1290 vs 1073

[ding]

I am getting a vocal/acoustic/electric chain ready for a new project I am working on. It will have a female and male voice, acoustic and electric guitars and electric bass. So far I have a gPultec, a PRR-176 and I am working on a Matador c12 microphone with AA capsule. I want to get that neve vibe but my funds are slim so I was wondering the following. Should I get 1 channel ez1073 or a stereo ez1290. With the 1290 I get 2 channels of sweet Neve which I can use to stereo mic the acoustic but the 1073 has that fantastic eq. I cannot afford 2 1073s. Is the eq on the 1073 a must have? The benefit of the 1290 is that I can do 1 channel now and the other one a little bit later and help my wallet a little bit. I do have an Art Pro MPA II for stereo recording which is not bad but it is adviously not the same. Any opinions on which one to build?

 

[Govinda Doyle]

Can't go wrong with 2 ez1290's I use them on every recording session, pairs on acoustic guitar (steel string not nylon) and guitar amps they are amazing, kick and toms are also sweet, I'm not a massive fan of them on vocals, however they do a mighty fine job, I just have other stuff that does vocals better IMO! Just have to remember they are slower sounding and not as open as the API style stuff, so nylon string guitar and double bass and cymbals can sound a little closed off in the higher register. Whilst the 1073 eq is sweet, having a pair of 1290's would be the direction I would go if I were you!
You can never go wrong with any of Jeff's wonderful capi preamps either!
Hope this helps?
G

 

[ding]

Thanks that does help. I just bought a 1073 pcb off a community member but I think I will hold off on that for a bit and just build me a pair of 1290's. As far as the api stuff is concerned I just haven't gotten into 500 series. I wish there was something to just rack mount.

 

[Govinda Doyle]

Well you can always make a faceplate and fit 2 capi preamps in one rack space, I think you can even fit 3!! Put it this way if you can build 2 1290's putting 2 CAPI pres in a 1RU will be easy!
You won't be disappointed in either the ez1073, 1290 or CAPI preamps!
I've been on and off with 500 series, I'm back on now after a 3 year hiatus and I'm glad I'm back, making something 500 series and not having to worry about wiring, grounding, power supply etc is a dream, makes a build so quick! 500 series is well worth considering getting into!
Cheers
G