If you cant afford the Neves and Neumanns and LA2A's....thats where the "clone -ish" gear comes in and medium priced.
Mic> preamp > comp > EQ> or eq>comp...choices abound.....and whether we do this with plugins or outboard hardware is a common discussion.
$1000 to spend...you say.
Good news is it seems to me the USED prices are falling again slightly on hardware. After the covid shock insane rise.
So like 528E that were $100 and all the used prices have seemed to dropped a little. And if the economy in your area crashes stuff gets sold....
The 528E's are great imo. At the below average prices..
if you can catch one these are expensive $1000 new and sell for 1/10th....a lot of times 10 or 20 were sold to some large complex and they sell or someone gets them and sells them...
the 528E has the normal electricl plug I like that, some old gear has funky plugs or funky obsolete wiring...I look for the Plug thats like all the modern gear.
528E has the best gate, its really a pro piece build wise too. Solid metal.
Its more Engineering like than musical which is subjective, Broadcaster, but its a fast compressor not a optocell soft one many like on vocals...nice piece.
Joemeek vc1Q was my first channel strip someone convinced me to buy and it was $400 at GC about 18 yrs ago and its still around that if you wait for one.....wait for the good deal. I bought and sold the cool...Joemeek probably several times...why? I dont know....but this last one I got popped up $400 in 2023 and it had a mic tossed in...I got it again. But then the mic turned out to be worth $250 used....so the JoeMeek was a super deal. And it amazes me everyone Ive ever bought 23 yrs old is like perfect working condition. The Parts today if built with OEP transformer etc would be easy $1000 +....
The think with JMeeks is the preamp is old school transformer, it has photo-cell compression and a EQ...VC = voice channel, it was designed for voice.
Toss in a great instrument DI that can also use the comp and eq and vu meter and so its an expensive guitar/bass DI too. So I sold the Radials and Cloudlifter to regain some cash. Do you need a DI? Joemeek has a excellent DI.
I have a Focusrite ISA430 too which I grabbed unexpectedly for $650~ and it is an interesting Channel Strip, but the PreAmp, like most , are good, maybe great....but the compressor is sooo different than JoeMeek, its clean and fast, but the EQ is like having a 100 microphones- beautiful EQ. The EQ can really dial in the sweet spot. Its been used on Platinum records Ive been told and so its punching waaaay over my skills. But I get off on "fishing, patience" and grabbing gear now and then these days.
Ive read some use two of these on a Mastering Buss , but wow the price is really gone on these but at times you never know who might sell one. The ISA One and Two Ive had and the preamps are my fav, thick, but clean, but something about them is just a fav. You cant go wrong with them it seems. At times the Pre is subtle better than the IC interface amps, but when you hear it, its preferred imo,
Ive tried several others. For a couple years I compared preamps but then found the preamps are pretty solid and normal GAIN machines...
but the EQ and COMPRESSORS is where the sound gets more interesting..."colored" , studio sounding.
Theres so many great pieces out there with amazing designs and differences, but then I also have plugins and theres some Channel Strips there or build a separate chain.
for a vocal channel only, for one specific singer setup... a hardware would be fun. if you aint got cash, plugins.
Patience and Fishing....
man! it wasnt long ago I bought LA610 for $800 or $700, before covid economy. Tried the Emperical Labs MikeE, it was around $800~$1000..all those now seem to be $1500 or higher.! Parts and Labor still inflated?
Channel Strip in separate pieces , ? a preamp, and a compressor and a eq?
that KA2A compressor is smooth and simple, run a ISA one into it.... find a nice EQ...maybe even a reverb.
that Vintage King article was well done on different vocal chains and broken down its the same thing , different flavors
Mic>PreAmp>Comp/> Eq.......some do 1176 & LA2A types Double comp...
then comes the reverbs, delays which I never got into learning about that piece of the puzzle.
Reading some history articles on the famous pieces helped me make it less confusing what and why the inventions were wanted.
, like the LA2A or 1176 compression history...might help. Preamp is easier= Gain, EQ...use the ears....compression is a little more complex.
Im kind of interested in reverbs and delays, thats another subtle thing studios put on channel strips that dont get a lot of attention...but its there.
