DIY

Here's an idea that occurred to me late last week. I think it might work.

For our last couple of vocal sessions we've been using George's Telefunken preamps (with an Empirical Labs Distressor) to record vocals. The difference between these preamps and the ones in our rack and board (ART's in the rack, Soundcrafts in the board) is pretty big. It should be, since the Telefunkens are Beatles era and sound like, well, Telefunkens, which is to say REALLY good.

It occurred to Ted and I (not for the first time) that to really move to the next level we need to improve our preamps. At some level the mics, instruments, and mixing environment start to reveal the quality of the source, and we've reached that point. As much as I hate "gear snobs," listening to the difference between pre's in real recording sessions - and A/B'ing them, even as we rolled - was undeniable.

These days, channels of real high quality pre aren't cheap. Old Neve modules, Telefunkens, API, etc. command HIGH prices, and even the companies that are making identical circuits aren't selling them for cost.

So what are we to do? We could save our money, or we could... build our own.

Yes, the circuit topologies of the greatest preamps ever built have been thoroughly analyzed, and there are now preamp kits available for a fraction of the cost of a vintage Neve (or new Vintech). Of course, you have to know a LOT about soldering, wiring, and testing to actually put them together correctly and have them work up to spec (which is as good as the classic models).

This is where a network of audio-minded friends comes in, and this is my idea.

Ted has a friend named Steve Masucci, who is a musician, Moog Genius, electrical engineer, and all-around gear expert. Incidentally, his band The Lost Patrol will be performing at Tedstock. For someone like Steve, assembling one of these preamps (and getting it up to spec) is a few hours of work, considering that he's wired entire pro studios and built a fair amount of his own gear. His work is military spec and very good.

I proposed a little barter - ask Steve to assemble, in exchange for some tube gear we don't use, some recording time, house painting, and whatever else we can throw into the mix (so to speak). Steve seems into the idea, and I know his work will be good.

Here are a few preamp kits we've been looking at:

Hamptone JFET 2 channel pre

Hamptone Tube 2 channel pre

The Seventh Circle Audio N72, a Neve clone

Anyone know of any others we should be looking at? Anyone have opinions on JFET vs. Tubes? Would anyone like to loan us the money to buy the kits? (we'll pay you back, or, if you prefer ... more barter!)

Trust me, you'll hear the difference.