Avalon M5

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Sterling30

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I'm trying to improve the sound at the studio I'm using now and this is one item that's got my attention..

I want to use it for better vocals and guitars abut the asking price is pretty steep. Anyone with experiance using these and would going the used route be advisable?
 
Well, I've never used it, but my general opinion of Avalon stuff is that it's overpriced for what it offers. In that pricerange, I'd be looking at other options, like the Great River or Brent Averill pres, or even the Neve Portico.

What style of music are you recording and what equipment are you currently using?

Personally, I'd be more inclined to improve my mics, instruments, and room acoustics before I dropped that much coin on a pre.
 
I love the M5, and think it sounds absolutely wonderful. That said, I don't know how it would compare to other pres in the price range on a guitar amp, but I've used one a fair amount on vocals and give it two thumbs up, WAY up.
 
The Avalons sound like dog shit, IMHO.

plenty of bling factor, but sonically they suck. A lot of rappers like them. It is a good match for that music, which also has a lot of bling factor but sucks.

Are you looking for clean or colored?
 
haha thanks for the rep pts Big Ray!

I had another post written out and then decided not to send it because I thought I might get slammed. Even though there was nothing mean spirited about it. Just a semantics joke.
 
I'm using a pretty ancient studio as far as technology goes. And early 16 bit version of Cakewalk for mastering and we record to a DA-88 machine, the monitors are Alesis one but we still get pretty decent sound but I would like to improve it if possible. Would investing in something like an Avalon M-5 really make that much of a difference taking into consideration the equipment it will be working with?

Here's a few sound sample for what we're getting now for sound quality.

Acoustic and vocals:

http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?bandid=405459&songid=3888728&content=song

4 instruments & vocals

http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?bandid=405459&songid=2865067&content=song
 
The Avalon is not that great....I can name 10 pres that would be a better choice.
Sterling30 said:
I'm using a pretty ancient studio as far as technology goes. And early 16 bit version of Cakewalk for mastering and we record to a DA-88 machine, the monitors are Alesis one but we still get pretty decent sound but I would like to improve it if possible. Would investing in something like an Avalon M-5 really make that much of a difference taking into consideration the equipment it will be working with?

Here's a few sound sample for what we're getting now for sound quality.

Acoustic and vocals:

http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?bandid=405459&songid=3888728&content=song

4 instruments & vocals

http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?bandid=405459&songid=2865067&content=song
Click to expand...
 
BigRay said:
The Avalon is not that great....I can name 10 pres that would be a better choice.
Click to expand...

Why not just name them? Don't make us ask. The tension is killing me. :mad:
 
Who here dissing the pre has even used it?

It depends on what you want. the M5, portico, great river... are all good pre's in that price range. See if you can try them and see what best fits you. Are are talking about distorted rock guitar or smooth clean stuff?
 
Sure! Portico 5012, Hamptone, Fearn vt-2, Chandler Germanium, Electronaut M63, TAB V-78, Pendulum mdp-1, martech.....EAR 824... DAV BG-1, True Systems mic pre...




The Avalon is used a lot because of "bling factor" , not because it is particularly great...

A lot of Hip Hop studios(more and more of those popping up here unfortunately) use them here in Germany, and ask for them SPECIFICALLY because clients think they are easy on the eyes.

Boingo/er Ford Van you spelled newbie wrong. "nebie" ;)

They are right...try it and see if you like it. There are many other options out there though,....avalon is far from the cream of the crop. People see it in studio pictures or hear joe sixpack talk about it because so and so uses one...and they want one.

and people...for the Love of God, quit taking gear comments so personally.
youd think Id insulted someones mother.
Jeesh :rolleyes:
 
Foget the looks, I've been reading up on a few other pre-amps and reliability is an issue to. Some get bad marks for that but but the M-5 seems rock solid from what I can gather so far so I have no intention of paying retail, looks like $800-$900 will get me a nice one on the used market.

And I would expect it to make the vocals and acoustic more present in the mix. WE do ok as long as track are kept to a minimum. Anything over 4-5 tracks and things start getting left behind it seems.

So, taking what I perceive is very good quality and reliability, the Avaolon is being seriously looked at. Any other reccomendations beside the m-5?
 
Yeah...in that price range...DAV BG-1...700 bucks new for two World Class Channels.

do a search on GS and here.
best mic pre in the universe. ;)

It sounds equally good on Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, and orchestral instruments( I use it for all of the above)

Ive used/owned all the big brands(millennia, grace, apogee, GML, DACS) and DAV rules them all in my book...

Teddy
 
Reviews I've found support your claims on the DAV BG-1, I assume reliabilty is very good also?

And are there any U.S. dealers? So far I've only found 2, both located in the UK.
 
I personally am not a huge fan of the Avalon stuff. Like mentioned above I feel they are a little overpriced. That being said, it is not stopping me from adding at least one channel of 737 to my arsenal. In general there are usually other things I prefer for a given source, but they do work really well in certain scenarios. First, the Avalon 737 and M5 seem to sound really good with Neumann mics (at least the U87, TLM103, and TLM193). For some reason when paired together, they have a very rich, smooth and warm sound. The 737 also works very well on bass guitars. I woudl not say "they sound like shit". I find that to be a pretty big overstatement. I do agree though that if you are looking for an all around "utility" pre that there are plenty of what I consider to be better options in the same price range. If you were to go the 737 route, one thing that helps redeem them is the excellent sounding EQ. I find the pre to be decent, the comp to be a little better than the pre, but the EQ really sounds very good. The problem is that the M5 only offers the preamp which in my opinion is the worst part of the 737. One of my other complaints with the Avalon stuff is that I find it hard to keep a lot of things "raw". It always seems to impart oa certain sheen to tracks that makes them sound very "produced" in my opinion. For some things this is exactly what people want, which is part of the reason I am going to add one or two of them to my arsenal.
 
Sterling said:
Reviews I've found support your claims on the DAV BG-1, I assume reliabilty is very good also?

And are there any U.S. dealers? So far I've only found 2, both located in the UK.
Click to expand...
Yes, very reliable, and sonically superior(imho)
You have to deal with Mick Directly...his emails are

mick@davelectronics.com
or davelectronics@tiscali.co.uk

itll be 700 plus 65 or so for customs fees to import. He can also put 66db of gain on the unit if you want.

PM if you have further questions, I deal with him all the time.

Teddy
 
Well..

I own many mics and I love them all with the DAV. The DAV is very true, so if the mic has flaws the DAV will show them..I use them also for my ribbons, plenty of gain there.

I dont like the tlm 103 particularly, I do like the tlm193 though.

If you want a mic that is really versatile, the AT4050 does many tasks well.
...you could have one of those and 2 shinybox ribbons for the price of the neumann.

Teddy
 
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