Gates Sta Level - preamp section only

[brianroth]

Last time that I looked, a Sta-Level was NOT not NOT a mic pre-amp.

Bri

[Matt Syson]

Hi
If it has sufficient gain for your needs and you 'stop' it compress/limiting then 'yes' you can use it as a mic pre. Whether it is the 'best quality' that you can achieve is another factor to be borne in mind.
Matt s

[mjrippe]

IIRC, you can pull the 6AL5 tube and the Sta-Level will act as a straight amplifier. Those 6V6 output tubes provide PLENTY of gain ;-) Of course, as Matt said it isn't necessarily the best way to go.

[BluegrassDan]

Can you give me any particular reasons why it is not an ideal preamp circuit?

[emrr]

It's a 10W power amp with power output tubes, burns and wastes a lot of power, makes heat, and is not inherently quiet.
It uses an extraordinarily expensive front end tube designed for gain reduction purposes, which dies rather quickly when not used for gain reduction.
There are plenty of existing preamps with similar topology, designed as preamps.

[Matt Syson]

Hi
Hum, noise, what other defects do you want? The 6V6 valves don't necessarily give you much gain, but plenty of 'power' (4 Watts or more), but if you are running this into a recording device you won't need that. When these were built a 6V6 was cheap and plentiful and as they were run at such a low current would last 'forever'.
Matt S

[Matt Syson]

Hi
As EMRR says, but you could swap the input valve for something cheaper that would last longer (and possibly flog it for profit!) then sort out the hum, reduce the standing current to reduce the waste heat then you will have a mediocre mic pre.
Matt S

[BluegrassDan]

I really dig the coloration the Gates does for certain sources, and it's a unique sound. Any suggestions on a design that would acheive similar results?

[cathode]

Originally Posted by BluegrassDan

Has anyone built a tube mic pre based on the amp section of the Gates Sta Level?

Thanks!
Dan

Easily done. Don't use the 6386 tube. Couple your favorite mic input transformer such as a UTC A-10 (must have a secondary center tap), into the grids of XV2.

[emrr]

Most of the color is that input transformer, along with the sound of the gain reduction. see if you like a stalevel with the 6AL5 removed, that removes the gain reduction.

The 6V6 is employed to drive the side chain with a high amount of current, this somewhat dictates the possible parameters of the gain reduction. It is also good for driving long lines to a transmitter.