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I've got a lot of nice Preamps. ADL600, SSL VDH Pres, MPA Gold, Neve clones, API clones, Jensen clones. 500 series rack stocked with all kinds of joys. This preamp just ROCKS. It's the first preamp I ever try out. The all in one idea might sound like some attention to detail was missed. But each section of the unit was put together to work amazingly well as a whole. The ease of use makes it a breeze to work with. I consider my self pretty comfortable with compression, and it took me a while to get the hang of the optical comp. I was expecting something like of LA-2A ish, but it's a bit different. The more aggressive settings sound smoother to my ear. Now that I have the hang of it I'm smooth sailing with the comp. The quicker attack and release oddly seem much more smooth then some of the slower settings. The Burr-Brown ICC preamps have a great tone. Warm, clear with nice highs and no harsh upper mids. Not too muddy, or exagerated low end. I've used it with a handful of mics from the U87, to the AEA R84, to the TLM103 to the SM7b to the KM85's. They all sounds great. The "Iron" button really warms up the lo mids. Some have said it brightens up the signal, but that was not my experience. It made it seem warmer with a nice touch of musical harmonic distortion. The Meekqulizer is FLAT OUT stunning. So musical and easy to use. It really brings my ribbon mics to life, and tames the top end of some of my German condensers. It'll cut mud, boost lows for impact, add that 12k top, or cut harshness at 6k... and all with incredible ease. It's all there for outstanding tonal shaping. Probably the most fun EQ I've used for tracking. The thing packs a ton of gain when you consider the input stage, comp makeup gain, and the output gain. It's close to 80dB, and quiet as a church mouse. I'm so please with this unit. I've used it on vocals, bass, acoustic guitar and amps with nothing but jaw dropping success. I have lots of more expensive options but this pre is a 'go to' for me. I do wish it had an adjustable hi pass filter. It can often really thin out the signal. The onboard one is just a one button select and digs a bit deep. Often I end up using the low frequency section to kinda roll off that base if needed. It just sounds more natural.

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