The True Systems P-Solo Ribbon Mic Pre Review
Yes! It’s finally here, and it works! 
For those of you that have been following my saga, Sweetwater shipped me a replacement unit the same day that I shipped back the defective one. Not only that, they express shipped it so that it arrived before the holiday. Yay!
So, how is it? The answer: It’s great! My favorite part is the little light that actually comes on when you turn it on.
The P-Solo Ribbon has very few bells and whistles. It does one thing and it does it really well. It amplifies your microphone signal, clean and clear. It also has plenty of gain, perfect for dynamic and ribbon microphones (hence the name).
Since it was designed for dynamics and ribbons it doesn’t have phantom power. However, you can add external phantom power for less than $50. That will be my next purchase so that I can run all of my condenser mics through this as well.
My first reaction to the sound of this unit was how natural and full it sounded. There’s that extra little bit of smooth presence that you get in a really nice quality pre.
The other thing I noticed was that a signal recorded through it responded very favorably to EQ. It didn’t take much to add a little warmth and a little sparkle. And when boosting the high-end there wasn’t any grittiness that I’ve heard with lesser units.
I had a couple of requests to do a shoot out between the P-Solo and the stock pres on my Digidesign 002. So I did.
Shure SM7 - P-Solo
Here I am reading a couple of sentences recorded with my Shure SM7 into the P-Solo.
Shure SM7 - 002 Stock Pre
Here I am reading the same copy with my Shure SM7 directly into one of the stock mic pres on the Digidesign 002.
Comparison
For instant comparison purposes, here I am reading the same short snippet of copy four times. The first time is the P-Solo, the second time is the Digidesign 002, the third time is the P-Solo again and the fourth time is the Digidesign 002 again.
Comparison with EQ
Here are those same four comparisons, this time with added EQ set identically for each pass.
Some of the subtleties are not as apparent due to the MP3 compression used in the files above. However, I think you can still hear some difference including when EQ is applied.
Also, this quick shootout was just one source, my voice. After what I’ve heard in just this small test I can tell that I’m going to be pleasantly surprised with a variety of different sources. Even when the difference is small, it’s these type of differences that add up when you put one source on top of another…and another…within a mix.
At around $500 the true systems P-Solo Ribbon is quite a value indeed. The rule of thumb for the cost of a high quality mic pre is often pegged somewhere about $1,000 per channel. Now, for that same money you can have two very nice mic pres!
I should mention that the P-Solo is also available in a model with phantom power. There’s also an eight channel version that comes in a one space rack and a one-channel 500 series module.
Thanks again to Sweetwater for a great prize and great customer service, even for a freebie!
Click here to visit the official True Systems site
Click here to visit Sweetwater’s site
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Hey, Big Al!
I have the opportunity to get one of these from a friend who needs some cash. I have two questions.
One- I am running Logic on my MacBook and my a/d conversion happens in either a MOTU 8pre interface or an Apogee Duet. So I’ll have to run the P-solo through one of those- will that negate the advantages of this pre?
Two- if it makes sense to trade some cash for this unit, my interfaces do have +48, so I would not need the outboard phantom power to use it with condenser mics, yes?
Thanks!
Typically your A/D offers nothing to stop you from using external pres. Just make sure you aren’t running the P-Solo into another pre on the way in. You need to use a line input.
No matter what, if you want to use a condenser with a pre that pre has to have phantom power, regardless of any other devices you have in your system that also have phantom power. It’s not a big deal though, you can get an external phantom power unit for around $40 US.