Avalon sp737

S

Scoop

New member
Hi all...

I need a good channel strip for vocals down the line of pop rock (Jimmy eat world, Weezer, All american rejects, etc.).
I'm keen on the avalon.
I'm using a RODE NTK.
Would also probably use it on bass and kick but mainly vox.
Is this the one to get in this pricerange? Or are there obvious better options?
(I cant go above around $1700).

Many many thanks,
Scoop.
 
When I'm looking at gear I can't afford (like the Avalon) I usually go take a gander around Mercenary Audio's site. After flipping around there, I've come up with some questions and suggestions based on what I'd want to get.

Are you just wanting one channel? EQ and Compressor neccessary or desired?

I've liked the look of and reputation of the Toft ATC-2, the EC-1, and SPL's Channel One (although these are below your price range on the Avalon). Going the other direction there's the GT ViPre and the Great River MEQ-1NV combination.

Although not on Mercenary, I also really like Mindprint'd DTC. I've been to a demo on the DTC for Vocal preamping and I was very, very, very impressed. I liked it very much.

My 2 pennies,

Jacob
 
Personally, I am not huge fan of the Avalon 737. The preamp is pretty decent, the EQ is awesome, and the comps is just OK to me. I just feel like they are a little overpriced, but then again, its hard to find a quality pre/comp/EQ for $1800. I would look into getting a used 737 if you really want one. Hold out and don't pay more than $1100 or $1200 for one. I have noticed however that the Avalon plays pretty darned nice with the lower end Neumann mics (TLM series, and the U87). It's almost like the weak points of the mic and the outboard channel strip work together and all of a sudden become strong points.

You might want to have a look at some of the Neve'a'like channel strips. For about the same price you can get into a Vintech X73i, or for a little more get into a Chandler LTD-2 (my personal favorite neve clone strip). You won't get the compressor with it, but you will get a fantastic preamp and a wonderful EQ. A lot of the combo boxes are fairly weak on the comp side of things anyhow until you start getting into the pendulums, nicer Drawmer, GML etc.... I usually feel good about getting pre/EQ combo's, but not as good about getting pre/comp combo's unless you are spending the big bucks. Universal audio also has some cool combo boxes. The EQ on them is a little more limited, but the compressors are pretty darned nice. The Preamps are also really cool, but not quite as flexible for my style as some of the others.
 
I own a DTC and 2 Avalons, both are great products. The Mindprint gives you 2 channels for the price of 1 Avalon. If you negotiate, you may even get them to throw in an A/D converter that goes with the DTC. I have not been disapointed in either product. They both work as good DI units too. My only gripe with Avalon is that they base their warranty on the date of manufacture, not the date of purchase, so you could lose several months on the warranty if you buy an in stock item that hasn't quickly sold, or a demo unit.

The Avalon will give you more "tube drive" if thats what you want. You can even overdrive them for guitar effects. The Avalon has more headroom too.
 
If you buy your Avalon from Mercenary, you can get the ME edition for about $150 less than the standard 737. Mercenary will also double the warranty.
 
xstatic said:
If you buy your Avalon from Mercenary, you can get the ME edition for about $150 less than the standard 737. Mercenary will also double the warranty.
Click to expand...

How can they do that? Weird....but awesome. I would ask what the difference is but then I could just go to the website and read about it and see. :)
 
I tooled on over to the Mercenary site and looked at it. It's black/gold and has plastic knobs instead of aluminum. That seems the be the ONLY difference between the Vt 737sp and the Mercenary edition of the same.
 
I think the Mercenary Edition uses a different transformer either on the input or the output. The biggest difference is the plastic vs aluminum faceplate and knobs. Shouldn't sound any different.
 
...2 channels of the Chameleon Labs 7602 (with power source) would fall into your price class...very affordable classic Neve-like sound (1073 clone) with EQ...getting very nice reviews from reputable sources...worth a look (even start with just one channel w/eq for less than $800)...actually said to really be a clone of the Chandler LTD-1 (which is a clone of the Neve 1073...etc)...
 
From what I have heard, the Chameleon has a really cool EQ, but the preamp is not up to some of the other clones. I do not mean this in a bad way, because in the end all the people I have talked have said it is still worth it, but I would be a little hesitant to compare it to the Chandler which has been getting excellent reviews. Then again, you can almost buy three Chameleons for the price of 1 Chandler.

As far as the 737's go.... I believe the 737sp now has the newer transformer in it that the ME edition also has so at this point getting the ME edition saves you money on all of the aluminum. Also if I remember right, Fletcher offers double warranties on just about all of the stuff that Mercenary sells. They have their own crazy quality control stuff that they do. They purposely abuse a lot of equipment before they pick up the line. If they like the sound and it passes their tests, than they add it to their line card. I am not sure if the doubling of the warranty is through Mercenary or through the manufacturer, but I have never heard or seen of a problem with Mercenary as far as the warranties go:)
 
If you like the tone, the avalon is an awesome unit. I love mine. I quite often use it with a K2, and find that combination can be a little too dark for my liking.

The usual complaint about the comp is that its too slow. (I have a modded one with a faster comp) So using it on kick, will work, but the comp won't work too well.

If your willing to spend a little more the UA 6176 is another great channel strip.
 
