Tym_ex
Tymon
I think A and D sounded best, E is high quality but not too exciting. B was definitely the worst.
Cool shootout, thnx!
Cool shootout, thnx!
The Preamp Shootout!
- Thread starter Glenn Fricker
- Start date
yea, i'm a little surprised that the fireface pre performed that well against some world-class competition
i'm not surprised, though, that clip A was the neve clone - it seemed to be a little more open/airy than the others. the difference between the RME, API, and great river didn't seem all that great though.
i wonder how a really crappy pre would've stood up against what was used here...it's all good to use a bunch of great pres, and hear the differences, but i really wonder what the same signal chain would sound like with, say, a mackie vlz or behringer pre inserted in there
i'm not surprised, though, that clip A was the neve clone - it seemed to be a little more open/airy than the others. the difference between the RME, API, and great river didn't seem all that great though.
i wonder how a really crappy pre would've stood up against what was used here...it's all good to use a bunch of great pres, and hear the differences, but i really wonder what the same signal chain would sound like with, say, a mackie vlz or behringer pre inserted in there
tdr
Member
STINNETT
Bad / Nationwide
Metalhead28 said:
Hey, that makes me pretty happy about my ears, considering I was on some PC speakers.
Out of curiosity, OZ, which of those pres do you prefer in this instance?
Radd
Self Portrait
I remember the last mic pre shootout that someone posted here not that long ago and the same thing happened. Some people didn't notice a difference & some noticed barely a slight difference. IIRC one of the pres was a super cheap homemade job. We were all shocked and came to the conclusion that it really makes a difference when tracks are layered. We haven't had a shootout with layered tracks yet. This thread was a good experiment anyway in that it verifies that other thread.
RipShredmohr
DesperatelySeekingSatan
- Dec 14, 2005
- 158
- 0
- 16
Maybe I have bad taste but when I skip straight to the power chord part of the clip I think that Ward Beck sounds the chunkiest. Where the rest of you hear "dark" I hear less "honk". The highs are a bit harsh compared to the others, but with Ruby Tube (medium sparkle preset) I thought it sounded pretty cool.
The Vintech, Great River, & API are all great for the application, imo. I find the API has a slightly more open extreme hi, & is somewhat less boomy. The GR accentuates the pick attack & upper mids a bit (it was also set to 300ohms which is the perfect impedance for the 57), & the Vintech has that cool lower midrange thing going on which is perfect for lead guitar.
Personally, I've been tracking rhythms with the API's as they seem to take EQ so much easier & I need a whole lot less of it to get the tracks to sit well in a mix... bascially, I'm just bussing the guitars & Eqing them as a whole, instead of Eqing each track individually. ...Like I would with the Vintech.
The Ward Beck, on the other hand, is a wierd beast. The preamps part of an old Canadian built radio console with the biggest, sturdiest power supply I've ever seen. We're talking military grade. WB stuff has often been refered to as the "Canadian Neve" but as you can see here, it's certainly got it's own sound. I like it on overheads, as it has a nice way of smoothing out the extreme highs. It's also great on male vocals... if any of you have ever seen "Hockey Night in Canada" you'll know what I'm talking about. The CBC broadcasts thru Ward Beck stuff.
Anyway, I hope this little test was of some use to you guys. It's something I've been wanting to do for a while & finally got around to.
Take it easy,
-0z-
The Great River sounds like it has the best overall tone for midrange in my opinion (key for guitars), but I must say that I am impressed with the Fireface stock pre. much better than the 002 pre LOL!
man...it's been what, 2 months since this topic was made? and i'm still referring people to it every time they mention that they need some ridiculously expensive pre to record guitars...
