I just a/b'ed it and wow, what a difference it really warms up my MXL 990 and my AKG C1000 (go ahead slingers). Best $88 I've ever spent on gear. PS. the C1000 blows the 990 away on acoustic guitar (sweet blueridge rosewood)...much better definition. yea I know it's only a $70 mic but the way I've heard people talk around here I was starting to wonder.

I still use my VTB1 as a second pre for tracking two amps or double mic'ing an acoustic.

I find it to be useable in tandem apps like that.......better by some than the cheap Presonus stuff that I have also used.

All that said, I would much rather track my higher profile stuff like vox and bass through my 4T. If I weren't so broke I'd toss that VTB1 into the bin with the TubePre and the Bluetube and get that second 4T.

They really cut a lot of corners with that thing, design-wise and component-wise, in an effort to meet a price point.

There's better out there for even less money (DMP3 and others come to mind).

I really want to pick up a VTB-1 to do a comparison to my DMP3. I like the DMP3 but there is something just "not right" about it sometimes. I can't really explain it. My second choice after the DMP3 was the VTB-1 but I never got it.

Plus I don't have hardly any use for a one-channel preamp usually. Mostly I'm doing stereo acoustic recordings. But I have been getting some vocal jobs lately...

The DMP3 is all solid state, yes? No tube warmth?

Have the DMP3 and the VTB1. I actually prefer the VTB1 it has more edge and it works better with vocals for me.

i like the vtb-1 as a DI more than as a mic pre.. my dmp3 typically gets more mic time, but lately its been used as a DI as well.. both are good at what they do..

They're both solid state. Although the VTB1 sticks something in there (that I suppose one might call a tube) in an effort to dirty the signal and sell more units to those that don't know any better.

If you look inside one, you'd think someone raided the digikey bargain bin (very cheap and slow opamps, etc). It was obviously built to a price point. They sound perfectly fine, but nothing earth-shattering. Whatever works for you - if you like it, you like it, and if you don't, you don't.

I think the SP VTB1 is really a cool preamplifier. It's VERY cheap compared to it's "value". I work in a big studio with an SSL Duality console, all (most) of the "greatest" outboard, etc. so I do realize the "low-budget" tend to be inferior to the "classics". But my friend's 2 x VTB1's is a pretty good deal! I live in DK and the SP VTB1 has actually increased in price over the past years (albeit just a little)... It's a "shitty" pre – but a very "good" shitty pre... Worx great as a bass D.I. Not as good as a Tube Tech MP 1A, but I have to give it a thumbsup...

I just picked one up as well. So far, I've noted:

1) Works very well as a DI for bass guitar...the tube blend thickens up the sound, yet remains focused.

2) The "tube-blend" doesn't do much for vocals (IMO ruins them) but a bit of blend here and there works well on acoustic guitar. I've yet to dry it on drums.

3) Run clean, it's just as good as my Mackie 8bus pres, which contrary to many I think sound very usable...yet provides polarity reversal and impedance selection.

Overall, worth the $90 to put another option on the table.

Yea like no on/off switch!

Hey guys... an inexpensive upgrade for the VTB-1 would be to change the opamp on U1, U2, U5 and U6 to OPA2134PA Not hard to do if you can solder.

Personally, the VTB1 inside is very well designed. The 90V starved tube plate is a real tube plate design...we just starve the plate so we do not have to use 300V to 350V.(that costs money)

Sure we did a lot of stuff to bring it in for a price, but it has so many features on it that I do not think there is another unit that has as much in its price class.

The unit has three outputs. XLR and 1/4, which are all effected by the tube, but you can use the insert as an output which is right after the hi-pass filter and not effected by the tube. This way, you can blend all three outputs if you want.

At the end of the day, it is what it is. 50% like Vanilla, and 50% like Chocolate.

Anyway, you might want to do this upgrade as its adds another dimension to the sound of the mic. Makes it very nice.....

