seventh circle

jcool · 3rd September 2006, 02:15 AM

The kits look pretty tempting. . .
anyone had experience with Seventh Circle Audio?
I was going to possibly attempt to build the C84 and maybe the N72. Just wanted to see if anyone has used them and could comment on their quality.
thanks guys.

dwdrummer · 3rd September 2006, 02:38 AM

Seventh circle is the best sounding pre's ive ever heard for the price. Did you do a search for this?? I bet you can't find one negative thing to say about seventh circle preamps. they're awesome! no, seriously!!

jcool · 3rd September 2006, 03:11 AM

thanks.
which preamps have you used?

jcool · 3rd September 2006, 04:29 AM

anyone else?

**TonyBelmont** · 3rd September 2006, 04:29 AM

Here's a thread about the SCA stuff with some good info:

Seventh Circle...

Remember the search is your friend.

not_so_new · 3rd September 2006, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyBelmont

Here's a thread about the SCA stuff with some good info:

Seventh Circle...

Remember the search is your friend.

SCA is talked about a bunch around here, yes search is your friend (and I have 7 A12's, I LOVE them... one of the best deals going in pro audio right now I believe).

**George Necola** · 3rd September 2006, 06:15 AM

I have used 2x N72 on some projects. Nice pres.

I am now fully into API-500 stuff. I got 2 DIY-kits from www.eisenaudio.com. Jens is a nice guy and help you trough the transformerjungle.

cheers George

Nu-tra · 3rd September 2006, 08:57 AM

I've got 8 A12's and dig em!

runamuck · 3rd September 2006, 03:30 PM

I built two SCA J99s. They are fabulous, the kit and instructions were excellent, and Tim Ryan, the owner was very helpful.

Jim

majortom · 3rd September 2006, 03:47 PM

I successfully built two A12s and 2 J99s. I like the A12s especially on drums and guitars. I use the J99s on acoustic guitar a lot.

I was unsuccessful in my initial attempts to assemble an N72 and a C84. Not because they're much harder, but because I got sloppy with my soldering. Instead of risking screwing it up further, I sent them the Tim and he fixed them right up. He charged for the benchtime, but it was a small fraction of the cost of having them assembled from scratch. It's good to know there's a Plan B, if you mess up the assembly.

I'll be getting the working modules back this week.

Nu-tra · 3rd September 2006, 05:15 PM

Not to hijack the the thread but those J99's (I regret selling) are killer on bass and vocals! The outputs are hot but an atty or pad would work that problem out.

V

elambo · 4th September 2006, 09:01 AM

Probably the best bank-for-the-buck I've ever come across is SCA's N72 pre. I bought two, then two more, and will soon by more yet again. Even if you remove the price from the equation they are top-quality pres that deliver everything they're supposed to. Tim has been great also. Busy, so emails can be slow, but he always comes around.

numrologst · 6th September 2006, 11:01 AM

I too, can vouch for 7th circle.

I had the following built for me: 2 J99, 2 N72, 4 a12.

I'm not good with building stuff, so I bought them premade.

But I must say, I have worked with John Hardy Jensen Twin Servos, real 1272's, great river, wunder, bae, api, chandler.

I must say every 7th circle pre is either exactly 100% on par or better... than it's competition.

I use them as my core pres, plus a pacifica and 2 purple biz's... I must say, I am not looking for any new pres. I probably won't buy any new pres unless something outstanding comes out.

Buy the 7th circle stuff. I recommend my combo.

I often use the j99 on overheads with aea ribbon mics, and horns. The n72's usually get room mic duty, vocals, guitars, piano.

I use the a12's mostly on snare, kick, toms, guitars, some vox, most alt percussion.

Those babies will be in my rack as long as I am a studio owner

lofi · 6th September 2006, 01:00 PM

i got N72s.... the only downside ive found are...

lack of additional simul outputs - solved by y-cables

lack of proper metering - solved by using my ears

"tricky" unbal operation - solved by diff cabeling

no instrument input - ah well...

other than that...... killer

bluesman714 · 6th September 2006, 01:59 PM

I just finished building a full rack of 4 N-72's & 4 A-12's. Instructions are comprehensive. These are definately not entry level, but not overly difficult to build, if you have excelent soldering skills. I took my time, never working more than 2 hours at a time & got everything right the first time. This past weekend I got the chance to check them out against a friend's Avalon 737 with a U-87. The SCA pre's sounded good, really good, more than holding their own....they sounded great! I'm happy with my purchase & now my buddie is interested in getting some Seventh Circle pre's of his own.

