sorry dude. (i hate when people do that to me, too.... responding with a different answer than the question i was asking...)




(further, i won't even point out the 500-series forssell can be had for less than either the JH or AEA.... )

i have the TRP and only one ribbon (old shure 330) but it sounds pretty great on any dynamic really makes a pair of RE20 come alive... I also have a portico which has 10K imput imp .. much thicker but works well.. but TRP has a feeling of immediacy that really helps dynamics of all sorts sound very good .. its a keeper AFAIC

Someone did a comparison of the forssell vs the TRP on here using the R84s I believe. May want to search that out!

Also keep in mind that Fred had a hand in designing the TRP. Yep, it's one of those no-brainer purchases.

That's ok, I meant that in a very light-hearted way.

Yes I must admit I'm being swayed a bit... the TRP is looking pretty good at the moment.

Shameful plug, but I am selling 1 of my 3 TRPs if you're looking for a used one in great shape

The TRPs are indeed lovely preamps. I have the Hardy M1 as well, and they are both excellent with ribbons. I go with the TRP for ribbons, dynamics, and tube mics simply cause I don't need phantom power with those mics and they sound excellent through the TRP

PM me if your looking for a TRP

What's nice about the TRP is that it's a very useful, inexpensive, and the RIGHT tool for certain things, although it's not going to be a do-all magic wand, for sure. If you do decide on it, keep in mind that it may not give you the character and color in some situations. That's the job for other tools.

Ya I have other more colorful options when that's needed. I'm hoping the trp will be helpful for quiet acoustic sources mostly, where transparency and extra gain are needed.

No problem there at all. Although I read on here someone said it gets really noisy when cranked, which has not been my experience at all (even when using low output ribbons). Anything is going to get noisy if the source is quiet enough; physics. That said, I haven't used the R84s/TRP with light acoustic guitar yet.

Just the other day I was doing some sampling of some very light hi hat hits using three R84s. Two overheads and the spot mic, again an R84 (unconventional, I know). When I was sampling the light hits I cranked my amp really high to hear what I was doing and I was really surprised of the lack of background noise from the overheads. The hi hats notes were well above the ambient noise to the point of being unnoticeable at all (the noise, that is).

TRPs are amongst the most silent preamps in my rack. That includes Hardy and Benchmark pres.

I'm thinking of picking up a TRP to use with my Royer SF-12.

I'm a huge fan of using the Maag Audio Preq4 on ribbons. The pre itself has pretty of gain for ribbons, is quiet, etc, but 'air band' is an excellent failsafe for when you need a little less roll off on the top end that naturally comes with ribbon mic territory. I find this especially useful on acoustic guitar or high string instruments. For me, it's more about 'clarity' than 'cream', which you mentioned was an issue for you.

Maag Audio | PREQ4 - 500 Series

Good to hear. Do you use the Hardy's much on high gain?

Did you want the one channel or two channel Hardy? The two channel Hardy is about $1700. The two channel Forssell SMP-2 is about $1990. Also, what is the impedence on the Hardy? For what you want to do, you want a high impedence mic input - to open up that ribbon mic.

You may want to call Fred Forssell and talk to him about the various pres for ribbons. He is a good guy and will take the time on the phone to help you.
forsselltech.com

It was about Grace preamps! Sorry, I did not make that clear. Our stuff gets the nod from many well respected orchestral engineers as an ideal match for ribbons.

Well if I went with the Hardy design, I'd probably do two channels of the SCA J99 since I already have their chassis. Two channels run about $700 for the Twin Servo design (great deal!), and I'd have the flexibility of configuring the impedence to optimize ribbon use. At this point I'd rather not spend more than $1200 or so on something I haven't tried out yet, although I've never heard a bad word about the forssell.

FYI, I record a lot of indie folk and rock type of stuff, so I'm not sure that I need super clean tone, I'm really just looking for something more ribbon friendly than my current options.

Based on that you have tons of options. The Hardy should be fine. I would go with the AEA TRP IF you are mainly using ribbons and you do not want to accidentally have a phantom power issue. You started the thread by wanted a pre that would open up the ribbons. Now you appear to be changing on that. If you really want to open up the ribbon mics, for lack of a better term, then the high impedence really helps that is in the AEA TRP, the Forssell SMP, etc. But if you can get that high impedence in the Hardy and you already have the chassis - then that is what I would do. What ribbons are you using?

And if you have slots left, try a C84 while you're at it.
Easy to build, not expensive and it's from the clean and open school.




Henk

Thanks to all of you for helping me find my way a bit in this decision... the advice has been extremely useful, maybe the most helpful thread I've been a part of thus far.

I think I'm going to go for the J99 at the moment and get a Cloudlifter for the moments I really need the extra gain. I believe this to be the most practical approach for my current needs and for the type of music I record.

i think you're making a great choice. and +1 for the cloudlifter. it's an amazing little device, actually, ftm. their ribbon mic's are pretty amazing too. oft getting the nod over other ribbons here.

Fantastic combination

I do have a Hardy M-1 with the extra gain. I use R84 and Coles with the Hardy.

Sounds fantastic--full, round, with ribbon characteristic sound delivered with no added veil.

Of course Hardy is good on all mics and all sources.

Buy it today.

Great to hear. Thanks for the input, Plush!

The cloudlifter came today... handy little tool. Highly recommended.

Hi,

Not sure if you've already made your final decision, but in any case you might want to look at the AEA Listening Room for further research. There you will find a selection of sound samples of AEA's mics and preamps:

AEA Listening Room

If you're into the API 500 series gear at all, I'd highly recommend checking out the AEA RPQ500 preamp. Super transparent and in a similar sonic league as Grace and Millennia gear, but with more gain, the built-in eq, and a lower price point!

Pretty much a no-brainer!

Cheers,
Julian

Yup. I use Coles and a couple of different RCAs with the Hardy. Love it. The AEAs were not made when I bought what I have, and I'd surely like to try them out. (I love little sonic differences...) But I don't feel short-changed at all.