Cloudlifter X, Soyuz Launcher, Tierra Audio Flavors

Our own @chessperov has the Launcher. I've never once thought it did anything but harm his very nice voice.

Personally, I'd prefer a transformer based preamp that has input and output controls so that I could decide the drive amount.  These inline things just ARE, no control for the user. 

Boy Howdy guys!
I've been experimenting with my "thickest" Prosumer Pre (LOL!)...

The Audiobox.
I'm wondering if that and/or might tame it down?

I could mess with the Launcher in the chain tomorrow.

Round up my usual smoothing Suspects...
MJUCjr/etc. for a Spell
(Sorry listening to Southern Rock and Country Rock right now)
Chris
P.S. A contributing factor, may also that I was "trying to hard" to sound more "Rawk".
Exactly what my voice isn't suited for!

FWIW I was impressed with the Useful Arts Hornet at NAMM.
(Also Kenny Bronowski digs it too)

Ben Sneesby loaned Peter, a very nice guy BTW... An Oliver FET.*
(Otherwise a Blue Spark that Peter brought would have put up)

* I was wavering between getting the Oliver FET and the Transformer based Elly. The Elly was set up at the Beesneez Booth. So I could go back/forth for vocal comparison.

The Elly was slightly better for my voice. So that's the one I got.
Been jonesing for a 47 FET style!
Chris
P.S. I take the Silver Bullet and Coil Plugs seriously too.

I have had a Cathedral Pipes Durham for a number of years. Very happy with it and recommend it as a great price/performance value. Lately, I’ve acquired a couple of Zombie cables from ZenPro. They work well, and make for a tidy addition to any mic setup in the studio.
www.zenproaudio.com/zombie-microphone-booster-cable

I’ve got a cloudlifter as well as a few launchers and the new launcher deluxe. I was supposed to review all the color boxes from Tierra Audio last year but got too busy, they look really cool and I’m curious. I’ll start by saying that as far as the “booster” qualities of these things on the cleaner approach side of things, you’re not going to beat a properly designed, low noise/high impedance clean preamp like the AEA TRP. If I need more gain for my dynamics or ribbon mics, I’ll always go for the TRP first.

I’ve only got two channels of TRP, so my backup during larger sessions (when it’s being used) is the cloudlifter. For anything other than drums, I just don’t like my ribbon mics going strait into any of my other preamps. I reach for the cloudlifter. There’s a marginal improvement of the noise floor with ribbons, but the way they react to low end, clear up the midrange and bring the highs more forward is why I’ve had at least one for so long. It’s a good problem solver, but by no means my first choice anymore.

The Launchers are a whole other thing. For most people, I don’t think they’re worth the money. It’s not a piece of gear I recommend very often, because what it does is extremely subtle in most situations. I did a review on my YouTube channel where I compared the Soyuz 013 small cap tube vs solid state versions. Since my splitter had a third output, I ran the solid state mic through a launcher on everything as well. There’s full session files in the description for that video if anyone is curious. On every instrument you’ll have the solid state mic with and without the launcher. I’ve had SO many people tell me “there’s no difference, I can’t hear anything”. I think that’s going to be most people’s takeaway if you’re using the launchers in the “not as intended” way. I know they designed it more to plug something like an SM7 into it and get a better sounding vocal. I’ve honestly never used the Launchers for that. When I got my first launcher, I almost sent it back as it just didn’t seem to be doing anything. Then I plugged it into my old 1932 RCA PB-90 and did a vocal, holy cow… Noticeably different character! That Launcher was glued to my PB-90 for a year at least. It made the noise floor a little worse (and it’s already a noisy mic), but just pure vintage magic and character. Then I started experimenting with louder sources and realized the Launcher really came to life when it was pushed. It’s not a massive difference, but it’s enough to where I don’t like recording electric guitars without it anymore (the new Soyuz 1973 into the Launcher Deluxe on electrics… Amazeballs). If you get a phantom power supply, they provide enough gain to where you can run them right into your converters on some things.

The Cloudlifter is a great problem solver and tool, the Launcher is a bit expensive for what it actually does, but… I’m addicted to them now and love that I can easily throw it on anything with the new Launcher deluxe. I think a lot of bedroom people or the smarter crowd with realistic gear budgets think the Launcher is going to be a game changer, when in reality it’s exactly what it is: a transformer and an opamp. I’ve done enough shootouts of mics and outboard to know that those two magic words on paper don’t give you magic tone on their own. It’s only part of the circuit. It doesn’t do anything massive most of the time, but I like them well enough. On the other hand, I bet most people have at least one mic/preamp combo where the Launcher will make a noticeable and really awesome difference. There’s probably other ways you could achieve that for cheaper, but they work for me and I like them!

I guess if you’re preamp lacks iron on the input a FET booster with a tranny could be useful.

The more useful and interesting Cloudlifter is the Variable Z model.

I’ve found it quite interesting varying the loading of mics especially ribbons.

I decided to get the new CL-Zzzzzzz...
For my Asleep At The Wheel cover band.

Our Irish lead guitarist, Mel O' Tonan is excited about it.

Partly as sometimes he's doublin' on Keys.
Chris

Ordered two Tierra flavours….got the cocoa and the mint. I had a tracking session today and the Fethead was awesome on my setup with an sm7. Figured that covers my clean boost needs. I spent the evening last night watching and listening to various Tierra examples. The cocoa and mint were the two that consistently stood out. Not super cheap, but cheaper than a new preamp. Some of the examples I found online made 57’s and ribbons sound incredibly good. The mint with a 57 sounded gorgeous on acoustic guitar. Cocoa turned an sm7 into a vintage tube mic. Excited to get these in the studio!

Triton FET Head seems to help the ol' SM7.

Yep Tony.
Been beginning to think that the original Launcher on me..

Is like running Johnny Mathis' voice, through a Wah Wah Pedal!
*

I'll probably sell mine and get the new Mixwave Coil Plug.
IMHO that Launcher will be more of use to someone else.

Thanks as always for your helpful feedback!
Chris
*It's also sometimes better for me just to find someone else, with a kick a** voice
for vocal contrast.

don't you mean Dublin on keys?