[BUILD] CAPI VP2X~500 Series~Preamp Kit~Official Support Thread

Yeah, it must be a typo/wrong info in the instructions. Just do exactly like Harpo said.

jsteiger said:

Yeah, it must be a typo/wrong info in the instructions. Just do exactly like Harpo said.

Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff.  Also, for the LED, does the longer lead go into the terminal where the arrow is pointing?

tfunster said:

Thanks Jeff.  Also, for the LED, does the longer lead go into the terminal where the arrow is pointing?

Click to expand...

No, the shorter lead goes to the pad that the arrow is pointing to.

Hey all-
I have two A.2 versions of the VP26.  I was adding the stepped gain knob and ran into a problem with the first one- I'm not the best at desoldering and managed to lift the top solder pad on #3.  The bottom pad was still there.  Regardless, there seems to be a bad connection somewhere as it now always passes a weak signal- if its cranked full on or at the bottom step.  I checked all my points on the stepped resister board and there's no bridged points.  I haven't had a chance to spend much time looking it over, but was hoping there was an obvious fix.  I could have bridged pad #2 on the main board with one of the other pads without knowing it...  It's a bummer because they sound great!  I was just in a hurry to upgrade them a little for a session.

Thanks!

Can you post a close pic of the problem area?

Hi Jeff,
I will if I get some time in the next few mornings, or it will be this weekend.  Stay tuned!
Thanks!

So... I finally had time to double check my work after getting stuck in the studio for the last three weeks.  I missed trimming a lead on one of the new wires and it was shorting out on another pad.  Simple fix, but I should have checked all my connections first!

getting ready to buy up some more API Classics from Jeff. I have four of the VP25's with the GAR2520'sand love them. I producer metal bands and want to add four to six more pre's. What is the sound differance I can get from the VP25's to the VP26's to the 312's with the Di's. Just want to try some new flavor from Jeff but I want to go the correct way. My 500 rack is not a 51X 

There's a lot of posts on here and on Gearslutz about the differences in sound between the pres.
Just a quick description. The VP25's and 312's have the larger output transformer.
VP26 -  Smaller output Transformer, more of a closed sound. Like original console.
VP25 -  Closed but a little more open.
VP312-  Open sounding
You might look into the dual stage stage VP28's. VP26 Mic pre with Transformer, opamp output.

Winetree said:

There's a lot of posts on here and on Gearslutz about the differences in sound between the pres.
Just a quick description. The VP25's and 312's have the larger output transformer.
VP26 -  Smaller output Transformer, more of a closed sound. Like original console.
VP25 -  Closed but a little more open.
VP312-  Open sounding
You might look into the dual stage stage VP28's. VP26 Mic pre with Transformer, opamp output.

Click to expand...

isn't "open-sounding" just whether or not the high end is rolled off or not?  I have a 26, a pair of 312DI's, and four 528s.  they're awesome!!  daisy-chaining the 528s makes an amazing tube mic pre on loud sources!!

No. With 2-VP25, 3-VP26, 2-VP312, 2-VP312DI, 4-VP28 and 2-VC528's,  I don't notice any difference in high end between them.
To me Closed seems smaller, tighter, maybe a little compressed sounding,  has  to do with the smaller output transformer. Where Open is seems bigger, punchier, more headroom, Bigger output transformer.
Where did the tube come from? Do you mean "Tube like" sound?

 

thankyou gentlemen! this was the info I needed!!! he search kind of never works goodlyish for me, So sometimes I have to just post the idiot question and pray for mercy from the interweb overlords!! thanks for the help!!!

Dear GroupDIY,

I built a VP26 Rev. B with Stepped Gain a few months ago. However, I think I messed up the stepped pot. It goes 1 click past the last marking on the faceplate. The step past the last marking seems to be all the way up though. I can't figure out how to get the number of steps to match the faceplate.

Sorry if that's confusing, I'm quite new when it comes to the DIY community. Please let me know if you need any other information. Thanks!

This is correct. There are 12 gain positions. Depending on how you fix the knob, either the highest setting or lowest setting is "hidden".

jsteiger said:

This is correct. There are 12 gain positions. Depending on how you fix the knob, either the highest setting or lowest setting is "hidden".

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the quick response. I assume there is no easy way to change the "hidden" setting from full blast to nothing?

Thanks again.

No you can't go to "nothing" with this style of pre, the way the original circuit is.

Thanks for your help! I realized putting it back together that all I had to do to make the hidden setting zero gain was to adjust the knob  :-[. Oops..

McAulayK said:

Thanks for your help! I realized putting it back together that all I had to do to make the hidden setting zero gain was to adjust the knob  :-[. Oops..

Click to expand...

Hahaha....that's what I thought first!
But then..........it was too.......eeeehhhhhhmmmmmm..........easy?

Have fun,

best,

Udo

McAulayK said:

Thanks for your help! I realized putting it back together that all I had to do to make the hidden setting zero gain was to adjust the knob  :-[. Oops..

Click to expand...

Well, there is technically no "zero" gain but the lowest gain possible. 

Learn something new everyday!  ;D