Thank you Chris for the review regarding the kits. I'm glad you like them.
I've been asked the same question and the best I can come up with is "think of it as wire with gain."
I've tried them with FET condenser mics and I think they sound nice with them... and of course, the usual SM57, and other dynamic mics. And yes! These preamps have no problem with ribbon mics. No fear.
As they say... Garbage in = Garbage out. Plug a Behry mic here, and it's going to sound harsh. Plug a cheap $20 mic and it's going to sound lifeless, but plug a decent mic, and it's a WOW. What you put in, is what you get.
As for the sound, Chris is right. These are not Neve-ish or API-ish. Personally, I don't think we need another clone of these great preamps.
I am currently developing an add-on module that will add Hi-Z inputs (with DI input transformer), polarity reverse, pad, vu meter buffering, and output transformer options (switchable in/out). From my research, some people want these items, some don't... so it's an optional module for the SC-1 preamp. Coming soon...
Thanks again for the good word and feedback Chris.