Uck...

Out of the frying pan and into the fire...

Just my opinion.

are you saying its crap for crap? the trident would have a bit more resell value though, right?

It's hard to say. The Trident strikes me as "nothing special." It's at best a decent pre and in my mind in the same class of sound and build quality as the presonus stuff. (In fact, the knobs even look the same except the trident stuff was red and the presonus stuff blue the last time I checked.)

I would say, if you're looking to get rid of your presonus - sell it for as much as you can get. You'll probably get at least $500 out of it which will at least get you most of the way to 2 bricks or at least 1 Summit 2BA-221.

J.

thanks man...

funny...when i considered the trade, I saw great reviews all over the web BESIDES here. but i wanted to check with all you guys before I signed off on it, and since I trust this forum more than anywhere else, I got to say, Ill stick with the cash rather than trade. I think I can squeeze $600 for the presonus...

thanks again Cucco

Jeremy,

It is insane how many people I know that put so much "stock" in the new Trident stuff because their old consoles were great. I know two small studio owners near me that think their Trident S20 is the cat's ass....I went to one guys studio and was able to record a few things. I will say that it doesn't suck, but it didn't really blow my dress up knowing that it is $1000. I will say that being able to A/B mics on it is cool, but that will never justify the price.

Yeah, the coolest feature is the Mic A/ Mic B inputs, but again, that just doesn't justify the price. There are far better pres on the market for $1K.

For example -

A pair of Grace 101s (Overlookfran should know - I sold him my set of 101s - btw - how are they working out for you?)

A pair of Summit 2BA-221 - I can't tell you how awesome these pres really are - you've just gotta try them. Check out my post in the Audio Projects forum - it's entitled Classical Guitar Project. This was done with Audix SCX-25s and Summit 2BA-221s and 1 gefell M296 and a True Systems

Sytek

Broadhurst Gardens (I haven't used it, but I hear wonderful things about them)

Brent Averill (If you've already got a "lunchbox" or "rackpack" you can pick up two of these for under $1K. But of course, if you don't have one - keep an eye on ebay or get ready to drop another $600

And SOOO many more. The trident, to me, is a repackaged Presonus or Art pre. Simply slapped together without much of a sound to call its own. I would personally be content to use the stock pres in a Soundcraft or A&H board just as same as using the Trident.

J.

Trident made soem great sounding boards. But the name Trident has been plauged by a bad reputation for how the do business for years. I remember one studio owner in the Bay Area that plopped down a sizeable deposit (late 80's early 90's, ) on a Trident, that never got a board or a refund. The company has changed hands and gone through restucturing several times and it doesn't seem like things have gotton better in any way. Interesting that both companies now manufacturing "re-issues" of the older "Trident Designs" (ORAM and PMI) seem to be aiming at the "affordable" market. It's not like the original Trident s were anywhere close to affordable .... and now we're all supposed to accept that these designs can be faithfully reproduced for low bucks? :roll:

Technology has come a long way ... but over adaquate power supplies and discreet designs (for the most part) still spell "the best" when it comes to pres it seems.

I'm skeptical on anything that has Oram's name atached to it but I've heard and used the S20 a few times and it is a good and decent mic pre that is a bit overpriced. While other mid level gear may be as good or better, the S20 is a classic class-a re-design but not the same as the true Trident Series 80. I'd still much rather have it then most of the mid level stuff.

hey Cucco! Yea man... the rack-o-101's is doing me well! did several sessions with them, and well, as everyone knows, they rule for their price.

AND......
despite the horrendous take on the s20 on these boards, I did the trade simply for the resell value of the s20 vs. the presonus. Last night I ran a 414 through it and tracked some acoustic guitar. then I did a beta 57 on a cab and I have to say I was pleased with the sound of the s20. one thing that wasnt talked about too much yet was the low pass knob--i think its great since it does a monstous sweep that can really let you tune in our out those frequencies. it did wonders when tracking the acoustic, and can be used to really control the color of what your tracking. it does have its own sound, the trident. my grace's are clean clean clean, and you get what you put through them, but I have to say the trident is a nice complement since you can really color things. I dont know all the inerds like Kurt may know, i onyl know what I hear, which I guess is all that matters...
I know I can ebay-it today and receive a nice turnaround...not sure if im going to keep it or unload it. cash is more important right now and I guess I can always save for something a bit sweeter down the pike.
all of Kurt's Sebatron talk has certainly got my mouth watering for the tube end of things, but I have to say, the Trident wasn't a bad sounding pre at all.

Cool. That's what it boils down to - the sound. If you dig it then it was worth it. The guts of it are an important aspect, but nowhere near as important as the sound.

Personally, I hardly ever sell a mic or a pre (unless I have multiples, a la the 101s) simply because I will find a use for it later. If you like the sound of it and the features, hold on to it. You'll thank yourself in 5 years.

J.