DaviSound Preamps

T

tmix

Well-known member
Has anyone here had any experiance with the DaviSound pres?
I was considering getting the 4 pre ( TB-6 I think) for my drums. If I remember correctly it is 4 channel of High Quality pres for about $950..

I love my RNP I wonder if this might be a good addition for about the same price per channel.

It looks like it would be about the equivilant of the order of a Neve lunch box or so.

tmix
 
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I have the TB-6.

It's always a wonder to me why more people dont own them.....I love mine. Mine is custom and adds 2 intrument pres. There is a shot of my actual pre on the site:

http://www.davisound.com/WoodYou.html

More specificly:
http://www.davisound.com/DT-TB6C-1.jpg

http://www.davisound.com/DT-TB6C-3.jpg

I have not heard the RNP but I can tell you that I believe it easily holds it's own next to a Neve. Keep in mind the sound of a Neve is more of a "fuzzy" low end sound and the Davisound is meant to be an Ultra clean transparent thing. They compliment each other more than sound alike....doe that make sense?

That said, I use mine for drums all the time....usually kick, snare and overheads. My instrument pres make GREAT DIs for bass and synth. I really dont know what to say other than....I LOVE mine. A month ago I went to a studio where they have Neves and APIs and ended up still using my Davisound on overheads and room mics (I opted for Neve on Kick and Snare that time out...mostly cuz I could...you know;) )

I will also say that, price per channel, I dont know of a better deal. I put next to a Digimax and was embarrassed for the poor Digimax.

Go for it....Hayne is a cool guy and if youwant custom options, he's easy to work with there as well.


Good luck in whatever you choose,

heylow
 
I think those Davisound guys are just a fry or two short of a happy meal. So some guy makes a bunch of gear in wood shop class for extra credit. Decides that his Bird Feeder might make for a cool microphone.

And he figures his techniques are sooo unique that he has to protect it in some sort of protective barrier (which makes it exeedingly difficult to have serviced) so as not to allow any spies to steal his secrets.

Who knows -- maybe he's a genius or something, but the dude's definitely a nut job.
 
Chess you really are a child.

You base all these statements, no doubt, on your dealings with the company and the gear, right? Honestly, I dont know why you bother. You chase around various threads for the sake of being argumentative and you really dont share much in the way of useful information, as I see it. How do you get anything constructive done?


Speaking od screws loose....this off of Chess's site:

"What You Won't Hear At Moon Unit
You will not hear a meaningful difference between a recording session at Moon Unit and that of a studio costing five times as much. That is what I have obsessively strived to achieve for the last 10 years, and that is what I guarantee to deliver."


Of course upon checking his sound samples out, we can concur that Chess is just a little full of himself.


Well, anyway.....as you were. I've used my Davisound....I like...and thats all I claim.



heylow
 
Damn, Heylow. You act as if I insulted your mother or something. I didn't realize you were so attached to this guy, his company, and his birdfeeders ( :D ), and that you would take it so personally if I were to make a silly observation.

My guess is you are having a bad day or something else is on your mind. In which case, I hope it works itself out.

And as far as the comments on my web site are concerned, I appreciate that you've checked it out and offered your opinions. I generally respect comments a lot more when they're more specific, constructive criticisms, but hey, there's no such thing as bad exposure in my book, and I'm willing to take the bad with the good! :D I'll continue to work on my skills, as I always do.

Cheers, Heylow!

(BTW - as far as the shit, er, dammitheads are concerned, I'm not even going there out of kindness)
 
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Chess,

Its just that this guy asked a question about experience with Davisound products. I gave my 2 cents and you gave yours. The problem is that one might take your comments as experienced comments rather than the uninformed opinions that they are.

I agree that Hayne seems nutty in a way sometimes...in a good way, really. Its like Michael Fuller of Fulltone.....very odd guy but his products speak for themselves. Often the extreme belief in theor products are what makes them seem nutty. How many manufacturers can claim an extreme belief in their products these days? Davisound stuff is made by hand.....how many manufacturers can claim that for the price?

My comments on your website just go show you that any idiot with a keyboard can go around making critisisms.:D I really only meant to somehow illustrate that anyone can be called "full of themselves". You didnt say it this time but I have read your past comments about how bad the DS site is and how that guy makes these high claims he (seemingly to you) he cant support and I believe someone could say the same about you and your work if one were so inclined to do so....or about me or about anyone for that matter. Do you see what i mean?

I just dont understand why you choose to antagonize people.

Furthermore, I think Rupert Neve seems off his rocker sometimes and his claims and self love seem way over the top. That doesnt stop his products from being some of THE most revered in the history of recording, does it?

You know, I dont live that far form you. If I thought the hassle would be worth it and you wouldnt trash it no matter what it did, I'd be tempted to have you come and use the damn thing for yourself.

I really dont want to turn this dudes thread into another dumb argument so I'm done arguing right here, right now.

Anyway,


heylow
 
Ooopps, one more thing.....I missed that little dig at the end.

You havent heard anything but old production demos of mine and I have never claimed ANY of the "better than everyone else" things that you do on your site. The production demos you heard were all done on a tascam 4 track, BTW and were not intended as "product" by any stretch of imagination.