StrykeBack · 27th September 2006, 08:50 AM

Sounds like there are some 7th circle experts on here and before i headed off to recording school i was really looking into these and one of my instructors built a set of the neve ones and the studio that borrowed them won't give them back and want to buy them from him...so I guess my question is usability for each type of pre.

i think it was numerologist that was saying what each pre was good for. I'd love to have a rack of APIs for the drums and if building the api clones is as good as buying a couople racks of 3124s then that would be awesome!

I really don't have experience with jensens? what do they excel at and what are their pitfalls? I'm thinking i'l start with a pair of api and a pair of neve and go from there. I havea feeling I'l end up with 2 racks of these when i'm done

jenkel16 · 27th September 2006, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lofi

"tricky" unbal operation - solved by diff cabeling

Can you explain or elaborate on this?
Thanks

jeff deff · 27th September 2006, 03:26 PM

I've been using 2 A12s and 2 N72s for a while now and I love them.

Assembling the kits was a great experience. The instructions are fantastic and very easy to follow. My confidence with soldering and fixing things doubled after working on these.

lofi · 27th September 2006, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jenkel16

Can you explain or elaborate on this?
Thanks

http://seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/...ght=unbalanced

Geoff_T · 27th September 2006, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lofi

http://seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/...ght=unbalanced

Hi

I'll second that...

The nice thing about transformers is that, because their windings are floating from ground, they don't give a rat's ass whether they are driving balanced or unbalanced signal loads.

Just make sure that the signal hot wires to XLR pin two and the shield/0v return to pin 3 so that the winding sees the full signal path. Pin 1 is optional and not part of the circuit path.

lofi · 29th September 2006, 08:02 AM

exactly !

but guys dont get me wrong ! those are nice pres really.

btw. DI thing will be solved so it seems....

http://seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/...opic.php?t=549

and if anyone wants to sell one A12 (or build it for me) plz contact me

StrykeBack · 29th September 2006, 11:48 PM

so i'm about to order a couple kits, the api and neve types from seventh circle and I want to make sure I've got all the parts or accessories necessary to make them really nice.

Which soldering station is the recommended one? i couldn't find it on the site and how about extra small replacement tips for the iron and maybe a certain Fluke multimeter?

Give me the list guys!

I did an electronics internship at my recording school where they had us build the usual mic and guitar cables along with having to repair channels out of the neve and ssl so I've got a little bit of experience but i just want to make sure i have everythign i'l need before i put in final orders.

Tibbon · 30th September 2006, 12:56 AM

I'd just whatever soldering station you're most familiar with if you did an internships with it. The Hakko 936 is pretty good. Whatever gear you had for repairing the Neve channels should probably be appropriate for these. If whatever you have going on for repair and calibration right now works, why change it? The N72 should remind you a lot of the Neve's that you've been working on .

StrykeBack · 30th September 2006, 01:38 AM

well thats when I was at the school one of the main instructors had a whole tool bench of toys to use.

I'm starting over from scratch so i know i want the hakko with the variable temperature control and a fluke multimeter but i was wondering what else u guys used or where you ordered all your stuff from to work on these?

Anybody heard or know where i can find these grip tools called "helping hands"? So you can position the pcb board or components in a position where you can still have both hands free to solder?

Tibbon · 30th September 2006, 02:00 AM

You could probably search and find some tips on gear for a good bench. A decent Fluke, a scope, signal generator, something to measure THD, a bench power supply (regulated/linear) and perhaps a desoldering station would set you up for a pretty kickass bench. Small hand tools area always useful for DIY. For other DIY stuff, a laser printer (for boards), a drill press, etc... are all helpful.

If you don't have steady hands, yea one of those little grip things would be of help. Just basically get whatever you had in school that you found yourself using, and that you are used to using.

lynyrd · 30th September 2006, 03:50 AM

SCA recommends a Panavice which is a swivelling vice that I found pretty handy. I just built my first kit (A-12) and found it pretty easy, and I have only built a couple of $5 junker light organs and stuff previously. I found dealing with the Molex clips for the wiring harness the hardest part.

Good luck, I think you chose an excellent product!

Joel DuBay · 30th September 2006, 06:04 AM

Excellent Guys, Excellent products and an acoustically sound studio to boot!

Joel DuBay
www.readyacoustics.com
ASS KICKING Bass Traps with Lab Proven Effectiveness

lagoausente · 1st October 2006, 04:56 PM

Do you think SCA kits are as good as DAV BG1? I have read that the Dav is a litte dull on transients and attack.
What kit do you think will give more detailed sound? the most near to reality? the c84?
A stereo c84 cost a little less then BG1. Do you think better with DAV or SCA?

Dante Portella · 3rd October 2006, 05:05 PM

I can't wait till I get some cash together. All the good things I read about these kits make me super excited.

