One thing you mentioned but didn't test, is one of the PRE-73 series' greatest strengths-- cranking the gain and lowering output. One reason why this series by GAP is so versatile, is because it can do clean gain well but can also color mics in a way that can change some fundamental characteristics. Cranking gain and lowering output results in more midpush and creation of upper harmonics (saturation)- and can also get into absurd levels of coloring. Having this ability allows one to get so much more out of their mics. This is possibly some kind of "happy accident" in design, though, because other mic pres out there that use 1073 topology for their circuits, actually don't color as easily.
I remember when I used to chase the preamp lol. After I got done chasing preamps a, b, c, d, and e, I realized that its didn't really matter that much. Kids are making hits with laptop microphones and no preamp these days. If the content is good, and the sound is decent, people don't really care that much.
I would agree. But hearing such a difference isn't really the point of using elite equipment. It's more for subliminal effects, such as the persuasiveness of, say, an advertisement voice over. And for music - how influential and "unbeatable" it can be.
I have this preamp in my studio, so in the context of reusing interface, I couldn't record again without the GA 1073, i love the details that the preamp bring up. A tip for those who obtain it, keep an electrical circuit in good condition because it is very sensitive to power drops. Cheers💜
@@applecrazy1 no, because these are different colors and tone, the GA 1073 is fet. I will buy a tube mic and i'll do some comparisons with the nt1 that i have to answer your question, because at this point i dont know how much saturation can bring up with those things jeje
One thing about good preamps is that they stack better in the mix. When one sound is a little tighter and warmer and then you stack that on 15 tracks it helps the entire mix feel tighter and different mics and instruments tend to stay out of each others way. So where 2 or 3 channels might not make a huge difference, when you're mixing a bunch of drum mics, bass, vocals, keys, and a few guitars, the compounded effect is more musical and harmonic and dimensional than when you're stacking a bunch of preamps that are sterile, thin, or plain sounding. From there the real magic happens when you have the right mic and preamp for each instrument and then that helps everything sit separately in the mix and the sound stage is more open and detailed. Just my experience though, depends on how you want to use it.
Then why wouldn't you use peq at that stage, just sounds like needlessly throwing in cash for what a good/trained set of ears and engineering can resolve
I think the biggest thing I would add to external preamp reviews is samples of more types of microphones, kind of like how you do mic comparisons in your mic reviews. There are some preamps that work better with some microphones, and other preamps that work better with others. At least that's how I see it. Other than that, I think that you cover pretty much everything that someone would want to know before buying an external preamp. Keep up the great content Bandrew
You are going to see much more benefit from this and other similar pre's when used for music and singing as opposed to voice over or podcast work. The difference you are hearing is due to the transformers and the subtle saturation imparted by the gain stage. The transformer adds bottom end roundness and a softening/sheen to the top end. The saturation is also a form of compression - you could hear all this clearly on the guitar samples but also on your voice. What you should show in future reviews of pre's like this is the recorded waveforms of the outboard and interface pre's and the RMS of each file. Also running some drums or a beat through both of them line level would really show the differences between them in that regard as you'll see how differently they handle transients. You'll get a nice soft clipping and higher RMS from the Golden Age 👍
Just picked up a used one from Guitar Center last night for $230. I recorded with it all night, acoustics and vocals and bass and LOVE IT. The vocals cut like crazy with NO PLUGINS. It's got some natural saturation for sure. I had just sold an Audio Revive modded ART MPA11 and then bought a Presonus Studio Channel last week but am returning it now. The Golden Age blows them both away, particularly the Presonus which in my opinion is garbage for amateurs on a budget. I really heard no difference with the Presonus than with my 10 year old Line 6 UX2 interface.
That high shelf on the SM7B sounds good to me as a realtime hardware eq, a reason I might consider one over a 'mic booster'. Maybe a good way to hear the 'character' of an outboard preamp is to run a whole mix in mono of a rock track (lot of cymbals and mids) into it and compare with the audio interface straight in.
I bought a GAP Premier Pre Q a year ago and it’s still in the box,waiting till after moving in fall to new studio set up.Can’t wait to mic up my boomy D28 with a King Bee
It might be interesting to use consistently the same standard set of common microphones, perhaps: sm57, u87, re20, sm7b, 4038, nt1, tlm103, at2020, and a common valve mic, maybe the ntk or z5600?
I would love to see pre-amp comparisons the way you do mic comparisons, using only one or 2 or 3 mics -- probably SM7b, an affordable condenser, and the U87 Ai. I think it would be a huge pain in the ass for you, but it would be immensely beneficial to the community, the way your mic videos already are. You're the reason I bought the Roswell k47 Mini. I then decided to get a channel strip. First I bought the ART Voice Channel, and then, since I felt I was getting better and more serious in my craft, I decided to spend a nice chunk of change to get the Manley Core. I still don't know if I made the right decision, but my thinking was that I wanted to get a pre-amp that would last me the rest of my life. I still have the Roswell k47 and a few lesser mics, and now feel that I probably should have experimented more with mics. With the dearth of information on pre-amps -- and also comparisons between them -- your work here with pre-amps (and channel strips would be cool, too) would be really helpful for us gear nerds. We will all waste time and money on junk equipment. Your recommendation to start with the mic rather than the preamp -- though I've heard it before (perhaps not loud enough) -- is the best take-away from the video.
