Great River ME-1NV for vocal only, wise choice?

A

aznwonderboy

New member
I record vocals only. After trying out DMP3 and GT Brick preamps on mics such as AT4050, ADK Hamburg and MXL V67g, I heard no significant quality difference to justify the price differences.

Will the Great River ME-1NV show any improvement when I will only be recording 1 to 2 vocal tracks?
 
What are you looking for in a mic pre sound wise?

I almost purchased the Great River, but opted for a True Systems P-Solo single channel pre. I've heard great things about the GR, but decided I didn't really want a pre with "flavor" at this point. It seems that the GR would impart a little vintage vibe, but I say this solely on what I've read, not what I've heard with my ears.

The P-Solo is clean, open, detailed and I've been having fun in the past couple weeks tracking sample vox and running an electric direct into the DI input on it. Some would disagree here (some have), but for $600, I've got a hell of a pre that easily gives me a better sound than the budget pre's I've owned. I haven't even ran high-end mics into the thing yet - only an SM57, Cad M177, and a MXL 67g.

To answer your last question: "Will the Great River ME-1NV show any improvement when I will only be recording 1 to 2 vocal tracks?"

I'd say yes even without hearing one.
 
The GR is a great pre for vox. It makes inexpensive condensors sound much better than they are. Whats nice is it can go from clean to colorfull just by how hard you drive the front end. Its a keeper piece that youll never sell.
 
musical5 said:
The GR is a great pre for vox. It makes inexpensive condensors sound much better than they are. Whats nice is it can go from clean to colorfull just by how hard you drive the front end. Its a keeper piece that youll never sell.
Click to expand...

you can tell by how many are on ebay...
 
aznwonderboy said:
I record vocals only. After trying out DMP3 and GT Brick preamps on mics such as AT4050, ADK Hamburg and MXL V67g, I heard no significant quality difference to justify the price differences.

Will the Great River ME-1NV show any improvement when I will only be recording 1 to 2 vocal tracks?
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No.

All this gear crap is over rated. $1000 pres don't fix issue with the room you are recording in. After that, then you will start to hear a difference when you start layering a few tracks.

I would spend the money toward a vocal booth if you are serious about this.
 
The GR will help a small degree. I would look into some better mics. What kind of converters are you using?

Also, I assume the room issues are alrteady being addressed (if there are any).

The GR with the impedence and loading buttons in, makes my UM92.1S sparkle. :D
 
NL5 said:
The GR will help a small degree. I would look into some better mics. What kind of converters are you using?

Also, I assume the room issues are alrteady being addressed (if there are any).

The GR with the impedence and loading buttons in, makes my UM92.1S sparkle. :D
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man, that 92.1 would sparkle no matter what.

it is a gefell. :)
 
BigRay said:
man, that 92.1 would sparkle no matter what.

it is a gefell. :)
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Yes, but the GR adds that little something extra. It is an amazing combo. I just picked up a Fearn VT-2 though, and think it may give the GR a run for it's money..........
 
Thanks for the advices.

Yes, I admit I haven't treated the room yet. My room has no noticeable echo, plus the other side of the microphone is an open closet (not the walk-in kind) full of clothes to absorb some sound.

Arghh...I was really hoping my room would not be an issue; adding a vocal booth is such an big change as opposed to just buying a high end pre with a much smaller footprint.

I'll just grab the River anyway (for a good price) and see if I can get an improvement without making any changes to my room.

If I still can't get any improvement, then I'll resort to making a vocal booth.
 
aznwonderboy said:
Thanks for the advices.

Yes, I admit I haven't treated the room yet. My room has no noticeable echo, plus the other side of the microphone is an open closet (not the walk-in kind) full of clothes to absorb some sound.

Arghh...I was really hoping my room would not be an issue; adding a vocal booth is such an big change as opposed to just buying a high end pre with a much smaller footprint.

I'll just grab the River anyway (for a good price) and see if I can get an improvement without making any changes to my room.

If I still can't get any improvement, then I'll resort to making a vocal booth.
Click to expand...

All of the suggestions above are, of course, good. But you will never be sorry you purchased a kickass preamp--for a good price. Never. :)
 
Also remember that mics, even cheap ones, are going to give you many more differences in sound than changing pres.
 
aznwonderboy said:
Thanks for the advices.

Yes, I admit I haven't treated the room yet. My room has no noticeable echo, plus the other side of the microphone is an open closet (not the walk-in kind) full of clothes to absorb some sound.

Arghh...I was really hoping my room would not be an issue; adding a vocal booth is such an big change as opposed to just buying a high end pre with a much smaller footprint.

I'll just grab the River anyway (for a good price) and see if I can get an improvement without making any changes to my room.

If I still can't get any improvement, then I'll resort to making a vocal booth.
Click to expand...

I know fancy gear looks cooler and feels better to buy than a wood box with grey foamy crap on the walls, but its not the looks that affect your sound. Have at it, its your money. I am just saying....been there - done that.
A mediocre pre in a good room will almost always give better results than a mediocre room with the most expensive pre you can buy.
 
NL5 said:
Yes, but the GR adds that little something extra. It is an amazing combo. I just picked up a Fearn VT-2 though, and think it may give the GR a run for it's money..........
Click to expand...


i looked at fearn stuff for a while, but bought 6 pendlum mdp-1s and an electronaut m63 instead. the fearn is too thick for my taste...I need subtle character with the work I do, all classical.
 
Any improvement anywhere in the process will yield better results...better mic, pre, room treatment or converters..that said GR makes great stuff and Dan Kennedy is a class act all the way. You won't regret getting his pre but once the G.A.S. bug bites you will find yourself lusting after better mics, compressors, converters etc.. ;)

Ray
 
And no offense, but

depending on your monitoring setup, it just may be that you're not hearing the difference.
 
Actually, this would be a good question for Harvey

so I hope he looks at this.

Harvey, since you have extensive experience with both the v67 and the Great River pre, did the v67 become a significantly different mic through the Great River than through say, the VTB-1 you tested, or your Soundtracs board, of whatever the lowest-level (Mackie, etc.) pre that you may have had the opportunity to run it through?

I do remember that Harvey said that the 57 was a different animal through a GR than through some other inexpensive pre, so the same may hold true for other mics.

But you still may not hear the difference, even though it's there, if your monitor setup won't let you.

Just a thought.
 
Thanks for the comments. It may be right that I can't hear the difference. The vocals I record are usually ballads (thus usually have some reverbs added on). As a result, the differences may be negligible in the mix.

I have low end monitors (Studiophile SP-5b), but they sound hollow. So, I often use KLH computer speakers + subwoofer to hear the results because I have learned their characteristics well enough to translate their sounds on other systems.

After testing out the Great River, I'll post results.
 
I've used the Studio Projects VTB-1 and PreSonus BlueTube for a couple of years with fairly good results. However... I just got a Great River pre-amp last week, and love it! It's hard to describe, the difference in the sound quality of the preamps, but it's there, and I have no regrets spending the $1075 (GULP).
 
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