OLD LYME,
CONNECTICUT: Members of the pro audio community
will recognize Rip Rowan as the uncompromising editor-in-chief
of the popular online pro audio magazine, prorec.com.
Prorec.com's inception in 1998 marked yet another
branch in the multi-career path of the ever-busy
Mr. Rowan. Rowan, who has worn many hats from rock
band musician to sound designer, and theatrical
music score composer to recording engineer, now
splits his days between his prorec.com duties and
the operation of his new Dallas, Texas recording
studio, Pleasantry Lane. Recent music projects include
scoring with composer/recording artist Rhett Miller
for the ABC-TV sitcom "I'm With Her,"
a new CD by European fave, Salim Nourallah, and
a new Deathray Davies opus on Idol Records.
When Rowan planned Pleasantry Lane Studios he conceptualized
a control room without the central focus of the
traditional large console. "I wanted it mixer
less - really a low footprint design. And I wanted
minimal rack gear, because I've been trying to move
away from using that equipment altogether. As opposed
to a large mixing console or even a control surface,
I wanted to center the entire workspace around the
computer DAW and a single musical instrument keyboard
because I'm very comfortable with this working arrangement,"
Rowan says.
Microphone pre-amps have to be a part of any studio
and the True Systems Precision 8 came into use at
Pleasantry Lane in a unique way. Rowan continues:
"I've got a small collection of outboard mic
pre-amps I could have used, but when you are running
mixer less you really need a good utilitarian, multi-channel
mic pre-amp always at the ready for any and all
recording tasks. I wanted a unit with a good price
to performance ratio and, more importantly, a good
clean, transparent, uncolored and natural sound.
I require it to be sonically out of the way."
The True Systems Precision 8 has eight channels
of transformerless mic preamps each with five-segment
level indicators and a selectable peak-hold feature.
Two channels are fitted with direct instrument inputs
while channels one and two also function as a dedicated
M/S (mid/side) stereo pair with the touch of single
button. Designed for use with today's modular digital
multi-track units and hard disk recording systems,
the Precision 8 can easily be connected to TASCAM
or Mackie digital products via a DB25 connector.
The True System's Precision 8 microphone preamplifier
is available through authorized Neumann dealers
at a suggested retail price of $2,850.
Rowan's well-known editorial bent for careful scrutiny
when reviewing products at prorec.com came into
play when he auditioned a number of eight-channel
pre-amps in the P8's price range. "All things
considered and after hours of A/Bs, I liked the
P8 best. It's very quiet, interacted nicely with
the mics in my collection, and it sounded like there
wasn't a pre-amp at all - like a straight wire with
gain," comments Rowan. Even compared to the
close "second choice" eight-channel pre-amp,
Rowan says: "The P8 had great transient response
with an extended but not overly bright top end -
transparent with non-existent noise and wide imaging
- most noticeable with drum overhead recording."
Rowan's P8 is his utility pre-amp for recording
everything from drums to vocals to quiet acoustic
instruments. Rowan continues: "Unless I'm looking
for a certain coloration from a mic pre-amp, the
P8 continues to be my workhorse. I especially like
to use the M/S decode feature when doing a minimalist
drum kit recording or just recording a stereo room
track. I use my pair of Audio-Technica AT-4050s
for this and get great results." Other features
beyond good sound also factored into Rowan's purchase
decision of the P8. Rowan goes on to say: "Using
the P8 with my DAW is a pleasure since you can calibrate
the metering on the unit with the DAW's meters -
peaks and overloads will correspond exactly where
you want them on the computer's metering. This way
you always have accurate metering no matter what
screen(s) you have up on the computer interface.
I also like running the P8 with lots of headroom
left in the unit. With a low-noise, high-headroom
preamp like the P8 paired with a modern 24-bit converter
set, it is now possible to make very high-resolution
digital recordings that maintain maximum headroom
throughout the signal chain. Thanks to the P8, my
digital recordings never sounded so good."
The Precision 8 is designed and built by Sunrise
Engineering, a design and build manufacturer located
in Tucson, Arizona. Neumann distributes True Systems
in the U.S.
Neumann's award-winning line of microphones has
set the standard in the industry since 1928. In
1999, Neumann received the prestigious Technical
Grammy(r) for their 70 years of innovation in microphone
design and contribution to the music industry. A
continuing commitment to provide innovative, technically
refined products and engineering solutions of proven
quality ensures that Neumann's stature will remain
unassailable. Neumann USA is owned and distributed
in the U.S. and Latin America by Sennheiser Electronic
Corporation based in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
www.sennheiserusa.com
www.neumannusa.com