I am looking to build a mic preamp

[penquista]

another really great tube preamp is the slowblow!!!

 

[gary o]

Is Walter goin from his pre when made to his recorder or thru limiter first I have a selection of DIY mic pres I alway srecord mic, pre limiter , recorder, I have cheap Rb500 ribbon, M500 & M260 ribbons with limiter in chain I always have way enough level

 

[Twist Turner]

None of the old tube designs will have enough gain for a traditional ribbon mic, including your Beyer M500, (except the V76) -- on acoustic guitar or mandolin or fiddle, for example.  Especially the old RCA ribbon mics, they are very low output and require more gain than any V72 or G9 can produce when micing an acoustic instrument. 

I dunno about that my Collins 2 channel mixer/tube pre has plenty of gain for ribbons.

 

[waltertore]

Walter, your one man blues band video is crazy.  Sounds good.  Amazing.

Guys, if you want to do acoustic instruments with a ribbon mic the V72 and G9 will not have enough gain!  I agree with the SSL9k, or maybe Green Pre, something easy with lots of gain.  A 1290 will definitely fit the bill and offer some character too!

None of the old tube designs will have enough gain for a traditional ribbon mic, including your Beyer M500, (except the V76) -- on acoustic guitar or mandolin or fiddle, for example.  Especially the old RCA ribbon mics, they are very low output and require more gain than any V72 or G9 can produce when micing an acoustic instrument. 

(Maybe if you're going out unbalanced into -10 you'll make it... another discussion.  Or don't mind lower levels and your converter can boost levels, etc... another discussion.)

However, if you're micing loud drums and guitar cabs, then you'd be OK with any of the mic pres.  Then I'd vote for one of NY Dave's tube designs, like the MILA, as Paul S mentioned.

Just be aware, most people underestimate the gain needed for a ribbon mic on an acoustic instrument.

thanks for that information everyone!  I regularly use my beyerdynamic M500 through a UA 610 for my vocals/harp and have plenty of gain (well I have to crank the gain all the way but it is more than enough).  I have moved the M500 to my guitar amp (use a thd hotplate to keep the volume down to a whisper) and an altec lansing 1592A mixer for a preamp.  For everything else I use condensor mics and am not really looking at ribbons right now.  I record mic - preamp- delta 1010 soundcard.  On each track I use the UA neve 1081 eq/ UA LA2A with a tad of compressio,  and mix the whole thing with the UA plate reverb.  These are all plug ins.  Thanks.  Walter

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137

 

[tommypiper]

Walter, you're a great singer and harp player.  Don't divert yourself here with DIY!  Stick to playing!  ;D

OK, well, sorry if I'm a bit off about not enough gain on those old pres.  I've just tried the V72 a few times with ribbons and couldn't get enough gain for fiddle or mandolin.  Same with the G9.  I barely got enough level with the G9 at full gain with a 414 on a bashing, loud strumming guitar!  Is it my set up, or what?  On the other hand, with a U-87 into a V76 I couldn't turn the gain low enough for kick drum!  Had to find a pad.  Gary, no compressor, therefore no extra gain, as I go straight from pre to converter at +4.

Penquista, do you have SlowBlow info? Schem?  I've been looking for a confirmed one!  I've heard great things about it.  There used to be some old threads around here.  Would love more info!

 

[bobschwenkler]

You can always add a phantom power supply either internally or get an external supply.

thanks for all the responses!  Hi Twist- I made it hear from doing searches for scratch made preamps.  I look forward to hearing yours.  What is it?  I have looked at the G9, two bottle and the ones on drip electronics.  I am all for old gear, but my experiences with that stuff is it usually needs a lot of work and parts can be hard to find.  I know nothing on this end.  This is why I thought about going new.  It will last a long time with little to no issues.  The V72 looks real nice but I don't see phantom power.   Thanks.  Walter. 

 

[gary o]

Wow I bet this chap could solder play the drums the harp & make the tea at the same time, great multi tasker 

 

[kornwallace5]

Yes  slowblow schem would be dandy!

Anyone who has any information please share....

Thanks,

 

[waltertore]

Walter, you're a great singer and harp player.    Don't divert yourself here with DIY!  Stick to playing!   ;D

OK, well, sorry if I'm a bit off about not enough gain on those old pres.  I've just tried the V72 a few times with ribbons and couldn't get enough gain for fiddle or mandolin.  Same with the G9.  I barely got enough level with the G9 at full gain with a 414 on a bashing, loud strumming guitar!  Is it my set up, or what?  On the other hand, with a U-87 into a V76 I couldn't turn the gain low enough for kick drum!  Had to find a pad.  Gary, no compressor, therefore no extra gain, as I go straight from pre to converter at +4.

