Thanks for rubbing it in. I have things I have to pay off first, before I can get one. The EQ is killer on that unit. I would love to get their EQ, and 2022 as well.

Their manufacturing plant was recently relocated to Mexico...

I've said this in a few other posts, but I had a 2022 down here that we A/Bed with a Manley Voxbox, an API 512, a Daking 52270 and a ISA 110. The 2022 was by far the thinnest sounding of the lot. For that kind of cush it should sound much better and bigger. I liked every other pre better.

There we go again, the BIG SOUND. Big does not make a pre good. The 2022 has a wonderful clean sound that sounds amazing on vocals and bass guitar. You make it big by adding EQ and compression. The good news is, you can control how big and fat you want it. Unlike other pre's where it is big at the beginning of the chain. The Focusrite and 2022 are similar in thickness. The Voxbox is creamer, not bigger. If anything I was able to get a similar sound to the Voxbox with the 737 by backing off the high end by 2 db that took off the crisp high end. It then had a darker more tubey sound.

Duplicate

I've had good and bad experiences with Avalon. I've used the EQ (don't remember the model), the 747 and the 737.

It's not as open sounding gear as I like but the vocals on one record I did were entirely through the 737 with 4 different lead vocalists and they are as good as anything I've done.

I'm not clammoring to buy a 737 but I can't deny how well it worked for me.

I dont know if they is sub par, but i do be loving that fantastic use of the English language.

What's wrong with my English. It's perfectly Scottish!!heh

I thought it was Jamaican.

I have Avalon, Great River, Millenia, Sytek and others. My Avalon 2022 has the deepest and most accurate low end response. My first choice for kick drum.

Eleven year old thread revival warning in effect.

Jezuuzz...
I was commenting on something I thought I found in "today's posts".

2055 still here .. 11 years later !!!

This forum has a lot of vintage posts with that euphonic analog warmth if you search a little

You can tell how old this thread is because of how polite everyone is being with each other.

If it's really still 2055 there, it's a lot more than 11 years later...

HAHAHA ... yeah that looks funny now .. !!!

Sad - but totally true.

Yes - it's an interesting read. In part because it seems to pre-date (and maybe presage) the period of five years or so when it was ever so fashionable to pile on against anything and everything Avalon.

For quite a while there, it seemed like every other thread had about 40 people (a fair few of them were the same people each time) bursting to share their view that all Avalon products were (insert creative derogatory adjective here).

I'm not sure if we're over that 'phase' but I haven't seen one of those threads for a while. And on the whole I find I don't miss them...

most of those people probably thought we were talking about the Roxy Music Song "Avalon" ..

or that 2055 is a YEar not a piece of gear !!!

I wish that were true.

Unfortunately I think they were paid up members of the self-appointed anti-bling brigade who were convinced that anything that was shiny-looking, rumoured to have once been sold at GC, and/or did not instantly transform their track into a hit the first time they turned it on must be worthless garbage that should be relentlessly run out of town (or at least out of GS) with a pitchfork.

Ha!

I'm wondering if I should be thinking about planning a surprise party for my AD-2022 in a few years' time...

can my 2055 come along .. she loves Cake !!!!

Sure! The 2055 is welcome in my studio any time!!

Not a big Avalon fan. There's nothing wrong with them, just not for me. Have owned the U5 and VT737 in the past. Also have used their solid state pres. I just don't like the tone. They all have this thin crispy presence and lack the weight and body of my other pres. I think they probably work really well for some folks.

the EQ is quite a different beast .. and of course, we all have our opinions !!!!

i did have a 2022 as well .. i sold that piece a bunch of year ago to fund some other gear ..

Totally get where you're coming from. They're not the right choice for all palettes - but then, nothing is.

One person's 'thin' may be another person's 'clean and open'. But I guess my take is that, just as I don't aim to mix "everything louder than everything else", I also don't necessarily want everything in a mix to be thicker/fatter than everything else.

So I'm all for judicious use of amps (and other gear) that will add weight and girth, but I don't always want that and I don't necessarily need it on every track even then. I don't (for example) typically want background vocals so full and thick that they crowd out lead vox or instruments... Similar deal with various other parts, often as not. Of course, YMMV.

For these and other reasons (such as that they are a 'different shaped brush' and a different color/texture that I like to be able to reach for sometimes) I continue to be happy to have Avalon pres on hand, and that's been the case for more than a decade now. Again, happy for you and others to have a different view. : )

Me - Elmo Hope with Trane/Hank Mobley:

Not the Zager and Evans song "In the year 2055" (1969) ? Never mind...

My personal experience with GS is that its a nice place to find out what other people's experience is, but I got very distracted from listening to the equipment and using it because I was thinking too much about what other people where saying about this or that gadget. My take-away from this thread is a reminder of how fashion changes, though the 737 has stayed the same--and competitive marketplace has evolved as well. One thing I am seeing is that inexpensive clones are becoming more credible, doubtless pressuring marquee names quite a bit.

I am reminded of the early days of personal computing--yes I was there! IBM created the Pc, an then there were the pc clones--to call a pc a 'clone' was sort of said with condescension, as the IBMs were considered higher quality. But at some point, the clones were considered good enough, and nobody gives a rats butt today whether a pc is made by IBM or not.

great tune !!

737sp is just solid and it always delivers a use able recording. I have things that are more exciting like Chandler TG2, Neve 33135, 33005, 1084 etc but I still haven't sold it after almost 20 years. It has uses. Sometimes I just want to get "going" quickly and a nice channel strip does that, everything ready to roll. The other pres I mentioned can be too coloured as well, others can be too clean, 737 sits in the middle. I love it on top snare(with its comp) , acoustic (no comp) tracking up vocals and DI'd bass. I like the 2022 too very deep and clean though I don't have one. The 2077 is a bit boring though it has it's uses the very low bass is very focused and 17K and above shelf with PD has a nice sound at times. You can hear that on quite few records once you know it so good people are out there using it. If I had to loose one of my mastering EQs from GML, Massive Passive, Sontec or the 2077 that's the one that would go, but that's because I like a more coloured EQ your tastes may vary. It does the job though and if I didn't have the others I'd still be OK with it. So I don't get the constant diss of the 737sp or Avalon in general, it's built like a tank has served almost 20years with no issues (not even needed new valves must have got lucky with that though I'm not recording much these days so I guess the hours are lower than I think) always records something use able. The comp is a bit soggy but the pre di hpf and EQ are superb. Second hand you can get them at decent prices so well worth a punt. I know this thread is really old but it seems to be a question a lot of people ask still and now I've had a few more years using mine than when this original post happened.