Suggestions on a good vintage mic pre and compressor

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circaweb
pluggin' in mics
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Suggestions on a good vintage mic pre and compressor

Post by circaweb » Wed May 10, 2006 11:22 pm

I'm getting ready to record an album and need help choosing a good stereo mic pre and compressor. I'm huge into vintage stuff, spector and joe meek. Stereo stuff is always good. A good eg would be nice, maybe a preamp in a channel strip. HELP!!!

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surf's up
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Post by surf's up » Wed May 10, 2006 11:45 pm

it will depend on your budget, the type of music it is and what your approach will be (tracking live vs. overdubs, lots of mic vs. minimal micing, what kind of room you have, etc.).
Some popular choices would be API312, neve 1073(or clones), telefunken V72, ampex pre from tape decks.
those all have a "vintage" legacy, but you might consider something newer. The hamptone and seventh circle kits get rave reviews here and are cheaper, but could require some assembly. this forum is a trove of great information on preamplification, it just depends on how you get your jollies and what would work best for that purpose.

thearnicasync
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Post by thearnicasync » Thu May 11, 2006 1:09 pm

yeah, it depends on money. always, it seems.

you can actually buy vintage...look at pawn shops, local weirdo places for Altec mic mixers and Ampex machines.

Or drum up exactly $100,000,000 for class a discreet warm punchy valve tube sheen-like hit machine like the DW Fearn stereo pre and an Atomic Squeezebox.

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weatherbox
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Post by weatherbox » Thu May 11, 2006 1:17 pm

How about new stuff that just sounds great? Vintage I'm finding often means it needs to be recapped and have solder joints touched up. Also, spiders live in it.

Were I to buy a stereo pre and a stereo comp in 19" rackmount format... I'd grab a Phoenix DRS2 and Drawmer 1968. I love them both.

Were I buying more stuff I don't have, I'd be getting one Chandler Germanium, one Daking pre/EQ, and a Purple MC77. Each of these is on my "get this year" list.

thearnicasync
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Post by thearnicasync » Thu May 11, 2006 2:15 pm

The MC77 also on my please-let-me-be-fortunate-enough-to-someday-buy list.

And it's the same price as the UA reissue and better!

kb

joel hamilton
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Post by joel hamilton » Thu May 11, 2006 8:23 pm

There are SO many,and they vary wildly money wise.

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