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Post by gouge on Jul 13, 2014 4:12:38 GMT -6
I'm pretty keen to find out pricing on these.
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Post by gouge on Jul 13, 2014 4:14:58 GMT -6
ooohh,, just read, $300 ish. sign me up. :-)
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Post by mdmitch2 on Jul 13, 2014 5:54:32 GMT -6
I'm really interested in these... Wish they had the full LED vu meter like the Lola, but I'm wondering if the single LED is a signal indicator?
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Post by gouge on Jul 13, 2014 6:49:08 GMT -6
i don't tend miss the vu so much i tend to just go off sound and i use the vu on the console as well so i guess that's a bit of a cheat. i would have really liked a line switch for mixdown duties but at the end of the day cheap is good and the less stuff in the circuit the cheaper i guess.
I'm pretty keen on a pair of gold and would like to check out the bronze as well.
jeez I've got so much stuff i want to spend money on. first priority is another lola.....
then there's the gold, the bronze,
a pair of jlm la500
a couple of more colour palets and modules
a symmetrical fet compressor
a gssl compressor
500 series rack unit
finish of the mic i[m building, the art mods, the jensamp needs racking........
ebay keeps tempting me into hurtsville......
oh dear..... |
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Post by tonycamphd on Jul 13, 2014 7:41:50 GMT -6
Took me back when Mike went from 990's to nevey to la3a???, just goes to show how smart he is(no ones going to out do Steiger), he totally nailed the recognition of the la3a being thee shit on almost anything it touches. The Serpent SA3A DIY kit is back for a bit, don't snooze on that one, it's just under $1k for a stereo rig of 100% true la3a circuit w/classic mods built right in(thanx dandeurloo, I added a switch in/out to the 600 ohm output load resistor). I've been working my way down a list, I've only slightly deviated from, a pair of Lola's are next on the list, being a differentially balanced 990 based circuit, I'm imagining they will be my go to ribbon pres
congrats to Mike, great guy, great co
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Post by jeromemason on Jul 13, 2014 12:21:36 GMT -6
These will do very well.
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Post by Guitar on Jul 17, 2014 21:53:27 GMT -6
After those sound clips I'm most interested in the Lola with the new BA512 op amp.
Second place to Gold / Copper
not interested in Bronze but very interested in Serpent Audio SA3A
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Post by unit7 on Jul 31, 2014 6:39:54 GMT -6
Just ordered a Gold element. Sometime this autumn I'll gather a few pres and do a shootout (Don Classics NV71, CAPI VP28, hopefully a Heider, DAV, Hardy M1 and Hairball Gold). If I ever move to a place with a big room all these kits would make it possible to eventually get like 15-20 channels each of Neve'ish, API'ish and clean. All that for around half of what I've payed for my eight channels of AMS/Neve 108X reissues... I'd love to have options like that and guess it would attract some clients too.
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Post by unit7 on Aug 24, 2014 4:01:13 GMT -6
My kit (Gold) will arrive tomorrow. In a month or so I'll get a guitarist/producer friend over here and do a shoot out, for clean amps I want to test DAV, Hardy M-1 and this one. Until then I'd like to check if there are other interesting options re choice of components, especially the capacitors. I asked Mike at HB over at GDIY and he replied that they were chosen for max transparency, but if I'd still like to experiment, the capacitors to look at are C505 (1000uF/25V, marked 'feedback' at the PCB/input stage) and C601 (220uF/25V, marked 'coupling' at the output), and both are Nichicon VP capacitors. I guess these are electrolytic caps. Mike mentioned United Chemi-con KZH series as an alternative. I'm reaching out to the experienced techs here, cough jimwilliams, and I'm wondering: If price wasn't an issue, for clean/transparent are there other obvious alternatives** to the Nichicon VP caps? And, when looking at the PCB, are there other components that you'd say is crucial? **What I have in mind are the kind of capacitors growing on the rare capacitor bushes found on the little island of Adora Mora in the Pacific Ocean, Every seventh year they bloom and the very few bushes growing wild on the eastern hillsides are producing these capacitors that produce a faint glow the three minutes they bloom. During those moments they are picked by priests who immediately lay them on a bed of leafs from a secret mix of local herbs. After eighteen months maturing on this bed, accompanied by the mellow sound of Adora Mora's nightingales, the capacitors are then hand picked by specially trained virgin aborigines with their eye balls removed at birth, then finally packed and ready to ship to a very few selected retailers. Those are the capacitors I'm talking about… Attachments:
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Post by Guitar on Aug 24, 2014 14:18:57 GMT -6
I like the Elna Silmic II a lot, and also the Vishay BC Blue.
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Post by Guitar on Aug 24, 2014 22:42:42 GMT -6
By the way, Jeff Steiger uses both of those caps.
For smaller caps paper in oil can be amazing for audio, but not for the larger values an electrolytic is needed.
