avalon ad2022

[maskedman72]

rich monroe's posts about this pre got me thinking about checking this pre out. im wondering how people that own it like it. more specificlly how does it sound on kick drum,snare drum and distorted gtrs? i assume it rocks as a bass di and on vox.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Well, I can't tell you much about how it works on overheads, and here's why- I don't use a big mucking mixer. I've only got 8 channels of pres. I work with a Roland VS1824CD, and I don't use the pres in it. I figure that when I mic up a drum kit, I use my best pre on the dynamics, which usually means kick and snare. The AD2022 is very transparent, but it has just a bit of that metallic tone "iron" that you expect with bigass transformers. How does it sound? Like it's not there. Only the mic is there, and it lets the character of whatever mic you're using through. And if it doesn't like the mic, it sucks. Bass DI- You're right, it rocks. Simply the best bass DI I've ever heard.
It's hard for me to say about snare and kick. I'll admit my experience with mic'ing drums is limited. I had some issues with the drums on my project CD, but it wasn't the pre, but the room itself. We figured out too late that we needed a hard surface under the drums, so we inadvertently muffled the kick and snare. After we put a 414 under the snare, our lives improved. The 414 went through the Avalon. Distorted guitars? No problem. As long as you've got good sound dialed in, and any good dynamic, you're good to go.
My only real complaint with it is the lack of insert points. You get balanced and unbalanced XLR's out, that's all. I would love to run an RNC as a send and receive, but the limited I/O's require the compressor or FX to be run in line.

 

[Jburn34]

I've got the ad-2022, and it's one of my best investments. It is very clean sounding, but it is also very full. It's my favorite preamp on vocals, by far, and will work on a lot of stuff. It's transparent enough that the mic really does stand out on it. It makes a sm-57 sound like an expensive condensor, but my mxl-603's usually sound like crap on it. Any good mic will sound even better on it though. It was my first high-end pre and immediately improved the sound of my recordings.

That being said, it might not be my favorite for kick, snare, and distorted guitars. I haven't A/B'ed them, but I pretty much usually go to my API or Vintech on that every time. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, but it's very clear and transparent and sometimes you want some more meat on the sound. One good thing about it being clear though is that you can use it if you need to and it won't screw up your sound. My 1272 is great but there is no way I'd want it as my only pre, whereas w/ the avalon, I could survive if it's all I had.

Jeremy

 

[Phosphene]

Sorry this is a bit off topic, but Richie, putting a hard surface under the drums did what exactly? Did it give more kit reflections and brightness to it?

Jeremiah

PS--I only demo'd it for 20 minutes or so, but 2022 is a very detailed pre---clean. I don't know if it would fit the bill for rock kick/snare, but who knows. I have the 737, and I know the 2022 is miles ahead of it. I wonder how 2022 bass DI would compare with ME-1NV Bass DI.

edit:looks like we were both posting at almost the same time....

 

[Richard Monroe]

As far as the drums go-you got it Jeremiah. Initially we had a carpeted floor under the kit, and the click on the kick beater and the highs from the snare were being sucked up. However, I like that floor when that space is a vocal booth- so- We got a heavy duty floor cover like they use in offices to protect the floor from chairs with wheels-hard clear plastic. That solved the problem, and I can put it down or pick it up for different sessions.
As far as the AD2022 goes, it's going to faithfully report what the mic gives it. Almost no color. If you want a bunch of clean gain with no noise, it rocks. If you're looking for colored vintage sound, buy a Pendulum.-Richie