D.W. Fearn

This is a tube preamp, but using modern technology, it does sound a little different from the classic tube preamps. This has two preamps on it, both of which have the same controls. It needs to be put into a racked unit to work, and you need to either plug directly into it or have it set up in your patch bay to work. UTILIZATION The editing on this pre-amp isn't much different than most pre-amps. For each channel, It has an attenuation (input gain) knob. phantom power (+48v), a -20db pad, and phase reverse. Each channel also has an input (Lo-Z) that is designed to perform well with transformerless mics. The manual will explain everything about this pre-amp in detail, and the customer service that comes with D.W. Fearn products is very good. SOUND QUALITY This preamp has a great sound to it. It doesn't color the sound too drastically, although it isn't completely transparent. However, most of the time you don't want something completely transparent anyway, mainly because it'd be a dull sound. The Fearn sounds particularly good with low end instruments like bass and kick drums, but it can be used for all instruments well. It does a particularly good job of bringing out a full, round sound and emphasizing the favorable frequencies. OVERALL OPINION I like the sound of this preamp the best. I haven't had the chance to use the Lo-Z input yet, but I look forward to it. The phase reverse and phantom power work fine, and the pad is useful. There isn't much more to say, other than this is a great tube pre-amp with a few modern touches thrown in for good measure.

The DW Fearn VT 7 is a rack able compresser with two channels and it can be used together or you can use them separately. One thing about this unit is that it is built to last, this unit will not get defective on you or break if you drop it, it is a very steardy and well built piece of equipment that is manufacture by a company in Pennsylvania that stands by there products. The company has actually made several units that are similar to this one and they are all built the same way. They build gear for guys like me that have to travel a lot and take the gear they have with them. UTILIZATION This compressor will take up 3 rack spaces I think (because it’s a pretty big unit) and it has pretty basic controls like gain, attack and threshold and release. One back thing about units like these is that they tend to get hot , very hot. They get hot fast too, you wont even need to have them on long and they will get hot and could potentially fry the mother board of the unit (which would be the only way that this unit would break) but the DW Fearn VT 7 has a built in fan that will keep the system cool which gives your unit pretty much an eternity of a life span. Some times the built in fan can get a little annoying though because its not as quiet as you might want it to be or like some computer fans can give a little hiss or hum. But this fan you will hear from several feet away and it will get on your nerves after a while but you will need to have this fan so you can protect your investment. SOUND QUALITY sounds great OVERALL OPINION The VT 7 is flexible and will provide great results for compressing certain instruments. If you know what you are doing with this compressor it will take you to another level. They are not cheap but they are worth the money spent.

The D.W. Fearn PDB Passive Direct Box is a simple piece of gear that I have used in a recording studio setting. I guess you could use this for a live show too, but this would never be something I'd recommend for the application since it is really too expensive for that sort of use. It's pretty much got the simplest possible make up for a DI box, consisting of 1/4" connections for instrument input and amplifier output as well an XLR output for sending the box to your console and/or audio interface. It isn't in rack mountable form. UTILIZATION Beyond making your connections into the D.W. Fearn PDB Passive Direct Box, there isn't anything that you need to know. As long as you understand basic signal flow and/or have set it a direct input box before, the PDB will be as easy to use as any other DI box out there. The only other feature that it has beyond it's basic connections is a ground lift switch, which comes in very handy. A manual for the PDB isn't necessary at all... SOUND QUALITY The D.W. Fearn PDB Passive Direct Box has a very impressive sound quality overall. I've really only used the PDB one time for getting a direct signal from a Wurlitzer electric piano. We also had the Wurli going to a speaker cabinet, so the PDB wasn't the only thing that I was using to record the source. Honestly though, I could have only used this DI box and have gotten a very respectable sound. I always like the sound that an amplifier will add though, as there are certain qualities of a sound that a DI box won't pick up. However, the PDB generally does a very good job of picking up a full direct sound and is definitely suitable for use on it's own if you don't want or have the means to record with an amplifier. OVERALL OPINION With a high quality sound and high quality make up, the D.W. Fearn PDB Passive Direct Box comes a big price as well. It's really only relatively expensive when compared to some of the other passive direct input boxes out there, but either way it really makes it a professional's piece of gear. I'd recommend looking into it if you're in the market for a very high quality DI box, but if it were me I'd probably stick with the cheaper and just as good in my opinion Countryman Type 85 DI box.