Totally agree with you, people that already have good mics and are looking for some saturation boxes would consider this pre. I have one of this and I kind don’t like the sound when is clipping even a little bit, because the metering is not precise we can’t really knows if we are blasting or just touching the red, specially with fast transients, with a snare for ex. Cheers
Very nice review! I would have liked to see the difference between high input and low output to compensate and appreciate the sound of the overdriven preamp
@@applecrazy1 It's not exactly the same because the tube is in a different place in the signal flow, but of course a tube preamp like the UA 610 can help you get that warm, three-dimensional sound that tubes offer.
Great review @SosigMusic you can skip be thankful your getting the review instead of complainin some people need a review like to to know if the preamp is right for them. Golden Age Project is a Swedish company owned by Bo Medin
Great work..looking forward to you dominating the mic preamp lane! I think adding the EIN would be helpful , and letting us know your thoughts on the floor noise , especially compared to the interface . Can’t think of anything else! Thank you for your time and effort putting these videos together
What I really dislike is the external power brick. I'm still using mainly my TL Audio tube channel strip, mostly because I like compressor and eq, just to give my voice that little extra. The review was great! Honestly, most reviews are much more based on opinion and quite often you get the impression, that they favour a piece of gear, just because.
I have the GA Mk II and one of the transformers went out and started to make a hum. I sent it back to get repaired and then it worked well for a couple of months until the hum came back. Maybe the parts needed to be of better quality. Sound-wise, it was good, but a bit grainy in the mids for my taste. Especially if you are recording acoustic instruments, you may not get the right sound. I heavily rely on my Steinberg MR816x 8-Channel interface and my Avalon V5, which is fabulous. I also use the MOTU M2 and it delivers well without the need of an outboard preamp for most applications.
Glad to see you starting this series. I'd like to see a review of the Avalon pre-amps, the Manley VoxBox and maybe the ART preamps. You might want to also do some reviews of the Universal Audio plugin versions of the higher end boxes like the Avalon and Manley units. Thanks for your great work.
Bandrew, please, tell me one thing - I have Golden Age Pre-73 MKIII and SM7B. I live in the village, in quiet place. Only one road, 3-4 cars per hour. I have acoustic panels in my room. Generally - very, very quiet environment. BUT I have a lot of noise in my recording - your test SM7B is shocking for me. I connect my SM7B to GA Pre-73 with very good XLR cable. GA is connected to Focusrite Clarett. And I have still -50dB noises in my recording. In Low-Z mode I got -55dB level noise. If I connect SM7B direct to Clarett, I also have very high level of noise, even if I try connect through CloudLifter, Dynamite or FetHead. SM7B is ok, I tried also another one of my friend, so where can be a problem? And the same situation with all equipment which you tested on your channel and I own - every time I'm not able to believe you have "clear" signal, without processing, de-noising and so on. This doesn't mean I don't believe you - I believe, of course, but I want to get the same result! What can I check, improve, change - would you tell me?
You might consider editing short A/B comparisons together. And maybe A/B comparisons of pushing the gain stage hard to running more unsaturated. Thanks for the review.
it was cool dude. you're on the right track :) love the measurements, defo keep that!! try use a couple more mics. a sm57 is a must!! and if you still have it also use the u87, it'd be cool to see a higher end mic on it to see if there are any improvements.
I got 2 of these years ago. I had to stop recording for couple of years and let them in storage plastic box. One day (2020) I wanted to use them and BOTH didn’t work. The company said: that’s estrange. Bs! Didn’t take any responsibility, just wanted me to ship to a shop. F them! Just airing out but they sound great! I got them fixed with an engineer I met and I’m back recording and broadcasting with them and my SB7
I am totally confused. I tested about 16 preamps (including Great River, Phoenix Ascent, BAE1073, UA610, SSL Alpha, WA73, Heritage 73, GOP Premiere 73, ISA One, Focusrite Red8, SPL Track One, Horch mp nvr, Rupert Neve Designs 511 and so on...) in my recording environment ...some of them for just one day, some for nearly half a year and this "cheap" red one beats them all. It just sounds "better" on my voice. I definitely hear the quality of the other preamps ...the red golden age pre73 mkIII sounds even inferior in an "objective" way (in terms of dynamic, highs, ....) .. ...but all the other preamps do not flatter as much as this preamp...weird result. I tried this one with a Lewitt 640ts and sm57... This preamp has a certain edgy and full-bodied sound. I know a guy who spent lots of money for the production of his album but he just used this red preamp and it sounded good. A guy who sold me his ssl alpha channel told me that he just needs the red golden age ...I kept that information in mind but thought I can't take these guys' statements seriously.... But they were right.
