Arthur, your best bet is to contact the guys at Sytek and see about their return policy. Mr Stroica is very pleaseant to talk to on the phone and I am sure if you do not like it you can return it.

I happen to like mine alot. The regular channels are clean and clear without being brittle. You can even get the burr brown mods on 2 channels which are darker sounding if you like.

Definetly a step above your built in pre's

I use mine all the time. Definitely get the burr brown in ch 3 &4, a little darker for vocals- the sytek is definitely a clean sounding pre and a step above IMO of the mackies out here-
Even if you later get a seb or a great river you will be able to use the sytek for all the xtras like drums, OH's

I'm selling a mint condition Sytek with BurrBrowns on 3 & 4.
$750 including 2 day air shipping.

There is not one scratch on it and it was only lightly used.

theblueroom2k3@hotmail.com

The Sytek is a great sounding unit... the one that was just mentioned for $750- sounds like a steal to me... if I may be so bold, I'd suggest you snap it up!!

I have MPX-4a and a VMP 2000e, and they make a nice contrast for eachother. The Sytek is quite clear and won't add any mud like you're getting from the Tascam pres.

I'm sold.....I'm going to call Sytek and see how soon I can get one. Eventually I'm going to get a Seb also and maybe build some of the Seventh Circle stuff.

Mike Stoice, the manufacurer/designer, sells them on ebay- that's where I got mine-
he's got one on right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3278&item=3778388259&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

sorry, duplicate- :shock:

I can get you mine in 2 days.

Ok...my next question....I record a lot of heavier bands. I hear this pre is really clean....would it be too clean for rock/metal drums? I can't afford 4 API channels so that idea was scrapped a long time ago. Basically, I want a full sound up front and I'll dirty things up ITB if I need to. What do you think? This pre is going to mic a kick, top snare, and OH's. Then it would be used on everything else once the drums are tracked.

Any thoughts on this?

That would probably give you great results in that situation. Kick and snare on 3/4 with BBs and OHs on 1/2.

I'm not gonna knock Mike or the Sytek, I received great service and I like the 4 channel with BurrBrown as well, but the only concern I have with the unit would be headroom. I like it on piano, acoustic guitars, aux percussion and classical recording stuff.
The real benefit of this unit is the ability to have multiple takes that don't get muddy or produce ugly artifacts. I'm not sure if the heavy metal drum application would be the best for this unit, but its built well and sounds great so take the above advise to try it out.

I think I'll give it a shot....absolute worst case scenario it will sound a lot nicer than my on board pres which have zero headroom! Over the long haul if it doesn't sound great on drums I'll keep it for acoustic guitar and such.

I've used it for drums- sounds just fine-

Thanks guys!

One last question.....is this Sytek unit just a another mid-level product or does it deliver pro results that can sit next to the API and Neves of the world?

the API and NEVEs are way more colored. this is a clean unit that you can spread across many tracks and still have focus. I'd put this in the "great bang-for-the-buck" class, API and NEVE are in the "character" class. you won't be disappointed with it but it won't give you your character tracks either.

therecordingart wrote: One last question.....is this Sytek unit just a another mid-level product or does it deliver pro results that can sit next to the API and Neves of the world?

It's just a another mid-level product IMO. Comparing a Sytek to a Neve or an API is an unfair comparison ... apples and spinach!

"Clean" 'pristine" and "transparent" are easy to achive with very inexpesnsive op amp designs ... the Mackie pre proves that in that it specs out very well ....

The Sytek, for what it costs is fine ... a much better value, bang for the buck than say the RNP ... and its cost is more in line with what it's really worth unlike the RNP which I think is very overpriced. But even in the Neotek console configuration, this design is a budget first consideration, designed to a price point... the least expensive of the large format boards ... and as such you get what you pay for.

Thanks, Kurt. What I think I'm going to do is pick up this unit for two reasons:

1. It's quite a step above what I've got now. (FW-1884 and a Behringer ADA800)

2. It can always be used as an overflow pre when I run out of "great" channels (once I get my API or Sebs of course).

My main concern is buying something that I won't replace. At this point it isn't cost effective for me to spend the money I don't have on a pre that won't pay for itself. I'm having a hard time getting on my feet in the audio world and bringing in enough money to pay for my gear. I want to maximize my gear so as I improve my skills I don't have to worry about having gear holding back the sonic integrity. At the same time I can't by 4 API and 4 Seb channels and only charge $15-$25 hr. On the same side of the token....no matter what gear I have in my home setup I don't think any bands would pay $50hr to record in a two bedroom studio unless they were gear heads and realized that an API with a D112 on a kick is what they are most likely hearing on their favorite albums.

I think the Sytek is going to fill the void in my lack of decent pres and be cost effective at the same time.

The Sytek will most likely be an improvement over the Behringer pres at least in build quality and longevity but I seriously doubt it will show a significant improvement in sound over the Tascam pres .. Tascam makes some decent stuff .. at least as good as Sytek IMO ...

As to keeping them, I see people all the time selling their Syteks, once they purchase the Sebatrons and Great Rivers etc. ... and I know of some who kept them and used them for overflow pres. So, it goes both ways.

I know this is a sensitive subject and I empathize. People want to improve their set ups but simply do not have the cash to spend on the really good stuff ... Manufacturers and designers realize this and see a huge market for these types of products, bigger than the boutique market by a long shot! To boot, the people who are attracted to this segment, are easier to sell stuff to because they don't have as much background knowledge or ear training as a discerning professional might. It's an easy mark for them and they do exploit it. To think they wouldn't would be naive

Just wishing that there was something that would perform better than the basic Mackie pre, doesn't make it so ... if that were the case we would have world peace in our time.

Very good pres are expensive .. decent pres are not so expensive ... and are found in almost any small mixer and in many available products offered. Please do not spend more than you need to ... I hate to see that happen.

I owned a Sytek but sold it shortly after I got it. The pre's are very "colorless". The pre's where a bit more open and clean than the Alesis mixer I was using at the time, but not a BIG difference there. The Alesis actually had more headroom. When I got my Allen and Heath console I sold the Sytek. The A&H pre's sounded better IMO and cost much less if you break it down per channel. I record mostly Hard Rock and Metal and the Sytek is just not well suited for these drum tracks unless you have a very consistent drummer. It did OK on overheads but just didn't have the head room needed the other drums. They are OK but over priced mid level gear in my opinion. Would be more suited to Jazz, classical, ect...

If you buy one, get it used so you don't loose so much money when you sell it on the next step up.

The sytek is really clean, so as to when you add up the tracks muddiness is not as much of a problem. By the sme token, the sytek being really clean it does not have much of an "attitude," which might be a draw back for some rock styles. I've been pairing mine with a tube mic (K2) and that gives me a little bit more of a rounder darker sound (specially with the barr brown option)

Yeah....I think I'm going to have to emulate attitude for a while in the box because at this point an API is long in the future.

me too.... but am actually pretty happy with he sytek- gives me a clean sound and its clear-