August 29th, 2024- (Mostly) Every Effin E Equipment
- Taran Willis
- Nov 7, 2024
- 4 min read
The Universal Audio 4710d Mic Preamp is a very unique preamp as it is a mix between a solid-state and a tube amplifier with a knob to mix between the two tones. This preamp also includes a built in compressor modeled after the 1176 style of compressors. The features on this preamp include a knob to mix between the solid state and tube amp sounds, a -15 dB pad, and a full 1176 compressor across 4 separate inputs.
The main draw of the 4710d is the unique feature of the tone blending. This gives the preamp more flexibility as to what sound you want out of it. You can get the warmer sound of a tube amp, the more transparent sound of a solid state amp, or anywhere in between because of the mix knob on the 4710d. Another useful feature of this preamp is the built in 1176 compressor. This allows for even more flexibility to an already flexible piece of gear. The flexibility available here is the main use of this preamp. The ability to have essentially 2 preamps as well as a compressor on one channel of a 4 input preamp allows for incredible versatility in sound and use.
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The Daking Mic-Pre 4 is another preamp. This one acts as a workhorse preamp. It has an unusually high headroom, making it able to handle a massive amount of dynamic variability. You can use it for something extremely soft, or something with ridiculously high gain with no issues. It contains the normal suspects of preamp controls: a mic/line switch, phantom power, a phase switch. It also contains a -20 dB pad as well as a ¼” front input for easy access if necessary.
This preamp, as I said before, is an all around work horse. It can handle most things that you can put it through. High gain is no problem for it. It can handle the soft stuff as well. The 1/4” jack offers great versatility. One feature that is interesting on this preamp is the fact that the gain knob is notched. It locks into place every 5 dB. This allows for easy recalling of settings from previous sessions which make it even better of a workhorse for multi-session recordings.
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The last preamp that I am looking at is the Neve Portico 5015. This preamp has a few interesting features that make it stand out. The main one, much like the 4710d, is the built in compressor. This compressor has much more control than the one on the 4710d, with the ability to change the ratio, attack, and release. A few more notable features are the adjustable high-pass filter as well as the “silk” circuit, which give the preamp a more classic, warm, Neve sound.
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The first compressor that I want to look at is the classic Universal Audio 1176. The first 1176 was released in 1968 and has since become one of the most copied compressors ever. The sound of an 1176 as well as the control scheme is instantly recognizable. The controls are very simple: Input gain, output gain, attack time, release time, and ratio. The main selling point of the 1176 is its ultra fast attack time and its “hot” sound. The 1176 gives a bit of distortion to the sound. This distortion is recognizable as being used in some very famous songs from bands like Led Zeppelin.
Unlike some other compressors, the main draw of the 1176 is the unique sound that it brings. That harmonic distortion just adds a little bit of spice that is desirable in many contexts. That combined with the ease of use in the controls and it is very easy to understand why this is one of the most popular and sought after compressors of all time.
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Another, quite popular compressor is the Empirical Labs Distressor. This compressor is way more complicated than the 1176, which in turn makes it more versatile as it can simply do more things. The main goal of this compressor, much like the 1176 is to color the sound, not to just provide a straight, linear EQ curve. It has the standard compressor controls: Input volume, output volume, attack, release, and ratio. However, it also has some not-so standard controls to it, such as color distortions, meant to emulate old compressors. Another useful tool is the “nuke” ratio option which is a brickwall limiter meant to squash the sound that is going through it.
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The last piece of gear that I am looking at is the Warm Audio EQP-WA Tube Equalizer. The purpose of this EQ is to add a warmth to the sound. It functions off of a system similar to a parametric EQ with a bandwidth control, frequency control, and gain knobs for the separate EQ bands. It also includes a high and a low cut which can be adjusted as needed. The most interesting feature of this EQ though, is the bypass switch. There is a switch to bypass the EQ of this completely while still routing the sound through the circuits. This allows you to just get the warm sound of the tubes without having to work around the EQ.
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