Hi guys, if the pad knob acts on negative feedback could its effect be comparable to the NF knob on Coil preamps?
That is an almost unique feature of Coils, it would be interesting to know there’s another tube preamp on the market that does that for cheaper.

I've got two Sebatron vmp-4000e rack preamps and they both use negative feedback for the gain control.
Lots of preamps use negative feedback for gain control. It's not unique.

From what I understand from the information on the website the "boost" switch on the sebatron vmpquadplus is a negative feedback switch.
When the switch is on the preamp goes open with no negative feedback.
This is seperate to the gain control. The difference is fairly obvious if you run it hot.

I like using the direct inputs on my seb quadplus for keyboards and guitar. I find if I push up the pad/gain to the point of just hearing the color then back off a bit I get a full round tone that has a bit of that natural tube compression. Makes a big difference when mixing as though everything sits nicely in its own space with tighter transients.

But my question is - If the boost switch adjusts negative feedback then what does the gain control adjust ?
I have been trying out the different settings on my sebatron quadplus there is a lot of variation.
I notice that when I record bass through the direct inputs I get a creamier tone with
the boost switch on and the gain control about mid-way than with the boost switch off
and the gain close to max. The more I push the signal the rounder it gets - which is what I want.

I'm just curious as to know what exactly that gain control does given it's the
boost switch that changes the negative feedback.

The gain dial adjusts the amount of signal level going into the tube and the boost switch flicks between open loop and negative feedback.
That's what I read in the manual anyway.

You can push that input to get a bit of color or bring it back to get it clean and the boost switch will
get you more gain on top of that.
The highlight for me is recording keyboards through the direct in and getting some color even on string pads it gives a nice sheen.
I go out of the sebatron and straight into my drawmer.

Not to add to anybody's gearlust but I truly think drums sound better when all mics are going into different channels of the same preamps.

That's really personal taste. There's many many professionals using different pres for different parts of the kit with great success and sound. But I wouldn't mind two more Sebatron vmp-4000e's.

I'm planning to get a third sebatron 4000e or I might get the sebatron vmpquadplus.
I would probably use it for the more acoustic stuff. I track virtually everything through the sebatrons.
I just got to make sure my wife doesn't find out.

Good luck with that...

Thanks but I feel it may be a question of stealth
rather than luck.

I just saw a video of their new sebatron tube EQ.
Now I'm starting to get gas over that one.

I thought the API sounded best followed by the Daking.

The Lauten FC357 has a pad on it that has three positions.
What position have you got the pad on when you are doing your vocals ?
I'm curious to know about the signal strength going into the sebatron.

The lauten has a decent hefty output. I often have the pad in the middle position but I had a screaming female singer in once that made me switch it to the -10db spot but that was the only occasion I have ever needed to pad it down further.
It matches up well with the sebatron and I don't need to EQ much once I have it in the box.

I've been following this thread for some time now which had me call up Sebastian @ Sebatron. After a couple of conversations I purchased the VMPQuadPlus.

I don't say too much tho I do need to say thankyou to this thread, coz finally my ku5a, n8, tf39's, dm-1b, cc8's, their decay is full bodied with whatever the flavours I require, now with the VMPQuadPlus racked, whether tracking or reprinting.

The Sebatron QuadPlus is really a huge bang for the buck. So happy I could support a local secret. It's also got me thinking how well matched the SMAC compressor might be...

Lee Jwa 🌬🪘
@ ToneworX
Melbourne, Australia

Agree that the VMPQuadPlus is a world class pre and value

The control over gain, feedback and EQ options make it flexible enough for ANY capture task and for many mixing scenarios where you want to gain stage.

A go-to tool that should be in the audio engineer's tool box

Have experience with the SMAC and it too is well worth having.

It can embarass much more expensive opticals, at modest cost with underestimated capabilities because it just works.

My Sebatron Vmp-4000e is still used on every single mix and hasn't failed to deliver time and time again for many years now.

I'm starting to run sub mixes of vocals and backing vocals through my quadplus to get some more character/color. It makes a noticable difference especially on the denser tracks
that have a lot of multiple synth parts.
Sometimes I'll use two channels on kick and bass.