22/03/2022
Preamps at Brighton Road Recording Studios
I (Ali) have been meaning to do this for a while, and a pretty spectacular run of Covid-related cancellations means I've got a some time free now.
I wrote a list of equipment in 2006 that I hoped to eventually have in a recording studio, staying realistic about what was affordable and what probably wasn't...no 70s Neve consoles or original Fairchilds, sadly. So a practical wishlist, if you like.
Having picked up the majority of that equipment from my original list over the years and having used most of it in anger in the studio now, I thought I'd write my thoughts about some of it, starting with the preamps. If anyone's interested I might do other posts like this. If no-one's interested that's fair enough, it's quite niche.
Ok! We've got 10 channels of API and 16 channels of Neve preamps at the studio. Starting from the top left-
API 512c
500 series module famed for USA style rock, punchy, aggressive etc. Very loud, often impractically so going straight into a A/D convertor. We sometimes use the desk to get around this, you can bypass the desk preamps and come in before the aux sends and EQ, we have all the preamps in the studio patched like this. I do think it changes the tone, sometimes in a good way, sometimes not. I really like these on electric guitars (which they are probably best known for) and piano. I think it's superb on piano. Guitars are quite middly and strong, piano sounds marvellously over the top. No shelf for the bottom end but doesn't seem to matter. The other thing these are known for is drums, but I've personally never quite got them to do what I want with any drum recording so I gave up on that a while ago. The API 3124v however, which I'll get to last, are outstanding on drums.
Neve 88R LB
I think these are bizarrely underrated, ignored even. Considering you can get them new for ยฃ650 ish right now, which is a steal by Neve standards. I originally bought two, then ended up getting another two because of how good I think they are. It's the preamp and a couple of other bits from the the current flagship Neve console, or was at one point at least. They are great on acoustic guitars, vocals, any DI signal and utterly brilliant on bass. Easily the best preamp for bass I've ever used, once it's in a mix. The 1073 sounds more flattering solo, but in the mix, I use these on bass virtually every session I do. The variable high pass filter is sweepable, which again is so underrated, for bass it's loads better than a fixed 80 or 90 hz cut. I think people sometimes struggle to understand the importance of the frequencies of other instruments/sounds in determining the EQ of whatever you're recording/mixing at that moment, anyway this is ideal for that. Love them. Less character than the other Neve stuff, but loads of practical advantages. It's a shame they don't remember how they're set when you turn them off and back on, otherwise hard to criticise.
Neve 1073 DPX
If I could only have one preamp it would be this one. Expensive for two channels, but ultimately the only preamp I've ever used that sounds pretty flawless on anything. It's rare if I'm recording anything in the studio that I don't use this. I personally use this for any solo vocal or instrument, overheads, bass occasionally, acoustics, anything that's supposed to be the 'main' thing in a recording. Yesterday I recorded an podcast interviewee, whose interviewer was in LA and asking the questions over Zoom, which was funny enough in itself. I sent a single mono track with no effects and the organiser made a point of messaging back to say how good the voice sounded, it was the U87 through this preamp with nothing else done to it at all. It just sounds great on everything, all of the time. But, to be fair, it should do for that price.
Neve 1073 DPA
It's hard not to consider this without comparing it to the DPX, and I don't believe it's a particularly favourable comparison. It's fine, it's very overpriced for what it is by today's standards. It is ostensibly the same as the DPX just without the EQ section and a couple of other things, but I feel there must be more to it than that. I tend to use this on things that need character but aren't going to be too high in a mix. It would be much improved even just with a single 80 hz cut button, but it's literally just the preamp. You can pick them up cheaper now as a result of some of the other things Neve have released since this model, and in that sense there's a place for these still I think. I'm sure there's people who would disagree and say this is their go-to preamp. It's fine. Whatever.
Neve 4081
These are great. A couple of years ago you could pick them up much cheaper, although less so now I think people have clocked how good they are for the money again. I got two of these in the rack unit together and in retrospect it was a better deal than I realised at the time. 8 channels of 1081 preamp with some other tricks that the DPA in particular is missing. The control interface is pretty bad by Neve standards but that doesn't bother me personally, plus these remember how you've got them set when you turn them off and on. I think after using these I realised that I was always personally looking more for the 1081 sound to make up the bulk of tracks in a certain style of recording, more so than the 1073 which I find a bit flabby in comparison. These just sound really classy on everything. They're great on electric and acoustic guitars, vocals, any acoustic instruments really. But I think where they surprised me most was how good they are on drums. If it's a more open, less aggressive drum sound then these are magic. I also think the combination of a modern 421 on toms and floor tom through this is the best tom sounds I've ever heard.
API 3124v
These were last on the preamp list and are a relatively new addition to the studio. The output volume control is transformative though. They're great on electric guitar, piano, bass, similar to the 512c. But specifically on drums they are actually as good as people make out. For a rock, metal, punk etc drum sound I've been blown away to be honest. I did originally intend to only get one of these rack units but I've picked up another in order to be able to run a whole set of drum close mics through at once, two units is 8 channels total. Because you can really rag the preamp but control the output straight into a convertor these are superb, it's essentially like running the drums through a really flattering compressor as well as the preamp. There's a tipping point where the punch becomes squelch but I don't think it's too hard to find. The comparison between the 4081s and these on drums is really interesting, to me it's almost a literal sonic example of the differences between British and US production, neither is better, it's just a different style. I did also try a vocal through the 3124v as that's supposed to be good, but I didn't get anything from it personally, that might be to do with how much I like the 1073 DPX for vocals.
That's it. If anyone has read this far then, er, well done. The Eventide H3000 crept into the photo but that's for another time, possibly. If anyone has any questions about any of these preamps please do ask. Obviously as a commercial studio there's an incentive for us to have things with Neve, API etc written on them, but there are very good and far cheaper alternatives that are absolutely great for home use etc. The standard is very high now, you'll most likely reach the limitations of the space you're recording in long before you reach any limitations a preamp might have.
Obviously these are just my thoughts, people might well disagree. Wrongly.
Bye!
Ali
