Mackie and Meek's pres

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A1A2

A1A2

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I posted a question awhile ago about my C1 sounding too thin, and today I tried it on my meek and it sounded warmer and less "metallic". This is weird because I didn't notice much difference when I first tested these 2 pres about 3-4 months ago, and after storing them at a friend's house(in a sealed box) for 2 months, things kinda sound different now. I have become suspicious about my C1 or Mackie being damaged or it's just my ears.

Anyways, I was just wondering if any of you notice a big difference between Mackie and Meeks's pres. I mean just the pres after bypassing all the compressor and EQ.

Thanks

AL
 
A1A2 said:
I posted a question awhile ago about my C1 sounding too thin, and today I tried it on my meek and it sounded warmer and less "metallic". This is weird because I didn't notice much difference when I first tested these 2 pres about 3-4 months ago, and after storing them at a friend's house(in a sealed box) for 2 months, things kinda sound different now. I have become suspicious about my C1 or Mackie being damaged or it's just my ears.

Anyways, I was just wondering if any of you notice a big difference between Mackie and Meeks's pres. I mean just the pres after bypassing all the compressor and EQ.

Thanks

AL
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I just got a Meek VC1 last sunday. The thing is a pre-PMI meek and sounds wonderful. I love the compressor. It was a new unit stuck in a rack for a long time at GC. I got a great deal on it. This thing rocks.
 
Not sure but I think they are the ones without the CS (current sense) thing.
 
to answer the original question: they are pretty different pres. you are probably hearing a real difference, and not hearing some sort of malfunction.

the meeks are really nice for taming bright to harsh condensers. their input transformer i think is responsible for most of the sound... which i would describe as being slightly cloudy and pleasantly rounded.

the meek pres seem to excel at vocals, and go downhill from there. gotta admit that i think i am gonna try out the new generation with the switchable input transformer when they come out...
 
eeldip said:
to answer the original question: they are pretty different pres. you are probably hearing a real difference, and not hearing some sort of malfunction.

the meeks are really nice for taming bright to harsh condensers. their input transformer i think is responsible for most of the sound... which i would describe as being slightly cloudy and pleasantly rounded.

the meek pres seem to excel at vocals, and go downhill from there. gotta admit that i think i am gonna try out the new generation with the switchable input transformer when they come out...
Click to expand...

Actually, this thing is fantastic with elec, acoustic guitars and gets a bass sound that is huge. I have not tried drums or keys yet.
 
I've had very good results with a twinQcs, and I wouldn't even remotely compare it to a Mackie mixer, but why should you? The twinQ is your basic $850 dual channel strip, and the Mackie is a cheap mixer. There's no comparison. However, I've never used a cheap Joemeek pre, and I imagine the difference would be less dramatic if I did. I can tell you, the twinQ has seen a lot of use in this studio, sometimes in preference to an Avalon AD2022, and that's saying a lot.-Richie
 
Acorec,

I recently imported a VC1 from the US, but haven't had the chance to really try it out yet, so I would love to hear any suggestions you may have on settings for different sound sources.

:cool:
 
wow, this is a pretty old thread. I forgot to add that the meek I have is just a VC6Q, nothing fancy, and the pre in my meek eventually died this summer. I sent it in to PMI and got everything fixed, for free, too:eek: Anyway, I no longer notice a huge difference between the pres in mackie and meek, but the opt compression is surely worth the bucks imo


Al
 
A1A2 said:
wow, this is a pretty old thread. I forgot to add that the meek I have is just a VC6Q, nothing fancy, and the pre in my meek eventually died this summer. I sent it in to PMI and got everything fixed, for free, too:eek: Anyway, I no longer notice a huge difference between the pres in mackie and meek, but the opt compression is surely worth the bucks imo


Al
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Maybe they fixed it with some left-over Mackie parts. :D

Anyway, I also have a VC6Q. Sounds definately different compared to my Mindprint pres (the only two flavours that I have..), even with the comp bypassed. I like what it does to my less-than-stellar voice and it makes a decent bass DI.
I also think it's mainly the compressor that keeps me from selling it.
 
ausrock said:
Acorec,

I recently imported a VC1 from the US, but haven't had the chance to really try it out yet, so I would love to hear any suggestions you may have on settings for different sound sources.

