Any thoughts about this signal path for the NEVE sound

[capitala]

I have all my gear channeled through a Mackie 24/8 but what if I Buss it out to:
Brent Averill (NEVE) 1073mp preamp -> Protools HD 192

Will that be a good way to get the NEVE sound into pro tools HD.

Any suggestions / thoughts?

[Dan]

Don't go through the Mackie. Duh.

[capitala]

lol...I hear you but I have quite a few synths, drum machine, turntables and etc for hip hop music. Thats why i use the mackie to channel my gear thru. I'll get rid of the Mackie but is there any recommendations on what I should do for a home studio with this set up, to replce the mackie.

[StudioKing]

I would most likely have all my synths etc coming up on a patchbay, that way you could patch them into the Mackie if you just want to monitor them etc, but when recording you could patch straight into the neve bypassing the Mackie altogether.

[Dan]

what he said

[FadersmakmeHappy]

The BAE 1073 is a wonderful pre/eq, but costly. I just don't see the value in running stuff through the Mackie and then into such nice equipment.

If I where in your shoes, I would cut out the middleman and probably go for an Aurora GTQ2. Now you have a stereo pair of di/pre and eq that can be used to track stereo sources like keys and a drum machine straight to Pro Tools. Shoot if you are open to not having eq, the GTP is 8 channels and at 500 bucks a channel a pretty great deal. Then you can just have everything running on its own channel.


The other option is to get a lunchbox with some neve-esque pres and maybe a patchbay. This would allow you to have more dedicated channels to use as well as something to expand in the future at a lower cost point. I love the Neve sound, but my lunchboxed API's get a lot of use too.

A pair of Avedis MA5's or Great Rivers would give you a lot of flexibility and allow you to add on some eqs in the future like Avedis E27's or Chandler Lil devils.

Just some thoughts....

[Fletcher]

What is the "Neev" sound?

[Croaker]

Originally Posted by capitala

I have all my gear channeled through a Mackie 24/8 but what if I Buss it out to:
Brent Averill (NEVE) 1073mp preamp -> Protools HD 192

Will that be a good way to get the NEVE sound into pro tools HD.

Any suggestions / thoughts?

Im not quite following you here. When you say "all your gear" what does that mean. Do you record using the mackie preamps? or outboard preamps and mix with the mackie?

Why not record your tracks with the 1073 (or neve sounding preamp of choice) right into protools? What do you need the mackie 24/8 for?

[capitala]

I use the mackie 24/8 to monitor all my sources (synths, drum machine, and etc...) before i print to pro tools hd 192. But i think i'm will go the patch bay route as mentioned, that suits me best. I mix in the box.

[Croaker]

Originally Posted by capitala

I use the mackie 24/8 to monitor all my sources (synths, drum machine, and etc...) before i print to pro tools hd 192. But i think i'm will go the patch bay route as mentioned, that suits me best. I mix in the box.

ah I see, yes of course.

[Kiwi]

One guaranteed way to get a 'Neve sound' is to buy a Neve preamp. The Portico 5012 is not that expensive for a genuine Neve. Due to the Silk button, it has Two Neve sounds. Silk adds some harmonics that are supposed to evoke the vintage Neve sound, and I like what it does for bass & drums. But for a lot of other sources I really prefer Silk turned off for a cleaner sound. Choice is good.

The Portico is a classy preamp with a few other benefits. It can run off a battery if you need to - something you may not ever need, but if you ever have trouble with clicks and pops from noisy AC it can be a life saver. The LPF is useful. The high-z input impedance means this works well as a line-driver - works great with more sources.

A Radial JDI Twin is a nice passive DI in front of the 5012 which adds more transformer sound, which I suspect is what you are wanting to achieve.

Definately don't track thru the Mackie. Use it for monitor mix only. A useful idea for keyboards and drum machines is to use the headphone outputs as monitor line level outputs. They are often a little noisy, but it means you can use the good line level outputs direct to your DI/Preamp/converter.

[capitala]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

What is the "Neev" sound?

a sound that will bring more depth and richness to my drums and synths but won't make my mix sound muddy.

[Stitch333]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

One guaranteed way to get a 'Neve sound' is to buy a Neve preamp. The Portico 5012 is not that expensive for a genuine Neve.

I think our definitions might differ a bit.
Just because it has a pretty red squiggle does not
mean anything.

Couple points:
-I'm going to go out an a limb and say that that 'Neeeeve'
sound folks are referring to is that of the 10** series.
Transistors, transformers and all that good stuff.
As much as the portico series has the name on it, I hear next to no resemblance to the original designs. They sound ok, that's about it.

-The second thing of note to mention, if one tracks with a Neve preamp (1290, 1073, etc) and stacks those tracks together in the mix, you have way more of a Neve sound then doing whatever at tracking and squeezing everything through a pair of Neve preamps on mixdown.

Snare and kick with 1272/1290 is very nice and fat.

[DarkSky Media]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

-I'm going to go out an a limb and say that that 'Neeeeve'
sound folks are referring to is that of the 10** series.

Yes, you are out on a limb, I'm afraid.

We have a mix of 10** series and Portico series pres (along with various other derivatives) here, and I can attest that the vintage ('Silk') setting on the Porticos is a credible contender alongside the "classics" - yet they are more flexible in offering a super clean alternative mode, and they are quieter, more consistent and more reliable than their vintage counterparts. YMMV.

[dbjp]

Originally Posted by capitala

a sound that will bring more depth and richness to my drums and synths but won't make my mix sound muddy.

You'd only be re-amplifying the sound of the Mackie using a Neve pre. Makes no sense.

[Stitch333]

Originally Posted by DSM Interactive

I can attest that the vintage ('Silk') setting on the Porticos is a credible contender alongside the "classics"

That just wasn't my experience.
My opinion is more quickly derived than yours as I don't own the portico and have not had the luxury of plugging and comparing, but I had a taste and it didn't sound nearly as robust. Also, many of the contemporary reproductions of the classic 'Neve' designs can sound every bit (+/- 3.79535%) as the originals.

Its funny because, much like mass produced guitars, I've noticed that certain 1290/1073/1084 repros sound "better" than others when put side by side. This, to you, is a disadvantage: I tend to think the opposite way.
The 10** have character, and sometimes individual at that.
That's a big part of what I love about them.

But, the advantage of these modern 10** repros is that they have every bit as much stability as the Portico, as far as reliability of use goes.

The Porticos are Clean, quiet and certainly usable, I agree, but no sonic meat'n'potatoes.