Hamptone or 7th circle? which one first?

Jettison · Post by **Jettison** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:05 pm

I've just gotten into attempting some small electronics projects. I'm pretty new to it so I'm wondering which of these two mic pre's would make more sense or be easier for a beginner like myself. I've assembled a couple guitar pedals and am soon to embark on building a 1/2 watt guitar amp kit. After that I'd like to have a try at building a couple of mic pres. I definitely want the Hamptone dual tube mic pre and the 7th Circle Audio N72. The question is which one first. Is one more difficult that the other for a beginner?
Neither seem way too scary.
Any thoughts?

Thanks

Huntlabs · Post by **Huntlabs** » Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:29 pm

I just finished the Hamptone JFET kit. It is a nice addition to the Hamptone Tube Pre I built a few years ago. I enjoyed building the kit. Wasn't too hard but you gotta be a bit careful and follow the instructions.

In general I wish I had gotten the JFET first. I think it is a better all around pre. I really like it. It is a close fight between my Great River, AMEK and JFET. I forgot to add the JFET is a really good bass DI, sounds like the U5 but there is no eq section.

Never built the other kits nor have I used them. Sorry.

on the moon · Post by **on the moon** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:13 pm

+1 bass DI... genius pre that likes to smoke.. ;D

delphonic · Post by **delphonic** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:10 pm

I have a hamptone 2 channel tube pre and 2 SCA N72's. I build both a few years ago and never got any working properly (at the time). I let a friend borrow the Hamptone and he figured out I had messed up a tube or something - now both channels work and we're using it on our current recording projects and it sounds great.

I hadn't turned on the N72's in years because after first assemply I had a problem.. I turned it on today to finally trouble shoot and found both channels work fine so far (maybe I kicked it?). I'm taking it to the studio saturday to check it out on actual recordings.

I found the hamptone to be a little easier to assemble, but I also did that after I did the N72's and broke my teeth on soldering... that probably had something to do with it. I did fine the SCA to be more sold from a mechanical sense (chassis, screws lining up - but again that may have changed). These things aren't cheap so if you feel you are able to solder well and quickly I don't think either will be a big problem. I think the key here is that you don't fry the components and board by holding the iron on there too long.

After I check out the SCA stuff this weekend I plan on looking into more of the their pre's. I'm starting to once again build up a studio and definitely looking into more SCA and Hamptone.

Hope this help though it's been a few weeks.

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 1:37 pm

whichever one you go for I'd recommend using the same one on everything.

Jettison · Post by **Jettison** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:33 pm

Rad guys. Thanks for the input.
I like the fact that, with SCA, you can throw a combination of their pre's in a chassis.
When I get around to spending the money, perhaps I'll get 4 N72s and 4 A12s.
Dreams.

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:09 pm

why not go crazy and get some t15s and c84s

you can use a separate preamp for each drum!!

sorry my sarcasm is getting the best of me here

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Hamptone or 7th circle? which one first?

Hamptone or 7th circle? which one first?

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