The EM Poll

STUDIO PROJECTS VTB1

Sep 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Richard Alan Salz

           

Despite the fact that it's only half a rackspace wide, Studio Projects' VTB1 does not have what you would call a minimalist design. The variety of features in this innovative mic preamp is almost unmatched at its price point. The VTB1 contains a vacuum tube, but I wouldn't call it a tube-based preamp; like many of its low-budget competitors, it's a solid-state device that includes a tube to provide some interesting coloration variations. If you prefer, you can dial the tube completely out of the signal path using the front-panel Tube Blend control.

LOOKS LIKE A CB RADIO

Visually, the VTB1's exterior is rather unimpressive, but it feels solid enough. Its well-built enclosure is made of steel, and the knobs and switches feel sturdily mounted. Under the hood, it features such niceties as a ceramic tube socket, perfectly flowed solder joints, consistent length of component leads, and thick circuit boards. Like other Studio Projects gear, the VTB1 was designed in the United States and built in China.

FIG. 1: The VTB1's almost primitive appearance only hints at its versatility. An instrument input and most controls are located on the front panel.

On the unit's front panel, buttons for 48V phantom power, Line In, highpass filter (HPF), meter select (input or output), and polarity reversal (Pol Rev) are each accompanied by an LED to indicate their status (see Fig. 1). A five-segment LED meter displays input and output levels. The Line In button selects the high-impedance instrument input, also on the front panel. Three conveniently detented rotary pots control Input Gain, Tube Blend, and Output Level.

FIG. 2: Most of the VTB1's ins and outs are located on its rear panel, along with a switch for selecting mic impedance.

The VTB1's rear panel sports a 12 VAC power-supply input, an XLR balanced out, a ¼-inch TRS line out, a ¼-inch TRS insert, a Mic Impedance button, and an XLR mic in (see Fig. 2). Because the VTB1's rear panel provides balanced XLR and ¼-inch TRS outputs, simultaneous output is possible, which is useful for sending signals to an amplifier and a mixing board at the same time, for example.

Although the unit lacks a dedicated power switch, a blue glow (from an LED near the tube) emanates from the perforations in the front panel when the included wall-wart power supply is plugged in.

ON-THE-JOB TESTING

When I began using the VTB1, I was recording a hard-edged nu-metal project with several synths. During the inevitable lulls in tracking, I substituted the Studio Projects preamp for the other preamps I was using, including a Peavey VMP-2, a D.A.V. Electronics Broadhurst Gardens No. 1, and the onboard preamps in my Neotek IIIc console.

First up were bass guitar tracks. I favor a lightly compressed, direct-injected bass to anchor the rest of the instruments, especially for dense music. The bass player and I initially used a Radial JDI direct box feeding the Peavey preamp to record a Warmoth Gecko five-string bass. It was a great-sounding combination but too clean, so we plugged the bass directly into the preamp's high-impedance input. That sounded quite a bit tougher, so we printed the track using that setup. Switching to the VTB1 yielded a similar but slightly rougher sound that the bassist preferred. I found that the best method for determining the correct amount of tube blend was to turn up the control until I began to hear undesirable artifacts and then ratchet it down a click or two.

Bass tracks in the can, the band and I moved on to synth tracks, recording a combination of Minimoog, Realistic MG-1, Chroma Polaris, and Yamaha RM1x. We used the onboard Neotek preamps to achieve the cleanest sound. The VTB1 didn't do so well on synth tracks. As I later confirmed with the manufacturer, using the front-panel instrument input as a line stage is not recommended. The VTB1 can't handle a high (or medium-high) signal level without producing some pretty massive clipping. Still, if you want to give a track the sound of something about to blow up (in a Nine Inch Nails sort of way), I encourage you to try routing line sources through the VTB1.

One of the VTB1's more innovative features is its selectable input-impedance switch. As far as I am aware, you won't find another mic preamp anywhere near the VTB1's price that includes this feature. However, I didn't find it especially useful. It might be effective for ribbon microphones that have problems driving a high-impedance load. The control appeared to accentuate or attenuate the brightness of microphones such as the Audio-Technica AT4040 and beyerdynamic M 88 TG, which is certainly a valid way to effect a tonal change without reaching for the EQ (or moving the microphone).

For recording vocals, I brought out the Sennheiser MD 421 — a great choice when you're dealing with a singer who screams. The microphone sounded much too clean through the D.A.V. preamp and through the stock Neotek preamps, leaving us with a choice between the VTB1 and the Peavey VMP-2. Not surprisingly, the VMP-2 presented a larger, smoother, more clearly defined image. Although we chose that signal path for the lead vocal, we relied on the VTB1 for some of the background vocals, occasionally driving it into rampant-distortionland by turning the Tube Blend knob most of the way up. By comparison, with the knob turned all the way down, the VTB1 sounded rather flat and uninteresting.

Drums provided a bit more of a challenge than the VTB1 could handle, unless you're looking for tightly compacted sounds that aren't representative of the source instrument. Just for fun, I recorded an extra track with a Shure 514B (a CB-radio-style, push-to-talk dynamic microphone) through the VTB1, with the Tube Blend turned way past mildly distorted. We didn't end up using the track, but there was definitely more than a little bit of the Tchad Blake thing going on. Forget about using the VTB1 on kick or snare; it just doesn't have the headroom to do those instruments justice.

The general consensus among the band members was that the VTB1 is great for tracks that need more edge or dirt, and I agree. The VTB1 is probably one of the last preamps I would reach for if I were recording a string quartet, but for aggressive music (especially for nasty-sounding vocals), it's a great box.

IN THE LIGHT OF DAY

Especially in light of its low price, the VTB1 is an intriguing product. It could almost be viewed as an exercise in determining how many features you can stuff into a half-rackspace box that retails for less than $250. On the one hand, it's incapable of passing a clean signal unscathed, but most studios already have preamps (either external or as part of a console) that are capable of that kind of output.

On the other hand, the VTB1 can produce some grungy (but controllable and repeatable) sounds that would be difficult or impossible to produce using a standard mic preamp. If you're in the market for a colored preamp with attitude, and you need a unit that can double as an excellent direct box (especially for bass guitar), the VTB1 is certainly worth an extended listen.

Richard Alan Salz is a producer, engineer, and composer living in southern Vermont.

PRODUCT SUMMARY

Studio Projects
VTB1
microphone preamp
$229

PROS: Rich in features. Interesting colorations. Versatile metering. Very good direct injection.

CONS: No clean sounds. Tube is hard to replace.

Manufacturer

Studio Projects
tel. (310) 373-9129
e-mail sales@pmiaudio.com
Web www.studioprojectsusa.com

VTB1 Specifications