Hey, I don't really post much, but I've been floating around for a while..
Anyway, I play in a reggae influenced band outta buffalo, NY. I've been doing the band's latest recordings in our home studio, (Mackie Board, MOTU A/D Converter, Soundcraft Compact 4, various mics, etc. )
I need to get some decent preamps come February. For the last month or so I have been sold on getting 4 n72s from Seventh Circle Audio (Assembly not an issue, electrical engineering background)..
But over the last couple weeks the Sebatron VMP-4000e has been catching my eye, as well as the Focusrite ISA 428 and the Sytek 4 channel.
I know a lot of guys around here are partial to the Sebatron s.. I am trying to hit the boards which tend to lean towards different preamps, the guys over on gearslutz seem to be really big sytek fans...
The sound I am going for could be described as LUSH, CREAMY, ORGANIC, yet AGGRESSIVE! err... I am not into the ultra clear modern sterile digital pop sound...
Ideally I would be recording to 1" tape, but that is not an option...
You can hear some poorly compressed examples of our music here:
The first two recordings were done in our home studio (they have some issues, I know, specifically in the bass region, but look past that) look at the style, listen to the singer, let me know.
This is one of my favorite bands in the world. I think they have some of the best sounding recordings out there (for this genre).. I want to move more towards this sound than the recordings we have...
http://
Look on the left side of the page, there is a little player under the record cover art, song is called 86 The Mayo..
Any help or advice you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated!
-grif
Comments
I own both the Sytek and the Sebatron units and would recommend,
I own both the Sytek and the Sebatron units and would recommend, based on my impression of what you're looking for and general intuition, that the Sebatron would be your best pick. People around here like them...and for good reason. They are excellent sounding units. Down the road, you might want to consider both the Sytek and Sebatron pres for your rack. They make a nice counterpoint to each other.
I'd be surprised if the Sytek made you go "WOW! that is the soun
I'd be surprised if the Sytek made you go "WOW! that is the sound I was looking for!" And I might recommend against 4 N72's. I don't think I would be as happy if all I had were the N72's; sometimes it rocks hard, but many times I prefer something else. I think you would be much happier with 2 N72's and 2 A12's. For micing the drums, the A12's on overheads and the N72s on kick&snare would sound great. Then for overdubs and stuff you can try either pre and see which one happens to fit best. Or a couple N72's and a 2-channel Sebatron would give you a lot of flexibility too.
Since you are electrically inclined, I would have to encourage you to go the DIY route. It's fun and can be cheaper! Don't forget the Hamptone and JLM stuff too.....