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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 30, 2021 16:21:21 GMT -6
Seeing what appears to be a decent price on one, about $1300. I'm not familiar with it but it seems like it could be kind of a unique way to do stereo compression (yes, I'm still on the lookout for a 1U compressor).
It's got a stereo link on the compressor and you can also side chain the filters into the compressor. I could see a cool scenario where I sent a signal from a passive summing box (like the SB2 which I'm hoping to successfully build at some point) into this thing, boost the signal as needed, and then do a stereo compression with a nice HPF side chain to keep things smooth.
BUT
I've literally never heard of this before. Anybody here know anything?
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Post by jmoose on Nov 30, 2021 16:46:09 GMT -6
Does it work? Like its supposed to? Whatcha wanna know?
Much of the Amek built Neve design gear ran hot. Kind of ate itself up. The pure path line wasn't very popular and I have no idea what parts & support is like these days. Wasn't excellent when it was new. Came after the 9098 line on Amek's deathbed.
General rule of thumb with Neve designs is that they get clearer & cleaner as they get newer. Think more bandwith, less noise, harder to overload.
Old Neve (10xx 2254 etc) most colored > Focusrite > Amek > RND
Lots of 1 space compressors out there, if that's the only requirement..?
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 30, 2021 17:08:31 GMT -6
Does it work? Like its supposed to? Whatcha wanna know? Much of the Amek built Neve design gear ran hot. Kind of ate itself up. The pure path line wasn't very popular and I have no idea what parts & support is like these days. Wasn't excellent when it was new. Came after the 9098 line on Amek's deathbed. General rule of thumb with Neve designs is that they get clearer & cleaner as they get newer. Think more bandwith, less noise, harder to overload. Old Neve (10xx 2254 etc) most colored > Focusrite > Amek > RND Lots of 1 space compressors out there, if that's the only requirement..? Not the only requirement for compressor of course (I actually have another thread on this). This just kind of popped up in my daily scan for interesting deals and researching the unit it seemed kind of unique. So from what I understand the preamps are really clean like you said. How usable is the compression? Let's say I end up with a workflow we're I'm running passive summing out from box that needs to go back through a pre-amp stage again. Would this unit be an effective way to do that while also doing some buss compression? Or would I be better served by another channel strip if I wanted to go that route? Things that intrigue me... - Full set of controls on comp instead of just one knob type thing - Comp side-chainable with built in HPF and LPF filters - Comp linkable Kinda makes me feel like this might be uniquely suited to the type of duty I'm considering. |
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Post by jmoose on Nov 30, 2021 21:44:51 GMT -6
Can't answer the question of how usable it is for you... that's kind of a personal decision based in part on what else ya own & what your needs are.
It's a very clean hi fi VCA compressor. There isn't going to be any "vibe" or grit there. Most likely the RND portico compressor would be the next evolution of that core design concept... if that gives you any ideas into how it might fit you?
Like I said just be sure it works. Really unsure of how fixable the stuff is.... if schematics are out there & so on. Good friend is an Amek tech, installed a 9098... rebuilt a few other desks. Last time I asked him about buying an Amek Neve piece with kludged repair he threatened to beat me to death with a banana.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 30, 2021 22:58:45 GMT -6
Can't answer the question of how usable it is for you... that's kind of a personal decision based in part on what else ya own & what your needs are. It's a very clean hi fi VCA compressor. There isn't going to be any "vibe" or grit there. Most likely the RND portico compressor would be the next evolution of that core design concept... if that gives you any ideas into how it might fit you? Like I said just be sure it works. Really unsure of how fixable the stuff is.... if schematics are out there & so on. Good friend is an Amek tech, installed a 9098... rebuilt a few other desks. Last time I asked him about buying an Amek Neve piece with kludged repair he threatened to beat me to death with a banana. Good point. I'm going to check it out tomorrow. It's still racked up in a studio doing post production work (Mike Judge projects and other stuff made here in Austin). Owned by a pro for sure and his studio has been there for years so I can always go and leave a bag of flaming dog crap on his porch if he rips me off. I'm gonna play some of my own mixes through it tomorrow afternoon. The intended use would be literally the last thing before mix down. Second to last thing is Silver Bullet and I've got a variety of other ways to dirty the sound before this. Ok, so two more questions... 