I purchased this preamp from Nick a few months back. I finally got around to painting the chassis cover and cleaning out the dust bunnies. I also DeOxited all pots. I checked most of the resistors. Nothing was off. Not surprising, though.
I didn't take any glamor shots of the finished chassis cover as I couldn't bring it upon myself to bore you with photos of a satin black piece of steel. I sanded it with 300 grit and hit it with a half dozen coats of Engine Brite Satin Black at ten minute increments. It was a nice warm day, things dried quickly.
One unique challenge was removing a piece of tape that was adhered to the top of the chassis cover without destroying it; as one of the photos below shows, it contains a note from Frank Van Alstine regarding the unique operation of the tape selector button on this particular unit. I managed to cleanly remove the tape / note with a heat gun and a very sharp SAK blade. I then "laminated" the note with clear packing tape and adhered it to the inside of the cover. The personal note from Van Alstine himself, including his signature, was too cool to just scrape and toss.
I still have to clean most of the terminals in the rear.
The sound quality of this little pre is excellent. It's got a slightly laid back presentation but not in such a way that sacrifices detail or dynamics. What really stands out is the sound stage and the imaging that accompanies said sound stage. Instrument placement is easily identifiable. Vocals leads are up front and center. Backing instruments and vocals disperse so well and with such depth that you can't help but visualize a three dimensional presentation. Bass extension is good. Low end presence and warmth are ideal for jazz and classical. Mid bass is noticeably well defined. Electric guitars are buttery and clean. Some may consider the highs to be a bit on the tame side with certain recordings. This is perhaps not a bad thing with horns.
