A-Designs 500 series EM-Gold preamp

Disco D · 12th April 2006, 01:21 AM

Peter Montessi blessed me with the very first pair of Gold EM-1s made. These things are out of control. The first thing I tried these with were the stereo outputs of my MPC 4000 thru the DI. I have never heard sampled drums sound so good in my life. The claps and cymbals were crackin and snappin with no digital harshness and the 808 damn near blew my head off. OUT OF CONTROL. I will post pictures later.

DD

picksail · 12th April 2006, 07:23 AM

Very cool!!!

Peter brought one over about a month ago and I discovered that it's very useful on guitars.

Cheers!!!!

BryanGamet · 12th April 2006, 08:25 AM

yet again more things to fill in the rack

pan60 · 12th April 2006, 01:48 PM

i need more money

Disco D · 12th April 2006, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by picksail

Very cool!!!

Peter brought one over about a month ago and I discovered that it's very useful on guitars.

Cheers!!!!

ill try that. You mean as a DI or for micing a cabinet or acoustic?

picksail · 12th April 2006, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disco D

ill try that. You mean as a DI or for micing a cabinet or acoustic?

Sorry. I was referring to mic'ed guitar cabinets.

Isle of Weight · 13th April 2006, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disco D

Peter Montessi blessed me with the very first pair of Gold EM-1s made. These things are out of control. The first thing I tried these with were the stereo outputs of my MPC 4000 thru the DI. I have never heard sampled drums sound so good in my life. The claps and cymbals were crackin and snappin with no digital harshness and the 808 damn near blew my head off. OUT OF CONTROL. I will post pictures later.

DD

Disco D,
have you compared your MPC through any of the other A design 500 series w/ the new Gold? I do alot of work w/ mpcs, etc., this sounds very interesting.

thanks
AA

Disco D · 13th April 2006, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isle of Weight

Disco D,
have you compared your MPC through any of the other A design 500 series w/ the new Gold? I do alot of work w/ mpcs, etc., this sounds very interesting.

thanks
AA

no, all i have is the pair of Golds and the P-1 which is based off the Pacifica. The other 3 pres in the lunchbox are various OSAs and they don't stand up both in build quality or sound. I also prefer the sound of the Golds to direct into an SSL which while I don't do at home is how I track my mpcs in bigger studios. It sounds great. The other thing I noticed is you can crank the output of the MPC into the pre without changing the level on the pre, and it adds a unique little bit of compression. These things are great. Definitely my go-to stereo pair right now.

Isle of Weight · 16th April 2006, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disco D

no, all i have is the pair of Golds and the P-1 which is based off the Pacifica. The other 3 pres in the lunchbox are various OSAs and they don't stand up both in build quality or sound. I also prefer the sound of the Golds to direct into an SSL which while I don't do at home is how I track my mpcs in bigger studios. It sounds great. The other thing I noticed is you can crank the output of the MPC into the pre without changing the level on the pre, and it adds a unique little bit of compression. These things are great. Definitely my go-to stereo pair right now.

can you compare the P1 and Gold? which osa's do you own? (I've used the C, A and the L) I'm trying to find a point of reference.

thanks again
AA

s.d.finley · 20th April 2006, 12:52 AM

EM Gold?

Pics please!!

I am in agreement w/ DiscoD, the A-designs stuff is of higher quality, build and tone, than the OSA...at least the ones that I have....MP1-C's...the P1 and EM-Silver totally rawks!!

sdf

s.d.finley · 20th April 2006, 11:06 PM

pics?

sdf

AdamJay · 20th April 2006, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s.d.finley

pics?

sdf

i reckon it looks just like the EM-Silver, EM-Blue, and EM-Red...
but its most likely Gold instead.

s.d.finley · 20th April 2006, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamJay

i reckon it looks just like the EM-Silver, EM-Blue, and EM-Red...
but its most likely Gold instead.

Yeah,

I suspected that....but it would still be nice to oogle it...

sdf

SecretAgent · 25th March 2008, 08:02 PM

It's been a long time since there was real talk of the EM-Gold!

I see in pics from other threads here that people now have them. How are you finding them and for which applications are they working best for you?

Particularly interested in using a pair with my MPC > EM-Gold DI inserts or Tracking Rhodes/bass > DI + a cab mic.

Would this be a good pre pair to start a 500 series rack?

BLueROom · 26th March 2008, 06:57 AM

I just picked up a GOLD and so far it rocks on guitar and floor toms! That's all I've been able to try it on so far, but as in all A Designs products... it performs far above it price.

A+

SecretAgent · 26th March 2008, 02:28 PM

as in all A Designs products... it performs far above it price.

Yep, their whole range is so good i'm stuck for where to start!

I see from a bit of snooping you got the P1s. Also tempted by those as an all rounder. It's def the quad eight sound i'm after. The P1 & it's EM variants do not make it an easy choice!

pan60 · 26th March 2008, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecretAgent

as in all A Designs products... it performs far above it price.

Yep, their whole range is so good i'm stuck for where to start!

