Neve !073 or 1073 clones

Toastedgoat

New member
Where do you usually set the input on a 1073 for male rock vocals, wanting some preamp color.
Do you ever get past 50 or 60 ? This is running into an Pete's Place BAC500 compressor.

The actual preamp is an Avedis MA5. It's just neve based and not a real clone. I did notice a better pushed sound when I got it up to around 40 and it really started sounding good are 50. I didn't push it past that.

anyone run a 1073, or 73 clone, and if you want some drive and color what do you set it at?
 
I think it kinds depends on the source and how hard you want to drive it.
I know it sounds kinda cliché...but just use your ears and turn the knobs until you like what you hear. :)
 
I think it kinds depends on the source and how hard you want to drive it.
I know it sounds kinda cliché...but just use your ears and turn the knobs until you like what you hear. :)

I keep watching on youtube channels and it seems they rarely turn it up past 40. I'm just wondering if it's common to crank it on up there 50, or 60, or all the way up. I'm a guitar player mainly so I like to turn things up. lol
 
Well, again...it depends on your source.
The gain knob will dictate hot you hit the front end of the pre...so if the source signal is way hot, then you don't need as much gain to get the same result with a lower source and higher preamp gain. Then adjust the pre output accordingly.
I just can't say..."use 50" or "70"...so "use your ears" is the best option. :)
Try cranking it up there and see if it works for you. I'm sure people crank them up under some circumstances...it's permitted, but I think the reason you see often lower gain settings is because that's what probably worked best with most mics where you're not looking to add more hair to the source with the pre.
 
I have a few Chameleon Labs 7602s -a MkII with all the upgrades. I haven't found pushing the gain up past the cleaner ranges particularly useful. It does what it does just fine with out pushing it.
Soft clip-thickening on some percussion things is cool. Sort of a saturation limiter..
Nice having the EQ options -HP almost always going in.
 
Haven't pushed the Pre-73mkIII (w/Carnhills) past 55 as far as I can recall (not good at taking notes, but I'm learning!). I don't do rock vocals though, and use it 95% of the time on folk/country vocals. Anything else is probably bass DI.

I actually got it when I was thinking I was going to get a big dynamic, but ended up never getting that kind of mic. Turned out I like the tracks better with it than without, so it's stayed around.@;
 
miroslav said:
I think it kinds depends on the source and how hard you want to drive it.
I know it sounds kinda cliché...but just use your ears and turn the knobs until you like what you hear.

+1

The idea is to use the preamp to boost the mic signal to line level. The number you end up using is sort of irrelevant until you know the level of the mic signal. With the output trim on zero you might need 50 or 60 dB's if you're using a dynamic mic with very low sensitivity like a ribbon or SM7. If the mic signal is hotter than that you might be distorting the front end at those levels. You can dial the output trim back down to line level if that's the case, but you'll still have the distortion. At that point it's all subjective.

Are you adding distortion with the preamp? Do you want that sound? With that preamp it should be a valid thing to do if it works well with the track.

What do you think?
 
I use a bae, I just keep it at 50 because that’s where I like the level to come in at the interface. I haven’t really noticed a big difference in tone at different settings, although I have only done a little experimenting with it.
 
I usually use mine at around 35-40 with my condenser mics, and 50 or 45-50 with the dynamic mics. I was just curious because I kept hearing about how sweet the coloring effect of a 73 is on rock vocals when you push them hard. Yet I've never seen one video with anyone pushing them way up there. So I've guessing hard is above 30 or so?
 
It may depend on the clone too. From what I read, there’s a special circuit for the last 30dB(?) of boost on a real 1073 and my clone for one uses a different circuit. So it may not technically have that sweet spot.
 
I usually use mine at around 35-40 with my condenser mics, and 50 or 45-50 with the dynamic mics. I was just curious because I kept hearing about how sweet the coloring effect of a 73 is on rock vocals when you push them hard. Yet I've never seen one video with anyone pushing them way up there. So I've guessing hard is above 30 or so?

The thing is, those numbers don't really mean anything. You set it between 35-40 with YOUR condenser. But with a more sensitive condenser, 35-40 is going to be hotter. With a less sensitive condenser, 35-40 is going to be less hot.

Really all that happens when you crank up the input gain is you start to distort the signal in/out of the transformers. You get more of that distortion the higher you crank the input gain. There's no standard number on the dial where that starts to happen. It depends on the input source, input impedance, and whether you're running into the instrument, mic, or line input.

As much as I'm annoyed by vague advice, this is one of those times where "turn the knob until it sounds right to you" applies.
 
Ive read a lot about these "Neve" color, transformer dirt....dist...of the good kind.

Does anyone have a great link to some examples? Over drive vs Clean etc of the Neve IN/OUT transformer kind.
I get the concept, and understand the overdrive the output transformer input.. :) ....

but is it really noticeable? or is it a squint to hear it type distortion?

Ive had clean preamps and transformer preamps and especially the Joe Meek new one has In an Out button for IRON and it was hardly noticeable to my ears.

compression is the color monster tool, imo...
 
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