Studio projects VTB1 mic pre-amp

[jbenishek]

I just bought this mic pre-amp the other day and i'm quite impressed with it. It has a really warm, natural sound. I recommend it. Anyone else own one here?

 

[jslator]

I just bought this mic pre-amp the other day and i'm quite impressed with it. It has a really warm, natural sound.

What other pre's are you comparing it to?

 

[Gidge]

Im trying to own one, but ive heard it...its a really killer unit for the price.....

 

[darrin_h2000]

Its a pretty good and warm preamp. A mullard tube was put into mine and it made it alot nicer. You will like the insert for your compresser. Im using an old dbx163a and they go really good together.

 

[Recording Engineer]

Why is that?

It seems people have gone "Insert Crazy" on preamps ever since the Great River MP2-NV was released with one for a specific and reason.

Yeah, I know the Insert is after the solid-state gain stage and before the tube and output stage, cool if that's what I desired most of the time.

But it seems to me, that most of the time when I'm feeling "more tube", I would probably want to put compression AFTER a overloaded tube stage to "enhance" the harmonic distortion even more.

With that said, that has nothing to do with what I think of the VTB1. Worth every penny as a direct box alone! Except, my money is better placed elsewhere right now instead of another direct box.

 

[chessparov]

Have one too.

There are two interesting reviews at www.mojopie.com
(thanks Steve!). Agree with Steve's assessment on it with the
SM58, and Harvey's mini-review. It's a no-brainer for the home
or small professional studio.

Like Harvey's RCA 77DX, I think my Beyer M88TG and Soundstar MKII's are somewhat better "matches" on the VTB-1 amongst
dynamics, over a Shure SM58 or '57.
The Shure's sound quite good in any case though, much better than on a Mackie mixer's VLZ Pro's.

Chris

 

[chessrock]

It's basically another budget toob preamp -- nothing particularly special about it. Just like anything else, you can get decent sound out of it if you plug a good mic in to it and point it at a good source in a decent room. There are better for the money and there are worse, I'm assuming.

I haven't found mine particularly useful, so feel free to PM me if you want a deal before I ebay it.

 

[ambi]

Open the door, get on the floor, everybody kill the dinosaur...

 

[Booda]

"There are better for the money and there are worse, I'm assuming."

Does this mean you know of some better ones... or just figure there must be?

I was thinking of getting stereo Toob Pre's for Overheads & Vox. Then I came across this... http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=72573&highlight=dmp3
the DMP3, to me, is better sounding than the VTB1 & it's 2 Channels, so I thought I'd check that one out... then some people said the DMP3 is not any better and about the same as my Aardvark Pre's.

So now I'm looking at the Grace101 and then maybe a RNP... I would like a Tube Pre though... so what would you say is Much better (in your opinion and experience) than the VTB-1 & the (non tube) Dmp3 in that $200-$300 range?

Thanks,
B.

 

[chessrock]

... so what would you say is Much better (in your opinion and experience) than the VTB-1 & the (non tube) Dmp3 in that $200-$300 range?

That's about as good as it gets in that price range, in my opinion. But the reason I assume there's better is because better is a very subjective thing. Either one that you mention can do the job and shouldn't hold you back.

Although . . .

You might want to check this one out. It's a fairly simple and effective design based around the same opamp chip as that used in the Grace Design and Cranesong, I believe . . .

http://www.rane.com/ms1b.html

If used properly, it might be a big-time sleeper in the budget range.

If you're willing at all to expand your budget by another $100 or so, I'd say the best deal you could land would be a used Symetrix SX02 off ebay for $75-100 or so, and have that shipped to Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades and have him soup it up for you for another $300 for 2 channels. He does good work and is pretty cool, by the way.

There's also a fairly simple modification you can do to a Presonus MP20 that will dramatically improve it's fidelity. Again, with a bit of astute ebaying and a screwdriver, you could have something in the $300 range that plays with the big boys.

Otherwise your next step up, so to speak, would be the Grace @ $500-600 for 1 channel.

Open the door, get on the floor, everybody kill the dinosaur...

Uh . . . boom, boom chaka-laka laka boom (?)

 

[Roker1]

I haven't found mine particularly useful, so feel free to PM me if you want a deal before I ebay it.

...I think he said he just bought one

 

[6gun]

There's also a fairly simple modification you can do to a Presonus MP20 that will dramatically improve it's fidelity.

what's that?

