VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

tokyofan · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 7:41 pm Post subject: tube pre inquiry...

Hey all...

I'm using a Grace 101 (and a RME AD/DA converter) bypassing my MBox1. And a TLM 103. I'm thinking about adding a tube pre for some variety...and am looking at the Blue Robbie or UA Solo 610. Any suggestions or experience with either of these units?
_________________
www.chriskoprowski.com/en

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

I'd go with the 610 and upgrade the tubes and you'd be happy. Watch out if you buy a Robbie used the first run of them had scratchy pots and other issues.

Very few people share my opinion on this, but TL Audio make tube-blend preamps that I really like on VO, and one of my all time favorite albums had all the vocals tracked on it (so I'm biased). The Summit 221-2BA (I never get the name right) is also nice.

Seeing as how clean the Grace is, you could also get a lot of flavour with running a Great River preamp or other edgy solid-state transformer pres.
_________________
Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

Yoda117 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 8:28 am Post subject:

I'll second Lance's comments, and while I don't own a Solo it is nearly identical to the M610, which I do own. Mazda, Telefunken and Mullards seem to have worked the best for me.

All the other preamps mentioned (with the exception of the Robbie... don't have much experience with it) are solid performers, but let me add one to the list. Sebatron. It's an AU-based company that makes some solid gear. Their VMP line can be really colorful, but I've used it for some work and depending on gain, the results were slightly colored to insane (more than I would prefer, but not a bad sound per se). With a touch of compression I got a really nice promo from it. You can find them for about $1200 for a 2Ch (VMP2000e), which makes it awfully tempting.
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

Mike Sommer · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:38 am Post subject:

The 610 is an excellent choice.
With that said may I suggest the LA-610. With this little handy dandy unit you get 2 for 1, a 610 ($800) and an LA-2A ($3000.00) for the incredible price of $1499.00, Hello!

My next suggestion would be to see if you have a rental house and test drive some for a day or two. That's the only way you're going to know if a pre is going to fit your needs. But if you stick with the tried and true, you can't go wrong, after that it all becomes hit and miss.
_________________
The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

Yoda117 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:24 am Post subject:

Mike Sommer · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 7:39 pm Post subject:

You are right on the price of the LA-2A. If you look around you can find one on the cheap or build one for around $500.00.

I'd love to have a PALLIII. But unless you're doing TV or Film most of all the goodness of such a pre would really be lost in just about any other medium. All you're really looking for is the color that such a per can offer; you can really get away with a plat starved Studio Projects VTB1, or (don't laugh) an ART Tub MP. I know of a few very successful Voice Men here in LA that do very well with them.

It's not how much you paid for your Preamp, it's how you use it!
_________________
The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Great points, Mike.

I spent the past few days improving my room's acoustics. I'm going to celebrate by buying a $99 MXL v67g and watch (or listen) how I can make better recordings with it and my $300 ART MPA Gold (with variable impedance- I love that!) than some people who, for example, plug their TLM 103 (gorsh, it's a Nooman!) into any old box and expect rainbows and unicorns to fly out of the speakers. The 103 is very good, but it's not a magic wand by any stretch of the imagination.

I'm intentionally going on a cheap & cheerful Chinese Gear route to discipline myself to focus on making my voice drive the sound. So far I'm enjoying it, and my regular clients comment that things sound great if they notice at all.

BTW, of course I wouldn't do this for major work...you can't fool everyone!
_________________
Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

Yoda117 · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:13 pm Post subject:

Mike Sommer · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 1:18 am Post subject:

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

I've got my eye on a ribbon microphone, but I want to pair that with say the new Grace (101m) for high gain. The MPA does high grain reasonably well but it's not really quiet enough.

As for character work, I'm strictly a corporate/e-learning guy as of now. I used to do some when I was in Boston, but ironically focus on corporate now that I'm in Atlanta. That's 180 degrees of how it ought to be, I know. The new character demo is all home-engineered mock-ups (hence the dubious scripts). I'm trying to step out of my safety zone and use my imagination more.

Yoda, that's a funny but true statement about the Neumanns...I love them but I don't have one because I don't trust myself to make the most of it, yet. I used to work at a very large production house in Boston and we had a U87 but it was in a lousy room and we ran it through lame pres. I also did some sessions at one of largest production house in Atlanta: again a U87 in a terrible room with goodness knows what gear. I had to match one of the sessions at home for rewrites, taking a foam covered AT4040 out into my untreated hallway and do some bizarre EQ to get it to match.
_________________
Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

It's been said here before, but bears repeating, that the TLM 103 is only as good as the room it is in (and the pre-amp)....this became even more clear to me recently as I just invested in a Whisper Room. With the proper acoustics, the 103 sounds very good. In a not so great acoustic environment, it sounds not-so-great.

Yoda117 · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 9:32 am Post subject:

Additionally, everyone's voice sounds different. What works for one VO isn't going to work for another.

I know a lot of folks who have and love their TLM103s. Deebs, and a few others tried them and promptly returned them.

I don't like them on my voice and went with the U87 instead.

Different folks... different strokes.

But enough with the threadjack... back to preamps?
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Get a lunchbox rack and then you're off to the races with colour options: all of the A-Design pres, for example.
_________________
Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

Yoda117 · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 9:44 am Post subject:

GR has some really nice ones now too. I think those and a pair of Speck EQs or Buzz Audio EQs would fill a 6-space rack quite nicely.

There are tube-based 500 series preamps out there as well.
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

Mike Sommer · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 10:58 am Post subject:

I was never happy with the 103, but since I finished my RCA BA31 pre, the 103 actually sounds good on it. In this case the pre made the mic.

I've been looking very closely at either a Lawson L37FET or L47MP.
http://www.lawsonmicrophones.com/l47mp.html
_________________
The Blog:
http://voiceoveraudio.blogspot.com/

Acoustics are counter-intuitive. If one thing is certain about acoustics, it is that if anything seems obvious it is probably wrong.