3124 and Great River sound... compliments and opposites?

[phildog33]

I have both pres now.. 3124 and Great River MP2....

I got the Great River to compliment the 3124 sound but am finding.. that the Great River is killing it on every track! It seems to add body and life to everything.... not warm and thick sounding.. but just upfront and full of body.

In comparison now.. the 3124 sounds smaller and thinner... IS this a general consensus???

I seem to prefer the Great River sound on most anything.. and curious if its recommended to keep the 3124 around for certain tracks...

What does it excel at.. which the GR cant do??
Anything else in the Great River camp of pres to also consider?? Similar 'upfront body' sound.. but different flavor??

-p

anybody prefer the 3124 sound hands down to the GR? just curious

[in the red]

both great pre´s, compliment each other very nicely. the api has more crunch in the upper mids and sounds more agressive. you should keep both and just work with them. what i like so much about the api is the fact that it doesn´t take too much space, which is a good thing in dense mixes. although the great river was designed to adress this, 1073 style preamps can pile up some mudd in the lower mids so you might find yourself having to cut in this region during mix.

apí´s are wonderful for drums imo. try driving them hot and pad the OUTPUT. anyway, you got some wonderful tools there

[NathanEldred]

I find that API's and the Great River excel in exactly the same places...and I've said this before here more than a few times, the Great River sounds to my ears much like the API sound on steroids (far more similar than to a 1290/1073). Bigger lows, quieter at high gains, slightly softer mids (without losing punch)...but by no means does this mean that it's going to add any buildup in the 275-700Hz range, it does exactly the opposite.

[digibird]

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

I find that API's and the Great River excel in exactly the same places...and I've said this before here more than a few times, the Great River sounds to my ears much like the API sound on steroids (far more similar than to a 1290/1073). Bigger lows, quieter at high gains, slightly softer mids (without losing punch)...but by no means does this mean that it's going to add any buildup in the 275-700Hz range, it does exactly the opposite.

Would you have suggested that the original poster buy something other than the API 3124 to use with his Great River? (Especially if the Mp2NV & 3124 would be 6 of the drum mic pres) If so, what? Thanks for your input.

[Fletcher]

I have found them to compliment each other wonderfully... where I might use the Great River for overheads when I'm close mic'ing toms it's the API 3124MB+ all the way. While I might cut one guitar track with the Great River, the other guitar track [especially if the other track is a "larger" sound in the room] will be done with the API [or something like it].

There really isn't a "better" or "worse" when it comes to this stuff except as your sense of aesthetic deems appropriate for the sound and song at hand. Personally I like to have as many different animals around me as possible so I can get each new sound to fit in with all the other sounds that comprise the music in order to gain better separation and detail.

As always, YMMV.

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by digibird

Would you have suggested that the original poster buy something other than the API 3124 to use with his Great River? (Especially if the Mp2NV & 3124 would be 6 of the drum mic pres) If so, what? Thanks for your input.

There are a ton of preamps that complement the Great River, it really depends on what else the person is recording, and what type of production aesthetic the musician, engineer, or producer has.

[WidgetNinja]

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

I find that API's and the Great River excel in exactly the same places...and I've said this before here more than a few times, the Great River sounds to my ears much like the API sound on steroids (far more similar than to a 1290/1073). Bigger lows, quieter at high gains, slightly softer mids (without losing punch)...but by no means does this mean that it's going to add any buildup in the 275-700Hz range, it does exactly the opposite.

I agree with the first sentence, but not the rest. I would say they are like salt and pepper. You use them on the same dishes, depending on the flavor you want, hell you can use 'em both, but if someone puts pepper on your fries instead of salt, you'll taste the difference.

API: crunchy distortion, sparkly highs, fast lows, like a punch to gut.
GR: harmonic distortion voiced low, thick, gooeyer lows like a shiatsu massage, and subdued highs.

[digibird]

[QUOTE=WidgetNinja;1267079]I agree with the first sentence, but not the rest. I would say they are like salt and pepper. You use them on the same dishes, depending on the flavor you want, hell you can use 'em both, but if someone puts pepper on your fries instead of salt, you'll taste the difference.
QUOTE]

How about if you put pepper in the mayo you use to dip your fries in? Delicious.

(...and here we go again... )

[heybulldog]

can someone throw in the a designs pacifica into the mix. I have heard both the great river and the api, love em both. I would love to know how the pacifica compares and sits with the api and great river.

[jdjustice]

Originally Posted by heybulldog

can someone throw in the a designs pacifica into the mix. I have heard both the great river and the api, love em both. I would love to know how the pacifica compares and sits with the api and great river.

i've been trying for awhile to get someone to do just that, describe whether the Pacifica is really that different from the API to warrant getting one if you already own API.
i have heard that it has a vibe all its own from most people, but i haven't been convinced, probably because i have never actually HEARD one in my own recording environment.
really i guess the only way i will ever know is if a friend of mine gets one or if i just break down and buy one.
i think Warren @ Front End has mentioned (and Warren, sorry if this is incorrect) that he would sell a Pacifica and take it back if it wasn't what the end-user desired, but that he has never had to do that because people end up loving it and so none have come back as of yet...... (that's a rambling sentence if there ever was one; sorry).

anyone own all three (GR, API, Pacifica)??


cheers.
~j.d.