Good entry mic pre 
by from Chicago, IL USA, October 2008
Music Background:  Recording Engineer

I bought this just because I needed an extra pre for a project. Figured the tube thing would be just a throw away feature, but it was actually nice to add to DI instruments. That being said it's not the best pre available. But it was slightly better than one I paid about a $100 more for. It would be a good entry level pre, but for $350 more you could probably get a less muddy pre.

  Very Solid Construction and Sound! 
by Acoustic Guy from Wyoming, USA, September 2008
Music Background:  Hobbyist

The first thing I noticed when I pulled it out of the box was the solid construction. Well built and doesn't feel like cheap plastic as some others tend to. I use this with my toneport UX2 and AKG perception 200 mic, and it really gives a great boost in tone and volume. Very quiet as well. Excellent value for this price range.

  Great Value 
by Nelson from Evanston, IL, September 2008
Music Background:  Music Tech/Music Performance Student

I bought this preamp for use with a Beyerdynamic condenser a few years ago and it has worked amazingly ever since. Recently I bought an Oktava ribbon mic, which generally requires quite a bit of gain, and this preamp does the job fairly well. I have to turn it up more than I would like to, but it's a $120 pre on a quiet ribbon mic.

On male vocals I found the tube blend to be a pleasant feature, but I'd be fine without it.

I lost the power adapter and contacted Studio Projects but they never got back to me. I'm not a fan of their customer service... after 2 e-mails and a phone call I never got a hold of them. After a little bit of searching I found an adapter elsewhere that matched perfectly for $20.

The half-rackspace form factor is nice too. I doubt you will find a better value on a budget preamp than with this. I plan on buying another one soon!

  Cinderella Tube Pre 
by Wild Bill , May 2008

If you have the "Tube" adjustment set past 12 o'clock, your tracks will sound brittle with too much color. Does well with Bass, but is best with vocal tracks. This is not an UA product. This pre-will work until you can afford something better
(e.g. RNP, or UA solo 610).

  Worth Your Time and Money 
by Seventh King from South of Chicago, May 2008
Music Background:  Musician, Engineer

I can't say enough about the air and smooth touch this gives to vocals. I've had this pre for about 4 months now, and I couldn't be happier. I compared recent tracks done with the SP to other midrange priced pres (e.g. 600.00 or less), and can say that the SP holds it's own.

  Very Valuable Mic Pre at a Very Reasonable Price 
by Joshua "J-Duvv" Harris from Southaven, MS USA, April 2008
Music Background:  Producer, Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Student, Etc.....

I just got the mic on 4/25/08, and I'm already in love with the sound that's generated from it. I recommend this mic pre to any and every one.

  Best tube pre for the $$$$$ 
by Donnie Bryant from Georgia, February 2008
Music Background:  cow bell professional

I can't believe a $120 sound good as some of the $1000 + pres I have used to record acoustic guitar, voice etc.. This is the way it should be. Everything priced cheap and not a mortgage payment. Jeez. A freind told me this was a deal and he was right. And my ears believe it. Put a vintage tube in it..and it will sound even better..

  Great Buy 
by Alex from Omaha Nebraska, December 2007
Music Background:  Musician and recording hobbyist

This pre Paired with the Studio Projects C1 is a great team. I have gotten amazing Acoustic guitar tone and Amazing Vocal tone out of them. I also have the Presonus Blue Tube pre but sense i got this its just sitting there. I plan to mod the tubes and once i do im sure i will be using this for a long time.

Studio Projects mic's are the closest your going to get to pro sound in the price range. The same goes for this pre.

  WOW 
by Chad from chicago, February 2007
Music Background:  Recording Engineer and Pro Musician

I couldn't believe the vocals I got out of this $130 pre. They put all the money into the circutry on this one. If you're thinking about it, buy it.

Great piece of gear 
by Julian from Miami, November 2004

Basically, right now, I have no money. I didn't want to use a mixer cause I'm only programming tracks and recording one vocal at a time right now. I just wanted a good mic, a sound card, some kind of router for monitoring, and a decent sounding preamp. I knew I wasn't going to get the best thing out there. Well, I was literally blown away when I heard this preamp in conjunction with my Studio Projects C1. It's sounds great and was way above the sound that I expected. Decent headroom, clean sound and a touch of flattery especially with a little bit of the tube drive on, but not a whole lot( you have to mess with the input and output signal on the VTB-1 along with the tube drive to get the sound you want). I've worked with a Voxbox since we have one at my school, I've heard the ISA series preamps from Focusrite and a few Neve's, which are all some of my favorite's. I must say, this preamp fair's quite well against them and for $130, you absolutely cannot go wrong. Just add a little processing from Waves along with Cubase SX(which I love), and you've got sweetness for days. Soooo...If you're tired of that schrill, sterile Mackie sound or that overly warm, almost dead sound of Allen & Heath then get this preamp with a C1(made by the same company- that's exactly my combination). I kid you not, you will be knocking on TLM103/Focusrite ISA territory, which is never bad!

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