Neve Portico Reviews (kind of...)

[EleKtriKaz]

http://gearslutz.com/board/showthrea...6&page=1&pp=30

Not sure if you guys have seen this yet. Discussions and reviews of Rupert Neve's new pre. Pretty interesting if you can get past all of the arguing and flaming. Seems a lot of people are digging them.

[EleKtriKaz]

Damnit. Sorry, didn't mean to post twice. I hit the stop button while it was going and added something. I can't delete the other one. Apologies.

[Track Rat]

If I had $1500 burning a hole in my pocket, I'd definately pick one of these up. Two channels of Neve for about $750 a channel. VERY cool.

[deepwater]

I ordered mine about two weeks and can't wait to try it out. It should arrive anyday - I hope.

[MISTERQCUE]

Originally Posted by Track Rat

If I had $1500 burning a hole in my pocket, I'd definately pick one of these up. Two channels of Neve for about $750 a channel. VERY cool.

What he said!

[Middleman]

If someone would buy my bass amp and focusrite preamp on ebay, I would order mine.

I am hoping to get one in the next few weeks.

There are a couple of mp3s of the Portico vs Great River over at gearslutz. They sound pretty good although all the guys who have a Great River are saying they don't think they sound as good. I have to differ.

[deepwater]

Originally Posted by Middleman

If someone would buy my bass amp and focusrite preamp on ebay, I would order mine.

I am hoping to get one in the next few weeks.

There are a couple of mp3s of the Portico vs Great River over at gearslutz. They sound pretty good although all the guys who have a Great River are saying they don't think they sound as good. I have to differ.

Its also about $800.00 chaeper then the Great River which helps a lot.

[Middleman]

Per channel yes, but the Portico is currently $1440 and comes with two preamps. The Great River is a single channel and runs around $1100.

[EleKtriKaz]

Originally Posted by Middleman

There are a couple of mp3s of the Portico vs Great River over at gearslutz. They sound pretty good although all the guys who have a Great River are saying they don't think they sound as good. I have to differ.

I listened to those and actually liked the Great River better for that particular thing, which would have been misleading had I not read the whole thread. The vocals on those clips were just plosive and boomy to begin with, so running it through a pre that "fattens" things up or however you want to put it, is not a good combo. The clips did give me a better idea of some of the qualities the people were describing in the reviews. Personally I'd love to have either a Great River or the Portico, but with the Portico being cheaper it's going to get a serious look when I save up enough to upgrade from my RNP.

Let us know how it is when you get it Deepwater...also, I hesitate to ask, but I'd love to hear some more clips of it in action.

[deepwater]

Its also hard to really hear what a preamp is doing via an MP3. I wish they would have posted a wav.

[Middleman]

I found the Portico was smoother across the frequency range vs the Great River which definitely had a midrange bump. It was also a little more loose on the transients whereas the Portico was very even sounding. I found a little more of that Neve "magic" sound everyone always refers to while I was listening to the Portico.

As always, good is in the ears of the beholder. I did like the almost compressed sound of the Neve however.

[acorec]

I am looking at these units. They may have a home in my studio.

[foreverain4]

if you only had 2 channels, would you guys run it on bass drum and snare drum? or overhead left and right?

[mrbowes]

i hope you aren't recording a drumset with just two mics...

if that is not the case and you're just wondering where to apply the Portico on the drum mix, i would say to put them on the L/R overheads.

[Middleman]

Originally Posted by foreverain4

if you only had 2 channels, would you guys run it on bass drum and snare drum? or overhead left and right?

It may not have an application on bass drum but it has been done. Neve type preamps are generally slower on transients thus many times you might want to put an API type preamp, faster and more responsive. That said, since I haven't plugged one in yet, I am just speculating. It also depends on what sound you are going after so anything goes.

Snare I would imagine would get somewhat rounded off but that may be what you're after. Cymbals, if you like em creamy, most don't, then it would work. Usually people reach for something with a little more clarity on cymbals.

[fraserhutch]

Originally Posted by Middleman

Per channel yes, but the Portico is currently $1440 and comes with two preamps. The Great River is a single channel and runs around $1100.

Actually, the "standard" great river is two channels, and runs at about $2700.
http://mercenary.com/greatrivelmp.html

the single channel is a half-rack version of the same thing.

You're not comapring appales and oranges.

[Middleman]

Actually they sell them for around $2200. Look further down the page. Also the Portico is being sold at an introductory price of $1440 and they are going up a couple of hundred dollars at the end of the month, so they say.

So, it's two channels of GR for $2150 vs two channels of Portico for roughly $1650 come July.

[formerlyfzfile]

"i hope you aren't recording a drumset with just two mics..."

... why not??

Use 1 mic .... or 5 .... or 18. There is no wrong answer.

I would try 1 OH "centered" for a good snare capture, and one mic out front low to get a good overall picture of the kit.

Nothing wrong with minimal micing.

-mike

[mrbowes]

^
i agree. there's nothing wrong with minimal micing.

however, it seems quite odd to consider investing in a pricey two channel pre amp to cover drum micing. you'd think that if one could afford a portico, then they would likely have enough pres to cover all the bases on drum micing.

my 2 cents.

[formerlyfzfile]

Well ..... I guess since you put it that way I guess I wont have to send Vinnie the Enforcer .

That is a good point.

Unfortunately for me, I only have two really good channels with my UA2108 so I have to be a staunch advocate of minimal micing.

-mike

[Middleman]

You can get a very nice sound with 2 mics on drums. Led Zepplin's, "When the Levee Breaks", comes to mind. I think that was the track.

You need to have a really great sounding space to pull it off though. 4 feet out from the toms pointing the mic towards the kick, then another placed up in the air coming in from the back side of the drums towards the left of the drummers head and above to get both the snare, hi hat and cymbals. Roll of the highs slightly in case the cymbals come in too hot. Some cymbal relocation may be desirable.

It can be done.

[fraserhutch]

Originally Posted by Middleman

Actually they sell them for around $2200. Look further down the page. Also the Portico is being sold at an introductory price of $1440 and they are going up a couple of hundred dollars at the end of the month, so they say.

So, it's two channels of GR for $2150 vs two channels of Portico for roughly $1650 come July.

Yes, true. Still a big difference from comparing to a single channel GR.

[Middleman]

OK, I sold my stuff and my Porticos are on order. I will report back with a review as soon as they come in.

[jamiecer]

I just purchased 4 channels of the portico pres. They sound fantastic. I A/B'd them against my Avalon M5 on guitar and piano the Neve's sounded sweeter.

I'll be the first on the list when the Mic Pre / EQ comes out.