WARM audio WA12

[Black Diamond]

Yeah I mean I stand by everything I have said. I think it is a good unit but not some type of holy grail. I'm not sure why the minimum gain is so high. The tone toggle takes a way a lot of clarity and adds a lot of wonky gain. But yeah so far it does have a good sound... just be realistic.

[WarmAudio]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond

Yeah I mean I stand by everything I have said. I think it is a good unit but not some type of holy grail. I'm not sure why the minimum gain is so high. The tone toggle takes a way a lot of clarity and adds a lot of wonky gain. But yeah so far it does have a good sound... just be realistic.

Diamond, glad you are liking it for the most part. The wa12 really shines in mix down when you start compressing things a lot, detail comes out of the takes without over powering the mix with sssss or other unwanted high transients. At first glance one might think it to be soft sounding pre or to have a bit of color, these character traits become less noticeable and more a helpful attribute when mixing/compressing.

When the pad switch is engaged the WA12's minimum gain is 9DB's. The tone button adds 6DB's of gain, increasing the minimum gain to 15DB's. Both are much lower than you should need on the minimum side. Don't be afraid of the pad, it's there to be used. It's also ok to keep the gain dial down if you simply don't need more gain.

I could have built the WA12 to sound very similar to other API pres. It wouldn't have cost anymore, the quality parts are already being used. I could have used the same transparent cinemags other companies use but didn't want it to be another clone, I hope you eventually find that to be a good thing. The pre is intentionally designed to sound quite vintage, which isn't for everyone...but most engineers seem to grow a love for it (if they don't already have it) and start to see why big cash is spent on very old gear that has similar colorful character traits.

All the best.



Sent from my SGH-T989 using Gearslutz App

[Black Diamond]

Yeah dude- don't get me wrong, this this is a great preamp. I've been playing with it all day.

I tried the tone toggle a lot on mandolin and guitar and it just wasn't my bag, I was frustrated, and then I tried it with my fretless bass- BOOM. It should be called the bass button because it that department it finally shines through.

Thanks for making a really useful piece.

BD

[guitarboy94]

Black Diamond,

What mics were you using?

[Black Diamond]

Well today I tried recording vocals with a Bees Neez Shelise
The sound was good- not quite sure how to describe it, but good.

[DJKeys]

Mine gets here Tuesday from AMS. Can't wait to try it out on vocals and guitar.

[mikeyman]

should have its own sound .Should be able to tell more using it on a whole song

[Bater]

are you copying or quoting bicelaw...

[WarmAudio]

Added a couple sound samples to the site:

Warm Audio Microphone Pre-Amps | Listening Room

[dcwave]

Well I am intrigued. I need a 'color' pre, something with a transformer. Lately, I mostly have been recording alt-punk, pop-punk and classic rock bands. I struggle to get the magic I want with the guitars and the snare. I was going to go with a Pre-73 Dlx, but may pickup the Warm pre instead.

The samples sound nice...

[Black Diamond]

it's a workhorse - doesn't sound bad on anything

[Black Diamond]

After using it for about a month I can better describe the sound...

I still say it sounds nothing like an API, but maybe I haven't tried the right API vintage...

But really it is a mixture of both air and fire. Many preamps either make a choice between some type of transparency (air) or weight/punch/color (fire).

But this preamp, somehow, is able to give you both, and actually during mixdown you have much more control as to where to take the sound, because depending on the track and song, you might want it to be more of one or the other.

Hope this makes sense.

[jlsgear]

Hey all,

Anyone tried using RIBBON MICS thru this preamp ??

cheers.

[mattjew24]

I'm considering one of these to use side by side with my GAP 73 mkII.

Would the Warm fit in a rack next to the GAP?

[WarmAudio]

Originally Posted by mattjew24

I'm considering one of these to use side by side with my GAP 73 mkII.

Would the Warm fit in a rack next to the GAP?

Yep, it racks in the Unite GAP rack kit.

[mattjew24]

Awesome! Love the vocal examples with the WA. It's got that "Air" that the 73 doesn't quite have.

[ma_ga]

Originally Posted by mattjew24

I'm considering one of these to use side by side with my GAP 73 mkII.

