Hairball Audio 1176 Rev A - Your experience and Thoughts?

I built a Hairball Rev A, and liked it. I sold it when I got the Stam ADG because I thought the Stam had the edge, tone wise. The Hairball was a bit grittier, or more overtly colored, where the Stam sounded a bit classier to me, more like the Ureis I’ve used. But, I did like the Hairball and would still be using it if I hadn’t got the Stam.

Unless you really like building gear, why not just get an Audioscape 76d or f or A? I have 76D. It's on just about every vocal recording I've done in the last year. Highly recommend it.

I recently built a Rev D kit, which is less aggressive than the Rev A circuit.

Before going with the FET/500, I considered the Hairball full sized kit, Audioscape, the the various Stam modules. At one point, I could have gone in any of these directions and was leaning towards purchasing an Audioscape.

I originally wanted to go full sized, but ultimately liked the idea of an 1176 in a compact form factor. I can’t compare to other hardware, but I like the sound and feel better than plugins.

You’ve got to consider the slight differences in operation, such as small knobs and LED metering. I love that it is so tiny, but can see why some would prefer to have the 2RU experience.

These days I think the smart money is on the AudioScape 76's.

Welcome M!
Great to see you here, at this Recording Oasis.
(While my mind is usually a Blur)
Am still in the BudgetLand of Plugs (UA)...
But would also upgrade to Audioscape,
if/when I did.
Chris
P.S. Your "Positivity" will be appreciated here!

^^^^. That!!  Plus you'll get it rather than having to wait a year.  Or two....  

You don’t need to just build but also calibrate the comp, but there are videos about.

Build it with your dad: you’ll treasure that comp or buy 2 a and d and build them together: what great memories!

Over the Serpent Splices? 😲

I love my 500 splices.  If going 500, I don't think AS has an option do they?  (checked.  doesn't look like it.).

If you've got the cash or are rack space limited, the rack Splices are awesome.  If you need to go 500, the 500 Splices are a no brainer.  If budget AND high quality is a concern and if you have enough rack space, the AS 1176 line is beyond killer.  That's probably where I would head if I was starting over again....

I’ll happily send you a SA-76A Plus to test for free. In case you don’t want to keep it you can return it to our local service center in NY, FL or LA. We also have the D plus available =)

Stam’s plus means it includes a tube stage that you select, it’s optional.

So, you get the classic 75a or d, plus you can turn in the tube to experiment with those sonics.

For what it’s worth, I have ahead HV, Audioscape and Stam 76a and I thought they were all fine, but preferred the Stam.

Maybe, check if your Dad is keen to build, if so, great, HB gets yiy there, if not, try the Stam!

I think having some serious DIY experience with an 1176 clone is well worth it, you’ll have a deeper understanding of your gear purchases afterwards perhaps having some distinction between transistor types (JFET vs BJT, etc.), some idea of what an audio transformer does (in the signal path) vs a power transformer for the supply, resistor and capacitor values and types, IC pinouts. You can go as deep as you want to go and look up datasheets for the parts. If it’s a project you can do with your (EE!) Dad, all the better. How much would you have to pay an EE to individually guide you through something like that? Probably approaching price of a coveted vintage unit.

If you do a decent job soldering it up, you can always sell the Hairball if for some reason you prefer another compressor variant, and recover most if not all of the cost of materials.. but you’ll get to take what you learn with you indefinitely.

No question, if I was in your position, I’d build the Hairball with dad!