Got a chance to play with the Safesound P1 . . .

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chessrock

Banned
Just in case any of you guys care, I thought I'd pass on word about a fairly new product some of you have probably heard about.

It's called the Safe Sound P1, and it's a combo mic pre / compressor / expander / limiter. www.safesoundaudio.com

Anyway, I got a chance to borrow one a few nights ago for a session. All I can say is that every component of it sounds freakin' amazing . . . and it's intuitive as hell to work. I think it's probably one of the best new products to come out in the last 5 years or so. If you're a home recordist in the market for a mic pre / comp / limiter in the $600 range, this thing is the shit. Just get it. There's just so much to like about it on so many levels. Any idiot with a decent mic could make good recordings with one of these. :D
 
Chess,
What all did you get to try it on?

I'd love something to track Bass guitar (DI) through.
Even a dedicated vocal strip would be great.

Tom
 
There was a thread with the sales rep for these guys was in. It looks pretty interesting.
 
chessrock said:
Just in case any of you guys care, I thought I'd pass on word about a fairly new product some of you have probably heard about.

It's called the Safe Sound P1, and it's a combo mic pre / compressor / expander / limiter. www.safesoundaudio.com.......................

.............. Any idiot with a decent mic could make good recordings with one of these. :D
Click to expand...

Since you are one, with decent mics, making decent recordings,I believe you.
 
Re: Re: Got a chance to play with the Safesound P1 . . .

acorec said:
Since you are one, with decent mics, making decent recordings,I believe you.
Click to expand...


Now, that's not very nice! LOL

:D
 
Re: Re: Re: Got a chance to play with the Safesound P1 . . .

Ted Bell said:
Now, that's not very nice! LOL

:D
Click to expand...

I am sorry, it was REALLY open and I could not resist.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Got a chance to play with the Safesound P1 . . .

acorec said:
I am sorry, it was REALLY open and I could not resist.
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I gotta admit I thought about it, too. But, he's been really helpful to me so I had to resist!
 
Well, yea . . . I suppose I could have probably ended that one with something like "I'm living proof of it" or something similar. :D But then I would have closed off that route for you guys.

I told the Warren (the guy selling these things) I'm pissed because now I'm going to have to buy one more piece of gear, just when I swore off any more for the rest of 2003.

I don't normally put a lot of stock in magazine gear reviews, but someone did a really good writeup about it a while back in Sound-on-Sound . . . and it's kind of eerie just how spot-on his review was. Pretty much everything he said hit the mark. I think he said something like "It's hard to make the P1 sound bad."
 
chessrock said:


I told the Warren (the guy selling these things) I'm pissed because now I'm going to have to buy one more piece of gear, just when I swore off any more for the rest of 2003.
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Hey, it's 2004! You can start buying gear like a madman for the new year!
 
oops. You're right. I meant 2004. But I guess that's excuse enough. :D Could I just consider it punishment for mixing the years up?
 
I also had the opportunity to test the P1. I am certainly not as impressed with it as some magazine reviewers seem to be. In my opinion, I found the sonic purity to be lacking in some areas. I had the feeling that it has a built in exciter somewhere, coloring the sound in a negative way. I found the construction poor, which was surprising seeing it's a British manufacturer. It looks like a cheap toy radar dectector asthetically. The only thing I found positive was the price. But as it is with most things audio, you get what you pay for. I'm sure there is a market for this product, but I doubt it will be at the high end, professional studio. If I only had a low budget, for around the same price, I'd rather invest in a RNC/RNP combo.

AE
 
Audio Engineer said:
I also had the opportunity to test the P1. I am certainly not as impressed with it as some magazine reviewers seem to be. In my opinion, I found the sonic purity to be lacking in some areas. I had the feeling that it has a built in exciter somewhere, coloring the sound in a negative way. I found the construction poor, which was surprising seeing it's a British manufacturer. It looks like a cheap toy radar dectector asthetically. The only thing I found positive was the price. But as it is with most things audio, you get what you pay for. I'm sure there is a market for this product, but I doubt it will be at the high end, professional studio. If I only had a low budget, for around the same price, I'd rather invest in a RNC/RNP combo.
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Wow. I can certainly appreciate hearing different opinions on something, but damn; I wonder if we even tested the same product. I thought the thing flat-out smoked.

