Ampex 350 series recorder electronics as mic preamps , any experience ?

okgb · Oct 15, 2013

Ampex 350 series recorder electronics as mic preamps , any experience ?
A friend of a friend invested allot of money in some , which I thought could have been better
spent elsewhere, but just curious . Anyone know a major , serious [ and good ] recording done with these ?
or have one that you like ?

soapfoot · Oct 15, 2013

They're excellent. I hate to say that, because I think they're even better in Ampex 350 series tape machines. It bums me out to see people scrap the transports and repurpose the electronics as mic amps, but... the results are great.

I've been working on a record lately at a studio that has three. I'm extremely impressed.

tubegeek · Oct 15, 2013

Check the Black Market - I have a colleague selling an Ampex 351, I can put you in touch.

riggler · Oct 15, 2013

I have a stereo 300 machine. 15 IPS / 30 IPS. Both the preamps alone and the entire machine sound great! Take a look at the 600 preamps. I also have a stereo 600, amazing sounds there...

I do classical recording. The conductor of the orchestra I work a lot with said "I have never heard a recording of my orchestra with such depth and character."

I think that Ampex used really nice transformers as a start...

lassoharp · Oct 16, 2013

No direct experience with the 350 but have with other similar pre amps. Most of the 350s I have seen use UTC HA or Peerless transformers. You could always yank the iron and build a different preamp if you don't like it, or simply rebuild on 350 chassis.

I'd look at gain structure, headroom, and need or not of volume control and go from there.

mjrippe · Oct 16, 2013

I can't site a specific recording done with them, but the 350 preamps are quite impressive. I recall plugging an SM-58 into a newly recapped 350 and marveling at how good it made a cheap mic sound!

lassoharp · Oct 16, 2013

I'd recommend using more dynamics than condensers on tube mic pres. You may be surprised. Many condensers will overload the input transformer too easily, and that tends to be a truly awful sounding distortion.