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Great River MP-1NV Question

stretchcat

stretchcat

Jul 22, 2004
759
37
Metro Atlanta, GA
soundcloud.com
#1
Does anyone who has experience with the Great River MP-1NV know how easy it is to clip the input of the DI with an active bass (Sadowsky M5-24). My Apogee Mini-me pre/di clips VERY easily when plugging my active bass in and adding a small amount of bass boost and I am not a heavy handed player. I know that Dan Kennedy had a passive P-bass in mind when he designed the DI.

For the record, the preamp would be used for more than just a bass DI.

Thanks!
 
#2
It's been a while since I had the pleasure of using the NV-1, but I don't ever recall having a problem with it clipping. I almost always used either a Roscoe w/ Bart pre or Ibanez ATK with stock, fairly hot preamp.
 
#3
I've got a Sadowsky and a ME-1NV(same as MP-1NV), so I checked it out. It must take a VERY hot signal to clip the FET buffer amp that is in between the DI jack and the input gain control. Although I needed the ME-1NV input gain on the lowest setting, I was able to max out my Sadowsky ultra vintage(volume, bass, and treble all the way up), and couldn't discern any clipping from the ME-1NV, and the input LED was still in the green.

That's a pretty extreme setting from an active bass, too, so I think I can handle quite a bit before clipping!
 
#4
Thanks SoComSurfing and ssommer for your responses. I can't decide if I should get a DI box with gain like a REDDI or U5 or bite the bullet and get a preamp/DI like the Great River.

I'm working on a solo project where I am playing keys and bass which will be tracked at my house with loops and then I will track the drums at another studio. The DI on my Apogee Mini-Me can't handle my basses very well and the DI on my amp has that Eden mid bump that I don't want to record.

The U5 ($450-585) has enough gain to drive the converters on the Mini-Me, bypassing the preamps. I have recorded with one of these before and liked it's sound.

The REDDI ($715) would probably require a little help from the Mini-Me preamps.

The Great River ($1100) would allow me to bypass the Apogee preamp and have one stellar channel of preamp gain with the benefit of the Apogee's converters. It looks like this might be my best bet in terms of bang-for-the-buck.

Any thoughts?
 
#5
Yeah, two great pieces, I think either would do an excellent job for what you're describing.

Here are my takes on the gear:
Avalon U5:
-Can be used in almost any situation, great for live and recording.
-Has the option of sending mic or line level.
-No mic pre, so it's only used for bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards.
-Has some EQ options, not very flexible(presets), but a couple of them sound very good.
-Set flat, it's a very clean, pure DI

Great River ME-1NV:
-Can be used on almost anything, in case you ever wanted to mic a cabinet, or track vocals.
-Only sends line level, so you couldn't use it as a DI in the traditional sense(converting instrument level to mic level), live.
-No EQ, but adds more vintage color to the sound. Depending how hard you drive the input gain, can get a clean, or colored sound

Both are great with multiple basses, to match levels. Hard to go wrong with either.
 
#6
ssommer said:
Yeah, two great pieces, I think either would do an excellent job for what you're describing.

Here are my takes on the gear:
Avalon U5:
-Can be used in almost any situation, great for live and recording.
-Has the option of sending mic or line level.
-No mic pre, so it's only used for bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards.
-Has some EQ options, not very flexible(presets), but a couple of them sound very good.
-Set flat, it's a very clean, pure DI

Great River ME-1NV:
-Can be used on almost anything, in case you ever wanted to mic a cabinet, or track vocals.
-Only sends line level, so you couldn't use it as a DI in the traditional sense(converting instrument level to mic level), live.
-No EQ, but adds more vintage color to the sound. Depending how hard you drive the input gain, can get a clean, or colored sound

Both are great with multiple basses, to match levels. Hard to go wrong with either.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help, Shawn. I'll let you know what I end up doing.
 
#7
If anyone is interested, I ended up buying a Groove Tubes Brick over the weekend.


  • Has lots o' headroom
  • Has enough output to record "direct to disk"
  • My basses sound great though it
  • Has a mic input
  • $400
  • The sound quality rivals and maybe surpasses the U5 to my subjective ears when listening to tracks I had recorded with both units.
  • Sounds FAR better than the DI on my Eden amp
 
#10
bongomania said:
FWIW there are some mods commonly performed to make the Brick even better. I don't know the details personally, but I have repeatedly read about this over on Gearslutz. Not that the Brick is any slouch as-is! :D
Click to expand...

I'll have to check that out as well. Got a link? :)

I wonder where most people set the gain. I find mine to be pretty hot. Currently running it at 9 to 10 o' clock. Would love it if the instrument-thru were an affected signal. Or is it?
 

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