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[grizzly joe]

does anyone know much about Groove Tubes' "The Brick"?  they say some pretty positive things about it, but I'd like some honest opinions about it.  i'd consider purchasing it down the road if it really does work well as a decent mic pre AND DI for instruments.

let me know!

[Vertigo]

It's good dude... REALLY good

-Lance

[Fibes]

I'm prolly gonna pick up two when the renovation is over.

Any word on the SuPre?

[compasspnt]

The Brick:

Terrible name.

Ugly look.

No features at all.

GREAT PRE.

[rankus]

Great sound.  Very versatile... you will need at least two. They are addictive!

[Jack Schitt]

I arranged a trial period for one to try out. 2 days later I bought 2 of them. I just have a modest project room I have built for my own use. Every piece I buy needs to be thought through for quality, flexibility and bang for the buck because there is no return on investment here. These pre's are as good or better than anything else I use by those measurables.

To answer your other question, yes. In addition to making the mic's sound great they double as a direct box for guitar and bass where they really shine also.

[grizzly joe]

sounds awesome i'll definitely be picking one up when i finish my room. thank you!

[blueboy]

rankus wrote on Wed, 03 May 2006 15:12

Great sound.  Very versatile... you will need at least two. They are addictive!

That's my problem now...I seem to want to run everything through it as it makes everything sound better, so I will probably be getting another one.

JL

[Rod Affleck]

Veering just slightly off topic...

Have any of you done any A/B comparisons with the Brick and the Hamptone tube pre? They're both about the same cost per channel. The idea of building a kit really appeals to me.

http://www.hamptone.com/HVTP2.htm

r a

[Gilliland]

I'm looking at the Hamptone as well.  I had two of the Bricks here, but I returned them.  They didn't offer anything better than my SP828s, which are quite a bit less money per channel.  Nothing wrong with the Brick, but there's no magic to them either.  Pretty generic sounding.

[compasspnt]

Gilliland wrote on Fri, 05 May 2006 19:13

They didn't offer anything better than my SP828s, which are quite a bit less money per channel...

Very strange Jim.  The GT is a much better pre.

[Frob]

they are great pres.
they are great DIs.

nothing i have heard in that price range even touches them. all other "budget" pre sound preatty mutch the same, this one stands out.

[Gilliland]

compasspnt wrote on Sat, 06 May 2006 05:03

Gilliland wrote on Fri, 05 May 2006 19:13 They didn't offer anything better than my SP828s, which are quite a bit less money per channel... Very strange Jim.  The GT is a much better pre.

Obviously, several here share your opinion.  That's fine.  To my ears, the Brick is nothing special.  Perhaps it offers benefits with certain mics that I didn't use.  But I tested it against my SP828s with several sources, and found no significant difference.  

How much have you used the SP828?  And how did you reach the conclusion that "The GT is a much better pre"?  I won't claim that the 828 is anything "special" either, but it has more gain that the Brick and sounds just as good on the sources that I tested (mostly vocals through condenser mics and some DI'd guitars and bass).  YMMV.

I'm still planning for the Hamptone tube pre to be my next purchase.  As I said, there's nothing wrong with the Brick, but there's nothing magic about it either.

[compasspnt]

Certain differences are often not apparent to some on individual sources.  It is the summing of several, or even many things together where the real differences can start showing.

Many pre's will sound "fine" or "really about the same" on just one thing at a time.

A great record can be made with either if you know what you're doing.

[rankus]

compasspnt wrote on Sat, 06 May 2006 05:29

Certain differences are often not apparent to some on individual sources.  It is the summing of several, or even many things together where the real differences can start showing. Many pre's will sound "fine" or "really about the same" on just one thing at a time.

Yup, it's how it stacks up that counts....