Focusrite Vioce master

Hi!

I have a dispute with an engineers in our studio.I'm going to buy Voice master /The old model not PRO/.They told me that this unit is distorting a sound.But I like what I'm hearing!
What you think guys is this model is OK for recording vocals and compressing?
Actually at that price level

Regards!

Donny

 

If your going to get Focusrite stick to the ISA or RED's. With the big companies like Focusrite you get what you pay for and your not going to get the kind of sound I would call professional from the platinum series.

However there are a lot of other preamps online that use Rupert Neve designs for a lot less money than the High end Focusrite stuff. I'd suggest researching before buying. I know when one gets the bug to buy a new piece of gear it's hard to hold off but in this case you won't regret it.

Check out seventh circle's preamp kits or JLM audio or hell Buy a rack and a 312 module right from API and add modules when you have money. I think the Modules are about $400-$500 USD.

Cheers

 

Hi

I don't know the Voice master, but for what it's worth I own an Octopre (also from Focusrite), and I have to say that in this case the "you get what you pay for " isn't that applicable: I really like it, clear, clean, defined, good headroom, not colored; I use it for tracking all of the sources for the acoustic, contemporary music I mostly record, and so far all of the musicians and producers have been happy with the sounds. The AD conversion sounds good too (even though not in the the league of dedicated A/D converters).
IMO this is a good result from an 8 channel "budget" box.

This is just my experience, others may not be of the same opinion.

L.G.

 

It's good if it sounds good to you. I owned one of these and moved up to the Pro version. It is definitely a cut above other pres in the $300 and down category. If your paying more than this then get the Pro version.

The distortion would come from one of the effects which you can just turn off and then use the preamp.

 

Lorenzo, do you use it as a front end for your daw, letusa sy pro Tools, Nuendo:?
have ya compared it to console pres like d8b and 02R?

 

Originally posted by ACB:

Yes, I use it for all of my tracking on Pro Tools, together with a couple other pres, and I go Lightpipe in PT using the Focusrite AD conversion card which sounds really good.

No, I didn't compare it to those boards but I once tracked with a 02R, and honestly it's preamp quality didn't impress me; IMO they do their job, but unless you go into high end, large format consoles the preamps aren't going to be better than those on a stand alone outboard unit, that costs 1/4 of the board's price by itself (for half the mic pres). That's just my opinion, but I reamined pretty surprised by the Plaitnum serie: they do not sound like the Red or ISA, but I think in their price range are killer products; on a side not I finished tracking a string quartet yesterday evening, and I found out how quiet this preamp is, even with the gain straight up at 3 o' clock: if you don't use the built in Comp/limiters (which add a little hiss) the unit is dead quiet, is a joy to listen to a final chord and hear it fade to complete silence.

Hope this is helpful

L.G.

 

Hi everybody!

I'm agree with you Lorenzo!When I checked Platinium preamp it sounded perfectly,but all other efx made the sound worse.I was asking for only preamp by Focusrite ,but there was not alone unit like that.Yes Octopre,but I don't need so much inputs for that moment.After we checked Joemeek VC1 -very strange thing.It made the sound worse and muddy.So at the end I ordered FMR RNC and if it works O.K. may be we will check RNP.Will see?But the clear sound of Platinium preamp is still in my head

Regards!

Donny

 

if the sound of the platinum series is in your head than hurry up and listen to the RNP. it will clear your senses.

 

Will see,will see...

I'm waiting now

Donny

 

hey, who do sells RNC and RNP?
Thanks

 

ACB,
FMR may be reached at http://www.fmraudio.com (512)280-6557
If you contact them, ask them to send me some RNP's and RNC's to review! Kurt Foster / RO Review Editor

 

hey Kurt, do you want to trade my ADAT Xt for one of your mic pres?
Lol

 

ACB,
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha NO!

 

I am disappointed to know that the RNC can not handle dual mono tasks...

