Studio pre/formula direct to tape?

[partyofone]

Does anyone have any sound clips or opinions on the superior direct recording pre (for quality, not necessarily character)? I've heard the rectro pre direct, and it sounds good, but I'm wondering if the studio pre, formula, or quad could be a better value for the money or more flexible. I've heard mixed things about the formula (such as being muddy), but I've also heard it's just hard to dial in a good tone. I'm not worried about getting a specific sound as much as a GOOD sound direct for recording. thanks!

 

[ytse_jam]

Studio Pre Recording Output clips:

www.freewebs.com/ytse_jam/Takethetime.mp3

www.freewebs.com/ytse_jam/AscesaMM.mp3

consider these are clips recorded just for fun, i didn't really care for sound quality, you could obtain nicer tones for sure.

 

[ytse_jam]

well, links don't seem to work (as usually happens to me ), please copy and paste the address...
i also would like to tell you that, since i don't own a poweramp yet, at rehearsal i use only the pre straight into the mixer (through recording outs) and i can achieve a really great tone! with a matched poweramp it should be all another thing though!

 

[partyofone]

ytse_jam thanks, that was fast! much appreciated. I will listen as soon as I get to a decent set of speakers.

 

[partyofone]

sounds great! the AscesaMM mp3 was very cool. and that's just the studio pre going straight into the board right? any special tricks or setup? to my ear it sounds so much better than all the digital emulations out there too (and I've heard them all). I assume the clean sounds great as well. it's so hard to believe that this was technology from the 80's and we have things today that pale in comparison. are there any things that you know of to watch out for when buying used? I feel sick now, that I was outbid on ebay for a studio pre going for $350. thanks again.

 

[ytse_jam]

yes, studio pre recording output (only one used) straight into soundcard (USB soundblaster audigi2NX, not one of the best for pc recording though), no tricks 8) ..! recorded with a stratocaster, so there's a noticeable lack of power in heavier riffs. Clean are good too, some people say studio pres are wanted mainly because of their clean channel... on AscesaMM.mp3 (as on the other clip), guitar part is double tracked and put one hard left and one hard right in the mix. Concerning recording outs, here's a picture which show how simple is the speaker simulation circuit used by Mesa (this is the Triaxis one)...

i'm very suspicious when buying something used, and i don't know if i ever wil buy something on ebay sincerely. You should get some pictures of it before (also circuitry ones possibly..) and make sure tehy're original.

 

[MarkMcQ]

Loving the tone, Ytse. I've not even had a chance to crank mine yet. The poweramp I have is so loud even when I put it a notch past 1, and I don't want the neighbours on my case.
Gonna invest in a Presonus Inspire firewire interface, and see how the Studio sounds through that right into the PC.
I'm buying a 4x12 next week for it, tempted to book an hour in a jam room just to enjoy my Studio and hear it doing it's thing properly, at the right volume.

Once I get all set up, I'll probably post a few clips.

 

[ytse_jam]

Loving the tone, Ytse. I've not even had a chance to crank mine yet. The poweramp I have is so loud even when I put it a notch past 1, and I don't want the neighbours on my case.
Gonna invest in a Presonus Inspire firewire interface, and see how the Studio sounds through that right into the PC.
I'm buying a 4x12 next week for it, tempted to book an hour in a jam room just to enjoy my Studio and hear it doing it's thing properly, at the right volume.

Once I get all set up, I'll probably post a few clips.

thanks! did you have the reverb fixed in the end?i'm curious to hear the studio pre through a poweramp, so i'll wait for your clips! i think a good interface would do a great job... i only connected pre's recording outs straight into the soundcard...

 

[MarkMcQ]

thanks! did you have the reverb fixed in the end?

Unfortunately not. Stuck the new valves in, set of EH Golds, which I think sound great, but still no reverb. I dunno, maybe it's that one missing spring in the reverb pan, I don't know if that could cause it, but I might try and see about getting that fixed just in case.

 

[ytse_jam]

i posted a new clip in rigs&tones section if you are interested... this time i used the main outs with a cab sim, even if it didn't help that much in smoothening the raw sound coming from main outs...however, take a look! any suggestion/comment is appreciated!bye

 

[partyofone]

cool. yeah, it's definitely more of an edgy sound, which could be really cool depending on what tone you needed. that little pre really rocks.
thanks for the help too!

 

[partyofone]

I finally found someone to buy my dc-5 and1x12, and am actually trading for a studio pre plus difference. it's on its way, so thanks to ytse_jam for posting those sounds, and helping me make an informed decision! much appreciated. thanks.

 

[ytse_jam]

hope you'll be happy with it!good luck

 

[partyofone]

got the pre last friday and got a little time to fire it up and play around. it sounds awesome! the true test will be using it to cut some tracks on some songs and seeing how it works in the mix. I can tell there are a lot of sounds to be had with it.