The Brick vs...

  • Thread starter Thread starter tkingen
  • Start date Start date
tkingen

tkingen

Djembes Rock
As a mic preamp, how is the Brick compared to the pres in channel strips of the same price range? Please disregard the fact that the channel strip will have eq, compressor or whatever...I'm just talking about the pres themselves.
What I'm getting at is this...if you already have a nice eq and compressor...or don't need them...but just want an affordable top notch preamp...are you better off with getting the Brick rather than an all-in-one-box? If you needed to buy two Bricks for stereo recording, that would run about $800.00. Is that better than buying an $800.00 dual channel strip?
And, is the pre circuit in the Brick on par with some of the bigger name/bigger dollar preamps?

Terry
 
While we are at it, how does the Brick compare to other DI's?

I have a Fishman BP-100 pickup for my upright bass. It is widely reviled as being harsh, and I hadn't been very happy with it until I heard it through a Demeter VTDB direct box. The difference was amazing, but possibly due to better impedence matching. The Fishman, as with many piezo pickups, is extremely Hi-Z.

The Demeter, cool as it is, is just a DI that costs $600.

The Brick has a tube DI, with 3M input impedence, plus it has a spiffy mic pre for $400.
 
I think the Brick

Is definitely better than the Peavey VMP2 that I had. The brick sounds cleaner with a more clear and sweet top end. At $800 for two channels, it is worth it i would say. It is more expensive than the peavey channel for channel, cause I think I bought my VMP2 for about 600 for two channels. The Brick is so solid and from what I hear had a great design and solid construction, big transformers and everything. I am very impressed with it and heard another owner say that it was exactly on par with his Sytek. I consider that a compliment to the Brick.

Now for my own terrible news, I will probably have to take my Brick back to Guitar Center. My Guitar Amp got stolen and I will be forced to have another one quick because I am a soloact and I hate going through the board. It sucks but I can get another Brick in a few months, so at least I know I love it and won't have to worry about deciding on a preamp. I got mine for $349 out the door at Guitar Center, so maybe you can find one for that. I'll post a post in the classified on this board and see if anyone wants it for what I paid for it. It would save me a 40 mile trip back to Knoxville, but it really doesn't matter cause I need strings anyway.

By the way, here is my first little sample with the Brick and an AT3035 mic for the Harmonica and Marshall 603 for the acoustic. I did this in the first hour I had it. It's been about a week ago. My room sucks though.
javascript:viewfile('http://onlinerock.com/musicians/jeffls//the_brick.mp3') I named this MP3 extension because of the site, but it is actually a wav file.

Jeff

Jeff


tkingen said:
As a mic preamp, how is the Brick compared to the pres in channel strips of the same price range? Please disregard the fact that the channel strip will have eq, compressor or whatever...I'm just talking about the pres themselves.
What I'm getting at is this...if you already have a nice eq and compressor...or don't need them...but just want an affordable top notch preamp...are you better off with getting the Brick rather than an all-in-one-box? If you needed to buy two Bricks for stereo recording, that would run about $800.00. Is that better than buying an $800.00 dual channel strip?
And, is the pre circuit in the Brick on par with some of the bigger name/bigger dollar preamps?

Terry
Click to expand...
 
The brick is the best preamp I've used. Its DI is widely accepted as superb for bass. Not much else to say. :P
 
Well the Brick's preamp is going to smoke any other channel strip's preamp in its price range and many above it. I personally like the sound of the Brick but I wish it could be rack mounted...

War
 
tkingen said:
If you needed to buy two Bricks for stereo recording, that would run about $800.00. Is that better than buying an $800.00 dual channel strip?
Click to expand...
The Brick is solid enough in its price range as a single channel. If you wanna tube pre in that price range it's the way to go. If you don't have to have tubes the pre on the Tampa is very good. If I needed to buy two Bricks I'd spend another couple of hundred dollars and get a Sebatron vmp-2000e.
And, is the pre circuit in the Brick on par with some of the bigger name/bigger dollar preamps?
Click to expand...
The Brick will give you good mid-level performance, but it doesn't offer the performance of higher-end preamps.
 
Last edited:
Warhead said:
Well the Brick's preamp is going to smoke any other channel strip's preamp in its price range and many above it. I personally like the sound of the Brick but I wish it could be rack mounted...

War
Click to expand...

War,

Maybe they'll take your advice!
 
Dot said:
The Brick is solid enough in its price range as a single channel. If you wanna tube pre in that price range it's the way to go. If you don't have to have tubes the pre on the Tampa is very good. If I needed to buy two Bricks I'd spend another couple of hundred dollars and get a Sebatron vmp-2000e. The Brick will give you good mid-level performance, but it doesn't offer the performance of higher-end preamps.
Click to expand...

Dot,

Thank you, this is the advice I was looking for. On another note, you have recommended the MAudio Tampa to home hobbyists as an affordable way to upgrade. Without taking the Tampa's compressor into consideration, do you have an opinion on the quality of the Tampa vs the Brick?
Btw, the Sebatron is starting to look more and more interesting as I learn more!

