Andy and others, Neve sound? preamp questions..

CJWall

CJWall

Member
Oct 21, 2005
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Southwest Florida, USA
Cheers all,
I am kind of getting my thoughts together on what kind of pre I want to become my main and first real tracking pre-amp.

I am mainly going to be tracking guitars, bass, vocals, etc no real kit yet so I'd really just like one or two great channels. I've been looking at picking up a Neve clone and was just wondering what your take is on the Neve flavor for tracking in a metal context.

Would I fair better with say, an FMR Really Nice Pre? I've also been eyeing some of the Trident stuff used, particularly the S20. Isn't Trident API-ish?

I'm looking to spend sub-$700 for one or two channels (one would be adequate). I was also thinking of getting the Presonus Eureka for now and later down the road getting some flavor of Neve or Trident or whatever.

Thanks for any help,
Charlie
 
INAB - why even worry about a Neve sound right now? If you are making music for yourself, then just buy something that's relatively cheap and gets the job done. If you don't have a lot of experience with high end pre's, you're probably not even gonna hear a noticeable difference in them anyway.

As far as Neve pre's for tracking goes, 1073's are about as close to the "be all end all" of mic pre's as you can get. They are awesome for any recording situation.

For under $700, you're not gonna get anything that's even close to sounding like a Neve. There are lots of choices out there that can get the job done very effectively, though.

Tridents sound Trident-ish. API's sound API-ish. Neve's sound Neve-ish.
 
Dude if you really are worried about getting a Neve-ish type sound I would highly suggest saving up a few hundred more for the a Great-River MP1NV. It is moddled off of the 1073's but has a few modern day twist added. It really allows you to run the feild of sound. Just above line-wire to full blown Neve(ish) type color. Can't speak highly enough about it.
 
thanks for the insight!

yes you are correct, for the moment I am only recording my stuff, BUT I intend to start tracking bands sometime in the near future and would like to 'invest' in something that I will still have use for later on down the road.

Alas though, I think I'll just get the Eureka to learn on and develop my ear a bit.

BTW, I was looking at the Chameleon Labs 7602 which is $800 w/PSU. Sure, it may not sound exactly like a real 1073, but I think it'd be something that I could hang on to for quite a while..we'll see..

Thanks for the perspective though man!
 
CJWall said:
thanks for the insight!

yes you are correct, for the moment I am only recording my stuff, BUT I intend to start tracking bands sometime in the near future and would like to 'invest' in something that I will still have use for later on down the road.

Alas though, I think I'll just get the Eureka to learn on and develop my ear a bit.

BTW, I was looking at the Chameleon Labs 7602 which is $800 w/PSU. Sure, it may not sound exactly like a real 1073, but I think it'd be something that I could hang on to for quite a while..we'll see..

Thanks for the perspective though man!
Click to expand...
hey man. i would definetley go for a rnp over a eureka for sure. my rnp sounds soooo much better than my presonus pres. you cant go wrong with the rnp. even people with super nice stuff still like that pre. it does the job well. save the cash. i got my rnp for like $470.00. nothing can touch it in that price range for two channels. i did all the guitars on that metalcore tune i posted a while ago with the rnp and you said that you really liked it. with the proper time to get a good sound a good mic, the rnp is very versatile. if you have any other questions about it let me know. take it easy man.
 
CJWall said:
BTW, I was looking at the Chameleon Labs 7602 which is $800 w/PSU. Sure, it may not sound exactly like a real 1073, but I think it'd be something that I could hang on to for quite a while..we'll see..
Click to expand...

I've heard nothing but great things about those pres. I've been thinking about picking one up someday myself.
 
I picked up a RNP and it's great. if you're looking to expand your capacity later the RNP would be a great way to start, because it sounds good and you can definitely keep using it even when you add some really high end stuff.

say you're going to track a live drummer in the future, you can use the RNP for overheads or something...

it's probably the cheapest thing out there that you won't feel the need to sell once you get something better.
 
chadsxe said:
Dude if you really are worried about getting a Neve-ish type sound I would highly suggest saving up a few hundred more for the a Great-River MP1NV. It is moddled off of the 1073's but has a few modern day twist added. It really allows you to run the feild of sound. Just above line-wire to full blown Neve(ish) type color. Can't speak highly enough about it.
Click to expand...
If your looking for one BADASS! 1073 style pre. You HAVE to check out the Great River! If your starting out, the RNP, or an ART Pro Channel, makes more sense, but once you start to desire a high end pre, look no further than the GR! If your gonna waste $800 on a presonus though, for a $1100, you could get the GR! And check out the RNLA with your Great River!
 
I've used the MP1NV before. It has too much low-mid action for me. It made acoustic guitar sound a bit dull and boxy. I don't like accentuated low-mid sound.

My personal favourite preamp out of every I've ever heard would have to be the Buzz Audio MA-2. It is the most pristine and transparent piece of gear I've ever worked with in my life. The way the guitar sounded in the live space, is how it sounded back through the monitors.
 
Moonlapse said:
I've used the MP1NV before. It has too much low-mid action for me. It made acoustic guitar sound a bit dull and boxy. I don't like accentuated low-mid sound.

My personal favourite preamp out of every I've ever heard would have to be the Buzz Audio MA-2. It is the most pristine and transparent piece of gear I've ever worked with in my life. The way the guitar sounded in the live space, is how it sounded back through the monitors.
Click to expand...

I agree. I would never use an acoustic guitar with this pre. . But on the same note a true "neveish" type pre is usually not going to result in a "Pristine and Transparent" sound. The orginal poster was after a Neve sound not a line-wire sound.

For the sake of argument if we were talking about line-wire type pres I would hav not suggested the MP1NV. Instead I would have suggested a Grace.
 
chadsxe said:
But on the same note a true "neveish" type pre is usually not going to result in a "Pristine and Transparent" sound.
Click to expand...

A real 1073 sounds great on acoustic guitars and pretty much everything.
 
metalkingdom said:
A real 1073 sounds great on acoustic guitars and pretty much everything.
Click to expand...

I guess it is all a matter of taste....and context....who knows the acoustic he used could have been the wrong match for the pre and mic.
 
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