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Post by fishnmusician on Aug 24, 2014 22:45:02 GMT -6
I saw these at Radio Shack **What I have in mind are the kind of capacitors growing on the rare capacitor bushes found on the little island of Adora Mora in the Pacific Ocean, Every seventh year they bloom and the very few bushes growing wild on the eastern hillsides are producing these capacitors that produce a faint glow the three minutes they bloom. During those moments they are picked by priests who immediately lay them on a bed of leafs from a secret mix of local herbs. After eighteen months maturing on this bed, accompanied by the mellow sound of Adora Mora's nightingales, the capacitors are then hand picked by specially trained virgin aborigines with their eye balls removed at birth, then finally packed and ready to ship to a very few selected retailers. Those are the capacitors I'm talking about… |
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Post by fishnmusician on Aug 24, 2014 22:54:17 GMT -6
By the way, Jeff Steiger uses both of those caps. For smaller caps paper in oil can be amazing for audio, but not for the larger values an electrolytic is needed. I just put some paper in oil tone caps in a couple guitars. Wow! Thought they blew away the Orange drops. Wish I could put them in everything electronic, I guess some of them would be huge and expensive, if they're even made in those larger values ? |
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 25, 2014 8:32:44 GMT -6
Elna silmic ll = silk and hemp fiber, ud have to be high not to hear how smoove? 8) serpent uses these a lot also.
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Post by unit7 on Aug 25, 2014 10:35:41 GMT -6
Thanks folks! Ok, so two votes for Elna Silmic II. Are those clean, transparent, audiophile (sorry!) style capacitors?
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 25, 2014 11:18:10 GMT -6
Thanks folks! Ok, so two votes for Elna Silmic II. Are those clean, transparent, audiophile (sorry!) style capacitors? I proceed in a very defensive stance, yes Paul, audio electrolytics, I don't talk about the cap thing so much as it seems a point of contention, (especially for those with challenged ears..i joke;) ? I can tell you i have a buddy that i trust big time, who has big ol dumbo ears, and when i finish building or modding a piece i usually give it to him to break in and test for me, i have given him exactly 3 pairs of equally modded gear, the only diff in these particular cases was the use of elna's vs what ever, i requested a "which do you prefer and why?" upon lending, and upon return in all 3 cases, the pieces with the elna's were prefered and considered to be smoother/ more pleasing sounding units, he knows exactly 0 about electronics, i never suggested any specific component diffs to him, and he wouldn't dare to open up a piece to look inside. That said, i also prefer the sound with the elna's in there, but i guess i could be fooling myself because i know which had what, the others have since been switched over as i'm a believer in that voodoo. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 25, 2014 12:09:08 GMT -6
https%3A//soundcloud.com/martin-john-butler/somethings-coming-basic-tracks
This is very interesting, Hairball is offering 3 different mic pres, each with a district heritage sound. If one of them really works well, at $300 it would be a steal. The LA3 is most interesting to me.
I like what I get through the 731 opamp on guitars, especially when my friend lets me borrow his Neumann KM84's, it's my vocal sound that I feel could be better. I have the Warm Audio Tone Beast. It has two opamps which are easily replaced. I kept the Melcor 1731 opamp in the 731 position, which is API-ish, but replaced the Jensen 918 opamp with a John Hardy 990+, just to see if it was any better.
It was a tossup actually, the 990+ was more hi-fi, but everywhere I read, it was supposed to be 'cleaner", and I found it quite colored. The problem for me, was that it has way less gain than the stock 918 opamp did, so I have to keep tracks in my DAW extremely low and gain very high to get enough volume in my headphones through my Apollo interface. Tony's suggested red dots, but when I eventually get around to trying one, it makes sense to try it in the 731 opamp slot, as it's an API style opamp, and it would be interesting to see if it's better than the Melcor 1731 opamp. I'm still a beginner when it comes to understanding the engineering side of gear, so bear with me..
With the option to change opamps and switch between Cinemag transformers, do you guys think the Hairball is a better option than the ToneBeast?
This is from Warm Audio's website regarding choices on the ToneBeast. " the x731 (Melcor 1731) and x18 (Dean Jensen's 918) Op Amps saturate a bit differently. The 1731 breaks up faster and has more color when pushed. The 918 is fairly linear/clean with a smidge of character and does not break-up/saturate as quickly. The 100% steel output transformer colors the signal more than the 50% nickel transformer when pushed. However, both are designed to impart character. The 50% nickel transformer will impart less character and provide greater high and low frequencies".
Here's an example of the tones I'm getting. This is a rough mix of unfinished tracks with a guide vocal, but you'll get the point. All guitars > KM84 > WA76 > ToneBeast x731 steel setting , Vocals Blackspade U17 w/ Thiersch M7 capsule > WA76 > ToneBeast clean, Hardy 990+ nickel setting.
Any suggestions regarding how to clean up the vocal sound a little are welcome. Perhaps I need to experiment a little more and try a little less gain and more output?
