I've seen it kicked around on various threads. All rave reviews.
Would someone be so kind as to give an explanation of what makes it so unique? ( pardon the tech ignorance)
I've seen folks say it breathes life into an otherwise stale mic locker.....This interests me in lieu of buying new big dog mics right now.

We have these pre's available for the new room and would like to invest in a couple more. suggestions to augment this list?

Isa 110 x2
Avalon 737
ua 2-610
Vintech 1272
8ch millenia
(and the very poopey C24 mic pre's -Focusrite platinum)

thanks.

You've got some nice stuff! I know you have the Spider, or I'd suggest that too... you do have one right? I thought I saw something about that in one of your posts =) other things I've been wanting to check out myself are the manley SLAM!, Requisite PAL, and yes, the Vipre. I am thinking of taking a stereo PAL for a test run, so if you get a SLAM! maybe we can compare notes ;-) As always, see if you can get your hands on a bunch of stuff and just try it out.

It's a really cool box - my mics love it. You can match the impedances between your mic and the Vipre to optimize or customize the sound of the mic. It also has adjustable rise time. As an example, when I use a Nuemann KM184, it can sometimes sound a bit bright, so i will use the slow rise time on the Vipre to take a bit of the edge off. It's really a brilliant pre, I highly recommend it.

The impedence and slew rate adjustments are nice on certain things to have a bit more control depending on the source and mic. It's a nice feature, but wasn't that important to me as much as the headroom (it's output section can drive a speaker) and tone of the premap. Gives bass (and kick and guitars and vocals) incredible detail and a very big sound.

Can't compare them to your list, since I don't have any of those, except the C24 preamps.. I too didn't think highely of them when comparing A/B with API or Neve, but they're really not that bad for some tracks when you run out of premaps.. I'm not loosing any sleep running my toms and room mics through them... they actually aren't that bad...

Nope....that changed a few days ago when the decision was made to find a 2" deck. we decided to upgrade the conversion (Mytek) on 8 channels and shop for a summing mixer for the existing pre's we have. any cash left over will go to sorely needed little stuff (headphones DI's) the spider looked fantastic, but not having a D/a on board, and already having access to some decent pre's , we decided against. I'd like to beef the outboard pre's up over the next year with a few more flavors with the top of the list being the Geat River MP2NV that EVERYONE seems to be going on about. (oh yeah, some of that xtra cash will go towards a DAC 1, )

oh well, always looking for a Spider brother ;-) Anyway, I plan on getting a Vipre in soon for a vocal session I'm doing so I'll let you know how it works =) And my voice is hard to record to it'll be a great test ;-)

I have had a chance to use a Vipre extensively and I gotta say that when you get one you'll want more! Very cool box with excellent build quality. And since every setting is a switch you can easily recall settings. Plus it has as many tubes as a Deluxe Reverb

Yep, no nead of a heating system with that one

What I find extra cool, apart of the amazing sound, is that impedance match.
I think a lot of pre design would benefit of that feature.

I'm a udge fan of Requisite pres too, if you want suggestions.
I know I say this often, but I'm surprised nobody seems to talk much of that one. Tube design also, very warm AND clear ...

malice

Malice, the Vipre and the PAL are the two peices of gear I'm most lusting after at the moment- even more than the SLAM! which has been keeping me up at night ;-)

Want to share some insight into sessions with the Requisite gear?

The Vipre is fantastic. Just try to find a used one- that should be all the testimonial you need. I can't imagine anyone ever parting with it.

The tone of both the pre and the di are great. Solid and smooth, not too hard, not too soft. Always character, never too much. Round, but never fuzzy.

By changing the impedance you present the mic, you can back a mic off the source and get around the proximity effects while maintaining the detail you get up close. The result is that you eq less.

By changing the slew, you are changing the speed at which juice gets to the amp. It is like compressing without compressing. The result is that your tracks sit nicer without hammering them.

It is a great tool.

I've got a Vipre and it's beautiful on vocals, especially with an LA2A after it. For drums and electric guitars, I find it hard to beat Neve's for a darker, fat aggressive vibe or API's for punch and forwardness. The Vipre is a bit limp in that department for my liking and probably a bit too clean.

If tube pre's are what you're looking into, you might also consider a DW Fearn VT-1 or the classic Telefunken V76 to compare.

I think out of everything I've tried the Vipre is my #1 on bass DI after trying just about everything under the sun. Reamp later and combine the two if necessary. I've been getting away often with direct only for the 1st time with because of it specifically...that was never even an option before. Now I need two for overheads.yuktyy

Nathan,

Tell us about the ditto. Does it equal the Vipre for DI?

I just spent almost 40 hours since Friday with both, I can say that without a doubt they are absolutely identical in tone. I'm amazed...

Angel, I suggest you try the pal+ by requisite.
The pre is amazing, with a feedback knob that warm the stuff (probably by adding second order harmonics, a little like a hedd in fact, I don't know for sure, I don't have the manual). You can really have the clearest sound, or beef it up to the max. No hi pass ...may be it would be nice to add that.
The low end is impressive ... Great with ribbon mics ...
one DI input (great on bass)
and a comp that is a LA2A copy, with certainly a higher freq response (like three time the original LA2)

I'm floored by this thing

but again, what do I know

I'm just a kid on the internet

malice

So am I ;-)