Question for Mr. Andy Sneap-Mic pre of choice?

[FASTFISTS]

Just a question. What do you think would be better for drums and guitar as a mic pre?
API or Something NEVEish lets say VINTECH or GREAT RIVER.

Ive heard that API is a little edgy. Is this true?I was originaly thinking API but some of the sluts over at gear slutz say that it doesnt thicken the sound up enough.
The reason Im askin is because I do not have access to either of these to do a comparison.So im relying on my Metal Head Mentors.
Thanks,
Jay Long live Metal!

 

[gumplunger]

I'd say find a local dealer and compare them yourself. Both have been used on countless records for both guitars and drums so it's all going to come down to personal preference.

 

[booyah14]

Haha what do you do when the closest dealer is over 10 hours away?

 

[SPLASTiK]

Haha what do you do when the closest dealer is over 10 hours away?

Fly/Drive/Ferry? :Spin:

 

[gumplunger]

Haha what do you do when the closest dealer is over 10 hours away?

Roadtrip.

Seriously, if you're going to be spending $1k+ on a piece of gear, don't go by word of mouth.

 

[FASTFISTS]

I need beter advice than that!
Has anyone tried any of these?

 

[unsilpauly]

I need beter advice than that!
Has anyone tried any of these?

all of that stuff is good and eventually youll want it all anyway. flip a coin and get one and record with it. they are all high quality and you really cant go wrong with either. ive never heard anything but good stuff about great river and i personally think the vintech x73 is awesome.

 

[Matt Crooks]

If someone says that you can't make a good recording with an API, and that you NEED a Neve to make a good recording, they are full of shit. Are there times were an API is preferable to a Neve? Sure. But both are high quality pres, and you can not go wrong with either.

For guitar you need one good pre, maybe two if you want to do the dual mic'ing thing. For drums, you need to cover your money tracks - kick, snare and over heads. So you need 4 (5 if using 2 kick drums, 3 if you don't care about the kick and you're just going to replace it with a sample).

My first "good" pre was a pair of Neve 1272s. They have always served me well. I have other pres that I use now in place of them for certain things, but if you told me I had to make a full album with just 1272s, I wouldn't complain.

 

[gumplunger]

One is not better than the other. The API 512c has been used on drums tons, but the Neve clones will probably be closer to what you want on guitar. However, given that the API preamps cost a hell of a lot less than the Neve clones, factor all of this into your budget. You haven't told us what your budget is and what kind of sound you want, so don't expect someone to say "buy this one." And even if someone did, would you really take their word for it and drop $1000-3000+ on it?

 

[FASTFISTS]

I know what you guys are saying but Im trying to figure out whats going to give me that awesome punchy fat sound!
Like the new Arch Enemy drums Theres pics of what looks like a crap load of Neves.
Does anyone know of any albums that have API's or NEVE's on them?
That would be helpful actually!

 

[FASTFISTS]

I was actually thinking of getting a rack of A12's

 

[chadsxe]

The Great River does not have to be "Neveish" if you don't want it to be....

 

[gumplunger]

I know what you guys are saying but Im trying to figure out whats going to give me that awesome punchy fat sound!
Like the new Arch Enemy drums Theres pics of what looks like a crap load of Neves.
Does anyone know of any albums that have API's or NEVE's on them?
That would be helpful actually!

Well it'd be a safe bet to say that 75% of the modern "hard rock" albums recorded in a commercial studio had the guitars run through Neve 1073s or something similar. These probably aren't the right bands to give examples about, but I'm just saying what I know. I remember reading that The Used did all their tracking through Vintech x73s. As for API, I believe Mudrock uses his API console on the records he produces (Avenged Sevenfold would be a recent example).

edit: On a side note, every single artist/studio on the planet wants that "awesome punchy fat sound", and it's been achieved through just about every piece of gear imaginable, so how about a budget and the kind of music you're recording.

 

[FASTFISTS]

Ok. Hard rock-25% Metal-75%

As for budget $4500 tops!

 

[FASTFISTS]

Andy whats your $0.02?

 

[metalkingdom]

A good engineer can make nearly anything sound good.

Vintech's don't sound like Neve's.

If you don't have quite a bit of experience working with a particular pre that you're interested in, word of mouth is ALL you have to go on. Even the most expensive and sought after mic pre's sound different from unit to unit. It takes some time to actually hear the nuances and distinct characteristics of ANY audio processing unit.

If you are a recording novice, I'd suggest buying something that's considered entry level. That way, when you decide to upgrade, the difference will be obvious.

Most of GNR's "Use Your Illusion(s)" was recorded with API pre's - if you wanna hear what they can do.

$4500 is a lot of money to spend on one mic pre! You can get a whole lotta shit for that price.

 

[FASTFISTS]

I was thinking a rack of API's
I currently have Focusrite ISA 428 and there better sounding(I think) then the F. REDS.
But I want to kick it up a knotch.
My main concern is im spending a hell of a lot and i just want some outsider opinions!

 

[FASTFISTS]

Like I said earlyer my main use would be drums and guitar.I have a grace 101 also that I use on vox.

 

[metalkingdom]

I believe that the general consensus among recording professionals is that the ISA's aren't nearly as sweet as the Red stuff. I personally can't stand the 428 - very harsh to my ears. Almost unusable. But I've only used one particular unit and as I mentioned above, shit sounds different from unit to unit. I don't listen to Hoobastank, but that's all Red series mic pres on their last album...which sounds pretty damn good. With $4500, you can get a 1073 and a 737. Tough to beat that combo. Check out the Millenia HV-3D. You can get that for around $3500. Be sure to give it (each channel) the "crank it up and listen for noise" test, because they can be a little unpredictable, but they sound pretty damn good on drums.

 

[FASTFISTS]

So What would you perfer API/NEVE?