Anyone take their home studio to the next level?

[Buzzy Fretts]

I finally bit the bullet and nailed a pro mic preamp. I hope that at least some of the vocal tracks I generate for the CD project will now be keepers. Before this I was always planning on swapping out the vox by going to a pro facility.

There's lots of interesting choices out there. Some pres are designed to be transparent and simply add volume w/o any coloration. A few are well known for the signature coloration they impart on a track. There a number of choices that are considered mildly colored, and for a select few, the color that they add is considered very *musical.* I made my choice(s) among the latter group.

The jobs I needed the preamps to fill ranged from recording my voice to recording acoustic instruments to serving as a hi-end DI. Early on I decided to try and buy the best damn vocal pre I could (almost) afford. However I also needed to temper that purchase with a pair of stereo channels to record my acoustic and/or my Newports.

I decided on a single channel of Great River ME-1NV This pre has a huge fan base among audio engineers for capturing the "thunder" of the classic Neve 1073 console, which has been decribed as "the most famous and possibly most desirable preamp in the history of recording." There's a great little blurb on what went into the Great River pre on a page decribing the 2 channel version over at Mercenary Audio.

To cover the chores of stereo preamp, I opted for the inexpensive FMR Really Nice Preamp. Not as pristine as some choices and not as weighted as the ME-1NV, the coloration of these has been praised in its own right.

Anyone else gone down this road? What choices did you make? D@mn, I just enough to buy a nice SuperPro. Its tough to buy tools that are not very sexy, but will make a huge difference down the road.

[Stevieconlon]

As a matter of fact, two years ago I went through the same process.

I bought the Great River also.

AND, the FMR Really Nice Preamp and Really Nice Compressor!

The FMR stuff is... of course, really nice!

The Great River blows me away. It is amazing on everything I've used it on. You can really hear the difference on bass guitar.

[RobB]

My bet is that you're on the right track. My limited experience w/digirecording is that the best way to go is get the best preamps and mics that you can afford.

A year ago, my band recorded 5 songs on Pete Townsend's 16-trk Neve board @Prarie Sun Studios (he had this board on his barge/studio for demos). It was a real thrill to tweak the knobs and hear punkrock roaring out of the monitors.

Flash forward to March of this year. We do 3 songs on the full, high-end ProTools rig. Aaaaaah...I'm prolly gonna stick w/analog in the future!

So, I guess anything that can get close to emulating a Neve pre could never be a bad thing...

[Lockbody]

Each time I make a studio purchase I go thought the same thing quantity or quality. Every time it's been quantity. CubaseSx upgrade, a couple more sm57s (can't have too many, right?), and a couple of lower-end dbx compressors. Or UAD-1 card, Soundforge upgrade, AT 4047, and a ART pro-channel (eh).

I thumb through the Sweetwater catalog and dream of:

a Langevin DualVocal Combo or

a Vintech X73i (also based on a 1073) or

a Focusrite Red *something* or

a True *something* or

a Summit Audio *something* or....

Well, you get the point. Maybe next time I'll buy that "one thing"... maybe.

And I wonder why I spend so much time turd polishing.

[jwhitcomb3]

Ooh, cool toy! I've read nothing but good reviews for the Great River stuff!

I'm afraid my ears aren't discerning enough to tell the differences between pre-amps once you get past the low end stuff. I've used an Aphex 107 and the built-in pres on my MOTU 828 and have been satisfied with my recordings. I'm sure a better mic pre-amp would improve the sound, but I'm starting to feel like the return on investment is diminishing at this point. Once I got my Mackie HR824s and my Neumann KMS105 I've been pretty much on cruise control.

Post some recordings once you've gotten to know it!

-Jonathan

[Jeroen]

At this time nothing beats analog recordings.............period!

We are also using some old tube mics from the mid 60´s!!!

Jeroen

[Lockbody]

I'm afraid my ears aren't discerning enough to tell the differences between pre-amps once you get past the low end stuff.

Some friends down south of me scored a old Neve console from the sixtes (and a 2" 16 track!) from a college radio station. They converted most of the pre-amps to rackmount and recorded some samples to do some A/B testing.

I tell ya, my ears are pretty shot from years of punk rock with little, or no hearing protection, but the stuff recorded with the Neve's just sounded "more real" and it was a very noticable difference. For example, a sample recorded with their Trident board (nice pre-amps in its' own right) sounded very nice until you compared it to the Neve. The Neve was like taking a blanket off the monitors. More detail, clarity, body etc...

Believe me, you would hear the difference

[jwhitcomb3]

Some friends down south of me scored a old Neve console from the sixtes (and a 2" 16 track!) from a college radio station. They converted most of the pre-amps to rackmount and recorded some samples to do some A/B testing.

I tell ya, my ears are pretty shot from years of punk rock with little, or no hearing protection, but the stuff recorded with the Neve's just sounded "more real" and it was a very noticable difference. For example, a sample recorded with their Trident board (nice pre-amps in its' own right) sounded very nice until you compared it to the Neve. The Neve was like taking a blanket off the monitors. More detail, clarity, body etc...

