Dan Richards Review of the VTB-1

  • Thread starter Thread starter alanhyatt
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alanhyatt said:
If WAYTF felt this way, he would have said something directly to me
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Alan, WAYTF seems like a polite and peaceful person -- not the type to start a flame war with you, even if he was annoyed.

alanhyatt said:
. . . because we were talking back and forth and understood each other fine.
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I don't recall him saying anything like: "The sound is muddy, hey Alan, why is this? Could you please chime in and tell me why it sounds muddy?"

alanhyatt said:
I am sorry, but he was doing something wrong in his interfacing,
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And the fact that he admittedly is not an expert on preamplifier technology was a clue right there to me to take his words with a grain. I think we all understood his level of knowlege and the risk that he could in fact be doing something wrong. Maybe that wasn't the point -- maybe he was coming from the standpoint of someone who admittedly isn't advanced and just wants something very simple and idiot-proof right out of the box.

alanhyatt said:
That was not harassing him. I was trying to help him.
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And I'm not trying to harrass you, either. I'm not trying to be a protagonist to you or your efforts. Quite to the contrary, there have been a few instances where I have been beneficial to your company (You may have noticed that Midwest Electronics on Clark and Diversey is carrying some of your line now. I'm almost regretting the recommendation I gave Sammy, now. :D ).

I am actually trying to help you. What you have managed to do is successfully steer some people from posting anything negative about your products, partially out of politeness towards you.

Most of the people here who are fans of your product probably don't mind. Others might be slightly annoyed, but probably just want me to shut the f_ _ _ up about it anyway, because they can just skip over it. Either way, I think it gives you a bad image.

Word will spread about your pre if it is good and people will buy it. Not accepting criticism about it, publically -- be it good or bad -- is not good for your image. Taking an overall defensive stance towards criticism of you, personally, is not good for your image. This kind of hyper-sensitive and defensive attitude may even hurt your efforts and ultimately your sales, even if it is a good product. People generally associate this personailty with someone who "has something to hide," and some will get that perception. Even if it's not true (and I don't think it is). :D

Thank you.
 
chessrock, as you ARE an intelligent person (with a sense of humor!), you can appreciate that we all have our individual means of expression. Some of us tend to include more "subtext" than others, and there's always an increased risk thereby of a
misunderstanding. If we were face to face with one another, 95%of these "discussions" would be gone.
The issue is not whether someone seems "hypersensitive" or
"defensive", it's the objective truth (or search) of helpful products and ideas for the members here.
So it would be in all our best interests to focus on data and reliable third parties (ala Harvey) in our evaluations IMHO.

Chris

P.S. Or we could all go to Oprah and talk to Dr. Phil!
(we'd drive him nuts)
 
chessparov said:
So it would be in all our best interests to focus on data and reliable third parties (ala Harvey) in our evaluations IMHO.
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Well put. I agree. Let's drop it, now, before I get on my soapbox again. :D
 
Bowisc said:
Hey C-Rock.... how's that V93M/2003 doing?
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Hey, Bowisc.

I've always liked it a lot. It rocks on accoustic guitar (I like to use it over the shoulder and sometimes at the 12th fret, along with an Oktava mc012). It's got a real good bass rolloff, which is helpful on the accoustic, and singers who like to swallow the mic.

It's just a little bright, but not hyped. Just crisp. It really shines on a lot of voices, also. I'd like to get a darker, or more neutral, condenser to compliment it . . . maybe one of the oktavas.
 
I appreciate everyone's comments and I'd like to thank Harvey for kickin' my ass a little bit. A new – more complete version – of my review of the VTB-1 is now up on http://www.digitalprosound.com/

Any comments are appreciated. Thx!
 
Dot said:
Any comments are appreciated. Thx!
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The VTB-1 is one of the most versatile mic preamps I have ever used, with a wide variety of sonic treatments, from transparent to beautiful warmth to bordering on tube insanity. If I was limited to recording an entire project with only one pre, I would seriously consider the VTB-1 for the task.

You might actually consider it over one of these? ? ?

http://store.yahoo.com/mercenary-audio/groovtubvip.html

I'm afraid I have to be just a little skeptical if you indeed are familiar with this particular unit and can still say that with a straight face. I would have believed you if you had merely said "It's a great pre for the price and hangs with much more expensive ones." Thanks for your opinions, though.

TUBE INSANITY? Yowsers. I think I've experienced that once or twice. Say, speaking of "tube insanity," I was wondering if you'd be interested in reviewing this? :

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=58922

I was thinking "Tube Insanity" might be a great slogan. Or just a great name for it. The BBTTE Tube Insanity. I like it. That might be the name of our new Ginsoo-inspired food slicer/processor version, come to think of it. Got any ideas for the exciter portion? This is great. I'm going to make you my new spokesman. :D
 
And-the BBTTE has never had a negative review. This speaks volumes about its intrinsic worth and usefulness in both the home and pro studio. I'm rather surprised that more of the trade mags haven't leaped at the chance to review it themselves. Maybe that "Tube Insanity" slogan is just the catch phrase we need to launch this product into the mainstream.
 
crawdad said:
And-the BBTTE has never had a negative review.
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Well, amongst those who have been kind enough to take the time to write reviews, my mom is really the only one who had anything bad to say about it. Her only beef was with the opamp gain stage, which many people feel is a cheap substitute for a discreet design.

I quickly set her straight on the matter, though, and she's busy amending/modifying her review as we speak. I still have to teach her how to use the spell check, though, and her HTML skills need a little brushing up. She likes the "tube insanity" idea, though, which is good.