I see from a bit of snooping you got the P1s. Also tempted by those as an all rounder. It's def the quad eight sound i'm after. The P1 & it's EM variants do not make it an easy choice!

you can't go wrong with the P-1s

if the quad eight sound is what you are looking for them i would not even give it a second thought.
i love the A-Designs as a system from the P-1 to to entire range of the EM-COLORS

i have a pair of P-1s and a EM-BLUE i plan to add more P-1s and the range of EM-COLORS to my system.

SecretAgent · 26th March 2008, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pan60

i love the A-Designs as a system from the P-1 to to entire range of the EM-COLORS

i have a pair of P-1s and a EM-BLUE i plan to add more P-1s and the range of EM-COLORS to my system.

Yea the versatility of the A-designs gear looks so wide!

I'm already dreaming of a lunchbox stacked with pres > the 'atty2d' for level duties before going to DAW! BEAUTIFUL!!!

Thanks pan60 for the guidance.

NathanEldred · 27th March 2008, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s.d.finley

the A-designs stuff is of higher quality, build and tone, than the OSA...at least the ones that I have....MP1-C's...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disco D

no, all i have is the pair of Golds and the P-1. The other 3 pres in the lunchbox are various OSAs and they don't stand up both in build quality or sound.

Can either one of you provide comparison sound samples? I'm sure people would be interested to hear the differences. Please be specific which ones you are comparing since there are 4 different OSA models which all have different characters, and maybe the serial number of the unit to verify that it's post 2001 (not a really old unit).

LaLaFaV · 27th March 2008, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

Can either one of you provide comparison sound samples? I'm sure people would be interested to hear the differences. Please be specific which ones you are comparing since there are 4 different OSA models which all have different characters, and maybe the serial number of the unit to verify that it's post 2001 (not a really old unit).

I believe that Disco D is unfortunately no longer with us...

sevendaysoff · 27th March 2008, 12:41 PM

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12th April 2006, 01:21 AM	#1
Disco D Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NYC / Sao Paulo Posts: 395	A-Designs 500 series EM-Gold preamp Peter Montessi blessed me with the very first pair of Gold EM-1s made. These things are out of control. The first thing I tried these with were the stereo outputs of my MPC 4000 thru the DI. I have never heard sampled drums sound so good in my life. The claps and cymbals were crackin and snappin with no digital harshness and the 808 damn near blew my head off. OUT OF CONTROL. I will post pictures later. DD

12th April 2006, 07:23 AM	#2
picksail Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Hollywood Posts: 3,250	Very cool!!! Peter brought one over about a month ago and I discovered that it's very useful on guitars. Cheers!!!! __________________ Stewart Cararas Seventh Level Productions Myspace Profile Discogs _________________________________ The new is necessarily abstract - Rudolf Borchadt

12th April 2006, 08:25 AM	#3
BryanGamet Gear maniac Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 156	yet again more things to fill in the rack __________________ for music, news, and randomness visit www.myspace.com/gamet

12th April 2006, 01:48 PM	#4
pan60 500 series nutjob Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: 500 series Guru land ; ) Posts: 5,662	i need more money __________________ www.pan60.com quote: The Hammer is like sonic crack. I'm actually afraid to use it for tracking Brad McGowan IF YOU ARE NOT INTO THE 500 FORMAT, THEN YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS! quote: your secret identity is safe with me superman! Peter Montessi it is easy to sound as though one was endowed with great intelligence, whilst speaking amongst a crowd of total morons

20th April 2006, 12:52 AM	#10
s.d.finley Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,916	EM Gold? Pics please!! I am in agreement w/ DiscoD, the A-designs stuff is of higher quality, build and tone, than the OSA...at least the ones that I have....MP1-C's...the P1 and EM-Silver totally rawks!! sdf

20th April 2006, 11:06 PM	#11
s.d.finley Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,916	pics? sdf

25th March 2008, 08:02 PM	#14
SecretAgent Gear Head Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 66	It's been a long time since there was real talk of the EM-Gold! I see in pics from other threads here that people now have them. How are you finding them and for which applications are they working best for you? Particularly interested in using a pair with my MPC > EM-Gold DI inserts or Tracking Rhodes/bass > DI + a cab mic. Would this be a good pre pair to start a 500 series rack?

26th March 2008, 06:57 AM	#15
BLueROom Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: SF, CA Posts: 734	I just picked up a GOLD and so far it rocks on guitar and floor toms! That's all I've been able to try it on so far, but as in all A Designs products... it performs far above it price. A+ __________________ ºººººººººººººººººººº ::Supersonic Samples::Premium Drum Replacement Library/ WAV & GOG ::Supersonic is DOWNLOADABLE:: 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5 \| 6 \| ºººººººººººººººººººº

26th March 2008, 02:28 PM	#16
SecretAgent Gear Head Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 66	as in all A Designs products... it performs far above it price. Yep, their whole range is so good i'm stuck for where to start! I see from a bit of snooping you got the P1s. Also tempted by those as an all rounder. It's def the quad eight sound i'm after. The P1 & it's EM variants do not make it an easy choice!

27th March 2008, 12:41 PM	#21
sevendaysoff Gear addict Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: cocoa beach FL. Posts: 451	RIP

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