Great man...curious if you'll make a review of Great River mic pre in near future. Keep it up ! Love the idea of reviewing external mic preamps. Greetings from Greece !!! :D
Near future, probably not. I have like 10 pieces of outboard gear I have to get through first and that’s going to be like one per month max, and then I’ll have to buy that thing. So probably not even within the next year.
you are really a professional reviewer, i love every video with you, YOU SKIPP THE BULLSHIIT! thats what i love. you only focus on the important stuff that people want to know, and dont give useless information
Hey Brandew!! Could you please do a review of the Warm Audio WA-47Jr, I’m strongly thinking of buying this one but a review from you is always truthful and would be really appreciated.
Hi Bandrew, you mentioned in this video connecting the outboard pre to the focusrite at line level. I believe though that there's no real line level with the focusrite 18i20. In other worlds you have no way of not passing through another stage of preamplification. I sold mine because of that. Did you just keep the gain level in the focusrite at zero then? Thanks
ART TPS II. I believe you reviewed their single unit before but this is a cheap rack mounted stereo tube preamp. You could get some content out of it to feed the beast.
@podcastage The SM57/58 is affected much more than many other mics by the 300 ohm loading, much more so than the SM7b. It would have been cool for you to demo that with the Pre73 Lower impedances have almost no affect on transformerless condenser mics, a little bit on some condensers that have transformers and dynamic mics are kind of all over the map how they act. Like I said the SM57/58 are most affected by loading and they can even get a bit too warm and dark but it's a cool sound for some things and eq'ing some highs in after the fact leads to a different sound than just running a 57 into a micpreamp with the more standard 3k - 5k ohms input. As always you do great job on your reviews and in this case pointing out things like how subtle a micpreamp can be compared to the standard interface preamps is really important for people to understand. An external pre can be a cool optional extra but as you said it isn't going to make crap into gold.
Comparison of different kinds of transformers or transformer based vs tube pres would be awesome! Great reviews tho btw. Very useful and very objective 🌸🌟🐘
You reviewed the dbx 286s mic pre a few years ago... How does it compare to the GA Pre-73 in your opinion? The dbx 286s has a few more features, and it costs a hundred bucks less.
How well does it stand up to a coffee cup sat on top of it? Other than that, excellent review. Looking to get my first proper mic 🎙 probabley a TLM 102 And Evo4 😀
You have to be careful with preamp tests, to make sure the interface line inputs are actually a hard bypass of the interface's pre amp. I don't think the scarlet or desktop apollo have the hard bypass.
I'd love to hear a comparison with the Premier series of this golden age pre 73. Have you had the chance of trying one? Wondering how big of a difference it makes compared to this unit!
Amazing video! Thank you for the detailed comparison. I have a question, why when you are using the NT1 WITHOUT the preamp you can hear your room noise and WITH the preamp it pick less room noise? This may help for recording in not-so-good isolated room? Or this thinking is wrong?? Thank you again!
Some say that one of the reasons analog recording sounds more flattering than digital is because analog supposedly picks up less of the undesirable qualities of the recording space. In practice, this could be because the high-end roll-off and transient softening found in vintage designs (and tape) filters out that highest level of background hiss and room reflections.
Insert jack. I have an FMR RNC that would do really well with this :). Shame I don't record much these days. Good review as always. That looks like a fine unit.
Replying to you outro; i would just like to add that instead of the 18i20 as your default interface why don't you use your apollo as the default. We can surely use the better converters on those to hear a bit of more depth & detail. Also i would be interested to know why do you stick to the 18i20 as default.
A long time go (in a universe...) there was a company called Harmon Kardon. They made amplifiers. To describe their design philosophy and their manufacturing goals, they used this catchphrase: "A straight wire with gain." That meant no coloration at all. There was no H-K 'sound.' Their whole point was that the device they sold did not add anything but loudness to the signal you input. I also think that's the job of a preamplifier. I'll add that one person's EQ is another person's distortion. All I want to know is what does the preamp add to a signal? Anything other than gain is a detriment.
Great review. Thank you. I’d like a better sense on why a pre vs. something like the Apollo X. Also, perhaps another voice artist would help provide some context as to why one would go with one solution over another.
That’s something I have wanted to add but I don’t have any voice artists near me, and I don’t have the time to ship stuff across the country for every video, and I can’t afford to hire a voice actor for every review either. One day perhaps I can move to a city that isn’t an isolated hole in the wall with no one within hundreds of miles.
Your Question: What do you think is missing [from the review]? My answer: Tell us why such preamps are used near the beginning of the review. Also, how does it compare to the jibby-jabb in Logic Pro X.
Is mic pre noise too noticeable? I cant hear it, but i havent turned volume to high to analyze it. I want to get one analog preamp that will sound pleasant, and not hiss too much with mic boosted up 40/50db .
I'm using a alesis quadraverb into a Laney SLS 300w into a tascam dp32sd is this worth buying for this setup? Looking at setting up my interface to computer later on
aww shucks..."Garbage to Gold"...well said...so, this unit to the best of my knowledge is engineered in Scandinavia and built in the PRC...no stickers..."check"
I would have loved to hear more of the colored sound, what happen when you put more gain, does it has a nice saturation, does it add lots of harmonics?
Yeah. Realizing now that I wasn’t thorough enough on the different approaches to use. Low gain, high output. Medium gain medium output. High gain, low output. That way people can hear the clean and the saturated sound.
