The 101 is the best value in transparent, linear, clean preamps I have been exposed to. It is essentially the same circuitry as their flagship 801, but with a few cost reductions where it matters least - number of clicks on the potentiometer, wall wart instead of internal power supply, etc.

I highly recommend this box and always have.

Nika

dude ? Where do you plan to import the pres from ? I dont think we have a GT dealer here...
sidhu

Make that 1:0 for the Grace - thx Nika.

Hey Sidhu, i've got a friend ready to smuggle one into bombay for me. He's just waiting for me to tell him which one to buy 'cos he's coming back soon!

BTW what's your take on my plight if you know something about these pre's?

the brick is verry smooth for vox if that is its primarry use i would go with the brick. also i would recomend the brick for anything over the 101, unless you can affourd the 201 GET THE BRICK.

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking the Grace 101 is a single channel 201 with a "few" cost savings implemented.

Power supply .... very different and makes a BIG difference in how the pre performs. My feeling is wall warts don't measure up for mic pres. They are fine on EQs, drum machines and other devices but mic pres often require a lot of current to bring very low signals up to line level without running out of headroom or bandwidth. For full bass extension, effortless high end response and lots of reserve headroom, I have not yet found anything in the wall wart category that measures up ...

Different circuit boards ... more LSI (large scale integration) and SMT (surface mount technology) on the 101 than the 201. While this is no biggie with newer units as they age, future serviceability may become an issue especially if the model goes out of production and sub assemblies become unavailable.

SMT circuit boards are very difficult to replace individual components on without the correct jigs. This is the main reason I don't like SFM technology. Another reason is the actual components used in SFM stuff are LSI chips, often with hundreds of parts stuffed into a single chip. While this is handy, up to this point chip to chip consistency has been an issue, although this situation is improving as technology advances.

Ashtronaut, I've had quite a bit of experience with the M177 and found that in the end it just doesn't seem to be a good (male) vocal mic for the very reason you're giving. The vocals come out boxy and almost "spitty" in the midrange. While I love that mic for acoustic guitar with certain preamps and background vocals (using the pad) you may find a little more joy with the new mics you're considering.

Sorry to stir your pot, but I might sneak in a recommendation for the Safesound P1. If I could only keep one <$600 preamp, it would probably be this one. So versatile and the sound is good. I still run my Brick and SCA stuff through it just for the expander, high-pass filter, (yeah I know big whoop, but it sounds better than the one on some mics), and the compressor if you don't have a LA2A or something for tracking vocals.

BUT! The Brick sounds a little fatter or something.

Ashtronaut wrote: Make that 1:0 for the Grace - thx Nika.

Hey Sidhu, i've got a friend ready to smuggle one into bombay for me. He's just waiting for me to tell him which one to buy 'cos he's coming back soon!

BTW what's your take on my plight if you know something about these pre's?

I only have experience with the brick, but I can say buying it will not be a mistake or money pissed away. Its a great sounding unit. How it compares with the other is a subjective thing that only you can decide.

the 101 is smaller- probably easier to pass through customs.... :D

I've never used the Grace 101, but I hear it is nice and transparent. I have the Brick and absolutely love it on vocals and guitar! It's a flip of the coin on which you want to buy....a little color or really clean? So far the Brick has a permanent home with me because there is always going to be something to use it on no matter what upgrades I make.

Done! Brick it is...no more thinking for me on this. Thanks everyone on the inputs.

Kurt - Yup i've heard the circuit argument before somewhere in this forum and i'd forgotten about it...thx for reminding me about that one again.

Maintiger - Man! that last point is really a killer for consideration. No KIDDING! you don't know our Indian customs...but then again you haven't met my friend - Mr motormouth can drive himself through any situation :D . Thx again (oh and i must say i'm considering the K2 mic after having read all your recommendations.)

Thanks everyone. My next post will be only after i get the gear - brick+K2.

And oh, reggie, sorry man I just can't research another pre (Safesound P1)

Poof! Brain circuitry overload...you have to understand my problem - none of these units to see/hear, no access to a studio or friends who've got a unit, NOTHING! Just you guys and your experiences/reviews to base my decision on.

err...And I have to say that it's the first time i'm hearing the name of this pre? (just shows how much i know on the subject.)

Cheers

thats the first ive heard of it as well any one else use this thing looks interesting.

hey ashtronaut good luck with your pre. I am sure you are going to get very good use put of it. come back and let us know!

and by the way, I just noticed that these are your first 4 posts, all in this thread- welcome to RO!

by the way, what kind of music are you doing?
I find the grace 101 work real good for more classical styles, including jazz. For rock and roll you would be better off with the brick. 8)

Rock...it is!
(A mix of coldplay/floyd melacholic stuff with just a smidgeon of electronica ... well that's for my album... for the money, well, just about any kind of music , but mostly here in india, it's fusion kinda stuff...hint of tabla/sitar/indian classical singing on drum and bass/electronic stlye music.)

And thanks for the welcome, maintiger! This site is quite something...

hey astro check out my band, links in the sig. thats almost exactly the way i would describe them.

goes to show you how the world is shrinking- frob in cali and astro in india playing basically the same music...

well recording any way, im the manager not the "artist"

Nice recordings frob. Sweet!

astro post smoe links if you get a chance, i would love to hear your stuff

I have not used either of the preamps but I use a 177 quite a bit and it is a good mic however it requires a minimum of 8 ma current and that is more than a lot of 48 volt power supply can produce, I would make sure any preamp you select can produce at least 8ma of current or be ready to use a seperate 48v supply. Without enough current this mic will sound kind of boxy.

thats the first ive heard of it as well any one else use this thing looks interesting.

There is a review of the P1 in the Sept. 2005 issue of Recording magazine.

its only august.??

Dude - Frob - don't you subscribe to magazines?? :-?

They always come in a month in advance. It's kinda retarded, but the mags make you feel like you're special cuz YOU got next months issue already. What they don't tell you is that the news stands had them a week before you got it....

(y)

J.

as soon as i subscribe they will suck, change, or stop being printed.

there used to be a mag called pcex or somthing, not really imformative but hilarious.

then i subscribed to future music and they change to two edition us (sucks) and uk (okay) so i canceld my subscription.