Rupert Neve Designs 5032 Mic Pre EQ - First test

HudHudson · 28th December 2005

The nice folks down the street at RND loaned me Serial No. 1 of the new Portico 5032 mic pre/EQ and I wanted to share some impressions. No shootout with other units, no MP3s to share, just initial observations.

I already have four channels of the Portico mic pre (5012) so was familiar with the features and tones of this side of the unit. My goal was to use the EQ in tracking and mixing and see how it would fit in my EQ arsenal.

My main concern going in was that the unit has only one sweepable peak band (80-8k) plus a 160 Hz low shelf and switchable 8 or 16k high shelf. In the half-rack space form factor, that's all RND could jam in next to a mic pre channel, but Josh tells me a separate EQ unit with multiple sweepable bands is in the offing.

First up - acoustic guitar (Collings D2H) with an AEA R84. I wanted to hear how the high shelf on the 5032 opened up the ribbon's response. In this application I preferred the 8k shelf to 16k but it did add the HF detail the track was missing. The top end of this EQ is very sweet. The mid band helped me cut some mud from the low mids, and a touch of low shelf added some girth to the dreadnaught's tone without adding boominess.

Next - electric guitar, a '72 Gibson SG with mini-humbuckers through an AC-30, miced with a Josephson e22S. The 5012 is already one of my favorite preamps for recording rock guitar, and the 5032's EQ let me make some subtle changes to the tone without making the track sound unnatural.

On tenor male vocals, I used a Soundelux U95S tube condenser thru the 5032 and added some 16k high shelf, which opened the top in a very pleasing way.

Last night I went into mix mode. On a screaming old-skool lead guitar track (Gibson/Marshall), just running the track thru the line in with the EQ engaged and no cuts or boosts resulted in a more musical, open tone, especially on the top end; yummy! A touch of 8k shelf (16k sounded too fizzy on this particular guitar track) opened it up even further, and then I grabbed the sweepable mid and found the sweet spot between 3-4k to bring the guitar forward. A little cut on the low shelf made the track sit better in the mix.

I thought I'd have some trouble shaping a kick drum with just one sweepable band, but I took a pedestrian kick (tracked with a U47FET thru a 1073) and made it massive. I still missed having more discrete freqs to cut or boost, but will have to wait for the future Portico EQ module for this.

Snare sounded fine with some smack! added with the sweepable band but I found it not as crisp as with a 550b or 560. I really went to town with a room mic track that picked up the whole drum kit; I dialed in a fat, open kit sound that could have stood by itself.

The 5032's EQ is not a full-range Swiss army knife like an API or a Daking, but what it does it does very well. Used as an insert, I sometimes had to back off my input from Pro Tools (by lowering the fader within PT) to have enough headroom to make some modest (3-5 db) EQ boosts without clipping (simply trimming the input from the 5032 itself didn't always give me enough headroom), but once I found the sweet spot, I got a big smile on my face.

I think the front panel could be improved by adding a few more frequency references to the mid peak band (it just has 80 and 800 marked at either end, with a 10x button to boost to 800-8k) but I doubt there's room to add more labelling.

I have already ordered a pair of these and will look forward to adding some EQ-only units when they come available. The EQ is very musical, pleasing, and smooth, just like the Portico preamp.

DAWgEAR · 29th December 2005

Thanks for that review!

Quote:

Originally Posted by HudHudson

Josh tells me a separate EQ unit with multiple sweepable bands is in the offing.

This is good to hear!

rainsinvelvet · 29th December 2005

How exciting! I'm glad to hear that the're finally starting to trickle out the door. Thanks for the review.

Now the real question...
How long will it take for this thread to reach 500 posts....
5...

4....

3....

2....

ERic

AB3 · 7th January 2006

Does it have direct ins now? How would it be on the 2 buss?
THANKS,
AB
I am wanting eq for tracking vocals with r84s and for 2 buss.

