Mini Preamp Shootout on Acoustic Guitar, listen inside.

Rob King · 6th February 2007, 09:41 AM

So I have a few preamps I wanted to listen and compare. The acoustic is a Takamine miced with Neumann 183's. The 3 Preamps are

Martech MSS-10
Manley Slam!
Aphex 1100MK2

We used a Jellyfish Guitar pick to hear that as well. Kind of a cool 12 string type sound on a 6 string.

Just wanted to hear feedback on the pre's. Like - Dislike..

Cheers

piano · 6th February 2007, 01:31 PM

I like the Marteck - nice ballanced sound but it could be louder.

I liked the Manley at first more but then I realized it was a bit louder and less balanced.

Aphex - is clearly not in the same league.

MooWahmBah · 6th February 2007, 08:19 PM

I thought the Manley sounded more ...Manly .Really ! More charachter like the wooden body of a guitar as opposed to the glass sound of the Martech .Of course that bizarre pick is an unknown in the tonal basis ...1 or 2 could work depending on how dense the arrangement is ...I prefer 2 for basic tone ...3 is not an option

Koed · 6th February 2007, 08:38 PM

The previous posters seem to think the files marked A,B,C correlate directly to Martech, Manley, Aphex.
Might be. but that's not what I'm hearing...

A: Nice balance in high,mid,low .. a bit wooly
B: Less mid than A, slightly tighter lows
C: A bit thin...sounds lowmid hyped..smeared.

My solo choice would be A, but I think B would sit tighter in a mix so that would be my overall preamp of choice.

Overall I'm not too impressed with the recording, sorry, but good for comparison.

Rob King · 6th February 2007, 10:35 PM

Oh yeah the order of the mic pre's are:

A - Aphex 1100Mk2
B - Martech MSS-10
C - Manley Slam!

Rob

Koed · 6th February 2007, 11:14 PM

lol..like I suspected.

Just shows you how the name of a piece of gear will taint your perception of it

Baz · 7th February 2007, 12:40 AM

I'd like to have heard these with a normal pick. There's this odd phase that seems to be occuring on all tracks, prolly due to the pick..But as far as these go, I liked A most.

Rob King · 7th February 2007, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baz

I'd like to have heard these with a normal pick. There's this odd phase that seems to be occuring on all tracks, prolly due to the pick..But as far as these go, I liked A most.

It was sort of a last minute 12:00am thing..I had the MIcs in the studio setup for something else and we had a couple pres setup. We also just grabbed the pic and I just wanted to hear the transients more than an acurate recording. I had like 3 min to do it. lol I thought The Aphex sounded pretty damn good actually, I have never used one before. It worked awesome on the Percussion session I had earlier that day. Well, it was just for fun... :)

chandlersonic · 7th February 2007, 01:58 PM

That martech sounds great! I really like the vibe of it, it seems like it could sit in a mix right away without any eqing.
I don't like the mids on the slam on this particular guitar, though on another one it might sound great.
I'm impressed with the Aphex.

thx Rob!

I'm gonna have to check out these Martechs one of these days? It never ends...

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6th February 2007, 10:35 PM	#5
Rob King Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Sherman Oaks Posts: 756	Oh yeah the order of the mic pre's are: A - Aphex 1100Mk2 B - Martech MSS-10 C - Manley Slam! Rob __________________ Rob King Green Street Studios http://www.greenstreetstudios.com http://www.myspace.com/greenstreetstudios

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6th February 2007, 01:31 PM	#2
piano Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 521	I like the Marteck - nice ballanced sound but it could be louder. I liked the Manley at first more but then I realized it was a bit louder and less balanced. Aphex - is clearly not in the same league.

6th February 2007, 08:19 PM	#3
MooWahmBah Gear maniac Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 276	I thought the Manley sounded more ...Manly .Really ! More charachter like the wooden body of a guitar as opposed to the glass sound of the Martech .Of course that bizarre pick is an unknown in the tonal basis ...1 or 2 could work depending on how dense the arrangement is ...I prefer 2 for basic tone ...3 is not an option

6th February 2007, 08:38 PM	#4
Koed Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 307	The previous posters seem to think the files marked A,B,C correlate directly to Martech, Manley, Aphex. Might be. but that's not what I'm hearing... A: Nice balance in high,mid,low .. a bit wooly B: Less mid than A, slightly tighter lows C: A bit thin...sounds lowmid hyped..smeared. My solo choice would be A, but I think B would sit tighter in a mix so that would be my overall preamp of choice. Overall I'm not too impressed with the recording, sorry, but good for comparison.

6th February 2007, 11:14 PM	#6
Koed Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 307	lol..like I suspected. Just shows you how the name of a piece of gear will taint your perception of it

7th February 2007, 12:40 AM	#7
Baz Gear addict Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Victoria BC, Canada Posts: 424	I'd like to have heard these with a normal pick. There's this odd phase that seems to be occuring on all tracks, prolly due to the pick..But as far as these go, I liked A most.

7th February 2007, 01:58 PM	#9
chandlersonic Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Paris Posts: 817	That martech sounds great! I really like the vibe of it, it seems like it could sit in a mix right away without any eqing. I don't like the mids on the slam on this particular guitar, though on another one it might sound great. I'm impressed with the Aphex. thx Rob! I'm gonna have to check out these Martechs one of these days? It never ends...