Some "new" info on the RNMP

[tubedude]

Perhaps its not new, but its new to me...
Here is some info I picked up today, with some of my questions...
Q: "Well, I've heard rumors about the RNMP, and was wondering if it might be
> worth my while to wait on it, and combine it with the RNC. Is this pre
> really expected to be fantastic, like API or NEve quality?
A: Sounds like a pretty good idea to me. If you mean 'high quality and good sounding', then yeah, it should be in the
ballpark

Q: "...hunt for a reasonable but exceptional mic pre and/or channel strip. I've mainly been interested in Neve designed stuff, and since I'm a Focusrite fan, I had kind of settled on the Neve Designed ISA110."

A: "Rupert designed the ISA 110 many years ago. There were some "problems" with the
design, which the 'modern Focusrite' have since "corrected". The RNMP will
probably be closer to being 'Neve designed', as Mark from FMR, and Rupert live
very near each other and are quite good friends."

Q: What is the ballpark price rumors?
A: $400/channel

Q: Last thing I'm wondering about is the Speck EQ. Never heard of it til now, and I understand the RNEQ was postponed due to this Speck EQ. How does this EQ compare with high-end EQ's?
A : Rather well, which is why we carry it. (Mercenary audio, in case anyone is wondering) If you look at the roster of stuff we
carry...we don't carry shit. We're all engineers at our place, to get added to the 'roster' takes a good 3-4 months of us playing with the stuff, doing sessions with the stuff, loaning it to our friends so they can do sessions with the stuff...and finally..."road testing" the stuff. A lot of our clients are tours...so when I say 'road testing', I mean putting it in a proper shock
mounted/heavy duty road case and dropping it off the loading dock a few times like an IATSE stage hand in Cleveland.

We all like the 'Speck'...we call it the "poor man's GML" (it's good but no where near that good...but it's a hell of a lot less expensive as well).
________
The Speck is about $550. I'm figuring that making a front end out of this stuff, $400 pre, $200 compressor and $550 EQ...$1150... well, not bad if this pre turns out really nice, as its name implies.

[Dolemite]

It's gonna have to be really really nice to get my $400! It makes me wonder how much more cleanly/clearly people (even me) are gonna want to hear MY voice and MY crap guitar playing. Seriously, I feel like there's a threshold that exists where anything better than a certain level of gear won't improve the sound of farting on a snare drum. In fact, hearing it better may actually clue you into how much it sucks! A "point of diminishing return" if you will. Whenever I start drooling over some piece of gear, all I have to do is play back a squeaky, out-of-tune track of vocals to know that gear that will capture this better and more accurately won't help!

Anyway, that's the name of that tune...but I still think the RNMP will kick ass and I can only hope its within my "threshold" and my budget.

[db51]

No release date yet? Last I heard it was to be expected at the end of June, but we're almost there and the RNMP still isn't mentionned anywhere....

[tubedude]

The dates been kicked around alot.
Dude, $400 for a really good class A preamp is awesome. There is a considerable difference between the cheap and the good pre's. Its very apparent when listened to side by side. I'm totally prepared to pay $2000 for a preamp if its what I need and the RNMP doesn't turn out to be what its expected to be. Your sound is in the front end. Spend the money there, not on fancy useless shit that'll gather dust almost immediatley. For $400, if this pre is truly great, I'll probably end up with 8 of them in the long term. Probably a couple Specks and about 4 RNC's too. I'm telling you man, this is cheap. Go to Mercenary.com and see how much a real pre costs. Check the Ameks, the Avalons, Great River... You'll shit.
Peace,
Paul

[Dolemite]

Heh, yeah I fully expect the RNMP to be the best pre under $1000...my post above should be read as *dripping with sarcasm*. My main point is that while I'm sure it will be quality gear, I'm also pretty sure it will not make up for my talent deficiency.

[BBB]

Originally posted by Dolemite
a certain level of gear won't improve the sound of farting on a snare drum.

"I ain't farting on no snare drum."
- Pip of The Lone Rangers (Airheads)

[regebro]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

The RNC has a fantastic price/performance ratio because it is groundbreaking. It uses a NEW solution to an old problem. Thats what you must do if you want to slaughter a market like it has. Do NOT expect any other FMR products to do the same. Sure, $400 for a preamp that beats the crap out of everything under $2000 is groundbreaking of course. But I sincerly doubt that it will do that, and even more after reading the above "rumours". It seems to be a version of classical tried and true preamp designs, and in that case, they can at the most be expected to be slightly cheaper than comparable preamps. So maybe this $400 preamp will beat the crap out of everything below $500.
Thats not bad of course, in fact is great, since the other manufacturers then will have to cut their prices to compete! Yay!

Don't get your hopes up, thats all I'm saying...

[tubedude]

Regebro, buddy! Did you not see what Fletcher wrote to me.. here it is again "...The RNMP will
probably be closer to being 'Neve designed', as Mark from FMR, and Rupert live
very near each other and are quite good friends."

Umm, dude.. .thats some excellent news, considering the top of the line Neve designed preamps can get up to $6000 and people are killing each other for em! I, as MANY people are, am waiting very impatiently for this thing to come out. While we may all be wrong, I kinda doubt it. This pre will be way better than standard $500 stuff. It even has a special balanced out that interfaces with the RNC to make everything just right . Add to that a nice Speck EQ and you have a good channel strip for around a grand. Good channel strips with pre, eq and dynamics cost over $2000, ususally more. Hell, a dual preamp Red series is gonna cost ya $1800 without EQ or compression, preamps only.
Lets just see what happens here. Maybe this thing combined with my soon-to-be Stephen Paul mic will make me happy
Peace,
Paul

[regebro]

Yeah, yeah, it might possibly be closer to Neve than something else, because two people live near each other.

Not only is this incredibly fuzzy, but you take a statement saying it might be CLOSER to Neve in general, as meaning that it will compete with the top of the line Neves...

You are putting WAY too much hope in this....

Ah, why do I bother. Top of the line gear is all religion anyway. You have been struck by the FMR religion, why should I argue, you are gonna be very happy with the RNMP when it comes out, no matter how it sounds...

[tubedude]

Well, I wont like it if it doesn't sound good! I think it'll be nice. Theres too much pressure to let it pass as a piece of shit, I think. They have a really good image, it might hurt em to put out some junk.
Like I said, we'll see... if I only had some more solid info to go on, I'd be in better shape. They could at least post a LITTLE info, like if its class-a, transformer balanced, all discrete, all that good stuff... I'm only assuming it is right now, so it might come and AND be a piece of junk, who knows. I'm only being wishful and positive
You gonna build one with us?
Paul

[ametth]

Originally posted by tubedude
Regebro, buddy! Did you not see what Fletcher wrote to me.. here it is again "...The RNMP will
probably be closer to being 'Neve designed', as Mark from FMR, and Rupert live
very near each other and are quite good friends."

Paul

That was a joke.

[tubedude]

Heres some info from the RNMP awhile back...

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthr...threadid=28504

[Jake Langston]

Just FYI,

I'm an FMR Audio dealer, and the word I get is that the cost will be less that the $400 mentioned, and it (so far) sounds like the old RCA mic pre's. The RNEQ is still being developed, but the RNMP is at the forefront. Still no official word on release date. I'm hoping by Summer NAMM.

Jake Langston
Humbucker Music