Chandler Limited REDD.47 Tube Microphone Preamp Reviews

Landed this preamp about a month ago and immediately recorded a demo with everything put through it.
A couple notes:
-Very easy to mix right away with the level of quality this box has.
-The bass and vocals sounded especially good through it.
-Tons of extra gain
-DI instruments sound great
-"in the room" feeling of audio reproduction

It flatters everything you put through it. There's a warmth and also a crispness to it. My only gripe is the price point. That being said you definitely get what you pay for in this instance.

Giving it 5 stars because when you pair this with the right source and mic, it's pretty magical. That being said, it's not my preamp of choice. But again, when it's the right choice, it's fantastic. Lots of personality.

This is the greatest microphone preamp I've ever heard. Do yourself a favor and just get it. Get two. Get eight. Just make sure to get a loan.
This is one of those "desert island" pre's... but for more reasons than I have time to explain. I could spend hours just talking about how these sound on drums.. let alone what they do to a full mix..

They are somewhat magical. I do not fully understand how they sound so good on literally everything, but the price tag is high; u clearly get your moneys worth! They are like a saturator, compressor, de-esser, and channel strip all in one.... and thats just with a couple gain knobs! Its crazy how much of a chameleon this thing is, considering how good it sounds on vocals, for example. You would think its tailored to vocal recording... but then you plug in the next thing and find it seems dialed in to THAT... its just that good. Seriously its cut my overdubbing time in half.
Get a couple of these, get some 1073's (they pair together very nicely), and start makin music!! I know i certainly don't have any more excuses now that I have a bit of magic on the front end of my rig!

Look, you know its a good preamp when I'm plotting how long it'll take before I can afford another pair... they're absolutely amazing.

The best preamp I've ever used.Actually the TG2 is a tie.Ten out of ten.The Redd.47 makes for a ride on cloud nine.Thanks to Wade Goeke and crew.EMI/Abbey Road and it is spot on Beatles groove.I'm going to give this away:using 2,3 Redd.47's or 1 if that's all you have n your guitar will take you to Revolution.It is eerie.And I was pleasantly surprised the TG2 500 does exactly what the TG2 rack does.Back to Redd.47.If you want to have the tools that helped make the band who changed rock music forever then sort out your sound w Chandler EMI Abbey Roads.If Wade hadn't brought these pieces of The Beatles' desk with approval for EMI n Abbey Road well I'm just so thankful he did.Cheers

I was torn between a Tree Audio Branch and this guy and decided to get this. I'm glad I got this instead! This preamp is gorgeous on vocals! The tube sound is killer. The Voltage Gain, Fine Gain, and Rumble Filter have very usable settings and all are stepped and recallable. I got a second for in the box audio processing and it's perfect for warming in the box vocals, virtual instruments, anything that could use that old school Abbey Road sound. It's a great contrast to the newer sounding preamps I have in my studio!

I have several solid state preamps, but a top tier tube preamp like this is truly a different level, in my opinion. With other preamps (even with de-essing), it can be somewhat difficult to control sibilance after compression and eq. It just doesn't seem to be the case with this bad boy. There is smoothness on top and a beautiful full-bodied sound below. It doesn't get much better than this. Obviously, there's the Abbey Road connection, but I would venture to guess that anything Chandler is nothing less than amazing.

Ovwr the past several months, this preamp has quickly become the heart of my home studio. Even though it's quite simple, it took me a little bit of playing around to get the hang of this preamp because it does lack a metering system and you have to purely listen to dial in the sound that you want. (I am more accustomed to Neve style preamps and other solid state devices that tend to have LED metering.) However, even before really getting good at using it and developing a feel for what settings will work best for what sources, I immediately found it was winning out over any of my other preamps when recording most sources.

I not use the REDD for pretty much all vocals, as at least one track of each guitar part, and for quite a lot of my Bass DI parts. It just sounds great and is very flattering to most sources. It's nice and clear but also warm and smooth for softer vocals and if you want to sing loud and distort it a bit for a louder vocal, it breaks up very pleasantly and gracefully. I also find it's much less prone to emphasizing sibilance than my other pres, which makes vocal takes easier to work with later.

