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nakedzen « Nice pre for the money »
Published on 10/04/11 at 03:51Mine is the Mk.II model of the Pre73. The GAP Pre73 is a Neve 1073 clone.
The input impedance of the microphone input can be switched between 300 and 1200 ohms, which makes it possible to affect the tone of most microphones. There is also phase switch and an simple 4-step LED signal level meter.
The output level control makes it possible to make fine gain adjustments and also to overload the main gain stage for more character and then lower the signal to a suitable level before the output stage.
The PRE73 Mk. II has a maximum gain of 80 dB on the mic input and the gain range on the Line input is -20 to + 10 dB. There is also a high-impedance instrument input.
Only on Mk. II:
-Unbalanced insert jack for inserting units like the coming GAP EQ-73, a three band eq.
-LED meter levels adjusted.
-600 Ohm termination resistor and jumper added to power supply board.
-Revised Gain switch, turning the know clockwise now increases the gain.
-Reduced noise at high gains by a change to the power supply grounding scheme.
One minus for the fact that you need to buy an external rack plate to make it rack mountable.
UTILIZATION
Using it is dead simple. Max the Output and use the Line/Mic knob for maximum headroom, which this thing has plenty of. Do it vice versa for maximum coloration and/or some nice distortion of the preamp. I did an A/B test of it with my Firepod pres and it wins unsurprisingly hands down. The pre73 has way more headroom as well. The audio comparison can be heard here: https://soundcloud.com/nakedzen/golden-age-project-pre73-and-1
SOUND QUALITY
As I mentioned above, it can be used as a transparent pre when setup that way. It also gives very nice coloration if need be, especially useful on vocals.
OVERALL OPINION
I'll get another one of these as soon as I have the cash for it so I can use them for kick and snare. Maybe a third one for the room mic. :D
I'm not too experienced with mic pres but this is very good value for me as I only record as a hobby.
The input impedance of the microphone input can be switched between 300 and 1200 ohms, which makes it possible to affect the tone of most microphones. There is also phase switch and an simple 4-step LED signal level meter.
The output level control makes it possible to make fine gain adjustments and also to overload the main gain stage for more character and then lower the signal to a suitable level before the output stage.
The PRE73 Mk. II has a maximum gain of 80 dB on the mic input and the gain range on the Line input is -20 to + 10 dB. There is also a high-impedance instrument input.
Only on Mk. II:
-Unbalanced insert jack for inserting units like the coming GAP EQ-73, a three band eq.
-LED meter levels adjusted.
-600 Ohm termination resistor and jumper added to power supply board.
-Revised Gain switch, turning the know clockwise now increases the gain.
-Reduced noise at high gains by a change to the power supply grounding scheme.
One minus for the fact that you need to buy an external rack plate to make it rack mountable.
UTILIZATION
Using it is dead simple. Max the Output and use the Line/Mic knob for maximum headroom, which this thing has plenty of. Do it vice versa for maximum coloration and/or some nice distortion of the preamp. I did an A/B test of it with my Firepod pres and it wins unsurprisingly hands down. The pre73 has way more headroom as well. The audio comparison can be heard here: https://soundcloud.com/nakedzen/golden-age-project-pre73-and-1
SOUND QUALITY
As I mentioned above, it can be used as a transparent pre when setup that way. It also gives very nice coloration if need be, especially useful on vocals.
OVERALL OPINION
I'll get another one of these as soon as I have the cash for it so I can use them for kick and snare. Maybe a third one for the room mic. :D
I'm not too experienced with mic pres but this is very good value for me as I only record as a hobby.