ACMP-73 +++++Neve 73 CLone

[Brad McGowan]

Thanks Jim. Oh well. Maybe I'm in the minority, but having a DI input on every preamp doesn't really thrill me. I'd rather have a better EQ.

So regarding the ACM 1200...maybe it was based after the M16 instead? Are you sure about the AK47 connection?

Brad

[JTC111]

Originally Posted by Brad McGowan

Thanks Jim. Oh well. Maybe I'm in the minority, but having a DI input on every preamp doesn't really thrill me. I'd rather have a better EQ.

So regarding the ACM 1200...maybe it was based after the M16 instead? Are you sure about the AK47 connection?

Brad

It's what I was told when I inquired in the GB thread and no one has disputed or corrected it.

[VuucuuV]

sheesh! too good, so what traits is the 81 better at v.s 84? I signed up for the 84 then changed to the 81 as it seemed more flexible(after VERY little research) I have the C-labs 1073 clone, so that's why I didn't choose the 73--and I don't need the DI. I mostly will be running synths into them anyway-- but, want something thick and heavy! so, 81 or 84? TIA!

also, anyone know what the ACM-900 Tube/ribbon mic is similar to?

...and is the ACM-1200 (AK-x7?) mostly a vocal mic?

thanks!

[Brad McGowan]

Originally Posted by VuucuuV

sheesh! too good, so what traits is the 81 better at v.s 84? I signed up for the 84 then changed to the 81 as it seemed more flexible(after VERY little research) I have the C-labs 1073 clone, so that's why I didn't choose the 73--and I don't need the DI. I mostly will be running synths into them anyway-- but, want something thick and heavy! so, 81 or 84? TIA!

also, anyone know what the ACM-900 Tube/ribbon mic is similar to?

...and is the ACM-1200 (AK-x7?) mostly a vocal mic?

thanks!

Well in my mind the more potent EQ section of the 81 suits it better to really carving up sounds beyond the broad color strokes that you'd get with the 73 or 84. Basically you have less compromises to make when you want to EQ a track. Go to the Neve website and you can read about the differences in circuit topology. Or do a search here on Gearslutz.

I saw something from a Google search that suggested the ACM-1200 was similar to the Avant CV-12.

Brad

[drBill]

Originally Posted by Brad McGowan

I saw something from a Google search that suggested the ACM-1200 was similar to the Avant CV-12.

Brad

Brad - think american assult rifle. Of the 16 variety. That's what it is, not russian if you know what I mean. I read the entire thread and I heard that said MULTIPLE times by many including Chance. Also sim to the 12.

The 460, 12 and 16 are basically ( I said BASICALLY remember that) the same mic, but with varying degrees of american customization. From zero QC/Customization on the 460, to multiple tubes and top notch QC on the 12, to new tranny's and NOS tubes on the 16. There may be other differences as well, but they come from the same heritage. DO NOT expect the 1200 to sound like a 16. That is of course until you get your DIY hands on it!! I'd say it will be closer to a 460 which you can get for $160-ish thru American dealers.

Depending on whether I can sell some stuff, I'm in for 2 73's or maybe 84's, a couple of the tube ribbons, a couple of the 1200's and a couple of the 6802T's. Maybe an ACM3 as well. But it really depends on whether I can sell some things.

[jeronimo]

Originally Posted by Brad McGowan

Out of curiosity why would you choose the 73 over the 84? Unless you really need that DI input? The 84 has added EQ points, but the same preamp.

Brad

I don't need all the frequency control on the 84. Just hi and lo shelves (something 99% of us use all the time!!!!) and one mid sweep... it's good enought for me.
If I need to work hard on a track... there are two options:

1 - I need some heavy processed track, so I can use one of my analog EQs (Orban 622, DBX 242) or a digital one.
2 - Something is really wrong with my mic placement/choice, etc...

You get the point.

Besides that, DI is a nice plus... also is the meter.

[JTC111]

Originally Posted by Brad McGowan

Well in my mind the more potent EQ section of the 81 suits it better to really carving up sounds beyond the broad color strokes that you'd get with the 73 or 84. Basically you have less compromises to make when you want to EQ a track. Go to the Neve website and you can read about the differences in circuit topology. Or do a search here on Gearslutz.


