Members Droltab Records Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 I've read both people praising the RNP for its clarity and on the other hand for the colour they get from the pre. What's the deal?!? Are these transparent or textured? It can't be both! PS: I've posted in both HC recording forums as it seems some members prefer either or... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gsHarmony Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 Unfortunately, I think "clean" and "colored" are often opinions. For example: reading a review of the Great River ME1NV, it claimed it was one of the cleanest preamps. According to The Listening Sessions, it is one of the most colored. If you can, try to find some demos recorded with the RNP and another preamp. This has worked great for me. Unfortunately, The Listening Sessions doesn't have the RNP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Strange Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 Examples would most certainly kick ass. My main interest lies in recording Hard Rock/Punk/Metal projects. I am searching for a pres that will provide "fat" tones and be versatile with considerations to mics and instrument combos... Mainly:57s on guitar cabs, snares & toms D112 for bass and kickIt'd be nice to have the pre/DI combo for the bass as well. Are RNPs what I'm lookin' for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 IMHO the RNP is quite transparant, and adds little character of it's own. It's a good addition to any studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geek_usa Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 Originally posted by where02190 IMHO the RNP is quite transparant, and adds little character of it's own. It's a good addition to any studio. Mr. where. how ya doin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matt Hepworth Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 Geek_usa, nice halloween avatar! Looks a little bigger than 100x100, but it sure is scary as hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 Doing well Geek, thanks for asking. Living life one day at a time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geek_usa Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 Originally posted by Matt Hepworth Geek_usa, nice halloween avatar! Looks a little bigger than 100x100, but it sure is scary as hell! That's because I got my avatar submitted before HC changed the avatar size to 100x100... Early bird gets the worm I guess. That's Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins around 1994 I'm guessing. How ya doin, Matt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geek_usa Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 Originally posted by where02190 Doing well Geek, thanks for asking. Living life one day at a time... That's the only way to do it, bro. Life gets too confusing if you try to handle everything at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 20, 2005 Members Share Posted October 20, 2005 I'm a little surprised that anyone would say that the RNP is colored. I think it's clear sounding, and I highly recommend the preamps, doubly so when you consider the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 It's pretty transparent... nowhere near something like the Great River NV or a Neve 1073... but it does have a bit of tonal shading to it. In a good way. IMO, it's at the low point price point of true pro sounding units, and if you stuck it in a 1 RU case and tossed some fancy graphics on the front (and a boutique name brand) it probably would sell well even if it was twice as expensive as it is. IOW, it's a very cool unit and a great bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CN Fletcher Posted October 21, 2005 Members Share Posted October 21, 2005 Lest y'all forget... clean is a color too. There are 30 variations of clean... there is GML clean, Hardy clean, Gordon clean, RNP clean, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah, blee, blee, blee. The question is whether or not a tool works for your sense of aesthetic. Period. The term "clean" in audio is like the term "sedan" when you're buying a car... it'll give you an idea of what you're looking at, but not an idea as to whether or not the unit will be good for your specific applications. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_tonto Posted October 24, 2005 Members Share Posted October 24, 2005 this is a very good point fletcher. and, i also belive that there are many ways to get to the thing you desire. i've gotten an 86 chevy celebrity going 110 mph (and I'll just say it wasn't in 86). I'm a firm believer that the outcome is the only thing that matters (and the fun that goes into it of course). personally, I've been fortunate enough to use very nice gear on occasion, but i also have a very budget home studio. there is most defintely a factor of diminishing returns. In most cases I would definitely take a 1-2k pre over one thats $500, but a close friend of mine from college has 2 RNP's, and I was astounded by the sound compared to higher priced gear that i've worked with a couple times (and i realize it could be my memory messing with me). I'm not saying the RNP is better than 1-2k pre's, but it definitely compared, and blew away my (more) budget pre's I have at home. At the same time though, I still believe its just a factor in the equation and the biggest factor being what you put in. I mean do you ever hear about Dali or Monet talking about what brand of paint they used? This is probably the wrong statement to make on an audio recording forum, but I think the outcome matters much more and you can get there in a number of ways. but, i'd definitely reccomend the rnp though, and the more you pay realize more of a diminishing return in terms of improvement. if you you have the dough, go