P-Solo? posted by Tim N

P-Solo?

Posted on Dec 17, 2011 02:52 am
Tim N
Uh, at least one more time . . .
Member Since: Feb 07, 2007

I've read a couple of good things about this mic pre here (P-Solo), and it's on my "get" list for a really good mic pre (it's also relatively cheap). What exactly makes this device "sound" good? I know that "tube" mic pre's are, generally, not so hot--unless you're paying a small fortune for some esoteria, but does it come down to circuitry, the expensive components inside, and the way the thing is designed? It seems to me so far that the good stuff is just built with better components, no? What might be the crucial (or one of the crucial) elements that makes a device like a mic pre work well and be, say, transparent and, uh, "musical"?

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MassiveMaster
MASSIVE Mastering, LLC
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2008

Dec 17, 2011 11:33 am

Very tight tolerances in the quality of the components, very few components that don't need to be there and are only added so the marketing guys have something interesting to push (i.e., most cheesy, crappy, starved-plate "toob" preamps), circuitry that stays "more linear" over a broader range of voltage...

The P-Solo is a relatively simple and "no-frills" preamp -- Which is usually a wonderful place to be. Clean gain, plenty of headroom (use it or not, circuitry that can handle the headroom usually sounds better even when you're not invading it).

I'd put the P-Solo much more in the "transparent" category -- It's a great cornerstone unit. Everyone should have one (and a Shure SM7b, but that's for another thread). Then start adding "color" options (GAP Pre73's, API, Great River, etc.) later.