Cranborne Audio Camden EC1 Preamp walkthrough ( feat: Neumann U87 and Shure SM7b) | Booth Junkie 

“Thanks so much for checking out the Camden EC1 @boothjunkie 🙌! Mojo was sounding particularly epic on your voice and that silent noise floor still surprises us 😯! Us audio engineers love saying what we hear - Thump, Cream, Sparkle, Silk, Smooth, Sizzle... it’s like our own little language! 🤣

Thanks for covering this, Mike. Really interesting approach they've taken with the EC1.

Excellent demonstration. so glad you did the thump with high pass filter on vocals, as it was something I was interested to hear the effect of!

100% gain on SM7B and no noise. Freaking CLEAN pre! Thanks sir!

Great video, It's nice to see someone talking specifically about pre-amps as the concept of them seem to have 'got lost' in recent times as you mentioned because most interfaces have them built in.

Solid & very thorough overview, much appreciated. Hadn't heard of this unit before, but it seems like an awesome little piece of kit. I really like the dual saturation mode selection, sounds great. Plus the fact it can drive a SM7B by itself is pretty impressive. I bet it would sound great with a guitar or bass running through it. Cheers.

I trust your videos cause your signal path is just always so damn clean. I’ve been eyeing some of these as I mostly record classical/jazz music and clean preamps rein supreme but I wanted some extra flexibility, you might’ve just sold me

Very interesting, thank you for this video Mike! I’ve been looking for something like this.

Ok, I'm not a pro VO artist, but I am a product designer who talk with prospect/customers on Zoom. I also do my own VO when I do promotion video for internal distribution. Even if I use an ultracheap USB NEEWER-7000 mic, my customers are always blown away by the high quality of the sound and the professional look of a large mic on a shock mount! My competition typically use the built in webcam/mic of their laptop for Zoom meeting. I think that getting a better audio (on Zoom) bring credibility because you paid attention to details, it show respect to your customers and therefor it help initiate the trust relationship faster. I would like to say a big "THANKS" to you Mike. You are the one who makes me realize the difference between a laptop mic and a low cost/basic USB condenser mic. Love from Montréal, Québec

I was really surprised with this preamp. It has a great sound and really packs a lot of power and it’s soooo clean.

Always fun and informative videos - looking forward to watching this on my lunch break!

this sounds amazing, the cream mode is absolutely gorgeous ! Thanks for the review : )

This is actually a really nice addition for people interested in their audio quality.

I use the Camden 500 series preamp every week to record voice over for German TV. Very reliable and clean. In an ABX test I was able to pick out the Camden from the RME UCX built in pre. Its cheap too at €350 with specs that compete with Grace. You really can't go wrong with this product.

I think this would be great for musicians for sure. For voice I can imagine it working well for quieter mics like the SM7b.

Great video - already ordered mine

amazing review very well done

Thanks Mike! Most satisfactory.

Sound Awesome!!

That's a nice piece of gear, I really like how you can shape your tone without adding too much color or 'effect' which inevitably changes everything. I'll admit I'm also a little jealous you got that unit for free, that doesn't happen to us regular joes very often.

One of the most underrated youtubers

Man I love your vids :)

16:51 Kind of. The 'Link' output is what 99% of other manufacturers label 'Thru' and is a pass-through for the DI input on the front which simply conveys the instrument-level signal back out of the box unmodified. This is useful for Situations in which you want to capture both a mic'ed and direct signal from a guitar or bass. It's a really thoughtful feature and I wish more preamps included it.

I use the Camden 500 version. Love it!

Loving your content. I'm working on a project for my channel, all about travel and creating passive income through writing travel books. I've had my channel for some time but done nothing with it other than sharing a few adventures with family and friends. I've written a number of books and had two books narrated on ACX. I can so relate to your video on what is involved from both sides. That said, I'm converting a large garage into a youtube studio, and I also want to build a small booth for audio narration, inside that same garage space. My intention is to provide videos of my journey on how I created passive income, but on how I will add to that income by producing more books and learning how to narrate my own books. I'm not interested in narrating for others. At least I'm quite an easy-going boss. I'll be going over many of your videos to learn all about this fascinating subject. I had no idea before finding your channel, just how complex the whole thing is. Great channel. Thanks.

