BB option for syteks

[thethingwiththestuff]

i'm definitely getting one of these for my next purchase. i got a little time before i'm ready, but i've been wondering if anyone familiar with them can think of any reason not to upgrade all 4 channels to the burr brown IC's. my feeling is that my recordings are too clinically digital, there's no real character to anything, so i'm not looking for neutrality.

while i want options, will i miss those channels?

[joeysimms]

I had the BB installed on 3 and 4, leaving the other 2 unmodified. That way, you have flavors.

[joel hamilton]

I bought the one with all 4 BB's. IMO, you only notice the difference (really) when you hit them hard. The non-BB's "spit" at you and the BB channels make the transition to drive better. I usually hit them pretty hard, so the BB'swere the best choice for me. If you arent hitting them hard, then you dont really even notice. There ARE of course slight differences, but not enough to care about when you can always back off and get pretty damn "neutral" but certainly an IC based pre no matter what.

[cgarges]

my feeling is that my recordings are too clinically digital, there's no real character to anything, so i'm not looking for neutrality.

Well, the Syteks are pretty close to neutral, unless the fact that they're DAMN FAST counts as having character. The low end doesn't really blossom like a John Hardy or a Millenia or something like that, but they're pretty accurate-sounding, especially when it comes to distance miking.

That having been said, there's a pretty subtle difference in the ICs. Like Joel said, you notice more when you hit them harder and I think it's less apparent on percussive sound sources. I like the Burr Browns for vocals and horns and guitars, so I opted for four channels of them. I generally like the stock pres for ambient miking and drum overheads, so my next Sytek will probably have two channels of stock ICs, although I'm almost leaning towards getting all four stock.

Either way, it's hard to go wrong if you want a good, high-gain preamp that's not going to color the sound of your mics much.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[thethingwiththestuff]

thanks, that helps.

[The2and4]

Okay, guys.

I have Syteks, both with and w/out the BB chip, and like them a whole lot.
Please oh please enlighten me..

What do you mean by "hitting them hard"?

I know about hitting a drum hard, hitting a compressor hard, hitting tape hard..but the only thing before the preamp is the mic! Does this mean putting the mic closer to the source?

I record mostly loud stuff...drums 'n' guitars 'n' stuff. It always seems like they can handle any sound/mic combo I throw at them. I can tell that a mightily smacked snare drum/SM57 sounds a whole lot different than a roomy woodblock/R121 through them. Do I just lack the experience to know that a lot of that difference is due to the Sytek being hit hard along with mic choice, close vs. distant, and a big difference in volume?

Maybe I'm already hitting them hard and just don't know it.
I will certainly run some experiments and try to figure this out on my own. And sorry if it's a really stupid question, but I'm intrigued and I want to know what to listen for.

[Russian Recording]

What do you mean by "hitting them hard"?

"Hitting them hard" means cranking the gain up so your pushing the input close to its maximum potential, which causes the premp to "break up" or distort. Joel and Chris are saying that the Burr Browns will have a more musical/pleasant sound when they start to distort compared to the stock ICs.

If you are trying this to digital, and you have no input control on your A/D, you will have to put an attenuator between you preamp and your A/D to attenuate the output of the preamp so as not to clip. If your comping on the way in, just turn the output down on your comp.

mtar

[I'm Painting Again]

I also find the difference is pretty subtle..you can tell a little more with distorted guitar than anything else that the BB have a smoothing aspect..one thing i wish they had was built in pads..so i can drive them harder without any additional setup of gear..I like them on drums..sometimes i wish they were a little less fast..

[cgarges]

sometimes i wish they were a little less fast..

Then you're wishing for a different preamp. Their speed has so much to do with why they sound like that. I like the clarity and life-like aspect that comes from their having such great transient response. Sometimes that's not so flattering for snare drum, but in those cases, I'll use a different preamp.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Russian Recording]

their fastness makes them an excellent choice for room mics, OHs, acoustic instruments and stereo pairs.
mtar

[I'm Painting Again]

sometimes i wish they were a little less fast..

Then you're wishing for a different preamp. Their speed has so much to do with why they sound like that. I like the clarity and life-like aspect that comes from their having such great transient response. Sometimes that's not so flattering for snare drum, but in those cases, I'll use a different preamp.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

so true..i have a limited selection

and that was the reason..yeah out of the context of my head that post seems retarded..

[joel hamilton]

I agree about the snare not being flattered by a fast pre, but I cant believe how well it can work, especially to tape. If the snare is supposed to sound like a gunshot: These work well. I saw the little peak light blinking EVERY time the snare was hit on my last session. It just sounded too good to back off any.

I guess that is why I like the BB's. They stay musical, even at the edges of "okay."

[I'm Painting Again]

the last session i did i had a ksm27 on the floor tom padded 15db going to stock ch 2..the pre was clipping the converter and the channel was on zero gain! The mic was close though maybe a few inches off the top head..

[joel hamilton]

I know it B.O.B's. I had like one click left to go down...

I bet making a post gain pad for those would be really easy. Like one little switch instead of the mute, a resistor.... hmm.... maybe someone should ask for that from sytek directly.

That would be pretty awesome. Especially for going right into the box. A 15 Db pad on the output side rather than the input, so you could still let them get nailed and have a reasonable level out to the converters. Interesting.

[I'm Painting Again]

that would be sweet..i would like a pad in the front and an "in or out switchable" transformer output gain stage..(which really im not sure is possible with ic stuff) but what im imagining it would do is add a bit of that kind of sound if you wanted and add some flexability to the way you can stage things..