Millennia , True Systems , Buzz , John Hardy or Grace for CLASSICAL recordings?

[DanRock101]

Simple one here? Millennia , True Systems , Buzz , John Hardy or Grace for CLASSICAL recordings?

I never got the idea of NO color with classical recordings, but I don't get alot of things either.

What say Slutz?

[NorseHorse]

Don't forget Forssell. And Great River too even...

I use a Great River MP-2M on many of my classical recordings. Strong and full.

[DannyMac]

It's always going to be a personal choice between engineers, but my first choice would be Millennia.

[seansolo]

I always thought no-color for the transparent-ness of the recording, right? Millenia and Grace seem to be my go-to for classical stuff. I'd never take the 512c rack out for that gig!

[fifthcircle]

Yes- they all will work fine. They all have their good points and their bad. I've used them all and gotten great results and some really sub-par results.

I personally dig using a bit of color in my pres. There are varying degrees- I will use tubes and transformers on some of my recordings. I'll use it, though, in combination with transparency to achieve results that I want. In the end, all the colors that are out there are like the paints that a painter will use...

There is a school of classical recording that believes that you need to reproduce the music exactly. Do a search on GS and it shouldn't be hard to find my feelings on that concept.

--Ben

[Omega Arts]

Millenna!

[JordanA]

I record classical every now and then and get great results with my millennia. As most people have so far said.

[AB3]

I like the Forssell solid state and the benchmark pre420 better than the Millenia.

I would imagine that the Buzz Ma2.2 (correct name?) is also a great contender.

The Millenia had a certain distortion that I never heard until I compared it to other "clean" pres IMHO.

[thermos]

And Gordon, ooooh. Nice. And if the Forssell pre is 1/10th as good as his A/D I have, its probably unbelievable.

Doesn't the Millennia kind of have a weird high thing going on too? Slightly unnatural?

[judah]

I used to own a 2 channel Hardy M1 and recorded lots of choirs with it. Gain to spare, super crystal clear, rugged, super sounding, used with all kind of mics (condenser, dynamic and ribbon).

[JimStew]

Here's a pic of a session I did recently. As you can see we used a few Millennia's. We have 8 channels and the producer brought 12 more. It turned out great.

[Loki]

Pref order for classical:

1) Gordon Audio (clean, transparent, musical) Musical "snapshot" with every transient and every harmonic.

2) Martech MSS-10 (clean, transparent, sparkly (so some character... but just feels like "air" around the sound)) A solo on a dark piano is great (or a cello or bass, etc)

X) EAR824 (for a gel'd sound -- the outsider from the other two) The alt when not pursuing a perfect reproduction. Still clean, but it's not attempting to create a prefect duplicate of the sound in the hall. Feels like the slightest amount of "old timey" tape compression from classical recordings. Wish they were cheaper. Great for large epic pieces (sweeping strings, etc)

I've used the Grace 80x series (hyped clean, find it sometimes too brittle but pairs really well with some mics and never bad), Millenia HV series (functional clean, nothing too exciting but smooth), John Hardy (eh... ok and functional and clean) of your original list.

[DannyMac]

As a user of Millennia Pres for a few years now, I understand some peoples perception of High frequ modulation/distortion going on. Dependent on the source there can be a slight sharpness - BUT the overall clarity is hard to copy.

[ISedlacek]

I have been using Millennia for more than three years. I missed something there most of the time. Then tried so many other preamps for acoustic music and classical recordings. When Forssell SMP-2 preamp came here, it was like a magic - more organic, natural sounding than any other preamp I tried, with incredible level of details, clarity and depth - simply as if you were recording with a pair of ears rather than a preamp, big open window. Simply another sound league above Millennia and similar preamps. So far I have not found a preamp that would sound even close to SMP-2 and I have recorded a lot of classical and acoustic recordings with it , with stunning results ...

Recently I coupled it with the new Fred Forssell´s discrete AD converter (that after some testing immediately replaced my DAD AX-24 AD convertor and became my prime AD both for recording and mastering) and now I cannot imagine more transparent and musical recording path. Sometimes I record small things just for the sake of enjoying the full sounding, beautiful results When I compare the present results with the previous recordings of the same sources (when I used Millennia, DAV, Pendulum, Lavry etc.) although I liked them that time, now in comparison they sound slightly "digital" , thin, smaller, with less details and realistic depth. Simply no comparison. I am quite happy about this upgrade.

