Mic Preamp Question for You Recording Guys

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SALVAGED

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Ok guys... I've been diving deeper into 500 series recording gear, and trying to decide between preamps for tracking electric guitars.

After researching for months, I've narrowed it down a bit, but wanted to hear your thoughts as well.

What 500 series mic pre would you choose, between these options:

Avedis MA5
Phoenix Audio DRS-1R
Chandler Germanium 500 MKII
Vintech 573
 
I have no experience with that group listed and just dove into the 500-series pool in March myself. My favorite pres for guitars in no particular order are:

- API 512c (my first 500 purchase)
- Great River ME1-NV
- UA LA-610 (the 610 pre can really flatter distorted guitars)
- Vintech X73i

There's not much I can't cover in that group.
 
SALVAGED said:
Ok guys... I've been diving deeper into 500 series recording gear, and trying to decide between preamps for tracking electric guitars.

After researching for months, I've narrowed it down a bit, but wanted to hear your thoughts as well.

What 500 series mic pre would you choose, between these options:

Avedis MA5
Phoenix Audio DRS-1R
Chandler Germanium 500 MKII
Vintech 573
Click to expand...

What kind of guitar sound are you primarily looking to record? What are some of your favorite records/guitar tones?

Here's my take on those you've listed:

1. Avedis MA5 - Nice sounding preamp. Very similar to the Vintech 573 in that it shares similar characteristics of being smooth, slightly scooped and "Neve-esque". It has plenty of weight and a Neve sonic signature.

2. Phoenix Audio: I have to preface this with the fact that Phoenix Audio's gear has a tendency to break down. Everyone that I've never known to own their summing mixer has had issues. Their gear sounds very good but its reliability should be in question, IMO.

That said, it's more of an EMI type of preamp. Softer lows, softer highs and mids. Their gear tends to be slower and "squishy".

3. Chandler Germanium: Similar to the Phoenix but far more reliable. Guitars will have a softer and slower feel and low end. I think it's cool for lower and mid gain amps like Fenders and Voxes but it's a bit too slow and squishy for high gainers. Much better for B15 and SVT style basses, IMO.

4. Vintech 573: My favorite of your choices, by far. Disclaimer: I've owned and used Dallas's gear for more than a decade. I own a x73i, a 273 and a 609ca compressor. I'm a HUGE fan of the Neve feel and sound and Dallas, IMO, nails it.

The characteristics are slower preamp but not nearly as slow as the others you've listed. It has a nice, tight but large bottom end along with a perfectly scooped midrange and a sweet top end. To me, it's magic with my playing.

I've owned dozens of mic pre's including the UA, API, Brent Averill, SSL and so on. After recording with all of those preamps, the Vintech preamps just "sound like me".

I hope this helps and good luck!
 
FWIW (and it might not be much!), I'm not a fan of 500 series preamps and compressors. The main reason is because so many of the 500 racks don't distribute the voltage properly and evenly.

In the end, you might have a 573 or MA-5 or API, but if you've got a loaded six or ten space rack, the voltage likely won't match that of a console or a one or two rack space piece of gear. Consequently, you're not going to achieve the same exact results.

I'd recommend that if you have the rack space available, to purchase a singular rack mount version with the solid power supply.

Of course, this is a matter of opinion and the difference may or may not be audible to your ears or to the feel of the preamp, so your mileage may vary.

:D
 
Thanks for the replies, guys! From these descriptions, it sounds like the Avedis MA5 or the Vintech 573 might be right up my alley. The MA5 is $775, and the 573 is $700... and I keep reading how well built the MA5 is... that may be worth the extra $75 to me..? Is the 573 built well?

Thanks again! This really helped narrow down my choices. 8)

As for the 500 series thing... my chassis is really simple. It's just a 3 slot rack from Radial. So, bang for the buck, the MA5 or 573 is probably all I can afford for awhile (unless I raid the 401K... :lol: )
 
Mike gave you some great in depth points that I don't disagree with. I'll emphasize that there are three things to consider in this purchase:

1: Will the flavor compliment the styles and types of guitars you are going to track?

2: How critical is your ear and experience with recording? Any of these will make you sound like a god compared to the pre in a budget interface.

3: Do you know enough about recording "you" to make yourself sound like "you"?

