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Post by crillemannen on Jul 23, 2023 12:24:08 GMT -6
Hey,
So I just posted a video where I tested the new Analogue Tube AT-3 tube preamp. Analogue Tube is probably mostly known for his boutique Fairchild recreations which comes with quite the price tag ha!
The AT-3 is tube preamp based on classic tube designs from the 1950s with a short and raw signal path. Custom Sowter input transformer and Lundahl output trafos.
It is quite affordable for a high-end tube preamp coming in at 1500£ ex. Vat.
I made a comparison against my vintage Neve 1272 and boy does the AT-3 sound good.
I haven't really heard that low-end extension coming from a preamp and there is a certain chestiness (is that a word haha) in the lowmids, probably from the sowter trafo. The toppend is what I've come to expect from a great tube preamp, open and delicate much like a tab V76.
I'm quite blown away from the fullwidth, organic sound of the AT-3!
You can download high-res bounces from the YouTube description.
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Post by paulcheeba on Jul 23, 2023 12:45:28 GMT -6
Have you used Coils Christian?
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Post by crillemannen on Jul 23, 2023 12:59:35 GMT -6
Have you used Coils Christian? Nope I reached out to them but no answer! I like to try em out though. They seem to be one of few tube pres that actually are what people think tubepres sound like - gooey and dark? How did you like the AT-3 test? |
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Post by paulcheeba on Jul 23, 2023 16:29:06 GMT -6
As I said on GS it’s a bit scooped but it’s a glorious sound. The clean bright beautiful tube sound. I prefer the Neve mids.
The Coil CA70’s are just so different. They’re dark and big. Perfect for my tastes.
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Post by bricejchandler on Jul 24, 2023 3:07:17 GMT -6
Sounds really nice Christian! For a HIFI tube sound I like this demo better than the Weight Tank one. I don't hear any edginess , it sounds very clean and big. I still gravitate towards the Neve sound, particularly for this kind of folk, it gives a nice laid back 70s vibe, for the instrumental. On vocals to be honest, I'm not particularly smitten with either. After listening to your demos for quite a while, I think I like the 47 type mics better for your vocals. The 251 doesn't sound bad but I feel like I'm missing info, it seems to have a frequency dip exactly where a lot of the energy and intelligibility of your vocals reside, and the vocals end up sitting way way back, might be nice for backing vocals but for my taste, I'd like to have a mic with more of a mid push. I'm a big lover of Coils and I've posted quite a few samples on the GS thread. They're definitely gooey, I don't find them overly dark but they're definitely not voiced for bright modern productions. What I love is how they smooth transients a bit, and I love the front to back depth which gives a great sense of space, compared to like the BAE 1073S which I 've used a ton over the years, that sound great but everything is more in your face. Here's a snipped of a project I recorded a while back. This is a raw bounce, no compression or eq, just levels pans and soundtoys plate and everything except for the 3 drum mics is recorded through the COILS, so maybe it can give you an idea of the general sound of the preamps www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sfwar99rqezqm9ucz1ufj/COIL-RAW.wav?dl=0&rlkey=728ny73vb4b6hc1eunj8316n9 |
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Post by crillemannen on Jul 24, 2023 4:39:15 GMT -6
Sounds really nice Christian! For a HIFI tube sound I like this demo better than the Weight Tank one. I don't hear any edginess , it sounds very clean and big. I still gravitate towards the Neve sound, particularly for this kind of folk, it gives a nice laid back 70s vibe, for the instrumental. On vocals to be honest, I'm not particularly smitten with either. After listening to your demos for quite a while, I think I like the 47 type mics better for your vocals. The 251 doesn't sound bad but I feel like I'm missing info, it seems to have a frequency dip exactly where a lot of the energy and intelligibility of your vocals reside, and the vocals end up sitting way way back, might be nice for backing vocals but for my taste, I'd like to have a mic with more of a mid push. I'm a big lover of Coils and I've posted quite a few samples on the GS thread. They're definitely gooey, I don't find them overly dark but they're definitely not voiced for bright modern productions. What I love is how they smooth transients a bit, and I love the front to back depth which gives a great sense of space, compared to like the BAE 1073S which I 've used a ton over the years, that sound great but everything is more in your face. Here's a snipped of a project I recorded a while back. This is a raw bounce, no compression or eq, just levels pans and soundtoys plate and everything except for the 3 drum mics is recorded through the COILS, so maybe it can give you an idea of the general sound of the preamps www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/sfwar99rqezqm9ucz1ufj/COIL-RAW.wav?dl=0&rlkey=728ny73vb4b6hc1eunj8316n9Hey Brice, I always appreciated your posts on Gearspace! I actually recorded the tracks alongside the WT-72 as well and it's openess sits lower down, around 2-3kHz which definitely makes it more brittle. Not in a bad way but the AT-3 sounds more hifi since it openess up higher in the frequency range. I kind of made up my mind, Neve for hihat and shaker, because it makes it glue and sit back in the mix. The Neve has a 1khZ resonance which I'm not a fan off for vocals. The coils sounds very interesting. Softening transients is something all productions would benefit from, and dark can be good if it's the "right kind of dark" haha! Hmm.. getting back to vocal mics; I recorded a few takes with my vintage U87 and I think I prefer that to the GAP on my voice. It's subtle but the U87 rolloff is a bit like the Neve Vs AT3. So more mid focused and it found its place a bit better in the mix. I do have a GAP 47 M7 in the studio, maybe try that a bit more. |
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Post by EmRR on Jul 24, 2023 6:04:08 GMT -6
Haven’t used a Coil CA-70, but I have a bunch of Gates SA-70 and they’re the last tube pre of (way too) many I have to be called dark. The circuit makes them upper mid aggressive in comparison to the rest. Good for rock and roll.