The SM7B is an extremely low output device for mic preamps that do not have an input transformer with a step-up ratio of between 4:1 - 10:1 as many did, at the time of the introduction of the SM7B. That, however, would be a bad idea for use with microphones of the current trend, for microphones with active outputs that range from 10 - 30 mv, that would easily saturate the cores of such an input transformer, unless that input transformer had a core like that of an output transformer. Expect to pay $200 for that baby, of a "Chunky Boy", alone :-) Sowter 9045, for example. For the comparisons of mic-preamps. It may be better to connect the output into a professional quality sound card (Digigram, for instance), since the quality of any of these low-budget USB "dongles-in-a box", is a limiting factor.
Excellent review man! I would suggest recording a song with the preamp you are reviewing! I would say the same song so you and us can have a reference ! Cheers!!
Hi there i have an older one that doesn't not have the insert, or air features, was wondering ? do you get a low hum noise when the output is turned way up thanks ! sounds like a 60hz hum but its low but its noticeable .
Now that you’re on to affordable outboard pres, can you recommend an affordable (under $500) interface with a dedicated TRS input that’ll allow an outboard pre to completely bypass the interface’s pre(s)?
would like comparison reviews....with other mics. for example, a pre 73 GAP jr vs,.......an ART or Presonus low end 'tube' preamp. or maybe the MPA by ART....or... Because a lot of us want honest reviews/comparisons to help us choose which low end unit is really worth the money vs snake oil. at least if i buy a warm 112 or 1073 or black lion or Focusrite ISA I know I won't go wrong....but who honestly has the money? Plus, at the low end....maybe someone wants to buy in pairs.
One thing you mentioned but didn't test, is one of the PRE-73 series' greatest strengths-- cranking the gain and lowering output. One reason why this series by GAP is so versatile, is because it can do clean gain well but can also color mics in a way that can change some fundamental characteristics. Cranking gain and lowering output results in more midpush and creation of upper harmonics (saturation)- and can also get into absurd levels of coloring. Having this ability allows one to get so much more out of their mics. This is possibly some kind of "happy accident" in design, though, because other mic pres out there that use 1073 topology for their circuits, actually don't color as easily.
what other tricks can i do with it? will this get me that migos or young dolph thick vocals?
Is that that silk function from Neve?
SOOOO glad that you're doing outboard pre reviews! There are surprisingly little out there on UA-cam. Looking forward to more!
I remember when I used to chase the preamp lol. After I got done chasing preamps a, b, c, d, and e, I realized that its didn't really matter that much. Kids are making hits with laptop microphones and no preamp these days. If the content is good, and the sound is decent, people don't really care that much.
I would agree. But hearing such a difference isn't really the point of using elite equipment. It's more for subliminal effects, such as the persuasiveness of, say, an advertisement voice over. And for music - how influential and "unbeatable" it can be.
You do not know shit about music I guess
@@recalujo I don’t care. Your mother.
Respect your ears ?
People never cared, they don’t listen to music thinking about what gear were used, is more about what you care for yourself.
I would love to see the ART PRO MPA II in this series!
this ^
Yeeeaaahh
Absolutely!
Would be awesome!
Yessss
I have this preamp in my studio, so in the context of reusing interface, I couldn't record again without the GA 1073, i love the details that the preamp bring up. A tip for those who obtain it, keep an electrical circuit in good condition because it is very sensitive to power drops. Cheers💜
If i use a pre like this (tube) on a fet microphone (mojave 201), its the same as having a tube microphone?
@@applecrazy1 no, because these are different colors and tone, the GA 1073 is fet. I will buy a tube mic and i'll do some comparisons with the nt1 that i have to answer your question, because at this point i dont know how much saturation can bring up with those things jeje
15:00 most people dont have a mic that they hate, they have a room that they hate and think it's the mic ^^
Unless you use one of those $15 condensers from Amazon. No one likes those.
could a better room fix sibilance? Bc tbh I love the sound of my AT2035 until the Harsh Sss and Fff comes...
A lot of people have a mic that they hate in a room that they hate....
@@ramspencer5492 lmao thats me
@@purpleheart69420ur processing is the issue don’t be afraid to de ess on that mic
One thing about good preamps is that they stack better in the mix. When one sound is a little tighter and warmer and then you stack that on 15 tracks it helps the entire mix feel tighter and different mics and instruments tend to stay out of each others way. So where 2 or 3 channels might not make a huge difference, when you're mixing a bunch of drum mics, bass, vocals, keys, and a few guitars, the compounded effect is more musical and harmonic and dimensional than when you're stacking a bunch of preamps that are sterile, thin, or plain sounding.
From there the real magic happens when you have the right mic and preamp for each instrument and then that helps everything sit separately in the mix and the sound stage is more open and detailed. Just my experience though, depends on how you want to use it.
