|
|
Post by anders on May 26, 2021 3:14:51 GMT -6
|
|
|
|
Post by svart on May 26, 2021 6:38:26 GMT -6
I have not but that looks like a cool preamp. Might have to build one.
|
|
|
|
Post by keymod on May 26, 2021 10:04:00 GMT -6
I have two of the old, non-500 series MP66 in a Sound Skulptor rack. Very nice, I love using them for vocals.
|
|
|
|
Post by anders on May 26, 2021 16:09:45 GMT -6
I have two of the old, non-500 series MP66 in a Sound Skulptor rack. Very nice, I love using them for vocals. Sounds promising! |
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on May 26, 2021 20:21:53 GMT -6
I have a pair of the MP566’s.
Quite different to the non-500 Series MP66’s.
The MP566 goes from moderately clean to quite saturated (in a good way) depending on how you dial in the gain.
Some have claimed it’s based on the Bill Putnam 610 which I can’t confirm but it is much nicer sounding than the UA610 MKII which I regard as one of the worst commercial preamps I’ve heard (unless ours was broken.)
So more of a coloured tone than the earlier and cleaner Sound Skulptor MP66 which used a Lundahl LL1538 mic transformer and a high nickel Cinemag output transformer.
The MP566 uses an OEP mic transformer and Edcor output transformer which are ‘less perfect’ than the Lundahl and Cinemag.
Also be aware this is not a starved voltage tube design. There’s over 200 volts present in the circuit so don’t become complacent and start poking around on the circuit board when it’s powered up.
|
|
|
|
Post by anders on May 27, 2021 5:31:12 GMT -6
Some have claimed it’s based on the Bill Putnam 610 which I can’t confirm but it is much nicer sounding Thanks! Also for the timely high voltage warning. If I've read hearsay correctly, the "66" in the model number and the green faceplate are meant to allude to the Altec Lansing 1566 (with which I have no experience). I had a dual 610, and I liked it for guitar and bass DI. But Hi Z input of course tends to make more difference than the following circuitry for passive pickups, so I might have been seduced. |
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on May 27, 2021 16:10:52 GMT -6
Some have claimed it’s based on the Bill Putnam 610 which I can’t confirm but it is much nicer sounding Thanks! Also for the timely high voltage warning. If I've read hearsay correctly, the "66" in the model number and the green faceplate are meant to allude to the Altec Lansing 1566 (with which I have no experience). I had a dual 610, and I liked it for guitar and bass DI. But Hi Z input of course tends to make more difference than the following circuitry for passive pickups, so I might have been seduced. I stand corrected. I have some Mullards in the MP566’s which are definitely sweeter than the tubes it came with. |
|
|
|
Post by mdmitch2 on May 27, 2021 17:20:00 GMT -6
+1 this pre benefits greatly from a NOS mullard…. Christian Whitmore usually has them: proaudiotubes@aol.com
|
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on May 27, 2021 17:23:52 GMT -6
+1 this pre benefits greatly from a NOS mullard…. Christian Whitmore usually has them: proaudiotubes@aol.com Yes indeed. Where my Mullards came from. |
|
|
|
Post by svart on May 27, 2021 18:05:31 GMT -6
I'm interested in the claims of the tonal profile switch and how much it really affects the tone.
I want an aggressive tube sound, and this *sounds* like it could be cool based on the description..
|
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on May 27, 2021 18:42:43 GMT -6
I'm interested in the claims of the tonal profile switch and how much it really affects the tone. I want an aggressive tube sound, and this *sounds* like it could be cool based on the description.. GAIN The GAIN switch has 3 positions. LOW : Inserts a -20dB pad before the input transformer. Allows you to manage loud microphone signals or line level signals. It does not affect the DI input. MID : sets 27 dB of negative feedback around the tube stage producing a clean and sweet tone. HIGH : Reduces the negative feedback to only 7dB which increases the gain by 20dB and produces a faster, more aggressive tone. IN The IN potentiometer sets the input drive level to the first tube stage. At higher levels it will produce tube saturation. For the best signal to noise ratio it should always be set as high as possible. This potentiometer does not affect the DI input. www.soundskulptor.com/docs/mp566-usermanual.pdf |
|
|
|
Post by svart on May 27, 2021 18:54:32 GMT -6
I'm interested in the claims of the tonal profile switch and how much it really affects the tone. I want an aggressive tube sound, and this *sounds* like it could be cool based on the description.. GAIN The GAIN switch has 3 positions. LOW : Inserts a -20dB pad before the input transformer. Allows you to manage loud microphone signals or line level signals. It does not affect the DI input. MID : sets 27 dB of negative feedback around the tube stage producing a clean and sweet tone. HIGH : Reduces the negative feedback to only 7dB which increases the gain by 20dB and produces a faster, more aggressive tone. IN The IN potentiometer sets the input drive level to the first tube stage. At higher levels it will produce tube saturation. For the best signal to noise ratio it should always be set as high as possible. This potentiometer does not affect the DI input. www.soundskulptor.com/docs/mp566-usermanual.pdfDoes that gain switch really affect the tone as much as they say? |
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on May 27, 2021 19:09:26 GMT -6
GAIN The GAIN switch has 3 positions. LOW : Inserts a -20dB pad before the input transformer. Allows you to manage loud microphone signals or line level signals. It does not affect the DI input. MID : sets 27 dB of negative feedback around the tube stage producing a clean and sweet tone. HIGH : Reduces the negative feedback to only 7dB which increases the gain by 20dB and produces a faster, more aggressive tone. IN The IN potentiometer sets the input drive level to the first tube stage. At higher levels it will produce tube saturation. For the best signal to noise ratio it should always be set as high as possible. This potentiometer does not affect the DI input. www.soundskulptor.com/docs/mp566-usermanual.pdfDoes that gain switch really affect the tone as much as they say? The tone changes more noticeably on the ‘High’ setting especially in conjunction with increasing the input drive which results in a thicker more saturated tone. It does provide that kind of 1950’s tubey vibe when pushed if that’s what you’re after. The ‘MID’ and ‘LOW’ use the same amount of negative feedback with the -20db pad being the only variable and less colour but still with some character. |
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on May 27, 2021 19:18:44 GMT -6
I have two of the old, non-500 series MP66 in a Sound Skulptor rack. Very nice, I love using them for vocals. Can you get much colour out of the MP66? The one I tried about 10 years ago was very clean and open sounding but I didn’t push it hard. It definitely wasn’t an old school tube sound and much more hi-fi to my ears. |
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on May 27, 2021 19:37:26 GMT -6
Here you go...
