Looks interesting, and an interesting concept.
Plus the price is right $99
http://www.zzounds.com/item--STUVTB1

So you can be straight opAmp or straight tube,
or a blended combination.

I think this is the same guys making the C1 mic.

Anybody try one of these.

I just got email back from them.
They won't sell me one, to be sent to Thailand...
Not at all happy about that.
Must be sent to 'verfied' USA adress whatever THAT means.
Of course double the shipping costs.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 12 November 2006 at 11:34 PM.]

I didn't find the tube effect to be all that 'special' although it does sound different and the variable blend of the tube circuit into the output is a nice touch.

I tend to use it in the full counter clock-wise position (more like a wire with gain mode). It matches well with C1, no surprise there...

Good value I think... I may pick up a second one and buy the little 19" rack adapter that holds two. Wall wart power BTW...

Edited to add, I like it for DI bass guitar as well.

[This message was edited by Bill Terry on 13 November 2006 at 07:28 AM.]

Do we get any steel guitar discounts???

Interesting controls and input choices too.
I wonder how it works with a Revelation preamp?

John M., I may take you up on that offer next month.

It seems like a nice preamp especially for the price.
For me either it sounds good or it don't.

I love the top end Avalon and Manely stuff,
but the prices are too esoteric for me...

I just did a Shineybox lead guitar recording last night.
It was on different tracks either 3 feet away,
or 1.5 feet away with a Pearl C-22
up and 6 feet back on another tracks.

In general Roland prefered the Pearl back, but the Shineybox did nice ambience.

There was a hard rock guitar trio from the 80's that had this same sound. Interesting.
I can't remember the name, sort of like the Clash, but not The Clash. The.... ???

A really massive Black Sabbath type sound.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 15 November 2006 at 01:15 AM.]

Allright, enough of the commercial, now back to our scheduled topic

Jay

David D.,

That little preamp you mention in this thread appears to be typical of many cheap preamps. It's actually a pretty cheap solid state preamp. The tube circuit is a starved voltage tube circuit that is designed to have some dirt to its sound. You aren't really given the option of a pure tube preamp in there, it's basically a solid state device that will let you blend in some lo-fi tube dirt with it. That seems to be the case with every one of these cheap little "tube" preamps. I'm not saying that it won't sound ok, but it's not really going to offer a good clean tube preamp sound.

Brad