Shadow Hills Mono GAMA Mic Pre

[Solar]

Hi fellas!

Anyone would suggest this UNIT? Anyone tried it or used it before? what is your impression, I know that there is the 8 channel one but i can not afford the 8 channel, this one i can. Thank you very much

[pan60]

i have one!
great build quality great sound and versatile.
it would most defiantly be one of my top pick's, but
i got to say you would be doing your self a huge disservice by not also looking at the A-Designs cards as well.
we all have our own preference, our likes and dislikes.
buy far my favorite is hands down the P-1!

[gwailoh]

Can I suggest trying a search? There are many threads here discussing the Gama and Shadow Hills' other products over the last year or more. You should be able to find many hands-on opinions.

[C/G]

I just got mine a couple weeks ago and don't have a huge amount of time on them. The album I'm working has a lot of UA 2108 all over it, and I was sticking with those for continuity, but I did use the GAMA's on overheads and it sounded very, very nice. I ended up using the Nickel setting because it was between the Steel and Discrete setting and I could not decide which to go with, so I just flipped a quarter and went with it. I just basically split the difference. Build quality seems excellent and the tonal variations included make it very diverse and well worth the asking price. My only complaint would be the gain knob is pretty touchy and I wish the pot was a bit stiffer. One fellow walked by the lunchbox between takes and his jacket lightly brushed the knob and it moved quite effortlessly. Other than that minor thing, they sound absolutely amazing.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by Colin Gaucher

My only complaint would be the gain knob is pretty touchy and I wish the pot was a bit stiffer.

that is also one of my complaints, although with my set-up i do not have to worry about it getting bumped i do feel it needs to be a bit more solid ).
also the jewels do not seem so sturdy they will come loose, ( as in out in ) very easily.
these are very minor and very livable issues but i do feel they could easily be remedied.

[Solar]

Thank you very much for the insides, i will pay attention and see. Also is there anyone who heard about this : Ampex FM Calibration Unit - TC-10 ? And what could this be use for?

Thank you!!

[macr0w]

Originally Posted by pan60

that is also one of my complaints, although with my set-up i do not have to worry about it getting bumped i do feel it needs to be a bit more solid ).
also the jews do not seem so sturdy they will come loose, ( as in out in ) very easily.
these are very minor and very livable issues but i do feel they could easily be remedied.

What are the "jews" that you refer to in relation to this preamp? I only know "Jews" to be people from Jerusalem.

[pan60]

sorry
jewels, the see through plastic piece that covers the light ( led ? ).
sorry for the confusion, think i tried to spell it jewls and my spell check fix it to jews, i did not spot that.
thanks for pointing it out.

[pan60]

the more i tell the spell check to learn i swear the wore it gets.
i now feel it's spells worse then i do.

[Shadow Hills]

Originally Posted by pan60

also the jews do not seem so sturdy they will come loose, ( as in out in ) very easily.
these are very minor and very livable issues but i do feel they could easily be remedied.

Hi pan60,
The jewels are threaded through the super solid enclosed chassis. Their must be some funky threads in your chassis. This is by no means the norm. The Mono Gama is built to be of the most no-compromise, bulletproof 500 series module made, and of the same outstanding sound quality as our Golden Age Microphone Amp. Needless to say, We will, of course, replace your chassis or the entire Mono Gama. I'll email you direct on the details.

Thanks Again,
Peter Reardon

[TEMAS]

Originally Posted by Colin Gaucher

My only complaint would be the gain knob is pretty touchy and I wish the pot was a bit stiffer. One fellow walked by the lunchbox between takes and his jacket lightly brushed the knob and it moved quite effortlessly.

Thats certainly not the case with the stepped knobs on my Gama 8 - feels and sounds great when it clunks up to the next notch.

I haven't fully tested the difference between the o/p transformers yet; my initial feeling is that its subtle. But don't quote me on that, til I've had more time with it.