1) Is the concern that AMEK is defunct and there's no way to have the unit serviced by the manufacturer or is there also a reputation for this stuff not being reliable? (Again, familiar with AMEK by name but no experience with their stuff and don't really hear much about their mid grade stuff, seems they went belly up before any of it caught on.) 2) Based on what I'm seeing on Reverb (not much, but last unit sold went for $1900 if I recall and there's on on there now for $2300), $1200 is a pretty good price. I mean if the unit is good shape that seems pretty good for two super clean Neve designed preamps, a usable VCA, and super adjustable filters on the side chain. Right? But maybe that money is better spent on one of the many great two channel comps out there and I should just keep my mix bus ITB or use my SB4001. (Final point, part of this is that I love the SB4001 and I hate having it tied up on "boring" mix bus duty.) |
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Nov 30, 2021 23:37:29 GMT -6
So from what I understand the preamps are really clean like you said. How usable is the compression? Let's say I end up with a workflow we're I'm running passive summing out from box that needs to go back through a pre-amp stage again. Would this unit be an effective way to do that while also doing some buss compression? I'm in the process of adjusting what my mixes are going through for our in-progress EP which is live drums and guitar based mostly. Have a TwinFlicks arriving tomorrow to see what vibe I can get after the CAPI SumBus. (And also looking forward to putting the preamps through the paces.) They're not far from you I think? Cathedral Guitar. Definitely worth giving them a call to discuss if you're already running through the SB and SSL-type compression. |
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Nov 30, 2021 23:59:20 GMT -6
So from what I understand the preamps are really clean like you said. How usable is the compression? Let's say I end up with a workflow we're I'm running passive summing out from box that needs to go back through a pre-amp stage again. Would this unit be an effective way to do that while also doing some buss compression? I'm in the process of adjusting what my mixes are going through for our in-progress EP which is live drums and guitar based mostly. Have a TwinFlicks arriving tomorrow to see what vibe I can get after the CAPI SumBus. (And also looking forward to putting the preamps through the paces.) They're not far from you I think? Cathedral Guitar. Definitely worth giving them a call to discuss if you're already running through the SB and SSL-type compression. Very cool. I've never heard of these guys. Fort Davis isn't exactly next door to Austin but it's closer than China! I'd love to hear your thoughts when you get your hands on that unit. |
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Dec 1, 2021 0:04:51 GMT -6
I'm in the process of adjusting what my mixes are going through for our in-progress EP which is live drums and guitar based mostly. Have a TwinFlicks arriving tomorrow to see what vibe I can get after the CAPI SumBus. (And also looking forward to putting the preamps through the paces.) They're not far from you I think? Cathedral Guitar. Definitely worth giving them a call to discuss if you're already running through the SB and SSL-type compression. Very cool. I've never heard of these guys. Fort Davis isn't exactly next door to Austin but it's closer than China! I'd love to hear your thoughts when you get your hands on that unit. Mine shipped from Austin. I'd search the Flickinger TwinFlicks up and you'll see a couple of associated sites offering them. Not sure how that all works, but looking forward to putting this thing into action. Will definitely report back. |
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Post by hadaja on Dec 1, 2021 0:13:16 GMT -6
They were uncoloured and a little boring. They do the job of what you want but without the colour.
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Post by jmoose on Dec 1, 2021 0:28:05 GMT -6
Somewhat unreliable. Amek/Neve has lots of heat and a very overstuffed chassis makes for a tech nightmare when there are problems. I'd recap the power supply as preventive maintenance.
Precursor to the pure path was the 9098 range. There is a stereo 2 rack space compressor, not all that hard to find. I don't know anyone who liked it on the 2 mix.
Put it this way... There were only a handful, like several 9098 consoles built. Two of them wound up in NJ roughly 30 minutes from where I live. One of 'em is Ron St Germain's private room. Neither of those guys ever used the 9098 compressor for 2 mix.
I've spent quite a few hours on Amek gear, going back to the 90s before Harman bought them. They eventually shuttered the company and rolled whatever was left (not much) into Soundcraft.
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Dec 1, 2021 1:02:22 GMT -6
This is super helpful, all of you guys.
This is probably going to be a pass for me but I'm going to check it out anyway. Thanks so much!
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