OT: RNP mini review

[Chris Coleman]

I'll try to break the "PT6, OSX, Waves 4" monotony with a little review of the RNP - this is a "mini" review because of the very narrow range of testing conditions:

(my basic setup is RNP to RME ADI-8AE to 001, 24 bit, 44.1k)

I used my RNP (finally!) with an XY and ORTF setup of MXL 603s (they were what I had set up, I'm lazy) on my acoustic guitar and also used it direct with my custom Strat.

603/RNP:
First thing I noticed was that at the same gain level on the RNP, the actual gain results were different. One flick of one of the 603s created a pop and then they were the same. Crappy QC on the 603, no fault of RNP. Once I started playing, The immediate thoughts that ran through my head were "detailed", "clear", and "PUNCHY" (in a good way). The notes kind of popped off my guitar and through the signal chain. It was like looking at beautiful summer day through a perfectly cleaned window (cheesy, sorry).
Then, I tuned to drop D to test the RNP's low end (or at least how it handled the low frequency content of my guitar)...and Wow! I don't exactly know how to put it except for...it seems like the RNP just "knows" what to do with the complexities of the low frequency information fed to the mics. My guitar sounded large and tight, not boxy or flabby. With my 001, my only other preamp comparisons I've used for any length of time have been the 001's and a Presonus MP20 (w/Jensens). the RNP is the winner.

direct electric:
Nothing super special as I'm not exactly fond of direct electric tone anyhow (and I was again too lazy to take my bass out of its case). FWIW, though, it was very clear and, again, punchy. I'm going to try my bass sometime soon.