i have a decent room (27' ceilings, all wood) and a good sounding kit (taye studio maple). i use at4040 spaced pair for overheads. i have universal audio 2108 and the preamps built into my soundcraft ghost 24. i like using the 2108 on kick and snare but was thinking instead of a "Color" preamp (like the 2108) maybe a "transparent" pre would be better for ovhds (since i have a nice room). would a millenia or grace sound that much better for ovhds than my soundcraft ghost pres?
what other transparent pres are really good for room and drum sound? it would be nice to find 2 channels for under $2K.
thanks

millennia for sure or even earthworks pres.

Great River Mp2MH, Pendulum MDP-1

GML

not necessarily 'clean' (very open, detailed, sexy...but 'clean' isn't the first word that comes to mind), but i love my d.w. fearn vt-2 on overheads. the pendulum mdp-1a is also excellent in that application.
joshua

Avalon 2022

Also add Buzz Audio MA2.

I'll have to second the Earthworks pre's....those things are absolutly amazing.

-justin

I like the Audio Upgrades High Speed Mic Pre. I know of at least one other slut who also uses it for overheads.

I have a pair of custom built pres that someone built for me here in Atlanta. He is an engineer at Scientific Atlanta as well as a drummer who dabbles in recording. The are extremely overbuilt, but when doing a preamp shootout with a friend of mine, we found that is was the best sounding pre for overheads and room mics. It really softens the mids between 400Hz and 3kHz. At least when used with KM184s. The guy that helped me do the shootout is a great studio drummer as well as a great producer/engineer. He said he thought that these things were, hands down, the best pre he had ever heard on overheads. The other pres we compared them to were my Vintech X73s, 1272s, Geoff Dakings and BAE312s. They just had this tone.

i seem to always gravitate towards my flamingo [in fat mode usually]

thumbsup

Langevin DVC..has EQ and Limiter also!
Very clean

Sytek pre, and there great with ribbon mics

Apogee Track 2!

Lavry Blue Mic

more expensively however the best:
http://www.truetrackrec.de/TMA.htm

If you want, I send you a small file with TMA as stereo Ambiente for a Drum

As you can see, we have a true consensus here!!! (as usual!)

I like my Telefunkens (V672's), believe it or not!

Buzz
GML
SSL X series

I dont know about "transparent" but I like:

4038s

Pendulum MDP-1a
BAE API style pre
Shep SN8s

I like the BAE E15s as EQs and either no compression or:

Pendulum 6386
or
Atomic Squeezebox

Funny, doesn't the Flamingo sound better on everything with the fat mode? Once you switch it in, it's hard to live without. On the last session I did with the Flamingo, I had both fat and iron switches in. They just sound bigger that way, IMHO.

BTW, another super-killer mic pre for overheads (and everything else) is the DACS Micamp.

Agreed. It's got a smidge of color, but it works really nicely on OH.

John Hardy M1. Very fast and detailed and on the cleanish side, but not boring. I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this one yet.

For something with a little more character, but still very musical I have been very impressed the new A Designs Pacifica. It's my favorite of everything I've ever used...Vintech, Great River, GML, Hardy, API, RNP.

Brad

Another vote for the Buzz MA2.2!
Super nice! use the transformer out for a bit more color.
Use some nice color pres on the direct mics.

[QUOTE=jdunn]Funny, doesn't the Flamingo sound better on everything with the fat mode? Once you switch it in, it's hard to live without. On the last session I did with the Flamingo, I had both fat and iron switches in. They just sound bigger that way, IMHO.

That's how I track kik and snare. Use the 2022 for o'h's.

The Flamingo is always cool. I also use the Aphex 1100 quite a bit. Josephson C42's with the Aphex present a very clean, honest picture. It's kind of sleeper piece, always hard for company known for gimmick gear (Aural exciters, etc) to break into the high end.

We don't really have anything super clean around (maybe the board pres) but the Pacifica takes the cake for overheads so far. Loads of top end detail but still a bit colorful works well with the 4038's since they are so dark. You may want to step up from those 4040's to do the high end mic pre justice.

You better not have a stereo ASB, 84k you rich devil, you.

I'll put in votes for the Millenia HV-3 and the Sytek. I also recently heard a Grace (201, I think) on drum overheads in a semi-dead room with a low ceiling and it worked very well in the particular application. In more of the color department, I really love APIs and the Focusrite Red Series preamps.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Ask a 100 people a question and you'll get 95 different replies. My vote goes to a pair of Foucusrite ISA 430's.

- 95 % different answers.

- 50 % those might never had a ' material ' comparison with good equipment (microphone Preamp - AD - acoustics and correctly good Drums.

- 45 % seem to have firmly apparently unalterably / experiences.

The rest of the users, never heard other devices material in their studios or under best conditions.
Also obviusly a lot of statements are ' opinion '... that stuff have all studios,, also that must be good.
Most of the 'normal' human beings listen to that **** MP3 - Files, than audiohile CD, DVD SACD or 180g LP however -do we think that therefore the MP3 is good?

My opinion: Buzz Ma2.2 - wins hands down for transparent

Jo