Brad

Someone on the other board said something to this effect: On the 73 and the 84, Neve limited the eq points to prevent you from screwing up the track...in other words, he made it fairly idiot proof. On the 81, he gave us the chance to proof our idiocy.

[Crash]

Originally Posted by gsilbers

i was under the impression this was the 1st batch of 73s?!

itll be cool for the groupbuy guy to get some samples right?

one w real 73, one wih the clone using one good mic.

This is the first buy for preamps as far as I know. Keep in mind that there were a few prototypes built and that is probably what was used for any comparisons.

[Chance]

Hey guys, I heard there was some yak over in this neighborhood so I thought I might pay you all a visit. This is the 4th group buy and the majority of people involved are repeat group buyers. Let me give you some history. I started doing this just to get some mics for my studio. I got a few studios here in LA to go in and get about 20 mics. We got them and were thrilled with them. Word of mouth got out and we did it again netting around 100 mics. Then the China ribbon invasion happened and it became publicly known that we were getting the exact same mics that *** and *** and *** were selling, but at a fraction of the price. One of the engineers who got one of these group buy mics for less than a note in the key of "C" ($100.00) opened his up and publicly stated on one of the forums with pictures that it is the same exact mic that he purchased under a major brand name for $1500.00. This major company, embarrased, and to save face started to make changes in house. Things like xfrmrs, caps, etc. Then *** and *** and *** complained to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer ceased selling to us. Now days, most manufacturers in China will only sell to OEM.s. Thats when we started TnC. Some of us got fed up with some of the major brand names over pricing and lower quality in their products. I purchased a C-12 VR when they first came out and was so disappointed. I exchanged it for another thinking it was a lemon. It wasn't. We started designing our own mics. Some are rebranded and some are original designs. As for the ribbon sag problem, the manufacturer is standing behind their products and is sending replacment ribbons. We also discovered the REASON and a cure for ribbon sag. This will affect all the major brands too as they also have this problem, so we all win here. As far as mics and/or mic pres arriving DOA, if that should happen it will be replaced ASAP. The mission here is to get some good quality gear out there without breaking the bank. Prices on everything are always going up and this might ease the pain a little. There are plans to expand with advertising (here too) which will increase the prices a little. The prices that are posted in the registration ARE FOR FORUM MEMBERS ONLY. (some have ordered many for the purpose of reselling on E-bay-Thats OK by me) After you get the gear, you all will (by word of mouth) be the greatest advertising. The deadline to register will be in about 2 weeks. Then it will be closed. The turn around for the pres to have manufactured is around 12 weeks. We are using better than average xfrmrs and pots. I will be sending more info tomorrow in the registrations mass-mail. I'll try to pop in from time to time and answer any questions
Chance

[Stitch333]

how does the payments work, once you've signed up with group buys like this?

Anyone notice that there doesn't seem to be an insert point between the pre and the eq? Wonder how difficult it would be to get some schematics on these...

[mrbowes]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

how does the payments work, once you've signed up with group buys like this?

Anyone notice that there doesn't seem to be an insert point between the pre and the eq? Wonder how difficult it would be to get some schematics on these...

Payment works like this (more or less):

1) You register, pick products
2) Invoice is sent for products
3) You pay
4) 2 months or so go by
5) Invoice is sent for shipping (this might be handled in #2 this run, but it wasn't last time)
6) You pay
7) You wait

[Crash]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

how does the payments work, once you've signed up with group buys like this?

Anyone notice that there doesn't seem to be an insert point between the pre and the eq? Wonder how difficult it would be to get some schematics on these...

Well, if you got the schematics for what they are patterned after which I think are out there.... need I say more?