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Post by Hudsonic on Jul 24, 2023 7:20:37 GMT -6
I am the original AnalogueTube AT-3 freak in the USA. I have two units from Simon. They are fantastic in every way and produce the TONE that I like. I use them for recording classical music and they are the best I have for strings. Used as a vocal preamp, they are also wonderful and neutral--offering the purity of the singer's voice. Top end is very extended. Coil sounds rolled off and murky compared to the AT-3. I understand using Coil in pop music where they substitute for a JANITOR who cranks a saturation plug-in. Neve preamp here shows some collapse in width in comparison to the AnalogueTube. The reason I purchased 2 AT-3 tube mic amps from Simon Saywood is because of his design skill and his passion for excellence shown in his Fairchild builds. Another way I use the great qualities of the AT-3 is as a "line conditioner" in analog tape transfers. I run from my Stellavox SM-8 into the AT-3 and then on to a Nagra Seven digital recorder. My goal is to make a tape transfer with some subtle enhanced tonal qualities I would describe as "richer sounding." The AT-3 does this for me with high satisfaction. |
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Post by mythundreamt on Jul 24, 2023 16:01:36 GMT -6
Good to see Simon being mentioned on here. After waiting a year I’m receiving his AT-1 (Fairchild 660) soon and had no idea he had a tube pre too!!
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Post by paulcheeba on Jul 24, 2023 20:59:47 GMT -6
Good to see Simon being mentioned on here. After waiting a year I’m receiving his AT-1 (Fairchild 660) soon and had no idea he had a tube pre too!! Do people really pay all that for those clones? POM is about a third of the price and doesn’t use off the shelf transformers. This pre amp is well priced but it would look a bit A/V next to my rack of Coils that I use religiously. |
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Post by Hudsonic on Jul 25, 2023 6:52:41 GMT -6
He has a rack of Coils and dials in saturation and distortion. I have some AnalogueTube mic pres that have pure sound and render the source with GLORYSOUND. Two different things. I want it clean.
"that's the way, unh hunh unh hunh I like it, unh hunh, unh hunh, that's the way uhn hunh I like it unh hunh, uhn hunh!"
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Post by mythundreamt on Jul 25, 2023 14:21:21 GMT -6
Good to see Simon being mentioned on here. After waiting a year I’m receiving his AT-1 (Fairchild 660) soon and had no idea he had a tube pre too!! Do people really pay all that for those clones? POM is about a third of the price and doesn’t use off the shelf transformers. This pre amp is well priced but it would look a bit A/V next to my rack of Coils that I use religiously. I have no experience with the POM but it has its share of supporters and detractors, like anything else. I do remember seeing threads on other sites arguing for and against the POM. I don’t know. What I do agree with is your assessment of the look of this pre haha! |
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Post by Hudsonic on Jul 26, 2023 5:58:28 GMT -6
He has a rack of Coils and dials in saturation and distortion. I have some AnalogueTube mic pres that have pure sound and render the source with GLORYSOUND. Two different things. I want it clean. "that's the way, unh hunh unh hunh I like it, unh hunh, unh hunh, that's the way uhn hunh I like it unh hunh, uhn hunh!" You want a GLORYHOLE. Eat my shorts, distortion man. |
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Post by trubshaw on Oct 12, 2023 16:05:00 GMT -6
I am the original AnalogueTube AT-3 freak in the USA. I have two units from Simon. They are fantastic in every way and produce the TONE that I like. I use them for recording classical music and they are the best I have for strings. Used as a vocal preamp, they are also wonderful and neutral--offering the purity of the singer's voice. Top end is very extended. Coil sounds rolled off and murky compared to the AT-3. I understand using Coil in pop music where they substitute for a JANITOR who cranks a saturation plug-in. Neve preamp here shows some collapse in width in comparison to the AnalogueTube. The reason I purchased 2 AT-3 tube mic amps from Simon Saywood is because of his design skill and his passion for excellence shown in his Fairchild builds. Another way I use the great qualities of the AT-3 is as a "line conditioner" in analog tape transfers. I run from my Stellavox SM-8 into the AT-3 and then on to a Nagra Seven digital recorder. My goal is to make a tape transfer with some subtle enhanced tonal qualities I would describe as "richer sounding." The AT-3 does this for me with high satisfaction. |
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Post by trubshaw on Oct 12, 2023 16:09:14 GMT -6
I'm very interested in your experience using the at-3 recording classical instruments. I mainly use the Tube-Tech mp2a as a mic pre when recording solo strings, vocals etc. I think I remember you recommending the TubeTech. How do they compare?
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