Most transparent - Grace M101 or True Systems P-Solo?

[eeldip]

esoteric gear like the original earthworks LAB pre, which claimed insane specs, and then I treied it and everything I recorded with it made no sense. The sound certainly didnt fool anyone into thinking it was "live and not memorex"

funny, i have one of those! it pairs TERRIBLY with earthworks mics. little bit of irony there.

but i really love that pre paired with ribbon mics/carbon mics/weird old dynamics. in the sense that it give you gain with very very low noise and doesn't step on whatever weird thing the mic is doing.

[Nick Sevilla]

There is no such thing as a "transparent" mic pre...and you know what, that's ok!

*ducks*

you knew someone would say it...

There is no "Transparent" microphone either, and let's not get started on the SOURCES...

I'm down in the trenches ducking with you now...

[casey campbell]

There is no such thing as a "transparent" mic pre...and you know what, that's ok!

*ducks*

you knew someone would say it...

There is no "Transparent" microphone either, and let's not get started on the SOURCES...

I'm down in the trenches ducking with you now...

ha ha, great point!

way too many variables involved. i mean, the whole point should be to try to mimic what you hear in the room, but it's just not possible. and how would you measure that audibly any way? i mean, you have to listen to what you've recorded via monitors or headphones....and not to mention, is your interface "transparent," or how about the room in which you are in. how do you measure transparency on the same recorded material, but in different rooms with different people listening in?

with all that said, i suppose semantically speaking you would like a preamp that is as sterile as possible....and wow, there are plenty of those around!

[dsw]

I like the term "natural" over "transparent."

It's easy to hear when something has been hyped in some way.

Natural or transparent isn't often the choice people in my retail experience when presented with sound A or sound B. Most often people express a desire for "warm" or "tube."

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

I am putting the finishing design touches on a new translucent preamp.

[Jim Williams]

I like the term "natural" over "transparent."

It's easy to hear when something has been hyped in some way.

Natural or transparent isn't often the choice people in my retail experience when presented with sound A or sound B. Most often people express a desire for "warm" or "tube."

Some prefer "neutral" as the term. "Desire" has changed in the last 20 years or so. As more and more less than stellar talents are recording, most of them do need a little help. Therefore the neutral stuff reveals all their warts. Most of them prefer something that turns a mouse into a man and that's not the clear sounding stuff.

That being said, the stellar talents still tend to prefer the neutral stuff as they understand anything else takes something away or changes what they consider not needing changing.

[Producer/Engineer]

I like the term "natural" over "transparent."

It's easy to hear when something has been hyped in some way.

Natural or transparent isn't often the choice people in my retail experience when presented with sound A or sound B. Most often people express a desire for "warm" or "tube."

Some prefer "neutral" as the term. "Desire" has changed in the last 20 years or so. As more and more less than stellar talents are recording, most of them do need a little help. Therefore the neutral stuff reveals all their warts. Most of them prefer something that turns a mouse into a man and that's not the clear sounding stuff.

That being said, the stellar talents still tend to prefer the neutral stuff as they understand anything else takes something away or changes what they consider not needing changing.

Well said, Jim! Nice post.

[eh91311]

I like the term "natural" over "transparent."

It's easy to hear when something has been hyped in some way.

Natural or transparent isn't often the choice people in my retail experience when presented with sound A or sound B. Most often people express a desire for "warm" or "tube."

Some prefer "neutral" as the term. "Desire" has changed in the last 20 years or so. As more and more less than stellar talents are recording, most of them do need a little help. Therefore the neutral stuff reveals all their warts. Most of them prefer something that turns a mouse into a man and that's not the clear sounding stuff.

That being said, the stellar talents still tend to prefer the neutral stuff as they understand anything else takes something away or changes what they consider not needing changing.

Well said, Jim! Nice post.

Read Jim's paragraphs again and you'll see that there's a lot more implied there than at first reading.

Talent that needs "help" isn't talent. It's crap, and it's hard to sell that these days, no matter how good the preamp you put their vocal through.

[joel hamilton]

Everything is transparent until you hear something more transparent.

For me, it's when I hear things that are missing listening to other designs.
Whether it's the tick if a wood stick tapping a cymbal, or each tap sounding like a bell with each note sounding different, whether it's a bell tree actually sounding like a bell tree. Whether I hear the hands of the musician on the instrument is also missing from most other designs. Those are subtle sounds usually passed over in common audio gear. Electrolytic capacitors, transformers and slew restricted amplifiers are the usual cause of that.

Modern rock/pop with fuzzy guitars and pounding drums is not the best venue to hear those differences with. For that stuff, almost anything will do, as all those classic rock records using measley console mic preamps will show. In that case, it's the performer, not the mic preamp that makes it all work.

Very true,
But people get a preconceived idea of what the "honest" pre's would be. based on whether they have transformers in them... The resolution of the Neve pre's in my console is absolutely stunning. even for "measly board pre's."
The fact that I can record an all acoustic record, with Cello, violin and voice over acoustic guitar, and have everything "sound like it sounds" in the mix, with the air and space and engaging factors that make the sounds shine when you are stanging in the room with them.... that happens WITH transformers.
I just want to point out the idea of quality and transparency being one and the same in most cases, at least with every pre worth a dollar that I have ever used.
We are making music.