Here's a dumb tube question...

[GZsound]

Well thanks for all the input. I must admit that my needs have changed with the death of the Fishman bass pre.

I may be looking more for a channel strip or pre with EQ of some sort instead of simply getting a pre.

I also may just pick up an inexpensive pre for the bass, since it is for live stage use and not studio use, but the piezo pickup in the bass really requires both a preamp and EQ before it gets to her bass amp or the DI on stage. Very thin and weak sounding pickup in such an expensive electric upright bass.

So now I'm looking at a Joe Meek 3Q, a Vintech X73i or a Langevin DMMP dual Mono mic pre all with EQ.

These are all within my budget, especially the Joe Meek unit for the bass only and the other units as stage/studio units.

As always, comments welcome.

[kha02a]

Take a look at the Avalon U5 for your bass DI. We have one in the studio I work at and we use it exclusively for bass tracks. I think it sounds great.

[GZsound]

Originally posted by kha02a Take a look at the Avalon U5 for your bass DI. We have one in the studio I work at and we use it exclusively for bass tracks. I think it sounds great.

 

 

Thanks, I've checked out the M5, but not the U5. I'll have to do some research. I definitely need some EQ to make the piezo bass pickup in the Emminence bass sound better and the Fishman piezo pickup in our acoustic upright needs some help too..

 

The search continues.

[mdog114]

I see this is a pretty old post, but I figured I would chime in.

I have a UA Solo 610 that I like a lot! I can easily pair it with a tube mic and it sounds wondeful. It's a matter of what you're going to record with it.

You're not going to get uncolored results, but you will get usable results. It's all a matter of using it on the right sources. I like using the 610 and a Demeter tube mic pre I have for recording bass direct. They impart something to the signals that just works.

You shouldn't just discount the tube/tube combo for recording just due to the color, the color sometimes is what makes the magic!

[GZsound]

Originally posted by mdog114 I see this is a pretty old post, but I figured I would chime in. I have a UA Solo 610 that I like a lot! I can easily pair it with a tube mic and it sounds wondeful. It's a matter of what you're going to record with it. You're not going to get uncolored results, but you will get usable results. It's all a matter of using it on the right sources. I like using the 610 and a Demeter tube mic pre I have for recording bass direct. They impart something to the signals that just works. You shouldn't just discount the tube/tube combo for recording just due to the color, the color sometimes is what makes the magic!

 

 

Thanks.. I did get the bass preamp situation solved with an LR Baggs unit. Man..what a great pre.

 

We needed something for live use that can take the abuse of sitting on her bass amp, being dropped, etc. and a spendy DI tube pre just didn't float my boat.

 

I tried inexpensive pre's on the bass, an Art tube pre, a Behringer Mic200 and a Studio Projects VTB1.. which was rather amazing compared to the other two.

 

I'm still hunting for pre's for the studio and now even considering a True Systems eight channel unit, which is pretty reasonable on a per channel basis and could be handy on the drum kit. But then there is the possibility of a couple of Sytec four channel units.. And then....

 

Decisions, decisions..

[Phil O'Keefe]

Nothing wrong with going all colored, or going all clean, or even using all of the same single type of preamp, but IMO it's nice to be able to have at least a few choices available.

As Bossa said:

had a UA 610 (sold it) and it is a lustrous sounding preamp, appealing, colored. Depending on your music style and your track counts, it might not sum very well.

That is true a lot of times - you wind up with too much of "one thing" if you stack a lot with the same preamp. But that doesn't mean that tonality might not be useful on some tracks or in some situations. By using a variety of preamps, you gain (no pun intended ) tonal options and variety, and are less likely to get the side effects when stacking.

So that's why I don't know if I'd go with two identical Sytek units. If you're talking about the four channel units, why not split it up? Get one 4 ch Sytek, and then a couple of other stereo preamps. From what I've read, the Sytek is clean / neutral, so I'd look for something with some color to add to it. Maybe a Vintech Dual 72 and a UA 2-610. Or a RTZ 9762, a Brick and a single channel Averill racked API 312. Or heck, just the Sytek and a API 3124+.

If I have a choice, I'll probably look for a different preamp flavor on the overheads than I'm going to want for say, the toms or the kick. I'd personally rather not have to restrict myself to just one option. But if you're going to go that route, the True Precision 8 would be an excellent choice.

[GZsound]

I would rather not restrict my options also.. However, they are being restricted because of budget concerns without any help from me.

I do like the suggestion to go with several different "flavors"..so I need to think about that. Maybe an FMR RNP, a Brick AND a Sytec which would give me some pretty interesting options and room to grow.

I always have to weigh the addition of any gear with the return on investment. I no longer buy anything just because it's cool to own.

[wooden]

You should check seventh circle audio, everybody is talking nothing but good things about them, and you can have a rack full of different flavors from them.

[D Charles]

I recently got an RNP and it's just ridiculously good for the price. Way 'out front' sounding and blends very well with whatever. Add the RNC and get amazing tracking capability.

 

I've got the Avalon 737 (black faced Merc version) which has four tubes in it, but it doesn't sound tubey like my Boogies do for example. It's actually really clean sounding so it's nickname; 'Nashville vocal sound in a box' seems to ring true. The cool thing about the Avalon is you can multi-track a zillion sources through it and they will blend so easily and all have their own space in the mix.

 

The main advice I could give you on good tube stuff is you can grab it used sometimes for great prices because a lot of folks don't realize that sometimes it's crapping out because it needs new tubes. I shudder when I think of some of the amps I sold in the 70s because I hadn't learned this yet.

[mdog114]

Originally posted by GZsound Thanks.. I did get the bass preamp situation solved with an LR Baggs unit. Man..what a great pre. We needed something for live use that can take the abuse of sitting on her bass amp, being dropped, etc. and a spendy DI tube pre just didn't float my boat. I tried inexpensive pre's on the bass, an Art tube pre, a Behringer Mic200 and a Studio Projects VTB1.. which was rather amazing compared to the other two. I'm still hunting for pre's for the studio and now even considering a True Systems eight channel unit, which is pretty reasonable on a per channel basis and could be handy on the drum kit. But then there is the possibility of a couple of Sytec four channel units.. And then.... Decisions, decisions..

 

 

I have a Sytek too, the one with the Burr Brown mod on channels 3&4.

 

They're well worth the money!

[mdog114]

Originally posted by wooden You should check seventh circle audio, everybody is talking nothing but good things about them, and you can have a rack full of different flavors from them.

 

 

That's another good idea.