What preamps are y'all liking these days?

[alexevansohio]

Hi, gang.

It's nice to see that this forum is still up and running, albeit a bit quieter than it used to be. When I was first getting into recording, more than a decade ago now, you all gave me some really good advice (some of which I probably should have taken to heart a bit sooner than I did, haha).

Recording is now very much a hobby for me rather than anything I'm pursuing professionally, but I've been trying to get my little home studio in order and make some upgrades in recent years, and I could use some advice. I've been fortunate to build up quite a solid mic locker (way better than I need, honestly) with a good selection of modern and vintage condensers, dynamics, and ribbons, and a good rack of gear with an original RME UFX, a couple additional preamps, and a nice stereo compressor. While my space is tiny and not well-suited to recording large groups or anything loud, I would like to add another preamp to my rack to allow for a few more simultaneous channels than I currently have available.

Right now, I have the four preamps on the UFX, which are surprisingly good for interface pres, and then two additional preamps: a Thermionic Culture Earlybird 2.2 and an AEA RPQ2. Though the Earlybird has tubes and big transformers and all kinds of other goodness under the hood, it's a surprisingly clean and detailed preamp that adds just a bit of weight and dimension to every source—it is amazing, and I wish it were not nauseatingly expensive (otherwise I'd just buy another one). The RPQ2 leans even cleaner but also sounds excellent and gets a ton of use with my many old ribbon mics.

I'd like to get another preamp, but there are a zillion options (and more coming out every moment), and even after scouring through back issues of the magazine, forum posts, and more, I'm probably more confused than I was when I started. I like the idea of having four (or even eight, down the line) channels of the same versatile preamp in the rack to compliment the slightly more specialized Earlybird and RPQ2. I want something that's not so colorful or distinctive that it has a really narrow useability range, but I would like something with a bit more vibe and personality than the stock preamps on the UFX.

I've owned a few things in the past that could fit the bill, like a Sytek MPX-4 or a Daking Mic Pre IV, but I'm quite curious to try something different, and I'd love to hear what other folks have been digging. What's the preamp that makes you think "I wish I had a whole console full of these" every time you use it? Bonus points if it has stepped gain controls for better stereo matching and if it's rackmount rather than 500-series (though I'll consider buying a lunchbox if I'm really missing out), but I'm open to any suggestions. A decent gain range would be good too—particularly in my current recording space, I'm way more likely to be track quiet fingerpicked guitar parts than blazing Marshall stacks.

Budget is flexible but practical. If I can get away with spending used Sytek money (<$1000) for four channels, then that's great. I don't think I could rationalize the price of a rack of vintage Neves, no matter how good they sound. Just poking around on Reverb, it seems like less than $2000 could probably get me a range of well-regarded options—a DAV BG-2, a rack of four Seventh Circle Audio N-72s, a modded and racked quartet of Yamaha PM-1000 channel strips, four CAPI or Hairball pres in a little lunchbox, two Hamptone units, etc.

Thanks for your insights—I'm excited to hear what you all have been liking recently.

Cheers-
A

[A.David.MacKinnon]

McCurdy ever time. Ward Beck is a close second.

[alexevansohio]

McCurdy ever time. Ward Beck is a close second.

I really regret not buying some racked Ward Beck pres when they were more plentiful and affordable. I can’t seem to find any for sale online (though someone is selling some 460 strips—unracked—on eBay). McCurdys seem to be similarly difficult to find, though I’ve heard great things.

All that said, if anyone has leads on racked Ward Beck or McCurdy pres, let me know! I’d be very interested.

[Nick Sevilla]

My really great 2Ubes VTX tube mic preamp. Made by hand by my friend Larry Janus. Crazy good, and it has WiFi, so I can change the settings from my phone while adjusting a microphone in the other room or across the room. Has a great sound. At some point, I'll be getting a 2nd one. Great on electric bass as a DI too.

If I need surgical precision, the Summit MPE 200 and my two AMEK 9098 mic pres with EQ are really fantastic.

After that, my trusty Allen & Heath GL2800 preamps get regular use. Synths live on the console along with the RD-8, and the Hammond M100 mono mic too.

[jmann]

If I could wave a magic wand and clone my Hamptone JFET, I would do it many times over.

I’m also very happy with the DIYRE pres I built. Lots of clean gain.

But what Nick said is why I keep hoping to find a decent small console: for the occasions when I record a whole band, I’d love to just have most mics going into solid, identical console preamps.

[digitaldrummer]

if you decide to go the 500 route, and if you can solder, one of the Hairball Copper (a 1073-ish sound) and a CAPI (I've got the VP312) would be a great start. I love the copper in a vocal chain or on bass or drums and the VP312 is great too. Both have input/output levels so you can adjust how much "color" you get from them. the A-Designs 500 line is great too, but then again there is a ton of 500 series that is great and once you get empty slots...

[Recycled_Brains]

What's the preamp that makes you think "I wish I had a whole console full of these"...

If I was actually buying a console, Daking. No question. The EQ is outrageously good, pre rules. would gladly sell all my other shit, except...

Hamptone. Fucking great. They don't seem to be talked about here like they were ad nauseam back in the day, but I own an HVTP2 and a JFET 500 series and would be very happy to have 16 channels of either.

If you're handy with a soldering iron, Hairball Coppers are outstanding and an incredible deal if you're willing to put in the time.