Regards,
Terry
 
The thing that bothers me about the Brick ... and it's basically the same thing that bothers me about the ditto.

And that's the lack of flexible gain control. I'd never want to be in a situation where I had to "ride the gain" while tracking. It's just too eratic. It's almost like a stepped gain control, where all of a sudden, a slight nudge to the right makes the gain jump dramatically. There are also some spots on the "dial" that act kinda' funny. And it's the exact same thing, again, with the ditto.

I sold mine off for that reason, but kept the ditto because it was so damn cheap anyway. Personally, I think the Brick sounds great. I guess I'd call it a very wide-spectrum or bandwidth mic pre that seems to extend way out in both directions (top and bottom), which is a characteristic of expensive pres. It also seems to match up well with dynamic mics, which is fantastic. However, the functionality and controls seem to exhibit characteristics of very cheaply-designed gear with logistical compromises.

That, I believe, might be more than a fair tradeoff for a lot of people, particularly the recording musician or the hobbyist. Not necessarily someone who's getting paid for a session, who needs reliable functionality.
 
chessrock said:
The thing that bothers me about the Brick ... and it's basically the same thing that bothers me about the ditto.

And that's the lack of flexible gain control. I'd never want to be in a situation where I had to "ride the gain" while tracking. It's just too eratic. It's almost like a stepped gain control, where all of a sudden, a slight nudge to the right makes the gain jump dramatically. There are also some spots on the "dial" that act kinda' funny. And it's the exact same thing, again, with the ditto.

I sold mine off for that reason, but kept the ditto because it was so damn cheap anyway. Personally, I think the Brick sounds great. I guess I'd call it a very wide-spectrum or bandwidth mic pre that seems to extend way out in both directions (top and bottom), which is a characteristic of expensive pres. It also seems to match up well with dynamic mics, which is fantastic. However, the functionality and controls seem to exhibit characteristics of very cheaply-designed gear with logistical compromises.

That, I believe, might be more than a fair tradeoff for a lot of people, particularly the recording musician or the hobbyist. Not necessarily someone who's getting paid for a session, who needs reliable functionality.
Click to expand...

Chess,

Thanks for your input. The gain control could be problematic for me. Even though I'm a hobbyist, my patience tends to wear thin on details like that. Something else that occurs to me...the Brick doesn't have master volume out. It seems that preamps have a sweet spot where they sound the best. What if the sweet spot is pegging out the digital meters in your DAW? Or does it sound so good that all gain settings are in the sweet spot?

Terry
 
tkingen said:
Btw, the Sebatron is starting to look more and more interesting as I learn more!
Click to expand...
I can deffinately recommend the Sebatron. I think they are the best kept secret in the audio world.
 
tkingen said:
War,

Maybe they'll take your advice!
Click to expand...

I wish! Anyhow, I recently invested a bunch into an Omnirax Synergy desk and I'm bound and determined to have everything rack mounted. Not long ago I had shit strewn all around the room...now the Brick just isn't a fit for me. I like convenience and neatness right now...

War
 
Markd102 said:
I can deffinately recommend the Sebatron. I think they are the best kept secret in the audio world.
Click to expand...

I'm really interested in the Sebatron but there's no way on earth I'd be able to check one out. I'd just have to buy blind from the US or maybe even direct from Aus. not something I'd usually do but I am sorely tempted. I've not read anything bad about the Sebatron pres.
 
watch dot the salesman push the product he sells. the brick is one of the best additions i made to my studio. it sounds huge. it's almost as good as the dw fearn pre we have and definitely a lot more open sounding then that sebatron thing

i tried the sebatron and sold it after about 6 months it just started to make everything sound fuzzy like the ua stuff. i liked it at first but after using if ofr a whiel realized that it was making my recdordings worse instead of better
 
rocker said:
watch dot the salesman push the product he sells. the brick is one of the best additions i made to my studio. it sounds huge. it's almost as good as the dw fearn pre we have and definitely a lot more open sounding then that sebatron thing

i tried the sebatron and sold it after about 6 months it just started to make everything sound fuzzy like the ua stuff. i liked it at first but after using if ofr a whiel realized that it was making my recdordings worse instead of better
Click to expand...

I haven't tried the Brick, can't comment there.

I don't think Dot is a salesman, though--just knowledgable.

The Seb rocks, and you are the only person I've heard of who can't get a great recording out of it.
 
yea Rocker what kind of music are you playing thru the Sebatron that sounds bad. :mad:
 
tdukex said:
I don't think Dot is a salesman, though.
Click to expand...


Na. Dot is what you'd call a Sales PIMP. There's a difference.

Ya see ... there are several classifications. A Sales Weasel is like the Guitar Center guy who pretends he knows stuff about gear in order to make a sale.

A Sales PIMP, on the other hand -- also known as Gear pimp is someone who actually has some knowlege of his product, and is passionate about it. But he still wants to make a sale, :D make no mistake, and he's usually pretty good at it.

Fletcher would technically be considered a pimp. Warhead's a pimp. Chessrock would make a great pimp. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top