Believe me, you would hear the difference

Were you keeping the EQ flat in both boards? If not, you were comparing much more than just pre-amps! The Neve EQs are legendary!

-Jonathan

[Buzzy Fretts]

Hey Stevie! I guess its true about what they with great minds and all. And cool what you say about using it as a DI. I hadn't considered the potential, but then started reading comments like that. Sweet.

Rob, I've heard that and it makes sense. With so much going on "in the box" the preamps are really the deal-buster on a track. The knob tweakin is cool. Soundmen are fond of saying they will make certain adjustments and then sit back and smile. They don't make that claim after pushing and pulling on a digital interface for hours at a time.

I hear ya Bob. One of those Red somethings would be cool.

>.The Neve EQs are legendary!<

Indeed. In fact I expect to buy the other (albeit pricier) half of the Great River channel strip, the four band EQ-1NV. "...one channel digitally-controlled, analog-driven equalizer that has a topology similar to that of vintage 1081/1083 models. Modern improvements enable the newly-designed class A, discrete single-ended amplifiers in the NV Series Equalizers to add greater clarity and dynamic range to the musicality and control of the vintage 108x models."

I believe it will be the complete path.... to nirvana.

>>Post some recordings once you've gotten to know it!<,

Will do, Jonathan.

[shankyboy]

Neve preamp

FYI. Rupert Neve has recently released a new preamp. A friend of mine that owns or has owned just about every high end preamp is absolutely nuts over this new unit.

I have never tried out the Great River stuff, but I have heard great things about their products. I bit the bullet last year and purchased a pair of Summit MPC-100A preamp/compressors. Man, it was a chunk of change, but I now see why the big dogs swear by their products. Perhaps I will have to look into the Great River stuff the next time I get a large check from Uncle Sam.

Jeroen, I have to respectfully disagree with your statement about analog recordings. A few years ago, your statement might have had some validity, but the gear (and software) that is available now days can easily produce that slightly over-driven analog tape sound that we all know and love. (if so desired)

If analog recording was still superior, all of the big name producers and engineers out there would still be using the technology, but instead, most of them have moved away from analog multi-track machines and monster mixing boards and are using a DAW and are mixerless.

That would be the same as me stating that Fender amps are superior to all other amps. It may be true for me, but not for everyone else. It's a matter of personal preference.

[Stevieconlon]

I wanted to follow up briefly regarding my selection of Great River.

I looked at some of the rebuilt Neve's and a variety of other high end preamps.

I thought Great River was a great price for a true high end preamp.

The old Neves are way cool but I know that there are subtle tweaks with the GR.

The FMR Really Nice Preamps are a total steal, price-wise.

In other words, I know that great preamps come in different "colors" and all. I also know that there is some amazing stuff. I just decided that I would purchase the most affordable, awesome preamps I could. This way, I could still pay for all the other gear that was listed earlier in the thread.

I felt totally validated when I got my preamps and actually tried them. I could really hear the difference with good headphones or monitors.

As for analog v. digital and all, in my view it is no different than with guitars.

Start with the right microphone, quality cable and great preamp. If the tone is good going in, then all you gotta do is do the best job you can capturing it.

[Lockbody]

I hear ya Bob. One of those Red somethings would be cool.

Yeah, Red 4, Red 8, I'm not picky.

[Lockbody]

Jeroen, I have to respectfully disagree with your statement about analog recordings. A few years ago, your statement might have had some validity, but the gear (and software) that is available now days can easily produce that slightly over-driven analog tape sound that we all know and love. (if so desired)

If analog recording was still superior, all of the big name producers and engineers out there would still be using the technology, but instead, most of them have moved away from analog multi-track machines and monster mixing boards and are using a DAW and are mixerless.

everyone else. It's a matter of personal preference.

Fatso baby!. Yeah, I'd take one of those, too.

[Buzzy Fretts]

>>I thought Great River was a great price for a true high end preamp.

The old Neves are way cool but I know that there are subtle tweaks with the GR.

The FMR Really Nice Preamps are a total steal, price-wise.<<

My take totally, Stevie. In fact after a week of mulling, I called Mercenary back and ordered the GR EQ. The GR pre and EQ combo costs nearly as much as my custom Hamer. If I make bad music, its not for lack of quality gear....

[Stevieconlon]

Don't forget the Mercenary Swag.

I have the "We're not happy, 'till You're not happy" t-shirt

its fun to wear if you run sound! Ha!

[Buzzy Fretts]

Swag indeed. Somehow I suspect you'll wear that message so much better than I. Personally I like the "It ain't Rocket Surgery."

[FunkyE9th]

Does buying a 19" LCD monitor count into taking it to the next level?

It looks much cooler that my old 19" CRT.

BTW, when I was in Berkeley (http://www.fantasystudios.com/) last year to record, the producer used Avalon for tracking my guitar parts. He seemed to really like it and he had some vintage looking EQ (it looked like furniture) that I can't remember the name of.

I was surprized though that he was using a protools Digi 002 for overdubs instead of the full blown Protools which we used for tracking everything else. He said the converters on the Digi 002 are the same quality as the full blown Protools, but what's really important is the front end (i.e. the preamp and EQ).

-FunkyE9th