MindPrint EnvoicE

  • Thread starter Thread starter Armistice
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Armistice

Armistice

Son of Yoda
Hi there, a local shop has a rack pre called the MindPrint Envoice that the owner is attempting to sell me as a generally useful jack of all trades pre-amp. Actually he's trying to sell me two of them - I'm using an AW4416 and need extra gain and less harshness than the Yamaha onboard pres provide.

Anyone used on of these things? Any comments?

Cheers

David
 
It's a SUPERB unit!

I've had mine for almost two years and I'd LOVE to have a second one.

The Envoice is an extremely versatile preamp, whether using it for mics, instruments, or as a mastering tool to warm up an entire mix.
It's a genuine tube-pre that goes from transparent to very warm, and does so with absolutely NO noise!

The bottom line is, I believe the MindPrint Envoice is the finest and most versatile preamp in it's price range.
You'll be amazed at how much it improves your recordings.

BTW, you're lucky to even FIND a shop with these preamps.
They're hard to get these days, even on the internet.

I highly recommend the Envoice! ;)
 
I have one and indeed it's a kick ass piece of gear. Does the units you're looking at have the digital I/O option?
 
Armistice,

Who is the retailer, and what price are they talking?

:cool:
 
Ausrock - not sure where you are, but it was Sound on Stage in Sydney - and $AU900 was the price - web stuff I found about it indicated about 470 British pounds a couple of years ago, so that seems a reasonable price given conversion rates these days.

Cheers
 
Armistice,

I'm about 160klm North of you.

If $900 is the Recommended Retail on the Envoice, you should be able to get at least 20% off that. I suggest you contact Bondi Intermusic, Turramurra Music, Sound Devices and a few other places for pricing before you commit to Sound on Stage.

Good Luck.

:cool:
 
I tried one of these units when they first came out (2+ years ago) and opted for the Focusrite Voicemater instead. I was really only comparing straight out clarity... not features or colouration potential.

I had built my own preamp based on the SSM2017 and found it was cleaner than the envoice.. the voicemaster was a notch better again (small differences thought).

I think the styling really put me off too.

Just my impressions
 
I've actually got the thing now, so we'll see how it goes, and no, it doesn't have the digi I/O option, unfortunately!
 
dres said:
I tried one of these units when they first came out (2+ years ago) and opted for the Focusrite Voicemater instead.
Click to expand...

I did a side-by-side comparison of the Envoice and the Voicemaster.

The Voicemaster sounded "sterile" and had no warmth at all... maybe it's because it's solid state and doesn't have any tubes.

But hey, it's all subjective to each individual listener.
 
Buck62: yep I agree about the voicemaster sounding "sterile" but at the time I thought the valve "warmth" just sounded like plain old distortion. The clean sound on the envoice is not as clean as the voicemaster. And clean is what I was looking for.

I felt the tube in the envoice was a bit of a gimmick and felt the quality of the exterior build was inferior to the voicemaster (eg. loose plastic window for the valve)... that always puts me off cause manufacturers usually spend most time getting the cosmetics right .... what might be lurking underneath ?

Who knows, they may have upgraded the unit since then ... it wouldn't be the first time that's happened to me. I might love the sound if I tried it again ?

I stand by my decision ... besides the envoice *is* ugly in my very subjective opinion. ;-)

Just my 2 cents
 
I dont know anyone who prefered a voicemaster to an envoice. The voicemaster is a complete waste of time. It offers no more clarity than a mackie pre and is more sterile and spongy on transients. Mindprint pres when *uncolored* are just a notch under pres like the grace 101. Very detailed, quick on transients, and muscular on bottom. Muscular meaning its quick, not tubby. The voicemaster is about $400 overpriced. This is all aside from the mindprint's quality coloration which is rich which almost no pre in that range managed to do without sounding dead and flat like the ARTs.
 
JuSumPilgrim, that's pretty much my impressions on the Envoice too. It is a fast amp. I really like this thing on snare drum and it's becoming one of my favs on vocals.
 
Amen, track rat.

Ive been running overheads through the DIport and I love the way the cymbals and snare come out. The most organic and present sound Ive gotten (as compared to a soundcraft M8, which is nice but not as detailed,,, DMP2, good but not either in the same league in terms of fast top end). The converters in the DIport are also very nice.
 
Well you guys are obviously talking about something different ... remember I tried one of the very very first ones. In fact I went in to the store to borrow a Voicemaster for trial and was asked to test out the Envoice instead. At the time I was unimpressed.

My bet is that 2-3 years is a very long time in this game and the internals have changed.

You've got me curious now ... maybe I should take a second look.
 
I've got one of the things and I'm getting lost too - I think they're talking about the digital interface option on it, which I don't actually have.
 
Armistice,

I just purchased the Envoice last month with the digital SPDIF Di-MOD I/O and to echo the comments of Buck62, you will be hard pressed to find anything better in this price range. The Envoice has completely changed my entire soundscape with it's clean, warm tube processing. I use it on everything.

I definitely recommend the digital I/O since you can track to your fav multitrack software and then bus those tracks through the Envoice digitally to add that sweet tube warmth to any bit you want. It's like having a 2" tape deck available to dump your work out to. (a lot of the majors still rely on the ole 2 inch tape deck for adding real "analog" warmth even tho they are tracking and editing digitally).

If you have a chance to grab one or two and the price is right - rack em up! This unit is a winner.

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
AUD$900 is quite a good price. They retail here for more like AUD$1200.

Very nice unit for the money.

Mark
 
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