I love the thought and detail that went into this device! If there was just one thing to add, I would have liked to see the "Signal" have its own small section on the front metering the dB level (from like -30dB to 0dB) instead of just an indicator LED.

Yes, I would love to have 8. I think that could satisfy my analogue needs. I like the sound and for a home studio to have cat 7 hubs in several rooms.

It feels really good to know there are other people out there who just love audio production gear. I like microphones (can’t use them faithfully) I don’t even have to use them to enjoy them. I like to look at them, feel the weight and construction and just hold them. I’d like to know what the flattest mic out there is? The mic that doesn’t add coloration but still picks up every detail it’s exposed to. A mic that faithful captures ones full voice.

Using the high pass then the thump knob to regulate the low end when you get up on the mic is a v smart approach! Which makes me think a variable cut level knob on the high pass would be great too. As well as being a great preamp good looks like a really useful studio toolbox in terms of routing etc, headphone mix etc.

Great video as always Mike. I’m tempted to hit the buy button right now. By the way, what converters do you have this preamp plugged into?

Great video (as Allahs) One Quention: A lot of people say that the noise floor is higher in older preamps which makes sense. I have an old Focusrite Voicemaster PRO lying around, but would that make and difference if I idé a newer interface? Audient for exempel?

The preamp sounds very good, maybe especially paired with Slate´s VMS ML-1 (then you can choose one of many classic microphone emulations).

That built-in cue mixer thing is genius.

Hey Mike I was wondering live streaming software do you use. I love OBS but can't seem to get the sound to work live in real-time. Would love to know what you use. Thanks.

whoa I like that THUMP.. so getting this!

So if I add one of these to my set up. Mainly being used for vocal tracking in music. From the ec1 to interface and to hear the instrumental in your headphones while recording you need some trs cables to hear the instrumental?

Heyyy booth Junkie :). Got a question for ya! Is the Focus Scarlett Solo Studio Bundle (the one with mike, headphones and interface) a good option for newbs?

Mike, I got a question and don't know the best way to contact you. It's not related to this video. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD280 headphones and was looking to get some of the cloth covers to provide a cooler fit to my head. There are so many options and I know from experience, 80 percent of them are not good quality. I hate to go through the purchase process of figuring that out. Do you have a pair that you prefer? Thank you sir. You have been instrumental for me.

How big of a difference would there be in audio quality/clarity between these two setups? 1. Electro Voice RE320 XLR into Universal Audio Volt 276 USB into iMac. 2. Electro Voice RE320 XLR into CA Camden EC1 into Universal Audio Volt 276 USB into iMac. I do spoken word. But I also do singing/play guitar, but don't record that yet. So mainly want to know for spoken voice. Also interested in how big the difference there would be with something like a Neumann TLM 102?

Nice to see a preamp more appropriate for VO. So many have so much intentional harmonic coloration that musicians like, but aren’t always appropriate for VO. So, the real question… will this replace your Avalon?

I've been wondering if these Cran kids are cocky or confident, and it's starting to look like they have some basis for their confidence. Thanks for thoroughly taking it on.

So excuse my green question here but I would suppose this would be a step up from the dbx 286? Or are they similar, with the Camden kicking butt with its pre and headphone power?

i think i like it but im a noob lol. i have been looking into some pre-amp options because I use a mixer that i dont even know how to fully utilize, and it sometimes gets static noise, if i unplug/replug the usb cable it cleans up again. This seems like a good choice but for $600 i guess it should be lol.

I really wish the Mojo toggle had an off position between cream and thump.

Hey, Mike. Great video! How does the DBX 286s compare??

I wonder whether it was a wise thing or not to put the headphone level knob in the bottom row.