[hanuman]

I may add the Orpheus from Prismsound, a unit that matches most of the units above but has not yet been ABCDE-d. I am curious though to comparisons for it has not yet been analysed which benefits come from the ADC and wich from the pre-amps.... (and I have been on the DAV/Millennia/Forssell for quite some time)
Forssell was hardly replying mails.....

[radiant]

tRUE sYSTEMS - not even in the same company as Martech/Gordon

[DanRock101]

Originally Posted by radiant

tRUE sYSTEMS - not even in the same company as Martech/Gordon

REALLY? I LOVE my True on Classical/Nylon String with an AKG 451 (new version). I think that's the bee's knees. I gotta try a Martech/Gordon if they're that good. Which models?

[drblank]

Originally Posted by DanRock101

Simple one here? Millennia , True Systems , Buzz , John Hardy or Grace for CLASSICAL recordings?

I never got the idea of NO color with classical recordings, but I don't get alot of things either.

What say Slutz?

Has anyone tried the Earthworks? I've read nice things about them. I know the Millennia is nice stuff, same goes with the Grace. the others I don't know about.

[AB3]

And don't forget the Forssell Fetcode tube pre. Beautiful on classical recordings.

[hughesmr]

Another vote here for the Benchmark PRE420. FABULOUS 4-channel box with 4x2 mixer, pan, great monitoring section and the pres are clean, clean, clean. Certainly worth a look!

[hughesmr]

Originally Posted by drblank

Has anyone tried the Earthworks? I've read nice things about them. I know the Millennia is nice stuff, same goes with the Grace. the others I don't know about.

I had an Earthworks LAB102 for several years. Sturdy as hell and one of the most transparent pres on the market. I've never A/Bed it with Millenia, but I wouldn't doubt for a minute that it is in the same league based on the sounds I was able to capture with it.

[AB3]

I thought someone else must have one. I have one and it is the cleanest pre I ever heard (or didn't hear - depending how you look at it.)

It is not my favorite for vocals or color obviously.

I love it on grand piano. It is amazing how little distortion it has.

Regards,
AB

Originally Posted by hughesmr

Another vote here for the Benchmark PRE420. FABULOUS 4-channel box with 4x2 mixer, pan, great monitoring section and the pres are clean, clean, clean. Certainly worth a look!

[Plush]

In no particular order with annotations:

Hardy--incredible with transformer in and out. Always beautiful tone with enough gain for any ribbon mic. A true universal mic amp. Made in Chicago, made right,

d.a.v. electronics Broadhurst Gardens No. 1 et al---universal mic amps with a touch of syrup added to your sound. Decca mic amp.

Gordon Model 5--super clean, super revealing--There better be nothing amiss with your mics or the placement or with the beauty of sound of the source. If there is anything "off" then the Gordon will reveal it. Does not impart a velvet sound

Crookwood Paintpot--ultimate clean with velvety sound. Warm and gorgeous!

Presonus ADL600--fantastic tube mic amp---drive it hard for best results

thermionic culture--what more need be said? The best available.

All of the above are used for classical. Results----towards excellence!

[John Hardy]

Originally Posted by Plush

Hardy--incredible with transformer in and out. Always beautiful tone with enough gain for any ribbon mic. A true universal mic amp. Made in Chicago, made right

Technically, it is made in Evanston, Illinois, just two blocks north of Chicago. Thanks very much for the compliments.

John Hardy

[oudplayer]

The GML preamps should be added to the classical-application short-list...

[Ameyerson]

I use a combo of Grace 801's and Forssell Fetcodes

[everyday]

Originally Posted by Ameyerson

I use a combo of Grace 801's and Forssell Fetcodes

The Dark Night!!!


It is one of my favorite score of all time!!!


Thank you so much for your time with us...


T...

[Ameyerson]

Thanks

[BLP]

Originally Posted by Ameyerson

I use a combo of Grace 801's and Forssell Fetcodes

I'm assuming that the Fetcodes were main pair and the Graces were for spots? Am I even close?

PS I really dig your work!

[radiant]

Originally Posted by DanRock101

REALLY? I LOVE my True on Classical/Nylon String with an AKG 451 (new version). I think that's the bee's knees. I gotta try a Martech/Gordon if they're that good. Which models?

I owned the True Systems pre for a few months. It's a nice pre however, when A/b'ing against some of the higher end pres it sounded anemic to me. At the time, my Buzz MA2.2 and Martech MSS10 sounded sooo much better IMOH. It's a nice pre for the money (especially if found used), however, if bought new I've found that it doesn't hold its value very well if you try and sell it.