Heavy Guitar Preamp Shootout - CAPI, Chandler, Universal Audio, Great River and More! 

UA 7:16 Germ: 6:19 TG2 3:26 River 6:47 Focusrite 7:45 CAPI VP26 5:22 CAPI 123 4:53 JML 2:29

Chandler and Great River stole the show

That Great River just never ceases to amaze me. I have a BAE 1073 MPF and it’s amazing also... - but the GR just nails it every time.

Great video! Thanks for taking the time to do this shootout, I think when you start comparing preamps it’s getting down to the fine details, and I thought that they all sounded perfectly useable. However, there were two that stood out for me; Chandler TG2 and the Capi VP312. The Chandler just sounded perfectly balanced for me while the Capi had a little bite in the upper mids that I think would really work great in a heavy mix, the VP26 sounded really good, too, but was lacking that bite. All the JLMs sounded really good, too. I’ve come to realize the Great River is a very dark pre, more so than 1073s imo, I like it but would not want to record a full mix with the GR. Thanks for the shootout!

I'm glad to have bought the Great River many years ago and am still loving it especially for vocals!

Video is very well done!

Excellent demo.

Damn...they all sound pretty good. I dig the BAE

I like the JLM in the very first clip. It sounds real, 3D, in your face, just pops right out. Everything else sounded veiled by comparison, like HD photo compared to Polaroid or Instagram filter.

Thank you. This video helped me to not buy more preamps and focus on microphone selection/placement, cabinet and my guitar techniques.

It's a tie for me. I really love the Great River for it's HiFi hugeness (it just sounds the biggest out of everything here). But I also loved the Germ! The Germ had the grittiest/coolest sounding midrange...which is really what guitar is all about. Ugh...I might need both in my life.

I dig the JLM Dual 99v

The first JLM pops the most! However the VP26 and 610 sound fatter to my ears, nice upper mids - minimal harshness. Great test man, super controlled.

The Chandler TG was my favourite with it's slightly scooped and 3D sound. Second maybe CAPI 312 and honourable mention to the Focusrite preamp which would be ok with some EQ.

TG2 for the win

For me I prefer a couple of preamps for different reasons: 1. The JLM Dual 99v for its weight and mid definition 2. The Capi VP26 seems to have a nice thickness, less 'hi-fi' sounding. 3. The first JLM is nicely well rounded and defined.

these are all my preamps and i still watch this video to remind myself of how they sound before a session haha

The CAPI VP312 stands out a tiny bit for me, for that type of tone anyway, but they're all great. And let's admit that moving the mic 1 inch in or out of the cone would probably make more difference than any of these could.

I think I hear the difference: The 1st one sounds like distorted guitar. The 2nd one sounds like distorted guitar. The 3rd one sound like distorted guitar.....

That Great River did it for me. That Neve type sound is my go-to on guitars. And the GR being a cleaner Neve type kept it from being muddy and smoothed and brought out the mids.

I love the mid push and bite of the NV500 and the Germ. I really don't like the Capis and the UA on this sound. The Capis just mush everything up for me. The Tg2 is a classic for this kind of sound, it just works, as do most of the JLM variations. I was surprised by the Great River, it's usually pretty cool for egit and here sounds pretty boring.

The 610 had some crisp upper mids harmonics, was just listening theough consumer grade headphones though

What colors did you use for the hrk? It didnt sound bad at all

Wow what a great shootout!! Can u plz do one with drums or guitar on the edge of breakup with some reverb? :)

Iv been looking into pre amps for the first time and actual analog compressors . Iv a bit confused when it comes to powering them. I feel I have come across info saying some pre amps can simply be connected to an interface and be powered? Might that be true for some and not others? I was looking into chandler pre amps and I think I read they need a specific power supply. To be honest I thought with pre amps you just connect a cable to a wall like a guitar amp or anything electronic but you need to buy another power supply that matches that pre amp aswell to actually use it? When i search online “how to power mix pre amps” I surprisingly don’t get clear answers lol . I wanted to get some pres and compressors but then I’d have to get different power supplies for each? I can’t just plug em into outlets? Can you clarify this for me? Lol thanks man .

What op amps do you have in the CAPIs?

CHANDLER TG2 WINS for me. I feel like it has the best sound in a mix context which this video lacked but yeah still Chandler had the tight low-end unlike the others which had kind of a mushy low-end but could work with a slower song though. It's a matter of taste and preference in the end!

Just use a reddi for bass and gtr if you are ITB. Loads of dynamics the right color and no fuse.

Great video! My pick. For me, Focusrite Octopre wins here. but I wish you compared DI vs other DIs. like DI thru each amp. (but this video is great. economical choices are the best) If you used a good AD,DA, and great cable would that have changed my mind? I would never know until I see a video like that. If i see one like that, that would be awesome. DI comparisons going thru clean DA/AD.

The Great River had no punch in this, compared to most of the other pres.

Man the VP26 and Chandler Germ won for me

Well, the TG2 makes it sound like a Telecaster. The JLM do a different thing so I do not thing they are good for guitars.

It's all genre dependent, isn't it? The metal genre is one where saturation levels are maximized, but still has their players perform chord progression with plenty of percussive attack. The heavy genre usually doesn't rely to too much on harmonically meaningful developments and complex chords with complex voicings (6th, maj 7th, flat 9s, etc). This genre dictates that you have to strive for more attack and intelligibility in order to perceive pitches with more ease or to perceive intonations of chords and notes that are heavily saturated but have a percussive attack to it. Naturally, your choice of preamp would be something like the JLMs. But if this was "Brian May" strumming along his sustainfull chords, you would have to reconsider. Then you could select a preamp that tends to make his chords sustain with more 'ring' and less 'honk' while the decay trails off rather gradual. The VP312 or the API original would then be my picks I suppose, perhaps the Chandler TG2?

Thanks for the attempt. I couldn't pay attention however, due to the guitars being out of tune! Was so distracting for me personally!

I'm on good headphones. Possibly RU-vid compression..but no difference. Especially that could ever be noticed in a mix

7:44 - Focusrite (same as any basic audio card preamp) 4:53 - CAPI 123 5:22 - CAPI VP26 7:16 - Solo 3:26 : TG2 6:19 - Chandler Germ500 6:47 - Great River No Neve, it's suck. And the order is really no sense.