[jeronimo]

Originally Posted by Chance

Hey guys, I heard there was some yak over in this neighborhood so I thought I might pay you all a visit. This is the 4th group buy and the majority of people involved are repeat group buyers. Let me give you some history. I started doing this just to get some mics for my studio. I got a few studios here in LA to go in and get about 20 mics. We got them and were thrilled with them. Word of mouth got out and we did it again netting around 100 mics. Then the China ribbon invasion happened and it became publicly known that we were getting the exact same mics that *** and *** and *** were selling, but at a fraction of the price. One of the engineers who got one of these group buy mics for less than a note in the key of "C" ($100.00) opened his up and publicly stated on one of the forums with pictures that it is the same exact mic that he purchased under a major brand name for $1500.00. This major company, embarrased, and to save face started to make changes in house. Things like xfrmrs, caps, etc. Then *** and *** and *** complained to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer ceased selling to us. Now days, most manufacturers in China will only sell to OEM.s. Thats when we started TnC. Some of us got fed up with some of the major brand names over pricing and lower quality in their products. I purchased a C-12 VR when they first came out and was so disappointed. I exchanged it for another thinking it was a lemon. It wasn't. We started designing our own mics. Some are rebranded and some are original designs. As for the ribbon sag problem, the manufacturer is standing behind their products and is sending replacment ribbons. We also discovered the REASON and a cure for ribbon sag. This will affect all the major brands too as they also have this problem, so we all win here. As far as mics and/or mic pres arriving DOA, if that should happen it will be replaced ASAP. The mission here is to get some good quality gear out there without breaking the bank. Prices on everything are always going up and this might ease the pain a little. There are plans to expand with advertising (here too) which will increase the prices a little. The prices that are posted in the registration ARE FOR FORUM MEMBERS ONLY. (some have ordered many for the purpose of reselling on E-bay-Thats OK by me) After you get the gear, you all will (by word of mouth) be the greatest advertising. The deadline to register will be in about 2 weeks. Then it will be closed. The turn around for the pres to have manufactured is around 12 weeks. We are using better than average xfrmrs and pots. I will be sending more info tomorrow in the registrations mass-mail. I'll try to pop in from time to time and answer any questions
Chance

Chance,

What do you mean by "forum members only"? I´ve signed up, but I used my gearslutz name... is this ok?

[Stitch333]

Originally Posted by mrbowes

Payment works like this (more or less):

1) You register, pick products
2) Invoice is sent for products
3) You pay
4) 2 months or so go by
5) Invoice is sent for shipping (this might be handled in #2 this run, but it wasn't last time)
6) You pay
7) You wait

Originally Posted by Crash

Well, if you got the schematics for what they are patterned after which I think are out there.... need I say more?

Cheers, bruthas!

[Brad McGowan]

Thanks Bill.

I'm hoping the 81's make it to the 100 mark. I'd love to have a handful of those for tracking drums.

Just imagine how cheap this stuff could be if the USD was actually worth something...

Brad

Originally Posted by drBill

Brad - think american assult rifle. Of the 16 variety. That's what it is, not russian if you know what I mean. I read the entire thread and I heard that said MULTIPLE times by many including Chance. Also sim to the 12.

The 460, 12 and 16 are basically ( I said BASICALLY remember that) the same mic, but with varying degrees of american customization. From zero QC/Customization on the 460, to multiple tubes and top notch QC on the 12, to new tranny's and NOS tubes on the 16. There may be other differences as well, but they come from the same heritage. DO NOT expect the 1200 to sound like a 16. That is of course until you get your DIY hands on it!! I'd say it will be closer to a 460 which you can get for $160-ish thru American dealers.

Depending on whether I can sell some stuff, I'm in for 2 73's or maybe 84's, a couple of the tube ribbons, a couple of the 1200's and a couple of the 6802T's. Maybe an ACM3 as well. But it really depends on whether I can sell some things.

[gsilbers]

