|
Author
|
Topic: For M ike Brown - Peavey VMP 2
|
Darrell Owens
Member From: Norco, California, USA
|
posted 02 February 2006 10:35 PM
profile
Mike, I have been using a Peavey VMP2 Mic Pre in my home studio for several years with good results. I have recently upgraded to Pro-Tools and a Royer 122 Mic for recording my guitar. The "studio wizards" tell me I need a better preamp. How is the VMP2 rated in comparison with more expensive "studio quality" preamps? Was the VMP2 built for pro studio use or for the semi-pro home studio?Thanks for your reply and we appreciate having you on the forum. ------------------
Darrell Owens
www.darrellowens.com |
Jerry Erickson
Member From: Atlanta,IL 61723
|
posted 03 February 2006 05:42 AM
profile
Hi Darrell, I'm not Mike,but I'd let your ears be the judge before someone says you need a better pre. If you can afford one, then go get one. It's always nice to have more tonal options. |
Brad Sarno
Member From: St. Louis, MO USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 06:49 AM
profile
Darrell, let me help you unload that VMP preamp. It's garbage. I'll dispose of it for you. Here's my address....Actually, all sarcasm aside. That VMP preamp you've got is one of the very best tube preamps you'll ever find. Peavey really out-did themselves with that piece. They're quite collectible now. It's natural that many gearheads may make a comment on that piece assuming that Peavey wouldn't have made a 'real' studio mic preamp, but they did. I've been collecting and using various mic preamps for years. I've had or have Neve, API, Milennia, John Hardy, Khan, Telefunken, Manley, Sytek, Langevin, Daking, and more. The Peavey VMP truly hangs in there with the best of them. Don't listen to what they are telling you. Hang on to that gem, or sell it to me!!! A good tube mic preamp like that paired with a good digital recording setup is a great way to track. Tubes really help the digital sound by bringing out the warmth and sweetness that purely transistor and digital gear can sometimes lack. Since we don't use tape anymore, it really helps to use tubes, or at least good discrete class A preamps. That Peavey you've got is a very high quality piece, very good transformers, very good design, very good build quality, and a great sound. Brad |
Mike Brown
Member From: Meridian, Mississippi USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 06:51 AM
profile
Darrell, have the "studio wizards" recorded using the VMP-2 mic pre? Probably not. Why does a product have to be expensive to be a highly sought-after product? That's right, it doesn't. Unfortunately, that's how the public perceives it though. The VMP-2 is used by famed producer Don Was. I had the pleasure of visiting with Steve Wariner at his home about 5 years ago and he uses one in his home studio. Artist Bryan White used one in his studio. Lee Roy Parnell uses one on his acoustic guitar, live and in the studio. Randy Beavers asked if we had any just this week. But, this product was manufactured under the Peavey AMR(Audio Media Research) name and we decided to change direction when the home studio became popular. I'm sure that there are more artists that use this product.............and they actually use this product in their performances, not just endorse it with their name. I call this the "listening with their eyes" syndrome. I'm sure that if you post your VMP-2 for sale on the Forum, it will sell very quickly. Thanks for asking. Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation
|
John Macy
Member From: Denver, CO USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 07:01 AM
profile
While I don't own that model, I have used it many times and it is a great sounding unit--I don't know why Peavey dropped it. Unless you are really unhappy with the way it sounds (and it should mate with a 121 real nice  ), I'd hang on to it and buy something different should you want more variety. YMMV... |
John Macy
Member From: Denver, CO USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 07:03 AM
profile
(Brad--check your email and call me... ) |
Darrell Owens
Member From: Norco, California, USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 10:51 AM
profile
To Mike, Brad and the other replies . . . Thank you for your response. I recorded several projects with the VMP 2 and have been unable to hear a meaningful difference between it and the high dollar units in the studio. Your response is exactly what I expected to hear. Sorry, Brad - I think I'll hang on to this one. I also have the Peavey AMR CDS 2 Dual channel compressorIt is the same thing. A great piece of equipment, not well respected among the "studio wizards" but it does the job for me. ------------------
Darrell Owens
www.darrellowens.com |
Bill Hatcher
Member From: Atlanta Ga. USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 11:26 AM
profile
I have three of the Peavey VMP units and have used them to record every thing that I have done since they came out several years ago. They were the best bargain in tube preamps and I see them now selling for a lot more than I paid for mine. Great units. |
James Quackenbush
Member From: Pomona, New York, USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 03:41 PM
profile
I have one VMP 2 that is a "war horse" of a pre.....I think your studio buddies have tin ears !!....I also have a brand new one when the war horse wears out ....I don't think it will though !.....Like Brad says , Peavey really outdid themselves with this unit ...A lot of the SO CALLED Pro's will turn up their noses at Peavey gear ...This is one product that SHOULD be back on the market !....I use it to FATTEN UP keyboards, and for bass , I don't think that there 's a better bass pre on the market for recording !!....I wouldn't want to do without mine....I bought 2 of them before the buzz went around ....Let your ear's tell you that it's not a good studio piece ....Jim[This message was edited by James Quackenbush on 03 February 2006 at 03:43 PM.] |
John Macy
Member From: Denver, CO USA
|
posted 03 February 2006 08:21 PM
profile
In 1992 I put a Peavey AMR2400 console in one of the rooms at our studio--it cost about $13K. I added a $30K moving fader automation system to it and about $5K worth of patchbays and wiring--so about a $50K investment. People thought we were nuts (we had an Amek/Studer combo in the main room) putting in a Peavey. Well I gotta say, that room ran hard for about 6 years, doing about an average of $8K a month billing wise. In all that time, I changed the control room monitor pot twice, and a fuse in the power supply once--that's it for all the hours on it. Sounded great and we made lots of great sounding records on it.About 2 years into it, I cut a piece of an SSL console ad, and put it over the Peavey logo for fun. I was amazed at how many people thought they were using an SSL! One day the west coast VP of Sales for SSL showed up and was not amused. It is so great to have a company with guys like Mike Brown. With the exception of a few boutique companies, where else can you talk right to the source. Thanks, Mike... PS--that console (less the automation) is still going strong at a church here in Denver ... |
Tommy Detamore
Member From: Floresville, Texas
|
posted 04 February 2006 06:42 AM
profile
Another vote for the VMP 2! I have had one since they came out and haved used it on many a record. A great sounding preamp with a solid build quality. |
Darrell Owens
Member From: Norco, California, USA
|
posted 04 February 2006 09:49 PM
profile
I just talked to a friend, another guitar player, and he reminded me that he used my VMP2 on a project he did at my place several years ago. It was was a great album and was picked up by a label and sold without a remix.He also told me he was in a studio recently and saw a familiar pre-amp. He pulled the sticker off the nameplate, and it was a Peavey VMP2. Someone had covered up the name. This may be one of the best kept secrets around. Maybe we should end this thread before too many people find out about it!
------------------
Darrell Owens
www.darrellowens.com |
Mike Brown
Member From: Meridian, Mississippi USA
|
posted 08 February 2006 06:35 AM
profile
The VMP-2 was a great product.Check out our other great products at www.peavey.com |
The Steel Guitar Forum
