Goldmike 9844 : A mixed bag

Feature-wise, and price-wise this preamp is a very good deal. The starved plate design actually does something interesting, although I must say that it doesn't work well for all sources. I like it on vocals and anything without strong transients. It is pecussion and guitars that I think don't sound so excellent through this preamp as the starved-tube stage colors the sound quite a bit and introduces subtle peaks and notches in the sound and also a subtle phasing effect. The flair function is actually a genious thing. It is very useful on vocals, especially when recorded with dynamic mics. The metering is nice, also and the knobs feel very sturdy and have a nice resistance to them, so twisting them is very pleasurable. Cosmetically it also looks very nice.