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If you had a choice of either a Manley Langevin, or, Manley dual mono or a Sebatron preamp for mainly vocals,which one would you choose ?-and why

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anonymous Mon, 04/04/2005 - 19:04

mikE@THECAVE wrote: when are you gunna step up the the plate and buy something eddie

I have been purchasing gear :oops: and alot of it lately-----------------but I some how or another end up with a P.O.S.!----maybe due to fact that I "didnt ask enough questions"!!!!
Now I have to get rid of some of the gear I have,to buy some "real gear".
So-----seeing as how youre so helpful-----------would you be interested in buying some gear from me?

anonymous Mon, 04/04/2005 - 19:14

mute_transports wrote: What's your favourite colour??

Above a certain quality point, you're talking about personal preferences rather than something being 'better' than another...
They'll all do a fine job, audio wise, just look at your wallet and your current rack gear and think about it that way...

The color factor is a big concern of mine----------------------the studios around here are very few and far in between so I just cant find one that easy to see if they have oneI can listen to.
Id give anything to listen to the pres in action to make my decision. Thanks for the reply 8-)

anonymous Wed, 04/06/2005 - 17:24

eddies880 wrote: [quote=ShellTones]I dunno, but I'd like to have a Dual Vocal Combo to compliment my Seb.

I think for vocals, if you don't already have good eq and compression, the Langevin DVC might be the best purchase[/quote
] Have you by chance already used the Langevin?

No I haven't used it. I'd like to, though.

KurtFoster Wed, 04/06/2005 - 18:06

eddies880 wrote: The color factor is a big concern of mine ... the studios around here are very few and far in between so I just cant find one that easy to see if they have oneI can listen to.
Id give anything to listen to the pres in action to make my decision. Thanks for the reply 8-)

The only thing is what might sound good to you on one sample, in use will sound crappy. That's what the term YMMV is all about. At some point you need to "just do it". BTW, what pieces did you get that were a P.O.S? Who recommended them to you? :roll: not meeeee (I hope) :oops:

Get the Sebatron.:!: It is a little of everything you want ... it can be colored or not depending on how hard you drive it and what pad and eq settings are used.. and if you want even more of what it does you can cascade channels. 8-) :

anonymous Wed, 04/06/2005 - 19:11

Kurt Foster wrote: [quote=eddies880]The color factor is a big concern of mine ... the studios around here are very few and far in between so I just cant find one that easy to see if they have oneI can listen to.
Id give anything to listen to the pres in action to make my decision. Thanks for the reply 8-)

The only thing is what might sound good to you on one sample, in use will sound crappy. That's what the term YMMV is all about. At some point you need to "just do it". BTW, what pieces did you get that were a P.O.S? Who recommended them to you? :roll: not meeeee (I hope) :oops:

Get the Sebatron.:!: It is a little of everything you want ... it can be colored or not depending on how hard you drive it and what pad and eq settings are used.. and if you want even more of what it does you can cascade channels. 8-) :Im too old to be pointing fingers at who recommended the p.o.s. gear I purchased-----lifes too short-----I guess you have to live and learn.
Im so tired of f****n around with shit that I have to knob dick with for weeks on end to try to get what Im after.
Does the seb come with a built in limiter?
If you wouldnt mind-----please explain the term (cascading channels)

anonymous Wed, 04/06/2005 - 20:44

I haven't tried the Sebtron, but we recently A-B'd a DVC against a Focusrite ISA. It was really close but in the end we went for the DVC.

The Langevin was more transparent , had better imaging and seemed to have a longer "hang"-time, ie we grabbed the tails of the signal and boosted them - the FR kind of fizzed out at the end, while the DVC just stayed clear until the tail ended. I'll check and see if we still have the samples if you'd like them posted to listen for yourself.

KurtFoster Wed, 04/06/2005 - 23:31

OK just as long as it wasn't meeeeee.

Cascading channels: With the Sebs you can take the output of one channel and run it into the di / line input of a second, third etc .... then you can drive the first channel harder and use the second to either add another gain stage or to attenuate the output of the first, just like a channel / master set up on a guitar amp. This makes the Seb very flexible. The Sebatron uses a single tube for gain and a transformer only across the input. The output is electronically balanced. This configuration allows the Sebatron vmp to go from very clean and almost completely uncolored, all the way to nasty dirty grungy. It really is one of the most flexible mic pres I have ever used.

omaru Thu, 04/07/2005 - 05:19

Like many others, I've asked a lot of questions in relation to Sebatron gear and how it stacks up to the well known ones.
Recently I purchased a racked pair of Quad Eights with lovely sounding EQ, then, not long after, I purchased a second hand Sebatron stereo comp - VECQ 2000.