Hey there Booth Junkie! I have a silly question. Maybe you can help me out! :) So I really liked how the cream mojo sounded on your Neumann about half way or just before half. My only concern is that I’m not sure how does the output gain works. I guess what I’m saying is I’m not sure if I would treat the gain like the output level and the mojo like the gain. I know that’s kinda stupid n I already know the answer perhaps. Which is “there’s no output level control on this pre and the mojo is not really a gain but simply coloration”. So what do you do to control the output level let’s say if the situation called for the gain to be high for the purposes of the microphone but the output level needs to be controlled for the purposes of how hot is coming in to your other device. Either interface or compressor. I really like this little thing but not understanding the output control has me a little turned off. :( I was really hoping some of the knobs on the far right would control that. Thanks for the video review! Really nice and thorough!! Cheers!

waiitt sooo.... I would connect this instead of my MIXER ZEDI10fx? or do I connect it to my mixer.. maybe a silly question lol

Cool video man. Big thumbs up. I'm not a native English speaker, and can't detect the whereabouts of your accent. Which accent (or which state I should say) are you from, if I may ask.

Just got to say, There is a reason that the U-87 is the gold standard.

Have you tried pairing it with the Earthworks Icon Pro (or a similar low impedance condenser) by any chance? I'm getting a very high pitched buzzing / condenser 'noise' / whine when pairing it with *some* condensers like the Icon or the CM25 mkiii, and I'm wondering if it's impedance related or a faulty unit.

How is it connected directly into the computer?

Good info Mike! Question on going from preamp to interface,,,wouldn't the signal being passed to the computer/DAW software only be as good as the weakest preamp in the chain? That is, using a super preamp and going thru a Scarlett 2i2 to the computer, won't the Scarlett preamp color the signal coming thru from the Cranborme? Not sure if I'm making my point clearly.

How would this compare to pre-sonas?

I hope someone out there handier than I can make that “T H I C C” (12:12) moment into a gif 🤣

Something here sounds wrong... Is his U87 okay? I can't quite place my finger on what it is, though

Love the video but I would like to hear some singing lol. Hey I was listening through my monitors and I don't think you ever sounded muddy. It sounds like it gives maybe a nice boost like a little below 220 herts so nice. I am really interested in the saturation part of it being a singer a rock singer this could be interesting. Thanks for the video. Might pick up the 500 series of this. Thanks

Finally, I can buy some Mojo

Mike thank you so much. I am about to purchase a dbx 286s to add to my electro voice re20 and interface. Before I purchase, would you recommend this preamp over the dbx?

I currently have i a "Steinberg UR22C" and a "Neumann TLM 103". I mainly do record modern pop rock vocals, and sometimes rap. I want to buy a pre-amp so that my quality is better, any advice?

Nice unit for an affordable price. Lots of flexibility and possibilities also even though it's hardware, might outlive software such as the locked down UA plugin system. Too bad it's such a step up to get the 2 channel version or buy into the whole 500 system for home recording, it gets expensive really quickly when you're a musician rather than a budding audio engineer and you don't want your equipment to cost more than your actual instrument.

600$ us (800$ cdn) for this nice Mojo "thing" Well... Professional stuff are so expensive, I'm so sorry for you guys! Nice video, as always, thumbs up!

It's MONEY TIME!!!

holy fuck you would kill it as some sort of villain in a movie

Any ideas for vst plug ins? Like iZotope?

Can you review the isovox

Mojo Cream...nice

Hey how are you? Do you use a noise gate or your preamp and mic are really that clean? I’m jealous haha.

That 25%cream setting.......

the 'click to position' gain is a deal-breaker for me. Can we not be trusted to set our own gain amounts?

"Mounted in Iraq" Wow, that must use a VEERY long cable!

I have a hard time with my computer, my previous comment might be posted more than once. Sorry about that.

Seems like a good product. But also, "mojo" is the douchiest thing ever. Both things can be true.

Too much talking. We want to hear the gear