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3rd September 2006, 02:15 AM	#1
jcool Gear maniac Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 171	seventh circle The kits look pretty tempting. . . anyone had experience with Seventh Circle Audio? I was going to possibly attempt to build the C84 and maybe the N72. Just wanted to see if anyone has used them and could comment on their quality. thanks guys.

3rd September 2006, 04:29 AM	#5
TonyBelmont Moderator Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Boston,MA Providence,RI Posts: 10,056	Here's a thread about the SCA stuff with some good info: Seventh Circle... Remember the search is your friend. __________________ Tony Belmont We Sell Gear! Need plugins? Check out PluginDiscounts.com

6th September 2006, 01:00 PM	#14
lofi Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: in my studio mostly Posts: 439	i got N72s.... the only downside ive found are... lack of additional simul outputs - solved by y-cables lack of proper metering - solved by using my ears "tricky" unbal operation - solved by diff cabeling no instrument input - ah well... other than that...... killer __________________ WTB : boss se-50, dpa/earthworks mics...ribbon mic. or anything halfrack (pref compression or coloured eq) or smaller size, all broken and non operating halfrack (and maybe fullrack) stuff too (filling empty rack slots)

29th September 2006, 08:02 AM	#21
lofi Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: in my studio mostly Posts: 439	exactly ! but guys dont get me wrong ! those are nice pres really. btw. DI thing will be solved so it seems.... http://seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/...opic.php?t=549 and if anyone wants to sell one A12 (or build it for me) plz contact me __________________ WTB : boss se-50, dpa/earthworks mics...ribbon mic. or anything halfrack (pref compression or coloured eq) or smaller size, all broken and non operating halfrack (and maybe fullrack) stuff too (filling empty rack slots)

3rd September 2006, 02:38 AM	#2
dwdrummer Gear Head Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 73	Seventh circle is the best sounding pre's ive ever heard for the price. Did you do a search for this?? I bet you can't find one negative thing to say about seventh circle preamps. they're awesome! no, seriously!!

3rd September 2006, 03:11 AM	#3
jcool Gear maniac Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 171	thanks. which preamps have you used?

3rd September 2006, 08:57 AM	#8
Nu-tra Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2,522	I've got 8 A12's and dig em!

3rd September 2006, 03:30 PM	#9
runamuck Gear nut Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 101	I built two SCA J99s. They are fabulous, the kit and instructions were excellent, and Tim Ryan, the owner was very helpful. Jim

3rd September 2006, 03:47 PM	#10
majortom Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NYC Posts: 499	I successfully built two A12s and 2 J99s. I like the A12s especially on drums and guitars. I use the J99s on acoustic guitar a lot. I was unsuccessful in my initial attempts to assemble an N72 and a C84. Not because they're much harder, but because I got sloppy with my soldering. Instead of risking screwing it up further, I sent them the Tim and he fixed them right up. He charged for the benchtime, but it was a small fraction of the cost of having them assembled from scratch. It's good to know there's a Plan B, if you mess up the assembly. I'll be getting the working modules back this week.

3rd September 2006, 05:15 PM	#11
Nu-tra Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2,522	Not to hijack the the thread but those J99's (I regret selling) are killer on bass and vocals! The outputs are hot but an atty or pad would work that problem out. V

4th September 2006, 09:01 AM	#12
elambo Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: 3rd Coast Posts: 2,009	Probably the best bank-for-the-buck I've ever come across is SCA's N72 pre. I bought two, then two more, and will soon by more yet again. Even if you remove the price from the equation they are top-quality pres that deliver everything they're supposed to. Tim has been great also. Busy, so emails can be slow, but he always comes around.

6th September 2006, 11:01 AM	#13
numrologst Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 1,894	I too, can vouch for 7th circle. I had the following built for me: 2 J99, 2 N72, 4 a12. I'm not good with building stuff, so I bought them premade. But I must say, I have worked with John Hardy Jensen Twin Servos, real 1272's, great river, wunder, bae, api, chandler. I must say every 7th circle pre is either exactly 100% on par or better... than it's competition. I use them as my core pres, plus a pacifica and 2 purple biz's... I must say, I am not looking for any new pres. I probably won't buy any new pres unless something outstanding comes out. Buy the 7th circle stuff. I recommend my combo. I often use the j99 on overheads with aea ribbon mics, and horns. The n72's usually get room mic duty, vocals, guitars, piano. I use the a12's mostly on snare, kick, toms, guitars, some vox, most alt percussion. Those babies will be in my rack as long as I am a studio owner

6th September 2006, 01:59 PM	#15
bluesman714 Gear maniac Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Little Rock, Ar. Posts: 246	I just finished building a full rack of 4 N-72's & 4 A-12's. Instructions are comprehensive. These are definately not entry level, but not overly difficult to build, if you have excelent soldering skills. I took my time, never working more than 2 hours at a time & got everything right the first time. This past weekend I got the chance to check them out against a friend's Avalon 737 with a U-87. The SCA pre's sounded good, really good, more than holding their own....they sounded great! I'm happy with my purchase & now my buddie is interested in getting some Seventh Circle pre's of his own.