[alexevansohio]

What's the preamp that makes you think "I wish I had a whole console full of these"...

If I was actually buying a console, Daking. No question. The EQ is outrageously good, pre rules. would gladly sell all my other shit, except...

Hamptone. Fucking great. They don't seem to be talked about here like they were ad nauseam back in the day, but I own an HVTP2 and a JFET 500 series and would be very happy to have 16 channels of either.

If you're handy with a soldering iron, Hairball Coppers are outstanding and an incredible deal if you're willing to put in the time.

Yeah, the Daking consoles seem ridiculously nice. A pair of their older Mic Pre/EQs came and went on Reverb this week, and I was very tempted to put in an offer but dallied for too long.

I just posted another response to someone recommending Hamptone, and I think that's a really good idea—probably the front-runner in my mind right now. I'm undecided on whether to go JFET or tube though. Since you have both, do you have any suggestions?

[trodden]

I wish I had at least 8 channels of Hairball Coppers. Excellent preamps. Between them and my ShinyBox Si4, I'm stoked. I do have two Burl B1d pres, and they're fucking awesome, but expensive and I'd be happy with just the Coppers.

I'm really really interested in the Iron Age Audiowork QPP, which has tranformer and opamp options!
https://www.ironageaudioworks.com/qpp

[Scodiddly]

For condensor mics, whatever is in the little interface.

Couple years ago I dug out my copy of that TapeOp Hamptone preamp DIY and finally built the damn thing (I still had almost all the parts I'd bought for it). It's fantastic but complete overkill for my uses, so I ended up building several fixed gain and single-stage versions of the same thing. Those are great for pumping up a dynamic or ribbon to go into a regular interface preamp.

[Scodiddly]

For condensor mics, whatever is in the little interface.

Couple years ago I dug out my copy of that TapeOp Hamptone preamp DIY and finally built the damn thing (I still had almost all the parts I'd bought for it). It's fantastic but complete overkill for my uses, so I ended up building several fixed gain (single stage) versions of the same thing. Those are great for pumping up a dynamic or ribbon to go into a regular interface preamp.

[alexevansohio]

I wish I had at least 8 channels of Hairball Coppers. Excellent preamps. Between them and my ShinyBox Si4, I'm stoked. I do have two Burl B1d pres, and they're fucking awesome, but expensive and I'd be happy with just the Coppers.

I'm really really interested in the Iron Age Audiowork QPP, which has tranformer and opamp options!
https://www.ironageaudioworks.com/qpp

I remember hearing really good things about those Burls when they came out! Never had a chance to try them out, but I but they're great.

The Coppers are getting a lot of love in this thread! I'll have to look more closely at those. I had a Lola ages ago that I really liked. Can't remember why I sold that (so it goes).

The QPP looks really interesting, and that's an awfully nice price for a handmade four-channel pre like that. What started as "I think I need a few more channels of pres" is quickly becoming "how can I justify a lunchbox with four channels of Hairball and four channels of Hamptone, PLUS a QPP?" hahaha.

I'll do some reading on all of these. Looks like IAA also have 500-series stuff, so maybe if I cave and buy a lunchbox, I could explore that option too.

[Recycled_Brains]

I just posted another response to someone recommending Hamptone, and I think that's a really good idea—probably the front-runner in my mind right now. I'm undecided on whether to go JFET or tube though. Since you have both, do you have any suggestions?

I love em both so it's hard to pick which is better, but pressed I would choose the tube version. It's so huge and clear sounding at lower gain settings, but when you push it it breaks up in a cool way. Sometimes I'll solo a track and be like "damn that's pretty blown to bits", but in context it almost never sounds over the top, but if you daisy chain the channels you can make some crazy fuzz pedal shit happen and it rules. I use mine on OH's a lot because it soft clips in a way that will tuck the snare in a little for you. I've done mixes where I ran every close mic'd drum through the line input to control the peaks. Sometimes it's in my mixbuss chain. Also vocals. It's my favorite vocal pre for sure. Sometimes I record DI guitar dry as fuck through the daisy chained channels and get these insane tones that I'll blend with the mic'd amp tracks for extra texture.

The JFET is really impressive too and though I haven't spent as much time with mine, I'm sure it can do pretty much everything I described above. I'm talking specifically about the 500 series version, which has a couple extra features than the standard 2-ch version. Insane LF extension and headroom. Use it mostly on bass and bass drum because of that. The lows just come out crystal clear. The DI rules. Also great on snare. I'll push it a little harder there and clip the uber-peaks off a little. Less compression later.


You can't go wrong. Probably the most well built gear I own too. Scott Hampton rules. Always been johnny on the spot when I've needed maintenance help (I've had my tube since 2006).

I never see the 500 series used, but the others pop up pretty regularly on Reverb for good prices. I would get the stepped control version if you go with the OG format. They just feel so good and the stereo matching is a thoughtless process.

[Colorblind]

I'm also a hobbyist (and UFX owner), and I've been using the API 512b and CAPI VP28 a lot lately. VP28 has stepped gain and output. Hamptone is great too, as others have suggested.

[jmann]

This thread is going to finally get me off my ass to build my two Lola kits. (Although maybe should be Coppers?)

I have only used my JFET Hamptone, not the tube version, but I LOVE it. Some friends of mine are recording their fourth or fifth record. My Hamptone will have been the stick-it-on-the-most-important-thing pre on every song.