between $1000 - 2000

What tube pres do you like and why?

Groove Tubes SuPRE
Universal Audio 2-610
PreSonus ADL 600

If you know of any others thats great to.

electronaut m63.

Sebatron

Yeah I would say a sebatron. I don't own one but I have heard one in person enough to say that it outdoes the UA at least.

A-designs MP2

Handcrafted Labs from the Ukraine, Affinity preamp - read it on Gearslutz:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/48745-hand-crafted-lab-tube-micamp-compressor-blind-test-against-1176-v72-adl-more.html

Not only good for the money, just good.
Or the Sebatron - if externally wired correctly.

TL Audio PA-1

UA 2-610....Mine is the workhorse of my studio.

How about the new MP-2A

Demeter. Best bang for the buck, especially used. VTMP and HM/HXM lines are slightly different sounding, but both sound great.

Try this thread:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/showt...hlight=demeter

Also consider 2 Tab Funkenwerk V-78 pres. Not a 2ch unit but they are under $1000 a channel and well worth it. I sold my 2-610 after I bought the Tabs.

I paid 950.00 USD for my Demeter VTMP-2B used. After having it for over a year, I can say that I would have paid three times the price I gave for it. It provides me with two channels of exceptionally clear and musical sound which compliments my Great River NV's perfectly. Armed thusly I can tackle just about any recording task.

For some reason James Demeter's outboard gear doesn't get the rabid support that other gear gets here at the Slutz. But reading a client list of Demeter outboard gear tells a pretty good story.

Also check out his new VTMP-2C, the newer version of the pres I have. It has better metering than the model I have, and it is one Slutty-Assed looking piece to boot.

BUT....

What kinda music to you intend to record? Do you want a lot of tube color, or something bigger-than-life, or are you looking for a more clear and transparent preamp? Do you have other preamps? Are they clean or agressive? Solid State or Tube? Answers to these questions would dictate which direction I would take toward another tube preamp. Specifically, if I already had some clean preamps I would want my next ones to be more agressive, etc....and tube preamps are as varied as solid state models....

Good possible pairings:

>A pair of Grace 101s or a 201 w/ a pair of Vintech x73 or a 1272

>A pair of Demeter VTMPs and a pair of Great River NVs

>A pair of UA 610s and a pair of Specks

....the idea being to cover the sonic spectrum between the two...Good luck hunting!

M