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redbort 31 March 2006

like last time with the mic closet, the Alice, Kel HM-1 and lawson L47mp all compliment my collection wonderfully! (i'm never gonna give in and get a Neumann), now only a Royer and an RCA are missing.

so back to the Mic Pre's

I use a Soundcraft Ghost (into MOTU 896 & Alesis AI-3 [AD is my next fixup after the pre's]) but when i need some extra flavour i turn to these:

FMR Really Nice Preamp (stereo)
Groove Tubes The Brick X2
AVALON AD2022 (stereo)
UNIVERSAL AUDIO 2-610 (stereo)
Groove Tubes ViPre (mono) <--(i'm thinking a second this. )
SPL Gold Mic MkII (stereo)
API 3124+ (quad)

so shoot me some ideas
i like "flavour", so the one knob pre's haven't been to my liking.

Comments

amishsixstringer Mon, 04/03/2006 - 18:12

Yeah, I was going to suggest either neve or grace until you said you want some color. I would say Summit TPA 200B (Stereo) I think they make a mono version of that too. Maybe still neve/vintech?? I really think you could use a nice transparent pre like a grace or earthworks since you have so much color already, but suit yourself. You have beautiful pres as it is.

CoyoteTrax Wed, 04/05/2006 - 15:40

The new EH 12AY7 is a lot of fun, however simple. But if you want more output and a little more character and wool, check out Scott Hampton's Hamptone JFET or 2 channel tube version. If you don't have time to build them yourself he'll build it for you for a meager fee.

I've mentioned in some other threads though (and maybe you've already gone this route) but a decent little investment in a nice assortment of NOS tubes would change the way some of your good pre's sound. For instance, if you're not heating up any NOS JAN Philips 12AT7WC's in your tube pre's then you're not 'livin' yet IMO. Another killer tube out there that's really exciting is the CV4024 Mullard's; and not just in your mic pre's but in your guitar amps as well. The CV4024's are very, very sweet. I've never heard my Vox tremelo sound so creamy as it does with the Mullard's.

TeddyG Thu, 04/06/2006 - 11:38

Check out the Millennia Media Origin... Pristine pre plus Color aplenty, to say nothing of tube or SS and every feature known to science and art. I've yet to use one but I have used their "regular" pre's which are v-e-r-y fine... The Origin will be my next pre(Along with a Brauner Valvet - which I've used alot - heavenly! - to attach to it.)...

If you buy one and don't like it, ship it to me(Ship it collect, I'll at least pay for that!).

TG

FifthCircle Wed, 07/12/2006 - 08:42

I'm a big fan of the A-Designs pres here... The MP2A is a great tube pre. Has a lot of the same qualities as the Tubetec but with a much more natural sound.

The Pacifica is another first rate preamp- it has turned into a desert island pre for me. Rich warm sound with great detail and a clean top end. RO's JoeH (an Acoustic mod) just did a rather nice review in Mix of it this month.

They also have an API500 form factor series of pres as well. They are up to 5 "flavors" which have a series of great sounds that work together. If you own the lunchbox already, this is probably one of the most cost effective ways of adding pres to a collection.

Otherwise, there has been some good advice here- Grace for the clean end of things, Neve, ADesigns, etc... for a bit more color...

--Ben

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