Best channel strip around $400

  • Thread starter Thread starter frist44
  • Start date Start date

best channel strip around $400

  • Mindprint envoice

    Votes: 16 18.0%
  • Joe meek VC1Q

    Votes: 37 41.6%
  • ART pro channel

    Votes: 13 14.6%
  • DBX 376

    Votes: 10 11.2%
  • Focurite penta

    Votes: 13 14.6%

  • Total voters
    89
Hopefully, I got a dbx576 coming my way next week... It will glow nicely in my rack.
 
As for the joemeek color, I dig it.

Its a color that I wont mind slapping across every track in a mix. Its sweet.
 
Spotted a TwinQCS yet...

I've seen this stereo strip mentioned on a few sites - has anyone played with this yet. I'd like to pick one up...I love my VC3Q!
 
Damn, Dolemite, that's some serious delayed-reaction going on there! :D

I'm glad you don't work in fast food.

Chessrock: "Yea, I'd like a whopper, no pickle and a medium coke."

. . . Month 1 no response

. . . Month 6 still no response

. . . Month 8 what the hell's going on here . .

Dolemite (One year later): Thanks, Chessrock, that will be $4.75. Please pull around to the second window.
 
What's the difference between Meek VCQ1 and 6? One has meter, and one doesn't? Sorry, I know this has been discussed, but, I would like to know.

AL
 
I have to say I love the twin Q! BTW, DBX386 is not a channel strip, lacking EQ and compression. Yup, it has "drive", which controls the tewb in the front end. If you don't use that drive, you get good clean gain, but only so much of it. This requires gain to be boosted at the board or the recorder. In other words, I think DBX386 is half of a good, clean, preamp. I'm probably keeping mine for a couple of auxiliary channels for percussion and an excellent A-D convertor. Meanwhile, back at Joemeek. It's just a good basic pre with agressive, musical, useful optocompression. I don't think it will let you down-Richie
 
A1A2 said:
What's the difference between Meek VCQ1 and 6? One has meter, and one doesn't? Sorry, I know this has been discussed, but, I would like to know.

AL

The main difference is in the two amps. The VC1Q use a transformer at the input; the VC6Q uses a chip. The EQ sections are also supposed to be different, but I can't remember exactly how. The VC1Q has a high-pass filter; I don't think the VC6Q does. The VC1Q also has an enhancer section.

Both are good, but the VC1Q has a reputation as being a great vox box.
 
I second what TDuke has said about VC1Q as a vox box, What it also is, which I did not anticipate, is a great DI, in some ways better than my Avalon. Using the Avalon AD2022 next to the twinQ has affirmed my conviction that the Joemeek is one of the very best pres at it's price point. It has produced some really good acoustic tracks for me going DI, and it pairs up with Rode NTK really well for subtly colored vox. It's not the cleanest pre in it's price range, where I'd be looking at Grace 101, but it may very well be the most *useful* preamp in it's price range.-Richie
 
The posts keep referring to the dbx 286 but up top it refers to the 376. The 376 is a channel strip with compression, EQ, de esser and digital outs. I have this pre amp myself and the issue concerning the drive control seems to be accurate. At first I did not like the unit becuase I thought it did sound a bit brittle but then started to use it without turning up the drive past 12 o'clock and in fact, turning it closer to 9 or 10 o'clock and found it to be rather good sounding.

I do not consider myself any expert in these matters and I do very little recording through mics but, the little bit I have done with the dbx sounded pretty good.

Ultimately I think that these types of comparison poles are of little use and of dubious value since there is very little by way of controlled comparison going on. Therefore, the entire matter is subjective and as pointed out, most people vote what the have, not whether they truly believe it is better as a decision they have arrived at through extensive comparison testing. The only reference to comparison testing was from the person who compared the dbx to much higher end pieces and found that the dbx held its own.

The final factor that renders such comparisons and poles less than accurate based on objective findings is the source material variable. Certain mics might fare better with certain pre-amps though the pre and the mic may, in their own right, be quite good or competent gear.

One other thing to consider is this, for the most part, we do not know who is posting on this site. We have very little , knowledge of who is writing these posts so their opinions should be viewed with healthy skepticism. Unfortunately, that may not always be the case. For instance, before learning enough about the subject, I jumped in and purchased a dbx 376. The reason was in part that I needed a pre with phantom power for vocal recording. I first purchased an ART tube thingy, that little box though I do not recall the model number. Anyway, there was some probelm with it and I brought it back. While at the store, I noticed this dbx and that it had so many more features and, though much more expensive, I bought it.

After getting the dbx, I began to visit this site and saw the dbx getting panned. I was saddened becuase I thought I made the wrong choice and this colored my opinion of the dbx way more than the dbx colored the sound of the source material. But, becuase of my natural desire to believe that I was smart enought to have made the right choice and the fact that the information on this site tended to tell me otherwise, I was embarassed about my purchase and thought the dbx was no good. I did not even try to make it sound good.

Ultimately, I realized that this particular dbx unit was perfectly okay, found out how to get a good sound out of it and, frankly, I thinnk it provided good quality for the price and has some features that are very good such as the compression section, the digital outs etc.

The moral is, if you are going to part with you hard earned cash on gear that you will likely live with for a long, long time, you can read what is here and use the information but, take it all with a grain of salt and do not forget that ultimately, as has been said by many people on this site, you own ears are the only true deciding factor. If you like the sound, then it sounds good and it is that simple.
 
i like joemeek,
but my vc8 is good for instruments, not a killer for vocals i noticed,
i used a focusrite penta, tja, it works, but ehm,
wasn't impressed, thats too bad,
is that tube simulation it has or real tube stuff?

i wouldn't spend a minute thinking about getting a joemeek instead of that penta....not that its bad, but i want to be impressed by gear :D

i'm keeping my vc8 for instruments, collecting all my money for a symetrix 528 right now :rolleyes: , wonder what the difference will be !

and if u wanna impress musicians, and u got a joemeek,
tell them its designed by a gay producer of the 50's that shot himself,
they'll love the sound then, no matter what :D :D


additional question, beat me if it sounds stupid,
""The VC1Q use a transformer at the input; the VC6Q uses a chip. ""
cause it has a transformer you get less chanse of humm, is that it?
and with a chip even LESS chanse on humm? :confused:
 
How old is this thread?

Jeezus ... I feel like I've been sucked in to a time warp.
 
isn't there an option so we can see how old posts are?
i'm constantly clicking on PRINT VIEW to see the date...
sometimes its surprizing...
 
It's on every single post. Just above your username. This thread is more than four years old. But what's really good is that there's almost a year between dolemite's post and Chessrock's telling him off for taking too long.:)
 
CyanJaguar said:
Its aaight.

I heard a TLM 103 going into the TL audio and it sounded quite good but not outstanding.

My recommendation would be a focusrite penta at $is it $299 or $399? It 2u and has compresssion. It sounds pretty good I must say. To my ears, it sounds better than the new TLaudio or the DBX 376(which sounds like)()*&^*&

I run a TLM 103 thru a Trackmaster Pro (focusrite)....with very respectable results----especially for the price..........(of course my preference would be a U47 thru a DW Fearn)

OH yeah I got my trackmaster for $520-----so it's close to your range.
 
Back
Top