for it, why not. if not, just play and don't worry about it. its the music that matters. sorry for the drunken rant, but at the time I felt it was obligatory conisdering I just had a hour long debate over whether you can make a good recording without "pro" gear (the dude doesn't record at all, but is a live sound guy and plays in a cover band). DO it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members geek_usa Posted October 25, 2005 Members Share Posted October 25, 2005 Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe It's pretty transparent... nowhere near something like the Great River NV or a Neve 1073... but it does have a bit of tonal shading to it. In a good way. IMO, it's at the low point price point of true pro sounding units, and if you stuck it in a 1 RU case and tossed some fancy graphics on the front (and a boutique name brand) it probably would sell well even if it was twice as expensive as it is. IOW, it's a very cool unit and a great bargain. Hey Phil, how ya doin? Cool new smilies we got here, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 25, 2005 Members Share Posted October 25, 2005 Originally posted by Fletcher@mercenary.com Lest y'all forget... clean is a color too. There are 30 variations of clean... Sorta like monitors....there's 30 variations of flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted October 25, 2005 Members Share Posted October 25, 2005 Originally posted by UstadKhanAli Sorta like monitors....there's 30 variations of flat. With the exception of where the low end rolls off, no. Either the frequency response is linear within a tolerance of a few db around 0db or it's not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 I agree Where, but OTOH, I think what Ken was saying (please correct me if I'm wrong Ken ) is that there can be a lot of sonic variance / differences between two different types of monitors, each with a +/- 3 dB spec... titanium tweeters sound different than ribbons, different porting makes a difference, how low (and high) they go, where the EQ dips and peaks, and the amount of them and the slope of them - all that can add up to different sounds - IOW, "kinds of flat" - between two monitors that are both within a fairly narrow, or at least comparable, definition of a "flat frequency response". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kendrix Posted October 25, 2005 Members Share Posted October 25, 2005 It always struck me that the +/- 3db standarad for setting the frequency response of a component was a very lame metric.+/- 3 db is a really big variation that significantly affects the sound. At AES i was struck by the differences in the various ADAM models. The biggest differences seemed to be in the low-mids.- not the very low bass. Truth is - nothing is really flat. -Every component in the chain has a characteristic "sound" of some sort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 25, 2005 Members Share Posted October 25, 2005 Phil and Kendrix, that's exactly what I was joking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dot Posted October 27, 2005 Members Share Posted October 27, 2005 Knowing that a wine is dry will not tell you how it tastes, but it will give you an idea where it falls within the overall range of wines. Whether or not someone likes dry wine is totally subjective. Whether or not wine is dry is not subjective. The RNP is not transparent at all. It does have some color to it. I'm working on a graph to give a general idea... http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/micpregraph.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dot Posted October 27, 2005 Members Share Posted October 27, 2005 Originally posted by gsHarmony Unfortunately, I think "clean" and "colored" are often opinions. For example: reading a review of the Great River ME1NV, it claimed it was one of the cleanest preamps. According to The Listening Sessions, it is one of the most colored. I wonder if you read a review on one of the Great River MP series pres - which are quite clean. Anyone writing that one of the GR NV pres "was one of the cleanest preamps" is simply incorrect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitwizz Posted October 27, 2005 Members Share Posted October 27, 2005 Hey Dan, good to see you here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CN Fletcher Posted October 27, 2005 Members Share Posted October 27, 2005 Originally posted by Dot I'm working on a graph to give a general idea... http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/micpregraph.htm Wow... a whole new useless crock of {censored}!! Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dot Posted October 27, 2005 Members Share Posted October 27, 2005 Originally posted by Fletcher@mercenary.com Wow... a whole new useless crock of {censored}!! Congratulations. Ha! Thanks, Fletcher. I'll make sure and quote you on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted October 29, 2005 Members Share Posted October 29, 2005 [The following is theory, not gospel, and not scientific] I think the RNP's input impedance presents minimal loading on dynamic mics. So, the mic will sound different than what you're used to if your normal preamp has a lower input impedance. In that case, you'd think it was colored. But maybe it's the lower impedance that's actually coloring it. It's like guitar. Put a pick up through a high-Z buffer, and it will sound colored if you've not heard that sound before. But technically, it's probably a less colored sound...assuming that you see impedance matching as a function of voltage transfer, not power transfer. Otherwise, you'd hear the Hi-Z sound as colored. My opinion of the RNP: It makes a lot of my mics sound good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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