I'm a Daking Nut

yep, I do.

have vp28 and daking 500. you can put me in the daking nut group as well just based on the pre.

here is my take on the difference between the vp28 and dak500.

the daking 500 has a much faster slew rate. so this translates into more bite which for me absolutely rocks on guitars and sometimes bass. especially fender setups. I love that I can stack numerous daking tracks on top of each other and they all maintain their own space. the daking also has more extension on the bottom end than the vp28. plus it has more air than the vp28. I would say it has slightly less mid forward presence than the vp28. I love the daking on vox and bass guitar and drums and well you get the idea.....

the vp28 on the other hand is fatter through the mids and bottom end when pushed. the daking can't go there, it's too open and hifi sounding. yes the daking will thicken up and smooth out when you use the pad and push it but the vp28 saturates way more than the daking. the vp28 also has more mid forward punch. I absolutely love the vp28 on drums, vox when there is a tube mic involved and bass guitar. it's not my first pick on electric guitars because I record guitars that are already overdriven to hell and back and noise stuff, like with screwdrivers etc. but I digress.
the vp28 has more tonal options as well due to the double fader setup.

on mix buss the vp28 is amazing.

both have high pass filters. love them both for that.

I think of it like this with guitars.

clutch - vp28
sonic youth - daking

the setup I am working towards currently is 2 lola's, 2 dakings and 4 vp28's so it's fair to say I like them all very very much.

I used to use an eisen 312v which is a clone of the 312 circuit and uses the ed Andersen input output trannys and the red dot as found in nearly all of the 312 clones.

other than snare and some bass I picked the daking everytime because the 312 just didn't have the bottom end extension that the daking has which to my ears was important.
the vp28 is a different story tho. the 312v was sold to fund the vp28 and I am very glad that was done.

realistically you are going to have to listen to them to make a call. they are all exceptional preamps.

the lola is open pretty fast and has neve input and output transformers. has a very similar bottom end to the daking. I struggle to tell them apart in the lows when I a/b them.

I would suspect though if you are into pop punk then the vp28 will rock your world. it has a fat growl the daking doesn't do.
if anything it kills on drums so it's a safe bet for you as you can use it there, plus you can use it to mix through.

I LOVE my Daking IV pre's.

Really?  Since Rupert sold Neve in 1973, it was my understanding that their own transformer production didn't carry on much longer before they switched to Carnhill. 

There's a little hint of that here

Are you saying the "lola" hs the same transformers AS USED BY Neve, or that they somehow acquired old stock pre 1977 or so when production may have finally wound (pardon the pun) down?

I'm just curious, not casting stones or questioning your credibility... I find their history a wee bit bewildering

maybe it's the rack version that's true class A. i'm not sure. Geoff daking has said they sound the same but I think we would all agree this is probably not specifically the case. if I had a want with the 500 series version it would be that there was a transformer on the output.

as far as my ears go I think it's a sound that sits very well with me. there is never a point where I listen to the dakings and think there is some shortcoming with the sound quality or functions.

I like the Daking with my darker mic. I don't care for the bright edgy pop sound, especially on vocals.

If I have too slow attack on vocals, it can get essy. But when done right, I really dig the combo for its punchy, present feel

You alude to my present mindset with old school integrated outboard use... Holding to a brand for tracking mixing.

Maybe not completely but the concept intrigues me.