Jackpot! 
by Bud from Orange County, CA, May 2008
Music Background:  Jack of all, master of none.

I was using my Mackie Onyx pre's until I got this little thing. The difference wasn't immediately noticeable until I a/b'd between them both. I am now drunk with joy!

  Have your cake and eat it too 
by Litvak from Ventura Co, CA, April 2008
Music Background:  Hobby player since 1964

I’m a (guitar) tube amp freak. I love the old Fenders and Marshalls as well as the modern boutiques. But when I record at home, I can’t play at gig volume. If I fine tune my signal path (eq, compression, reverb, and delay), I get better sounds line-in than miking an overly attenuated amp. For direct recording I’ve used a tube pre (Aphex) to retain warmth, but have also turned to solid state (Eureka) when going for an articulate sound. I always felt those two approaches were mutually exclusive. Once you put a tube in the signal chain, you loose the clarity of solid state, but without a tube you don’t get the overtones that fatten the signal. With the 2BA-221, however, I can have my cake and eat it too! I set up the signal path without the tube and then blend in the tube as needed. The result is stunning. Fat but clearly defined. I've tried a couple of cheaper tube-blend preamps but they didn't have the "pro" sound that this unit does. The insert lets me eliminate the mixer I used to have in front of my A2D (MAudio 1814) for incredible S/N. It may appear somewhat expensive to the average home recorder, but IMHO you're getting a lot of bang for the buck. I hope Summit Audio keeps thinking of us little guys with their half-rack gear.

  Great with my Mojave Audio MA-200 
by Billy B from Pasadena, CA, January 2008
Music Background:  Home Recording Studio, Vocalists

Excellent Mic Pre. If you can afford this, go out and get it! Don't waste your money on a $300-400 Mic pre. This baby rocks. Sounds so silky smooth with my Mojave MA 200. I had a Eureka Presonus before this that was actually a great deal at $499 and great sound. This definitely has an even smoother sound.

  Guitar sound 
by calaveras from Oakland, September 2007
Music Background:  playing and recording for about 25 years now?

i spend a lot of time trying to get different guitar sounds out of the same small limited set of gear. I picked this guy up a while ago, thinking I would use it on vocals. I tried it on guitar and it is great! With a 609 or 57 it pretty much give you your guitar, but bigger. Then I found the key to unlocking the truly huge sounds in there. Put a compressor/limiter in teh sidechain. This gets the signal post mic pre, but before the tube stage. Dial in a tiny amount of gain reduction. Then smooth it out more with the tube. Pretty much turns my 5watt 10" amp into a 50 foot tall montser. Add canyon-like reverb to taste.

As with other Summit stuff, the pre is slightly bright so you pretty much are always going to smoosh it into the tube to smooth it out a bit.
Also besides the variable impedance which is great, you also get a very useful high pass filter. Nice to be able to high pass at 180hz or higher going into the DAW.

  Daddy's New Toy 
by TCS Voices from PA, September 2007
Music Background:  Home Studio Owner

My official excuse for spending so much time in my home studio these days is that I'm experimenting with the variable impedance control on this unit. Truth is, I'll find any excuse to turn the thing on.

This is exactly what I needed to get the most from my new Mojave Audio MA-200. I had previously been using an Aphex 207 which didn't quite bring out the full potential of the mic. I plugged it into the 2BA-221 and WOW! What a difference. Didn't take long to coax a variety of sounds out of it either. Tracks are simultaneously crisp, warm, smooth and punchy.

Good mics crave a good pre and this has to be one of the best in its price range for power and versatility. Buy it at the risk of neglecting your friends and family!

  Best of both worlds 
by Eric Majetich Jr. from Pittsburgh, PA USA, August 2007
Music Background:  Producer, Engineer, Musician, DJ, Lyricist

I've been looking for a new mic preamp. I couldn't decide whether to get the Universal Audio SOLO/610 (tube), or the SOLO/110 (solid state). They each run about $700 to $800. When a friend told me about this one, I was very excited. I took a chance and really lucked out. This thing sounds great. Summit Audio has made this thing so flexible with the ability to run a line and a mic at the same time, not to mention the stackability option. You can use the precision of solid state and then warm it up with the tube for as much or as little saturation as you prefer. If you want to get rid of any mud, just turn the high pass filter up. This thing can get an infinite amount of sound combinations. For my particular setup, this makes an excellent front end for the Mbox 2. I am using a R0DE NT1-A as well as a Shure SM58. It does give off some background noise but instead of using the pad on the preamp, use the pad on the Mbox. It gets rid of virtually all excess noise. You then can crank the settings for the best sound. I'm looking forward to production with this valuable tool.

  For professionals only 
by , July 2007
Music Background:  producer

This thing is for professionals only, because you need good ears and experience to find the best sound. It's not a plug and play unit, and it surely doesn't sound like one!

The best thing is that it can be perfect with any mic, not like other preamps with only 1, 2 or 3 impedance setting. Once you find THE "sweet spot" for your mics, your compressors, or whatever you us with it, you'll be more than happy. You can work as a painter and add different colours if you wish, or keep it neutral. Playing with both the tube gain and the impedance knob gives you a world of possibilities. I would describe it as the "Sarah McLachlan" sound. I don't know what they are using on her voice, but this thing's got the same texture, warmth and openness no matter what colour you choose. I got amazing results with both cheep MXL mics, and high end AKG mics.

You know it's a great preamp when you can sing directly into a bright condenser, and not even need de-essing in the mix.

  All the preamp I need! 
by Tracy from Nashville, TN, June 2007
Music Background:  Banjo Picker

When I bought my 2BA-221 I already owned a Millennia HV-3 preamp. This gave me an excellent point of comparison. In all the tests I did with acoustic folk instruments and vocals, the 2BA-221 was more dynamic and brighter. The Millennia in comparison was smoother and fatter. The tracks I recorded with the 2BA-221 mixed more easily without any muddiness. My final conclusion was that these two preamps complimented each other nicely, but, if I had to keep only one, it would be the 2BA-221.

Clean or warm-U pick it 
by Sunsinger from Santa Fe, July 2004

This is the first mic pre I have encountered, in its price range, that has enough gain to run through Protools HD without having to use a second stage gain boost, like a Waves L1 . Also very cool is a tube stage dial. You can use this to warm up your mic sound to varying degrees by adding tube sound to the solid state pre on board. From nice clean sound to warm and fuzzy. U pick it. Ranks with higher priced preamps for audio quality. Also has a Hi-Z D/I input stage as well as many other useful features.

Click here to Read the inSync Review for the 2BA-221

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