API 512c vs. GR MP-500 paired with SM7b?

[heisleyamor]

I'm trying to find a nice pre to pair with my SM7b...I'm mainly trying to get a better sound for my guitars and vocals...I have a firepod right now. I do all kinds of music. Mainly record myself and friends. I record softer music with piano...to rock with heavy guitars. Which pre would be a better choice for me? just vote if you would like but if u can, please comment. thank you...sorry I screwed up the poll...but you get the picture...

- Jeff

[heisleyamor]

anyone? or is it too early in the morning :-)

[allencollins]

The api is smooth and punchy. Great midrange

The GR is not as smooth and focused in the mids but does
have a great bottom end and nice highs. Its kinda punchy
too though in the lows

I like api much better for drum overheads, gtrs vocals.
But the GR is great on kick drum and bass gtr.

I sold all my GR's and bought more 512's. I think it depends on
the style of music you play. But overall I believe the Api to
be more versatile and to be a more polished focused sound compared to
the GR. I have to say I hated the GR on distorted gtrs but on clean
gtr it wasn't terrible and didn't suck

I used the gr once on a pedal steel & it rocked. But I always wondered
what it would have sounded like micing up a kazoo?

Ill never know..........

[heisleyamor]

looks like not a lot of people have comments about the API or GR paired with the SM7b...I really doubt that's true, so if you could...please comment to help me with my decision!

[pan60]

i can not say much about the SM7b, so all i can say is more mid forward API great bottom, smooth, nice on the top ( i like the mids nice, flat, out of they way so to speak ), i would say try them both.

[ehk928]

They both work great for me with the SM7b. Its a coin flip. Thou the GR
has gains at input and output trans so you can push it in different ways, but
the api just sounds great. Good luck !

[A LaMere]

This is... essentially an impossible question to answer in my opinion.

It's another one of those "which pre is better" type of threads that don't really have that much to do with making music imo.

In order to figure out which is better, you'd need to have both pre's (both are great) and you'd need to have the sm7... and most importantly... you'd need to know which one will work better for YOU. Which will fit the way that YOU record, etc...

Both are great preamps.

Both are capable of capturing a moment and hanging it in time for all to pass by and gaze upon...

Neither have ever worked for all of the amazing Kazoo recordings that I've done in the past fwiw.. For Kazoo I like to have a pre that will bring out the "buzz" more than the "fizz"... Good Kazoo pre's seem to start at about $2000. Anything underneath that pricepoint really can't record Kazoo properly.
unless it's one of the $3 plastic Kazoo's... and then I find the "punch" of the api is a nice compliment to the lack of wood in the Kazoo...

[Tom Hakala]

gave my vote to API this time. But GR is awesome too.

[nickynicknick]

for me there is no comparison API is way better...however, i don't really like the sm7 either so I don't know about the pairing

[NathanEldred]

I've found that the SM-7b needs thick low frequencies added on amps and vocals (so far 100% of the time I've used it which is quite a bit). It's already super midrange (even in 'flat' mode).