headroom!

[ponomica]

Hi all, I'm just enquiring about the vast amounts of headroom available on these pre and was wondering if existing users who use them in conjunction with DAW's have any problems with their gain structure (both analogue and digital!)
As i am using a floating point-based DAW (logic 7.2) I always like to hit the converter so it peaks at around -12. On ocassion, as I'm sure most of us do, I like to drive the pre-amp quite hard.....I'm just wondering, with the staggering amount of headroom available in these pre's, does anyone run into problems.....Particularily those of us who like to keep to the good practice of hitting their converters at about -12....

Yes; we can simply turn the gain down on the pre, but this to me is a huge step backwards. Ever since the the first pre-amps were invented, engineers have been utilising the gain stage of pre-amps to shape the sound of the source.
And also I accept that we can peak to 0db on our converters and we'll still get most (and hopefully all) of that nice "hotness" from our pre's....but this is by no means perfect either (as the people who peak to -12 will incline to agree)

I'm just wondering if anyone has run into this problem.......if so, has anyone come up with a solution (and not the "put it through the desk" solution!)

Many thanks in Advance

[ponomica]

ok...i think i may have found the answer.........i read elsewhere in the forum that the trim pot can be wired as an output fader.....? if this is true, i'm sold

[ponomica]

ok ...........3am over here, need to sleep!!.............on further reading it appears that only the T15 an J72's can be wired in this configuration (with an output fader) this is swaying my decision very much in favour of those two (i love the sound of the Broadhurst Gardens and Neve stuff) Also, from what I can gather, the trim control on all the remaining pre's are not on the output stage? Is this true?

[niccolo]

HI
An option that seems widely used around here is to insert a pad or a passive variable attenuator, such as the Atty, between the preamp and the AD converters..

Nicco

[ponomica]

HI
An option that seems widely used around here is to insert a pad or a passive variable attenuator, such as the Atty, between the preamp and the AD converters..

Nicco

thanks niccolo.......will probably end up doing this if i go for the three without output fader