$2k mic preamp / compressor w extreme range?

[epicproblem]

interested in purchasing a high-quality preamp/compressor/channel strip. mono or stereo will do.

i am interested in the widest possible range of sounds / extremes. heavy compression, gain, etc. subtlety not important. however, most of the time will be used in a general purpose manner, mostly for drum OH and lead vocals. will be pairing with AKG C414 and Shure SM7b.

was looking at Neve and API but i know this is only the tip of the iceberg.
for someone who likes to play with color and experiment with sounds, what kind of unit would you recommend?

[andreaeffe]

Originally Posted by epicproblem

interested in purchasing a high-quality preamp/compressor/channel strip. mono or stereo will do.

i am interested in the widest possible range of sounds / extremes. heavy compression, gain, etc. subtlety not important. however, most of the time will be used in a general purpose manner, mostly for drum OH and lead vocals. will be pairing with AKG C414 and Shure SM7b.

was looking at Neve and API but i know this is only the tip of the iceberg.
for someone who likes to play with color and experiment with sounds, what kind of unit would you recommend?

I'd very definitely say:

This, at the top of the scale
******//www.finkanalogaudio.com/image...os/cs2fa-1.jpg

Or moving slightly lower down this x2
Retro Instruments | Powerstrip Recording Channel

or this x2
ProPack

or this x2
GTQC | Aurora Audio

or (since U mention character & options over subtlety) this
P10 The Mighty Twin Dual full featured recording channel
(variable phase circuit too, and 4 compressor modes/analogue emulations)

Also see what they bring to the table in terms of price... some may positively surprise U.

Happy shopping,

A
F

[cheu78]

I might sound as a broken record (but I think there's a lot of threads that cover this subject..)

Btw.. Avedis MA5 in the 500 series realm, with the option of choosing the compressor or eq you like more... (Retro Doublewide?)

Or check out the BAE stuff..really great sounding..



Cheu

[CarmenC]

Originally Posted by epicproblem

interested in purchasing a high-quality preamp/compressor/channel strip. mono or stereo will do.

i am interested in the widest possible range of sounds / extremes. heavy compression, gain, etc. subtlety not important. however, most of the time will be used in a general purpose manner, mostly for drum OH and lead vocals. will be pairing with AKG C414 and Shure SM7b.

was looking at Neve and API but i know this is only the tip of the iceberg.
for someone who likes to play with color and experiment with sounds, what kind of unit would you recommend?

Empirical Labs Mike-E Channel Strip

everything you need...
C

[roger]

Originally Posted by CarmenC

Empirical Labs Mike-E Channel Strip

everything you need...
C

about to say the same thing. .....and you'll have some change left over for something else useful.

[Tanio]

Check the tube channel strip Preq-1 from QES Labs.
A warm and round mic preamp, paired with a very musical pultec style EQ.
I love my pair.
Highly recommended.

[Rafael]

Has anyone tried the Rupert Neve Designs Portico Channel strip? Fairly expensive, around $3K but gets rave reviews, has mic, instrument, and line ins, plus EQ and compression, plus Neve's custom transformers ( in & out).