Golden Age Project Pre73

[dickiefunk]

I had a BCA 2000 and sent it back because I was getting some odd noise in the audio.

[noisetree]

Hi there and a great year for all!
Try this too:Sontronics
I think this pres are very cool.
I tested the sonora with an acoustic guitar and I was very impressed.
My best regards.
noisetree

[kidvybes]

Originally Posted by noisetree

Hi there and a great year for all!
Try this too:Sontronics
I think this pres are very cool.
I tested the sonora with an acoustic guitar and I was very impressed.
My best regards.
noisetree

...are you suggesting that those of us considering purchasing a $299 preamp should look at the Sontronics?...and what would the price of their single-channel pre (Chimera) be?...maybe around $1399?...talk about apples to oranges...remember, this is the "Low End Theory" section...if I had the money for the Sontronics pre, I'd be buying a Great River (at least the GR is also a Neve-inspired design)...

[chickencoop]

Thanks for the heads up dudes. I live reasonably close to Alto, so I may have to go check one out!

[noisetree]

I was talking about sonora not chimera(I didn´t try this one).
Sometimes I don´t trust in products made in China.I´m so
sorry but it´s my opinion.
Regards.
noisetree

[O'Ryan]

Originally Posted by noisetree

I was talking about sonora not chimera(I didn´t try this one).
Sometimes I don´t trust in products made in China.I´m so
sorry but it´s my opinion.
Regards.
noisetree

If you only knew how many things are made in china that people stamp " Made In The USA" .

[noisetree]

I know that!(but I also know where my Daking pre and Ridge Farm Gas cooker were made).But that´s not the question(also like one of my guitars and she was made in China).
Nevertheless I was impressed with sonora(the link to sonora not chimera:Sontronics) and an acoustic guitar(didn´t tried with other instruments or voice).And this is a pre with two channels.I´m not using it but I think that it sounds nice.
Thank you.
noisetree

[kidvybes]

Originally Posted by noisetree

I was talking about sonora not chimera(I didn´t try this one).

...OK, that's more in the ballpark...$699 for 2 channels...designed in the UK and manufactured in Portugal...interesting...


BTW...got my PRE73 and ran some quick preliminary tests...not noisey at all, but it definately imparts "colour" well before the 3rd stage...not sure I'm liking it's "texture" on vocals...at lower gain levels it sounds smooth, but from about 45dB and up it gets rather grainy...just me?...anybody else hearing this?...

[O'Ryan]

Originally Posted by noisetree

I know that!(but I also know where my Daking pre and Ridge Farm Gas cooker were made).But that´s not the question(also like one of my guitars and she was made in China).
Nevertheless I was impressed with sonora(the link to sonora not chimera:Sontronics) and an acoustic guitar(didn´t tried with other instruments or voice).And this is a pre with two channels.I´m not using it but I think that it sounds nice.
Thank you.
noisetree

Oh okay no beef just stating....Im liking what the chimera has to offer as well.

[videoracer]

>> Up until today my pre´s have yet to make any noise, they are very quiet.
You could be picking up some interference, sounds like a ground loop problem, try notching out with a filter plugin around 50/60 hz and see if it goes away, if so you have some kind of ground loop induced noise in your system.<<

I wasn't implying that the pre's are making the noise. The Behringer is suspect, but I don't have access to another A/D at this time,especially a high quality one, to run further tests.

The hum is strictly in the Fathead, none of the other mics have it. Again, it's not a detrimental level, but I can hear it. Fortunately noise reduction takes care of all the noise levels effectively, but the less of that I need to apply the less of the actual signal's spectral content gets dug into.

[Matti]

-Noise reduction is like harce multi expansion, you´l lose some of the the indented sound if not all of it, go for the shource if possible?

Matti

[videoracer]

Noise reduction, used intelligently, works quite well. I agree, however, that you should try and get the best possible signal to begin with.

[Matti]

Yes, I was / am tired.
Translation was needed

Matti

[tarnationsauce]

Originally Posted by MATTI

Yes, I was / am tired.
Translation was needed

Matti

I love your English Matti.
You you just got your 1000th post!

[Matti]

What !!!!
Did not notice this 1000 thing, am I growing old? At least absend minded
just like when I was younger

Matti

[JMc]

Originally Posted by kidvybes

...OK, ...got my PRE73 and ran some quick preliminary tests...not noisey at all, but it definately imparts "colour" well before the 3rd stage...not sure I'm liking it's "texture" on vocals...at lower gain levels it sounds smooth, but from about 45dB and up it gets rather grainy...just me?...anybody else hearing this?...

Not just you. I heard the same thing. Might be a matter of mic impedance. But try hitting the low impedance switch if you haven't already. Smoothed things right out for me.

Right now, I've got mine set to 50dB and the output set very low - about 3.5 ticks) to impart a bit of that color and with the the switch out, it sounds a bit too wooly, but with the impedance switched in to low, it eliminates the harshness but still leaves the nice thick bottom on vox.

