nuemes
Be Here Now
Snare with ACMP73 & ACMP84
Shure SM57 on cheap snare with a light leather wallet on top to reduce ring.
Preamps: Avalon M5, UA610, Pacifica, ACMP73 & ACMP84
Avalon M5: Most quiet, tight, controlled sounding, least ring, almost muffled sounding compared to the ACMP's (though not necesarily in a bad way). Has been my main snare preamp for a few years now. Somewhat dull compared the UA610 & ACMP's.
Pacifica: Less low end than the M5, slightly extended high end (just slightly) compared to the M5, gets a little more ring
UA610: Much extended high freq compared to the M5 or Pacifica. Picks up more ring, more metallic sounding, not so pleasing.
ACMP73 (no EQ): Similar to the UA610 but not as tight. Looser. A little more open high freq than the UA610 yet doesn't pick up quite as much ring as the UA610.
ACMP84 (no EQ): Same as ACMP73 but I think I hear a little more punch(?) Yeah. A little more high-midrange punch than the 73. Slightly better than the 73 on snare for that reason.
ACMP73 (with EQ): a very small bit of hiss (very small, totally useable though) is introduced. I didn't have time to dial in proper EQ but sounds very useable.
ACMP84 (with EQ): Ugh. There's that loud, hissy, noise floor from the 84 once the EQ is engaged. I extended the high freq in the EQ which may be adding to it a bit but this hiss is clearly a problem with the EQ engaged on the ACMP84. Enough so that I would not buy this unit again unless this issue was resolved, in fact I'd return if I'd only bought it for the purpose of recording snare.
The winner? It would depend on the session. If I had a drummer that was heavy on HiHat's I'd go with the Avalon M5. However, I always find myself adding high EQ to the snares recorded with the Avalon, which makes me think that the ACMP84 would be the answer with a Q cut in HiHat territory. However, due to the inability to use the EQ on the 84 without introducing a fair amount of hiss, the 73 would be the best bet as the 73 with EQ engaged would allow a low cut to keep kick out, a cut to keep HiHats tamed and not introduce hiss. I plan to record the entire kit in the next few days, I imagine the ACMP73 could replace the M5 for snare entirely; won't know until hearing in full kit context.
If someone figures out how to reduce the hiss on the ACMP84 while the EQ is engaged I'm all ears.
Shure SM57 on cheap snare with a light leather wallet on top to reduce ring.
Preamps: Avalon M5, UA610, Pacifica, ACMP73 & ACMP84
Avalon M5: Most quiet, tight, controlled sounding, least ring, almost muffled sounding compared to the ACMP's (though not necesarily in a bad way). Has been my main snare preamp for a few years now. Somewhat dull compared the UA610 & ACMP's.
Pacifica: Less low end than the M5, slightly extended high end (just slightly) compared to the M5, gets a little more ring
UA610: Much extended high freq compared to the M5 or Pacifica. Picks up more ring, more metallic sounding, not so pleasing.
ACMP73 (no EQ): Similar to the UA610 but not as tight. Looser. A little more open high freq than the UA610 yet doesn't pick up quite as much ring as the UA610.
ACMP84 (no EQ): Same as ACMP73 but I think I hear a little more punch(?) Yeah. A little more high-midrange punch than the 73. Slightly better than the 73 on snare for that reason.
ACMP73 (with EQ): a very small bit of hiss (very small, totally useable though) is introduced. I didn't have time to dial in proper EQ but sounds very useable.
ACMP84 (with EQ): Ugh. There's that loud, hissy, noise floor from the 84 once the EQ is engaged. I extended the high freq in the EQ which may be adding to it a bit but this hiss is clearly a problem with the EQ engaged on the ACMP84. Enough so that I would not buy this unit again unless this issue was resolved, in fact I'd return if I'd only bought it for the purpose of recording snare.
The winner? It would depend on the session. If I had a drummer that was heavy on HiHat's I'd go with the Avalon M5. However, I always find myself adding high EQ to the snares recorded with the Avalon, which makes me think that the ACMP84 would be the answer with a Q cut in HiHat territory. However, due to the inability to use the EQ on the 84 without introducing a fair amount of hiss, the 73 would be the best bet as the 73 with EQ engaged would allow a low cut to keep kick out, a cut to keep HiHats tamed and not introduce hiss. I plan to record the entire kit in the next few days, I imagine the ACMP73 could replace the M5 for snare entirely; won't know until hearing in full kit context.
If someone figures out how to reduce the hiss on the ACMP84 while the EQ is engaged I'm all ears.