FMR RNP or DAV BG1?

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antispatula

antispatula

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I need a new preamp, I used to use the pres on my mackie cr1604
Price is an issue with the choice, I'm a poor highschool kid.
I can get the BG1 for 700+ dollars and the RNP for around 400.
Which would you recommend? Is there a huge enough difference between them to spend an extra couple hundred?
I record lots of accoustic guitar and piano. I like big-sounding vox. I plan on using it with an AKG 414.
Thanks!
 
If cost is a major concern, and you only need two channels, I think two Rane MS-1Bs or the RNP would be all you would need. At this stage of the game (poor high school kid), the mic pre is extremely unlikely to be the weakest link in your chain. Even with the Mackie.

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I concur exactly with Chessrocks suggestion.

The pres you mention (plus the Ranes Chessrock mentions) will give a fuller cleaner signal than the Mackies, but don't expect an exponential leap.
The Mackie pres in the VLZ pro tend to be thin sounding in my opinion, but they may not be the weakest link in you chain.
I bought a few RNPs because of my disatisfaction with the Mackie pres, and at first had mixed reactions about the "increase" in quality. Some sources (drums and vocals) were a lot beefier with the RNP but other sources were just marginally better. Utimately in a larger stack of tracks the better pres had more substance and depth to them.
Your recording environment and mic choice may make more a difference. The AKG is no slouch by any means, but if you have a lousy recording environment, you may want to look at some acoustic room treatments.

My opinion obviously...
Tom
 
thanks guys

actually I've got quite a wonderful room to record in. 20 ft slanted cielings, huge room with couches and drapes and even a grand piano!

but I've noticed that since I spot mic everything so close, the room doesn't seem to matter too much anyways.
 
If you were to only need one channel, step it up and save for a Chandler Germanium. That will leave you with a BIG sound, I am only recommending that on clips I have heard, projectstudionetwork.com had a guy doing a show down between it and a VTB-1, some cases ya there was a big difference maybe not a $1000 difference but it easily was a clear winner for adding a big sound to everything.

EDIT: http://projectstudionetwork.com/ Mon, 28 August 2006
[Show #34] Mic Pre Shootout With Hugo Ball & Viewer Mail
 
antispatula said:
I need a new preamp, I used to use the pres on my mackie cr1604
Price is an issue with the choice, I'm a poor highschool kid.
I can get the BG1 for 700+ dollars and the RNP for around 400.
Which would you recommend? Is there a huge enough difference between them to spend an extra couple hundred?
I record lots of accoustic guitar and piano. I like big-sounding vox. I plan on using it with an AKG 414.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

What do you dislike about the Mackie preamps? Are you using them in the way that produces the cleanest sound? I found the best results are obtained by running a lower output level from them. Can you run them with a reference level of -6 dBu or so? What are you recording into? Does it have a gain stage that allows running the preamps at lower levels?

If you are running them hotter, try stepping the levels down and then see what you don't like about the sound.

If you still plan to buy preamps, and your price range is $400-$700, another unit to consider that doesn't get a lot of press is the Sound Devices MixPre. If you're interested, go to www.sounddevices.com. It is a high quality field unit, so it can run on batteries, but lacks a couple of typical studio features: polarity reversal and DI function. I have a hard time telling its sound apart from my Great River preamp if I set the GR for cleanest sound (high impedance, no output loading, reasonable input levels).

Cheers,

Otto
 
antispatula said:
thanks guys

actually I've got quite a wonderful room to record in. 20 ft slanted cielings, huge room with couches and drapes and even a grand piano!

but I've noticed that since I spot mic everything so close, the room doesn't seem to matter too much anyways.
Click to expand...

Hey neighbor, rainy day in Half Moon Bay finally. What a dry January!

You may be taking that good room for granted, and might find that if you had a really bad room, close micing would help but still not eliminate the problem. So be glad. ;)
On the preamp question, I can't comment on those two, but let me ask a question back. Aside from the AKG, are you set up with a pair of something for stereo micing? If not, you'd gain a lot of sonic bliss by getting a pair of SDC's, with the kind of music you do. An alternative would be a second 414.
Preamp-wise, a DMP3 would sound better than the Mackie pre's for stereo acoustic micing, but it wouldn't get you the vocal sound you're looking for.
Have you ever looked into the Seventh Circle Audio kits? I've heard some recordings done with the J99 and the N72 pre's, and they sound awesome. I've been waiting for a lull in my too busy life to build some.
 
hey I remember you! Yeah it's been raining pretty bad lately....

What I didn't like about the mackies pres is it sounded thin on vocals. Sounded great on piano and only so so on acoustic guitar.

I'm thinking of getting an akg 414 for vox and other mono recorded tracks. For accoustic guitar and piano I may get something cheaper, I cant afford 2 414's.

I'm thinking of going with the RNP, I've heard the DAV BG1 has a high output, and I recording into an unbalanced 1/4".....

As for the kit idea, that sounds fun but I'd rather not mess with that right now, I'm not electronically compitent enought yet do to that.
 
antispatula said:
actually I've got quite a wonderful room to record in. 20 ft slanted cielings, huge room with couches and drapes and even a grand piano!

but I've noticed that since I spot mic everything so close, the room doesn't seem to matter too much anyways.
Click to expand...


If your room is such an asset, then why are you limiting your mic technique in the same way someone would in a crappy basement or garage?

If you want to add depth, space and dimension to your recordings, then experiment with different mic'ing techniques. The preamp should be the least of your concerns. What's holding your recording quality back is likely you, and what's making your voice sound thin is likely ... your voice.

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I use a BG-1 with a pair of AKG C414 BULS mics and they sound great together. The BG-1 does have a big sonic signature, so if that's what you are looking for it would be an appropriate choice.
 
I have no experience with the BG-1 but the RNP is way better than a Mackie mic pre. In the interest of full disclosure: I'm an FMR dealer but I wouldn't carry their products if I didn't use them in my own control room.
 
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