Just bought a 50/60s valve preamp, did I get ripped off?

[affe110]

I just bought this out of sheer curiosity:
Vintage Valve / Tube Mic Preamp - Amp - Mike Amplifier on eBay (end time 05-Apr-11 14:08:45 BST)

Did I make a good deal? Does anyone have any info regarding these mic preamps? I have no info whatsoever and haven't been lucky googling it either.

Feel free to wish me luck.

[Chrisc_o]

No case.

No phantom power.

Actual photo looks like junk.

I wouldn't have bought it for that price.

[drezz]

i've seen these on ebay uk too! the seller has good feedback. i think these should be o.k. i'm tempted to go for one myself. the seller has quite a few in different configurations. please let us know how you get on with this pre and how it sounds. i'd ignore knee jerk reactions from folks who havent had experience with these paticular pre amps. no point speculating without having experienced.
let us know how it sounds, and post a sample if you can............best of luck, hope it sounds good!

[Jimsi]

you have a return time if it doesnt work out, you can buy external phantom power to use with condensers...did the seller say if it even worked? i assume it does with his feedback and 7 day return policy...keep us informed...

you should always research items you buy from anyone and ask questions and never buy blindly... and if you cant find any information out, pass on it !

[affe110]

Originally Posted by Jimsi

you have a return time if it doesnt work out, you can buy external phantom power to use with condensers...did the seller say if it even worked? i assume it does with his feedback and 7 day return policy...keep us informed...

you should always research items you buy from anyone and ask questions and never buy blindly... and if you cant find any information out, pass on it !

The text says it's fully working and looking at the sellers feedback I trust the info to be right.

There is no case I am aware of that but I was going to let a relative of mine design it for me. Is there something regarding that to pay attention to?

I really can't say why I bought of sheer impulse, maybe it was an act of the geargod? Anyway, I already have enough ordinary preamps in the studio and at home I am looking for something really dirty. So there's a big chance it will turn out good, I certainly hope so!

If it's really good then maybe this will be the next thing to rise in price on ebay, he has alot of these at a bargain.

[ivansc]

the odds are that these were inside an old tube tape recorder - ferrograph or similar.
Doesnt mean they arent going to be jus tfine.
I keep looking at these every time they crop up, but the interfacing etc could wind up being a pain in the ass.

The lack of 48V is a non-issue - buy a little phantom power box - job done.

Assume it was around $100 (didnt bother checking the link) so you arent going to be out that much if it all turns chocolate custard colored, are you?

Holy SHIT! £179!!!! AND THE PICTURES SHOW THREE TOTALLY DIFFERENT UNITS.

Sorry to shout but I think you maybe just got bitten in the ass.
This is not the usual deal I see on ebay UK.
I will try to find another link and post.

[ElevenShadows]

Originally Posted by affe110

I really can't say why I bought of sheer impulse, maybe it was an act of the geargod?

I dunno, I think the thing is cool looking. I was looking at photos of presumably the same mic preamp that the seller has relisted. They look really cool! Tell us how it sounds when you've put it through its paces.

I don't have any "oddball" mic preamps, so this sort of stuff is always interesting to me.

(Neve Portico, Peavey VMP-2, two FMR RNPs - see? nothing odd at all)

[Chrisc_o]

Originally Posted by ivansc

...
Assume it was around $100 (didnt bother checking the link) so you arent going to be out that much if it all turns chocolate custard colored, are you?

Holy SHIT! £179!!!! AND THE PICTURES SHOW THREE TOTALLY DIFFERENT UNITS.

That's exactly why I'd be hesitant. For almost the equivalent of $400 Canadian bucks I can think of less risky ways to spend my money.

[affe110]

Originally Posted by Chrisc_o

That's exactly why I'd be hesitant. For almost the equivalent of $400 Canadian bucks I can think of less risky ways to spend my money.

I think it's a bit expensive too but I was uncareful, I thought I was browsing Ebay with US currency and not GBP. Stupid of me, that's why I started the thread really.

Originally Posted by ElevenShadows

(Neve Portico, Peavey VMP-2, two FMR RNPs - see? nothing odd at all)

Funny, I have both the Peavey VMP-2 and RNP aswell! :P

[Eli Resnick]

That's quite an investment in chance.

Good luck.

[retractablezing]

Originally Posted by ivansc

Holy SHIT! £179!!!! AND THE PICTURES SHOW THREE TOTALLY DIFFERENT UNITS.

