[AcousticDreams]

Originally Posted by jim1960

It's hard to talk about differences in terms of sound. Both of these units impart some color, the Sebatron gives you the ability to dial in just how much you want. I'd say the Demeter imparts slightly more warmth and that pre is my go-to vocal pre for myself.

If I had to pick one, I'd go with the Demeter because I don't do instrumentals so vocals are an important consideration. To my ears, the Demeter edges out the Sebatron slightly in that department. If I was doing strictly instrumentals, I'd probably give the Sebatron the slight edge.

But if I'm being totally honest, the differences are slight and I could be absolutely happy with either on its own. So if you're interested in my recommendation, buy whichever one you can get the best deal on. They're both absolute stunners and I've no doubt you'll be incredibly pleased by either.

True story - My friend Vinny is a singer ...mostly opera but he dives into jazz standards and show tunes as well. I bought an Audio-Scape Opto compressor about a year ago and Vinny, as well as another friend who has a studio, came over so we could test the compressor out. At some point I had Vinny singing through my Demeter instead of the generic preamps on my UA Apollo. His eyes lit up. He has a small home studio and a couple of decent mic pres but the Demeter really is special on some vocals. Within a couple of weeks he bought a used VTMP-2b on Reverb and hasn't stopped raving about it.

But like I said, I could be very happy if either was my only pre. They're both really excellent and both can be had for a nice price on the used market.

Thanks Jim1960, excellent descriptions. I especially like your story about Vinny liking the sound better coming out of the Demeter verses the UA Apollo.

While I know modern emulations-electronics are excellent, I always have in the back of my mind that no matter what, there will always be something extra to be had when using old fashion hardware.

Some will dispute that in the final mix those extras are hard to be heard. And of course, depending on the song and the mix that can certainly be true. But for some of us, it is only the extras that can totally satisfy what we are looking for. Isn't that what searching for that special guitar is all about? That little something extra?