Quote:
Originally Posted by rockabilly69
No, I don't have a Demeter, but I have used them and love them! My brother ran a studio with their tube pre, the bass pre, and both the tremulator and compulator pedals. As for the Blue Kiwi it's a great mic and I've compared it directly with my Neumann U87, and I prefer it on certain sources with it's buttery topend, that's why I told him to jump on it! INSHO the Sebatron VMP4000e is the best bang for the buck preamp on the planet. I have some nice preamps (Manley, Langevin, Neve, Universal Audio, and I always start with the VMP4000e. I've heard the AXIS sounds a bit different than the VMP although I've heard it sounds great! But the VMP in it's simplicity sounds greats and the simple gain switch is all I've ever needed. Literally you could build an old school studio around a few VMP4000e premps.
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Demeter really flies under the radar for some reason. The guy makes top notch stuff and doesn't get enough love from audio folks. Jim Demeter is also a very decent guy. I had loaned my Demeter to a friend so he could record the girl he was living with at the time. In the middle of it, they had a nasty breakup and she held my Demeter hostage for a while. I priced out a replacement when my friend said it might not come back and Jim gave me a nice discount after I told him my story. I wound up getting my pre back in the end but I was impressed by his empathy. By the way, pairing the Kiwi and the Demeter is silky and beautiful. I've heard my Kiwi go up against a Neumann U87ai and it absolutely held its own in the matchup.
I think between the Hardy, the Demeter, the Hendy, and the Sebatron, I have everything I want as far as preamps are concerned so I'm officially out of that market. The only outboard gear I'd be looking for now would be a couple of LA2A channels. I don't know if any of the clones come close enough to the real thing for me. I haven't heard them all but I also haven't been WOWed by any I have heard. Maybe it will happen, maybe not... we'll see.