Neve family preamp: best for mixing together E-GTR, AC GTR, Bass, Vox, Drum OH, Piano

[Jake Holland]

Right now I own these:

Portico 5012
Chandler LTD-1

I'm wondering if there is something best, something that is the superior choice in the Neve family and modern variants for these applications.

I overdub everything and the most mic preamps I need are 3. I want to own the best regardless of price out of the ones that I will mention here.

I like the sound so far of what I am working with, unless what I have is sub-par to something else in the Neve camp.

I will sell what I have for whatever is best as money is no object now. I also don't want to waste money if there is something that costs less and is the better choice for my applications.

I beleive in using the same preamp on all sources to unify the sound of my recordings. Therefore I only want 1 of these models. The eq is not necessary but more like an added bonus.

I want a preamp that has the Neve character but also I like when I record stuff and it sounds done when you put it all togehter and don't need to use a lot of eq to make it all fit together and work well together.

Here are the ones that seem like they might be what I am looking for outside of what I already have:

AMS-Neve 1073 in a Vintage King rack/power supply
AMS-Neve 1073 DPA
Chandler LTD-1
Great River 2NV
Portico 5012
Brent Averill 1073 clone


I know some of these are not Neve 1073 knock offs. That is not my concern. I know that some of them have an eq and some don't. An eq would just be a bonus. It's the preamp in each one of these that I am interested in hearing comparisons on here.

I want the Neve color which all of these have in different amounts but more so I want the best. I don't care who makes it or if it soundes exactly like the vintage 10 seires Neve. I just want the best out of the ones I mention for the tasks I am doing. I also want mixing to be easiest where I don't have to eq certain frequencies out of the sound a lot in every instrument in the same place to have things work clearly together. I want the color but also the biggest 3D image and seperation when blending my tracks together. I mix on a console. I am not interested in preamps that I have left out.

[Jake Holland]

Basically, I want to own 3 Neve or Neve based channels.

Which 3 out of these are most worth having and will deliever the most mileage?

[RoundBadge]

AMS-Neve 1073 in a Vintage King rack/power supply
AMS-Neve 1073 DPA
Great River 2NV
Brent Averill 1073 clone

Please do a search.these preamps have been covered to death here.

They're all good.Demo them and find out for yourself.





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[Jake Holland]

Thanks

I've looked around a lot here. I was hoping to get some advice and input, not from people that are selling the gear but people who have used all of these and had a chance to do work with all of them where some experienced conclusions have been made.

AllI see in the threads here is a combination of dealers trying to sell their line or people who have this one or that one and are validating their purchase by saying I like ________ the best.

How about some people who have worked with a few of these at the same time?

[chet.d]

FWIW, I can only say that I trust what a few others have told me (based on their general character) that the Seventh Circle N72 seriously rivals a 1073 in comparisons done w/ a 1073 rental in Nashville.
Is it possible that said 1073 is not kept up that well? I suppose it is, but still...the N72's I have never fail to make me smile w/ their ability to sound pleasantly thick and sit in the mix very well...vocals or whatever.

I honestly don't understand why they don't get more praise than a few around here. So in the spirit of these forums, I'll continue to try and spread the word.
I had 2 built by Rob (a good guy) in the chasis w/power supply, or you can build your own of course.
No regrets, and can add on later w/ others sca pres of similar quality.

[allencollins]

I really liked the DPA but my first choice for OH's
is Focusrite ISA 110. They have the bottom end that is thick like a neve
but it's tighter. The Highs have a clarity that I don't think the 1073 types
can compete with. I also think the midrange on the 110 is more neutral
and less colored than say the GR or some of the other stuff

I'm surprised they are not more popular on here to tell you the truth.
They are definitely not retro like some of the other pres. Not that that is good or bad.

[Trev@Circle]

If you have done a search you'll have found that there is no 'best' at this level. It's subjective preference about what works 'best' with that mic in that room with that core sound in that song. Any answer you get telling you what is best is necessarily subjective.

[Jake Holland]

What retailer will send me these to demo if I plan to keep only one of them?

AMS-Neve 1073
Great River MP-2NV
Brent Averill 1073

[Trev@Circle]

Most of the pro-audio places worth their salt (most of which post here). I'll let them jump in and tell you themselves.

[Marjan]

Originally Posted by RoundBadge

AMS-Neve 1073 in a Vintage King rack/power supply
AMS-Neve 1073 DPA
Great River 2NV
Brent Averill 1073 clone

Hey RoundBadge, have you tried the Vintage Design CA73?

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by Marjan

Hey RoundBadge, have you tried the Vintage Design CA73?

No I haven't


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[wrigley]

The AMS NEVE 10xx with the AMS NEVE Rack is the best combination.

[dashamu]

I haven't tried any of these but I love my Aurora GTQ2 for electric gtr, acoustics, all vox..
haven't tried it on drums yet. I'll be using it on OHs next week. BTW, it's got a nice eq.

[herecomesyourman]

I would get two Great River MP 2-NV's and two Great River EQ-2NV's if price is no object.

Now why is that you ask?

Because even if price is no object, you shouldn't overpay for something. The GR paired with it's EQ has a 1073 style sound...and a 1084 style EQ that's actually much more versitile and flexible tonally than any of the original Neve EQ's.

That being said...I haven't tried the Chandler LTD 1...I don't know how close it gets. You could probably keep that and just get one GR EQ and 2-NV set and be done with it. Heck you could probably keep your Portico too just in case you want a slightly cleaner flavor around that blends with the Neve sound.

It's apples and apples after a point, but the ability to swap out transformers, impedances on the pre to pair with mics....and fully duck Q bands on the EQ all kind of add up...plus the GR has the most gain! You can really drive it to get analog saturation effects....and it will pair with any mic you name effortlessly.

My vote is GR...the Brent Averills I bet are superb and I've been eyeing them up a lot lately, but it's a lot more money for less by way of tonal variation and manipulation for them...and the AMS Neve stuff feels more nu-old school to me due to how it's designed. Plus at three grand a channel...it had better make a mean pot of coffee while it's at it.

[Marjan]

Originally Posted by RoundBadge

No I haven't

Hmm, just wondering about what your opinion would be, cause I have one (as well as a Great River) and like it a lot...