Help me choose a good preamp

[Glenn Fricker]

Sorry to be such a smartass, dude, but the only thing that's gonna sound exactly like a Neve is a Neve. Even my Great River MP2NV isn't 100%. It's 'based' on the 1073, but there's been some modifications to the circuit.

Here's the story on it:
http://www.mercenary.com/greatrivelmp.html

 

[metalkingdom]

Since we're talking about Neve's and such, the Vintech stuff that is being tossed around here claims to copy Neve 1073's and 1272's. Let me tell you - they don't.

 

[Exsanguis]

They definitely don't sound exactly or even approximately like the Neves(though the 33609 copy is surprisingly accurate, compared to the other Vintechs' accuracy), but you could do a lot worse than them. I've heard and made some excellent sounds from Vintechs, but if someone wants Neves, they definitely need to keep looking.

P.S. - I'm still laughing about the Mackie thing, a few hours after the fact .

 

[Razorjack]

If you could tell us a specific budget, that'd be mighty helpful, as I could rattle off $1,000+ pre's all day long, but that may be over your limit. That said, the Gold Mike is awesome and the RNP is also great(cleaner than the Gold). As far as other pre's are concerned, I'll wait till I hear your budget.

$1000 is where my limit is, but it would have to be something really good for me to buy it over the RNP (my current top-choice, since I have heard the Gold Mic isn't best on female vocals).

If you've got any suggestions for preamps that would be great, I'm looking at having to import from the US so even obscure stuff would be cool.

 

[black sugar]

If you're gonna go the FMR route from overseas, try Mercenary Audio. They should have the 240v versions in stock and you can get a RNC and a Funklogic rack tray while you're at it.

http://www.mercenaryaudio.com/fmraudio.html



How's this for obscure?

I was going to get a Groove Tubes Brick, but decided to cheap out and mod a Bellari MP105 instead. The Bellari's are full plate voltage tube pres (not starved) and dirt cheap right now. Should run me about $120 including the mods.

Here's some mod info. I'm gonna use Burr-Brown chips instead of the ones suggested here:

http://www.blacklionaudio.com/roundsound.htm


I'm also looking at the Joemeek ThreeQ right now for something different (and low budget).

 

[Razorjack]

I think I'll get the Bellari since I have enough money in my paypal account to get one, they're not as cheap over here but still worth a go, I love obscure stuff!!

Which Burr-Browns are you getting?

 

[black sugar]

I got the OPA2604AU surface mount:

http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/opa2604.html

Hope that's the right one! You want me to let you know? Haha.


The OPA2604 model number is mentioned in a mod for another Bellari unit:

http://www.blacklionaudio.com/RP503.htm

 

[Razorjack]

It looks like the right one, thanks. Just about to buy the Bellari on eBay, should have it modded by the end of next week.

 

[black sugar]

Nice! Let's hope this works then!


P.S. PM me if you want me to send the BBE.

 

[Razorjack]

Nice! Let's hope this works then!


P.S. PM me if you want me to send the BBE.

I forgot about the BBE!! I'll get in touch as soon as I get fixed at a single address (working all over the place at the moment).

For the price the Bellari is worth a shot!!

 

[Fyhed]

I think Rupert Neve actually designed some of the Mackie pre-amps, im not sure which ones.

 

[A Gruesome Discovery]

I think Rupert Neve actually designed some of the Mackie pre-amps, im not sure which ones.

You may be thinking of Focusrite; the ISA series of channel strips feature a Neve-designed pre. That's their high-end line, though; they run at somewhere between $1k - $3k, street price.
It's not that Mackie pre's are really bad; the XDR series from VLZ mixers are reasonably quiet, they're just not very good; that is, they're boring. When you consider that the average cost per preamp in a mackie mixer is under $50, I suppose it's a pretty good value... but they're no Neves, that's for sure. The Onyx pre's are a huge step up, but still not as good as something you'd find in any mid-priced single channel unit.
I'm not trying to trash mackie here; a 1402VLZ sits proudly by my side as I type this, and I use it all the time on stuff that's not quite as critical as vocals, but it's a cheap toy compared to any Neve, Telefunken, UA, Great River, Manley, API, GML, Avalon, Groove Tubes, etc....