Would the Warm fit in a rack next to the GAP?

Yes they will fit.

Got my Gap DLX today to fill up the space beside my WA12 which sits in a Gap rack.
:-))

[ma_ga]

Originally Posted by jlsgear

Hey all,

Anyone tried using RIBBON MICS thru this preamp ??

cheers.

Used it with my beyerdynamic M160 ribbon to mike up a guitar cab to record some blues tracks.
nice sound, i preferred tone button off, was bit too thick in the low mids with tone button in. more than enough gain.
with a Shure SM57, i preferred the tone button in.
normally i dont like the shure that much on guitar amp but i was positively surpised. rounded out that edgy sound nicely.
great preamp indeed....

[PhilDW]

Originally Posted by ma_ga

<snip>

with a Shure SM57, i preferred the tone button in.
normally i dont like the shure that much on guitar amp but i was positively surpised. rounded out that edgy sound nicely.
great preamp indeed....

Funny you should say that. I've never been quite happy with SM57 on guitar cabs (I like ribbons) but through the Warm I'm liking it.

[sl4zhz]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond

After using it for about a month I can better describe the sound...

I still say it sounds nothing like an API, but maybe I haven't tried the right API vintage...

But really it is a mixture of both air and fire. Many preamps either make a choice between some type of transparency (air) or weight/punch/color (fire).

But this preamp, somehow, is able to give you both, and actually during mixdown you have much more control as to where to take the sound, because depending on the track and song, you might want it to be more of one or the other.

Hope this makes sense.

absolutely agree with you black diamond. its mixture of both air and fire. the tone gives different color like you mention weight/punch

[sfussell]

I got my Warm Audio WA12 in the mail from Zzounds two weeks ago. And the first place it went is in to a real studio, as we are tracking for our new CD. The studio we are in is as high end as it gets. Original vintage Neve pres, SSL console, and assortment of UA compressors (la-3, la-4, 1157) and of course, a for real api. I asked the guy engineering if he minded doing a side by side with his original api. I am pleased to say that though the two are slightly different from each other, it took a few times of going back and forth to really hear the difference. And for what it's worth, we wound up tracking electric guitars with it that day.

Now in my home studio I dont have the SSL console, Neve's, etc. I have a Focusrite ISA, Focusrite Voicemaster, a few novalty pre's, and this new puppy, the Warm Audio wa12. And the claims on the way this pre 'comes to life' during the mixdown is 100% dead on. When you add compression it's a much nicer effect than with my other pres. For one, the use of a de-esser is almost not needed. The high end is really clean and airy, and seems to cut off in just the right frequency for acoustic guitars and vocals and avoids the harshness.

I suggest playing with the buttons as well. You can engage the pad in, then crank your gain up and get a more saturated tone. Or you can keep it clean. This pre definitely lives up to the name 'warm'. It has a really smooth prominence in the lower mids that really comes out in the mixdown.

On the electric guitars, it's a money pre. Gives the guitars a nice fat bottom that stacks well. It's a real nice compliment to the clarity of the ISA one. I would imagine it would be the same compliment for a GAP pre-73 or something like that. But I would not compare this thing to a GAP pre-73 as far as quality goes. Though it's built in the same box as a pre-73, the parts are already high end and not from china. That is a plus in my book. And the main factor in my decision to buy the WA12 vs. the GAP pre-73.

[ma_ga]

I have the Wa12 since 3 months now and ordered last month a Gap Pre DLX...
After evaluating I decided to send the Gap back, I wanted but didn't like the sound.

Maybe it is just a matter of taste but I think the Wa12 (and my safesound tracking toolbox too) is a league above the Gap....But that's me...

I liked the feature set of the Gap a lot, the flexible low cut, the output gain....

[retrogradeorbit]

Originally Posted by jlsgear

Hey all,

Anyone tried using RIBBON MICS thru this preamp ??

cheers.

I'm interested in this too. The input impedance is quite low (600 or 150 ohms selectable) so could dampen the ribbon quite a bit. Feeding my coles into a 500 ohm input adversely effects the sound. If anyone has one and a ribbon mic, try it out and let us know!

