Mmm, finally have a decent pre.

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xtjdx

New member
Just started a/b-ing a Focusrite ISA 428 with my Spirit E12 and there is a huge difference with pieces of drums and vocals in particular. So warm even though it's not tube. Anyone had some experience with this pre? I'm curious to know what other people think about it. I'm loving it so far, and hopefully the band tomorrow will too. : \
 
Wow, thanks for all the responses!
Guess this pre isn't really popular?
But, I am going to return it. There wasn't enough difference sonically to justify the $1700 price tag against the pres on the Spirit that sound nearly the same.
 
xtjdx said:
Wow, thanks for all the responses!
Guess this pre isn't really popular?
But, I am going to return it. There wasn't enough difference sonically to justify the $1700 price tag against the pres on the Spirit that sound nearly the same.
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What changed overnight? Are you sending it back because you don't think it is popular?

There's one more test you should make before you send it back. You need to record a lot of tracks through it, like all the tracks you need to make up a song. Then do the same with the E12. Good equipment very often doesn't show it's true colors until you stack the tracks against each other. The differences between great gear and good gear on individual tracks or individual sounds is sometimes not as large as when you compare the big picture of all the tracks together. That's when you *really* hear what's going on with the gear.

If you do that test, and then still don't hear a difference that makes the price seem worth it, then by all means send it back. Not every piece of gear is for everybody. I've returned or sold great gear just because it didn't work out for me personally, that happens all the time. If it doesn't do it for you, then send it back and try something else.
 
unless it really is a high end preamp liek a john hardy or sebatron or great river you won't be much different.
i returned a tlaudio for the same reason it sounded like my mackie preamps.
the high end preamps make a differense immediately.
 
I recorded two songs on each one, all instruments and vocals (granted, they were only around 30 seconds each, but still). I tested this thing as much as I could in two days, and there really isn't a noticeable difference when it's all said and done, even on vocals. Why would I bring it back because I think it's not popular? If a piece of equipment performs well, it performs well. End of story. This didn't. I am going to be saving up for a high-end tube pre. The saturation is just... mmm. Yep. Time to get some money back into my bank.
 
xtjdx said:
I recorded two songs on each one, all instruments and vocals (granted, they were only around 30 seconds each, but still). I tested this thing as much as I could in two days, and there really isn't a noticeable difference when it's all said and done, even on vocals. Why would I bring it back because I think it's not popular? If a piece of equipment performs well, it performs well. End of story. This didn't. I am going to be saving up for a high-end tube pre. The saturation is just... mmm. Yep. Time to get some money back into my bank.
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Wow. There is no lack of retards here.
 
acorec said:
Wow. There is no lack of retards here.
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and no lack of one-liners either...

whats your monitoring system xtjdx? its a bit hard for me to believe that you cant tell a difference after your first post was raving about it.
 
I dont really believe in the WoW factor with using High end gear. It normally doesnt work that way. What Im saying,,,is there are only going to be subtle differences in the high end stuff with each piece you buy. But once all these high end pieces are in place you will definately hear the difference. I really dont think one piece of gear (isa428, very good piece btw) is going to make a world of difference.

Everything has to compliment each other or you will never get the sound your looking for. TAlent..Mic..Pre...Converter....Recording-Medium....Converter...Monitors.....Room.


Peace
Eddie
 
Well, I think there can be a WOW factor, but you've got to go pretty high to get to it. I'm also not sure that it's possible to see the difference in only two days. That's not enough time to get used to the new sound and really get it into your ears. It looks like xtjdx bought the ISA and immediately launched into a bunch of A/B comparison tests. That's not the same as using the gear for a period of time and really getting to know it and how it sounds.

It is quite possible that if he had used the new gear exclusively for a longer period of time he would have gotten the sound in his ear and *then* when he went back to the E12 he would have noticed the difference. I've had experiences like that many times, especially with converters. If you go back and forth in an A/B type way, you can sometimes miss the forest for the trees.
 
Pro Tools User said:
I dont really believe in the WoW factor with using High end gear. It normally doesnt work that way. What Im saying,,,is there are only going to be subtle differences in the high end stuff with each piece you buy. But once all these high end pieces are in place you will definately hear the difference. I really dont think one piece of gear (isa428, very good piece btw) is going to make a world of difference.

Everything has to compliment each other or you will never get the sound your looking for. TAlent..Mic..Pre...Converter....Recording-Medium....Converter...Monitors.....Room.
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...i think I'm gonna differ there.....i noticed a difference going from behringer to MXL mics....i noticed a difference going from korg keyboard to yamaha to triton. i noticed a difference using multi-media speakers and monitors...i noticed a difference setting up the system in 3 different rooms. I'm quite sure that the isa428 alone would make a noticeable difference even using my cheap stuff
 
SonicAlbert said:
Well, I think there can be a WOW factor, but you've got to go pretty high to get to it. I'm also not sure that it's possible to see the difference in only two days. That's not enough time to get used to the new sound and really get it into your ears. It looks like xtjdx bought the ISA and immediately launched into a bunch of A/B comparison tests. That's not the same as using the gear for a period of time and really getting to know it and how it sounds.

It is quite possible that if he had used the new gear exclusively for a longer period of time he would have gotten the sound in his ear and *then* when he went back to the E12 he would have noticed the difference. I've had experiences like that many times, especially with converters. If you go back and forth in an A/B type way, you can sometimes miss the forest for the trees.
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i dont think the E12 would be THAT good....but yea i do believe it takes some time. taking 2 days may not be enough for some people. spending 1700 on a piece of equipment may make me a bit skiddish and if i dont hear a significant difference right away...i may return it. when i bought the mxl67g (obviously not too much of a comparison), i tried it on my voice and i thought that i had wasted 100 bucks. i had some vocal talent use it later on since i had tried him on the behringer mic and the 67g was amazing. ..........

instead of A/B ing himself...maybe xtjdx9x4kx whatever should A/B someone else.
 
xtjdx said:
I am going to be saving up for a high-end tube pre. The saturation is just... mmm.
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I love the Sebatron vmp4000e, it's a beautiful beast with amazing EQ. And it's cheap. But saturation? By the time I overdrive it, the nasty distortion from clipping my A-D converters will be unbearable.

Incidentally I strongly believe that the microphone is the first thing to "fix" if you don't like your sound. The mic pre should basically not "add" anything, IMHO. It should just *not suck*. It should be reliable, have lots of headroom, maybe have *useful* EQ (nothing extreme), etc. The choice of mic determines the colour of a track (up to a point, anyway).

If you want your recording to sound like an overdriven guitar amp, you probably don't need an expensive mic pre to achieve that sound. On the other hand, if you want a good clean mic pre, there are lots of solid state and tube options in all price ranges that will fit the bill.

$0.02!
 
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