HudHudson · 7th January 2006

The 5032 has both mic and line ins (XLR). It was very nice for vocals (though I did not record vocals with my R84, just ac gtr). I did not try it on the mix bus as I have Millennia EQs I use there. Can't see why you couldn't use it on the mix, it's a first-class and sweet sounding EQ. Mine arrive early next week.

28th December 2005	#1
HudHudson Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Austin, Texas USofA Posts: 1,645 Thread Starter	Rupert Neve Designs 5032 Mic Pre EQ - First test The nice folks down the street at RND loaned me Serial No. 1 of the new Portico 5032 mic pre/EQ and I wanted to share some impressions. No shootout with other units, no MP3s to share, just initial observations. I already have four channels of the Portico mic pre (5012) so was familiar with the features and tones of this side of the unit. My goal was to use the EQ in tracking and mixing and see how it would fit in my EQ arsenal. My main concern going in was that the unit has only one sweepable peak band (80-8k) plus a 160 Hz low shelf and switchable 8 or 16k high shelf. In the half-rack space form factor, that's all RND could jam in next to a mic pre channel, but Josh tells me a separate EQ unit with multiple sweepable bands is in the offing. First up - acoustic guitar (Collings D2H) with an AEA R84. I wanted to hear how the high shelf on the 5032 opened up the ribbon's response. In this application I preferred the 8k shelf to 16k but it did add the HF detail the track was missing. The top end of this EQ is very sweet. The mid band helped me cut some mud from the low mids, and a touch of low shelf added some girth to the dreadnaught's tone without adding boominess. Next - electric guitar, a '72 Gibson SG with mini-humbuckers through an AC-30, miced with a Josephson e22S. The 5012 is already one of my favorite preamps for recording rock guitar, and the 5032's EQ let me make some subtle changes to the tone without making the track sound unnatural. On tenor male vocals, I used a Soundelux U95S tube condenser thru the 5032 and added some 16k high shelf, which opened the top in a very pleasing way. Last night I went into mix mode. On a screaming old-skool lead guitar track (Gibson/Marshall), just running the track thru the line in with the EQ engaged and no cuts or boosts resulted in a more musical, open tone, especially on the top end; yummy! A touch of 8k shelf (16k sounded too fizzy on this particular guitar track) opened it up even further, and then I grabbed the sweepable mid and found the sweet spot between 3-4k to bring the guitar forward. A little cut on the low shelf made the track sit better in the mix. I thought I'd have some trouble shaping a kick drum with just one sweepable band, but I took a pedestrian kick (tracked with a U47FET thru a 1073) and made it massive. I still missed having more discrete freqs to cut or boost, but will have to wait for the future Portico EQ module for this. Snare sounded fine with some smack! added with the sweepable band but I found it not as crisp as with a 550b or 560. I really went to town with a room mic track that picked up the whole drum kit; I dialed in a fat, open kit sound that could have stood by itself. The 5032's EQ is not a full-range Swiss army knife like an API or a Daking, but what it does it does very well. Used as an insert, I sometimes had to back off my input from Pro Tools (by lowering the fader within PT) to have enough headroom to make some modest (3-5 db) EQ boosts without clipping (simply trimming the input from the 5032 itself didn't always give me enough headroom), but once I found the sweet spot, I got a big smile on my face. I think the front panel could be improved by adding a few more frequency references to the mid peak band (it just has 80 and 800 marked at either end, with a 10x button to boost to 800-8k) but I doubt there's room to add more labelling. I have already ordered a pair of these and will look forward to adding some EQ-only units when they come available. The EQ is very musical, pleasing, and smooth, just like the Portico preamp. __________________ "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson should have said this, but didn't www.yellowdogstudios.com

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29th December 2005	#3
rainsinvelvet Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: California Posts: 1,195 1 Review written	How exciting! I'm glad to hear that the're finally starting to trickle out the door. Thanks for the review. Now the real question... How long will it take for this thread to reach 500 posts.... 5... 4.... 3.... 2.... ERic

7th January 2006	#4
AB3 Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 3,550	Does it have direct ins now? How would it be on the 2 buss? THANKS, AB I am wanting eq for tracking vocals with r84s and for 2 buss.