Originally Posted by Chance

Hey guys, I heard there was some yak over in this neighborhood so I thought I might pay you all a visit. This is the 4th group buy and the majority of people involved are repeat group buyers. Let me give you some history. I started doing this just to get some mics for my studio. I got a few studios here in LA to go in and get about 20 mics. We got them and were thrilled with them. Word of mouth got out and we did it again netting around 100 mics. Then the China ribbon invasion happened and it became publicly known that we were getting the exact same mics that *** and *** and *** were selling, but at a fraction of the price. One of the engineers who got one of these group buy mics for less than a note in the key of "C" ($100.00) opened his up and publicly stated on one of the forums with pictures that it is the same exact mic that he purchased under a major brand name for $1500.00. This major company, embarrased, and to save face started to make changes in house. Things like xfrmrs, caps, etc. Then *** and *** and *** complained to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer ceased selling to us. Now days, most manufacturers in China will only sell to OEM.s. Thats when we started TnC. Some of us got fed up with some of the major brand names over pricing and lower quality in their products. I purchased a C-12 VR when they first came out and was so disappointed. I exchanged it for another thinking it was a lemon. It wasn't. We started designing our own mics. Some are rebranded and some are original designs. As for the ribbon sag problem, the manufacturer is standing behind their products and is sending replacment ribbons. We also discovered the REASON and a cure for ribbon sag. This will affect all the major brands too as they also have this problem, so we all win here. As far as mics and/or mic pres arriving DOA, if that should happen it will be replaced ASAP. The mission here is to get some good quality gear out there without breaking the bank. Prices on everything are always going up and this might ease the pain a little. There are plans to expand with advertising (here too) which will increase the prices a little. The prices that are posted in the registration ARE FOR FORUM MEMBERS ONLY. (some have ordered many for the purpose of reselling on E-bay-Thats OK by me) After you get the gear, you all will (by word of mouth) be the greatest advertising. The deadline to register will be in about 2 weeks. Then it will be closed. The turn around for the pres to have manufactured is around 12 weeks. We are using better than average xfrmrs and pots. I will be sending more info tomorrow in the registrations mass-mail. I'll try to pop in from time to time and answer any questions
Chance

shitte, best sales pitch ever! . should be copy pasited into record mag.

[mos]

Maybe I missed something but where can I find a product description about the preamps? Are these supossed to be on the same level soundquality wise as other neve clones out there?

If I get it right there already has been a couple of groupbuys for this preamp. Where can I find a review?

thnx

[gsilbers]

Originally Posted by mos

Maybe I missed something but where can I find a product description about the preamps? Are these supossed to be on the same level soundquality wise as other neve clones out there?

If I get it right there already has been a couple of groupbuys for this preamp. Where can I find a review?

thnx

initial post

http://web.mac.com/chancepataki/iWeb...20PREAMPS.html


no pres out there yet. just prototypes.

[Crash]

Originally Posted by mos

Maybe I missed something but where can I find a product description about the preamps? Are these supossed to be on the same level soundquality wise as other neve clones out there?

If I get it right there already has been a couple of groupbuys for this preamp. Where can I find a review?

thnx

This is the first go-round for these preamps.

Go here about half way down the page for Chance's description:

PSW Recording Forums: Whatever Works => HERE WE GO AGAIN (gear group buys)

[gsilbers]

anyone know whats the ACM-6801T and ACM-6802T a clone of?

[gsilbers]

hey chance...

any way to get some samples of the pres? from prototypes you have?

and an A/B against other clones or real neves?

[norman_nomad]

Originally Posted by gsilbers

hey chance...

any way to get some samples of the pres? from prototypes you have?

and an A/B against other clones or real neves?

I'd love to hear these files if they're available.

[mos]

Originally Posted by Crash

This is the first go-round for these preamps.

Go here about half way down the page for Chance's description:

PSW Recording Forums: Whatever Works => HERE WE GO AGAIN (gear group buys)

Thnx Crash!

Does anyone know what kind of transformers are used for these preamps? I doubt these will be the same ones as in the original 1073 as they cost probably as much as the ACMP-73.

[drBill]

I do not believe there are any samples as Chance only had them a day before he had to give them back. If you take the time to read thru the thread (I know, it's tediously long), you'll get a better idea of what's going on. The trannies are undoubtably chinese, although they are supposed to be a better quality than some of the junk that comes out of china. They are obviously not Marinairs or anything close. Chance is 100% stoked about the overall match to the vibe and sound of the 1272's that are custom in his console. If you want a true clone, look elsewhere and pay 15x's the price.

[Crash]

DrBill is right... there is a lot to cover on that thread. The preamp info pops up around page 10 so if that helps weed out some of the pages. I am in for 6 of the 84's between me and my studio partners and I plan on doing a tranny swap once they get here to get me closer. I figure for the money, if it passes audio...whoohoo!!!!

[mos]

thnx! ill read thru it.

[gsilbers]

read the thread over there. funny most of them where about the COLOR of it.

but there was alist of how many where ordered a while back and it was a lot.

[BudgetMC]

Doh! And I was doing so well on resisting the preamps.