The 737 is not a hugely impressive piece for what you are paying. If you picked up one used for about $1200 that's a different story, but at the new price it's probably not worth it. If you really want Avalon go with the AD2022. It is their flagship pre and is a amazing quality...in a whole different league than the 737 pre (it is solid state and not tube though).

The 6176 is a decent piece but I still think the 610 pre is overrated. The 1176 compressor is obviously a great compressor though and really is the salvation of the unit.

If you're set on tube, it's hard to beat the ViPRE. Kind of the king of tube pre's IMHO. It's extremely versatile for a tube pre, and might be worth picking up and just waiting on the Compressor/EQ for a later date. The ViPRE is pretty impressive just raw. Add the Glory Comp later and it's unbeatable. Another route to go would be to get the SuPRE for about $1200 which would then leave you money for a compressor or EQ. The suPRE is based off of the ViPRE but is 2 channels and is missing some of the bells and whistles. The quality is still there and they recently halted production to replace the SuPRE's transformers with the exact ones the ViPRE has instead of the cheaper ones that were originally placed in the unit.

Another option for an affordable yet stellar tube pre would be the Presonus ADL600 (designed by Anthony DeMaria)...it will also give you two channels and is pretty versatile of a pre.

The ViPRE, SuPRE, and ADL600 would all end up being your "go to" pre.
 
Last edited:
Scoop, I think you could do a lot better than a 737 for that kind of music.

Any reason you need a "channel strip"?
 
Dot said:
Scoop, I think you could do a lot better than a 737 for that kind of music.

Any reason you need a "channel strip"?[/QUOTE/]

I agree - the 737 has got some bad press from some very good engineers in the pro world.

They feel its just not worth the money. Take a look at some other gear out there before you buy.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks to everyone who replied... Much appreciated...
My situation is as follows:
We are scheduled to start tracking vox in about 2 weeks and I live in South Africa, so it takes a while for the kit to get here and I obviously cant try out a whole bunch of gear.
The reason for a strip is that I dont have a good pre, comp or eq... all I got at the mo is Joe Meeq MQ3, Symetrix C-150, Presonus TubePRE...
I'm really pressed to decide and purchase now, I can't wait for the right deal on EBAY...
If I buy a pre, an eq and a comp seperately surely it end up costing more?

HELP!!!

Scoop.

www.puresound.co.za/starplayer
 
Yes it will cost more, but will also sound better and be more versatile. I don't think you would actually regret having the Avalon though. I just think that there is better to be had for the money, but not always with as many options. Sometimes due to circumstance we do just have to make up our minds and pull the trigger on something.
 
Soundmind?? said:
I think the Mercenary Edition uses a different transformer either on the input or the output. The biggest difference is the plastic vs aluminum faceplate and knobs. Shouldn't sound any different.
Click to expand...

If I remember reading correctly, it's exact same thing... If not, it still sounds damn good to me anyway.. Looks cool as shit too.. (It's what I have)
 
From MercenaryAudio

"It has the high headroom microphone input transformer of the VT-737-SP, same functions, same great tone. Best part is we're offering it at the same price as the discontinued 737 (you know, the one that had the hideous purple knobs, and the mic transformer with less headroom)."

"So the VT 737sp was born. It had the nice aluminum knobs...but more importantly, the mic input transformer had better headroom. Well you can hear the transformer, but I've never heard a knob cap...and we were kinda one of the first Avalon dealers and have a great relationship with them...so the black injection mold plastic knobbed version with the higher headroom mic input transformer version was born...the VT 737sm. Plastic knobs are less expensive than the classy aluminum knobs...but the black and gold more than makes up for the loss of 'aluminum knob chic'. If you've ever heard the difference between plastic and aluminum knob caps, please share whatever substance you've just consumed...that sounds like some serious drugs, that we need to try."
 
Paying retail for Avalons, and most high end gear is like paying the "sticker price" for a new car. I've bought two new for less than $1500 each.
They are good products, but just like most high end gear...overhyped. In a studio with high end gear, you will hear the difference, but when most people play a cd in their care or home stereo, they will never know the difference in a $500 pre or a $5000 pre. If they play a dvd, the difference may be there.

Most of the quality is in the mixing/mastering and probably is affected by the A/D conversion. I'm not saying that a radio shack mic and a $50 pre will do the job, but a $10,000.00 signal path is not necessary!
 
Soundmind?? said:
Paying retail for Avalons, and most high end gear is like paying the "sticker price" for a new car. I've bought two new for less than $1500 each.
They are good products, but just like most high end gear...overhyped. In a studio with high end gear, you will hear the difference, but when most people play a cd in their care or home stereo, they will never know the difference in a $500 pre or a $5000 pre. If they play a dvd, the difference may be there.

Most of the quality is in the mixing/mastering and probably is affected by the A/D conversion. I'm not saying that a radio shack mic and a $50 pre will do the job, but a $10,000.00 signal path is not necessary!
Click to expand...


Sorry I don't agree. You will hear a difference. First and foremost you say most of the difference is in mixing and mastering, well when I started getting higher end stuff, it made mixing way easier.

Also, signal is way clearer! Multiply by a bunch of tracks per song.

I'm in no way saying that you have to have great gear to do good stuff, (I know a good engineer can make a good record with bad gear) but most people can tell the difference even in a car stereo when you do a comparisson.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top