Sound Skulptor Kits

[geeek]

Hello..

I tried posting this a while ago, but seemed to get no interest/response..

has anyone come across these kits? Specifically the MP73


I was about set to buy a pair of SCA N72's but since the Pound is on its arse against the Dollar (and the Euro for that matter) It might work out better for me to buy from Europe.. (less ****ing about/less to pay the tax man)


Anybody shed some light on the circuit, and its closeness to the neve 10XX or other series?

Thank you

[Spiritworks]

I can't comment on it's comparison to an actual Neve other than to say that the Sound Skulptor kits have received good reviews from Sound On Sound.
I just recently decided to give Sound Skulptor a try and purchased a full-blown package from them consisting of their rack, power supply, DI02, one MP12, one MP73 and two MP32. I had looked at Seventh Circle and a few others, but wanted something a bit different. Even though I took a beating on the Dollar vs Euro, I'm glad that I went with Sound Skulptor. The kits arrived in only four days from France to Connecticut. They are well packaged, come with excellent documentation on a CD, and everything looks very much professionally done. If they sound as good as all this indicates, I will be pleased.
Mr Kuhn, if you read this, my email has been blocked by your Spam filter. Please unblock me, in case I have any further questions.

[Tinfly]

Looking forward to hearing your report about these. Keep us posted!!

[Friedemann]

Originally Posted by Spiritworks

I can't comment on it's comparison to an actual Neve other than to say that the Sound Skulptor kits have received good reviews from Sound On Sound.
I just recently decided to give Sound Skulptor a try and purchased a full-blown package from them consisting of their rack, power supply, DI02, one MP12, one MP73 and two MP32. I had looked at Seventh Circle and a few others, but wanted something a bit different. Even though I took a beating on the Dollar vs Euro, I'm glad that I went with Sound Skulptor. The kits arrived in only four days from France to Connecticut. They are well packaged, come with excellent documentation on a CD, and everything looks very much professionally done. If they sound as good as all this indicates, I will be pleased.
Mr Kuhn, if you read this, my email has been blocked by your Spam filter. Please unblock me, in case I have any further questions.

Are you still participating and if so would you tell us what your final opinion is after bulding and working with it?

Thanks!

[2Low]

Hi,
i have two MP73 pres.
Quality, Instructions, Support A+++

[frunjoe]

Hi, I've just stumbled upon this thread, so I thought I could add my comments about Sound Skulptor Kits. I've built two Neve clones (MP73), two API clones (MP12), two MP32s and one MP66 (tube pre).

All the kits, as already stated above, are designed and built with extreme care for detail, and I found the assembling process quite easy. As far as the sound, I must say that the two most used pres in my collection are the Neve and API clones.

All the pres are of pristine quality, the components are choosen among the best brands and the transformers are as far as possible the original ones (the MP73, for instance, uses two Carnhill transformers which are the direct descendants of the long since discontinued Marinair elements).

The MP32 is very clean and linear (good for acoustic music), the MP66 is warm but a little too well behaved, so to speak. It's just my personal taste, but I would have liked a bit more of "tube coloration" from it.

The MP73 and MP12 IMHO are the real gems in the crown; warm and soft the former, present and aggressive the latter, they complement perfectly each other.
Now I can't say anything about the closeness to the original of the Neve clone (no 1073 pre-eq at hand, here), but I could make a direct comparison between the MP12 and an original API 512 in a friend of mine's studio. My friend and I couldn't find any real difference between the two; even the background noise, with the gain maxed out, had the same color.
The MP12 is even more versatile, as it has an output control which is missing in the original, so that one can overdrive the input stage and still have a manageable output level.

All in all, a highly recommendable buy!

[Spiritworks]

I have to agree with the above good reviews. I liked building/using the first rack so much that I bought a second rack with two MP66 kits which I am currently in the process of building.
Jeanne-Pierre has come up with an STS ( Stereo Tape Simulator ) kit that also looks very promising. That is on my "to buy" list.

[Friedemann]

Thank you guys very much!

