Should i keep the brick?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jasonbmerrill
  • Start date Start date
jasonbmerrill

jasonbmerrill

the end of unreality
I bought a brick because i heard some cool samples from it -- and by reputation.

but do i REALLY need it?

I use an RE20, i5, Studio projects C1, LSD2, mxl 603S --

will this preamp do better than my firepod's preamps?

Im doing tests to verify this, but i need to make sure this preamp is good enough to drive my dynamic mics as well as my condensers -- or is there a decent alternative around the same price range (i got it new for 345USD)

I realize i should use my ears ;) but in case my ears arent tuned to these differences yet, i need to be sure the purchase i made it worthwhile. I also plan on getting a couple of decent solid state pres as well. Any suggestions for companions would be great.
 
Use *only* your ears when using the BRICK, or any preamp. If it works for you and you like the way it sounds, keep it.

There's nothing more to it than that, and simply put, there is no one here that can tell you if you really need it or not.

I am assuming that whatever reasons compelled you to buy it in the first place are still as valid today as they were when you made the original decision.

Any really good quality gear like the BRICK should give you a useful lifespan of years or decades. You'll always find something it sounds good on.
 
The Brick's D.I. for bass alone is worth the admission price.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
The Brick's D.I. for bass alone is worth the admission price.
Click to expand...

a test i made shows that the bricks DI performs almost identical to the firepods.

however, i just did a test with vocals and the brick.

i kinda like the brick better :)
 
Record a song with guitar, bass, percussion and vocal then do it again with the other preamp. Mix it. Then you will know whether to keep the brick or not. The one that layers the best, across many sources, is the keeper. Frankly I would keep both to have some options but that's me.
 
jasonbmerrill said:
I bought a brick because i heard some cool samples from it -- and by reputation.

but do i REALLY need it?

I use an RE20, i5, Studio projects C1, LSD2, mxl 603S --

will this preamp do better than my firepod's preamps?

Im doing tests to verify this, but i need to make sure this preamp is good enough to drive my dynamic mics as well as my condensers -- or is there a decent alternative around the same price range (i got it new for 345USD)

I realize i should use my ears ;) but in case my ears arent tuned to these differences yet, i need to be sure the purchase i made it worthwhile. I also plan on getting a couple of decent solid state pres as well. Any suggestions for companions would be great.
Click to expand...

I hate it when people give info but they have not used the gear... but here I am doing just that.

My gut Jason, is that it will be different. Not necessarly better or worse. I have heard your stuff from the reaper forums and I think that the aggressive sounds you could get out of that unit would be a creative inspiration for you.

I do not think that just replacing your firepod pres with it will be an instant road to a grammy, but it should prove to be a useful too.
 
jasonbmerrill said:
a test i made shows that the bricks DI performs almost identical to the firepods.

however, i just did a test with vocals and the brick.

i kinda like the brick better :)
Click to expand...

When you record the Brick, you are running it into the FirePod, right? Or are you able to hear the Brick and Firepod completely independent of each other?
 
Middleman said:
Record a song with guitar, bass, percussion and vocal then do it again with the other preamp. Mix it. Then you will know whether to keep the brick or not. The one that layers the best, across many sources, is the keeper. Frankly I would keep both to have some options but that's me.
Click to expand...

Just an observation, why is it that only a few people seem to understand this?
All the "comparison" pre-amp tests I ever read only use 1 track of a source? You can't judge a pre-amp until it is used in the context of a mix.
 
MCI2424 said:
Just an observation, why is it that only a few people seem to understand this?
All the "comparison" pre-amp tests I ever read only use 1 track of a source? You can't judge a pre-amp until it is used in the context of a mix.
Click to expand...
Absolutely... but, then you're including the huge variable of the "mix"... There's no winning on this one...
 
Keep it

You bought it. Keep it. Its a very decent pre, if only for a DI.

Good choice in the RE20, btw.
 