|
|
|
|
Post by keymod on May 28, 2021 2:40:16 GMT -6
I have two of the old, non-500 series MP66 in a Sound Skulptor rack. Very nice, I love using them for vocals. Can you get much colour out of the MP66? The one I tried about 10 years ago was very clean and open sounding but I didn’t push it hard. It definitely wasn’t an old school tube sound and much more hi-fi to my ears. Haven't tried them on anything but vocals, where a lot of color wasn't the intent. Paired with my Soundelux U99, I got a very nice vocal result. I have not experimented with different tubes. FWIW, the MP66 uses two tubes. |
|
|
|
Post by anders on May 28, 2021 7:33:44 GMT -6
Ok, almost there imgur.com/a/bHc91g9Around 3.5 hours build time, extremely well made assembly guide, so I made zero mistakes. Only thing that remains is putting on the knobs and testing it. Def. recommended fron a kit perspective. Sound remains to be heard, but others seem happy. |
|
|
|
Post by EmRR on May 28, 2021 7:48:04 GMT -6
27 on feedback is pretty clean and like many 1950 and later, though things like the Gates SA-70 (Coil) are 8dB, RCA BA-2 0dB, RCA BC-2B 10dB, Collins 212A console 0dB. 27 means clipping is harder and not invisible, so depends on your definition of aggressive and your gain staging tendencies. An Altec 1566/7 is 0dB on the front end, you consider the tube part of this as a front end stage.
|
|
|
|
Post by svart on May 28, 2021 8:23:38 GMT -6
Well, I'm pretty much sold on it. I'll order one.
|
|
|
|
Post by jcoutu1 on May 28, 2021 8:49:34 GMT -6
20 and 27 on feedback is pretty clean and like many 1950 and later, though things like the Gates SA-70 (Coil) are 8dB, RCA BA-2 0dB, RCA BC-2B 10dB, Collins 212A console 0dB. 20/27 means clipping is harder and not invisible, so depends on your definition of aggressive and your gain staging tendencies. An Altec 1566/7 is 0dB on the front end, you consider the tube part of this as a front end stage. It says 27 and 7 for the neg feedback on this one... |
|
|
|
Post by EmRR on May 28, 2021 9:24:34 GMT -6
27 on feedback is pretty clean and like many 1950 and later, though things like the Gates SA-70 (Coil) are 8dB, RCA BA-2 0dB, RCA BC-2B 10dB, Collins 212A console 0dB. 27 means clipping is harder and not invisible, so depends on your definition of aggressive and your gain staging tendencies. An Altec 1566/7 is 0dB on the front end, you consider the tube part of this as a front end stage. It says 27 and 7 for the neg feedback on this one... ah, misread something above.....fixed |
|
|
|
Post by svart on Jun 27, 2021 19:06:27 GMT -6
So I got one of these and it's pretty nice. It's certainly not lacking in tone. Sounds boss on bass guitar.
|
|
|
|
Post by rowmat on Jun 27, 2021 19:37:30 GMT -6
So I got one of these and it's pretty nice. It's certainly not lacking in tone. Sounds boss on bass guitar. Yeah they’re a decent tone pre. I put some NOS Mullard tubes in my pair. Goes from cleanish to quite harmonically saturated when pushed. Being able to run the tube at 225v in a 500 series is cool versus the starved voltage designs. |
|
|
|
Post by svart on Jun 28, 2021 13:59:53 GMT -6
So I got one of these and it's pretty nice. It's certainly not lacking in tone. Sounds boss on bass guitar. Yeah they’re a decent tone pre. I put some NOS Mullard tubes in my pair. Goes from cleanish to quite harmonically saturated when pushed. Being able to run the tube at 225v in a 500 series is cool versus the starved voltage designs. On your suggestion, I found a used mullard I'll try. Worth a shot since I have a new JJ in there now. Would be cool to hear a difference. |
|
|
|
Post by Darren Boling on Oct 2, 2021 14:38:51 GMT -6
You guys still digging these? For no good reason I've been gassing for something new in preamps lately.
|
|
