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Sound Pure's Take
The TRP is a truly excellent box for anyone who wants to make an investment in ribbon microphones, and wants the absolute cleanest signal path ever designed for ribbons in mind. This incredible preamp was designed by genius engineer, Fred Forssell, who has secretly and not-so-secretly been involved in the design and creation of some of the finest preamp designs in modern recording history. This truly unique approach to ribbon microphone per-amplification has generated this a lean, mean, and clean ribbon-microphone machine.
In order to keep the costs down, and the signal path completely clean, AEA kept things incredibly streamlined with the TRP. Obviously, this was very purposeful – they set out to build a box with a specific purpose in mind – Ribbon mics. With this release, and because of all the features the box left out, there are a handful of criticisms:
The half-rack format isn't for everyone but you should know that this can be worked around with a rack kit, and has kept the cost of the otherwise sensation until down;
The lack of 48v phantom power prevents the clean-gain, and natural sound of this unit from being usable with phantom powered microphones such as condenser microphones, or even active ribbons which require power. However, this is a non-issue (it works just fine) for microphones that do not require phantom power including tube microphones, dynamic microphones, and pretty much any traditionally-designed ribbon microphone (what the unit was really originally designed for);
Lack of an EQ to brighten or re-capture the top-end of ribbon microphones where they ordinarily start to roll-off.
In response to each of these three acute criticisms (really the only three complaints one can have about a preamp that was so wonderfully designed and executed for such a dedicated purpose), AEA later developed the RPQ, which is also worth a VERY serious look-sie:
http://www.soundpure.com/p/aea-rpq-ribbon-preamp/1988
The AEA builds on top of the framework and design of the TRP and is arguably the preamp that is most optimized for Ribbon microphones, ever created. If you are looking for affordability, and don't mind these handful of issues, do consider this Original AEA TRP – it's a very fine box, made with ribbons in mind, and very professionally constructed.
Watch & listen
Also in this recording AEA N8 NUVO Phantom Powered Ribbon Microphone AEA R88 MKII Stereo Ribbon Microphone AEA RPQ Stereo Ribbon Preamp
INPUT LIST:Cello - N8 - Millennia PreampRoom Mic - R88 - RPQ PreampDAW: ProTools HD @ 96k/24bit
Also in this recording Lowden F32 16738 Acoustic Guitar Royer Labs R-121 Ribbon Microphone AEA RPQ Stereo Ribbon Preamp Lynx Aurora 16 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Royer R121 Ribbon microphones capture a gorgeous George Lowden F32 Acoustic guitar featuring Sitka Spruce Top with Indian Rosewood backs and sides. It is recorded using a spaced matched pair of Royer R121 Ribbon Microphones (reversed), through an AEA RPQ Ribbon Microphone Preamp with polarity reversed, and EQ shelf engaged. Royer R121s are a world standard ribbon mic, most famous for recording electric guitar amps, but in this demo, their versatility is demonstrated impressively with an acoustic guitar (not your typical ribbon microphone choice). They were perfectly paired with one of the most ideal preamps, an AEA RPQ which has the just the right amount of tonal/EQ control, which we used to dial in the traditional fall-off of a ribbon microphone in the high frequency area by boosting 50% at 6Khz. This result gave us a really natural interpretation of the guitar, which was beautifully captured by the microphones, just a little lacking in top-end presence. While the ribbons have a smooth character which can take quite a bit of EQing, and this preamps EQ shelf is wonderfully transparent in nature, the two combined to produce an accurate sound of this instrument- it is an articulate, harmonically complex medium-bodied guitar with extraordinary punch and sustain. Another George Lowden Acoustic Guitar masterpiece. Call us at Sound Pure anytime to discuss this guitar, our recording techniques, or the recording gear that we sell, toll free 888-528-9703
Recorded with this gear
Also in this recording McInturff Carolina Custom Brock-Burst Electric Guitar Fargen Mini Plex MK II 1x12 Guitar Amplifier Combo Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
McInturff Carolina Custom electric guitar (neck pickup) played into Fargen Mini Plex MK II Combo(60's master 4, volume 3, treble 4, mid 8, bass 2) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Lynx Aurora A/D converters.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 9am, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 12am, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume max, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 3pm, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(coil tap,neck pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume max, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(middle pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 9am, tone 12pm, reverb 9am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(middle pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 12am, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(middle pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 3pm, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 9am, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume max, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 9am, tone 12pm, reverb 9am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Heil PR-40 Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 12am, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP & Heil PR-40 into A Designs EM BLUE preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Benedetto Bambino Deluxe One-off Blue Blaze S1530 Archtop Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone
