MR1000 Preamps or DAV BG-1?

[OddJobPeters]

I have an MR1000 recorder and am about to start tracking some solo acoustic guitar and also drum overheads with a pair of Beyerdynamic MC930's. I would also like to dabble in recording live performances in the near future, such as recitals, choirs, jazz ensembles, etc.

Would the DAV be a good upgrade from the Korg's preamps for these particular applications? The BG-1 seems to be very well received here and I like the form factor. I also own a single UA 710. Should I just get another one of those instead? Not sure how transparent the 710's are even on the solid-state side of things.

This is my first post, but I have been lurking for a while, stuffing my brain with all the delicious information found within this forum. What a gem of a place. Makes you want to empty your wallet, though .

[hughesmr]

Can't say that I've ever used the Korg's micamps for any critical applications, but I can endlessly attest that the DAV/Korg combo is a very tasty one.

[OddJobPeters]

Michael, I just recently listened to that combination by way of your own samples I found through this site . The combination sounds excellent indeed. Did you ever A/B the Korg and DAV pres, even just informally?

[dreamachine]

hi,

DAV sound clean ,
i've got a bg2 and i'm very happy with it.
I use it for acoustic guitar , vocal , OH , brass...
I think it doesn't look like a millenia but it's the same league.
If you're looking for transparent path , no doubt that the dav got it with its decca heritage.

Hope this helps

[hughesmr]

No, I never did an A/B of the DAV with the Korg amps. In the few times I used the onboard amps (e.g. some vocal narration in a dead acoustic; my wife playing a crappy electronic keyboard), I thought they sounded fine, nothing noticably noisy or colored .... but once again, this was nothing critical.

You'll not be disappointed with the DAV. I found mine to sound a little constrained when I first got it, but after a few hours of use it seemed to open up and "flower". I don't know if I was just used to artifacts of an earlier (more clinical) preamp that I used a lot, but at any rate it did grow on me.

[Plush]

One is Japanese and one is British.

One has the Decca sound and the other does not.
But I don't diss 'cause I dig the 1000.







----"I may not be good, but I am slow."
Anon.

[Daniel Stark]

For tracking, I would use an outboard pre if possible. especially on something with tough transients.

For live stuff though I have gotten very good results with the mr-1000 pres, the battery option is really cool for a pair of phantom powered mics.

[macula]

Originally Posted by Plush

One is Japanese ----------errr, Chinese and one is British.

I would be surprised if, in terms of components, the DAV were less Chinese than the Korg which, after all, is assembled in Japan.

[Plush]

Originally Posted by macula

I would be surprised if, in terms of components, the DAV were less Chinese than the Korg which, after all, is assembled in Japan.

Yes, thank you for correcting my post. I mistakenly said that the 1000 box is from China.

It is a quality box for sure. I have added confidence in it because KORG put the professor who invented DSD in charge of their DSD recorder project.

Bravo KORG

[OddJobPeters]

Thanks for the input, everyone. It would appear that getting the DAV would not be completely pointless, which is what I was trying to figure out. For the price it seems worth giving a shot.

[Daniel Stark]

Definitely! Although I have to say that the Busman mod would also be a good investment (from what I have heard)

[OddJobPeters]

Originally Posted by Daniel Stark

Definitely! Although I have to say that the Busman mod would also be a good investment (from what I have heard)

What exactly does the mod entail?

[OddJobPeters]

Received my DAV BG-1 from Mick (very quickly I might add) and my first impression is that it sounds terrific on acoustic guitar. I must say, the Korg preamps are not bat at all either, but there is a sweetness in the DAV that makes my guitar sound more mellow yet still clear and precise. Thank you all for your input, this preamp is a great discovery. I have many sources and situations yet to test, but for the price I'm already quite pleased.

[Daniel Stark]

The mod upgrades some components, I believe op-amps and caps.

One word of warning......I believe I "blew" the headphone amp in my mr-1000 by keeping it on high all the time.....Really should not have been a problem! but just wanted to share my experience. a

Glad you are liking the DAV.....It's a killer preamp! Brought some of my condensers back from the grave (Oktava in particular sounded great to me and of course my old Schoeps tube mic)

[OddJobPeters]

Daniel, thanks for the info and for the warning about the headphone amp. I have one problem with the MR1000 now - I don't want to take the DSD recordings out of it! They sound sooooo good in DSD it's kinda crazy. I know there has been much debate as to why DSD sounds so good and I don't want to go there, but I could listen to DSD all day out of that box.

In any case, this thread is about the DAV, so I'll just say it all sounds great together.