 

[jslator]

...I think he said he just bought one

The original poster said he bought one, but a subsequent poster said that he was "trying to own one". In any event, there have been a number of sound clips posted here and on Harmony Central as well as at: http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/ You can listen to those to get an idea of what it can (or can't) do.

Personally, I haven't heard a comparision where the VTB-1 sounded like something I'd be the least bit interested in. Every clip I've heard has sounded weak, muddy and with no punch or bottom end. I've heard some decent clips from the DMP3 though. Given how poorly the VTB-1 sounds on the samples I've heard, I certainly wouldn't buy one without trying it out extensively and comparing it to other units in the same price range.

 

[chessparov]

Why do you guys think there are three reviews by pro engineers that are
substantially better than your evaluation-Harvey's, Brian Lucey-Tape OP,
and Dan "Dot" Richards-Digital Pro Sound?

Matter of taste?

Chris

 

[ambi]

uh, the vtb-1 is a single channel preamp.

 

[jslator]

Why do you guys think there are three reviews by pro engineers that are substantially better than your evaluation-Harvey's, Brian Lucey-Tape OP, and Dan "Dot" Richards-Digital Pro Sound?

Matter of taste?

Who knows why reviewers say what they do? Of those three, I trust Harvey to give an unbiased review, I don't know Brian Lucey from Adam, and I trust Dot about as far as I can throw him. So where does that leave us? My point is that it is actually possible to listen to these things for yourself and make up your own mind rather than deferring to authority. You have to learn to trust your own ears.

 

[Booda]

Chessrock, you may have something there w/ that Rane ms1b. If I remember right, Back 10+ years ago a friend of mine was buying all kinds of Rane stuff for his Sound Co. the quality/price thing was his main reason... anyway I'm sure they're still putting out good stuff and for $150 it's worth checking out. Thanks.

I'm not sure exactly what the Burr Brown hype is all about but I have read that name a lot, and it seems to get people excited.
I think If I decide on a Pre, I may order a ms1b at the same time to compare then send back the lesser.

I feel the same about the Clips I've heard... VTB1 doesn't do it for me. I think if you have nothing but a C1 and a soundcard it'll be just fine, and fun to be able to twiddle a knob.

B.

 

[DJL]

It's basically another budget toob preamp -- nothing particularly special about it. Just like anything else, you can get decent sound out of it if you plug a good mic in to it and point it at a good source in a decent room. There are better for the money and there are worse, I'm assuming.

I haven't found mine particularly useful, so feel free to PM me if you want a deal before I ebay it.

Lets see, the price is dropping to $130 new, but if your used VTB-1 is in mint condition I'll give you $65 plus shipping (USA) for it. PM me.

 

[coloradojay]

Mee too mee tooooo!

I'll bid $75 plus shipping. Paypal or M/O, your choice.



Do I hear $80?



Lemme know Chessrock...

 

[chessrock]

Originally posted by chessparov

Harvey's -- Knows Alan from this board; gets free stuff from Alan for trying it out and reviewing it. Doesn't want to hurt Alan's business or his feelings.

Brian Lucey-Tape OP -- Tapeop is 100% advertiser-supported. Need I say more?

Dan "Dot" Richards-Digital Pro Sound? -- Says some pretty strange things most of the time; usually in regards to Studio Projects gear. Wouldn't consider him a Pro Engineer, nor would I consider his publication a very credible resource, although there is some definite entertainment factor going on.

Matter of taste?

-- Absolutely. Like I said, I didn't find it particularly special. That's not to say it was bad. It certainly wasn't by any stretch. You can get good sounds with it if used properly -- just like you can with an Audio Buddy or a Toob MP.

Originally posted by 6gun (in regards to Presonus MP20 modifications
what's that?

Replace the input transformer with a Jensen or similar higher-end transformer. Replace opamps with Burr Brown, Opamp Labs or similar. I've also heard the Linaer Technologies LT1468 mentioned a lot. Do a Google Groups search at rec.audio.pro, and use keywords: "presonus" . . . . "mod" . . . and "opamp."

What makes the presonus such a good candidate is the way it's set up. There's no soldering required -- you can basically just yank the parts and stick new ones in there. A monkey could do it.

Originally posted by booda I'm not sure exactly what the Burr Brown hype is all about but I have read that name a lot, and it seems to get people excited.

In a simple, well-designed chip-based mic pre, the quality of the opamp chip plays a big role in it's performance and sound quality. The fact that the MB1 uses the same chip -- INA-103, I believe -- as the Grace Design says a lot. It's also important to consider that Rane is well-noted for producing simple yet stable and effective designs.