just received 2 fetheads that give 20db of clean very noise free boost for use with low output mics such as ribbon mics. They work extremely well to deliver a nice hot signal to a mic pre. I also got 2 golden age vintage pre-73 mic preamps that are also very good. A nice warm mic sound from these with the sex1R ribbon mics. Very pleased
Ooh... didn't realize you were getting new preamps too. The golden ages are low cost Neve clones, as such they probably have something like 80dB of gain. I'd be interested to hear how the ribbon mics straight through the preamps sound, compared to through the fetheads and then the preamps. In our experience, the difference was noticeable...
I didn't set out to get preamps too, but it made sense to do this in one hit to get what I need. The main driver for getting the Golden Age stuff is the price, incredible value. Extremely well built, the chasis is built like a tank, really solid. The gain goes up to 80db. I will post some samples in a day or so. With the ribbons straight into the Pre-73 there is a huge weight to the sound, even with room micing some nice big fat solid sounds with solid deep bass. The fetheads make a big difference to that. Still plenty of bass response but more manageable and tamed. I like the sound of it either way as both ways have benefits for different situations.
Big grin from ear to ear from me !