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A Designs Silver 500 Series Preamp
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July 14, 2010
Product Features
Full featured 500 series mic pre with plenty of gain, pad, 48v, front panel DI, and phase reverse
Full featured 500 series mic pre with plenty of gain, pad, 48v, front panel DI, and phase reverse
First Impressions
As with any 500 series unit, the components are easily visible before it is mounted in the 500 series type power supply/rack. This gives the user a great chance to look under the hood and there are no surprises to those familiar with A Designs gear, it all looks neat sturdy and well designed in general. All of the A Designs 500 pre’s offer the same top shelf build quality along with all of the features required of a pro mic pre. Phase reverse, pad and phantom power buttons on the front panel are all mega sturdy feeling button style switches along with a ¼” DI on the front panel. The DI is a great addition and is something that is often lacking in 500 pre’s due to the limited space on the front panel.
As with any 500 series unit, the components are easily visible before it is mounted in the 500 series type power supply/rack. This gives the user a great chance to look under the hood and there are no surprises to those familiar with A Designs gear, it all looks neat sturdy and well designed in general. All of the A Designs 500 pre’s offer the same top shelf build quality along with all of the features required of a pro mic pre. Phase reverse, pad and phantom power buttons on the front panel are all mega sturdy feeling button style switches along with a ¼” DI on the front panel. The DI is a great addition and is something that is often lacking in 500 pre’s due to the limited space on the front panel.
In Use
The A Designs Silver attributes it’s slightly darker sound to a custom wound steel output transformer. While this makes it a bit darker than other A Designs pres, I wouldn’t consider it overly dark. I tried it on vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar and kick drum all with excellent results. Its bold sound lets you know at first listen that this is no garden variety piece of gear. It adds a little excitement or life to a signal while keeping the undesirable modern digital sound out of the picture. If you like your tracks big and bold A Designs Silver could be the silver bullet that you are looking for.
The A Designs Silver attributes it’s slightly darker sound to a custom wound steel output transformer. While this makes it a bit darker than other A Designs pres, I wouldn’t consider it overly dark. I tried it on vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar and kick drum all with excellent results. Its bold sound lets you know at first listen that this is no garden variety piece of gear. It adds a little excitement or life to a signal while keeping the undesirable modern digital sound out of the picture. If you like your tracks big and bold A Designs Silver could be the silver bullet that you are looking for.
PROS
A great all around pre that looks feels and sounds like a top shelf piece of gear
A great all around pre that looks feels and sounds like a top shelf piece of gear
CONS
no level metering
no level metering
Conclusion
Anyone that owns a 500 series rack needs to take a serious look at filling a slot or two with an A Designs pre. The only question is which one. The Silver is not one of the brighter pres of their line but it may fill the task for tracking bass guitar, keyboard or other line level devices such as a kick or vocal than needs a little extra beef. Rest assured there is no source that this pre will not work well on and A Designs is a company with a spotless reputation when it comes to quality.
Anyone that owns a 500 series rack needs to take a serious look at filling a slot or two with an A Designs pre. The only question is which one. The Silver is not one of the brighter pres of their line but it may fill the task for tracking bass guitar, keyboard or other line level devices such as a kick or vocal than needs a little extra beef. Rest assured there is no source that this pre will not work well on and A Designs is a company with a spotless reputation when it comes to quality.
Buy the
A Designs EM Silver 500-Series Preamp
at Front End Audio