I think i got screwed by Great River Elec

[triton92]

Hey guys! Hello Iam feeling very dissapointed after a year 1/2 ive finally noticed that my Great River MP2nv Pre sound is not that better than my Projectmix i/o stock preamps! i was recording vocals for a song iam doing and i said: (hmm just for the hell of it, iam going to try the preamps of my projectmix i/o doing the same part of the song) To my dissapointed it sounded the same as the Great River maybe even better than it, It's sad that iam hearing this because i paid $2150.00 US for something that i thought was going to give me a way superior sound!! And i know you guys are going to say: (check the mic position, Acoustics etc...) But the thing is that both of the preamps wor used on the same room, same mic position etc... Iam just very dissapointed and disgusted at the fact that i paid so much money for this thing and have not heard the payoff. Maybe iam connecting it wrong ill explain how i connect it! first: mic with XLR mogami > GR channel 1 (balanced) XLR > GR Output 1 (unbalanced) TRS Mogami > projectmix i/o chann5 line input! they told me this was the correct way of connecting it. O and another thing people say to put the line in at 0db on the sound card, and just use the preamp for the gain and output control when i do that is sounds really bad. For me to get a decent sound i have to give some volume on the line in of the projectmix like 1/4 volume to get a better sound!! It's just weird but that makes the Great River sound a little better!! Well guys i tried to make sense, maybe u guys could point me to a diffrent direction that will make my Great river sound better!! Or iam getting rid of that thing. Thanks for reading will be waiting for replies, Thanks!!

[brandondrury]

i thought was going to give me a way superior sound!!

This "thought" is the problem. Why did you feel that way? (Rhetorical question). It's the exact reason I created RecordingReview.com

Iam just very dissapointed and disgusted at the fact that i paid so much money for this thing and have not heard the payoff.

I'm confident you are hearing it right. This preamp stuff is ROBO subtle. You have to work really hard to hear a difference. Most laymen will think you are joking when you ask them to pick the better sounding track.

they told me this was the correct way of connecting it. O and another thing people say to put the line in at 0db on the sound card, and just use the preamp for the gain and output control when i do that is sounds really bad.

I'm assuming it's clipping. "0dB" may be the problem. It could mean a few things in recording land. You want to make sure the ProjectMix isn't adding any gain. For some preamps this means turning it all the way down. For others this is 12 o clock. It depends on if the Projectmix preamps have the ability to cut.

maybe u guys could point me to a diffrent direction that will make my Great river sound better!!

Assuming you are hooking this thing up right, there is nothing you can do to improve a preamp. It's a standalone box.

I hate the fact that you've been pushed down this road of how you MUST buy high end gear to make standable recordings. The truth is quite a bit different to my ears. I do have some nice gear, but I have to admit that I often wonder the same things you do.

You can see my views on the subject here:
Is Gear The Answer To Sound Quality Issues?

Brandon