results of Chicago Tape Op Mic Preamp Listening Party

[syrupcore]

special thanks to the drummer. that had to suck. I hope you got him drunk.

[Electricide]

Hey, the link seems busted.....go over the limit?

Edit: ok, working now!

[radiantbrian]

wow this is a great resource, especially when you're in the market for a new pre, hehe.

as exciting as it is, i think i'm liking the sytek stocks the best, although, this setup is kind of biased towards that pre's strengths (clean, fast, uncolored, etc).

[signorMars]

i'd go to houston for a full-on mic preamp geekfest... but i don't have any preamps other than my mixwizard.

[wing]

i'd go to houston for a full-on mic preamp geekfest... but i don't have any preamps other than my mixwizard.

doesn't matter! we should try to get something together sometime... people from austin and houston, we could all come over to my place, and i have lots of drums and instruments. we could have a music party at the end. rock!

[Electricide]

I know the 312 is rock and roll, but it's funny hearing how different the kick sounds between that and that penta. I kinda like the penta.

I remember some pres sounding better on certain parts of the kit, like suited better for snare or ride.

ANd with the Hardy's, you hear individual parts, not just a smear. Kinda neat!

[spiral]

i'd go to houston for a full-on mic preamp geekfest... but i don't have any preamps other than my mixwizard.

doesn't matter! we should try to get something together sometime... people from austin and houston, we could all come over to my place, and i have lots of drums and instruments. we could have a music party at the end. rock!

Indeed. One thing i really regret is not having anything to compare the "real" preamps to. It was cool to hear these $1k+ pres, but the real question in my mind was how a makie or HD recorder workstation pre sounded next to them. That is best left to the TX division.

[signorMars]

i would definently be down for a great big texas musicfest. that would be lots of fun.

[eeldip]

kinda sad to not be able to play with them more... i would say the big disadvantage of this sort of test is that it is gonna naturally favor a certain pre type over another... for this application- at least to my ears- i definately prefer the "fatter" pres, or any pre with a rolled off top.

however, if you switched the mic to a dynamic, i would probably prefer a more "clean and clear" pre...

either way, i can see how almost any of these pres could work. nice to see that some more affordable pres can hold up. favoritism to my own gear showing up soon here--- but it is nice to see that the sx202 which comes in at under $100 a channel is certainly NOT blown away by any of these.

[spiral]

sx202 which comes in at under $100 a channel is certainly NOT blown away by any of these.

Less than that! I paid $80 for it, and maybe $20 in parts. It was pretty suprising to hear.

[dMiurge]

>>but it is nice to see that the sx202 which comes in at under $100 a channel is certainly NOT blown away by any of these.

Really, I thought that the modded sx202 was the only pre that didn't even compare to the rest. I had actually hoped it would have performed better. To each man his own opinion. What did impress me was how well the RNP and especially the sytek help up in comparison to much more expensive pres. I didn't care for the DW Fearn unit on drums at all, and the API still has my vote as the all time best drum pre. This test just solidified it's position even further. You probably have to be into that particular RAWK sound though. I'd like to hear the same test on electric and acoustic guitar.

[jebjerome]

Thanks, this is an interesting listening experience.

Which OSA model is that?

[getreel]

I would drive to Houston for something like that. Have to be after May for me though...

[EasyGo]

Thanks, this is an interesting listening experience.

Which OSA model is that?

I'm not sure. I noticed Eric Blam was posting the other day. Perhaps we can get him to tell us which variety of OSA this is. Hmm?

The saddest part was that Electricide's Shure Mic Mixer somehow did not get recorded/saved. It wasn't on the disc of files. I also regret that we did not get any Mackie or Behringer channels for sake of comparison. Or any Neve or Neve-types.

[PatrickBrown]

When I try to access the page, it tells me the bandwidth has been exceeded. I might be able to get to it later....but, maybe there could be a list of the preamps tested put here, no? Just out of curiosity.