FMR RNP vs. Black Lion Audio Auteur Shootout

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Potsy24

New member
I just got an FMR RNP in the mail today (thanks flagstaffcharli!) and wanted to test it out. While I was shopping for preamps, it was hard to find good comparisons between it and the Black Lion Auteur. I had an Auteur already, so I thought a shootout would be in order. I used the 2 preamps as an OH and snare mic.

Here was the setup: a matched pair of Karma Audio K-10s (1 into the Auteur, 1 into the RNP), 2 SM57s (1 into the Auteur, 1 into the RNP), and a Sennheiser E602 II into an ISA One (same track used for both examples). The K-10s were setup as the left mic of a recorderman setup (2 drumstick lengths directly above the snare). Here are some pictures of the mic placement:

IMG_03771.jpg


IMG_03741.jpg


This was about as scientific as I could get, it's not perfect but it gives you a decent idea what the 2 preamps sound like. The drums used were a 70's 5x14 Ludwig Supraphonic, a Pearl Vision VSX 18x22 bass drum and 8x12 tom, with 70's Zildjian 14" new beat hi hats and a 70's 16" A. Zildjian crash. I just played the left side of the kit since there was only 1 OH mic. No mixing was done, just some slight level adjustment to get everything close to the same volume. For the record, I had to use a 10 dB inline pad on the Auteur OH. The Auteur has a pad, but it's after the input-- and the K-10s put out a crazy hot signal that was clipping at the input. The Auteur SM57 didn't need a pad, but the gain had to be all the way down. Here are the samples:

FMR RNP


BLA Auteur
 
I have an RNP so I appreciate you taking the time to do this comparison. Love my RNP BTW. It's the best pre I have (which isn't saying much because my second best pres are on the 002).
 
Yeah the RNP can do pretty much anything pretty well. It does have a slight mid bump...i don't know, im guessing here...somewhere around 2500. But there is nothing I've ever put through it that sounded bad. It's a huge improvement over the stock interface ones.

Just for variety, I'd also recommend a GAP-73. Thanks for the shootout, good stuff.

They both sounded good. I think I preferred the snare through the BLA. But that'd be good because then I'd use the RNP for both overheads.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
Yeah the RNP can do pretty much anything pretty well. It does have a slight mid bump...i don't know, im guessing here...somewhere around 2500...
Click to expand...

That's what I got too. They sound pretty similar, but the RNP has a little more midrange and the Auteur has a little more low end.
 
Here's a better listen-- in each track you can hear the snare mic by itself, then the OH by itself, then the snare and OH together, and then all three mics together. In this one I boosted the snare mics a little (equally).

RNP


Auteur
 
I just realized I forgot to flip the phase on the bass drum. Oh well, just use your imagination and pretend it sounds way better.
 
These sound really close through my AKG240's...

Potsy24 said:
Here's a better listen-- in each track you can hear the snare mic by itself, then the OH by itself, then the snare and OH together, and then all three mics together. In this one I boosted the snare mics a little (equally).

RNP


Auteur
Click to expand...

or have I had 1 too many cups of wine? ....... :o
 
Atmarama said:
or have I had 1 too many cups of wine? ....... :o
Click to expand...

It's not just you, they do sound pretty close. The difference I hear is a little more mids in the RNP, and just a tiny more lows in the Auteur. This would become more apparent on a full mix. Being a drummer, mids are my sworn enemy-- so I naturally prefer the Auteur. But the RNP might be a better choice for some guitars? In my studio, it'll probably be used on toms, just because I use less of that in a mix than any of the other drum tracks.

I paid $300 for the RNP, so I'm more than happy with my purchase. I actually paid less than that for my Auteur, but try finding that deal again!
 
Potsy24 said:
Well, it's keeping the head basket on the mic, so I have to leave it on. But I made sure not to cover up the openings, so I think it should be fine.
Click to expand...

Ah good. A few dots of gorilla glue would do just fine as well. Good cosmetically too!
 
Atmarama said:
or have I had 1 too many cups of wine? ....... :o
Click to expand...

I was gonna say the opposite... I'm surprised how different the snare parts sound - there's usually not that much difference in comparisons like this. I can't hardly hear the snare rattle and stuff in the Auteur clip that I hear in the RNP one. The overhead, however, sounds almost identical to me. Thanks for taking the time to do this, Potsy :)

edit: I downloaded the files in post 5, and the overheads null out about 12 db, so they are, in fact very close. The transients are visibly clipped off in the snare part of the RNP one, though. Looks kinda like something ain't right there. Is that the mic with the tape on it? I would have guessed the tape was on the mic going to the Auteur before looking at the files...idk. It's late!
 
No problem, I'm glad you guys enjoyed them. As for the transients on the RNP, I'm not sure what happened there, I'll have to check that out. Maybe it just clipped somewhere in the chain. You guys are really worried about that tape! My next shootout should be "SM57: Tape vs. No Tape".
 
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