A good tube circuit, properly implemented can be clean. Check out Mellenia audio's dual preamp with switchable tube or SS. Hardly a difference. It is all in the application of the tube and circuitry.

That said, Massenberg is really clean, like straight wire clean. Buzz Audio is pretty clean. Forssell stuff is clean. The big thing with these is that they run at higher voltages and generally have a ton of headroom too.

A TLM49 on a D.A.V. BG preamp, I heard this combo last week. WOW!!!!

as sheet said ... with a second vote for GML
and add ... Grace

almost clean is some of the other DOAs (discrete op amps ) like the Forssell
Hardy , JLM99v
ADK perhaps
The servo controlled IC based stuff ... SSL AMEK etc

Olá!

http://www.dpamicrophones.com/

Cumps

the millennia stuff is clean because it implements the lowest amount of tube compliment possible for christ sakes. one for input stage, one for output stage.

its like with guitar amps, would anyone ever say a jcm 2000 is better than a jcm 800

you have to decide whether you are using tubes just to be using tubes, i mean like that guy said "hardly a difference," well if theres hardly a difference in the transparency then why bother using tubes?

dont get me wrong because you probably will, its not by any means a bad piece of gear, its cute more than anything

Where is that ShotGun when you need him?

Shottie we have a problem!!

Gabriel. I think I remeber you having the Manley mic?? Y/N?

It doesnt get much cleaner than that as far as this part of the equation. Its not the 'tubes' necessarily...its the design and how the tube is implemented in the design. I agree, a bunch of even order harmonics with no chance of getting away from it can be a little overbearing after a while. Doesnt mean it isnt clean...just no transparent..

The GML is very very transparent as is Grace. I havent heard the DAV but Cucco likes em and you can hear what he records. Gotta be transparent for all those fiddles and classical guitars and chorales. Least I think he trumps the DAV......mind is melted.........sorry.

That ADK mic pre has changeable opamps, transformers and what not. You can get them whistling clear and transparent not unlike the Hardy(my favorite BTW)....I like the Hardy in particular in that they are so articulate yet so IN-YER-FACE....Never a lot of fiddling around with things in a mix with these pres.

Good luck and hopefully the ShotGun will show up soon.....we all know why.

Hey DD -

You're right, I do dig the DAV stuff. Although, I must admit, I just got rid of my DAV BG2 in favor of a HV-3D. I needed a total of 8 channels and I needed it to operate off of 1 power supply. (I do mostly portable, so the amount of outlets used is a big concern to me.)

Anyway, in the same class as that, I would agree that for clean the Grace, Millennia, Hardy, DAV, and Buzz are quite good. (I must admit, if I had room for a rack of Buzzes, I'd be all over those like flies on poop. Not only the cleanest pre I've heard in a while, the biggest too. I swear to god, it's like I've never heard dynamics like that before in my life! Just when you thought it couldn't get louder, it DID!)

On the clean side, I also like Crane Song (just heard one recently - very impressed. My be looking to get a Spider soon!) and I also like the PreSonus ADL 600. Not clean in the "traditional" sense, but it is very accurate and quite big. Oh.....and it's got some big honkin tubes in it too (that run on SERIOUSLY HIGH VOLTAGE). Don't think of this as yer daddy's PreSonus...

For the Manley mic (IIRC), I would say Millennia (origin), Grace 201, or Hardy M1. Just for giggles, I'd also throw in the Summit TPA 200B - A killer tube pre. Anything but transparent but DAMN fine sounding.

J

for summit, i'm just wondering, why did you chose the tpa 200b over the mpe-200?

Gabriel, you had asked not long ago about the biggest sounding pre which also brought to light the STT-1 (among others).

However, if you don't need the EQ and compressor you can just buy the solid state pre amp they make (HV3).

Look at D.W. Fearn as well.

liquidstudios wrote: for summit, i'm just wondering, why did you chose the tpa 200b over the mpe-200?

Because the sound is completely different. The 200B is a smoother, more open sounding pre with dynamic range to spare. The MPE-200 doesn't blow wind up my skirt at all. In fact, I find I like other Neve-type boxes far better. (Sorry Summit - I still love you!)

J.

i know it might be somewhat of a pain, but cann you list every single studio quality preamp you know of (whether it has other components in it or not like dynamics.) and also if you can make sure that no two sound exactly the same (im sure you pyschoacoustic qualities will tell you that such an idea doesn't exist though right?)

just keep in mind studio quality.

Hey, Liquid, you need to start doing your own homework and stop baiting people on this forum.

http://

that graph was cute. i have done my homework. i've never found the educational system in school worthwhile though, have you? is it your place to test me or to grade my homework?

afterall this is all about our ears and our opinions isn't it. leave your drama out of it, if not then teacher, teach me something.

liquidstudios wrote: that graph was cute. i have done my homework. i've never found the educational system in school worthwhile though, have you? is it your place to test me or to grade my homework?

afterall this is all about our ears and our opinions isn't it. leave your drama out of it, if not then teacher, teach me something.

Well...if you had done your homework, you wouldn't be asking such an assanine question such as ...'list every preamp you know'

Uhhh...that would be thousands. Why don't you just pick up one of the many gear catalogs that are obviously sitting around your house and look for yourself. Or, try this new resource which I've heard people having good luck with when they are searching for answers on the net...it's totally new and completely awesome-
http://
As for "drama" I'm afraid you're the only drama queen here buddy.

J.

The educational system, while flawed, also leaves a lot of room for the curious and the serious. The information and someone to demonstrate its implementation is ,for the most part, available to those who truly wish to embrace it.

Unfortunately there are those who allow ego and sightlessness to cloud over any vestige of illumination afforded them.

YOU, Mr.liquidstudios, are one of these. You continue to bait and yet when presented with fact and information, you switch to the 'if I'm so wrong, why dont you teach me...' bullsh*t. You wouldnt recognise truth and fact if it fell from the sky with a giant banner attached to it.

It's time you went away. Darken another forum if you will. Say, the nice folks over at PSW would love to talk to you. They have just the place for you to find great 'teachers'....recording 101 I think it is....yeah, go there and ask these silly questions.

We've been way too nice here.

That's gonna change ....shortly.

look, i've by no means tried to start a fight or dislike anything of the things you people have to say. there's no need to threaten to "kick" me off your board. to do that you would be proving my point in showing that you have no patience to explain your logic of reasoning.

your audio engineering credentials are not that number that usually reads somewhere among 593849839480358340934 posts. i still challenege you to find statements that i've made in the proper context (other than mistakes which i have already point out) that have just been completely WRONG. like most people who are learning, which technically should be everyone? including you?

if you were to actually look back at my arrival on the board and the comments that ensued, i find it more incredible for you to side with the level of respect your fellow posters welcomed me to.

this is a place for giving opinions, and as you so like to vividly point out, there are millions of opinions. in my eyes, and by your actions, this is also a place to comment on the validity of those opinions. it remains here, that i would challenege certain ideas. you see, that is afterall what i am doing challenging "ideas" not you as a person in particular. because please

remember

this is the internet, there aren't really faces/entities/accomplishments associated with the posters of this forum. say you see someone who is making misguided statements, instead of prying at them, picking them out and attempting to ruin all their credibilty. why not attempt at some constructive. if you don't do at least that first, then what is this board but one bit judgement.

judgements have certain things to offer, but it is more the conscious of understanding and lack of bias or ego that truly makes for a positive place to dwell.