Then why wouldn't you use peq at that stage, just sounds like needlessly throwing in cash for what a good/trained set of ears and engineering can resolve
I think the biggest thing I would add to external preamp reviews is samples of more types of microphones, kind of like how you do mic comparisons in your mic reviews. There are some preamps that work better with some microphones, and other preamps that work better with others. At least that's how I see it. Other than that, I think that you cover pretty much everything that someone would want to know before buying an external preamp. Keep up the great content Bandrew
You are going to see much more benefit from this and other similar pre's when used for music and singing as opposed to voice over or podcast work. The difference you are hearing is due to the transformers and the subtle saturation imparted by the gain stage. The transformer adds bottom end roundness and a softening/sheen to the top end. The saturation is also a form of compression - you could hear all this clearly on the guitar samples but also on your voice. What you should show in future reviews of pre's like this is the recorded waveforms of the outboard and interface pre's and the RMS of each file. Also running some drums or a beat through both of them line level would really show the differences between them in that regard as you'll see how differently they handle transients. You'll get a nice soft clipping and higher RMS from the Golden Age 👍
Just picked up a used one from Guitar Center last night for $230. I recorded with it all night, acoustics and vocals and bass and LOVE IT. The vocals cut like crazy with NO PLUGINS. It's got some natural saturation for sure. I had just sold an Audio Revive modded ART MPA11 and then bought a Presonus Studio Channel last week but am returning it now. The Golden Age blows them both away, particularly the Presonus which in my opinion is garbage for amateurs on a budget. I really heard no difference with the Presonus than with my 10 year old Line 6 UX2 interface.
Bandrew: "Relatively affordable"
My wallet: "Let me stop you right there"
I said "relatively" intentionally. Also you finally changed your name! In the grand scheme of preamps, it is "relatively" affordable.
@@Podcastage Are pre-amps something you need.
Bandrew: $350 relatively affordable.
Me: Well, it would seem not.
Pay to play.
@@Podcastage I knew what you meant haha
@@Podcastage true relatively
That high shelf on the SM7B sounds good to me as a realtime hardware eq, a reason I might consider one over a 'mic booster'.
Maybe a good way to hear the 'character' of an outboard preamp is to run a whole mix in mono of a rock track (lot of cymbals and mids) into it and compare with the audio interface straight in.
OMG, I've always wanted review of this PRE, THANK YOU!
It would be cool to see 500 series preamp reviews here next.
A cool versus video could be this vs the Warm 73 style preamp. Especially if you can get your hands on the GAP Premier model.
Agreed
I bought a GAP Premier Pre Q a year ago and it’s still in the box,waiting till after moving in fall to new studio set up.Can’t wait to mic up my boomy D28 with a King Bee
It might be interesting to use consistently the same standard set of common microphones, perhaps: sm57, u87, re20, sm7b, 4038, nt1, tlm103, at2020, and a common valve mic, maybe the ntk or z5600?
I would love to see pre-amp comparisons the way you do mic comparisons, using only one or 2 or 3 mics -- probably SM7b, an affordable condenser, and the U87 Ai.
I think it would be a huge pain in the ass for you, but it would be immensely beneficial to the community, the way your mic videos already are.
You're the reason I bought the Roswell k47 Mini. I then decided to get a channel strip. First I bought the ART Voice Channel, and then, since I felt I was getting better and more serious in my craft, I decided to spend a nice chunk of change to get the Manley Core. I still don't know if I made the right decision, but my thinking was that I wanted to get a pre-amp that would last me the rest of my life. I still have the Roswell k47 and a few lesser mics, and now feel that I probably should have experimented more with mics.
With the dearth of information on pre-amps -- and also comparisons between them -- your work here with pre-amps (and channel strips would be cool, too) would be really helpful for us gear nerds. We will all waste time and money on junk equipment.
Your recommendation to start with the mic rather than the preamp -- though I've heard it before (perhaps not loud enough) -- is the best take-away from the video.
Great test as always. Being a 1073 clone review I would've loved some examples of the preamp saturated, though.
Totally agree with you, people that already have good mics and are looking for some saturation boxes would consider this pre. I have one of this and I kind don’t like the sound when is clipping even a little bit, because the metering is not precise we can’t really knows if we are blasting or just touching the red, specially with fast transients, with a snare for ex.
Cheers
I love this pre-amp. I'm using RODE NT1 with this and covered several songs. Thank you for review :)
Very nice review! I would have liked to see the difference between high input and low output to compensate and appreciate the sound of the overdriven preamp
If i use a pre like this (tube) on a fet microphone (mojave 201), its the same as having a tube microphone?
@@applecrazy1 It's not exactly the same because the tube is in a different place in the signal flow, but of course a tube preamp like the UA 610 can help you get that warm, three-dimensional sound that tubes offer.
Great review @SosigMusic you can skip be thankful your getting the review instead of complainin some people need a review like to to know if the preamp is right for them. Golden Age Project is a Swedish company owned by Bo Medin
Great work..looking forward to you dominating the mic preamp lane! I think adding the EIN would be helpful , and letting us know your thoughts on the floor noise , especially compared to the interface . Can’t think of anything else! Thank you for your time and effort putting these videos together
What I really dislike is the external power brick. I'm still using mainly my TL Audio tube channel strip, mostly because I like compressor and eq, just to give my voice that little extra.
The review was great! Honestly, most reviews are much more based on opinion and quite often you get the impression, that they favour a piece of gear, just because.
