tom eaton wrote on Wed, 17 September 2008 20:43 |
...it seems to me that pronouncing any preamp as providing the "true" or "most neutral" version of a mics signal is entirely conjecture and personal preference.
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Once in a blue moon I'll be outside of the control room and get fooled into thinking I'm hearing an acoustic instrument playing, when it turns out that I am listening through the signal chain. It seems like a chain that could do that would have to be quite "true" or "neutral" by definition. If you have a preamp that you like on everything, how could that be neutral? Everything in the world doesn't automatically sound fabulous.
Regarding the 'sound' of the Gordon's: I have owned mine for at least 3 years and only barely have an idea of what they sound like... truthfully, it would be a lot easier for me to say what they don't do (they don't sound small, don't sound distressed or strained, don't sound dark, don't sound bright, don't sound congested, don't sound smooth, don't sound rough, don't sound grainy, don't sound 'hi fi', don't sound fat, don't sound thin, don't sound compressed, don't sound 'sugar-coated' or 'glossy' or 'shiny', etc) than to say what they do sound like. This is not true of my Millennias, which I have owned for roughly the same amount of time and used roughly as much. This is NOT to say I don't like my Millennias. But they have a more identifiable character than the Gordon's do.
The two things I would say about the sound of the Gordon's:
1. VERY occasionally they will sound ever-so-slightly edgy on some sources. This has happened so rarely over the years it makes me think it doesn't have anything to do with the preamps themselves.
2. They always sound big and powerful when those properties are present in the source. An example of this is the trumpet section in the training montage of "Rocky Balboa" which was recorded through Gordon's (by my friend Dan Wallin).