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Post by Johnkenn on Jan 7, 2023 19:26:35 GMT -6
Out of curiosity, does the Great River distort as easily as a 1073? One of my biggest issues with my AMS Neve 1073 DPX is how easy it is to make it distort. Does the Great River do that as well, or is it better at dealing with the distortion when pushed? That can be a tricky thing for Emily’s and my big, dynamic voices. I love the sound of the Neve 1073, but the distortion drives me nuts. If I back it off a bit to avoid the distortion the signal just isn’t loud enough. You know, I’ve got my H2 0011 up for sale because I’m a serial gear philanderer…but you might have just reminded me of why I should take it down. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jan 7, 2023 19:27:19 GMT -6
I've only ever heard the GR in a somewhat hilarious ART vs. GR thread on the purple site. Most people preferred the ART but when the results came in people started to back track. The GR sounded good if I remember correctly, I currently own a couple of RND Shelford Channels (modern rendition of Neve) and I just stopped looking after that. I've had some Neve 1073's and some other clones in the past but they're long gone.. That fucking thread….oof. the GR was clearly superior. Like, night and day, and I think most pros would pick it out 10 outta 10 times. Hobbyist people just don’t have the experience to judge when a piece of gear will really work, hence the art love. an earlier post said the GR is like a neve with clearer transients. Spot on. I’d add the bandwidth feels a bit more extended too…closer in sound to a 1081 than a class a neve that way. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jan 7, 2023 19:29:52 GMT -6
Out of curiosity, does the Great River distort as easily as a 1073? One of my biggest issues with my AMS Neve 1073 DPX is how easy it is to make it distort. Does the Great River do that as well, or is it better at dealing with the distortion when pushed? That can be a tricky thing for Emily’s and my big, dynamic voices. I love the sound of the Neve 1073, but the distortion drives me nuts. If I back it off a bit to avoid the distortion the signal just isn’t loud enough. We’ve got some ams 1084s at my place and they don’t distort the way you’re describing. The 73 shouldn’t be any different….any chance it needs servicing? edit: just noticed that dpx designation…I have no idea what that is so we’re probably talking about different pieces of gear. Sorry for my confusion! |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jan 7, 2023 19:46:37 GMT -6
I know what he’s talking about. When you really lay into it, it can get fuzzy. I’ve always wondered how people were recording vocals at -45…I think it’s because not everyone sings super dynamically. I would get a bunch of buzzzz at that hot a signal. I usually stayed around -25 and even found myself pulling the output down. Then making it up with a comp.
All that being said, the 0011 with the 32V PS seems to have more clean headroom for sure.
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kbb
Junior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by kbb on Jan 7, 2023 21:57:57 GMT -6
I really miss my GR NV pre. A long time ago, I went through a lot of 1073 clones searching for a favorite. For a true clone, the one that got away was the Chandler LTD-1, their long since discontinued 1073 clone.
At the time, I tried Vintechs, N72 (seventh circle), the Chandler, and the GR. While the Chandler might be the fattest coolest preamp I've ever owned, the GR beat them all handily for its practicality...it was significantly more open sounding with plenty of girth to match and without as much low freq buildup as the Chandler. The GR just sounded bigger somehow. As amazing as the Chandler was, I'm not sure I'd want to mix/stack a bunch of tracks with recorded with it again. It was like the rosewood dreadnaught of preamps...such pervasive low and low mid presence that it got me into the bad habit of reaching for an eq before I even set up the mic, and even then it was tedious to whittle out the lows and mids.
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kbb
Junior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by kbb on Jan 7, 2023 22:04:19 GMT -6
I also kinda miss the Vintechs...not as big sounding as the chandler or GR, but really sweet and manageable tone! But the GR qualifies as a "desert island" pre, as much as I hate using that phrase. The N72s were quickly forgettable for me. They sounded small and congested.
