Yo hotsauce! Welcome to the board. Be wary of claims that something is a "tube preamp". Some higher end pres actually have vacuum tubes in the main power section, and others, often called hybrid designs, have a little tube in the front end with a variable drive control to overdrive a little on purpose to add selective distortion, sometimes called "warmth". In other words, they're trying to make it possible to dial up the sound of a real tube preamp. More importantly, this allows their marketing people to claim it is a "tube preamp", which is misleading. Don't become confused here. Some of the greatest pres in the world, including my Avalon, are solid state. Others have tubes, and they aren't better or worse, just different.
If the preamp has 2 separate sets of ins, outs, controls, and indicators, it will be called a dual channel preamp. These are good for stereo recording, where it helps to have 2 identical channels. If the pre has EQ and a compressor, it is called a channel strip. BTW, I assure you, when an Avalon says it's a tube preamp, it is, unlike many cheaper competitors.
Does this mean if it has compression, you don't need another compressor? Yes, if everything is running through that preamp. But you can't use the compressor in that preamp to compress the signal from another preamp, or another source, like you can with an outboard compressor. And not all compressors (or EQ or pres) are created equal. For instance, I own
a Joemeek twinQ, which has a lovely optical compressor which is very agressive, and adds some color (there's that warmth again). It is almost like an effect, and I use it a lot. However, sometimes I want a cleaner sound with more subtle compression. For that, I disable the compressor in the Joemeek channel strip, and use an RNC compressor as an insert, and it sounds like a whole different preamp.
Be wary of one other thing. You are asking questions that show you are not particularly experienced with recording, but you are looking at expensive, high-end gear that many highly skilled home recorders wish they owned and can't afford. This tends to make them hostile, because they see some newb without a clue talking about the features of an Avalon, and they want to know if your rich mommy is just buying you stuff you don't have no idea how to use, and why don't they get one? In short, many people will come to the conclusion that you haven't paid enough dues to own an Avalon, or any other $1000+ preamp.
Well, I believe that an Avalon is a great preamp, and you can learn to record as well, and probably better, with a great preamp as a cheap one. So keep dreaming. If you can afford an Avalon, there are no better preamps, just different ones. Frankly, if I were going that route (I already did), I would make my first major preamp a nice clean solid state amp, like
the Avalon AD2022 (I own one), and worry about tube preamps later. Best of luck to you. You should also look at other high-end designs, such as Great River, Earthworks, Pendulum, Toft Audio, John Hardy, DW Fearn, Davissound, and others. Check
www.mercenary.com. Fletcher on this board is the guru there, and will be helpful if you really are committed to buying a top of the line preamp.-Richie
