Due to the end of financial year coming to a close I decided to spend up big on gear. I must admit, I may have gone a little overboard. But hey, some people spend all their money on crack and you can't claim any of that on tax. Unless of course "Crack Connoisseur" has become a reputable business venture now and crackheads throughout the world converge each year on South Central for the "Annual International Crack and PCP Convention". But I digress.
So, due to issues I have with sibilance in my voice and most de-esser plugins that supposedly remedy these issues sucking a copious amount of goat genitalia, it was suggested by the always knowledgable Mr Mark Dollin I
use this spending spree opportunity to buy a mic preamp.After much research and reading many shining reviews on one particular preamp that caused the most hardcore of engineers to piss their pants like a 14 year old girl at a Justin Bieber Concert, I ended up with the Golden Age Project Pre-73.
Apparently according to the marketing propaganda this preamp device is "based on the circuitry used in Neve's legendary 1073". In simple terms, Neve equals high quality and a price tag to match.
I'm happy to report that all the hype around this red box of brilliance is completely justified. In all applications whether it, guitar, bass or vox it just folds the sounds into a nice warm blanket surrounding your whole body. In musical terms, all instuments are represented in all their glory and more. I quickly plugged in my handheld Shure SM58 to check for the over the top deafening sibilance I have had to endure for the last 2 years from the use of my M-Audio Fast Track Ultra preamps. All the essing peaks had been smoothed out like they were never there.
The best results came from my Fender Fretless Jazz Bass with Seymour Duncan pick ups.
If I were to describe the sound produced in musical terms. It would be as if I had stuck a guitar cable up Nick Cave's ass and had him stand next to you with his mouth against your ear while I pumped out some smooth bass lines. Mmmmm tasty.
So in conclusion, if you are looking for a preamp under the $500 price range, go buy one of these. You will not be disappointed.
