Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

[TwilightOdyssey]

There was a problem with my first pass at doing this; I was using the wrong input on the Golden Age!!! D'oh!

This is a comparison clip of the much-touted Golden Age Pre-73 Neve clone vs the SSL Xlogic mic pre. The left guitar is one preamp and the right guitar is the other. The preamps sound very different from each other, so I won't tell you which is which, but leave that up to you to decide.

Guitar used was Ethel (Warmoth/Fender Strat) using a Lollar Special in the bridge. Splawn Quick Rod, Gear 1, OD 1. Sennheiser e609, Monster Cable mic cable.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=UmNJa0ZRT01CMTVMWEE9PQ

 

[razorblade]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

I'm going p 73 on the Right, and SSl on the left.

If I'm right, I'll tell ya why later.

 

[razorblade]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

So, Twilight...I guess no one else is going to take a shot? Which one's which?

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

Hehe, I guess not!

Left side is the Golden Age Pre-73

Right side is the SSL

 

[razorblade]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

There you go...I was expecting a "See how great the cheap one sounds" revelation, but I have to go with the SSL. Not that the Pre 73 sounds bad, by any means, especially for a third the price of the SSL.

I had never heard either one before, nor have I ever worked on an SSL , although I did do some work on an 8088 many years ago.

I thought the right side had more of a transformer based pre tone, and was missing some of the air I would have expected out of the SSL.

So...you have them both - share your feelings.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

So...you have them both - share your feelings.

The Golden Age is very vintage sounding. I think it would sound great on vocals, perhaps as drum overheads, and select guitar tracks where you don't want/need a lot of low end response, but want a clean/clear treble response with a flat midrange response.

In all fairness, I did tame the high freqs on the SSL a smidge to get the icepick effect off of the Strat. As this is a function of the preamp itself, I didn't view this as cheating ... if the GA has the ability, I woulda done the same.

My basic impressions are the same as yours:

A. You get what you pay for
B. There is a level of admission with mic preamps ($1k) that you just cannot get around

People often refer to SSL's having "punch" and "huge sound", but until you compare it against another preamp, you don't realize how punchy it truly is!!

Re: your comment on the transformer gain, I didn't even have the VHD engaged! When you do engage it, it "widens" the tone (for lack of a better word), but in the end, I found it to be too much of a 'good thing'. Whilst I love the VHD's effect on bass and kick, I don't use it on midrange-heavy instruments. (Your mileage may vary, of course)

What I love about SSL is that every time I plug into it it's like Insta-70s ... I just hear the tonality of all the albums I grew up with. If I were looking for tonal neutrality I would get a Great River (and I will be getting one later this year).

Soooo ... the GA will stay in my stable, but more as a tonal colour to add to the palette, not necessarily as a go-to preamp of choice.

Hope you find that helpful!




Edit: If you wanna hear the Golden Age age with a Cascade Victor ribbon mic, this is a live jam from last night -- I used the GA as a mono overhead for the drums: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=7767684&q=hi

 

[razorblade]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

I wouldn't mind hearing an a/b sample with the VHD engaged if ya ever get around to it...See if that gets it closer to that vintage neve tone, which I remember as being much girth-ier.

But that SSL seriously kicks some ass...

Thanks for sharing

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

I wouldn't mind hearing an a/b sample with the VHD engaged if ya ever get around to it...See if that gets it closer to that vintage neve tone, which I remember as being much girth-ier.

That shouldn't be a problem! But I will probably do em at 24 bit so that you can hear the subtleties ...

Thanks for sharing

You're welcome!

 

[ROBERT CROWE]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

Well l for one, cant wait to install my Chandler Tone-x preamp when it arrives from the states. l've been hoping some bright-spark would put something like this on the market.
Mr.Zappa had the late Rex Bogue fit on-board parametric eq & preamps to his guitars, most notably his Great Gibson S.G. copy.
l'm fitting my Tone-X to my Fender Squire Showmaster Deluxe H.S.H. should sound fab.
Best wishes,
Robert Crowe (Composer/Guitarist)


Update...on 13/1/2010... Well it arrived and it's now installed, it's completely transformed my guitar, you can "tune" to EQ to the frequency of the room & nail any tone so you get great feedback control. The preamp boosts the guitar's output by 16db.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

I saw this a few days ago but haven't had time to listen or comment until now...

The Golden Age is very vintage sounding. I think it would sound great on vocals, perhaps as drum overheads, and select guitar tracks where you don't want/need a lot of low end response, but want a clean/clear treble response with a flat midrange response.
~~~

What I love about SSL is that every time I plug into it it's like Insta-70s ... I just hear the tonality of all the albums I grew up with. If I were looking for tonal neutrality I would get a Great River (and I will be getting one later this year).

Soooo ... the GA will stay in my stable, but more as a tonal colour to add to the palette, not necessarily as a go-to preamp of choice.

Hope you find that helpful!

That's pretty interesting...

Typically, original Neve micamps & modules... 1064/1073/1081 etc. are noted for having a very thick, sludgy... almost 'dull' tone to them. Great for kick drums, stout guitars & the like. Not at all 'clean or clear' as you desribce the golden age, which I haven't used. Some... ok... most of the modern clones don't come anywhere close to sounding as HUGE as the original Neves & correctly made repros like Sheps... mostly due to the transformers.

Case in point, last year I got to sample those Chameleon Labs pres and while they sort of implied a "neve" thing and were serviceable, they don't sound anything like what they're supposed to be a copy of!

And the Great River MP2NV is a great preamp... but not at all "neutral" or clean. Not even close!

If that's what you want in a preamp, get a Millenia or my preference would be a Grace or GML. True Systems... those are all pretty clean... more towards the "wire with gain" vibe...

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

FWIW, I've used that Golden Age pre and while I can't compare it to a real Neve, I thought it sounded really **** good.

Golden Age also makes a really solid set of cheaper SDC's that I've used for OH's on the last project I recorded, and it came out really well!

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

I saw this a few days ago but haven't had time to listen or comment until now...

Valuable observations, as always, Moose.

How do you feel about Neve plugins?

 

[J Moose]

Re: Golden Age preamp vs SSL mic preamps (clip inside) Pt2

How do you feel about Neve plugins?

My gear plugs into the wall... hehehe


Truthfully, I do have a large bundle of plugins... and I probably use about a dozen of them on a regular basis... the Waves API eq's are really useful... the SSL stuff, not so much... but I never liked the sound of those consoles to begin with. I cut a record on a 4000G about a decade ago, my first real exposure to an SSL and its a really hard/thin/harsh sounding piece of crap.

Could probably send you a copy at some point, I have no way to publically host audio at this juncture in time...