Nobody? Okay, guess I'll give it a try on as much as I can. I was thinking guitar cab and maybe sax. With an C414 and a MD421.

These "preamps" are quite universal, and very neutral in comparison to thier tube forefathers. I havent touched mine in about a year for a mic signal, i can recall getting some nice results on guitar with a md421, and still use them quite often as line amps(which is what they REALLY were made for).Transistorwise a v376 still whoops its butt sonicly speaking...but before you shuck out tons of bucks for a racked version, you sould get your hands on a loose unit and solder it yourself...its super easy. 1 pot, 24v psu and two xlrs and your good to go.

Paul, thanks for the advice. I tried it out on a guitar cab today with both a C414 and MD421. I dig the sound, it sounds very Beatles-esque. But I don't think it's quite "vintage" enough, if you get my drift. I'm looking for something a bit more warm and crunchy to really capture the guitar, especially. You say the 376 may be a better choice? I'm shopping Vintage King as they're shop is very close to my studio. I will look at some more options.

Any other suggestions???

Hey dude,

I would recommend that if you have access to other units, that you give the v76 a good tryout...this one is a REAL eye opener as far as tube pres go. Sonically It acheives far more than his transistor counterpart .I use the transistor ones daily, but i would trade em both for one v76 in a new york miniute. It will unfortuneately be pretty costly if you wanna buy one in GOOD WORKING CONDITION. These babys can munch down anything you throw at em, and if you have no problem with the rudimentary gain pot that only goes in GIANT steps with a speaker smashing POW at every step all the way up to +76db(a setteng that I never needed ONCE unless i was recording an ant fart through a sm57), they are pretty much plug and play without needing an external 24v psu. These units are the cats pajamas...although some people might be tempted to say that Im an old fashioned boob. Ill stick to my guns on this. B.T.W. the v376 is also known as v676 v276 v476 and v976 from in that particular order TAB, Telefunken, siemens, Neumann and Lawo...but beware of buying these units on ebay. They are rarely in top shape. When I first started goofing around with these units I was grabbing them from ebay like a greedy brat on an egg hunt, and 50 percent of em were rotton eggs...D.O.A. And the 76er....i gotta check the tone curve on it to see where he drops off in the low end...as far as i remember its also got a bump at 80hz...im not sure about that though, so dont quote me. Have a nice sunday dude, and keep hammering at it.
Cheers
Paul

Viele Danke! Sie wohnen in Der Vaterland, so Gruess Gott! I'll look into the V72's, I think I can get them recapped from Vintage King. I'll head up there tomorrow and find out! You think they'll cost that much more than the 672's? I'm not looking to spend more than $2000.

Hey Danke!

You should consider really a v76 (tube) as opposed to a v72. The 76 has adjustable gain and a v72 has a set gain of....i think 34 db. Im too lazy to check the spec sheet on that(its 4am over here). I think the v72 sounds nice, but a little tip for ya...the v76 will smoke it any day. Its not so nuetral as the v72. Granted a v72 is much cheaper, although in the states you guys generally have to pay out the wazoo for em. Ive seen v76 s go for as little as 1000 bucks over here...on ebay of course. not always a sure thing though.
tab funkenwerk has rehabbed models, and the dude lives in the states.
here is his adress
http://www.oliverarchut.com/

hes THE guy to talk to about these issues, and maybe hes cheaper than buying something that might have more than bad caps. just want you to check all options. Where are you located?
good luck, any questions just post me
Paul