BEST opamp?

[tele_player]

My A12 kit should arrive today, I haven't ordered an opamp for it yet. I'm leaning towards the Avedis. But is it the BEST for this? API told me they wouldn't sell the 2520.

I have some Hardy 990c (they're in my J99s), and one hybrid from the J99. Can these be used for testing?

[tpryan]

The 990c will work in the standard A12 circuit, but the external impedances are too large for the 990 to provide optimum noise performance. It's fine for testing, though. The best available 2520 replacement I've actually tested is the Avedis 1122. It has a nice soft-clipping feature and a beefy output stage. I'm not sure how much of a 2520 clone it really is, but it certainly sounds good. Have you tried buying an opamp from OSA?

[Category 5]

You can probably pick up a couple of real 2520s if you keep an eye out on Ebay.

A set of 5 brand new ones went for about $300 a couple of weeks ago, and I just got two 1973 board pulls for $200 (which I'm very excited about!).

If you are trying to get an API sound that is probably the best bet. Otherwise the Avedis. I did hear some of David Kakon's samples with the Avedis and I must say, while I don't know how close they are to a real 312, they did sound pretty amazing!

Shane