Hamptone Tube preamps?

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

Howdy slutz.

Just been reading some stuff from the Hamptone site, which looks like shit but has some nice pics of his gear and his custom mics.

So was it like?

Is is good enought ot justify the high prices?
I Scot stillmaking kits? perhaps if so its time for me to get inot some DIY action?

I know he was @ tapeop conferrence so if any one was there i would love to hear what they thoguht of his insights whislt moderating on the mic pre panel.

PEACE
Wiggy

[Jay Kahrs]

I know Fletcher has a Hamptone pre is his rack, I saw it at Slippy's place. I don't think they were using it on anything, nor did I ask if they were. I know Charlie Hunter uses a Hamptone guitar amp.

[Jay Kahrs]

It can't possibly run hotter then my Demter VTCL-2a can it? That's the one piece of gear that has never been rackmounted and can actually keep my coffee warm. I'm working by myself I actually will use it to keep the coffee warm. No joke.

[sammygee]

I have one of the original Hamptone 2 channel "lunchbox" units scott built before he made for the coast. I am pretty into it. not always the right pre but I'll be damned if it doesn't my coles light up something sweet. It is almost "straighter" sounding then you would think by looking at it but the di is mighty weird in a sometimes good way. For big rock guitars it kills, slays destroys with ribbons and dynamics. I am pretty sure there is one sitting around here in MPLS used if you are interested and I'll find out the story on it for you.
that's all I got.
-Dave

[Fletcher]

It runs pretty damn hot. The unit 'Slipperman' had was a 'not for sale' unit that Andy Hong had loaned me.

I absolutely loved the way the thing sounded, but on 'Slipperman's session and in my later uses. While M-A may or may not pick up the line [I believe Scott isn't dealing with pimps at the moment]... I will more than likely pick one up to satisfy my own 'Gear Slut' joneses... it's a great unit!!

[jspartz]

Sammygee,

Just wondering the location of the Hamptone lunchbox in MPLS. Any idea of the asking price?

Looking over your web site... Did you work on a Babes In Toyland album? If so, which one?

jason

[EIE i/o]

So I take it the tube Hamptone the way to go for getting rock guitar sounds--versus the JFET version?

I'm needing something that will work well with pushed AC30/Matchless stuff as well as more saturated and compressed guitar sounds.

[enharmonic]

EIE i/o (great handle!), I cannot speak to the Hamptone, but I have heard the Chandler TG-2. I heard a guitar track cut through it, and another well respected preamp, and I'll tell ya...both sounded nice, but the TG-2 was the business for pushed/overdriven/gnarley rhythm guitar...and to top it off, it was a cranked AC-30 track.

[EIE i/o]

enharmonic, I hear you on the TG-2. I want one, but I'm trying to save a little money to build up the rest of the chain.

And now that you mention it, since I have a feeling I will own a TG-2 one day, maybe the tube Hamptone would make a better complement for it than the JFET. Hmm...

[Pohaku]

I believe I saw one at the Roseville, MN Banjo Mart the other day when I was in snarfing a GT-44. Don't remember what they were asking for it.

[tenton]

I can't speak for the mic pre's, but Scott is a first class guy. He built a mic power supply for me and it's worked out great so far.

Cheers,

Keld

[Fletcher]

Originally posted by EIE i/o
So I take it the tube Hamptone the way to go for getting rock guitar sounds--versus the JFET version?

Not at all. Rock guitar sounds have more to do with the player than the pre-amp. Once the player has established a really good tone that is worthy of recording, then you can set out with microphone selection and placement and pre-amp selection.

At least in my work, I try not to do the same thing twice. I like to experiment, building up a repetoire of techniques and combinations that will produce different tones and different textures to give the presentation of the music some variety and depth.

This cookie cutter approach of an R-121 into a TG-2 as "THE" guitar sound is starting to get pretty boring. I'm hearing it more and more on the radio [make little mistake, it's a pretty identifiable combination] which is one of the reasons I find it so difficult to wrap around a lot of the music produced today.

May I suggest you check out the tube and the J-Fet version of the Hamptone stuff and make an educated decision, on your music, with your artistic vision.

Peace.

[Ted Nightshade]

Nice stuff, Fletcher!

I'm always recording the same act, along the same purist lines, and it's tempting to create a formula (which is fine for live recordings, I do believe, especially as it's a one mic thing), but you're inspiring me to approach every album and every song uniquely... hats off.

[EIE i/o]

Yeah, good stuff, Fletcher. Thanks for offering some perspective.

To put a little more context around my original question, I'm starting a project studio that I'll be using to track guitars (i'm the player in this instance) when I'm feeling inspired. So I would want this preamp to get along well with the amps I have--as described above, from AC30-ish territory to maxed out Mesa territory. This will be the ONLY preamp I have for quite some time, so versatility is important. Ideally I'd like it to go from somewhat clean to somewhat colored. A broader spectrum would be fine, but probably asking too much at the max price point I'm targeting--$1000 or so.

I had ruled out getting two different pres at the price, because I don't want to get two pieces that I'll eventually just sell because neither does anything particularly well.

After a little research here (and elsewhere), I landed on the Hamptone. Great price and well-loved in all camps, apparently. Something I could keep as my project studio fills out. I will definitely see what Scott H. himself has to recommend for this application, but if anyone else has ideas--about the Hamptone options or otherwise--please share.

[Ted Nightshade]

Originally posted by EIE i/o

To put a little more context around my original question, I'm starting a project studio that I'll be using to track guitars (i'm the player in this instance) when I'm feeling inspired. So I would want this preamp to get along well with the amps I have--as described above, from AC30-ish territory to maxed out Mesa territory. This will be the ONLY preamp I have for quite some time, so versatility is important. Ideally I'd like it to go from somewhat clean to somewhat colored. A broader spectrum would be fine, but probably asking too much at the max price point I'm targeting--$1000 or so.

I don't know how the Hamptone compares (never used one, but curious!), but you can usually find a used Manley Dual Mono for about $1200, last I looked. It can be pretty dang clean and get real colored too, if you know just how to work it (gain structure, mostly, not a lot of knobs there).