NelsonL wrote on Fri, 05 September 2008 05:14 |
I have a pair of AM10 based QE pres that are excellent. I believe they're essentially the Pacifica pre. Lots of headroom with a certain amount of character that never gets in the way. |
Galil wrote on Fri, 05 September 2008 08:04 |
I think that Brian meant Westar, which was a Misubishi era Quad Eight. Galil |
Steve Hudson wrote on Fri, 05 September 2008 11:46 | ||
According to Peter Montessi at A-Designs, their P-1 500 form factor preamp is closer in tone to an original QE preamp. Their Pacifica preamp has an extended high end. I bought a pair of P-1s to do overdubs of sessions I tracked on a QE Coronado and compared the P-1 tracks with overdubs using A-Designs' Pacifica preamps and confirmed Peter's guidance. FWIW I think they're both great preamps. |
Brian Kehew wrote on Fri, 05 September 2008 15:32 | ||||
It's confusing to me then, as he used the name "Pacifica" which IS the name of a famous "Coronado-era" console (circa 1978-79). However, the Coronado consoles do not sound as good as the Pacificas, due to the (dBX?) VCA gain stage in the group fader automation. It's not a huge difference, but the preamps are the same AM10 in the two consoles, yet the Pacifica console has less "stuff to run through on each channel. I thought Peter's design WAS based on the Pacifica AM10 preamp? Is it not... then why use the name? |
Brian Kehew wrote on Fri, 05 September 2008 14:13 |
... but there are also trade off's in features that make a later console quite nice over the early ones. |
Steve Hudson wrote on Fri, 05 September 2008 12:46 | ||
According to Peter Montessi at A-Designs, their P-1 500 form factor preamp is closer in tone to an original QE preamp. Their Pacifica preamp has an extended high end. I bought a pair of P-1s to do overdubs of sessions I tracked on a QE Coronado and compared the P-1 tracks with overdubs using A-Designs' Pacifica preamps and confirmed Peter's guidance. FWIW I think they're both great preamps. |
NelsonL wrote on Sun, 07 September 2008 05:19 | ||||
I should have been clearer as I was refering to the console-- the A designs pre wasn't out yet when I bought these, so the Pacifica console has always been my personal reference point. |
iCombs wrote on Wed, 10 September 2008 01:39 |
I was running one of my MM310's today on a voiceover session...it was a screamin' loud car spot that i attenuated down at the output gain (not at the mic input) and realized about halfway through the take that I was obviously running the input in the red, as the waveform was...well...obviously clipping (note: no compressor on this VO as this client prefers their own)...but when I went in and looked at the sections that were leveled out...they weren't even close to square...and what little distortion i heard was pretty gentle to the ear...it almost sounded as if the voice was just straining a little harder and not like the gear went "SPLAT." The more and more I use these things, the more and more I'm impressed by them. |
Silvertone wrote on Wed, 10 September 2008 08:04 | ||
Hi Ian, Nice units. Did Ken supply the vertical face plates? Same thing happened to me when Danny (McKinney from Requisite Audio) sent me the first 4 Warner Brothers MM310 modules. I couldn't believe what they sounded like and then once I started using the EQ section... forgettaboutit!!! I like the "build up" of these on tracks much better then my 1073's. Way less cloudy and way less of a fight in the end when mixing. Eventually I stopped cutting drums though the 1073's and started using these and Electrodyne modules (edyne are my faves for kick and snare). Now I'm not putting down 1073's at all, I love the sound of them but throughout my life I never wanted to have the same sound as everybody else. I just came up in a time when bands sounded different from one another and studios sounded different from one another. I've come full circle now... So I have "the best" 1960's studio I can afford. 15x4 Electrodyne console and 12x2 Langevin (built by Electrodyne) tube console and scadds of vintage outboard gear and mics.... now back on track since I'm not suppose to deviate from the subject... Enjoy those MM310's! They will be getting quite a bit of use I'm sure. |
rob s wrote on Thu, 25 September 2008 19:25 |
whatever happened to the orel roberts console? man that thing is beautiful. did it get cut up and parted out? |
thedoc wrote on Wed, 29 October 2008 21:27 |
In the wooden rack that Silvertone showes in his picture, the pumpkin modules are EXACTLY like the ones that were used to dub many BIG (Oscars for best sound) feature films at Goldwyn Sound in the 80's, even down to the Gliss faders with the red knobs. I decommisioned that console in 84 and don't really know what became of it. Those modules could very well be from that console. IDENTICAL! |
thedoc wrote on Sat, 01 November 2008 18:12 |
Yes, that is a Cat 43 siting on top of it's 361. It is sitting on the side edge of the console itself actually. If you look to the right you will see the backside of a wooden rack with XLR's...that was full of old 550A's. And what reverb do you see in the lower right corner..? |