 

Buy two Alecio -it costs only 170$.By the way I don't know how much you must pay per hour in Brazil's studios?Here is too cheap and it is very hard to upgrade to new equipment.Average price is 10$.....But you can live here like a king for 200$ per month

But anyway we are trying to create decent music and sound!

Regards!

Donny

http://www.popcorn.dir.bg

 

$200 a month ??!! wow, I might have to pay a visit...

 

Mic Pres, along with mics and other front end gear, more than anything else, impact the way your recordings sound. Unlike the latest digital piece of junk they can last a lifetime.

Recordists are still using mics, preamps and compressors that are 40 years old and these pieces still retain their value while no one wants that 20 bit Pro Tools Mix Farm card you bought 3 years ago for $2000! But you don’t have to find a vintage piece that may need recapping or a lot of other work and that you won’t feel like you can rely on! There are many new designs/reissues/clones that fall into this category also. The common thing all high quality mic pres and compressors have is high power consumption resulting in high headroom. I am not a tech so I can’t explain it very well but EveAnna Manly says, “Joules Man! Joules!” There just is no getting around it. You gotta have massive power supplies to get that headroom, bandwidth and those linear operation characteristics.

Presently there is just no way to make this stuff inexpensively. I don’t think there ever will be. This stuff costs, plain and simple. But there really is no better and cost efficient way to audio Nirvana. The high end converters, sound cards, software are all wonderful, but if you are feeding them crap, that’s what they will put back out. There is no “digital goodualtor”!

So quit goofing around, trying to cheap out with your mics and preamps while spending a bundle on the next version of Pro Tools, new computers and things with blinking lights that are destined for the scrap heap within a few short years. Bite the bullet and learn what the hit makers have known for years. Almost every top flight engineer that is working the majors is traveling with their own racks of mic pres, comps and a cases of vintage and high end microphones. Even Bob Rock who has his own SSL console has a rack of Neve modules! All the other stuff is superfluous.

There are some companies that are making some killer stuff at very reasonable prices. I think a good rule of thumb is that quality mic pres run somewhere around $500 per channel at the very least. But there are a few companies that have broken this price barrier while still maintaining quality. Sebatron and JLM are two that come to mind. The JLM TMP 8 http://www.jlmaudio.com is an 8 channel solid state mic pre in the ilk of APIs and is currently priced at $1500. That is $187.50 per channel! JLM is upgrading these great pres to be Pro Tools controllable and this new product is slated to hit the market in July 2003! Now I agree this is not peanuts! $1500 is a lot of cash for many of us but it is the economy of scale that is making these things so cheap at the per channel price. You can’t achieve this with a single or dual channel unit. Sebatron is manufacturing excellent tube mic pres in a quad box (the vmp – 4000) that retail for $1497 and as a dual unit (the vmp – 2000) at $850! http://www.sebatron.com This is still far below the $500 per channel benchmark and I can say these are absolutely wonderful sounding mic pres. There is nothing else you could do to improve the quality of your recordings for so little cash!

Not only are these companies manufacturing great products but their owners have been very generous with their time here at RO, answering questions and contributing to topic threads. They both have excellent customer service programs. These are the kinds of people I enjoy doing business with.

I advise all of you to consider this and hopefully go get yourself set up with some great front end gear. Kurt

 

Kurt,

That was lovely. I often find myself tonguetied when someone asks me the dreaded "why" about any piece of gear if I haven't already formulated some kind of verbal explanation for them ahead of time. Thanks to you, I have one for mic pres now. "JOULES MAN, JOULES!"

As far as I'm concerned the only way to truly explain anything regarding sound to someone is for them to actualy listen to whatever gear is the subject of conversation; HOWEVER, if you don't have that luxury, it's nice to know how to answer the question logically until the gear's in front of you to play with!

Again, Thanks.

 

Thanx,Kurt!

I found that full explanation very helpful for me!
I just have to believe in the people close to me!And pay respect!

Donny

 

I bought a Platium Fousrite Vocal Strip or what ever it's called. Tried to use it one time, never made it to tape so I guess you could say it is brand new.
Would any body like to but it? CHEAP!
larry@larryhoward.com