[WarmAudio]

Originally Posted by retrogradeorbit

I'm interested in this too. The input impedance is quite low (600 or 150 ohms selectable) so could dampen the ribbon quite a bit. Feeding my coles into a 500 ohm input adversely effects the sound. If anyone has one and a ribbon mic, try it out and let us know!

Ribbon mics typically desire a preamp input impedance lower or at the low end of what condensors desire. 150 ohms works great for most ribbons.

[retrogradeorbit]

Originally Posted by WarmAudio

Ribbon mics typically desire a preamp input impedance lower or at the low end of what condensors desire. 150 ohms works great for most ribbons.

Totally disagree. The AEA TRP for instance (built especially for ribbons) has an input impedance of over 18,000 ohms.

As Wes Dooley puts it:

"The input impedance should be at least 1,000 ohms for ribbon mics, although 1,500 ohms is better."

Read this and a lot more interesting stuff from Wes about ribbon mics here.

[WarmAudio]

Originally Posted by retrogradeorbit

Totally disagree. The AEA TRP for instance (built especially for ribbons) has an input impedance of over 18,000 ohms.

As Wes Dooley puts it:

"The input impedance should be at least 1,000 ohms for ribbon mics, although 1,500 ohms is better."

Read this and a lot more interesting stuff from Wes about ribbon mics here.

There are "rated" and an "actual" ohms. "Rated" is 1 tenth of "actual"

A great ribbon pre found here: V77M Mono Ribbon Mic Pre for example has impedance settings as low as 12 ohms, up to 1000 ohms.

When discussing ribbons with David Geren (owner of Cinemag) during the design of the WA12 he suggested that it might be nice to have a 37.5 ohm impedance setting for older ribbons, 1/4th the impedance of the 150 ohm setting.

There are varying output impedances of ribbons so it's hard to put a blanket statement on if ribbons will or won't work well with a particular pre without knowing the spec of the particular ribbon. We may also be calculating specs differently...

[guitarboy94]

I'm thinking of buying this Warm Audio preamp. Anyone compare this to a Great River?

[dickiefunk]

I would be interested to know how this compares the the UA Solo 610?

[NothingTheory]

Originally Posted by WarmAudio

There are "rated" and an "actual" ohms. "Rated" is 1 tenth of "actual"

A great ribbon pre found here: V77M Mono Ribbon Mic Pre for example has impedance settings as low as 12 ohms, up to 1000 ohms.

When discussing ribbons with David Geren (owner of Cinemag) during the design of the WA12 he suggested that it might be nice to have a 37.5 ohm impedance setting for older ribbons, 1/4th the impedance of the 150 ohm setting.

There are varying output impedances of ribbons so it's hard to put a blanket statement on if ribbons will or won't work well with a particular pre without knowing the spec of the particular ribbon. We may also be calculating specs differently...

+1 agree.

With my somewhat limited experience with ribbons I've also found that pre's that use resistors and/or silicon devices at the input require rather high impedances to perform
properly, but when you're using actual iron (balanced input transformer) you really need low impedances. It seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me but thats what i've noticed. I've been under the impression the average desired was 50 ohms for ribbons.

[sfussell]

So I spent the last two days messing around with the warm audio wa12. And the more I play with it, the more I like it. For those of us with a budget studio at home, I hope that some of you guys don't misinterpret the 'dull' sound for the 'tinny' sound that comes from using the cheap home studio gear. I'm telling you guys, the more I stack and layer, the more this thing gets blows me away. I have been tracking all day with nothing but the WA12 and a U87 mod I got from JJ Audio (another great company) and did electrics gtrs with a sm57. Absolutely great pre that really, like everyone else says, shines in the mixdown. Like it was made for compression. And I can't stress enough the smoothness of the highs. I feel like my skills jumped leaps and bounds after doing a whole song with this puppy. Sounds really good. And like the name suggests, really warm. I'm going to let my ears rest a little, then go back in and try to get you guys some audio of what I came up with today just messing around. And for anyone deciding against this pre for the GAP 73, I can only imagine the pre 73 will continue to get cheaper with time, but I think the warm audio wa12 will be worth twice as much when the word gets out.