okay, so I'm ready to get some Neve sound into my recordings, but don't know where to start.

lots of folks making the 1073 style pres that claim to have "that sound".

can anyone point me in the right direction?

...and pretty much every last one of them is full of ****. There are so many variations on the 'Neve sound' within existing vintage Neve modules that pretty much all of the 'Nevesque' things to hit the market will have something from somewhere that will be similar somehow.

Trust your ears and not the marketing bull****.

I have heard quite a few.... and my bet goes to both the GR NV2/1 and or the Phoenix DRs series.. But for cred value nothin compares to the real deal..

PEACE
Wiggy

I think the new stuff that is based on the "Neve" sound are different than the original 1073's I've heard, but easily just as good. I'm speaking about preamps specifically, generally I don't EQ to tape, so a 1073 for tracking is almost useless to the way I work. I don't ascribe to the thought that things were better in the 'good old days'. There are some serious quality pieces around now that rival classic gear (and is consistent if you need more than one mono piece).

Hey Nathan,

Not to contradict you, but going along with what Fletcher said, most of the clones just imitate one sound from the Neve.

And if its not the sound you want, you are stuck. Now on the other side, if that is the sound you want than it will be consisitent.

The one thing I have noticed is that while most of the clones may have the sound down, they lack that certain "pizzaz" that the Neve module only gives you. Its hard to quantify "pizazz" but to me as a musician its what a certain instrument gives you over another much like it.

Like to me a Neve is just that at times, a musical instrument, not just a pre or an EQ.

I'm not really quite sure how that contradicted what I said....

If it's a 1073 (EQ & Pre) clone that you're after, the best one I have seen, use and own is Brent Averill's Reproduction. This unit is so faithfull that you won't desire the original. The only other one I know of is the Vintech X73/81. The EQ on a 1073 while not surgical, is nothing short of spectacular. Very quick and easy to use and is generally hard to make too many wrong adjustments with. Very musical.

If it's just the mic pre, then a Brent Averill 1272 is my choice. The Great River NV would be next which will be especially nice when the EQ is released.

Either way I love the Neve color. It screams ROCK.

I have had a Chandler LTD 1 and a Vintech X81 here for the last month and I have to say that I've been really impressed with the two units. It must be said however, that I had never much experience with the real thing, and I probably never will. But if you are looking for a good sounding tool to do a job, the Chandler won't let you down. My only slight complaint is the flimsy chassis. That said, I don't expect to take it on the roadfuuck .
FWIW the X81 I found great on snare. You just can't go wrong. I a/b ed the Chandler and X81 on vocals into line input just to check the eq. I'm still trying to make up my mind which I prefer but I'm leaning towards the Chandler. It somehow seems softer, which is what I'm looking for.
So, it looks like I'll have to keep both units. I only wish I knew what the X73 sounded like in comparison to the Chandler.

All the best

From the ones that I'm checking out, it seems the Vintech X73 might be a really good choice. I don't own much outboard eq, so it would be nice to have that eq to use at mixdown. It's also less dough than some of the others, right?

I actually don't believe that the brent averill 1272 is a clone -- a copy. It is an actual neve preamp that has been rack mounted. BTW, it sounds great.

Giovanni

I believe he was actually referring to the copies that Brent now makes of the 1073 not the refurbished units.

I've got two of the Brent Averill 1073's and a 2 channel 1272 pre-amp that is also from Averill. The 1073's are clones and the 1272's are actuall Neve amps from who knows where. They both sound great. I have been extremely happy with my decision to go with Brent Averill stuff. The gear sounds great, holds it's value, the tech support is top notch. It's NEVE fer chris sakes! How can you go wrong?

I A/B'd my 1073's with some real Neve 1073's that were in a BCM-10 at another local studio. My Averill 1073's were punchier in the low end, had a lower noise floor, and had more gain. The Hi boost wasn't as sweet on mine as on the real ones but that could be from the age of the components. I was pleased with what I heard. Granted, it's hard to get two original 1073's to sound the same.

I'm saving up for some more Averill 1073's.

Shawn

The Phoenix DRS pres are not in the "Neve clone" bunch. The DRS is an original design. Very airy and open sounding.

For something in the 1073 ballpark, the Great River MP-NV pres are pretty damn good, and probably more useful over more tracks than original Neve 1073's.

If you're looking to get a 1073 clone or refurb, Mark, Avedis or Brent Averill at BA or Dallas at Vintech would be the ones contact. Call them both up, hear them out, try them out and decide for yourself.

I just got 2 1073's from Brent Averill. The vintage modules he recaps and refurbishes, not the recreations. They are incredible. Averill stuff rocks. It can be a bit pricey but you will never regret buying from him. I owned the DRS-2 which I traded for an MP2NV which I am now selling along with a Pheonix Audio GTQ2. IMHO the new crop of 'Nevesque' preamps are all of high quality and good value but the ones I have heard just can't measure up to real 1073's.