Chameleon Labs 7602

[DivineMusic]

anyone heard this pre.. seems to good to be true at only 700... i might buy a few of them this weekend

[kellyd]

I bought one 2 weeks ago. I don't have a 1073 though I've used them and tracked on Neve's before. I compared it to my Vintech X73. The lower mids are slightly less pronounced on the 7602 and the top is maybe just a bit a on the grainy side. Just barely. I prefer the 7602 for bass and kik because the lower mids are less pronounced. It seems to sit better in the mix.
I also did some punk vocs using both pres w/ a SM7 and a 1176. Soloing the tracks they were very close. If you really paid attention to the details you could pick the pre but after a few minutes of going back and forth it became harder. They do sound very close. I know that my X73 has Carnhills and the 7602 has custom wound xformers so that could be the slight difference in sound but the same character.
I opened the unit up to see what was under the hood. Manufacturing is done very well. It seems to be all discreet. Looked like hi quality parts and hand soldered for the most part. The pots aren't the cheesy res carbon. Hand soldered resistors. Very surpised. Is it a real 1073 killer? No. But does it give you the same thing? Close. Pretty good deal. 3 years ago people would have paid 3 times as much for this pre.

[kellyd]

I bought one 2 weeks ago. I don't have a 1073 though I've used them and tracked on Neve's before. I compared it to my Vintech X73. The lower mids are slightly less pronounced on the 7602 and the top is maybe just a bit on the grainy side. Just barely. I prefer the 7602 for bass and kik because the lower mids are less pronounced. It seems to sit better in the mix.
I also did some punk vocs using both pres w/ a SM7 and a 1176. Soloing the tracks they were very close. If you really paid attention to the details you could pick the pre but after a few minutes of going back and forth it became harder. They do sound very close. I know that my X73 has Carnhills and the 7602 has custom wound xformers so that could be the slight difference in sound but the same character.
I opened the unit up to see what was under the hood. Manufacturing is done very well. It seems to be all discreet. Looked like hi quality parts and hand soldered for the most part. The pots aren't the cheesy res carbon. Hand soldered resistors. Very surpised. Is it a real 1073 killer? No. But does it give you the same thing? Close. Pretty good deal. 3 years ago people would have paid 3 times as much for this pre.

[rynugz007]

im recording a full length rock record right now. So far i used the chameleon on snare drum. I'll be cutting bass with it tonight. I just sold some pres so the only pieces i have left are the chameleon and the fmr rnp. I might rent a chandler for some guitar here and there but for the most part the chameleon and the RNP will be taking up the rest of the tracking dutys(vox, guitars etc..). I'll post some samples when i finish it. The eq is really nice. The preamp on its own doesnt have the wow factor that i was looking for but its definately very useable. Im curious to see how it sounds stacked up track after track against itself.

[jonnyclueless]

I briefly used the thing (the company sent one to try out). Didn't use the pre, but the EQ was great. The bottom end was really nice. The top end wasn't quite as bright as the 1073. I asked the guy (who's name I forget) who makes them and he confirmed that they did curve down the high end (so to speak).

I didn't have a 1073 on me to A/B, just some 1081s. They were simillar, though I think I kind of preferred the bottom end on the Chameleon. Money-wise that doesn't seem possible, so I would like to try again some time to make sure.

I would love to buy a rack of these when I can afford it (have other purchases lined up).

[DivineMusic]

i'ma pick one up. i have a chandler ltd-1 to compare it to

[jeronimo]

Any news?

[chriscoleman]

I've got a pair. I like them so far, well worth the money.