Grace 101 or FMR RNP?? (or neither??)

[psus15]

I have read a ton of posts, but I am looking for a final recomendation on mic pre.

I record mostly Rock / R&B, and primarily male voices. I don't have the BEST selection on mics, but for vocals I typically either use a SP C1, an octava 319 (dark), or an Apex 435.

I have an 002r, and a M-audio octane for 8 additional inputs. My question is, will I notice an audible sonic difference by stepping up (or across) to the grace 101 or RNP??

Is there maybe a better option? (presonus or joe meek??) I am going to purchase in the next few days so I can complete a new project. Any help would be appreciated.

I really can't afford right now to spend more than between 5 and 8 hundred bucks.

Thanks again.

[bigbubbaj]

this would work. Trident makes nice stuff.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3751344202

[nightshadecrisis]

i think the Grace Preamps sound fantastic, and would definitely get one of those over the RNP's. The link that bigbubbaj sent also looks intriguing...the tridents are really nice as well.

[badperson]

I've never tried the grace; I have the rnp and have been very happy with it.

bp

[IntelDoc]

The grace is a very hot and clean preamp. Sounds great! I have never used the other, but can vouche for the Trident. If it was me, I would go for the two channel. I own 4 channels of Trident, and 80B series and the S20. While the 80B has a lot more use, the S20 is awesome on everything that I have used it on. Very hot and the rolloff is a nice feature. I would look into that, but if those two are your choices, go for the Grace. I would like to get the 201 myself for acoustic stuff, but it is pretty compareable to the DigiPre as far as I have heard. Very clean preamp though.

And would you hear a difference??? YES!!!! The headroom on a nice preamp will boggle your mind.

Good luck,
-Doc

[Bloux]

the RNP has a slightly unique sound (character wise) over the Grace IMO, which might yield better results "for vocals". there's a slight mid range scoop that reminds me more of the vintage RCA consoles and when pushed a bit the RNP's high headroom gives you a little darker character that is nice for vocals. seems to work well on an assortment of mics as well. it also has 2 channel, so that could come in handy as well. (I pair mine up with the RNC and its a great combo for the voice) ...BTW I own a Great River ME1-NV ($1000.00)that I use on my voice as well and the RNP hangs with it.

the grace being a bit cleaner for better or worse on vocals is a matter of taste, certainly a true transparent pre. tube mics perform very well with the grace. either way you'll have a nice pre and for the price range they're both really hard to beat.

note: both pre's probably wont really show their improvements over what you have already have when solo'd, but when you lay mutiple tracks and with layering, (especially backing vox) you'll notice your mixes sounding a bit more "hi-Fi" and the vocalsist performing the track will feel a bit more comfortable under the cans due to the smoothness of these pre's.

good luck!

[badperson]

I also have the great river me1nvm, and really love it. It gets the most work by far, the rnp sees most of its action when I use multiple mics on a single source.

It hangs right in there with the great river. I have actually never really sat down and tried to figure out what the differences are between the two, the gr is obviously better, but the rnp is a very, very good pre, especially when you consider its price.

Ok, dumb question; the original trident desks in the 70's all had api pre's in them, right?

I asked around on some other forums, and the guy who runs trident now gets pretty well blasted by people on other forums. Bad support, slow service, etc.

What is the difference between api pres and trident pres? Are they a similar design?

thanks.

bp

[badperson]

bump

[GapeOne]

I too have an RNP as well as a 319 in my mic collection. I'm currently doing a project and opt'd the 319 over my NTK in conjunction with the RNP for the artist's baratone vocals. That combo sounds much more vibriant. Also, I haven't used the grace so I can't comment on that.

Good luck in your selection,
- GapeOne