Mike and I certainly can speak the same language there. He is more in tune with something that nails him (and a great job you do with that good sir!), I tend to prefer to keep the box a little bigger and cater to the track more than myself. I just mixed it up last night when re-amping heavy guitars for a track and the Neve-flavor of my Great River hit the spot where the API was just not sitting right. Same tracks, different pre and it all just worked.

Mike had a good point on the 500 voltage, but I also have the same Radial unit and never ran into a situation bad enough to complain. I only have the API in the 500 series out of all the pres I mentioned, but it does really well and you can always run a single unit in the Radial if you are concerned. Dallas and his Vintech gear are great, so I wouldn't have any reservations.

Lots of great advice and options here, so I'm sure you will be fine.
 
SALVAGED said:
Thanks for the replies, guys! From these descriptions, it sounds like the Avedis MA5 or the Vintech 573 might be right up my alley. The MA5 is $775, and the 573 is $700... and I keep reading how well built the MA5 is... that may be worth the extra $75 to me..? Is the 573 built well?
Click to expand...

As Rob mentioned, you can't go wrong with either choice. I've owned Avedis and BAE gear in the past and their build quality is above reproach, as is Vintech and Chandler.

I've owned Vintech gear consistently since 2001. My first Vintech preamp was the Dual 72, which is based on the 1272. Since then I've added another 1272, an x73i, a 273 and the 609ca. I've never had an issue with Vintech gear in 12+ years of using it on a daily basis. I've recommended it to friends who also have never had any issues.

Hope this helps and happy recording!
 
Thanks for the insight, guys.

After digging through forum classifieds, craigslist, & ebay... it seems like MA5 sells used for around $700 ($775 new)... and the 573 sells for around $525-ish used ($700 new).

Based on that, I'm leaning towards the MA5, since it appears to not depreciate as much. When the pocketbook is as meager as mine, every purchase is an investment, right? :lol:

Thanks again guys! I appreciate the help sorting this out. :D
 
Take a look at http://www.soundskulptor.com
Top quality + instructions
Highly recommended
 
Sorry to be so late to the party here...

Rob talked me into a couple of API 512s and I can't tell you the difference it makes in the focus and depth of my guitar recording!

What I can add to the discussion is my 512s KILL on vocals as well, but we found a REAL alternative for 1/2 the price.

We work remotely between three studios and were hoping to maximize available time by having our singer cut in his studio rather than waste an hour each way driving to the main studio miles away.

Problem is we're tracking guitars and bass with our APIs while he is doing vox. He couldn't afford his own API and Lunchbox, so he searched for a reasonable alternative and found a new company called Warm Audio.

They sell 500 series API clones as well as a stand alone version that doesn't need a Lunchbox to operate. I gotta tell you the WA12 is a SUPER cool unit! It very similar to the APIs, nothing about it sounds cheap, its very focused, 3 dimensional and adds that in your face quality that APIs are known for. That being said the Warm WA12, ironicly, may be a tad darker, but its very eq friendly and easy to tweak.

Do yourself a favor and check out Warm Audio. Fo the price alone it worth a look

Let us know what you decide!

Keep the Faith

H
 
As I work for Aphex I have to throw in a shameless plug for our gear!
We've got (3) different flavors of mic pres, an optical compressor, a 3-band EQ with HPF and LPF and the famous Aural Exciter and Big Bottom all in 500 series modules:
http://www.aphex.com/product-category/500-series/

We're also just about to release our new USB 500 RACK. It's a 500 series receiving frame with an integrated USB 2.0 audio interface.

http://www.aphex.com/aphex-products/usb-500-rack/

Here's a link to all of our 500 series products on Sweetwater so you can see pricing:
http://www.sweetwater.com/c1036--Aphex--500_Series_Processors

I won't go in to any details here. Feel free to ask questions here or PM me.
 
I need to check out some of that 500-series stuff from you Jace when funds allow. I'm getting ready to liquidate some gear to fund construction/expansion of the shop, so I'll see where I wind up. Your 2-channel rack mount Gate/Comp I got from you is still one of my favorite pieces in my studio.
 
I totally dig my API A2D. It's got two 312 pres and two decent converters. Other than drums, I only need two channels most of the time.
 

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