Greetz Friedemann

[jeremyglover]

any other users or comments? i'm all set to go for the SCA's but between UPS and import tax it gets kinda pricey ..


cheers. jeremy

[DeadPoet]

Originally Posted by passivepeter

any other users or comments? i'm all set to go for the SCA's but between UPS and import tax it gets kinda pricey ..


cheers. jeremy

Do you have a VAT number? I've payed €2300 for a rack, PSU, 4xN72, 4xA12 and shipping and then another €570 to customs. Of that €570 there was €500 in VAT which I recoup, so €2370 + a couple of hours work is still way cheaper than buying 4 Neves and 4 APIs.



Herwig

[Flying_Dutchman]

I got 2 "Neves" and 2 "Apis" and i´m very satisfied.
It´s great to have output gain on board. It´s great to have an external PSU.
It´s top quality and support is A+.
I don´t care if they are 100% like the original and i don´t know.
It´s great to have the 2 colours.
no brainer imo

[jeremyglover]

Originally Posted by DeadPoet

Do you have a VAT number? I've payed €2300 for a rack, PSU, 4xN72, 4xA12 and shipping and then another €570 to customs. Of that €570 there was €500 in VAT which I recoup, so €2370 + a couple of hours work is still way cheaper than buying 4 Neves and 4 APIs.



Herwig

yep, wise words. it's time for me to get official!

hey dutchman, how the pre's working for you?

what have you been recording?

jeremy

[jeremyglover]

i just did the math .. dead poet is right. if you get 8 of either SCA or SS, it works out pretty much the same ..


jeremy

[isham]

Would be great to listen to some examples if possible ?
Sound skulptor seems to be great

[daal]

New Rack and DI system :

Sound Skulptor - Coffret 19 pouces pour Kit Préamplificateur Micro, Préampli Classe A DIY, Préampli vintage à transformateurs, Audio Professionnel en Kit

I'm currently mounting my first MP12, I would have like to have this new beautiful rack ^^

[Flying_Dutchman]

Originally Posted by jeremyglover

yep, wise words. it's time for me to get official!

hey dutchman, how the pre's working for you?

what have you been recording?

jeremy

they perform great
i record everything with them
i´d also like to check the tube preamp some day
serious tools imo
i got the A12, MP73 and my D&R Orion preamps
i´m fine atm, don´t need anything else

[jeremyglover]

i forget if it was here or another forum but someone posted a live jazz combo he recorded with the tube pre. it sounded really good. for me, in the end SS was too expensive for me so i went with some well known pres from the GS classifieds.

jeremy

[KriGil]

How long does it take to put one console together.
Thinking of buying two racks (One with MP12, MP32 and MP73, and one with two MP66).

I read somewhere that it took someone 6 Hours to put one module together.
Another guy put 50 Hours into one 19" rack.

I don't have all day to work on them so it would take me months to complete.
But it would save me €1200 to put them together my self.

Ideas, suggestions?

[_Ludovico]

Originally Posted by KriGil

How long does it take to put one console together.
Thinking of buying two racks (One with MP12, MP32 and MP73, and one with two MP66).

I read somewhere that it took someone 6 Hours to put one module together.
Another guy put 50 Hours into one 19" rack.

I don't have all day to work on them so it would take me months to complete.
But it would save me €1200 to put them together my self.

Ideas, suggestions?

Well, I just stumbled upon this thread and since it's not too old yet, I thought I might answer you,

You could cut the difference in half maybe by buying 2 assembled and 2 kit pre's. You'd have usable units and kits to build on your spare time, and you'd save a few bucks?

[Gearowner]

So, Im looking at these clones of neve and api, made by soundskulptor....

Some time has passed since the last post in this thread.... I'd like to know what people think of these preamps in 2012.... does anyone know how it compares to original neve and api preamps? Does anyone know how the neve clone compares to the GAP 73 mkii pre?? It is supposed to be a neve clone and have heard good things about it....

Regards

[rogernumber2]

The 500 series Neve Shootout vs. Neve 1084

here's what some think