I have done several tests over the past day or so, all featuring full mixes.

and have found that with a LITTLE eq, i can easily replicate the brick sound with my firepod preamps. I notice no noise, or artifacts, and i like the sound more.

the brick puts a muffling veil over everything, and i am underwhelmed by it.

the DI test showed that the DI on the brick was EXACTLY the same as the firepod.

the brick was NOT powerful enough to drive an RE20.

it seemed to do well on condensors, but as i said earlier, it was a sound easily replicated by general use of average eq's.

this preamp is alot of hype.

A tube preamp i REALLY want is an LA610 ;) THAT one does something good to the sound ;)

so, im packing it up tonight :)
 
jasonbmerrill said:
I have done several tests over the past day or so, all featuring full mixes.

and have found that with a LITTLE eq, i can easily replicate the brick sound with my firepod preamps. I notice no noise, or artifacts, and i like the sound more.

the brick puts a muffling veil over everything, and i am underwhelmed by it.

the DI test showed that the DI on the brick was EXACTLY the same as the firepod.

the brick was NOT powerful enough to drive an RE20.

it seemed to do well on condensors, but as i said earlier, it was a sound easily replicated by general use of average eq's.

this preamp is alot of hype.

A tube preamp i REALLY want is an LA610 ;) THAT one does something good to the sound ;)

so, im packing it up tonight :)
Click to expand...

There are so many mistakes in your test assumptions it's hard to know where to start.

When the poster mentioned about using the Brick to record full mixes, he didn't mean listen to a full mix through the Brick, he meant record every track of a mix through the Brick.

What you hear as the muffled sound of the Brick might in fact simply be a less hyped sound than the FirePod. The fact that you like the FirePod better is not a problem, but it doesn't mean that the Brick is less of a preamp.

It's very suspicious that you find the FirePod and Brick DI's sound identical. That's simply not possible unless each is just a straight wire. So I have to conclude that the tests you are running are flawed from the signal flow point of view.

Also, you must be listening to the Brick through the FirePod.

The RE20 does need a lot of juice, but so does any mic of that type. The Brick is not necessarily the right preamp for that kind of mic, but that doesn't make it less of a preamp. Just not the preamp for that mic.

By all means send the Brick back and get the LA610. I'm assuming then that you've used the 610 before and personally know how it sounds? If so, why did you then buy the Brick?
 
jasonbmerrill said:
the brick puts a muffling veil over everything, and i am underwhelmed by it.
A tube preamp i REALLY want is an LA610 ;) THAT one does something good to the sound ;)

QUOTE]




The Universal Audio tube stuff sounds more muffled than the brick!
Click to expand...
 
it's been eluded to a couple of times in this thread but it seems very likley that you are sending the brick though the interfaces mic pre's. I have the brick and I have other op amp based mic-pres and the brick sounds compleatly different.

Are you plugging the brick in to the xlr's on the interface and turning up the gain at all on the interface?

I mean if you don't like the brick you don't like the brick It's just that what you are describing does not sound like the brick.
 
sorry man, your brick is trash

i'll give you $50 for it
 
I'll go $60, but just cuz I feel sorry for ya....getting ripped off and all....and I got a coupla extra bucks.....sooooooooo..... waddya say?
 
I had a listen to both of your examples ...

And you are right. The brick is imparting somewhat of a veil, compared to the more detailed sound I'm hearing out of the firepod tracks. That's not to say that the brick wouldn't have it's uses, but as you alluded to, you can replicate the difference you hear fairly easy with EQ.

And I don't think this necessarily illustrates that the Brick is somehow "over-rated." It's just that mic pres, in general, are kind of over-rated. For the amount of time people spend obsessing over them, their differences are relatively inconsequential, and in many situations can be replicated with things like EQ.
 
over-rated-- yes-- for sure. there's no magic bullet solution.
re: that "their differences are relatively inconsequential" again, yes-- relatively. [insert soap box rant about performance, acoustics, microphone selection/placement, recording technique/gain staging, etc. trumping mic pre selection].
however, ime, mic pre circuit topology, transformerless vs. transformer, input impedence and how those all interact with the kind of signal pres are being fed do make a significant difference.
we shouldn't be surprised when sometimes a cheaper pre works better than a more expensive pre in the same way that we shouldn't be surprised when a 57 works better than a much more expensive condenser.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top