Penquista, do you have SlowBlow info? Schem?  I've been looking for a confirmed one!  I've heard great things about it.  There used to be some old threads around here.  Would love more info!

thanks again everyone for the responses.  I wish I could solder and follow a schematic.  I am severly math disabled and  have paid the price in the DYI arena!   I do basic soldering on my r/c sailplanes, but am afraid to attempt it on the high end stuff here.  I use 2- 414's.  I am suprised the G9 will not power it. Walter

 

[Kingston]

I barely got enough level with the G9 at full gain with a 414 on a bashing, loud strumming guitar!  Is it my set up, or what?

Sounds like a broken preamp, bad tube, bad trafo or something. You should have a clean 60dB of gain in there.

 

[Kingston]

Yes  slowblow schem would be dandy!

Anyone who has any information please share....

Thanks,

what's the first search result when you google slowblow preamp?

 

[raysolinski]

Those old recordings you love are ALOT more than just a tube pre...try some fabulous ribbon mics (or u47's), tube comps and limiters and tape pushed warm in a nice room...mixed and mastered analog...not to say a nice tube pre won't get you started down that road but that is a LONG road.... ;D

I hear you on that!   We are neighbors.  I am in Granville, OH.  Walter

Granville is nice! Cincy is okay, but I am more of an east coast guy  . Good luck Walter..anything I can help you with drop me a line here..

Ray

 

[waltertore]

Those old recordings you love are ALOT more than just a tube pre...try some fabulous ribbon mics (or u47's), tube comps and limiters and tape pushed warm in a nice room...mixed and mastered analog...not to say a nice tube pre won't get you started down that road but that is a LONG road.... ;D

I hear you on that!   We are neighbors.  I am in Granville, OH.  Walter

Granville is nice! Cincy is okay, but I am more of an east coast guy  . Good luck Walter..anything I can help you with drop me a line here..

Ray

thanks Ray!  I am a NJ native.  Granville is a real nice place to grow old in, and I am getting old ;D.  If you pass through, let me know.  Walter

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137

 

[gary o]

Walter you could do it..... have a soldering practise, us folks here can help you with schematics and so on

 

[waltertore]

Walter you could do it..... have a soldering practise, us folks here can help you with schematics and so on

thanks gary o!  My friend Butch is going to build this one and I will sit by his side and watch. I have soldered lots of wiring for r/c sailplanes.  I am scared to do the circiut board thing. Once I watch Butch, I will attempt something for sure.  Walter
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137

 

[speakercoil]

Walter, your one man blues band video is crazy.  Sounds good.  Amazing.

Guys, if you want to do acoustic instruments with a ribbon mic the V72 and G9 will not have enough gain!  I agree with the SSL9k, or maybe Green Pre, something easy with lots of gain.  A 1290 will definitely fit the bill and offer some character too!

None of the old tube designs will have enough gain for a traditional ribbon mic, including your Beyer M500, (except the V76) -- on acoustic guitar or mandolin or fiddle, for example.  Especially the old RCA ribbon mics, they are very low output and require more gain than any V72 or G9 can produce when micing an acoustic instrument. 

(Maybe if you're going out unbalanced into -10 you'll make it... another discussion.  Or don't mind lower levels and your converter can boost levels, etc... another discussion.)

However, if you're micing loud drums and guitar cabs, then you'd be OK with any of the mic pres.  Then I'd vote for one of NY Dave's tube designs, like the MILA, as Paul S mentioned.

Just be aware, most people underestimate the gain needed for a ribbon mic on an acoustic instrument.

Just a random thought... and correct me if I am wrong, but couldn't you run a mic pre like that which doesn't have much gain into a tube line amp and boost the signal again from there... Never tried it, but it's a thought. In which case you could build a sick line amp from any number of DIY sites to go along with the tube amp to drive that ribbon into the right amount of gain. Just a thought. Given yes it will probably add some noise, but might add a sweet character to the recording... Tube mic pre to tube line pre to the converter... That's a lot of warmth (assuming they are both good units!).
-Grant

 

[peters]

If you do something like the Drip V72 it has a fair amount of possible gain over the original, using the rotary bank of feedback resistors (not sure of exact gain values in db). I have used one with the R84 ribbon to do trumpet, clarinet etc from 3-4 feet away. No gain problem on these. sounded quite nice too, although I am still modding the pres a bit.

--Peter