http://www.rupertneve.com/portico5012.html

Studio Reviews press release at http://www.studioreviews.com/news/4-12-05-neve.htm

The Portico pre has landed and is on the bench.

Portico 5012 review at http://www.studioreviews.com/portico5012.htm

so dan has one?
let us know.

I've been waiting to see if Dot was going to get to review one of these.

Yeah, Dan, have you gotten your hands on one yet? Fletcher says he still hasn't received one.

Apparently they now have the tape emulation and channel strips out.

Unfortunately, I have't had the time to use mine further at all .

I've been using one for a few weeks now. I have to say I am in love with this thing for tracking. It just puts you at the top of the food chain soundwise. Very rich sounding, not excessively colored but it puts a real serious tone on vocals and guitars.

I know the Amek 9098 very well, so I'd be curious to read how they compare...

TLS has a session featuring the Neve Portico 5012 preamp along with some other pres - API, Great River MP-2, Sebatron.

http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/session10.htm

Dan,
In your session the Portico is definitely the best with the API as second IMO. What an airy sound with clarity and presence. And the difference is big too I think.

I'm surprised the Great River MP-2 didn't do better...

Hans

Very nice tests....

Funny I think the opposite and that the Great River sounds the best to me...might be the monitors (Dynaudio BM6a)... It is a bit more 'lively' as in more dimensional..

Btw...Dan...I really dig your choice of DAW...SAWstudio is really sounding great... I was hoping if you could make some comparisons between some DAWS. I have done some tests myself and to me Sawstudio sounds the most accurate out of Sonar, Nuendo, Samplitude, Traktion, Protools LE. That is..guitar straight in, recording it and presenting the sound.. (so no dawsumming test) Since I just invested in Nuendo before I found out about the sound of SAWstudio I cannot buy it atm very sadfully..

Kind regards,
Eric

Eric,
Yes, that is funny. But that's the way it is. There is no right or wrong with sound. I have been listening at home through a pair of JBL L150.

Maybe my head microphones need some washing

Very interesting...

I'll be listening to these on my BM5s over lunch. Thanks for doing this Dot!

I listened to these this morning on headphones so take this for what its worth. My thoughts.

If I wanted something to punch through the mix, the Portico would be my choice.

If I wanted a darker layer with some mid range brassy tone, the Great River. Maybe background vocals or key boards.

The API would be the only one I used on the drums. The Cymbals are more natural without harshness. This unit does a better job on the cymbal tails.

Portico-I liked it on all of the settings. Sounded full bodied across all frequencies, and closest to what I hear in my head as my acoustic sound. Sounded great on all sources.

API-I've never used an API, but I feel like I know that sound just from clips like these because it is so distinct. It has a somewhat scooped sound in the lower mids, which I think is what gives it that focus/clarity in the low end. Probably makes a song easy to mix with, because of that space down there, but it's usually not my choice of sound, unless it's on drums. Makes the AC.Guitar sound thin.

Great River-sounded nice, and most like the Portico on the lower gain setting.

Sebatron-I could really hear the unit compressing. Not my cup of tea, except for the Electric Guitar clips-really softened up the attacks in a musical way.

That's my 2 cents. I really appreciate all of the effort that went into this (Dan and friends), it's very educating for me. Thanks, Brien

Here are my notes in order of preference:

acoustic gtr:
(1) Great River, (2) API, (3) Portico 2, (4) Portico 1, (5) Portico Silk, (6) Sebatron

drums:
(1) API!!, (2) Portico 1, (3) Portico 2, (4) Portico Silk, (5) Great River, (6) Sebatron

electric gtr:
(1) Great River, (2) Portico 1, (3) Portico 2, (4) Portico Silk, (5) API, (6) Sebatron

So, what does that tell me? If I was a rich man I would buy a Great River and API and call it a day. Since I'm not, I have my eyes on the Portico since it consistently ranked high for me. But, on drums, there is nothing that comes close to the API. I'm sure I would like the Sebatron for some things, but it obviously wasn't my favorite in these tests.

Thanks again Dan for an informative listening session!

-Jim Bob

I could think of situations where I might want what I heard in each pre. I have to admit, though, that I prefered the second Portico track in each application. I heard greater depth and realism in this track each time.

I'd love to mix rock drums with the Portico on OH and API for the kick and snare.

I think its hard to compare the Great River and Sebatron, just because they're both capable of a wide range of sound.

I'd really love to compare the Portico with a Hardy M1, A-Design MP-2 and maybe a Millenia.

My picks.

Acoustic gtr: Great River and API. Different but equally usable sounds. The Neve2 clip was the best of the Portico clips, IMO. WTF is with the hiss on the Sebatron? I'll keep my UA as tube pre, thank you. I can't imagine that spread over many tracks.

Electric guitar: API. Sebatron running second, just because I know that musical softening works well in context.

DrumOH (what-not enough channels to run the whole kit?) :P I prefered the Neve2 clip best-just enough edge mixed with "hifi-ness"...and could just as easily vibe on the vintage fatness of the Sebatron. The Silk sounded bad. API sounded fine. The Great River was a bit too revealing..."did the snares sympathetically rattle that much on the other takes?".


Overall, I'm gonna point out again that I think this is a game of inches. If the Portico were cheap (say sub $1k for the two channels) I'd say I'd go with that. It did well at everything. But, in reality...I could have two channels of it, or find a used 3124 for $3-400 more-and have four channels of (generally) better sounding pres. I will say, though...the variable HPF is intriguing. Wouldn't make up for the lack of DI port, though.

I still think (while this is OT) that API's lack of an inexpensive 1 or 2 channel unit is hurting them in home studios.

This thought I found interesting:

quote:

Probably makes a song easy to mix with, because of that space down there, but it's usually not my choice of sound

...your choice of sound would be whatever preamp makes things sound better solo'd but harder to mix? Good choice! I keed, I keed...

quote:

...your choice of sound would be whatever preamp makes things sound better solo'd but harder to mix? Good choice! I keed, I keed...

That's right, the last CD I recorded was solo guitar, some two guitar stuff. I want the full sound of the guitar the way I hear it. If I'm mixing 24 tracks together, I would be taking a different approach. Why would you think everybody works like you? Brien

FWIW:

Although I did not get the opportunity to tweak it, I was present at an event in which a Portico was used to record a well known female vocalist(via a Klaus Heyne modded U67), in a perfect room...The piano was miced up with a pair of M49s through some Nevel 1073s, AD conversion done by a Radar Super Nyquist at 96K, playback via a Yammie DM2000, using JBL bigs (model # escapes me) in 5.1 surround....

While good sounding, the original 1073s just smoked the Portico...not even a close comparison....

Yet they were IMO good enough for 99% of what is recorded, and yes, I want them. 4 Porticos in a single rack space, plus my growing bank of OSAs, and I'll be set for a looooooooooooonnnnnnggggggggggg time.

quote:

Why would you think everybody works like you?

Because I'm me.

quote:

Originally posted by Popmann:

quote:

Why would you think everybody works like you?

Because I'm me.

Do not, I repeat, do not feed the bulldog!