I was initially concerned about the low input impedance, but I have found that it actually seems to have been designed in such a way that it works very well with any mic I have thrown at it (even, surprisingly, ribbon mics). So, I stopped worrying about that.

Lately, in addition to live tracking, I have also been running software sampling synths (Spitfire Libraries, Soniccouture Synths, Superior Drummer, etc.) through it with the pad engaged (which is necessary for line level input signals if you don't want everything to be super distorted), and have found it does a great job of making everything sound more natural and cohesive.

It also plays very well with Neve style preamps when paired up with them for guitar tracking. Often I will use the REDD as the primary track and blend in a little bit of the solid state Neve sound for some more edge. Works great.

I wanted this preamp from the day it was announced. I had used a few of the cheaper clones out there but after 6 months of regular use it is easy to hear that this is miles ahead of the rest. It can be clean or dirty but it maintains its high fidelity tone in either situation. The DI is so good that I haven't recorded an amp since I got it. Aside from the sound it is beautiful to see in the rack. Chandler are champions.
Special thanks to my sales rep of the last 5 years Ed Needler. Ed always delivers with the service and answers I have needed.

I bought 1 loved it so much I bought another - Everything I run through these units sounds great - Highly Recommended.

I've used a ton of nice pres, vintage 1073s, ma5, neve dpa, La-610, vintech 573, warm audio pres, shadow hills mono gama and frankly this is possibly one of the best I've used on vocals. It does the clean tones quite well, as well as the more nevish , pushed mid forward sound, but with a 3d quality not usually there with the Neve 1073. You can dial it dirty or clean, the tones are endless really. It does have that tape sound, the kind of sound I've heard with a burl b1. My voice paired with the Redd, a c800g and wa76, pure awesomeness, sounds like a record. I'll be using this on a few radio releases and I can't recommend this pre enough! It really has that Abbey road sound. I think I'll also get a tg2 or slate fox to complement it and sell the LA 610 that I still have.

I can easily geek out on why this pre amp is so amazing. But for the sake of wanting to get back to the studio ASAP. I'll just leave you with this... BUY IT. YOU WON'T REGRET IT. :-)

It's been a pleasure to have the REDD.47 in the studio. Having moved through the various stages of glee over its acquisition, I can say that I'm still mighty glad to have it after the passage of time. Worth mentioning is that this is not a "straight wire with gain" mic pre. It is among those that imparts its own character on sound. Like Neve, Pacifica, and UA610...perhaps even more so. The pre smears across minute imperfections in sound, producing a very smooth result. Driven hard, the curved top end of the dynamic range soft-clips excessive peaks in a musical way. It saves having to add a brick wall later.

The REDD seems to make any vocal sound acceptable, as it overlays pleasing harmonics throughout the spectrum. It handles percussion similarly well as API, though it is fatter and not quite as "smacky" as API. The variable low-cut curve set is unique and passes a full balanced sound even at the 180Hz setting.

The tubes resonate in a more pleasing and complex way than most modern valve pres. Even at conservative levels, there is a slight perception of compression and the recorded sound is very up-front, even in-your-face. A pleasing air-on-top is ever present. And the mid-push is always pleasant, never harsh. The tracks take EQ well, and boosting the top end rarely makes sibilance a consequential problem.

The general sound is authentic from the 60s and 70s...it is very similar to my two 1968 RCA BA71b's...which also produce a very transformery sound with silky, if slightly attenuated, top end, and solid, but not punchy, bottom. The mid-push from the additional tubes make tracks stand out just a tad better than the RCAs..which have a more relaxed mid-section and vocals usually require remedial EQ in a song mix.

Fantastic on guitars and bass, whether direct, or overdriven by another pre (line out into mic in).

I've had no issues getting strong levels from any condenser mic. Some ribbons come in a little low, but boosting them in post doesn't seem to exact any noise penalty...the pre is darn quiet.

If one is seeking an "effects" mic pre to put in a studio mostly outfitted with more modern transparent gear, the REDD.47 is a no-brainer. It will instantly offer access to a recognized vintage sound and produce ready-to-mix tracks that are up-front and notably fatter than those made with the transparent gear. It just sounds good regardless of source. And it acts as a direct electric guitar amp with terrific distortion when driven by another pre.

Note: The switch labeled "Pole" is for phase reversal, in case you wondered.