phoenix audio pre drs1 or Great River ME-1NV

insect1 · 2nd February 2006

Ragga/hip hop vocals..need a pre-amp
With U87ai or Soundelux U195
Any opinions on either pre-amp ?

Revelation · 2nd February 2006

You can't go wrong with either pre, their both great! Do you like the color blue or red..same difference. You should really hear both pre's and see which one suits the sound your looking for. Everyone has a certain sound they want, and one is not necessarily better, just different.

AdamJay · 2nd February 2006

go to www.thelisteningsessions.com

though they dont have any hip hop vocal samples, they do have various samples of both of those pre's shot out against each other. Enough that you could tell which tones and colors 1 pre has that the other doesn't, and vice versa.

i'm a DRS fan myself, but i won't tell anyone not to buy a Great River.

Dot · 3rd February 2006

Hard to get more specific without more info - but I'll take a shot. I've used both the DRS and NV pres and reviewed them. I'd probably recommend the DRS, as it's going to give you a more open sound for vocals. But it's up to you and the kind of sound you want. The DRS sounds more modern. The NV sounds more classic. Both are excellent.

******//www.studioreviews.com/drs-2.htm

******//www.studioreviews.com/me-1nv.htm

Fletcher · 3rd February 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dot

The DRS sounds more modern. The NV sounds more classic.

Wow.

That's a hoot.

The NV is using way more modern technology than the DRS... the amplifiers in the DRS were originally built as 'aftermarket replacement amps' for the buss amplifiers in Neve 8068 and 8078 consoles... the idea was to give a sound that approximates the sound of the B283 [class A] amplifier board found in the 1272 line amplifier that were part of real "vintage" Neves like the 8014; 8028; etc.

...but hey, if you think it's a more modern sound... who am I to disagree.

AdamJay · 3rd February 2006

vintage, modern.. whatthefukever...

You know GR and Phoenix made these available in 1/2 Rack space sizes for a reason.

SO YOU COULD GET BOTH

Dot · 3rd February 2006

The "technology" used is irrelevant.

<i>... the idea was to give a sound that approximates the sound of the B283...</i>

What does "having an idea to approximate a sound" have to do with anything?

Fletcher · 3rd February 2006

The B283 is the amplifier board that was used in the 1064, 66,70, 73, 79, 80, 84 and a few other numbers I'm sure I'm forgetting as well as the 1271 and 1272 line amplifiers [and the 2252 and 2254 A/E and D revision compressors].

It is the fully class A discrete op-amp board that along with the Marinair LO 1166 transformer is most associated with the NEEV sound. The later amplifiers like the BA 440 [discrete]; BA 640 [used a 5534 IC]; (along with the 438, 638, yada, yada, yada) are associated with a "snappier" more modern Neve sound.

Hence, by creating the central building block of their microphone pre-amplifier to be based on the earlier technology employed by the Rupert Neve Company in the early 70's [see David Rees is the designer behind Phoenix... he used to be a designer at Neve... he's the guy that brought you those lovely compressors I mentioned earlier]... and this central building block was originally created to give the "newer"; "snappier sounding"; consoles with the class A/B output section a 'warmer'; 'rounder' and more 'vintage' kind of tone... one could extrapolate that the technology behind the product was not meant to sound "more modern" but in fact more "old fashioned".

Is that explanation sufficient or do I have to draw you a map?

RKrizman · 3rd February 2006

So the one company that doesn't go overboard to advertize its preamps as 1073 copies is actually the one that gets closest to a vintage Neve tone?

To add my 2 bits, of all my preamps (Mackie, Beringer, ....no just kidding) the DRS-2 does the best job of letting me visualize the left and right side of the sound as well as the front. Like if I move to the right I can see the left side of the trumpet. How's that for weird. But I still use the MP-2NV on electric guitar, for its more focused midrange sound.

As Fletcher has indicated in the past, the two work nicely hand-in-glove.

-R

2nd February 2006	#1
insect1 Gear maniac Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 236 Thread Starter	phoenix audio pre drs1 or Great River ME-1NV Ragga/hip hop vocals..need a pre-amp With U87ai or Soundelux U195 Any opinions on either pre-amp ?

3rd February 2006	#4
Dot Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2002 Location: on the beach in warm, sunny SC Posts: 872	Hard to get more specific without more info - but I'll take a shot. I've used both the DRS and NV pres and reviewed them. I'd probably recommend the DRS, as it's going to give you a more open sound for vocals. But it's up to you and the kind of sound you want. The DRS sounds more modern. The NV sounds more classic. Both are excellent. ****//www.studioreviews.com/drs-2.htm ****//www.studioreviews.com/me-1nv.htm __________________ Dan Richards Yackin' about gear and recording techniques at http://studioforums.com

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2nd February 2006	#2
Revelation Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2003 Location: New York Posts: 1,131	You can't go wrong with either pre, their both great! Do you like the color blue or red..same difference. You should really hear both pre's and see which one suits the sound your looking for. Everyone has a certain sound they want, and one is not necessarily better, just different.

2nd February 2006	#3
AdamJay Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2005 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 2,825	go to www.thelisteningsessions.com though they dont have any hip hop vocal samples, they do have various samples of both of those pre's shot out against each other. Enough that you could tell which tones and colors 1 pre has that the other doesn't, and vice versa. i'm a DRS fan myself, but i won't tell anyone not to buy a Great River.

3rd February 2006	#8
Fletcher member no 666 Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 10,108	The B283 is the amplifier board that was used in the 1064, 66,70, 73, 79, 80, 84 and a few other numbers I'm sure I'm forgetting as well as the 1271 and 1272 line amplifiers [and the 2252 and 2254 A/E and D revision compressors]. It is the fully class A discrete op-amp board that along with the Marinair LO 1166 transformer is most associated with the NEEV sound. The later amplifiers like the BA 440 [discrete]; BA 640 [used a 5534 IC]; (along with the 438, 638, yada, yada, yada) are associated with a "snappier" more modern Neve sound. Hence, by creating the central building block of their microphone pre-amplifier to be based on the earlier technology employed by the Rupert Neve Company in the early 70's [see David Rees is the designer behind Phoenix... he used to be a designer at Neve... he's the guy that brought you those lovely compressors I mentioned earlier]... and this central building block was originally created to give the "newer"; "snappier sounding"; consoles with the class A/B output section a 'warmer'; 'rounder' and more 'vintage' kind of tone... one could extrapolate that the technology behind the product was not meant to sound "more modern" but in fact more "old fashioned". Is that explanation sufficient or do I have to draw you a map?

3rd February 2006	#9
RKrizman Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 6,598	So the one company that doesn't go overboard to advertize its preamps as 1073 copies is actually the one that gets closest to a vintage Neve tone? To add my 2 bits, of all my preamps (Mackie, Beringer, ....no just kidding) the DRS-2 does the best job of letting me visualize the left and right side of the sound as well as the front. Like if I move to the right I can see the left side of the trumpet. How's that for weird. But I still use the MP-2NV on electric guitar, for its more focused midrange sound. As Fletcher has indicated in the past, the two work nicely hand-in-glove. -R