lets talk preamps

[dintymoore]

LOL. I have more money wrapped up in preamps, than I have in vehicles.

Of course you do, and so do I!

Get your priorities straight people!

I have a 2 ch Jensen Twin Servo 990 I paid $2400 20 yrs ago and a Presonus Blue Tube I bought for $180 to use while John Hardy fixed the Jensen.

Both are worth much more than they cost, much more.

The Presonus sounds great and I would recommend it in a heartbeat. It's packed away somewhere, I'm not sure where.

The Jensen is a special, special box I've never regretted buying and wish I could afford the other 2 slots... that would make it a 1U box that cost $4,800.

My advice: buy great mics before great mic pre's. I'd rather have my Stephen Paul Neumann mic through the Presonus than a SM57 or SM81 through John Hardy's Jensen... by a mile. An ok mic through a great pre sounds only ok. A great mic through an ok mic pre still sounds like a great mic, just not as good as it could sound... not as clear. The Jensen is a gem.

Both John Hardy and Presonus repaired their pre's when they broke years out of warranty, with no receipt, paid shipping costs... all for free!!!!!!!!

And oh ya, I drive a '92 Caprice I paid $800 for 5 years ago.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Of course you do, and so do I!

Get your priorities straight people!

So do i, but that's not a very bold statement cos my car's worth about £400 too

4 Digi 003
8 focusrite platinum octopre
2 auditronics 110a
2 ward beck m470a

 

[moresound]

Would that be a K car Maroo? Or just a clunker.

 

[Steenamaroo]

haha,
it was my pride and joy cavalier which i sold a while back for £600..

IIRC, the forum didn't love that car as much as i did! lol

 

[ROCKDRUMMERZERO]

I have been very luck, and picked up 4 Trident S20 Dual Pre's for very good money, so I have 8 tracks They have totally transformed my recorded drum sound, it is warm, detailed & 'classy' and I am a very happy drummer. Previously used just the standard Korg Analogue pre's on my D16XD recorder, whilst I have been very happy with the results I get, nothing prepared me for the quantum leap in sound quality.

I have to say my drums sound great anyway, ( Yamaha Recording Customs - Birch/maple Custom absolutes & usually Ludwig Snares, Black Beauty, LM2000B and a few vintage Yamaha RC Snares also ) I have been collecting this stuff as funds allow over many years.

 

[Jim Lad]

I've sold off both of my 8 channel preamps (Behringer & Nady)
and kept the Joe Meek 3Q and the Golden Age Pre 73.
I love their sounds. Never thought that I'd place much importance in preamps but there you go!
Mind you, I'm not looking for any more.

 

[moresound]

A plus on the GA73 Jim. I don't have the 3q But I'm rocking the twinQ!

 

[homestudioguy]

I recently sold my 2 Focusrite TrakMaster Pros, my ART GOLD MPA and a few other items and purchased the Universal Audio Solo-610 and the Focusrite ISA One.
I need to spend more time with the Solo-610 to figure it out.
However, I really like this Focusrite ISA One!
Of the 4 pre-amp settings I like the low and ISA 110 settings the best.
The ISA 110 character/setting, IMO, is really very nice and the best of all 4.
It's kind of hard to describe but it just seems to smooth things out and add a "richness" to the sound.
I'm sure the Lundahl Transformer is involved somehow.
If you are considering a nicer pre-amp, I'd suggest you try this one.
They "street" at $499 but I've seen them as low as $425.
HSG
PS-Why do a sizeable group of people like Joe Meek One Q and Twin Q so much?

 

[Jim Lad]

Joe Meek, from what I can gather, has a predictable sound.
Rich and dark is what I'm finding in the 3Q channel strip.

 

[c7sus]

PS-Why do a sizeable group of people like Joe Meek One Q and Twin Q so much?

The originals have transformer coupling that was dropped from later versions.

Avoid any Meek products with the "CS" circuit.

