Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Bizzar Audio 'Mint Julep' 500 series mic preamp

matta · 5th January 2008

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the comments.

Unless we move manufacturing to china and/or skimp by using cheaper parts there is no way we can get it CLOSE to $300.00 retail.

The Grayhill switch alone is over $15.00 in a single component, the pre requires custom illuminated switches that we have to buy in bulk, the WIMA and Rubycon are not cheap either, nore is custom metal work. As a boutique audio company our gear is hand built by us, so there are labour and R&D costs to consider.

We drew on design inspirations from designs by Rupert Neve & SSL. One of the main drives was to offer a competitive product in the 500 series that rivaled the sonics characteristics/qualities of the much loved DAV BG-1, and we we believe we have done that.

All of the above use monolithic, transformless designs. We wanted to be honest and open hence us providing inside shots of the gear, which many manufacturers don't and we feel we are still competitively priced when compared to the above and offer features they don't/didn't.

We have chosen to build a quality piece of kit, offering a 'budget' (cost wise ) mic pre that sonically rivals those we set out to match.

Peter Cornell, the designer of this Mint Julep has for years offered a DIY pre called the 'Green Pre' which can be found in thousands of studios around the world in use today. The Mint Julep takes the best of the Green's features, builds on them using better quality parts, layout and design etc, while still remaining cost effective. Each one is then built by us to oversee quality control.

Again, we have tried our best to lower the price as best we can and we expect the price to be below $500, right now it looks to be around $450-$500, there isn't a way to get it to $300 without serious compromise or mass manufacturing.

Thanks again

Matt

5th January 2008	#3
matta Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2005 Location: Cape Town, South Africa Posts: 603 Thread Starter	Hi Tom, Thanks for the comments. Unless we move manufacturing to china and/or skimp by using cheaper parts there is no way we can get it CLOSE to $300.00 retail. The Grayhill switch alone is over $15.00 in a single component, the pre requires custom illuminated switches that we have to buy in bulk, the WIMA and Rubycon are not cheap either, nore is custom metal work. As a boutique audio company our gear is hand built by us, so there are labour and R&D costs to consider. We drew on design inspirations from designs by Rupert Neve & SSL. One of the main drives was to offer a competitive product in the 500 series that rivaled the sonics characteristics/qualities of the much loved DAV BG-1, and we we believe we have done that. All of the above use monolithic, transformless designs. We wanted to be honest and open hence us providing inside shots of the gear, which many manufacturers don't and we feel we are still competitively priced when compared to the above and offer features they don't/didn't. We have chosen to build a quality piece of kit, offering a 'budget' (cost wise ) mic pre that sonically rivals those we set out to match. Peter Cornell, the designer of this Mint Julep has for years offered a DIY pre called the 'Green Pre' which can be found in thousands of studios around the world in use today. The Mint Julep takes the best of the Green's features, builds on them using better quality parts, layout and design etc, while still remaining cost effective. Each one is then built by us to oversee quality control. Again, we have tried our best to lower the price as best we can and we expect the price to be below $500, right now it looks to be around $450-$500, there isn't a way to get it to $300 without serious compromise or mass manufacturing. Thanks again Matt __________________ Matt Allison Studio Owner / Mad Scientist www.dockyardstudios.com www.ashtonaudio.com