Hamptone

[thearnicasync]

Hi folks,

I think Scott is coming out with some new kits this summer (and eventhough the LCMP is long out of production), I wanted to plug the LCMP Hamptone mic pre based on my new experience with the original LCMP.

I struggled to box it and finish it, right up until the morning this band showed up to record. I left the top off, so that I could box the pres unhurried after the band left, thinking it might be unusable (too noisy in it's deconstructed, unsheilded state). It wasn't too noisy at all; in fact, it was quieter than a Meek VC3Q I was using for kick (which sounded tiny compared to the Hamptone, but it's $150).

The first time I fired up up, I couldn't believe how it sounded. I know that sounds a little rah rah, but I was totally blown away. All the issues I had (in terms of converters) were gone. Every thing was smooth - the low end was tight and somehow huge on bass. On acoustic guitar, there was this smooth, percussive thump in the lower register, while the highs were smooth and beautiful. Absolutely no phase crispiness - not even on computer. The band had some Archers of Loaf-style rockers, and in an overheads application, the pre absolutely smoked. Huge, cracking snare and - with a stapes omni - the absolute best rock ride (cymbal) sound I've ever gotten.

Overall, the recording ended up sounding giant. The band wanted an "in your face", compressed, rock sound and the LCMP delivered. Heavy, bright enough, and super, super WIDE. On two quieter songs, snares sounded huge, guitars lush, and mixes were TWICE as easy as they ever had been. In fact, mixing was fun for the first time...not simply damage control.

I've recorded with some decent preamps, but I don't own anything super special. One of my favorite salvation army finds is an old Ampex tube tape deck with preamps, but the thing is way too noisy to actually use. The Hamtone gave all the love that I loved the ampex for, but without noise and much, much more balanced frequency response.

Oh..Scott never missed a question and was available EVERY time I tried to reach him...even when the questions were dumb. So hats off and thanks to Scott - it would have been years before I could afford to own something like this.

Sorry for the shameless promotion, but that LCMP is a gift.

kelly

[eh91311]

I don't doubt that the Hamptone kit mic preamp doesn't sound good.
Major question is, why did Hamptone discontinue the preamp kit (circuit boards and transformers)? It couldn't have been due to suppliers for parts being scarce...

[bill tidey]

i got this kit recently and havent put it together yet. im stoked to hear that it sounds good.

[stapes]

I'll also give two thumbs and a big toe up to the Hamptone tube pre. That is one sweet mamajama. I built mine into two seperate ammo boxes, one with audio boards, and one with power supply, so the noise is pretty negligble. The sonics are impeccable. I've heard some good and bad tube pre's, and this thing is easily the best and most musical I've ever heard. Everything Kelly said is true in my experience with it as well. I've never really liked tube pre's on drums until I tried this thing. Using the three mic approach with these things and a homemade LA2A on the third mic yeilded some of the most amazing drum sounds I've ever gotten. The transient detail with this pre is really nice on the soft stuff, and then it starts to compress in such a nice way. It never really hits a bad crunch point, it just eases right into overdrive. Like it's been said, good on drums and acoustic stuff.
I'm looking forward to Scott's new products, but I'm not too sure if he's going to be offering them as DIY kits or not. He will be releasing some kind of tube pre and solid state pre soon, which I have no doubt will be awesome. If you are able to here these pre's, and see how much work Scott has put into making these things work, you would understand that he was essentially giving the kits away. The cost of all the parts and research he's put into this is very close to what you pay for the kit. That's outlined on the website. Not making a marginal profit on something you put your heart and soul into is no way to make a living, or enough money to continue making these awesome products for people. I think that Scott has realized that the market is not making a thousand dollar per channel unit that only so many studio people will be able to afford. With what he's doing now, everybody will be able to win out, including him. For those of you that were at the last tape op conference...

laffer curve,

Erik Wofford
Stapes Audio

[thearnicasync]

I called Scott to thank him on Saturday and he definitely has kit plans in the future. On the website, it's referred to something like the MKII LCMP. Plus, I think he plans to offer a JFET pre. Maybe even mics someday, but that's probably just my wishful thinking.

As far as why the kits are discontinued, you only need to talk to him on the phone to figure that out. He's super passionate and well-read about building this stuff, and wanted to get the stuff to people who might otherwise not be able to afford it. The guy has to eat like everyone else, and he can't be making much on this. He's probably lost money, when he figures his time into the overhead.

So, if it was inferred above that Scott would try "put the lid" on it before he lost out on potential profits, then I'm all for it. I took a chance buying that kit with no reviews and it worked out...for once. If I had a dime for every time I'd gambled and come up disappointed, well...you get the idea. Plus, it's not like those kits were available for a week...they were available for months. He even had a couple left over which he posted for sale on the website just weeks ago.

I listened to the weekend's mixes again and good grief. My recording actually sounded like a real f*cking recording.

Blissed out!

Kelly[/quote][/list]

[TapeOpLarry]

Scott Hampton is a man of very fine moral fibre. The fact that he let Tape Op give away his mic pre circuit and knowledge, and then posted numerous updates on his site, and put the kit into limited production for little or no profit should clue you in.

I have the Silverbox 4, and it is one of the finest tube mic pres ever made, hands down. I laugh now when people talk about some cool vinatge tube pre - I know I have better.

Scott will have more stuff coming up - keep an eye out for a future FET article too...

Larry

[wowandflutter]

anyone have trouble plugging a dynamic mic into their mic kit? mine sounds ok with a condensor but buzzes like crazy with dynamics. i cant figure out whats going on here. also did anyone , who has racked their kit , have any trouble with noise being introduced from some of your other gear?

[thearnicasync]

Wowandflutter (the band?),

I'm not having any noise issues with dynamics, but I kind of did originally because of the sheilding issue. Also, I was getting a slight buzz using the pad. Maybe that's normal...the source level was so high that it kind of negated the noise issue anyway...

I'd take a hard look at your chassis and shielding scheme, though. Moving my power suppy a 1/2 in. away from the audio killed 95% of any noise I had...

Dunno,
kelly

[soundguy]

If you are able to change the angle of the supply, you can try that as well. sometimes, shifting the PS as little as 10 degrees can take the hum out of your signal path. Plug a mic in, power it up, put on some headphones and very carefully rotate the supply to see if you can reduce or eliminate the problem. This approach has worked for me in so many of my different projects.

dave

[thearnicasync]

Dave's advice is what saved me...though I hadn't heard it yet. The headphone scenario worked best...leave the top off and "tune" the buzz best you can...also check to see if it's just Channel two that's giving you the most grief, as it's nearest to the largest power transformer...

kb