Hello,
about a four or five months ago a friend of mine (who is a producer for rock type music) recommended that I get a Neve preamp when I asked him what I could use to fatten/warm up my synth/sample tracks in recordings. He was totally convinced that the Neve preamp was the solution. I looked into it and yes, that's what they're sometimes used for (sometimes, since they shine with vocals and guitar tracks...synths not so often...).
I eventually bought a Brent Averill Neve clone - a dual channel preamp, no EQ, light compression, that's it. I paid quite a lot for it, and expected good results. The results were/are: questionable. I hear the effect on my drum samples without a doubt. Kicks have a bigger lower end, hihats/cymbals sound a bit rougher, a little bit of the high end taken off. They basically sound a bit fatter. Synths...not so sure. When I run my Nord Lead through it (cranking the BOOST, lowering the GAIN) the only satisfying effect I hear is the high end being lightly smoothed out, not as emphasized. There's a slight emphasis on the lower end but nothing spectacular.
Now that I've had the preamp for a number of months, I'm wondering if it was the right decision. I only use it when I'm recording my final mix (I re-record all my tracks through the Neve). For the amount I paid I could have purchased a UAD Expert Pack and still have enough left over to buy an Express Pack or even the Waves SSL plugins (which I hear do the same thing, like fattening up and smoothing out the tracks). Now that UAD have the Neve plugins, I'm thinking maybe I should go this route. ?
I really don't know...that's why I'm hear. I can't demo the UAD plugins since I'd have to purchase the card, and Waves require the dongle.
I'm not a professional producer, I produce my own music, no one else's. My songs are instrumentals, I use synths, drum samples, and an analog drum machine. Thoughts/suggestions? Could UAD plugins give me fatter, warmer tracks that aren't as...questionable? Thanks.
about a four or five months ago a friend of mine (who is a producer for rock type music) recommended that I get a Neve preamp when I asked him what I could use to fatten/warm up my synth/sample tracks in recordings. He was totally convinced that the Neve preamp was the solution. I looked into it and yes, that's what they're sometimes used for (sometimes, since they shine with vocals and guitar tracks...synths not so often...).
I eventually bought a Brent Averill Neve clone - a dual channel preamp, no EQ, light compression, that's it. I paid quite a lot for it, and expected good results. The results were/are: questionable. I hear the effect on my drum samples without a doubt. Kicks have a bigger lower end, hihats/cymbals sound a bit rougher, a little bit of the high end taken off. They basically sound a bit fatter. Synths...not so sure. When I run my Nord Lead through it (cranking the BOOST, lowering the GAIN) the only satisfying effect I hear is the high end being lightly smoothed out, not as emphasized. There's a slight emphasis on the lower end but nothing spectacular.
Now that I've had the preamp for a number of months, I'm wondering if it was the right decision. I only use it when I'm recording my final mix (I re-record all my tracks through the Neve). For the amount I paid I could have purchased a UAD Expert Pack and still have enough left over to buy an Express Pack or even the Waves SSL plugins (which I hear do the same thing, like fattening up and smoothing out the tracks). Now that UAD have the Neve plugins, I'm thinking maybe I should go this route. ?
I really don't know...that's why I'm hear. I can't demo the UAD plugins since I'd have to purchase the card, and Waves require the dongle.
I'm not a professional producer, I produce my own music, no one else's. My songs are instrumentals, I use synths, drum samples, and an analog drum machine. Thoughts/suggestions? Could UAD plugins give me fatter, warmer tracks that aren't as...questionable? Thanks.