Sorry to shout but I think you maybe just got bitten in the ass.

no, he didn't, be a little more careful. the seller states that the first one's a stock photo.

the second photo shows the actual rackmountable preamp, and the third photo is the psu.

no reason to panic.

to the buyer: personally, i'd be attentive about whether or not the original ferrograph transformers were used in the actual preamp circuit (many are scavenged for this purpose alone), and what sort of tweaks were made to the circuit. more likely than not, you'll end up with something a lot more fun than your rnp (not that hard), even if the seller's not totally clear about the work he's done.

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by retractablezing

no, he didn't, be a little more careful. the seller states that the first one's a stock photo.

the second photo shows the actual rackmountable preamp, and the third photo is the psu.

no reason to panic.

to the buyer: personally, i'd be attentive about whether or not the original ferrograph transformers were used in the actual preamp circuit (many are scavenged for this purpose alone), and what sort of tweaks were made to the circuit. more likely than not, you'll end up with something a lot more fun than your rnp (not that hard), even if the seller's not totally clear about the work he's done.

I`ve worked on those electronics in the past and that PSU don`t normally go with that front end.
Still, at least he`ll have fun playing with it.
WWonder if the octal intrconnect lead is included in the deal? He will likely not source one of those too easily.
I really hope I am wrong, but there is usually another guy on there selling the same type of Ferrorgraph pres for $99.

[TequilaKez]

Yeah I grabbed one of these awell, just for something quirky and dirty, mainly for use with an SM7b (so 48v is no issue) and bouncing soft-synths thru the DI.
I just ordered a GTQ2 which i figure takes care of the quality side of things, i'm hoping this will this will be good for f%$king things up a little.
Dunno if it's worth the price but I'll bet it's more useful than a behringer 'tube' whatever for twice that.

It's definately been modded,
The 'bass' knob is now input gain.
Treble is not used,
Input 2 is now D.I line input.
He's added another 1/4" jack for Line out.

I'm no expert but the transformers look original. They are huge ancient looking things.

I can't test mine now as I blew a fuse re-wiring the mains but I'll post some 'with' and 'withouts' so you guys can decide if it f%@ks things up in a tasty way or not.

I'm going to put XLRs on the back and thinking of grabbing a cheap 48v adapter and wiring it's guts into the unit, hijacking the unused switch on the front.

[TequilaKez]

Definatley from a tape machine. Mine looks almost identical to the one in the picture but he has replaced the 'EQ' knob with a power lamp.

[affe110]

Just thought I would share some pictures since I received it today!

[retractablezing]

if you could share an opinion or two about how it sounds when you have time, that would be neat..i've always wondered about the tone of those Ferrograph things.

ps. be careful handling that and don't touch anything other than knobs when you have it on..

[ivansc]

hope you got the bulgin mains connection lead too - they are not easy to find these days either.

Let us know what it is like once you get it going.

[snod_donkey]

Originally Posted by affe110

Just thought I would share some pictures since I received it today!

Just a note to tell you you have the octal in the wrong socket in that photo. The preamp cable goes into the socket on the side of the power supply under those large silver caps not the rear panel ;0)

Also dont worry about the Bulgin mains socket as the idea is to fit to a case/enclosure of some kind and then wire from a modern socket to the mains on the power unit. These preamps were pretty much standard issue at the BBC so cant be all bad ....

[Vodski]

I've seen loads of these on ebay . I'd be interested in how they sound if you get a chance to post some samples.

[snod_donkey]

Originally Posted by ivansc

I`ve worked on those electronics in the past and that PSU don`t normally go with that front end.
Still, at least he`ll have fun playing with it.
WWonder if the octal intrconnect lead is included in the deal? He will likely not source one of those too easily.
I really hope I am wrong, but there is usually another guy on there selling the same type of Ferrorgraph pres for $99.

There was another seller with these in the uk for around £100. I looked at it but decided against buying that one as they had no power supply included, no valves, no output transformers and were not actualy modified to work stand alone. So at £180 i think its a bargain... Instead i have the 2u version cased up and fully working which is sold for around £300. Use it to dirty up analogue synths mainly and run the drum machine through it too. I will try and put up some samples

[RebornOnline]

Just spotted these on eBay. How did you get on? Did you get it working?

