I gather Doug initially built it off of an old RCA pre, but having never heard such an esoteric piece, I'm wondering if there's something more contemporary/accessible which might serve as a reasonable comparison?
thats the point :). i can't. nothing comes close. its a very high end tube circuit but its also custom designed transformers. there's a reason they're starting to pop up in so many major studios. The difference between high-end tube gear and pro-sumer is night and day. They make the cheap stuff sound cloudy to fake "warmth". High quality tube gear is very clear on top. There's manly and pendulum and others who makes good tube pres, but again there's something extra special about the Fearn stuff. Great microphones sound better, but it also makes even not so great microphones much more useful. It takes the edge off of a U87ai and really gives it a whole new usefulness. again, lots of studios have them these days, I recommend, renting a few hours and taking a listen.
@@hopetownsound I appreciate your detailed reply - thanks! I have several Manley pieces (no pres) and can definitely attest to the clarity and openness on the top. The only tube pres I have are 610s and I don't find myself reaching for them at all. I've had my eye on the Fearn stuff for awhile now and that's a great suggestion. I'll keep you posted...
The Fearn gear is made in my town by George and Geoff Hazelrigg. i've been in their shop. every piece is meticulously put together by those two guys. And they stand behind their work. I was never a fan of the 610 either. Manley stuff is very nice but Fearn pulls off the trick of being huge, clear and still having mojo. Its very special. there's just nothing like it.
@@hopetownsound I've spent the last few days familiarizing myself with the Hazelrigg guys and am quite impressed. Their VLC looks great, too. I'm definitely leaning towards a VT-2 as my introductory DW Fearn piece. Do you ever run mixes through it? I've gathered that this is a thing for some guys. Thanks for the ongoing excellent material!
Lovely!
That's quite a statement! What would you liken "hands down the best microphone preamplifier on the planet" to?
Cheers from Toronto!
I gather Doug initially built it off of an old RCA pre, but having never heard such an esoteric piece, I'm wondering if there's something more contemporary/accessible which might serve as a reasonable comparison?
thats the point :). i can't. nothing comes close. its a very high end tube circuit but its also custom designed transformers. there's a reason they're starting to pop up in so many major studios.
The difference between high-end tube gear and pro-sumer is night and day. They make the cheap stuff sound cloudy to fake "warmth". High quality tube gear is very clear on top. There's manly and pendulum and others who makes good tube pres, but again there's something extra special about the Fearn stuff. Great microphones sound better, but it also makes even not so great microphones much more useful. It takes the edge off of a U87ai and really gives it a whole new usefulness.
again, lots of studios have them these days, I recommend, renting a few hours and taking a listen.
@@hopetownsound I appreciate your detailed reply - thanks! I have several Manley pieces (no pres) and can definitely attest to the clarity and openness on the top. The only tube pres I have are 610s and I don't find myself reaching for them at all.
I've had my eye on the Fearn stuff for awhile now and that's a great suggestion. I'll keep you posted...
The Fearn gear is made in my town by George and Geoff Hazelrigg. i've been in their shop. every piece is meticulously put together by those two guys. And they stand behind their work.
I was never a fan of the 610 either. Manley stuff is very nice but Fearn pulls off the trick of being huge, clear and still having mojo. Its very special. there's just nothing like it.
@@hopetownsound I've spent the last few days familiarizing myself with the Hazelrigg guys and am quite impressed. Their VLC looks great, too.
I'm definitely leaning towards a VT-2 as my introductory DW Fearn piece. Do you ever run mixes through it? I've gathered that this is a thing for some guys.
Thanks for the ongoing excellent material!