MMmmmmmMMMmmmm.

The Quad 8's are great, but the VECQ 2000 made such a difference to the sound of everything put through it that I now lust after a VMP 4000e. - it's a sound that turns me on.

I'd like to thank Kurt for his many positive, patient and informative responses.

If anyone has a VMP 4000e they'd like to sell, then please PM me.

I'm sold - and thanks to Kurt and recording.org

omaru

anonymous Thu, 04/07/2005 - 10:57

geckormf wrote: I haven't tried the Sebtron, but we recently A-B'd a DVC against a Focusrite ISA. It was really close but in the end we went for the DVC.

The Langevin was more transparent , had better imaging and seemed to have a longer "hang"-time, ie we grabbed the tails of the signal and boosted them - the FR kind of fizzed out at the end, while the DVC just stayed clear until the tail ended. I'll check and see if we still have the samples if you'd like them posted to listen for yourself.

That sounds great!-post them!

anonymous Thu, 04/07/2005 - 11:05

YOUNGMOE wrote: dude, you're never gonna like anything you buy!!!

good gear is godo gear, you just have to learn to manipulate it right

Ive purchased a large amount of gear I do like!-------and-----seeing as how I wasnt born yesterday------Im very familiar with the (manipulating factor).
Its better to be well informed,than to get caught with youre d***k in youre hand :lol:

anonymous Thu, 04/07/2005 - 11:08

omaru wrote: Like many others, I've asked a lot of questions in relation to Sebatron gear and how it stacks up to the well known ones.
Recently I purchased a racked pair of Quad Eights with lovely sounding EQ, then, not long after, I purchased a second hand Sebatron stereo comp - VECQ 2000.

MMmmmmmMMMmmmm.

The Quad 8's are great, but the VECQ 2000 made such a difference to the sound of everything put through it that I now lust after a VMP 4000e. - it's a sound that turns me on.

I'd like to thank Kurt for his many positive, patient and informative responses.

If anyone has a VMP 4000e they'd like to sell, then please PM me.

I'm sold - and thanks to Kurt and recording.org

omaru

Now thats informative!!!!!!!!!
If you wouldnt mind me asking---------what did you pay for youre second hand Seb?

Markd102 Thu, 04/07/2005 - 16:02

I've heard it mentioned a few times that the VEQC2000 is some people's favorite piece of Seb equipment.
Amazingly versatile piece.
I'm planning on picking one up myself eventually.

But I can endorse their VMP. I only picked mine up a week ago, and have only plugged it in twice, but it has amazed me both times.

Here's a mp3 of a pre-existing session that we used for a test. The lead vocal line only was re-tracked with the 4000e. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it warmed up the 103.

Signal chain was TLM-103 -> VMP-4000e -> Envoice (compressor section only) -> DI-Port (AD) -> DIGI001 (via S/Pdif)

Pad was on -15db, and the Air switch was engaged.

http://bastiaan.ods.org/mark/roundabout.mp3

anonymous Thu, 04/07/2005 - 18:39

Kurt Foster wrote: OK just as long as it wasn't meeeeee.

Cascading channels: With the Sebs you can take the output of one channel and run it into the di / line input of a second, third etc .... then you can drive the first channel harder and use the second to either add another gain stage or to attenuate the output of the first, just like a channel / master set up on a guitar amp. This makes the Seb very flexible. The Sebatron uses a single tube for gain and a transformer only across the input. The output is electronically balanced. This configuration allows the Sebatron vmp to go from very clean and almost completely uncolored, all the way to nasty dirty grungy. It really is one of the most flexible mic pres I have ever used.

The cascade effect sounds interesting,if you wouldnt mind me asking,for what particular reason (sound--vocals--guitar--etc)have you used the linking of sebs?

anonymous Thu, 04/07/2005 - 19:03

Markd102 wrote: I've heard it mentioned a few times that the VEQC2000 is some people's favorite piece of Seb equipment.
Amazingly versatile piece.
I'm planning on picking one up myself eventually.

But I can endorse their VMP. I only picked mine up a week ago, and have only plugged it in twice, but it has amazed me both times.