I don't remember where I got the idea for a "constantly-changing/amending/morphing" product review, though. But it somehow seems to work to our advantage. It could really be a breakthrough for our industry.
 
chessrock said:

I don't remember where I got the idea for a "constantly-changing/amending/morphing" product review, though. But it somehow seems to work to our advantage. It could really be a breakthrough for our industry.
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Well, when you have a product that is as "deep" and feature laden as the BBTTE, new uses appear after much investigation and hours of use. More than just a preamp, exciter, mastering swiss army knife, tube warmth device and random wave generator, the BBTTE is literally all things to all engineers. Combine these uses together, and it could have thousands of applications for the pro connoisuer/tube taster.

Yes, it is a breakthrough. I suppose we should get ready for the clone knock-offs to arrive soon. I wouldn't worry, though. They'll never be able to figure out what we have under that blob of black goo in the main circuit.

I suspect the reviews will continue to morph as our legends rise and our fortunes continue to grow. Since the product is improved and updated constantly, the reviews have to change. Heck--after a few short weeks, the want list for the "vintage" BBTTE's has skyrocketed. Thus, a vintage/modern switch on the new units should justify a hefty price increase.
 
...for the price

chessrock, I've never been one to go for the whole for the price thing. When I hear that, I hear..."Well, it's kind of shitty but it's cheap."

I have a Danelectro guitar that I think is truly a great guitar. I didn't buy it because it was cheap, I bought and play it because its a true instrument.

Fact is, a $20,000 strat is NOT a "better" guitar. It might be more valuable to a collector and appreciate in price, but its only better in relation to someones application. If I only could use one guitar on a project, I'd probably consider the Danelectro or an ES335 or an older Jazzmaster. To me, a strat has too much of a signature sound to use it on every track.

As far as choosing a pre for a project – well, if it was just one, I'd definitely like to audition the Viper, Great River, GML, API, John Hardy, TL Audio and – believe it or not – the VTB-1. I've used all of them except for the Viper, GML and Great River. Pres that I have used extensively that I wouldn't even bother auditioning would make a list as long as your arm and would include Avalon 737, Neve 1073, Amek, Tube Tech, Focusrite ISA, MCI, Sony, D&R, DDA, Mackie, Harrison....blah, blah...

As an example, I've spent hundreds of hours tracking w/ Amek consoles, the Hendrix, Mozart and the Langley Big. I dig 'em. Some of my favorite consoles. I think the VTB-1 is as nice as any of the pres in any of those desks. Period. End of story.

With electronics, there certainly is the matter of accuracy, and because of that, there is certainly going to be gear that is "better", simply because its more accurate. In audio there are only two kinds of devices – accurate devices, and everything else is an EFFECT.

I've put in the years and have the ears and I know how to use the gear and I don't have to test something and disassemble it to tell if it's what I want for a given application.

I see people throwing specs around on various BBS's – like specs mean anything and are going to tell you how something sounds. Specs don't mean shit. Comparing the specs of a U87 to the specs of a C1 is an excercise in anal, Nazi retardation. Try the damn things out. Listen to them and decide what you want for your application.

Many people would think, "Oh, but a Neve 1073 is way better than a VTB-1." Not necessarily, and certainly not if it's the only pre you're going to use. You fill up 24 tracks of music all tracked through a 1073 and you could easily wind up with mush.

I don't think the VTB-1 is "a great pre for the price", I think it's a great pre, period. Like the RNC. It's not a great comp for the price, it's just a great comp.
It's not great for everything, but nothing is.

Never buy something because you think it's "great for the price" That's a cheap-ass mentality. Greatness is always available to you and price has nothing to do with it.
 
Dot, you haven't posted here for over a year. Yet, you seem to have picked things right up and have been very busy these last few days.

I appreciate all of the valuable insight, but to what do we owe the pleasure of your most gracious return?
 
chessrock said:
Dot, you haven't posted here for over a year. Yet, you seem to have picked things right up and have been very busy these last few days.

I appreciate all of the valuable insight, but to what do we owe the pleasure of your most gracious return?
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You're getting a little bit ridiculous.

Dan is above board. He doesn't shy away from making statements that he believes to be true, even if he knows they will be unpopular. If he says he likes the Studio Projects preamp, it's because he likes it.

You are hoping that people will infer some kind of lack of integrity on Dan's part by your comments. What does it matter how he happens to be here?

Maybe he lurks here and occasionally reads threads that catch his interest. If he saw the thread involving comments on his review, why wouldn't he chime in?

Maybe someone alerted him that we were discussing his review over here, and he decided to look in.

Maybe it was Alan that invited him to come over here and chime in. SO WHAT!! Why do you care? Why shouldn't he come over and give input?

You're the one losing ground here in my eyes. I don't like people impuning bad motive to people. If you have something to say, say it. Don't beat around the bush.

At least Middleman had the stones to directly accuse Dan of being paid for the review. It was a completely ridiculous statement, but at least he had the stones to hang it out there. If you have some equally idiotic accusation to make, hang it out, and I'm sure Dan will address it just as he did the other one.

Dot is very respected on the Planet. It's a shame he DOESN"T hang around here more. One things for certain, he doesn't have to put up with this kind of idiocy there.

Taylor
 
Any thread with Chess and Alan is like an episode of Baywatch - a predictable plot with lots of melodrama and sandy vaginas.
 
Damn, Zeke.

I was wondering why my vagina seems so "unsandy" today, and I was just asking myself: "where did all the sand go (?)"

Now I think I have a potential lead.
 
chessrock said:
Damn, Zeke.

I was wondering why my vagina seems so "unsandy" today, and I was just asking myself: "where did all the sand go (?)"

Now I think I have a potential lead.
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This is really starting to get old, guys.
 
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