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Post by carymiller on Jan 7, 2023 22:26:40 GMT -6
I really miss my GR NV pre. A long time ago, I went through a lot of 1073 clones searching for a favorite. For a true clone, the one that got away was the Chandler LTD-1, their long since discontinued 1073 clone. At the time, I tried Vintechs, N72 (seventh circle), the Chandler, and the GR. While the Chandler might be the fattest coolest preamp I've ever owned, the GR beat them all handily for its practicality...it was significantly more open sounding with plenty of girth to match and without as much low freq buildup as the Chandler. The GR just sounded bigger somehow. As amazing as the Chandler was, I'm not sure I'd want to mix/stack a bunch of tracks with recorded with it again. It was like the rosewood dreadnaught of preamps...such pervasive low and low mid presence that it got me into the bad habit of reaching for an eq before I even set up the mic, and even then it was tedious to whittle out the lows and mids. That openness is what I miss. You barely have to touch an EQ. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jan 7, 2023 22:54:35 GMT -6
I know what he’s talking about. When you really lay into it, it can get fuzzy. I’ve always wondered how people were recording vocals at -45…I think it’s because not everyone sings super dynamically. I would get a bunch of buzzzz at that hot a signal. I usually stayed around -25 and even found myself pulling the output down. Then making it up with a comp. All that being said, the 0011 with the 32V PS seems to have more clean headroom for sure. See now that's really weird to hear, because every type69 preamp I've used has been VERY unforgiving in the overload department. They sound great and great and great and then WAM! They sound terrible. You hit that thing a db too hard and it distorts hard and it distorts ugly. The 10xx neves will get a bit furry if you drive them, and they'll definitely pinch in the 1k-ish if you really wallop them, but running them at regular levels is plenty clean. Maybe the issue is different definitions of 'regular levels', which for me means referencing around 0VU. If you're recording digitally and pushing up towards 0dbfs then you're almost certainly running the equipment hotter than it was designed to be run, especially with a design as old as a 10xx Neve. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jan 8, 2023 1:30:47 GMT -6
I know what he’s talking about. When you really lay into it, it can get fuzzy. I’ve always wondered how people were recording vocals at -45…I think it’s because not everyone sings super dynamically. I would get a bunch of buzzzz at that hot a signal. I usually stayed around -25 and even found myself pulling the output down. Then making it up with a comp. All that being said, the 0011 with the 32V PS seems to have more clean headroom for sure. See now that's really weird to hear, because every type69 preamp I've used has been VERY unforgiving in the overload department. They sound great and great and great and then WAM! They sound terrible. You hit that thing a db too hard and it distorts hard and it distorts ugly. The 10xx neves will get a bit furry if you drive them, and they'll definitely pinch in the 1k-ish if you really wallop them, but running them at regular levels is plenty clean. Maybe the issue is different definitions of 'regular levels', which for me means referencing around 0VU. If you're recording digitally and pushing up towards 0dbfs then you're almost certainly running the equipment hotter than it was designed to be run, especially with a design as old as a 10xx Neve. The H2 0011 has more headroom than any of the other Helios iterations I’ve used. It still can get that specific Helios sounding distortion, but not if you’re gain staging it correctly. I would run into Neve’s getting furry even when they were gain staged correctly. |
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Post by Vincent R. on Jan 8, 2023 7:24:55 GMT -6
I know what he’s talking about. When you really lay into it, it can get fuzzy. I’ve always wondered how people were recording vocals at -45…I think it’s because not everyone sings super dynamically. Exactly. So, I’m curious if the Great River does the same thing or something similar, or if it is not as bad in this regard. Not only do Emily and I sing super dynamically, we also sing far louder than most people with each of having one foot in musical theater and the other in opera. |
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Post by carymiller on Jan 8, 2023 7:44:50 GMT -6
I know what he’s talking about. When you really lay into it, it can get fuzzy. I’ve always wondered how people were recording vocals at -45…I think it’s because not everyone sings super dynamically. Exactly. So, I’m curious if the Great River does the same thing or something similar, or if it is not as bad in this regard. Not only do Emily and I sing super dynamically, we also sing far louder than most people with each of having one foot in musical theater and the other in opera. I would get one on loan to try. My experience with the great river was around 40-45 it wasn't gritting up like my vintage Neves, but did have a little more harmonic distortion going on than say a Buzz Audio Preamp. |
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cj
Full Member
Posts: 31
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Post by cj on Jan 8, 2023 20:03:29 GMT -6
I have the Great River preamps which are awesome. All this talk about GR has now got me itching to buy something else from Dan Kennedy.
I was wondering if anyone has experience with both the Great River EQ-2NV and the RND 551? I have a pair of 551's and I really like them and I was curious how the sound of the Great River would compare and what else it might bring to the table.
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Post by dougwendal on Jan 8, 2023 22:42:19 GMT -6
I've never used a 551, but just going by specs, the GREQ-2NV is more flexible. Paired with a GRMP it is even more flexible. Patching the two together via their inserts provides many sonic tonal options.
If you are happy with your GRMP then you will love it paired with a GREQ.
I recommend reading Cary Miller's GREQ-2NV review over at the purple site.
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Post by kelk on Jan 9, 2023 3:14:46 GMT -6
I was wondering if someone has ever had the chance to compare the great river pre to a neve 5052/shelford. I only have experience with the 5052pre, which has that neve aroma but with clearer transients. Would be nice to hear if someone has used both since these are characteristics I often hear to describe the GR aswell..
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peezy
Full Member
Posts: 42
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Post by peezy on Jan 10, 2023 0:25:01 GMT -6
I think the gr and the 7603 are probably the two most comparable clones I've tried. Mainly because they have the 73 esqu but kinda do their own thing. Both are open sounding and can be driven into big girth.
On another note with my real neve 1073 I never go past 25. When my 7603 I can go to about 35 without and get a same carnhills transfo without it being too fuzzy. I only record vocals so I sent like no 1073s pushed into fuzziness. I think -35 is about the sweet spot.
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