Here's a mp3 of a pre-existing session that we used for a test. The lead vocal line only was re-tracked with the 4000e. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it warmed up the 103.

Signal chain was TLM-103 -> VMP-4000e -> Envoice (compressor section only) -> DI-Port (AD) -> DIGI001 (via S/Pdif)

Pad was on -15db, and the Air switch was engaged.

http://bastiaan.ods.org/mark/roundabout.mp3

The voice sounds --just--about how I would like the vocal track to sound.
Great song too!-----------thanks for youre time dude!---------all the way from down under 8-) 8-)

anonymous Sat, 04/09/2005 - 10:17

Kurt Foster wrote: [quote=eddies880]The color factor is a big concern of mine ... the studios around here are very few and far in between so I just cant find one that easy to see if they have oneI can listen to.
Id give anything to listen to the pres in action to make my decision. Thanks for the reply 8-)

The only thing is what might sound good to you on one sample, in use will sound crappy. That's what the term YMMV is all about. At some point you need to "just do it". BTW, what pieces did you get that were a P.O.S? Who recommended them to you? :roll: not meeeee (I hope) :oops:

Get the Sebatron.:!: It is a little of everything you want ... it can be colored or not depending on how hard you drive it and what pad and eq settings are used.. and if you want even more of what it does you can cascade channels. 8-) :Well kurt-------------its a done deal!!!!!!!!---------I found a seb from someone you know!,couldnt pass the deal,no more (talk-talk)---now its time to walk the walk.
Oh,by the----------it was you that recommended the gear I purchased-no harm done 8-)

The presonus I purchased isnt all its said to be :x ,,,,but Ive used it as a di on an acoustic track,and I must admit,it sounds better than I had thought is would------------------------so---Im sure Ill put it to use for awhile.
what I like about it is the fact that the comp and eq are in one box----the pre section is terrible----.
Anyway---life goes on.
Im sure that when I start working with the Seb---Ill be asking you , 8-) and the guys at RO who own Sebs,alot more questions

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 07:25

Kurt Foster wrote:

Oh,by the----------it was you that recommended the gear I purchased-no harm done

Please tell me what piece that was ... perhaps I need to re evaluate my opinion?

Presonus Eureka--------like I said,the pre section isnt as good as is written up to be :oops: .
I like the EQ section,and the compressor.
Its just not worth the money I paid for it,Ill keep using,I m sure,on different applacations.
The main reason you suggested the Eureka,was the cost cap I had at the time(My mistake)I should have just saved the $$$ and bought good ,well known gear 8-) .
By the time I get the Seb in,Ill be ready to start vocals on another project I have going.

KurtFoster Mon, 04/11/2005 - 08:52

eddies880 wrote: [quote=Kurt Foster]

Oh,by the----------it was you that recommended the gear I purchased-no harm done

Please tell me what piece that was ... perhaps I need to re evaluate my opinion?

Presonus Eureka--------like I said,the pre section isnt as good as is written up to be :oops: .
I like the EQ section,and the compressor.
Its just not worth the money I paid for it,Ill keep using,I m sure,on different applacations.
The main reason you suggested the Eureka,was the cost cap I had at the time(My mistake)I should have just saved the $$$ and bought good ,well known gear 8-) .
By the time I get the Seb in,Ill be ready to start vocals on another project I have going.Hmmmm, that doesn't seem right.

I never really liked any of the PreSonus pres and I have always said that. I actually went through a huge flame war with one of the other moderators here regarding the Eureka. I'll look to see if I can find that thread.

I'm not calling you a lair, I may have at some point grudgeingly recommended it to you based on price and features but I don't recall it.

I think if you go back and find the posts, you may find it was someone else that advised you to try the Eureka.

Anyways, all's well that ends well ... and I'm sorry you had to go through that. We will try to do better by you in the future.

KurtFoster Mon, 04/11/2005 - 09:19

Eddies880,
mmm-kay!!! I went back through the archives and found the post where I "recommended" the Eureka to you. It was however not a recommendation of the mic pre as you will notice, instead an endorsement of EL OP type comps.

I mentioned that there was an EL OP type comp in the Eureka and my intent was to suggest you listen to it first before buying. I said that because I had never heard the Eureka in action for myself. It really wasn't a recommendation of the Eureka but instead, an idea of something to look at. Sorry for the confusion, in the future I will try to be more clear. Here was my post.