[frans]

There are some input transformers that die after a while when you connect phantom power. Happens to the old Telefunken V series a lot. These things weren't built for that. Your input transformer may be cool with it, you'll find out.

[RANTARAVE]

Originally Posted by affe110

Just thought I would share some pictures since I received it today!

Honestly Bro. Clips or it didn't happen.

[Jimsi]

OP went silent 5 months ago, not a good sign at all, probably a big job to restore even for someone with extensive knowledge and equipment and parts...

Originally Posted by frans

There are some input transformers that die after a while when you connect phantom power. Happens to the old Telefunken V series a lot. These things weren't built for that. Your input transformer may be cool with it, you'll find out.

[MrSedor]

So, how it sounds?

[admench]

I bought one from the same seller at the start of 2011. I paid him to rackmount it for me. Cost a total of £350 including the rack work.

It is an interesting unit to use for adding some warmth and tube distortion to line and mic signals. Apparently it has enough juice on the output to use it as a bass / guitar head into a cabinet, but I haven't tried this yet.

I'd suggest that if you require a hassle free solution to getting this thing up and running in your studio, ask the seller to rackmount it for you. He will install a modern IEC power fitting, and house it in a 4U custom case that can be racked in your studio.

The sound has character, warmth, not a great deal of gain. It can be easily driven into overdrive to achieve an effect. The quality of the distortion is not always desirable. However on some sources it works nicely. I like a touch of it on vocals (not too much - pushing it too hard is undesirable imo). My new regular application for it is to run the kickdrum into a D112 into the 1960's pre into a BSS 401 comp on slow attack whilst tracking. The low end is this pre's best quality...

There is a pic of it on my website's equipment page:
http://www.unitstudios.co.uk/equipment

[SEED78]

Originally Posted by TequilaKez

Definatley from a tape machine. Mine looks almost identical to the one in the picture but he has replaced the 'EQ' knob with a power lamp.

I'm picking up one from them this week that has a faceplate like that.

I was ignorant of this, but asked, and yes it was from old reel to reel.

way I see it there is not much else in that price range to compete really (apart from FMR rnp I'm guessing, which is cheaper). anything else vintage pre wise is £1000+ in UK - Pro Art MPA was another consideration. if I had the cash I would have bought some kind of dual valve pre so could use with my stereo synths, but REALLY can't see much in this price range that is universally appreciated.

I bought for tracking few monosynths, occasional vocals and a few drum sounds via the MPC when suitable.

feedback on previous preamps sold is 100% - don't feel I can go far wrong to the use I'll get out of it and the price.

[SEED78]

g-r-e-a-t - just found out about the golden ages pre 73

just when you think you've read about every budget preamp on gearslutz.

oh well, the authentically vintage pre is bound to be useful and hold its value.

[MrSedor]

Hi,

I recently bought one of them, and it sounds quite good, but with a little buzz.

I thought it was normal, regarding the olds electrolytics capacitors, so I changed them for new ones. (The olds were three doubles capacitors with 8uF and 16uF)

I thought everything should be ok, but when I turned on the preamp, I had the buzz again, and a big oscillation at max gain...

I think the polarisation of the electrolytics capacitors is good, but I'm not 100% sure because the indications on the old ones are not very clear.

Does someone see what is the problem?
Thanks

Remi

[Insomniaclown]

Hi Remi,

If your orientation of the lytics was bad, then I think they would have blown on power up. Check to see if any of them are bulging on the top. Make sure the voltage rating of the caps is sufficient.

Is your pre amp in a case? Sometimes these things can be pretty noisy until they are in a case with grounds connected properly. It might be a good idea to give the connections a clean to remove any flux or oxidation.

Try different cables. Swap in new tubes. Could be a bad tube that is going microphonic. To test, take a pencil that has an eraser on the end, tap each tube and listen for ringing, or just put a new tube in.

I am not sure about this unit, but it may have AC heaters. If that's the case, you might want to try some chopsticking. Get a pair of wooden chopsticks, and slowly move the heater wires around to see if the buzz changes. Use EXTREME caution. One hand behind your back, and never allow anything but the chopstick to touch anything inside the pre amp. It's a good idea to have a multimeter hooked up at all times to make sure any residual voltage is completely drained when you turn off the unit. You can also hook up the meter to the heater output of the PS to see if they are AC or DC.

Hope some of that helps!

Ryan