Hey guys just wanted to get some opinions from some of you more seasoned recordists out there. I currently have been using a Brent Averill packaged Neve unit and a Drawmer 1960 (tube pre/comp) for my front end. (I use my Allen and Heath Board otherwise) Unfortunally I have to give those pieces back to their owner. I'm looking to either replace the Neve OR upgrade in other areas. The bottom line is I want to get the best sound improvement for my $. I'd be very interested in hearing what you vets have to say. My main LD mic is a TLM 103 which sounds great. I have a 414, NT2, AT 4050 etc that never get used thanks to my TLM. For SD mics I have a nice sounding set of MK-012's that actually out perform (or are very similar) to my SM-81. Various 57's, 58's and other cheaper condensors, kick mics etc are around too. From my experiance the Neve and Drawmer (and the Grace, Trident and Focusrite "Trackmaster?" ) that I had borrowed don't really make a huge "WOW! That Sounds Fantastic!!!" difference when compared to my Allen and Heath. Now the TLM on the other hand did make a difference. Going from the other LD condensors to the TLM anyone can hear a significant difference in the tone of vocals and instruments recorded. So I guess the main question is, should i replace the Pre's that I'm losing or look at some cool mikes such as a Royer Ribbon mic, or the K2, or KSM 44, or a pair of Neumann or Josephson etc SD's. Here's where you take over..........Thanks for the words of wisdom in advance. Check out my outdated site here for a better understanding of where I am and what I'm doing. www.spinstudiosaustin.com
J-3
In the first place, that's a nice looking studio you've got there.
I'm a little confused by your post, because in the beginning you say "unfortunately" you have to give back the Neve and Drawmer, but later you say they didn't make that much of a difference for you over the A&H onboard preamps. So I would think you'd regret losing them only if they did offer something you couldn't get with the A&H. If they really didn't do it for you, then by all means don't spend the money on replacing them.
What I don't see on your equipment list is a great outboard reverb unit. That's something that could improve your mixes, in my opinion. You might be a good candidate for the Kurzweil KSP8, for example.
I also want to mention that I think your site might be broken. The frames don't seem to be working properly with my browser. When I select a page from the navigation area on the left, what I get is a frame hidden under the current frame. To view the page I have to drag the border over.
Hmmm, sorry about that page not working accurately. I havn't visited my site in months. Well, Honestly I never found a good use for the Drawmer 1960. It was OK on drum room mics but "dulled" the sound a tad so didn't use it there. On main buss mix it was a hassle to set up (which equals more time which equals bands don't like to spend their money on watching me patch in gear) and honestly my UAD comps or Waves comps do the job "as well". The Neve is an improvement sonicly over the Allen and Heath just not a "major" , "drastic" improvement. Where as the Neumann over the NT2, 414 and 4050 was a major drastic improvement. When A/Bing between the two pres the Neve is not as harsh/agressive and is a little prettier sounding. As far as an outboard FX unit. I think again I'd rather stick to my UAD, Waves and Convolution reverbs for simplicity and they sound damn good.
At this point I'm considering the Great River Pre 2 channel. OR Great River One channel and a Royer Ribbon mic OR Great River One channel and a Rode K2. But again don't listen to my suggestion what do you guys think????
I've always been real strong on getting a 2 channel pre because I always use it for Snare Top and Bottom, Two mics on Ac gtrs, Two mics on Elec gtr amps DI and Mic on bass. So I wanted to run each of the 2 mics thru the same unit. But, I'm thinking if I had a Great River pre and the Neumann and Royer to choose from I might be happy just working on mic selection and placement and using just one channel. Then theres no phase issues either. Then for stereo guitars like I like to do I can either use a Allen and Heath Channel and mic OR just re-track guitars with the GR pre/mic combo on another channel. Comments????
THanks so much.
Kinda a tuff one...Well if you are digging your board pres and how they "stack" ..I'd go for maybe the R121{I havent used it extensivly} or check out the AEA R84{this one I own} both are very nice on elec. guitars ect. .I would only add maybe 1 mic or a pair and learn them..then go on from there later..To better conversion and so on and so on..Its so subjective..only you know where to go..Good luck