I have the GA Mk II and one of the transformers went out and started to make a hum. I sent it back to get repaired and then it worked well for a couple of months until the hum came back. Maybe the parts needed to be of better quality. Sound-wise, it was good, but a bit grainy in the mids for my taste. Especially if you are recording acoustic instruments, you may not get the right sound.
I heavily rely on my Steinberg MR816x 8-Channel interface and my Avalon V5, which is fabulous. I also use the MOTU M2 and it delivers well without the need of an outboard preamp for most applications.
You need to absolutely crank that thing into distortion territory, trust me. Coming from an audio engineer and a GAP 73 DLX owner cheers
what does that mean?
I just picked one up and man, the saturation is awesome and cuts through like crazy.
Glad to see you starting this series. I'd like to see a review of the Avalon pre-amps, the Manley VoxBox and maybe the ART preamps. You might want to also do some reviews of the Universal Audio plugin versions of the higher end boxes like the Avalon and Manley units. Thanks for your great work.
I have the 500 Series GAP Pre-573 Premier model and LOVE it!! Highly recommend the Premier models!!
Bro, you are really helping the community with these info thank you. 🎉
I bought one a few weeks ago, along with a GAP Comp-54 compressor. Definitely like this combo more than my ART Pro Channel II tube channel strip.
Please review Fluid Audio SRI-2 Interface IF POSSIBLE THANK YOU
Brother I love you for the loudness warnings , Thankyou
I think you should add a shaker or tamborine or cowbell to your music demos. So we can hear a percussion sound too. Thanks!
Bandrew, please, tell me one thing - I have Golden Age Pre-73 MKIII and SM7B. I live in the village, in quiet place. Only one road, 3-4 cars per hour. I have acoustic panels in my room. Generally - very, very quiet environment. BUT I have a lot of noise in my recording - your test SM7B is shocking for me. I connect my SM7B to GA Pre-73 with very good XLR cable. GA is connected to Focusrite Clarett. And I have still -50dB noises in my recording. In Low-Z mode I got -55dB level noise. If I connect SM7B direct to Clarett, I also have very high level of noise, even if I try connect through CloudLifter, Dynamite or FetHead. SM7B is ok, I tried also another one of my friend, so where can be a problem? And the same situation with all equipment which you tested on your channel and I own - every time I'm not able to believe you have "clear" signal, without processing, de-noising and so on. This doesn't mean I don't believe you - I believe, of course, but I want to get the same result! What can I check, improve, change - would you tell me?
You might consider editing short A/B comparisons together. And maybe A/B comparisons of pushing the gain stage hard to running more unsaturated. Thanks for the review.
it was cool dude. you're on the right track :)
love the measurements, defo keep that!!
try use a couple more mics. a sm57 is a must!!
and if you still have it also use the u87, it'd be cool to see a higher end mic on it to see if there are any improvements.
I got 2 of these years ago. I had to stop recording for couple of years and let them in storage plastic box. One day (2020) I wanted to use them and BOTH didn’t work. The company said: that’s estrange. Bs! Didn’t take any responsibility, just wanted me to ship to a shop. F them!
Just airing out but they sound great! I got them fixed with an engineer I met and I’m back recording and broadcasting with them and my SB7
I am totally confused. I tested about 16 preamps (including Great River, Phoenix Ascent, BAE1073, UA610, SSL Alpha, WA73, Heritage 73, GOP Premiere 73, ISA One, Focusrite Red8, SPL Track One, Horch mp nvr, Rupert Neve Designs 511 and so on...) in my recording environment ...some of them for just one day, some for nearly half a year and this "cheap" red one beats them all. It just sounds "better" on my voice. I definitely hear the quality of the other preamps ...the red golden age pre73 mkIII sounds even inferior in an "objective" way (in terms of dynamic, highs, ....) .. ...but all the other preamps do not flatter as much as this preamp...weird result. I tried this one with a Lewitt 640ts and sm57... This preamp has a certain edgy and full-bodied sound.
I know a guy who spent lots of money for the production of his album but he just used this red preamp and it sounded good. A guy who sold me his ssl alpha channel told me that he just needs the red golden age ...I kept that information in mind but thought I can't take these guys' statements seriously.... But they were right.
Im waiting for this to arrive!, love your videos, and I look to your reviews and you have helped me decide on some good gear, thank you pimpin.
Great man...curious if you'll make a review of Great River mic pre in near future. Keep it up ! Love the idea of reviewing external mic preamps. Greetings from Greece !!! :D
Near future, probably not. I have like 10 pieces of outboard gear I have to get through first and that’s going to be like one per month max, and then I’ll have to buy that thing. So probably not even within the next year.
If i use a pre like this (tube) on a fet microphone (mojave 201), its the same as having a tube microphone?
you are really a professional reviewer, i love every video with you, YOU SKIPP THE BULLSHIIT! thats what i love. you only focus on the important stuff that people want to know, and dont give useless information
That’s a gorgeous new Taylor! Did they give you that as a token for guesting on their event?
Hey Brandew!! Could you please do a review of the Warm Audio WA-47Jr, I’m strongly thinking of buying this one but a review from you is always truthful and would be really appreciated.
