PreSonus VXP

Has a few "gotchas" like the first reviewer found out. No gain reduction meter on the limiter section, relatively imprecise settings on concentric knobs... more qualitative than quantitative.

I think what is happening to the other user is: he's got too much gain hitting the limiter stage right before the output. Reduce the input gain, the input and output gain to/from the compressor section, and use conservative EQ settings to prevent the limiter from kicking in low in the signal range... (if you are following me) Basically turn the front end down and the limiter up....

In my opinion it is an excellent sounding preamp !!

I haven't owned my VXP long enough to know.

I've contacted Presonus about the MP20 preamp and found them to be extremely helpful !!

I think for the money it is a tremendous value, it's a one rack space "does it all" for vocals device. If you set the input gain level, compressor input and output gain properly you'll never run into the audible onset of the limiter circuit.

Ive had my VXP for about a year now. Its quite easy to use. Its a one space, one channel preamp. Every parameter you might want is editable from the front. It has a compressor built in and also an EQ. Presonus more or less assumes that you already have somewhat an idea of what you're doing, so the manual doesn't go too deep into anything asides from setup and a basic tutorial.

I use my VXP as a pre for various mics in my studio... main use is on a Rode NT mic. It is pretty good sounding. Clean, transparent... doesn't color your sound at all unless you tweak the settings to make it so. My only complaint lies with the built-in compressor... it seems no matter how hard i try, the compressor is always either way too ineffective, or completely overcompressing the signal. That might also be because im an idiot, i don't know. But my bandmates make the same comments concerning the compressor. The EQ is nice, very warm but a little thin on the mid-highs. It's not noisy at all. Quiet and clean.

I would not use this at a gig without a backup. The first time we took it out with us, during soundcheck for some bizarre unknown reason it just stopped working. Had power, everything lit up, but it wasn't seeing any signal whatsoever anymore. we changed cables, changed mics, changed power cords... nothing. When we got it back in the studio, we plugged it in and it worked fine again. It hasn't had a problem since. Random incidents like that are NOT cool, and why, even though that is the only time in the time ive had it that it messed up, it still was not cool. we've used it live since then with no problems. very very bizarre.

Ive never dealt with presonus. But they have a good reputation for their customer service.

All in all, I do like the Presonus VXP. asides from the bipolar compressor sound and the one random screwup, it has been an extremely useful tool, and it sounds quite good. (i suppose the compressor issue wouldn't even be a point if you're using a seperate compressor, which i should probably anyway...) Solid construction, looks sharp and wonderful knobs that have smooth rotation on them. Ive been quite happy with the recordings made from the VXP.