Which pre for Live 2-Track?

[wshaw]

I've been doing a fair bit of live stereo recording lately. The chain's been Royer SF1s into a Grace Lunatec V3. That setup sounds remarkably good, and works for most any kind of music, but I'm always on the hunt for improvement, so here goes . . .

I've got an SCA with one N72. It's too colored for live 2-track, in my view.

What are all you folks' thoughts? A12, J99, C84 -- what? I'm hoping for a way to juice up my recordings without making them blatantly unnatural-sounding, if you know what I mean.

THANKS!!!

[wshaw]

19 reads -- and no opinions?!?!?

C'mon people--work with me here!!!
(with apologies to Richard Simmons)

[lynyrd]

I only have a pair of A12s so far and I haven't even passed audio through them, heck, the house still smells like burning solder. What I have read though, is that the 2 most colored pres by SCA are the N72 and the A12. That is why I bought the A12s first, for their colour and their ease of assembly. That would leave you with the choice between the J99 or the C84 if you are looking for a more neutral sound. The C84 is certainly inexpensive and I did hear some samples compared to the J99. I thought it sounded very good. Let us know what you decide and how it worked out, I would be curious to know. Meanwhile, I will build a couple of N72s and compare them to my A12s and vintage Langevins.

[wshaw]

Hi Lynyrd--

I'd welcome your observations as your work progresses.

I already have several very fine uncolored pres, and I assume that the C84 would resemble those. My expectation is that the J99 would do what I'm looking for, but I have experience with them, so that's just a guess.

Thanks!

[tpryan]

A pair of J99s will probably be the best choice for most applications. The C84s will likely sound quite similar to your Grace.