Thank you so much 4 these vids man..... You always do it perfectly and accurately
can you please review the se electronics x1a condenser mic?
Amazing as always love your videos please keep doing more of these!!🙏🏻🙏🏻
How this one compares in your opinion, with the Warm audio that you have in the rack behind??
Great review, only wish you would have shot it out against that beauty of an LA610 behind you. I have 3 610s and would have loved to compare!
Hi Bandrew, you mentioned in this video connecting the outboard pre to the focusrite at line level. I believe though that there's no real line level with the focusrite 18i20. In other worlds you have no way of not passing through another stage of preamplification. I sold mine because of that. Did you just keep the gain level in the focusrite at zero then?
Thanks
Excited and Subscribed! Curious how the Radial Twin-Servo would perform :)
ART TPS II. I believe you reviewed their single unit before but this is a cheap rack mounted stereo tube preamp. You could get some content out of it to feed the beast.
@podcastage
The SM57/58 is affected much more than many other mics by the 300 ohm loading, much more so than the SM7b. It would have been cool for you to demo that with the Pre73
Lower impedances have almost no affect on transformerless condenser mics, a little bit on some condensers that have transformers and dynamic mics are kind of all over the map how they act.
Like I said the SM57/58 are most affected by loading and they can even get a bit too warm and dark but it's a cool sound for some things and eq'ing some highs in after the fact leads to a different sound than just running a 57 into a micpreamp with the more standard 3k - 5k ohms input.
As always you do great job on your reviews and in this case pointing out things like how subtle a micpreamp can be compared to the standard interface preamps is really important for people to understand. An external pre can be a cool optional extra but as you said it isn't going to make crap into gold.
Great review. It really checks a lot of boxes as a useful preamp.
Comparison of different kinds of transformers or transformer based vs tube pres would be awesome! Great reviews tho btw. Very useful and very objective 🌸🌟🐘
Could you do a similar review on the WA73-EQ you got in the back there? ;)
You reviewed the dbx 286s mic pre a few years ago... How does it compare to the GA Pre-73 in your opinion? The dbx 286s has a few more features, and it costs a hundred bucks less.
How well does it stand up to a coffee cup sat on top of it?
Other than that, excellent review. Looking to get my first proper mic 🎙 probabley a TLM 102 And Evo4 😀
The SSL6 sounds interesting. I'd love to see you review that, as it's from such a well-known brand.
I own this pre and it’s cool just need soemthing more transparent like a Grace m101. Would love to hear a review on that.
You have to be careful with preamp tests, to make sure the interface line inputs are actually a hard bypass of the interface's pre amp. I don't think the scarlet or desktop apollo have the hard bypass.
I think running it into the line is the bypass for the focusrite no?
@@harikoa4723 I don't believe so but could be wrong I'd have to check the schematic
DBX 286s channel strip preamp would be a great one to review. Lots of useful features. Not as good of a preamp section, but the de-esser is great.
he's done a video on it about 4 years ago
Awesome video! Looking forward to more preamps!
I'd love to hear a comparison with the Premier series of this golden age pre 73. Have you had the chance of trying one? Wondering how big of a difference it makes compared to this unit!
How about a test between the BAE 1066D and the BAE 1073? Perhaps a 1073 shoot out between BAE, AMS Neve, Heritage, and Phoenix.
I would love to, but that sounds mighty expensive. haha.
Hi! I have one and i am very happy with the results. I would like to a review on the GAP Comp Jr. Thanks
Sad that you can't access the channel for now.
Amazing video! Thank you for the detailed comparison. I have a question, why when you are using the NT1 WITHOUT the preamp you can hear your room noise and WITH the preamp it pick less room noise? This may help for recording in not-so-good isolated room? Or this thinking is wrong?? Thank you again!
Some say that one of the reasons analog recording sounds more flattering than digital is because analog supposedly picks up less of the undesirable qualities of the recording space.
In practice, this could be because the high-end roll-off and transient softening found in vintage designs (and tape) filters out that highest level of background hiss and room reflections.
@@DannyKavka Thank you!
I've waited for this review way too long. Been thinking about buying this thing for months.
Great review, really, I own the same focusrite interface.
Where can I start searching for a mic on a similar price of the preamp?
Insert jack. I have an FMR RNC that would do really well with this :). Shame I don't record much these days. Good review as always. That looks like a fine unit.
I was thinkin' the same thing! It's like they're made for each other. Curious if the insert is between input and output stages.
Replying to you outro; i would just like to add that instead of the 18i20 as your default interface why don't you use your apollo as the default. We can surely use the better converters on those to hear a bit of more depth & detail.
Also i would be interested to know why do you stick to the 18i20 as default.
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Sorry for Beginner question , You are using professional audio interface already , what is purpose to add an individual peramp ?
If you can get your hands on a WA Tone Beast I’d love to see your thoughts with that one
I would love to see the Pacifica and p1 in this series
A long time go (in a universe...) there was a company called Harmon Kardon. They made amplifiers. To describe their design philosophy and their manufacturing goals, they used this catchphrase: "A straight wire with gain." That meant no coloration at all. There was no H-K 'sound.' Their whole point was that the device they sold did not add anything but loudness to the signal you input. I also think that's the job of a preamplifier.
