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I am looking to buy some transparent mic preamps and
am considering the Sytek. I've read that Aerosmith (big deal) and the Seattle, Chicago and somewhere else orchestras bought them.

Would I be better off saving for something like a Millennia 2-channel?
Keep in mind that the Sytek is 4 months salary and the Millennia is 8 months salary.
I'm really only interested in opinions of people
who are very familiar (have actually heard and worked) with both these units.

Thanks a million.
Wilding.

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Comments

McCheese Thu, 08/04/2005 - 01:11

I've used both, The Sytek is a pretty good rig. The Millennia is definitely better, but maybe not twice-as-expensive better. I have often considered getting the Sytek. It would definitely be a solid pre to have around.

Another consideration is the Grace 101. It's one channel, but it's 600 bucks. I don't know why, but at sweetwater.com 2 of them will run you 1200, while the 201 (2 channel version) is 1900. go figure. The Grace is a terrific transparent pre if it can fit in your budget.

anonymous Thu, 08/04/2005 - 05:17

Thanks.

That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
I'm so sick of old Fostex pre's and small rooms. Ugh!
The recordings I did at college in the big room have
so much focus and power.
I'm using it to record mainly rock bands. Not ideal
I know, but I can't afford Neve's or API's yet.

What do you do McCheese?

You've been very helpful.

Wilding.

maintiger Thu, 08/04/2005 - 08:48

I have both the grace and the sytek and between the two I prefer the sytek with burr brown option for rock vocals. I use the grace with an rca ribbon mic for jazz vocals. if you click at the bottom of my signature, what I working on, the singer has been tracked through a clean sytek (no burr brown) and a K2 mic.

McCheese Thu, 08/04/2005 - 17:03

For rock you may want a pre with a little "flavor" to it. The burr-brown sytek has that flavor, where the standard sytek doesn't. Having some transparent pre's around is always good, but the Neve's and API's are so well liked because they add their own spice to a recording. In that vein, you should definitely look at the Sebatron's, great pre's for a great price. I think the sytek with burr-brown's would also be a good option.

anonymous Sat, 08/06/2005 - 14:27

Re: Thanks.

Wilde wrote: I'd love to get 1 Api, 1 Great River, 2 Millennia, 1 RNP, 1 Summit 2Ba-221 and a John Hardy and an Avalon M5.

That's my wishlist for now. It'll cover clean, tube, Api and Neveish sounds so I can get any vibe I want pretty much.

What do you think it's missing?

geeze dude... isnt it painfully obvious?

i dont see ONE preamp on there from Behringer! without it how are you supposed to get the 'gross' vibe?

:wink:

anonymous Sun, 08/07/2005 - 00:56

McCheese wrote:

Another consideration is the Grace 101. It's one channel, but it's 600 bucks. I don't know why, but at sweetwater.com 2 of them will run you 1200, while the 201 (2 channel version) is 1900. go figure. The Grace is a terrific transparent pre if it can fit in your budget.

My understanding is that the 201 is of a different design than the 101, and it is reported to be superior. Thus, two 101's do not equal one 201.

McCheese Sun, 08/07/2005 - 14:43

ShellTones wrote: [quote=McCheese]

Another consideration is the Grace 101. It's one channel, but it's 600 bucks. I don't know why, but at sweetwater.com 2 of them will run you 1200, while the 201 (2 channel version) is 1900. go figure. The Grace is a terrific transparent pre if it can fit in your budget.

My understanding is that the 201 is of a different design than the 101, and it is reported to be superior. Thus, two 101's do not equal one 201.

Wow, you're right. I didn't know that, but you learn something new every day. I checked out the Grace site, and sure enough the 101 uses the same amplifier structure, but different power supplies, and other cheaper components. Good to know, since I had considered getting 2 101's, I'll just get the 201 now.