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Post by bricejchandler on May 8, 2020 2:53:40 GMT -6
Hi all,
hope all is well during these trying times.
I'm looking to get 4 preamps for drums, I'm gonna be tracking a live band this summer in a house and need preamps for kick snare and overheads.
I have some nice pres but they're gonna be used up on another things so I'd be left micing the drums with my apogee elements, which are fine but I'd like to get something better.
I was originally thinking of getting 4 VP26s, but that would mean I'd have to get a new lunchbox and I don't think I have the budget for that right now . I know the 26s quite well and think they sound great on drums.
I'm wondering if any of you have compared the Warm 412 to the Capis, I can get the Warm for almost half price so it's piqued my curiosity, even though I've never loved the Warm products I've used up to now but I'm willing to give it a shot.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
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Post by kcatthedog on May 8, 2020 4:02:39 GMT -6
I had the WA and mostly used it on drums, was very pleased with results: haven’t used capi so can’t comment, but have always heard good things about them too.
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Post by indiehouse on May 8, 2020 5:39:21 GMT -6
Hi all, hope all is well during these trying times. I'm looking to get 4 preamps for drums, I'm gonna be tracking a live band this summer in a house and need preamps for kick snare and overheads. I have some nice pres but they're gonna be used up on another things so I'd be left micing the drums with my apogee elements, which are fine but I'd like to get something better. I was originally thinking of getting 4 VP26s, but that would mean I'd have to get a new lunchbox and I don't think I have the budget for that right now . I know the 26s quite well and think they sound great on drums. I'm wondering if any of you have compared the Warm 412 to the Capis, I can get the Warm for almost half price so it's piqued my curiosity, even though I've never loved the Warm products I've used up to now but I'm willing to give it a shot. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! There was someone selling a Sebatron VMP-4000e on GS last week for cheap. I have one of these and it’s killer on drums. It’s a 4 channel tube preamp unit, with a bunch of tone shaping options. Easy to drive for tube saturation or back off for clean. Sebatron flys under the radar but is awesome stuff. Worth looking into. |
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Post by bricejchandler on May 8, 2020 6:35:50 GMT -6
Thanks for the input guys.
Yeah I've actually been eyeing the Sebatron on GS! Unfortunately I'm in the EU, by the time you factor in shipping and import duties it can get pretty expensive...
I'll have to think about it.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,958 
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Post by ericn on May 8, 2020 8:54:12 GMT -6
If you want the Classic API tone just go CAPI!
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Post by mcirish on May 8, 2020 8:56:44 GMT -6
To toss in another idea; Midas XL48. Good sounding mic preamps. The fan can get a little noisy but a resistor fixes that. I used it on an album project and I thought it came out very well. For 8 channels of preamps, the price isn't too bad either.
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Post by notneeson on May 8, 2020 9:22:56 GMT -6
Warm 412s are great on drums, they do a nice version of the API thing and the price is nice.
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Post by the other mark williams on May 8, 2020 9:30:33 GMT -6
I think the opamps are socketed on the 412, aren't they? So you could always swap them out for different ones if the stock 412 wasn't shaping things quite the way you want. I say go for it, especially if you're looking at a half-price situation...
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,958
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Post by ericn on May 8, 2020 9:40:24 GMT -6
I think the opamps are socketed on the 412, aren't they? So you could always swap them out for different ones if the stock 412 wasn't shaping things quite the way you want. I say go for it, especially if you're looking at a half-price situation... I think they are soldered to the main PCB |
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Post by the other mark williams on May 8, 2020 10:30:04 GMT -6
I think the opamps are socketed on the 412, aren't they? So you could always swap them out for different ones if the stock 412 wasn't shaping things quite the way you want. I say go for it, especially if you're looking at a half-price situation... I think they are soldered to the main PCB from the Warm site: “Featuring fully discrete socketed 6-pin opamps and custom wound Altran USA input and output transformers” ... Maybe that’s just the newest version? Didn’t they update it recently? |
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 14,958
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Post by ericn on May 8, 2020 10:48:31 GMT -6
I think they are soldered to the main PCB from the Warm site: “Featuring fully discrete socketed 6-pin opamps and custom wound Altran USA input and output transformers” ... Maybe that’s just the newest version? Didn’t they update it recently? Man I thought all the Warm stuff had the opamps on the board! At least you can do an opamp swap |
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Post by ragan on May 8, 2020 11:53:26 GMT -6
I think everything going back to the Tonebeast (7 years ago?) has been socketed.
I had a WA-412 and liked it on drums a lot. The output attenuation is the key to the kingdom on API style stuff. Sound really punchy when driven.
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Post by notneeson on May 8, 2020 12:14:38 GMT -6
I think everything going back to the Tonebeast (7 years ago?) has been socketed. I had a WA-412 and liked it on drums a lot. The output attenuation is the key to the kingdom on API style stuff. Sound really punchy when driven. Yeah, in this exact way Ragan refers to, I actually prefer the WA-412 my studio partner owns to the OG 3124+ that I had on loan for many years. (It sounded amazing with -20db line level pads though). I have four SL red dots that I really should put in the Warm. |
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Post by kevinnyc on May 8, 2020 12:30:40 GMT -6
I have enough CAPI pres for an entire kit but I also have the warm 412. While CAPI is my first choice I’m also really happy with the warm...the DI’s are super handy and since my VP28s don’t have di’s the warm sees lots of keys..