 

[CoolCat]

I recently sold my 2 Focusrite TrakMaster Pros, my ART GOLD MPA and a few other items and purchased the Universal Audio Solo-610 and the Focusrite ISA One.
I need to spend more time with the Solo-610 to figure it out.
However, I really like this Focusrite ISA One!
Of the 4 pre-amp settings I like the low and ISA 110 settings the best.
The ISA 110 character/setting, IMO, is really very nice and the best of all 4.
It's kind of hard to describe but it just seems to smooth things out and add a "richness" to the sound.
I'm sure the Lundahl Transformer is involved somehow.
If you are considering a nicer pre-amp, I'd suggest you try this one.
They "street" at $499 but I've seen them as low as $425.
HSG
PS-Why do a sizeable group of people like Joe Meek One Q and Twin Q so much?

How do you like the ISA One after this couple weeks? The ISA One is pretty different with the "box" design. Are the two inputs completely separated?

 

[Richard Monroe]

I recently sold my 2 Focusrite TrakMaster Pros, my ART GOLD MPA and a few other items and purchased the Universal Audio Solo-610 and the Focusrite ISA One.
I need to spend more time with the Solo-610 to figure it out.
However, I really like this Focusrite ISA One!
Of the 4 pre-amp settings I like the low and ISA 110 settings the best.
The ISA 110 character/setting, IMO, is really very nice and the best of all 4.
It's kind of hard to describe but it just seems to smooth things out and add a "richness" to the sound.
I'm sure the Lundahl Transformer is involved somehow.
If you are considering a nicer pre-amp, I'd suggest you try this one.
They "street" at $499 but I've seen them as low as $425.
HSG
PS-Why do a sizeable group of people like Joe Meek One Q and Twin Q so much?

Well, I think there's 2 things at work regarding Joemeek (the gear, not the guy). The old Joemeek had a certain sound, mostly due to its aggresive optical compressor. It wasn't good for a lot of things, but the things it did well, it did very well, especially some vocals. After it was purchased by Studio Projects and redesigned, it got cleaner and more versatile. The SP twinQ is simply one of the best sub-$1000 dual channel strips around. It's a solid remote stereo recording preamp, a fair A-D converter, and has a sort of quirky optical compressor, very usable EQ, nice meters, and you can add transformers to the power circuit or not, at the touch of a switch. What's not to love? I forgot- it's not a bad direct box. I'll admit I'd like the housing and switches to be more robust. It is the pre I use in the field, because the Avalon isn't going to camping events. And, as I work for a living, I don't get unlimited boutique channels. Something has to pick up the slack, and the Joemeek has done that for me for years, first the old twinQ, and now the new one.-Richie

 

[moresound]

I purchased the TwinQ on the recommendation from Richard and I'm so glad that I did. For all of the examples he gives and then some.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yo Moresound- The check is in the mail.-Richie

 

[moresound]

Yo Moresound- The check is in the mail.-Richie

Oh Boy !

 

[CoolCat]

thats a cool tool... i love the iron switch idea. it's like two preamp circuits in one box.
captures the "original" and offers the clean-freak idea, transparent option/no iron.

 

[samlex21]

I'm putting together a project involving hip hop mixed with rock n roll. The budget isn't huge and I know we are gonna want a good pre amp how much do we need to spend and which pre amp is usable for both vocals and a synth?
Thanks guys!
Sam

 

[funnygames]

2 channels - Symetrix SX202 ($50/channel)
2 channels - Rolls RP220 ($150/channel)
1 channel - Studio Projects VTB1 ($70)

Hoping to add an Art MPA Gold to the lineup.

 

[Bobbsy]

I have 16 mic pre amps in my Yamaha DM1000 digital mixer...and those are enough for me in the studio. I have another 32 in terms of Behringer ADA8000 pre-to-ADAT units but I only use those for live work and never on the "money channels".

My investment is in microphones, not the preamps.

Bob

 

[aaronmcoleman]

I just started getting some nice pres because I used to think mics were s better investment, and unfortunately I've learned you gotta have both. I was hoping I wouldn't notice a difference but nice press make a huge difference track by track and in the overall clarity of the mix.