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Post by theshea on Mar 31, 2020 2:11:10 GMT -6
have the GAP R1 ribbon mic which if in need of some bass heavy track with smooth highs gets used. although lately i use my nohype audio lrm-2 more because they sound cleaner. but for "old" sounding vocals with no "esses" the R1 is very good. than i have a pre73 mkII which only gets used on drums when i ran out of preamps. i have the AML 1073 and yeah it's better sounding than the pre73 which is muddier due to not so defined lows. but you know they saying, for the money the pre73 are ok.
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Post by bricejchandler on Mar 31, 2020 2:41:12 GMT -6
Yeah the lows on the basic pre73 are definitely muddy, I wouldn't use it on any critical bass source and it also can't overdrive for shit.
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Post by bricejchandler on Mar 31, 2020 2:49:30 GMT -6
Great quality, great customer service. If you can’t get the sounds you are after with the 73 preamp or the 3A, it’s not the gear. The downside? They are too affordable and they don’t use the “original” Neve knobs. Edit: there are no “cheap” parts in the regular line. It’s true that the premier line uses more “expensive” parts but they are catering to a certain audience. This is coming from a guy (me) that recently sold his 73 Pre because it didn’t look impressive enough to some clients! You should have painted it all GREEN. Because the Meek Shall inherit the berth-19" that is. Got you all beat... U195>Presonus Audiobox! Chris I've got a funny Audiobox story. About 10 years ago, my first band was getting a little traction and we met the head of Capitol over here. We're listening to our demos, all of which were recorded in a pretty nice studio and sounded rather good except for one song. Anyway going through our stuff, he stops at one of the songs and says: "now this is what I want to hear, this sounds like a record! " Turns out that song was recorded by me, outside on my buddy's patio with an SM58 and an audiobox. I didn't have a mic stand so when I tracked the acoustic guitar I was holding the mic between my knees pointing towards the soundhole. For the keys, I didn't have a Jack to plug in a cheap Casio keyboard so I ended sticking the 58 up on that little keyboard speaker . My buddy did his rough vocals on the patio, you could hear cars driving by in the recording and SO MUCH HISS. But hey the record label liked it... I thought it sounded horrible but the performance was decent I guess.
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Post by stormymondays on Mar 31, 2020 4:01:47 GMT -6
Yeah the lows on the basic pre73 are definitely muddy, I wouldn't use it on any critical bass source and it also can't overdrive for shit. I'd be happy to do a whole record only with the basic pre73 for every source, including overdriven stuff. Go figure!!!
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Post by bricejchandler on Mar 31, 2020 5:03:00 GMT -6
Yeah the lows on the basic pre73 are definitely muddy, I wouldn't use it on any critical bass source and it also can't overdrive for shit. I'd be happy to do a whole record only with the basic pre73 for every source, including overdriven stuff. Go figure!!! Interesting ! To be more precise what I meant, is I'm used to being able to push Neves really really hard and drums, not get them to crap out, just sounding bigger and compressed, I wasn't able to do that with the golden age, it crapped out way sooner and I didn't find the distortion pleasing but that's all subjective. The one I tried was the 500 series one and I'm not talking about the Premier here which was quite a step up overdrive wise, I'm talking about the basic red one.
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Post by lando on Mar 31, 2020 7:17:37 GMT -6
Pre73 with all Carnhills is good! I replaced it with AML EZ1073 because I liked having the eq on the aml but they sounded very similar to my ears. I then replaced the EZ1073 with STAM because of the sowter output transformer sounding slightly bigger and a little bit more colored in the low end but the differences between all three of them are subtle in my opinion.
I have never tried GAP Pre73 without the carnhill mod, I’m guessing the differences are bigger there.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2020 7:58:56 GMT -6
Pre73 with all Carnhills is good! I replaced it with AML EZ1073 because I liked having the eq on the aml but they sounded very similar to my ears. I then replaced the EZ1073 with STAM because of the sowter output transformer sounding slightly bigger and a little bit more colored in the low end but the differences between all three of them are subtle in my opinion. I have never tried GAP Pre73 without the carnhill mod, I’m guessing the differences are bigger there. Which stam u get, the one with eq? I have their dual-pre on reserve. Since they take forever to fulfill orders, i bought gap 73 recebtly meanwhile. U said comparing to stam difference is negligble?
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Post by lando on Mar 31, 2020 8:12:18 GMT -6
I have the one with eq. I never compared it directly with GAP, but I did compare GAP vs AML (close, which is no surprise since it was mostly the exact same things inside, but GAP obviously missing the eq) and AML vs STAM (close but some difference in the lows probably due to the sowter, and maybe STAM was a bit more “vibey”).
