Neve Portico REVIEWS

[Oldone]

Originally Posted by SoulSpace

The other thread was getting pretty long in the tooth (and silly)...

Anyone else with any REVIEWS of the Portico. Comparison and adjectives are fine...thank you and good night.

Nothing here except mine are on order. I will report back when they arrive.

[GMR]

Holy shiiit! How many reviews do you need? Weren't there enough on the last thread. What does the next review have to say for you to make up your mind if you want to try it out! You guys are waiting for someone to say, "It sucks " or "it sounds just like a 1073! It won't happen!
I wouldn't be surprised if this was Echo yoonit under a different name!

I'm outta here!

[kevinc]

Of the the 10 - 20 people that seemed to have bought a Potico and posted about it ALL of them seemed to be positive to very positive about the unit.

What more could you ask for ? If 10 - 20 people say it`s a great preamp that`s at the quality level of other great preamps they own who gives a shit how they describe how it sounds ??? It`s gotta be good right ??? No one in that entire thread said anything bad about the pre right ??? I can`t think of another piece of equipment that hasn`t had bad stuff written about it yet.

I`ve bought some stuff with VERY MIXED reviews before and been completely happy with my most of purchases. If I buy something and I don`t like what it does I send it back or sometimes I even keep the thing around to see if I can find something I like it on. And usually I do after a while. Everythings good for something.

The thing that made that first thread deteriorate is after somebody would spend some time writing a post about how he was happy with his Portico purchase some clown would jump in and tell him his review wasn`t good enough or they need to supply an MP3. What utter bullshit. It`s not like we all work for you cheap ass Newbies that are too dumb to understand you need to shell out some cash in order to find out if a piece of equipment will work for you and your ears.


What particular order of bullshit catch phrases do these guys have to string together to convince you guys that this is a quality piece of equipment that is worth the money and you can make a ****ing CD with it ???

My advice to you is....

1. Buy one from a company which will take it back if you don`t like it.

2. Try it out with your mics and recording medium and see if it sounds good to YOU.

3. If you don`t like it eat the 20 bucks or so for shipping and send the ****er back.

4. Repeat process until you have a studio full of gear YOU like and not just what some trusted recording engineer in some goofy thread likes.


The things gotten no negative reviews from people who work in studios every day. It`s gott be the best ****in pre on the planet right !!!!! What more could you want ?

Just trying to help....

[jacobq]

I currently use a set of DPA 4003s through a Millennia HV-3b for recording solo piano. Both Jazz an Classical. Beautiful sound in that type of arena. My other preamp is a tube based Peavey VMP.2 which mates pretty well with a set of neumann TLM 103s. I was always trying to get that warm, thick silky highs 70s decade sound from some of the more popular singer songwriters of that decade. I based my desire for this sound on my purchase of the Portico. It has not dissapointed me in that regaurd. In fact, it was more than I had hoped for.

I intend to add a modded Neumann U87ai from a very gifted mic technician we are all familiar with.

It is worth stating that alot of the above items take a real beating on this forum. Reasons range from personality clashes to unable to solve dealership squabbles etc,etc...But if you begin to use your God given common sense, a more clearer view comes into light. Do not become a sheep with no ears of your own.

There you have it. My opinion on the portico. I was looking for a particular sound that was in my head. I have succeeded in finding it in the Portico.

[SoulSpace]

All right, all right,

I guess I don't need to hear any more reviews...sheesh. I actually had my hand on the trigger (phone dial) to call RND when I posted the original thread. I am sold. I'll post my results whenever I get the unit, and I have a chance. I don't have a rack full of pres so every purchase I make has to count, big time.

You guys are worse than the clerks at Guitar Center .

[kevinc]

Originally Posted by SoulSpace

All right, all right,

I guess I don't need to hear any more reviews...sheesh. I actually had my hand on the trigger (phone dial) to call RND when I posted the original thread. I am sold. I'll post my results whenever I get the unit, and I have a chance. I don't have a rack full of pres so every purchase I make has to count, big time.

You guys are worse than the clerks at Guitar Center .

YEAAAHHHH !!!!!

That`s the Spirit !

BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT !!!

PORTICO PORTICO PORTICO PORTICO !!!

This is Gearslutz fer cryin` out loud !

Tell us how you like it and maybe I`ll need to buy one as well !

[bobmaus]

Originally Posted by SoulSpace

All right, all right,

I guess I don't need to hear any more reviews...sheesh. I actually had my hand on the trigger (phone dial) to call RND when I posted the original thread. I am sold.

Hey SoulSpace,

Well after all those posts, I hope you at least got yours at the intro offer! Your thread got me curious and I bought 2 Porticos a few weeks back. Love em. $1440 ea and they threw in the rack mount kit to join em up.

Bob

[SpiderM69]

Originally Posted by bobmaus

Hey SoulSpace,

Well after all those posts, I hope you at least got yours at the intro offer! Your thread got me curious and I bought 2 Porticos a few weeks back. Love em. $1440 ea and they threw in the rack mount kit to join em up.

Bob

IMHO, they're worth it, even at the "non-intro" price (~$1600-$1650) thumbsup .

[XHipHop]

Daniel, don't worry, we have "Confidence In You."

Good luck with the Neve's!

[SoulSpace]

Thanks XHiphop.

By the way for anyone interested, the Portico's are on back order for 2-3 weeks.

Here's some release information I got on RND's other coming units (don't quote me);

the single channel pre with 3-band parametric eq; end of july
the 4-band single channel parametric e1; mid-august

[thermos]

Sorry, had to chime in. You all know how it is to be enthusiastic right?

I just got mine today, and yeah its kind of impossible not to like. Compared to my (s)old averill 1272s, it sounds like it extends up a gazillion extra octaves. Much tighter everywhere. Not so slurry, thus its much better for drums.

Anyone compare it to an amek 9098 yet? I don't have one in front of me, but have used them a lot. I find some similarities in the voicing of the mid stuff and the overall solidness of the sound. It sounds way better than the amek though, more balls for sure.

Also, I thought I'd share that it definitely is a sound that you could use a bunch of times on a session, and it wouldn't build in any horribly muddy way. I know some people think thats an old wives tale but let me tell you, it isn't. That 1272 sounded great on maybe 4 things per session, but after that it was like being lost at sea with no lighthouse in sight. This thing however is so strong and present, it would sound great on anything. The silk button gives quite a variation as well, more like the 1272 I had, but still more solid.

[thermos]

My god it sounds good!

[hurricaneE]

Originally Posted by thermos

it sounds like it extends up a gazillion extra octaves. Much tighter everywhere. Not so slurry, thus its much better for drums.

Loads of top end and tight is exactly how I'd describe mine (just got it Tuesday). Also, I'd add VERY present. The silk function really helped enliven a non-happening kick but, unfortunately, it ruined the amazing snare sound I was getting on the other channel. (The silk function is universal.) Fortunately, we're trying a different kick, so other solutions are at hand. I can't wait to try it on guits and vocals, but I'm already thrilled. -E

[Oldone]

They shipped mine on Wednesday and these are due to arrive this coming Monday. That's exactly 2 weeks to the day since I ordered them.

Tristin at Ruper Never indicated they were starting to ship them out in less than two weeks time.

[joelgtrnut]

I've had mine for over a month. What more can I say, it is my favorite pre.

[buickwilson]

Beeen debating this preamp. I'm doing more mobile recordings, and the idea of a quad Portico one rack space above my 8304 GML is tempting and my lunch box API seems like it would cover a lot of ground for what I'm doing.... Anyone compare these to a Chanlder LTD1 pre (sans the eq)... As this is what I would want to replace in the rack...