Pretty cheap shot and not related at all.


heylow
 
From your web site: Equal parts crystals, Beatles, Thin Lizzy, Lou Reed, The Clash, Elvis Costello, etc.

There's plenty I could say about that, I suppose, but I ain't going there. :D As far as the claims that I make on my web site, the claims that you make on yours, and the claims that this Davisound guy has made on his site in the past . . . there is absolutely no comparison.

You basically compare yourself to some of these bands, and it is implied that you are merely saying they are your influences, etc.

Similarly, on my web site, I simply state that I can do a job that hangs any day with that of a studio costing 5 times as much, etc. A little bold, I'll admit, but keep in mind I made that statement back when I was charging $10/hour. :D

Davisound guy, however, has been known to say . . . and correct me if I'm wrong . . . something to the effect of "Everyone who works with a Davisound pre agrees that it is the best preamp they've ever heard."

That goes a few notches further beyond our claims, Heylow. That would be like you saying that everyone who listens to the Dammitheads agrees that they are the best band they've ever heard . . . or me saying that Moon Unit Sound is the best recording facility and I the greatest audio engineer anyone has ever worked with. :D Either claim, although ambitious, would unfortunately be laughable and worth any and all flaming that might result.
 
I don't know about any of this non-relevant stuff, but one of the people on this BBS whose opinion I trust a lot, Weston Ray (Recording Engineer), has several of the Davisound pieces and he thinks they all kick ass...er sound great.
 
Yeah, Weston Ray has a FEW Davisound pieces he seems to like...based on his comments here and on the Davisound site.

VoxVendor has really cool piece as well...in fact i believe that the TB-10 came into life as Vox's custom creation and Hayne just made it part of the family. I like that one.

There is a part of me that really wants to try that wierd mic he makes....I believe Weston has one on order....I may have to bug him and ask! Yeah...it's ugly...but it intrigues me.

I'll say this as well, for anyone interested.....when I wasnt sure what i wanted, Mr. Davis and I eamiled back and forth for like a month discussing my wants and needs and what he can do. He was never pushy and always helpful and prompt with the answers. He is a bit odd at times but his belief in his stuff is genuine. It was all this stuff that sealed the deal with me....I mean try to get some other pre manufacturer to deal with you over email, back and forth for a month and bend over backwards to make sure you get what you need. He has even emailed me a few times since I got mine, following up to find out how I like it and how I have used it.

I guess I'm wierd....I LIKE that personal attention:rolleyes:


heylow
 
Thanks

Thanks Guys,
I do appreciate the info. I have been doing some searches to find out more. The good / bad part about buying from DaviSound is I need to really think through the fact that I have some customizable options, so I need to do some real planning (which I should do anyway!).

When I did my original searches I had been misspelling(sp) the name. But even so there are numerous threads that make a brief mention of the pres / combos but not much of an in depth review.

Again thanks!

tmix
 
I'll try to make this not sound like a stupid question ... it's mainly for people who have more than one Davisound piece, I think.

But considering the customizable nature of the pre, does anyone know if the sound varies much from unit to unit, or is there a "Davisound sound," not affected by your customizable choices like how many inputs, of what type, etc.?
 
Disclaimer: the following is intended as a good-humored, toungue-in-cheeck statement, totally devoid of any real experience with the afforementioned Davisound product.

They all kinda' have that nutjob-who-yanked-the-innards-of-an-audiobuddy-and-drowned-it-in-epoxy sound to them. :D
 
What you also have to consider is that this custom job (in this case, a TB-10, which I am seriously interested in) has a stated 6-8 week turnaround time, and that's if they are telling the truth. This pre has every feature I need, except availability. As it turns out, I need a preamp *now*, not in 6-8 weeks. Same deal with Toft ATC-2. It's got every feature I need except availability. Nobody, including Alan, has been willing or able to tell me when this thing can be shipped. Looks like I'm back to $1000 more for Avalon or Pendulum because nobody can actually produce their product *now*.-Richie
 
Clean is good

I have the Davisound TB-12 and am awaiting delivery of the TB-7...customized for portable use in broadcasting. All I can say is that time and again I cave to temptation and broaden my pallet with a Focusrite Red or great River or Universal Audio. And, time & again I return to the Davisound. It is the most accurate pre I've heard (also like GML). Below 200 Hz is amazing, exposing the slight rolloff in othe pres. It's easy to modify the sound to simulate the effect of a tranny (EMI plug-in) or tube (harmonic section in Izotrope)...so why not start with ultra-clean?
 
Man, this is a blast from the past!

I would up buying TB-10 #1 from the guy on this site that commissioned it.

Super-clean mic pres, but HD fucked up on the instrument inputs by not grounding them. I sent him a series of emails years ago and he has since changed his design re: instrument inputs. He told me they only tested them at the time with a keyboard and not a guitar or bass! DOH! He offered to replace the originals with his new design but I never sent it back because I didn't know how long it would take for the turnaround. I'm still meaning to have that mod done one of these days...
 
I'm sure his gear is quality...but I can't get past the "wood" look. :(
Maybe for some esoteric Hi-Fi system where you keep the gear in a glass case...but I don't care for it as studio rack gear.

It's the same with some of the "fine wood" guitar amps/cabs you see from some builders. They look really cool...but just not something I would want to *use* in a studio or gig envirnoment. They look more like display pieces.
 
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