day was the early 2000s. The "...clean, solid state preamp with big-ass transformers." is what has caught my eye, with the ability to push its B.A.T.s (although touchy) to a colored sound.
Dale

 

[Seeker of Rock]

I'm a little late to the party, but I have a small Joemeek collection and can chime in on the Fletcher-era stuff including the VC3Q. Great boxes and I've used them on micing acoustic guitar to bass d.i. to kick drum to vocals. I use a VC1Qcs for vocals now, but the VC3 did fine, too. They can get noisy if you ever have to turn them up, but I've never had to to the point that it was a problem. Here is a short acoustic guitar demo clip of two of them together (gold lettered VC3 versions prior to the 'Q' model) in a stereo SDC setup. I used a slight bit of compression going in to tame the peaks.

JackandDiane by Seeker of Rock on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

 

[DaleVO]

Seeker,
Never too late to my party. The lights are always on and the door is always open.

Thanks for the input on the VC3Q. I have not picked this up yet. I am still fighting the G.A.S. just to try the Pre on the one that I spotted. I have plenty of other pres and have just been curious about the JM sound in my chain.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

An internet search will turn up results telling you the old joemeek units are among the greatest pres in the world to the worst pieces of shit ever made and all points in between. Audio speaks louder than words. The acoustic guitar clip I posted should give you a sense of the noise level. Because of the quieter playing of acoustic, I usually have to drive my input levels harder which is a good demo for a preamp. As you can hear, noise isn't an issue if you know how to use them. The compressor (though barely used on the clip) is probably the coolest feature of these units. Great, classic sound.

Whatever you end up buying, have fun shopping and using it.

 

[moresound]

I'm with Richard on this one.

As far as the twinQ, The "iron" switch engages the transformers, which produces a slightly older preamp sound that is hard to define, a clean, solid state preamp with big-ass transformers.

 

[DaleVO]

Thanks for the input folks.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

So Dale, I'm curious if you pulled the trigger on the VC3Q or not. The Ted Fletcher-designed boxes (and the VC3Q is one of them) are pretty cool, especially the 2u rack ones. I have a VC1Qcs that sounds absolutely incredible on vocals, and my older VC3 (pre-equalizer) absolutely kills on bass and kick.

 

[DaleVO]

Dog-gone-it Seeker Now you have me wondering if I missed a chance. I did not pull the trigger. However, about once a week, I think about it. In fact, just tonight, I contacted the guy again. Haven't heard back.

Dale

PS. Guy contacted me, reduced the price and threw in an AT 4033 to sweeten the deal. I bring Joe home tomorrow. Seeker.... I am going to be in the doghouse now. You have a spare bedroom?

 

[Seeker of Rock]

PS. Guy contacted me, reduced the price and threw in an AT 4033 to sweeten the deal. I bring Joe home tomorrow.

Awesome!

Seeker.... I am going to be in the doghouse now. You have a spare bedroom?

Not a bedroom, but this fully-furnished efficiency is available if you need a place to crash.

 

[DaleVO]

Not a bedroom, but this fully-furnished efficiency is available if you need a place to crash.

The efficiency is perfect. I'll only take it IF the lava lamp stays. However, I am wondering how the commute to Fort Worth work is going to work out. May I bring a mic or two?

Brought Joe home. I picked it up this evening and Joe did not have a wallwart. The JM is pristine with the original 12 year old box. Since it didn't have the wallwart, he threw in a couple of hi-quality pop filters. He is liquidating his recording business. Walked out of there with the JM, filters and an AT4033, that I didn't really need, for under $200.

I see the Joe Meek needs a 12vAC wallwart. Anyone now the rating for this transformer or point me to a schematic?
Dale

PS. I found some info on the wallwart reccs. [Watt's Law- watts/volts = amps] Manual says 5watts (not sure if that is actual consumption) So, 5watts/12VAC= 416mA Anyone verify this against their VC3Q wallwart? I am thinking about going 850-1000 just to be safe.

 

[moresound]

You can pick up a muti selectable wallwart from Radio shack that will workout just great.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

I see the Joe Meek needs a 12vAC wallwart. Anyone now the rating for this transformer or point me to a schematic?

First, I'm jealous that you got an original box with it. I have one original VC3 box but it has a little moisture damage and doesn't look that great. I do have the original manuals for both VC3's, though.

Regarding the power supplies, this is what Ted say on his website:

I get a lot of enquiries for power supplies for the old JoeMeek VC3, MQ3 etc.
I'm now out of stock of the few I had kicking around, but you can get a suitable power supply from Maplin. Their part number is N57AT.
Note, this is an AC to AC power supply outputting 12 volts at 300+ milliamps.
A DC power supply might appear to work, but you will get horrible distortion and no phantom power.

 

[DaleVO]

More and Seeker,
Thanks for the information. It is much appreciated!
I'll get ole Joe fired up, in short order.

 

[moresound]

Can't wit till we hear some clips!

 

[Seeker of Rock]

I have two of the older VC3's and then two with the current sense preamp circuits (which I REALLY like...funny all of the online anti-hype and hate, but to each their own I guess), VC1Qcs and an MQ3. The current sense amps are less dark and more present. The MQ3 is the final Fletcher-designed incarnation of the VC3 before PMI's new designer (Alan Bradford, I think?) gave the entire product line a new design.

Anyway, VC3 sounds really good on vox and I'm curious to hear the VC3Q, and you MUST run a bass through it and hear that. To my ears, it is bass bliss! Really nothing else I have or have had sounds as good on bass as the VC3 (non-cs circuit), including the VC1Qcs or MQ3. Those little boxes love dirty guitar amp mics, too. You scored a great box, man!