[Solar]

Originally Posted by Shadow Hills

Hi pan60,
The jewels are threaded through the super solid enclosed chassis. Their must be some funky threads in your chassis. This is by no means the norm. The Mono Gama is built to be of the most no-compromise, bulletproof 500 series module made, and of the same outstanding sound quality as our Golden Age Microphone Amp. Needless to say, We will, of course, replace your chassis or the entire Mono Gama. I'll email you direct on the details.

Thanks Again,
Peter Reardon

Hi Peter!

How are you doing? I'm intrested on getting the Mono GAMA but i know that i dont have a big Analog Console to put this STRIP on, how will i use it?
I mean where wouldl i place it? Thank you very much in advance. And how will it sound with R&B urban music vocals!! Thank you

[madstrat]

hey solar

you can get an api lunchbox for 4 bills-slap 'er in

last nite i plugged a strat into the gama- freakin marvulus

[Solar]

Originally Posted by madstrat

hey solar

you can get an api lunchbox for 4 bills-slap 'er in

last nite i plugged a strat into the gama- freakin marvulus

What do u mean by: 4 bills-slap....? can you be more clear, sorry... just wondering how i will be using this Mono Magma espcially where i will put it.. thanx

[C/G]

4-bills = $400 for an empty lunchbox and power supply (API and Brent Averill are around that price) and you can simply "slap" or put your mono GAMA into the powered lunchbox or chassis. I use the Averill lunchbox and the SH modules fit in very securely.

[Solar]

Thanx Colin!

I will be checking out the website of these to Company that you suggest and go form there. Thanx

[partnering]

i like my api lunchbox and mono gama. right now its the only pre in it.
i do hear differences when i switch the sounds. the steel is more mid forward and the bass seems to go lower or more pronounced. the discreet is volume wise the lowest so i usually have to turn up the volume in discreet. its definitely not as colored as the other two. the nickel is cool and i see how lots of ppl can like it.
its got a eq curve that is nice smiley faced?. and the bass does not seem as big or pronounced as the steel. but its got this like lowmid forward sound going on that is cool. i also have a germanium and that has much more color and harmonic richness going on but that is expected. I must say the mono gama is also seems clean like you can stack a ton of tracks and still be very clear. That's my impression. I love switching and hearing the sound change its really cool.
look for one of my other post where you can hear samples of the germanium and the mono gama settings. it kinda not too great a sample but i think you can hear the eq curves.

here it is

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showp...9&postcount=19

[danasti]

Originally Posted by pan60

also the jews do not seem so sturdy they will come loose, ( as in out in ) very easily.
these are very minor and very livable issues but i do feel they could easily be remedied.

What about "the jews" not being sturdy?

A. You need to send me the shadow hills card for my mod. I secure the gain knob with a super fine high quality, professional duct tape.

B. You need a tempo adjust for your avatar so I can beat match the bobbing head to whatever I'm listening to.

Thanks!

[pan60]

Originally Posted by Solar

What do u mean by: 4 bills-slap....? can you be more clear, sorry... just wondering how i will be using this Mono Magma espcially where i will put it.. thanx

http://www.oldschoolaudio.com/products.html
http://www.brentaverill.com/products....asp?itemnum=5
http://www.apiaudio.com/5006b.html

Solar i think this is a great form to be in as their are some great products available.
you can get the gama then as the budget affords get anther then another and another, be careful these thing are addicting.

[pan60]

peter thanks for the call!
we are living in a time when not only do we have great gear but truly manufactures who are very passionate about their products and their products quality.
it is this kind of passion that makes the smaller boutique makers the biggest bang for the buck!
great gear, great quality, great service, and a deep passion!

[max cooper]

Originally Posted by Colin Gaucher

I just got mine a couple weeks ago and don't have a huge amount of time on them.

Anyone notice that new gear can sometimes benefit from a bit of break-in time?

I could swear that some new outboard mellows a bit over the first couple of months.

I wonder if Peter or any of the other gear designers could comment.