:cool:
Click to expand...

It is too new to me to know. I plugged my J-bass in, dialed the Meek alittle and viola! Awesome fat detailed sound I have never heard before. The BIG difference is that all the bass notes are the same volume and sit anchored in the mix. All those years wasted with compressors, stomp boxes etc. All I ever needed was the VC1. Oh well, at least I have it now.
 
oh yea, i had the same experience with it as a bass DI.

i was working with a guy who i was really having a bad time with, i hated doing sessions with him, and wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

he wanted to track some bass, and i just plugged the bass into the meek and hoped for the best. in the end i was really impressed. great sound.
 
acorec said:
It is too new to me to know. I plugged my J-bass in, dialed the Meek alittle and viola! Awesome fat detailed sound I have never heard before. The BIG difference is that all the bass notes are the same volume and sit anchored in the mix. All those years wasted with compressors, stomp boxes etc. All I ever needed was the VC1. Oh well, at least I have it now.
Click to expand...

I've gotten good results with my VC6Q on
Bass. But I just borrowed a buddies Digitech Bass modeller and I'm really liking it. I've got more versatility with it but I will continue to use my Meek on Bass too. Just gets to be a pain in the ass cause I use the Meek for Vocals and Acoustic GTR too and they all have different settings.
 
therage! said:
I've gotten good results with my VC6Q on
Bass. But I just borrowed a buddies Digitech Bass modeller and I'm really liking it. I've got more versatility with it but I will continue to use my Meek on Bass too. Just gets to be a pain in the ass cause I use the Meek for Vocals and Acoustic GTR too and they all have different settings.
Click to expand...

I used bass modellers and stomp boxes too. They sound impressive alone when recorded. But, in the mix is where they lose the clarity. The meek seems to retain the clarity and has a tight bottom end that does not get muddy or lost in the mix.
 
yea, meeks work real well on bass generally from my experience. For those of you who are deciding between an RNC and a meek for bass compression, I recommend the meek cuz RNC really fu%ks up the bass sound, distortion and so on due to the slow attack time and some other reasons I forgot.

Al
 
Acorec,

I don't suppose you have a copy of the VC1 owners manual do you? :) :)

:cool:
 
ausrock said:
Acorec,

I don't suppose you have a copy of the VC1 owners manual do you? :) :)

:cool:
Click to expand...

Nope. Looking for one myself. If I find one, I will mail it to you.
 
Contact PMI............they have it as a *pdf. Or shoot me your email addy in a PM and I'll send the copy I received from them.

:cool:
 
Mackie vs. Meek

I have a Joemeek TwinQcs, a VC1Qcs and a Mackie VLZ 1642 (the XDR preamps). Also a Dbx 386.

When I am tracking bands live I tend to use the Mackie for the less essential parts (toms, cymbals, hi-hats) and the Meeks, Dbx for bass guitar, guitars, vocals etc.

To be honest I do not think the Meeks are that much of an improvement, preamp-wise. They can be noisy at even moderate gain levels. Used in conjunction with their compressors it's a different story. I have to be careful because the Meek compressors can make things muddy & dull if only slightly overused (I find the higher slope settings virtually unusable) - I can't believe that people have raved so much about them. However I like the Meek on bass and guitars. Yesterday I tracked a singer using the VC1Qcs. I wanted a dirty rock sound which the Meek seemed to fit. When I recorded a folk singer a few weeks ago the Dbx 386 (without the tude drive) won hands down for its quiet clarity - something the Meek can't deliver. So it all depends what you want.

As for the Mackie, I've found the pre's to be quieter than the Meeks and certainly in the ball park for quality. From what I can gather we seem to be in an extended period of Mackie-bashing, but a lot of it is unjustified.
 
I am not a Mackie expert but most of the more positive reviews seeme to be be regarding mixers with the VLZ-Pro series pre-amps and being adequate for rock recordings but not as good on recording pristine quality acoustic instruments.

Perhaps some of the Mackie trashing is on those experienced with pre VLZ series pre's.

I picked up a 1402 VLZ-Pro at the Mars close out for $349 but have not recorded with it yet.
 
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