Golden Age Pre 73 Mic Preamp

[Audio~Geek]

The knobs work a certain way.

Hopefully you didn't get a dud.

My friend recently got the Pre73. Check out his review here The Home Recording Show – Ryan Canestro, Jon Tidey, and Jesse Zoller Show 60 – Review of the Golden Age Pre-73 and Best Ablums of the Decade

[smithju]

FYI.....after talking to the guy at ZenPro (the supplier i bought it from), it looks like something is wrong with the output end of the pre. We tried everything. I'm sending it to the service guy in New York to get it fixed.

[Bassman]

wHAT HAPPENED?

[smithju]

Sorry I never got back to you guys...

Well i sent it back and they fixed it. The guy said it was an A-minor connection problem. Anyways, i've had it now for a few months. Let me start by saying that I'm not a sound engineer and what i do is for hobby only, but from un-trained ears, i couldn't really hear any difference at all as far as tone or color for either vocals or guitar. It simply increased the volume of what ever I was pre-amping.

[bozmillar]

Originally Posted by smithju

It simply increased the volume of what ever I was pre-amping.

Looks like it's doing what it's advertised to do. It's a volume knob. What exactly did you want it to do, other than turn up the volume?

BTW, I'm not asking this as a "haha, loser" fingerpointing question, but people tend to have really high expectations on what a preamp is supposed to do, when it's really not supposed to do much.

[rockerdude]

That pre is probably better than most stock interface preamps,at that price point it might be hard to hear the difference but stacking 20 tracks with a great pre makes a big difference you can hear,at least I can.
Most of the cheaper entry level pres have that haze or undefined sound IMO, 20 tracks of that and there goes your clarity.
Try recording 10 tracks with your new one and 10 with the old one, I'm sure you will hear the difference then.

[smithju]

I guess I expected it to brighten up, color, or impact the tone of the sound in some way. I realize the primary function of a pre-amp is to amplify the sound, but if ALL they are is a volume knob, then why are there hundreds of different models ranging from $100 to $5,000, and why do people have ANY preference at all??

Again, I am not a sound engineer by any stretch and this was my first preamp (other than my interface). I didn't really know what to expect, but with the multitude of reviews, forums, and descriptions out there on the topic, i thought that a preamp mattered somewhat.

[bozmillar]

Originally Posted by smithju

if ALL they are is a volume knob, then why are there hundreds of different models ranging from $100 to $5,000, and why do people have ANY preference at all??

Because musicians are an interesting breed of consumers. We take very dumb things and make a huge deal out of them. Different preamps do sound different, but it's such a slight subtle difference that the only person who will ever care is the person who owns the gear and has heard it a million times. After you use this preamp for a long time, you may start to notice a difference in the way it sounds, and it may even become obvious to you after a while, but I think it's important to know that nobody else in the world cares, and nobody else in the world is going to put your music under the same microscope that you will to your own stuff.

Expensive gear is all about self gratification. Doesn't do much good to the listener though.

Also, we as recording engineers have a inferiority complex. We want to be like the big boys, and we're willing to fork out huge amounts of cash for that feeling. We get that feeling by buying expensive preamps.

[rockerdude]

Originally Posted by bozmillar

Because musicians are an interesting breed of consumers. We take very dumb things and make a huge deal out of them. Different preamps do sound different, but it's such a slight subtle difference that the only person who will ever care is the person who owns the gear and has heard it a million times. After you use this preamp for a long time, you may start to notice a difference in the way it sounds, and it may even become obvious to you after a while, but I think it's important to know that nobody else in the world cares, and nobody else in the world is going to put your music under the same microscope that you will to your own stuff.

Expensive gear is all about self gratification. Doesn't do much good to the listener though.

Also, we as recording engineers have a inferiority complex. We want to be like the big boys, and we're willing to fork out huge amounts of cash for that feeling. We get that feeling by buying expensive preamps.

How many high end pres do you own boz? When you use midi drums,midi instruments,amp sims then yeah a great pre is not going to do you much good.

[smithju]

Makes surprisingly good sense. Enough said, thanks!