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mooseherman « Great, warm tube pre »
Published on 01/11/11 at 16:25This is a microphone preamplifier designed for use in the recording studio. It has two channels. It is a tube mic preamp, so expect a lot of warm tones and less harsh ones. It's smooth all the way which is good. I would say that it's one of the warmest, smoothest mic pre's that I've used. It's got the normal mic pre connections. I used it in a studio so I just used the patch bay so I can only assume it's got the typical XLR connections. There are no effects in this mic pre but it does have features like phantom power and a -20db.
UTILIZATION
Using this mic pre is pretty basic overall. It's got a pad and phantom and those about as tough as it gets to use. I've found that it works really well with a lot of stuff, though there are definitely instances where you'd be better off using a solid-state preamp like an API or SSL, as they are more in-your-face and sometimes harder in a good way. I haven't used a manual for this mic pre as I really haven't ever used a manual for any mic pre. It's easy enough for any engineer to understand assuming they've used a mic pre before.
SOUND QUALITY
This is a great, warm preamp. It has some great warmth without sacrificing clarity. I like this amp with condenser mics the best as it gives the clear and detailed signal of a condenser mic blended with the warmth of a tube pre amp. It's good with dynamic mics too, but I don't like it with tube mics as they are too noisy. No matter though, theres a whole lot of other uses for it. I like to use it with small diaphragm condenser mics for drum overheads, with large diaphragm condensers for acoustic guitars and vocals, as well as many other uses. It's just a great sounding pre overall.
OVERALL OPINION
I like the sound of this preamp a whole lot as well as it's variety of uses. It's not good with other tube mics but it sounds great with all types of regular condenser mics. I think that it's pretty expensive overall, enough that I would only use it if you own a studio or are opening one. It's too nice for most people to use, it actually needs converters that are good enough to handle it. I'd highly recommend it though to anyone who could use it as it's a phenomenal piece of gear.
UTILIZATION
Using this mic pre is pretty basic overall. It's got a pad and phantom and those about as tough as it gets to use. I've found that it works really well with a lot of stuff, though there are definitely instances where you'd be better off using a solid-state preamp like an API or SSL, as they are more in-your-face and sometimes harder in a good way. I haven't used a manual for this mic pre as I really haven't ever used a manual for any mic pre. It's easy enough for any engineer to understand assuming they've used a mic pre before.
SOUND QUALITY
This is a great, warm preamp. It has some great warmth without sacrificing clarity. I like this amp with condenser mics the best as it gives the clear and detailed signal of a condenser mic blended with the warmth of a tube pre amp. It's good with dynamic mics too, but I don't like it with tube mics as they are too noisy. No matter though, theres a whole lot of other uses for it. I like to use it with small diaphragm condenser mics for drum overheads, with large diaphragm condensers for acoustic guitars and vocals, as well as many other uses. It's just a great sounding pre overall.
OVERALL OPINION
I like the sound of this preamp a whole lot as well as it's variety of uses. It's not good with other tube mics but it sounds great with all types of regular condenser mics. I think that it's pretty expensive overall, enough that I would only use it if you own a studio or are opening one. It's too nice for most people to use, it actually needs converters that are good enough to handle it. I'd highly recommend it though to anyone who could use it as it's a phenomenal piece of gear.