I'll add that one person's EQ is another person's distortion. All I want to know is what does the preamp add to a signal? Anything other than gain is a detriment.
If a preamp has an 73 in it's name you should know that you don't get a clean preamp.
Great review. Thank you. I’d like a better sense on why a pre vs. something like the Apollo X. Also, perhaps another voice artist would help provide some context as to why one would go with one solution over another.
That’s something I have wanted to add but I don’t have any voice artists near me, and I don’t have the time to ship stuff across the country for every video, and I can’t afford to hire a voice actor for every review either. One day perhaps I can move to a city that isn’t an isolated hole in the wall with no one within hundreds of miles.
@@Podcastage I've wondered where in the world you are, now I know! Isolated Hole in the Wall!
Hole in the wall? That's what we call an ATM machine over here, if you're living in one of them you've got loads of money lol
@@Podcastage No, stay there, for the World’s protection please.You’re doing just great!
Your Question: What do you think is missing [from the review]?
My answer: Tell us why such preamps are used near the beginning of the review. Also, how does it compare to the jibby-jabb in Logic Pro X.
I'm surprised you didn't pull out the ribbons.
Is mic pre noise too noticeable? I cant hear it, but i havent turned volume to high to analyze it. I want to get one analog preamp that will sound pleasant, and not hiss too much with mic boosted up 40/50db .
Did you normalize the electric guitar samples to the same LUFS level?
I'm using a alesis quadraverb into a Laney SLS 300w into a tascam dp32sd is this worth buying for this setup? Looking at setting up my interface to computer later on
aww shucks..."Garbage to Gold"...well said...so, this unit to the best of my knowledge is engineered in Scandinavia and built in the PRC...no stickers..."check"
Can you explain the Insert Jack and routing to EQ? How does it return to the unit?
I actually have the pre-73 jr. And it’s awesome!
I would have loved to hear more of the colored sound, what happen when you put more gain, does it has a nice saturation, does it add lots of harmonics?
Yeah. Realizing now that I wasn’t thorough enough on the different approaches to use. Low gain, high output. Medium gain medium output. High gain, low output. That way people can hear the clean and the saturated sound.
Hi dear Sir! Please plzzzzz Review this microphone. Tannoy TM 1 microphone. Thank You! Big fan of you. Very use full videos.
The SM7B is an extremely low output device for mic preamps that do not have an input transformer with a step-up ratio of between 4:1 - 10:1 as many did, at the time of the introduction of the SM7B. That, however, would be a bad idea for use with microphones of the current trend, for microphones with active outputs that range from 10 - 30 mv, that would easily saturate the cores of such an input transformer, unless that input transformer had a core like that of an output transformer. Expect to pay $200 for that baby, of a "Chunky Boy", alone :-) Sowter 9045, for example. For the comparisons of mic-preamps. It may be better to connect the output into a professional quality sound card (Digigram, for instance), since the quality of any of these low-budget USB "dongles-in-a box", is a limiting factor.
Awesome review as allways!!!! Thanks!!!!!!
Please make a comparison between GAP Pre73 and DBX 286s
Are you going to be reviewing more outboard gear in the future or is this something you picked up and wanted to show?
I have stacks of outboard gear I’m going to be reviewing in the future. Going to take a while to get around to all of it though.
@@Podcastage you need to do the Golden Age Project Pre-73 Jr.
Excellent review man! I would suggest recording a song with the preamp you are reviewing! I would say the same song so you and us can have a reference ! Cheers!!
If i use a pre like this (tube) on a fet microphone (mojave 201), its the same as having a tube microphone?
A good preamp can definitely improve your microphones sound but with that price its better to invest on a good mic.
Can you review the EVO SR1 Microphone that comes with the EVO Start Recording Bundle?
Hi there i have an older one that doesn't not have the insert, or air features, was wondering ? do you get a low hum noise when the output is turned way up thanks ! sounds like a 60hz hum but its low but its noticeable .
Did you by chance compare it to the wa73 you got back there??
Now that you’re on to affordable outboard pres, can you recommend an affordable (under $500) interface with a dedicated TRS input that’ll allow an outboard pre to completely bypass the interface’s pre(s)?
Not 100% certain, but perhaps Motu M4 which has dedicated line inputs.
@@Podcastage Thanks!
@@dylinquent Yes it has, I use it just like this. Works perfect!
Even better: The M4 has 2 dedicated Line Inputs on the back so you will never touch the Pres in the first place. Just use the ones on the back :)
What did you do with that box dude? Use it to catch a flood?
would like comparison reviews....with other mics. for example, a pre 73 GAP jr vs,.......an ART or Presonus low end 'tube' preamp. or maybe the MPA by ART....or...
Because a lot of us want honest reviews/comparisons to help us choose which low end unit is really worth the money vs snake oil. at least if i buy a warm 112 or 1073 or black lion or Focusrite ISA I know I won't go wrong....but who honestly has the money? Plus, at the low end....maybe someone wants to buy in pairs.
Should I buy it for my SM7B?
Include how you hook up your interface to the preamp...
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