27th September 2006, 08:50 AM	#16
StrykeBack Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 507	Sounds like there are some 7th circle experts on here and before i headed off to recording school i was really looking into these and one of my instructors built a set of the neve ones and the studio that borrowed them won't give them back and want to buy them from him...so I guess my question is usability for each type of pre. i think it was numerologist that was saying what each pre was good for. I'd love to have a rack of APIs for the drums and if building the api clones is as good as buying a couople racks of 3124s then that would be awesome! I really don't have experience with jensens? what do they excel at and what are their pitfalls? I'm thinking i'l start with a pair of api and a pair of neve and go from there. I havea feeling I'l end up with 2 racks of these when i'm done

27th September 2006, 03:26 PM	#18
jeff deff Gear nut Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Chicago, Ill. Posts: 124	I've been using 2 A12s and 2 N72s for a while now and I love them. Assembling the kits was a great experience. The instructions are fantastic and very easy to follow. My confidence with soldering and fixing things doubled after working on these.

29th September 2006, 11:48 PM	#22
StrykeBack Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 507	so i'm about to order a couple kits, the api and neve types from seventh circle and I want to make sure I've got all the parts or accessories necessary to make them really nice. Which soldering station is the recommended one? i couldn't find it on the site and how about extra small replacement tips for the iron and maybe a certain Fluke multimeter? Give me the list guys! I did an electronics internship at my recording school where they had us build the usual mic and guitar cables along with having to repair channels out of the neve and ssl so I've got a little bit of experience but i just want to make sure i have everythign i'l need before i put in final orders.

30th September 2006, 12:56 AM	#23
Tibbon Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boston/MA Posts: 4,089	Whatever you're used to I'd just whatever soldering station you're most familiar with if you did an internships with it. The Hakko 936 is pretty good. Whatever gear you had for repairing the Neve channels should probably be appropriate for these. If whatever you have going on for repair and calibration right now works, why change it? The N72 should remind you a lot of the Neve's that you've been working on . __________________ David Fisher (aka tibbon) What is Noise, Blog (DIY, gear, tech, etc) Follow me on Twitter

30th September 2006, 01:38 AM	#24
StrykeBack Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 507	well thats when I was at the school one of the main instructors had a whole tool bench of toys to use. I'm starting over from scratch so i know i want the hakko with the variable temperature control and a fluke multimeter but i was wondering what else u guys used or where you ordered all your stuff from to work on these? Anybody heard or know where i can find these grip tools called "helping hands"? So you can position the pcb board or components in a position where you can still have both hands free to solder?

30th September 2006, 02:00 AM	#25
Tibbon Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Boston/MA Posts: 4,089	You could probably search and find some tips on gear for a good bench. A decent Fluke, a scope, signal generator, something to measure THD, a bench power supply (regulated/linear) and perhaps a desoldering station would set you up for a pretty kickass bench. Small hand tools area always useful for DIY. For other DIY stuff, a laser printer (for boards), a drill press, etc... are all helpful. If you don't have steady hands, yea one of those little grip things would be of help. Just basically get whatever you had in school that you found yourself using, and that you are used to using. __________________ David Fisher (aka tibbon) What is Noise, Blog (DIY, gear, tech, etc) Follow me on Twitter

30th September 2006, 03:50 AM	#26
lynyrd Gear maniac Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: calgary canada Posts: 188	SCA recommends a Panavice which is a swivelling vice that I found pretty handy. I just built my first kit (A-12) and found it pretty easy, and I have only built a couple of $5 junker light organs and stuff previously. I found dealing with the Molex clips for the wiring harness the hardest part. Good luck, I think you chose an excellent product!

30th September 2006, 06:04 AM	#27
Joel DuBay Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 233	Excellent Guys, Excellent products and an acoustically sound studio to boot! Joel DuBay www.readyacoustics.com ASS KICKING Bass Traps with Lab Proven Effectiveness

1st October 2006, 04:56 PM	#28
lagoausente Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 80	Do you think SCA kits are as good as DAV BG1? I have read that the Dav is a litte dull on transients and attack. What kit do you think will give more detailed sound? the most near to reality? the c84? A stereo c84 cost a little less then BG1. Do you think better with DAV or SCA?

3rd October 2006, 05:05 PM	#29
Dante Portella Gear interested Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Parsippany, NJ Posts: 1	I can't wait till I get some cash together. All the good things I read about these kits make me super excited.

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