Kurt Foster wrote: I would normally recommend a comp like the Tube Techs, ADLs, Manley EL OP or the LA2a for tube compressors... things like that are where the "tube comp" thing gets good .. but in your situation I think this is a bit out of your price range and would be "overkill"..

I also question if a tube compressor is going to deliver what you are trying to achieve ...

See if you can beg borrow or steal a PreSonus Eureka channel strip ... it has an el op type compressor in it and at the level your at, would likely be a good addition to your studio .. (it streets for about $500)

Another solution might be to get a tube in the path by using a tube mic ... The Studio Projects line is very good for the price, build quality is right up there and customer service is second to none .. The tube offering from them is the T3 tube LD condenser .. I want one of these myself (actually I would love to have the stereo version of it the LSD ... )

Like I said, I will try to be more clear in the future. I am sorry for the confusion.

:oops:

Without going on a rant here, I will say I feel much of the reason for this happening, lies in the pressure exerted on me by others to make some "cost effective" recommendations for those who say they "can't afford" high end gear. :roll: I have been trying to temper my opinion to be a little less "hard line" against cheap crap gear. I am not going to succumb to that kind of pressure ever again. If this means I piss a bunch of people off and in the end lose my influence or position at RO as a moderator and reviewer, so be it! I would prefer that to feeling like I compromised my integrity by allowing myself to become just another "rubber stamping schill" for the industry.

This has been a learning experience for both of us it seems.

In the end however, I only have myself to blame. I should not have allowed others to sway me from what I knew to be correct, in the interest of some form of "political correctness" or "politeness". The responsibilty of making reccomendations, rests soley on my shoulders. I take this stuff, very seriously. From now on, I will remain unabashedly true to myself.

I am happy to see that you have decided on something that is really good. Now that you will have the opportunity to hear the difference a really decent mic pre can make for yourself, I seriously doubt you will ever be willing to compromise your audio to a cheap mic pre again. The Sebatron is an excellent choice that should last forever. Congratulations!

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 16:02

Markd102 wrote: Kurt

I hope I speak for all of us when I say that we appreciate the work you do here.
Deffinately be true to yourself. This is, afterall, the "Pro Audio" forum. If someone is after anything less than this you simply need to direct them to the "Budget Gear" forum.

Keep up the good work!

Mark

Funny you should mention the Budget forum Mark--------------thats where all the fireworks started.
A simple comment from Kurt,turned into a major deal -------but thats water under the bridge now.

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 16:07

Kurt Foster wrote: Eddies880,
mmm-kay!!! I went back through the archives and found the post where I "recommended" the Eureka to you. It was however not a recommendation of the mic pre as you will notice, instead an endorsement of EL OP type comps.

I mentioned that there was an EL OP type comp in the Eureka and my intent was to suggest you listen to it first before buying. I said that because I had never heard the Eureka in action for myself. It really wasn't a recommendation of the Eureka but instead, an idea of something to look at. Sorry for the confusion, in the future I will try to be more clear. Here was my post.

[quote=Kurt Foster]I would normally recommend a comp like the Tube Techs, ADLs, Manley EL OP or the LA2a for tube compressors... things like that are where the "tube comp" thing gets good .. but in your situation I think this is a bit out of your price range and would be "overkill"..

I also question if a tube compressor is going to deliver what you are trying to achieve ...

See if you can beg borrow or steal a PreSonus Eureka channel strip ... it has an el op type compressor in it and at the level your at, would likely be a good addition to your studio .. (it streets for about $500)

Another solution might be to get a tube in the path by using a tube mic ... The Studio Projects line is very good for the price, build quality is right up there and customer service is second to none .. The tube offering from them is the T3 tube LD condenser .. I want one of these myself (actually I would love to have the stereo version of it the LSD ... )

Like I said, I will try to be more clear in the future. I am sorry for the confusion.

:oops:

Without going on a rant here, I will say I feel much of the reason for this happening, lies in the pressure exerted on me by others to make some "cost effective" recommendations for those who say they "can't afford" high end gear. :roll: I have been trying to temper my opinion to be a little less "hard line" against cheap crap gear. I am not going to succumb to that kind of pressure ever again. If this means I piss a bunch of people off and in the end lose my influence or position at RO as a moderator and reviewer, so be it! I would prefer that to feeling like I compromised my integrity by allowing myself to become just another "rubber stamping schill" for the industry.

This has been a learning experience for both of us it seems.

