Moar No0bish queries about preamp kits...

[Commander Fluffypants]

Also, it seems that the Eden is not a colored pre. The main reason I'm trying to get into this is to investigate what a colored pre can do for me.

Disregard my advice since my focus was on clean, linear, and accurate signal paths.

Good luck.

JR

I do appreciate all of your advice. Please don't take my indecision (or ignorance) as disrespect. I am trying to learn. Mostly I'm trying to make the sounds I get in my studio compete with the sounds I get in "real" studios.

Real studios often invest in room treatments to control problem room resonances. You can DIY a certain amount of that too.

Again this is philosophically about reducing colorations and starting with a clean slate.

JR

Oh yeah... Every time I set up for a session, it's like building a house. Moving walls and gobos and partitions, etc. I learn more about my room every time I do it. I had put my gear lust on hold, quite deliberately, for over a year, concentrating on finding the best ways to record certain things or groups of things in my room. It's quite unscientific, though. I just guess at where I might need more or less reflection and then I try it. If I like the results, I keep aspects of it the next time I'm in a similar situation and see if I can tweak and improve it.

This is another topic I've researched a bunch over the past few years. I kinda got sick of reading about it at GS because there was always that one guy (who shall go unnamed) who seemed like he would jump in on every thread, tell everyone how ignorant they were, and that they should buy his treatments. I don't doubt his expertise, but I wanted to know of options other than his...

 

[mushy]

Please do yourself a favor and don't pick your first project based on descriptions on gearschmucks. Choose it based on your relative skill level.

Half finished mic pres don't sound colored or clean or mid-forward or euphonic or open or depthy or aggressive or tight or focused or smeared or...

 

[Rochey]

Mushy,

That's great advice. Those first few projects have to succeed for the bug to bite.

Functional tops tone for those first projects.

 

[Commander Fluffypants]

Thanks for that advice, Mr. Mushy! I THINK I've thought it through... and I'm not afraid to jump in, but I confess that that is one of my concerns. I want to succeed at my first build. And I know any opinion found on Gearslutz can be met with an equal and opposite opinion found on Gearslutz...

OK, so I did do one small build and it worked out very well, but it was very simple: the Group DIY reamp box. I've been using it and it's functioning great. When I built it, I took it to a friend who is an accomplished engineer who has built many things over the years. He showed me what to do and I set to doing it. All of my solder joints were good and clean and I know how to stay organized and not get my parts mixed up, and how to check the stuff with the multimeter. My friend seemed to think I could build some pres as long as I took my time.

The reason I want to attempt pres is because that seems to be the next area that I can upgrade in my system. The CAPI thread at GS got the wheels spinning, but I'm thinking the SC's might be an easier build, and I might get a rack of them up and running long before a I get a rack of CAPI's going. Eventually, though, I'd LOVE a 51x rack or two with pres and EQ's and compressors.

BUT... if you've seen well intentioned people die on this mountain before, I'm inclined to believe you. What project might you recommend before doing the pres? I was thinking about wiring up a sub kick, and I've even researched the threads on it here and at GS... but that's not very complicated. I might just do that anyway, but what useful item might I build before attacking pres?

 

[mushy]

Round these parts, you won't find many endorsements for the commercial prepackaged kits. You won't learn as much. Not to say you shouldnt start with a "paint by numbers" project, but there are many that are great learning experiences.

The thing that you aren't taking into account as the difference between a remap circuit and a preamp is electricity. I would start by learning everything you can about power supplies (and how to handle them safely). One of the best/easiest supplies around here is the one that comes with the SSL9k project. You can buy that board separately if you look around.

Next I would go with a chip based preamp. Google the $5 preamp. It's simple, not a huge investment, hugely satisfying and by golly it sounds really good!

Starting this way, you will learn about reading schematics, bread boarding, ordering parts, safety practices, as well as the basics of how a mic pre works. These skills will help you in future projects, but more importantly it will show you how to troubleshoot. The other advantage of this project is that there are a million improvements and mods out there that are fun to try. This is where the REAL fun of DIY lies!

Good luck with whatever you decide. Stick with it. Don't give up. The answers to every question are out there.

 

[leadbreath]

my 2 cents: stay away from seventh circle: ive built a N72 that took me hours to troubleshoot due to faulty via's on the pcb.
after 3 e-mails all further help stops and they tell you to send it to them for a costly rebuild?
now i may be a cynical old bastard but it looks a business plan to me..

 

[Commander Fluffypants]

I found tons and tons of stuff on the SSL9K pre, and a bit on the power supply (including Keith's PDF schematic) but nothing on where to order the parts. (I might have found the PCBs at PCB grinder, but I'm not sure...) There are some links in the Meta, but many are old and go nowhere.

But if I can find the parts and I DO build the power supply, then what do I do with it? Build the SSL9K's? Or use it to power something else, like the chip based pres that you're suggesting?

 

[Andy Peters]

The biggest, hardest part of DIY is making a box, drilling holes, sourcing knobs & bits, engraving front panel etc for a good looking job.

TRUTH.

The rest is commentary.

-a

(now go study it).