Benedetto Bambino Deluxe archtop guitar played into Henriksen JazzAmp 10R(all EQs 12pm, Reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Benedetto Bambino Deluxe One-off Blue Blaze S1530 Archtop Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone
Benedetto Bambino Deluxe archtop guitar played into Henriksen JazzAmp 10R(all EQs 12pm, Reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, bass 5, mid 8.5, treble 7, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(lead channel, dirty rhythm, guitar volume up, bass 3, mid 10, treble 5, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, guitar volume up, bass 3, mid 10, treble 5, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, bass 5, mid 8.5, treble 7, gain 4, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, bass 5, mid 8.5, treble 7, gain 4, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, guitar volume up, bass 3, mid 10, treble 5, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridgepickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, bass 5, mid 8.5, treble 7, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(lead channel, dirty rhythm, guitar volume up, bass 3, mid 10, treble 5, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, clean rhythm, bass 5, mid 8.5, treble 7, gain 4, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, guitar volume up, bass 3, mid 10, treble 5, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, dirty rhythm, guitar volume low, bass 3, mid 10, treble 5, gain 8, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(lead channel, dirty rhythm, guitar volume up, bass 3, mid 10, treble 5, gain max, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Rivera Knucklehead-Tre 120 Top Guitar Amplifier Head Bad Cat 4x12 Speaker Cabinet Blk Os Sennheiser MD 421 II Cardioid Dynamic Microphone A Designs Pacifica Stereo Preamp AEA R92 Ribbon Microphone
Tyler Ultimate Weapon electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Rivera Knucklehead-Tre Head(channel 1, clean rhythm, bass 5, mid 8.5, treble 7, gain 4, presence 8, foundation 4) into Bad Cat 4x12 Cabinet mic'd with Sennheiser MD 421 II into A Designs Pacifica preamp & AEA R92 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Apogee Rosetta 800.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(neck pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 9am, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
Also in this recording Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle Original LN6 Electric Guitar Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone Lynx Aurora 8 I/O D/A and A/D Converter
Soloway Swan G179 - Oregon Myrtle electric guitar(bridge pickup) played into Bad Cat Classic Cat R(volume 3pm, tone 12pm, reverb 11am) mic'd with Coles 4038 into AEA TRP preamp feeding Lynx Aurora 8.
From AEA
The AEA Ribbon Mic Preamplifier is an ultra high-gain and impedance, minimal-path FET mic pre designed by Fred Forssell. This low-noise two-channel preamp is for ribbon, moving coil, and tube microphones that do not use or want phantom power. This allows for improvements in minimal path circuitry and also rids the unit of phantom-power blocking capacitors. Zener diodes on the input protect the input stage if external phantom power is applied.
First stage gain is set from +6 to +63 dB by a 12 position Grayhill switch. Another 20dB of gain is available after the output level potentiometer. Polarity reversal and high pass switches on the two channels are complimented by operating and overload LED metering.
83 dB of gain
130 EIN noise figure
3 dB at 300 kH
No phantom power, 18,000 ohms input impedance
Green and Red LEDs indicates channel level
Balanced XLR +4, and Unbalanced 1/4 inch -10 outputs
Phase reverse and high-pass switches
Anodized gray and black matte finished aluminum
Laser engraved legends and single line schematic
External power supply for minimum noise
Sound Pure stands behind our products. Free three-year warranty on this item. Coverage exclusions live in Terms & Conditions, Section 27.
Level of support and expertise that simply isn't available at big-box megastores. Read the warranty →
Not eligible for Try Before You Buy or the 48-hour approval period. Standard return policy applies — see Terms & Conditions, Section 18 for details.
Sound Pure Studios · Durham, NC
Sound Pure is a working studio in Durham, NC — a 1,000 sq ft live room and two pro control rooms. Book a session to audition gear in a world-class acoustic space before you buy.