In the end however, I only have myself to blame. I should not have allowed others to sway me from what I knew to be correct, in the interest of some form of "political correctness" or "politeness". The responsibilty of making reccomendations, rests soley on my shoulders. I take this stuff, very seriously. From now on, I will remain unabashedly true to myself.

I am happy to see that you have decided on something that is really good. Now that you will have the opportunity to hear the difference a really decent mic pre can make for yourself, I seriously doubt you will ever be willing to compromise your audio to a cheap mic pre again. The Sebatron is an excellent choice that should last forever. Congratulations!Glad you found the thread Kurt----Im probably going to sell the Presonus to a friend of mine at a later date--if and when I do sell it------I will advise the buyer exactly what there getting-----no sugar coating-----just the simple fact.
Once I recieve the Seb----you and the rest of the Seb owners at RO will be hearing from me for ideas and settings on the Seb.
Thanks

anonymous Mon, 04/11/2005 - 21:36

Kurt Foster wrote: [quote=eddies880]The color factor is a big concern of mine ... the studios around here are very few and far in between so I just cant find one that easy to see if they have oneI can listen to.
Id give anything to listen to the pres in action to make my decision. Thanks for the reply 8-)

The only thing is what might sound good to you on one sample, in use will sound crappy. That's what the term YMMV is all about. At some point you need to "just do it". BTW, what pieces did you get that were a P.O.S? Who recommended them to you? :roll: not meeeee (I hope) :oops:

Get the Sebatron.:!: It is a little of everything you want ... it can be colored or not depending on how hard you drive it and what pad and eq settings are used.. and if you want even more of what it does you can cascade channels. 8-) :I know this may sound like a stupid question,but here it goes anyway-----seeing as how I purchased a 2000e without the VUs-----what other method is there for being able to see db levels at the seb :(

KurtFoster Tue, 04/12/2005 - 06:22

eddies880 wrote: [quote=Kurt Foster][quote=eddies880]The color factor is a big concern of mine ... the studios around here are very few and far in between so I just cant find one that easy to see if they have oneI can listen to.
Id give anything to listen to the pres in action to make my decision. Thanks for the reply 8-)

The only thing is what might sound good to you on one sample, in use will sound crappy. That's what the term YMMV is all about. At some point you need to "just do it". BTW, what pieces did you get that were a P.O.S? Who recommended them to you? :roll: not meeeee (I hope) :oops:

Get the Sebatron.:!: It is a little of everything you want ... it can be colored or not depending on how hard you drive it and what pad and eq settings are used.. and if you want even more of what it does you can cascade channels. 8-) :I know this may sound like a stupid question,but here it goes anyway-----seeing as how I purchased a 2000e without the VUs-----what other method is there for being able to see db levels at the seb :(Yes, watch the levels on the recorder. The procedure would be to patch the pre to the recorder and set levels, then once that is done add any compression you might want. If you patch the comp into the path before you set the pre, be sure to monitor the input signal to the comp to make sure you're not overloading it.

The Sebatron is a one knob wonder ... no pre attenuator and output gain matching like on a GR MP2NV ... so metering is actually redundant IMO.

anonymous Tue, 04/12/2005 - 07:34

Kurt Foster wrote: [quote=eddies880][quote=Kurt Foster][quote=eddies880]The color factor is a big concern of mine ... the studios around here are very few and far in between so I just cant find one that easy to see if they have oneI can listen to.
Id give anything to listen to the pres in action to make my decision. Thanks for the reply 8-)

The only thing is what might sound good to you on one sample, in use will sound crappy. That's what the term YMMV is all about. At some point you need to "just do it". BTW, what pieces did you get that were a P.O.S? Who recommended them to you? :roll: not meeeee (I hope) :oops:

Get the Sebatron.:!: It is a little of everything you want ... it can be colored or not depending on how hard you drive it and what pad and eq settings are used.. and if you want even more of what it does you can cascade channels. 8-) :I know this may sound like a stupid question,but here it goes anyway-----seeing as how I purchased a 2000e without the VUs-----what other method is there for being able to see db levels at the seb :(Yes, watch the levels on the recorder. The procedure would be to patch the pre to the recorder and set levels, then once that is done add any compression you might want. If you patch the comp into the path before you set the pre, be sure to monitor the input signal to the comp to make sure you're not overloading it.

The Sebatron is a one knob wonder ... no pre attenuator and output gain matching like on a GR MP2NV ... so metering is actually redundant IMO.That sounds logical--------Thanks for youre time Kurt 8-)