Hey guys just wanted to get some opinions from some of you more seasoned recordists out there. I currently have been using a Brent Averill packaged Neve unit and a Drawmer 1960 (tube pre/comp) for my front end. (I use my Allen and Heath Board otherwise) Unfortunally I have to give those pieces back to their owner. I'm looking to either replace the Neve OR upgrade in other areas. The bottom line is I want to get the best sound improvement for my $. I'd be very interested in hearing what you vets have to say. My main LD mic is a TLM 103 which sounds great. I have a 414, NT2, AT 4050 etc that never get used thanks to my TLM. For SD mics I have a nice sounding set of MK-012's that actually out perform (or are very similar) to my SM-81 (say what you will) Various 57's, 58's and other cheaper condensers, kick mics etc are around too. From my experiance the Neve and Drawmer (and the Grace, Trident and Focusrite "Trackmaster?" ) that I had borrowed don't really make a huge "WOW! That Sounds Fantastic!" difference when compared to my Allen and Heath. Now the TLM on the other hand did make a difference. Going from the other LD condensers to the TLM its easy to hear a significant difference in the tone of vocals and instruments recorded. So I guess the main question is, should i replace the Pre's that I'm losing or look at some cool mikes such as a Royer Ribbon mic, or the K2, or KSM 44, or a pair of Neumann or Josephson etc SD's. OR something else? Here's where you take over..Thanks for the words of wisdom in advance. Check out my outdated site here for a better understanding of where I am and what I'm doing. http://www.spinstudiosaustin.com
J-3
Comments
Hey Kurt, Actually its worse its a Brent Averill and it says "Ma
Hey Kurt,
Actually its worse its a Brent Averill and it says "Made from Neve 3405 modules" I had a Trident (S-20?) and a Grace and a Focusrite (silver something) for a very short while and did some a/bing. Out of those the Focusrite was brittle, harsh the Grace was transparent but kinda boring and the Trident was pretty damn cool. I would like to play with one of those again someday. I still want to hear all suggestions from you guys but I'm kinda leaning towards a Great River One Channel and a Royer Ribbon mic or Rode K2 to go with it. I have always been real headstrong on getting a 2 channel pre because I always use the Neve for Snare Top and Bottom, 2 mics on Acoustics, 2 mics on Electic amps etc. BUT I'm thinking perhaps if I had a great sounding pre and the choice b/t the TLM and the Royer I could nail the sound with just one mic. This way I'm not battling the demon "PHASE". What are thoughts on this issue, perhaps it should be it's own thread. Two mics thru one pre, OR one good pre and one good mic with proper mic placement/selection, OR is it ok to use say a Royer thru a Great river and a 57 or TLM thru the Allen and Heath on the same Amp/Guitar Snare whatever track????
Let the debate begin........
Thanks guys
J
".... From my experiance the Neve and Drawmer (and the Grace, Tr
I agree the Brent Averill / Neve unit and Drawmer 1960 won't give you that WOW! reaction you are searching for..
I love Drawmer gates but with the 1960 comp, they missed the target ... I think the mic pre is noisey and I really don't like the sound quality of the VCA compressor stage.
I am assuming the Averill is the 1272, which is a 2 stage, talk back / summing amp not intended as a a mic pre and although they are useable, the 1272's don't exhibit the full oooph that a real 3 stage 1073 or 1081 Neve clones have..
I am not surprised that you haven't been impressed with these pieces... they don't do much for me either..
Check out the Vintech or the Great River MP2NV for the real "Neve sound"