Alan, Thanks for the heads up. It's great having your input on here. I may PM you about some SP mic questions...don't want to hijack this thread.

I didn't find it to be shit at all. Not world class but a great pre for $100. I like the low end presence. I might even find a use for the tube thing some time. Fact I'm sure I will.

I bought an acoustic bass recently and picked up a vtb1 from the same guy as I didn't have a DI - have nothing to compare it to but I can get a massive range of nice tones between the bass's eq and the vtb1, and it only ended up costing me $30 heh

Now that's a deal!

+1 on using for DIs.. I have two that I use for synths/ V-drums...

alanhyatt
for us folks that dont have oodles to spend..
or in my case have other family responsibilities..
ever considered putting a usb port on the vtb1 ?
with decent ada so people can record direct into the pc at decent low latency hopefully.
may you have a great xmas mate.

We admit, we are not digital guys like Presonus and some other companies. We have five hard analog guys with some digital experience, but to do Firewire or USB, we have to license it, which costs money, then implement it, then support it! It is the support issue that is a nightmare for us. While USB either works or it does not work, you cannot imagine the amount of calls we get now. Once we interface USB, we would need two more full time support guys to man the phones all day long.

Each time we have tried to do something with third party guys, we have been burned. They want a lot of money up front and then do not support you. So this is why we have kind of stepped away from digital interfaces....

We do have them on the Joemeek units, but not USB and we get tons of calls all the time. Then we have to trouble shoot these issues only to find out the did not have the unit switched to the right bit rate or sampling frequency. So we are a bit hesitant to deal with this.

alanhyatt
thanks for your comments.

tis a shame.
merry xmas.

Hi Alan. I may pick up a VTB-1 soon primarily for my EV 635a to add "weight" to the
tone.

Merry XMas to you and everyone else BTW.

Chris

Hey All.

is the Hi-Z input on the Front OK for plugging your Electric bass into Directly? or do you go through a Normal DI first?

I think i might pick one of these up as I'm currently just using a Behringer DI + Mixer Pres for my bass guitar and it sounds pretty average.

Where can i get one in London?

The Hi-Z input is a DI.

Yes, the front 1/4" jack is a DI...Check with Digital Village in London, then should have them in stock....

Pretty soon I'm planning to interview for singing gigs locally (South Orange County), working as a "substitute vocalist"-like when the usual singer can't make it.

Anyway...

Assuming that happens, would look to pick up a VTB-1 as it's pretty bullet-proof
to use on stage. And a SM57 (or 58) mates quite well soundwise with it IMHO.

It's a dark sounding pre (I like that!), so it also can serve double duty toning down
brightish and/or sssibilant voice/mic match ups. Perhaps that's a factor why the C1000 did better. On a deeper voice I'd always at least give it a try.

Alan, BTW I spoke with Wes Dooley about the R77 & VTB-1 pairing that Harvey Gerst uses at his studio. Wes said the key are the engineering tolerances as to whether the VTB-1 will always sound near as good as Harvey's combo.
His '77 ribbon reproductions are extremely close to each other, as you probably know, so I'm guessing the VTB-1 is fairly tight.

Chris

How would you characterize the difference in the preamp before and after the mod? Do you know of any examples?

Alot of love here for the VTB-1. I didn't like mine and sold it after a few months. But hey, maybe I overlooked something.

Resurrecting this thread to see if anyone else has comments. Looking for something for my tablas (Indian hand percussion). Some old recordings have nice tape saturation distortion which gives tabla a more aggressive sound. I guess for the price, I could just get both. Anyway, suggestions welcome!

I had a VTB1 and DMP3 and sold the VTB1. I even did the opamp upgrade on the VTB1!

If you're in a position to be able to buy both I'd personally get the DMP3 and the JJAudio mod for it :-

https://gearspace.com/board/new-prod...-dmp3-mod.html

Since this thread has risen again.......

I still have mine.

Just tracked my old SG through it (and RNLA) as a straight DI and it came out pretty cool. Cranked the pre gain and the tube drive.