I notice you've said good things about the Sytek in other posts. I'm also a fan of it and did some direct comparisons with the P1 and the Sytek. If you're interested in hearing them, feel free to PM me. I can't post them on the board because I did them for a session the other day and don't have permission for that sort of thing and bla bla bla bla bla bla. But seriously, in a direct comparison, there's very little difference. The Safesound just has a hair more clarity/detail, but it's hairsplittingly subtle. Certainly nothing like a built-in exciter as you put it. :D

To each his own, I guess.
 
Audio Engineer, I'm curious if you're located in the UK? We are the sole distributor for Safe Sound Audio in North America and I know everyone who has had their hands on one...or am I wrong?

I'm not challenging the way you feel, that would be silly for me to expect to change your mind, I'm merely curious how you got a unit to review. I certainly disagree with your feelings, I suppose that's a given and again I don't want to argue. The P1 is built as tough as anything out there in its' class and certainly doesn't have an "exciter" type sound to it from what me and anyone else is hearing.

We started our company because of the quality of the P1, not because it was a radar detector looking "toy". It is pretty plain looking, I'll give you that. I guess Robert wasn't exactly going for fashion show status but focusing on the sound and functionality.

Cheers

Warren Dent
www.frontendaudio.com
 
Audio Engineer said:
I also had the opportunity to test the P1. I am certainly not as impressed with it as some magazine reviewers seem to be. In my opinion, I found the sonic purity to be lacking in some areas. I had the feeling that it has a built in exciter somewhere, coloring the sound in a negative way. I found the construction poor, which was surprising seeing it's a British manufacturer. It looks like a cheap toy radar dectector asthetically. The only thing I found positive was the price. But as it is with most things audio, you get what you pay for. I'm sure there is a market for this product, but I doubt it will be at the high end, professional studio. If I only had a low budget, for around the same price, I'd rather invest in a RNC/RNP combo.

AE
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I'm curious if you properly adjusted the output level. If you don't adjust it correctly, then the sound will be funky and crappy. I agree you get what you pay for usually. In this case, though, the expander/compressor/gate exceeded my expectations while the mic pre was about what I expected. I like the RNP/RNC combo and I could see choosing it over the P1. And, I could see someone choosing the P1.
 
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Yea, Audio Engineer. Ozraves is right. You really have to be careful of that output level, man.
 
I wouldn't so much say you have to be careful (output) as you just set it and forget it. I have mine set about 1db below clipping in my DAW and it's a done deal. Took me 30 seconds to find the sweet spot. No more yeccch clipping, but basically transparent limiting done by the P1 before things get out of hand. The P1's limiter is a lifesaver for me, I breathe easier knowing that if that singer or drummer goes extra nuts while tracking the limiter can handle just about anything and save the performance.

The compressor is smooooth and not prone to pumping, and doesn't crackle and pop when recording bass.

War
 
Warhead said:
I wouldn't so much say you have to be careful (output) as you just set it and forget it. I have mine set about 1db below clipping in my DAW and it's a done deal. Took me 30 seconds to find the sweet spot. No more yeccch clipping, but basically transparent limiting done by the P1 before things get out of hand. The P1's limiter is a lifesaver for me, I breathe easier knowing that if that singer or drummer goes extra nuts while tracking the limiter can handle just about anything and save the performance.

The compressor is smooooth and not prone to pumping, and doesn't crackle and pop when recording bass.

War
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I'm not worried. Mine should be arriving today, actually. Too bad I can't use it for a couple of weeks though.

Greg
 
I kinda' get the feeling this Audio Engineer guy might not be totally legit. :D

Anyone else get that feeling? Maybe it's just me.
 
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