BB option for syteks

[Moon Unit]

Guys, if you want to drive something for some extra distortion or whatever ...

... I just don't think it's a very good idea to do that with an IC-based mic pre. It just kinda' seems like the wrong tool for the wrong job however you slice it. Call me crazy.

[Russian Recording]

crazy

[The2and4]

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.

Aha!

Thanks, I get it. And now I know not to fear the peak light, too. Awesome.

Guess I should've known..I have an old Tapco mixer that I used mostly for the spring reverb. Sometimes I would put a keyboard through it, crank the channel and turn down the master. It would get really raunchy and horrible, but so good! I thought I was being naughty and potentially harming the thing, but I guess not? I'm all for going a bit beyond "okay".

Okay, that does it. I'm bringing that old mixer back into service.

[I'm Painting Again]

just a note to add..i think the red comes on with the sy at -8 db or something like that..Joel actually knows..hes the one who pointed it out a while ago..

i think distorting ic is a matter of taste so i wont go there..i do think ic anything isnt the best distortion though..thats a valid point..though i'm talking about just giving it a little more drive and not going into distorto-land really..

[The2and4]

i think distorting ic is a matter of taste so i wont go there..

Oh, absolutely. I'm sure the thought of making anything go "KKKKKHHH" on purpose would make some folks cringe.

I just wonder if it hurts anything to go full-on distorto?

I mean, actually harm the ic. (I'm sure it would hurt certain ears..)

[Moon Unit]

I just feel kind of sick inside when people start discussing which IC chips have the most pleasing distortion.

There's something not right about it.

[exit2studios]

I have 2 channels' BB and two "stock" I use the BB's more, but would not want to be without the stock channels. They shine on clean acoustic, overheads and some voices. I find myself using them a lot for bg vox. It's great to have two flavors and I think you save a buck or two leaving it in that configuration. I've been the proud owner of the sytek for years. It was the biggest single improvement I"ve ever made to my recordings. I'm glad to see they're starting to get a lot of attention. They certainly deserve it.

Good luck.

e2

[The2and4]

I just feel kind of sick inside when people start discussing which IC chips have the most pleasing distortion.

There's something not right about it.

Sorry, I know it's wrong...

But, hey...so is sticking a pencil into a guitar speaker!

Just trying to get some fun use out of some old gear I have.

Not looking for something that makes one think: "Ahhh...flowers!"
Maybe more something like: "Grrrrr...jackhammer!"

[I'm Painting Again]

i think distorting ic is a matter of taste so i wont go there..

Oh, absolutely. I'm sure the thought of making anything go "KKKKKHHH" on purpose would make some folks cringe.

I just wonder if it hurts anything to go full-on distorto?

I mean, actually harm the ic. (I'm sure it would hurt certain ears..)

I dont know but for sure but I'm guessing its safe to the IC..
hopefully someone will chime in on this..

for the record i love the way transformer discreet amps clip..its so wrong its great! "oh my dear..theres something horribly wrong with the masters"..oh no its supposed to sound that way..

for the lush smooth distortion i like the tube sound..

[cgarges]

I just feel kind of sick inside when people start discussing which IC chips have the most pleasing distortion.

There's something not right about it.

What difference does it make if it makes a particular source sound good? Thank God the Beatles never analyzed this type of thing.

I think we're finally getting to a place where IC technology is starting to come into it's own. I know, I know--I'd still be happier with a discrete path under most circumstances, but I think ICs technology is sounding WAY better today than it did ten or twenty years ago.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[nlmd311]

just a note to add..i think the red comes on with the sy at -8 db or something like that..Joel actually knows..hes the one who pointed it out a while ago...

Taken from the Sytek website: http://www.sytek-audio-systems.com/
"Additionally, each preamplifier section has a Peak indicator, set at -8dB before clipping the signal output."

Where are you guys ordering these from? I have only seen a hand full of places in the last couple of months with them in-stock, well that actually carry them. I would be a little wary of buying something like this off of the great old land of eBay.
Their site has them, but didn't know if anyone knew of any other dealers worth supporting, or such-and-such?
Thanks

-Darrill

[I'm Painting Again]

I just got mine directly from Sytek..I asked if I could buy one unit with the BB on 3 and 4 for 850$ and they were like ok sure..

[nlmd311]

I just got mine directly from Sytek..I asked if I could buy one unit with the BB on 3 and 4 for 850$ and they were like ok sure..

cool
glad to hear it. I was worried about them being a "hard sell", or having a bunch of sales people answering the phones. They have had the $800 price listed on the homepage of the site for the last couple of weeks as a "holiday special" with the Burr Brown's being an $80 upgrade, or $40 per channel if only wanted on a single channel or additional channels.

Things that make you go hmmm.

-Darrill

[I'm Painting Again]

i think you can find those ics for cheaper and install yourself..maybe 20$-30$ total..im not 100% on the pricing of those specific BB's..I bought 8 opa2604's not too long ago and those were about 5$ each from digikey..i think the sy has two or three chips on a channel..i opened it up a while ago and dont remember too clearly..