[kidvybes]

Originally Posted by JMc

Not just you. I heard the same thing. Might be a matter of mic impedance. But try hitting the low impedance switch if you haven't already. Smoothed things right out for me.

Right now, I've got mine set to 50dB and the output set very low - about 3.5 ticks) to impart a bit of that color and with the the switch out, it sounds a bit too wooly, but with the impedance switched in to low, it eliminates the harshness but still leaves the nice thick bottom on vox.

...welll that's good news & bad news...good news because it's not just my unit, and bad news because I've tried a few different mics at either impedance level as well as varying combinations of volume levels with very similar results...seems like once you get past 45dB the "wooliness" starts becoming evident...I hoped to use it with my SM7 because the PRE73 has such generous gain, but so far it's not been a good combination...even my condenser mics, like my KEL HM-7u don't seem to be as smooth as they are with my other pres...I will continue to play with it, but so far it's been a bit disappointing...I record mainly vocals in my studio, and I don't mind a bit of color now and then, but it has to be "flattering" color...something tells me it's the Chinese transformers that may be the problem...I may send it to my tech (who is a Neve specialist) for his input...he's currently diagnosing some noise issues with my 1290, so when I get that back, I may ship this one his way...

[O'Ryan]

Originally Posted by kidvybes

...welll that's good news & bad news...good news because it's not just my unit, and bad news because I've tried a few different mics at either impedance level as well as varying combinations of volume levels with very similar results...seems like once you get past 45dB the "wooliness" starts becoming evident...I hoped to use it with my SM7 because the PRE73 has such generous gain, but so far it's not been a good combination...even my condenser mics, like my KEL HM-7u don't seem to be as smooth as they are with my other pres...I will continue to play with it, but so far it's been a bit disappointing...I record mainly vocals in my studio, and I don't mind a bit of color now and then, but it has to be "flattering" color...something tells me it's the Chinese transformers that may be the problem...I may send it to my tech (who is a Neve specialist) for his input...he's currently diagnosing some noise issues with my 1290, so when I get that back, I may ship this one his way...

Do you think he can upgrade the transformer for you ?

[kidvybes]

Originally Posted by O'Ryan

Do you think he can upgrade the transformer for you ?

...well, surely he can, but knowing him, he would only get involved if the circuit layout was worthy of the time and effort...I spoke to him a while back about doing the same upgrades on a Chameleon Labs pre, but he said that by the time he got done upgrading transformers and such it would be too expensive considering that the pre was already over $700 to begin with...since this pre is only $300, it might be worth the upgrade...generally he just recommends the JLM 1272 "clone" kits (with his mods) as excellent Neve-sounding pres for cheap...we'll have to see...

[O'Ryan]

Originally Posted by kidvybes

we'll have to see...

Hmmm.....Yes we will.....

[tubehead]

What's the latest with the mic pre73?

[videoracer]

>>What's the latest with the mic pre73?<<

What else do you want to know? It's pretty much already spelled out, don't you think?

[tubehead]

Originally Posted by videoracer

>>What's the latest with the mic pre73?<<

What else do you want to know? It's pretty much already spelled out, don't you think?

Just seeing if anyone else played with it more and had further to add about it.

[retractablezing]

could anyone be so kind as to post a little clip of this with a ribbon on high gain mode? i suppose i'd like to hear it breaking up a bit (not complete mayhem but a determined colouration if you will).

thanks.

[slowjett]

I dont have a ribbon, but I do have an sm7. Give me a little bit I'll give you something.

[tubehead]

Originally Posted by slowjett

I dont have a ribbon, but I do have an sm7. Give me a little bit I'll give you something.

How about something with female vocal?

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by slowjett

I dont have a ribbon, but I do have an sm7. Give me a little bit I'll give you something.

thanks in advance for that, appreciate it!

[tWoKp.]

where can you get this in the uk?

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by tWoKp.

where can you get this in the uk?

contact goldenage, i'm sure they'll ship to the UK or direct you towards someone local that handles their distribution.

[API]

Hi Guys.

I am not sure if you are going to believe this but I will tell you anyway.

My friend bought two of these and wanted to compare to my original Neve 1073´s.
Not surprisingly the 1073 sounded better, more and firmer bass, not as harsh in the highs etc.
The original 1073´s were fatter and smoother all around so no surprises there.

But I asked if I could pop the hood and see how it was built and I was quite surprised how good it seemed to be for the money.
Sure they had taken some cheap routes but overall pretty good.

Anyway, I asked him if I could try to do some mods to try to improve the sound, and guess what, after a few hours of work and a few tricks they sounded better than my original 1073´s!!
I know it is propably hard to believe but it is not rocket sience, I replaced some key parts in the Pre73 for better quality stuff and did some rewiring etc and I am quite pleased with the result to say the least.
It know actually sounds as good or better than my original 1073´s, the Neve character is there and they sound very similar.

We will continue tomorrow with more experimenting and with the results I am getting I am thinking about offering this as a upgrade service for this pre.

Will keep you posted.

Regards,
API