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 25, 2014 12:34:57 GMT -6
https%3A//soundcloud.com/martin-john-butler/somethings-coming-basic-tracksThis is very interesting, Hairball is offering 3 different mic pres, each with a district heritage sound. If one of them really works well, at $300 it would be a steal. The LA3 is most interesting to me. I like what I get through the 731 opamp on guitars, especially when my friend lets me borrow his Neumann KM84's, it's my vocal sound that I feel could be better. I have the Warm Audio Tone Beast. It has two opamps which are easily replaced. I kept the Melcor 1731 opamp in the 731 position, which is API-ish, but replaced the Jensen 918 opamp with a John Hardy 990+, just to see if it was any better. It was a tossup actually, the 990+ was more hi-fi, but everywhere I read, it was supposed to be 'cleaner", and I found it very colored. The problem for me, was that it has way less gain than the stock 918 opamp did, so I have to keep tracks in my DAW extremely low and gain very high to get enough volume in my headphones through my Apollo interface. Tony's suggested red dots, but when I eventually get around to trying one, it makes sense to try it in the 731 opamp slot, as it's an API style opamp, and it would be interesting to see if it's better than the Melcor 1731 opamp. I'm still a beginner when it comes to understanding the engineering side of gear, so bear with me.. With the option to change opamps and switch between Cinemag transformers, do you guys think the Hairball is a better option than the ToneBeast? This is from Warm Audio's website regarding choices on the ToneBeast. " the x731 (Melcor 1731) and x18 (Dean Jensen's 918) Op Amps saturate a bit differently. The 1731 breaks up faster and has more color when pushed. The 918 is fairly linear/clean with a smidge of character and does not break-up/saturate as quickly. The 100% steel output transformer colors the signal more than the 50% nickel transformer when pushed. However, both are designed to impart character. The 50% nickel transformer will impart less character and provide greater high and low frequencies". Here's an example of the tones I'm getting. This is a rough mix of unfinished tracks with a guide vocal, but you'll get the point. Acoustic guitars > KM84 > WA76 > ToneBeast x731 steel setting , Vocals Blackspade U17 w/ Thiersch M7 capsule > WA76 > ToneBeast clean, Hardy 990+ nickel setting. Any suggestions regarding how to clean up the vocal sound a little are welcome. Perhaps I need to experiment a little more and try a little less gain and more output? mjb, if you want to, pm me your address, and i'll send you a pair of gar 2520's and a pair of gar 1731's to try out, i don't have enough red dots to send you, you pay for shipping both ways, (should fit in a if it fits it ships box no problem). |
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Post by Guitar on Aug 25, 2014 13:18:51 GMT -6
Thanks folks! Ok, so two votes for Elna Silmic II. Are those clean, transparent, audiophile (sorry!) style capacitors? as far as electrolytics go, definitely, among the best. |
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Post by Guitar on Aug 25, 2014 13:24:36 GMT -6
With the option to change opamps and switch between Cinemag transformers, do you guys think the Hairball is a better option than the ToneBeast? Personally, the Hairballs appeal to me a lot more than the Warm. Smaller, less extraneous options. Just pick the right one, put the right transformers and op amp in it, and get to using it. I don't want to spend an hour dialing in a preamp sound on this huge thing. That stuff seems like it would just get in my way, and it sounds like it's getting in yours as well. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 25, 2014 16:55:35 GMT -6
I know what you mean monkeyxx, but hopefully I'll settle on two basic settings and then get busy. It's my fault for pl;aging around with the opamps, the ones it came with are fine. I do think the tracks I posted speak well of the TB and the WA76 though.
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Post by Guitar on Aug 25, 2014 18:51:41 GMT -6
I know what you mean monkeyxx, but hopefully I'll settle on two basic settings and then get busy. It's my fault for pl;aging around with the opamps, the ones it came with are fine. I do think the tracks I posted speak well of the TB and the WA76 though. I agree it sounds like you're still in the prototyping/fiddling stage, that can take some time. Once you settle on some things it should be easy. The track does sound good. |
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 25, 2014 20:33:59 GMT -6
Thanks monkeyxx.
The idea of a viable LA3 comp around $300 sure is enticing, but my sites are set on getting a better converter before that. Besides, I'm just getting my head wrapped around the WA76, and I like it a lot so far, so I'll need to spend more time with it before knowing if I already have enough or if something like the Hairball LA3 would get me there faster. I'd love to see a real deal 1073 at these prices.
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Post by tonycamphd on Aug 25, 2014 21:18:28 GMT -6
Thanks monkeyxx. The idea of a viable LA3 comp around $300 sure is enticing, but my sites are set on getting a better converter before that. Besides, I'm just getting my head wrapped around the WA76, and I like it a lot so far, so I'll need to spend more time with it before knowing if I already have enough or if something like the Hairball LA3 would get me there faster. I'd love to see a real deal 1073 at these prices. just pony up the $ for the superbeast and a straight jacket that you'll have to wear while you wait for it lol with the stuff he's using for that build, It seems it cant be anything but amazing. I wonder if dandeurloo got his yet? |
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Post by Martin John Butler on Aug 25, 2014 21:48:55 GMT -6
Been watching that thread, but I think my head would explode if I paid for something like cowboy did and couldn't even get an email 6 months later, yikes. If I knew for sure it was say.. 2 months, even 3 months, but it was a done deal and a sure thing, perhaps I could handle that.
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