All are definitely more than usable and in the same general sound category, but I liked the STAM most and like having the EQ when tracking.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2020 8:17:41 GMT -6
I have the one with eq. I never compared it directly with GAP, but I did compare GAP vs AML (close, which is no surprise since it was mostly the exact same things inside, but GAP obviously missing the eq) and AML vs STAM (close but some difference in the lows probably due to the sowter, and maybe STAM was a bit more “vibey”). All are definitely more than usable and in the same general sound category, but I liked the STAM most and like having the EQ when tracking. OH OK. Some Guy here on forums was complaining about the stam DI having below subpar quality and claimed he went bae route just for that reason. Is thrr any truth to this? He didn't seem like a reliable source
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Post by chessparov on Mar 31, 2020 14:23:23 GMT -6
OMG love that "Audiobox" story Brice! Gotta make a little confession here... I've tracked enough with the Audiobox/Onyx/MBox2 Mini/Studio Projects VTB-1 Pre's I have, to actually discern subtle tone variations between each. Enough to know usually "which one" for a given song/key. Sometimes I'm just to lazy to bother doing it though! FWIW sonically/objectively, the VTB-1 sounds a bit more "expensive" of all of them. And can quietly power a ribbon up. If you don't drive them hard, the Audiobox has the cleanest Pre, of this bunch. At my modest level, the Launcher is particularly handy to add some constructive "personality" tone-wise. Probably, it'd be just fine for me to even just get a GAP-73 Jr. down the road, to mess around with. Chris
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Post by lando on Mar 31, 2020 14:53:45 GMT -6
I have the one with eq. I never compared it directly with GAP, but I did compare GAP vs AML (close, which is no surprise since it was mostly the exact same things inside, but GAP obviously missing the eq) and AML vs STAM (close but some difference in the lows probably due to the sowter, and maybe STAM was a bit more “vibey”). All are definitely more than usable and in the same general sound category, but I liked the STAM most and like having the EQ when tracking. OH OK. Some Guy here on forums was complaining about the stam DI having below subpar quality and claimed he went bae route just for that reason. Is thrr any truth to this? He didn't seem like a reliable source I’ve never actually used the DI! But I read that thread aswell and agree the guy complaining sounded kinda unreliable..
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Post by soundintheround on Apr 1, 2020 16:16:45 GMT -6
I say yay.
Owned a pair of the originals (modified myself up to mk2)
Just like with any gear, transformers have changed over time....giving a slightly different sound in the latest version. I prefer the older version when I compared them once.
They are being used mostly in my studio a big fat DI sound. But I use my own DI box (not the one built in).
I wouldn’t suggest using these too aggressively, don’t seem to distort as nicely as say my selection of Tube Preamps or Electrodynes. Wouldn’t say it’s as good as a CAPI VP28 either....But those are all personal tastes, and talking different styles of preamp.
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Post by Tbone81 on Apr 1, 2020 17:45:59 GMT -6
I've never used a GAP pre, I'm sure they sound great, but my only reservation with a lot of budget preamps is that by the time you buy into the "upgrades" like nicer transformers etc, they're usually not that much cheaper than nicer gear. AML ez1073's go for like $800 now and the GAP is what, $500? I know its not apples to apples, but I'd rather have a piece like the AML that makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, than something "cheap" like a GAP pre73. You can call it vanity...and you'd be right! But seriously, having a studio with nice gear is inspiring to me. And like someone else mentioned, I like my clients to see stuff that they could never afford for their home rigs.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2020 17:57:13 GMT -6
I've never used a GAP pre, I'm sure they sound great, but my only reservation with a lot of budget preamps is that by the time you buy into the "upgrades" like nicer transformers etc, they're usually not that much cheaper than nicer gear. AML ez1073's go for like $800 now and the GAP is what, $500? I know its not apples to apples, but I'd rather have a piece like the AML that makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, than something "cheap" like a GAP pre73. You can call it vanity...and you'd be right! But seriously, having a studio with nice gear is inspiring to me. And like someone else mentioned, I like my clients to see stuff that they could never afford for their home rigs. YEa but Gap is modular too. you can connect with their 81 series or 73 EQs. plus the new premier version already comes with upgrades at 500, there is nothing cheap about it. maybe suitable for some that doesnt need EQs. But now if its a major studios, i can understand why someone would want a more known name to impress the clientele. for me, its just a hobby
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Post by iamasound on Apr 5, 2020 21:45:46 GMT -6
I recently bought a pre owned Golden Age Pre73 MK3 version, the one with the Carnhills in and out. That's one really colored sucka. It doesn't do clean, but that's what I like about it.
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Post by stormymondays on Apr 6, 2020 3:49:56 GMT -6
I recently bought a pre owned Golden Age Pre73 MK3 version, the one with the Carnhills in and out. That's one really colored sucka. It doesn't do clean, but that's what I like about it. If it doesn’t do clean, it might be broken. I’ve chosen it over a DAV for acoustic guitar in a few occasions.
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Post by hadaja on Apr 6, 2020 3:57:21 GMT -6
Had 3 gap pre73’s over the years, they have all been fantastic. Easy to reach for and set up quicker the my Neve 33145 which is 19” rack and a separate power supply in a another 19” rack. I am yet to consolidate my gear into something more permanent whilst building my studio setup. Currently have the deluxe gap73 with eq, which i dont really use. The DI is super handy for bass but i have a few other bass guitar DI’s that i prefer.
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Post by iamasound on Apr 6, 2020 5:03:48 GMT -6
I recently bought a pre owned Golden Age Pre73 MK3 version, the one with the Carnhills in and out. That's one really colored sucka. It doesn't do clean, but that's what I like about it. If it doesn’t do clean, it might be broken. I’ve chosen it over a DAV for acoustic guitar in a few occasions. I'll try to post something going through it later as my day progresses. My wife has me on garden duty on this beautiful sunny Swiss day. It's not filthy all the time, but it is never to my ears close to pristine and without self compressing the transients with even just a touch of upfront gain. Perhaps it is broken.
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Post by stormymondays on Apr 6, 2020 5:08:14 GMT -6
The last time I had some patience for a preamp shootout I tried these on acoustic guitar: Tree Audio The Branch II, DAV BG 2, LTL Chroma (N mode), GAP MkIII (Carnhill). There was no clear winner! I was expecting the GAP to land squarely on the last position but not.
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