On a budget or not the warm is a worthy tool as part of the arsenal.
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Post by bricejchandler on May 8, 2020 14:04:33 GMT -6
To toss in another idea; Midas XL48. Good sounding mic preamps. The fan can get a little noisy but a resistor fixes that. I used it on an album project and I thought it came out very well. For 8 channels of preamps, the price isn't too bad either. I've actually used the Midas a couple times, thought it sounded great! Do you have the link to the album tracked on the Midas? |
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Post by bricejchandler on May 8, 2020 14:07:19 GMT -6
I have enough CAPI pres for an entire kit but I also have the warm 412. While CAPI is my first choice I’m also really happy with the warm...the DI’s are super handy and since my VP28s don’t have di’s the warm sees lots of keys.. On a budget or not the warm is a worthy tool as part of the arsenal. How do the Warm compare to the VP28s? Do the VP28s really sound much better? I already own a pair of those. |
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Post by bricejchandler on May 8, 2020 14:08:10 GMT -6
Thanks for the input everyone. It seems like most everyone seems happy with the Warm!
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Post by nick8801 on May 8, 2020 16:11:26 GMT -6
I just picked up 4 channels of bae312’s for that exact purpose. They sound really great, and on the used market were not very expensive.
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Post by sam on May 8, 2020 16:39:27 GMT -6
I have to say I'm victim to assuming a brand can be wonky due to a lack of professional feedback. I own a Warm 412, have had zero problems with it, yet I for some reason don't take it as seriously as, say, four channels of CAPI VP26/312. My dumb brain.
My 412 has never let me down, if it's any consolation!
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Post by kevinnyc on May 8, 2020 17:23:54 GMT -6
I have enough CAPI pres for an entire kit but I also have the warm 412. While CAPI is my first choice I’m also really happy with the warm...the DI’s are super handy and since my VP28s don’t have di’s the warm sees lots of keys.. On a budget or not the warm is a worthy tool as part of the arsenal. How do the Warm compare to the VP28s? Do the VP28s really sound much better? I already own a pair of those. I’m afraid I’m totally biased. The VP28s are super rare in their ability to excite me. Their perfect for me. Gives me the same feeling as a refined sports car that still has murderous amounts of torque and power on tap if ever needed, and I’ll always reach for them first. How much better (or even if) is a subjective exercise in minutiae...love em both...and love both company’s inclusion of useful bells and whistles...hp filters on the CAPIs and the impedance changing tone switch on the Warms... The warm almost gets me there..I believe someone out there does a $300ish transformer upgrade but they are such good values as it I haven’t felt the need. At the end of the day though I’m thoroughly hooked on dual stage topology of the VP28 and why I think they’re king. |
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Post by Blackdawg on May 8, 2020 17:36:49 GMT -6
Can I ask why you'd need another power supply for some CAPI modules?
You could just swap in the mic preamps to record and then swap in your other cards for mixing.
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Post by bricejchandler on May 9, 2020 1:32:24 GMT -6
How do the Warm compare to the VP28s? Do the VP28s really sound much better? I already own a pair of those. I’m afraid I’m totally biased. The VP28s are super rare in their ability to excite me. Their perfect for me. Gives me the same feeling as a refined sports car that still has murderous amounts of torque and power on tap if ever needed, and I’ll always reach for them first. How much better (or even if) is a subjective exercise in minutiae...love em both...and love both company’s inclusion of useful bells and whistles...hp filters on the CAPIs and the impedance changing tone switch on the Warms... The warm almost gets me there..I believe someone out there does a $300ish transformer upgrade but they are such good values as it I haven’t felt the need. At the end of the day though I’m thoroughly hooked on dual stage topology of the VP28 and why I think they’re king. Yeah I love the VP28, I also love swapping opamps on it, it ends up sounding like a totally different preamp, though I tend to stay with the 2520's juicy mid push most of the time. |
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Post by bricejchandler on May 9, 2020 1:37:08 GMT -6
Can I ask why you'd need another power supply for some CAPI modules? You could just swap in the mic preamps to record and then swap in your other cards for mixing. Everything is already being used up by stuff I couldn't live without while tracking! I guess I could always get a bigger lunchbox and sell the one I currently own...but even then it would be quite a bit more expensive than getting the Warm, which would probably be used about twice a year ( I don't do that much remote drum tracking) . |
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Post by Ward on May 9, 2020 5:50:25 GMT -6
I'm wondering if any of you have compared the Warm 412 to the Capis, I can get the Warm for almost half price so it's piqued my curiosity, even though I've never loved the Warm products I've used up to now but I'm willing to give it a shot. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Only advice: Don't cheap out. Get the CAPIs...or APIs. I've never bought anything Warm I haven't later regretted a little. |
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Post by kcatthedog on May 9, 2020 6:17:41 GMT -6
Have you tried the wa412 Ward ?
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